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Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City cover
Developers
Rockstar North
Windows Rockstar Toronto
Publishers
Rockstar Games
Engines
RAGE
Release dates
Windows April 13, 2010
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City guide on StrategyWiki
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City on Wikipedia

Warnings

For Games for Windows - LIVE on Windows 8 or later, install the latest Games for Windows - LIVE software.
Grand Theft Auto 1997
Grand Theft Auto 2 1999
Grand Theft Auto III 2002
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 2003
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 2005
Grand Theft Auto IV 2008
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City 2010
Grand Theft Auto: iFruit 2013
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 10 Year Anniversary 2014
Grand Theft Auto V 2015
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars 2021
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition (series)

Key points

Shares many similarities with Grand Theft Auto IV in terms of its engine and performance.
Extensive modding community, along with Grand Theft Auto IV.
Ability to import your music for your own custom radio station.
Rockstar has removed music from the game due to expired licences. See Restore Removed Music.

General information

Rockstar Games's Official Grand Theft Auto site
Grand Theft Wiki
GTA Modding - A wiki hosting mod information for the GTA series.
GTAForums - Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City Discussion
GTA Network - A huge network of fansites all dedicated to the Grand Theft Auto series
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
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Requires online activation
Windows
Amazon.com
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Icon overlay.png
Requires online activation
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg
Icon overlay.png
Icon overlay.png
Requires online activation
Windows
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
Icon overlay.png
Requires online activation
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Icon overlay.png
Requires online activation
Complete Edition also available.
Windows
All versions require Games for Windows - LIVE and SecuROM DRM.[Note 1] Additionally, all non-retail versions require Steam DRM.
Online features require Rockstar Games Social Club.

Essential improvements

Patches

Patch 3 updates the game to the latest version (see Patch notes for changes). The Steam version is already patched. The previous version, Title Update 1.1.2.0 ("Patch 2"), is also available (may be required for some mods).

ColAccel

Greatly reduces loading times
If editing .IMG archives you need to delete colCache.dat and let it get re-created
Place ColAccel script in <path-to-game>[1]
Requires an ASI Loader.

Restore Removed Music

Some music was removed after Rockstar's music licence for this game expired after 10 years.[2]
Run the radio downgrader[3]
  1. Download the downgrader.
  2. Unpack to the installation folder.
  3. Run install.bat.

Game data

In-game general settings.
In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows %LOCALAPPDATA%\Rockstar Games\GTA IV\Settings\SETTINGS_EFLC.CFG
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/12220/pfx/[Note 2]
Configuration files are encrypted. For an alternative, see Command line parameters.

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %LOCALAPPDATA%\Rockstar Games\GTA IV\savegames\<user-id>\
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/12220/pfx/[Note 2]
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\XLive must also be backed up as the save data is bound to the Games for Windows - LIVE profile.

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Steam Cloud

Video settings

In-game video settings.
In-game video settings.

Template:Video settings

Input settings

In-game key map settings.
In-game key map settings.
In-game keyboard/mouse settings.
In-game keyboard/mouse settings.
In-game gamepad settings.
In-game gamepad settings.

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings.

Template:Audio settings

Commands responsible for audio in the game:

-fullspecaudio: forces higher quality audio -minspecaudio: forces lower quality audio - good for low-end CPU's (e.g. radio cannot be heard outside car).

Game uses DirectSound which can be handled by Creative Alchemy (set duration to 10), and possibly by IndirectSound (not especially DSOAL).

Just run LaunchGTAIV.exe as admin in case of game crash.

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Brazilian Portuguese
Fan translation, download.
Czech
Fan translation, download.
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Polish
Fan translation, download.
Russian
Official localization by «1C-Softclub» retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Russian
Fan translation by «ENPY Studio»
Spanish
Ukrainian
Fan translation, download.

Network

Social Club website stat tracking and leaderboards have been shut down. All other online features are unaffected.[4]
Online features require a Microsoft account (optional for offline play).

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
32
Online play
32

Connection types

Ports

Protocol Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP 53, 80, 3074
UDP 53, 88, 3074
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

3D modes State GG3D Notes
TriDef 3D
iZ3D

Issues fixed

Crashing

When starting the game, you may be notified that the file WMVCore.dll is missing. If you're running the game via Steam, this notification may not appear and the game will simply crash after prompting for Social Club login information. Install Windows Media Player to fix.

Game does not launch

Update LaunchEFLC.exe[5]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\EFLC
  2. Rename LaunchEFLC.exe to LaunchEFLC.exe.old.
  3. Download the updated LaunchEFLC.exe file and extract the contents to <path-to-game>\EFLC
  4. Run LaunchEFLC.exe.

"SecuLauncher: Failed to start application [2000]" error

Install Visual C++ Redistributable 2005 and .NET 3.5[6]

Game doesn't get past Social Club window

Reinstall Games for Windows Live[citation needed]

AMD/ATI Radeon Water Fix

There is a problem where the water loses its features and details after a while. To fix this issue do this:
Replace the water shaders[citation needed]
  1. Download the fixed waterTex shader file.
  2. Go to <path-to-game>\EFLC
  3. Go to common\shaders\win32_30_atidx10\
  4. Place your downloaded waterTex.fxc shader file and replace the original.
  5. Go to common\shaders\win32_30_low_ati\
  6. Place your downloaded waterTex.fxc shader file and replace the original.
  7. Play your game!

Notes

Don't forget to backup original files.
A lot of the fixes for Grand Theft Auto IV also work for Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, But not all of them. So check first.

No recoil/bullet spread

By default, recoil/bullet spread is only enabled when playing with a controller. This results in 100% shooting accuracy when using a keyboard and mouse.
Install the Bullet Spread/Recoil Fix script[7]
Not recommended to use in Multiplayer.
Requires an ASI Loader.

Cannot Change the Graphics Settings

There are reports that certain video cards with more than 2 GB of video memory may be causing GTA IV to believe the system is under specification even though the computer is powerful enough to run the game with higher settings. A possible fix:
Increase available memory[8]
  1. Create a text file named commandline.txt in <path-to-game>\EFLC and put the following statement inside it:
-availablevidmem 2.0

2. If that doesn't work, try increasing the number to one of the following.

-availablevidmem 3.0
-availablevidmem 4.0
-availablevidmem 5.0
-availablevidmem 6.0

Notes

For the Steam version, use the -nomemrestrict -norestrictions parameters.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Physics Bullet Physics Library, Euphoria
Interface Flash
Cutscenes Bink Video 1.9r
Multiplayer Games for Windows - LIVE, Rockstar Games Social Club

Modifications

It is strongly recommended to make a backup of any files modifications may replace or amend in the event of corruption.

XLiveLess

Built-in ASI loader
Removes Games for Windows - LIVE service.
Save game data location changes to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA IV\savegames\
Save games made using XLiveLess are not compatible with native save games.
Disables access to the multiplayer to prevent cheating.

First person mod

Compatible with VR.

Excellent ENB

Graphical modification that drastically improves performance and visuals.
Includes multiple presets suitable for low-end and high-end hardware.
Compatible with all patches.
Contains optional ASI loader.
Contains optional trainer.
Contains optional textures for roads and trees.
Minor graphical bug on street lights when night shadows are enabled.

Road Textures by DKT70

Graphical improvement that includes HD textures for roads.
Combine with an ENB modification for best results.

Custom music

Grand Theft Auto IV allows users to play their own music on a custom radio station, Independence FM.[9]

Simply place any audio files/folders or create shortcuts in the %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA IV\User Music\ folder, and tune into the station in-game.
Supported formats are MP3, WMA, M4A. Other formats and extensions are not recognized.
QuickTime or iTunes needs to be installed for M4A support.
Use shortcuts to audio files/folders to save disk space and improve performance.
Supports High-resolution audio files. Up to 96 kHz / 24 bit.
Supports Surround audio files. Up to 6 channels.
FLAC is not supported. Convert to WMA Lossless to use in-game.
Monaural audio files not supported.

Launch Options

By creating a file called commandline.txt and saving it to your root installation folder you can alter the way your game runs. Below is a list of all the parameters.
Parameter Description
-help Lists the available commands
-adapter Use the specified screen adapter
-autoconfig Automatically adjust quality setting to maintain desired frame rate (15-120)
-availablevidmem Set amount of physical Video Memory
-benchmark Launches the game in Benchmark mode and then quits it
-detailquality Set the detail quality of the game (0-99)
-disableimposters Turn off imposter rendering for vehicles
-forcehighqualitymirrors Enable 64 bit mirrors
-forcer2vb Force Render to Vertex Buffer
-frameLimit Limits your FPS to your refresh rate
-framelockinwindow Force framelock to work even in a window
-fullscreen Force fullscreen mode
-fullspecaudio Force high-end CPU audio footprint
-gpucount Lets you manually set the GPU count if query fails
-height Sets the vertical resolution
-managed Use D3D runtime managed resources
-memrestrict Set the restriction the amount of available memory for the game
-minspecaudio Force low-end CPU audio footprint
-no_3GB Disable 32-bit OS with /3GB
-noBlockOnLostFocus Don't block the window update when it loses focus.
-noprecache Disable precache of resources
-nomemrestrict Disable memory restrictions
-nominimize Disables the ability to restore the game from minimize and changing resolutions (Reduces System Memory Footprint)
-norestrictions Do not limit graphics settings
-noswapdelay Disable sleep delay before Present (Disable fix for hard Present stalls)
-notimefix Disable Time Fix
-novblank Disables V-Sync
-percentvidmem Percentage of Video memory to make available for the game
-refreshrate Set the refresh rate (Must be supported by your monitor)
-reserve Amount of memory to set aside for other applications
-reservedApp Amount of memory to leave available within application space
-renderquality Set the render quality of the game (0-4)
-safemode Sets graphics setting to lowest setting
-shadowdensity Set the number of lights that cast shadows (0-16)
-shadowquality Set the shadow quality (0-4)
-stereo Set game to support stereo rendering mode
-texturequality Set the texture quality of the game (0-2)
-unmanaged Use application managed resources
-usedirectinput Allow DirectInput alongside XInput support.
-viewdistance Set the view distance of the game (0-99)
-windowed Force windowed mode
-width Sets the horizontal resolution

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP SP3, Vista SP1
Processor (CPU) AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4 GHz
Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz
System memory (RAM) 1.5 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 16 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon X1900
Nvidia GeForce 7900
256 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible
Sound (audio device) 5.1 Channel Audio Card

Notes

  1. Games for Windows - LIVE DRM features: Legacy activation, local profile support unknown.
  2. 2.0 2.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/12220/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (12220) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References