Map Editor for GTA III, Vice City & San Andreas
| W A S D | Move camera (hold keys) |
| LMB drag | Look around (FPS) |
| MMB | Pan camera |
| B | Object Browser (pick & place) |
| LMB | Select / place object |
| Shift + LMB | Place multiple / add to selection |
| Esc | Exit place mode |
| W | Translate mode (move objects) |
| Q | Rotate mode |
| G | Snap selection to ground |
| Snap (Tools panel) | Snap translation to grid or rotation to angle presets |
| Ctrl + S | Save all modified IPLs |
| Del / Backspace | Delete selected + LODs |
| Ctrl + Z / Y | Undo / Redo |
| Ctrl + C / V | Copy / Paste (auto LOD linking) |
| Ctrl + Shift + E | Export selection as prefab (.ariane) |
| Ctrl + Shift + I | Import prefab |
| Ctrl + R | Hot Reload into running game |
| Ctrl + G | Test in Game (Windows) |
| File > Save to Modloader | Save changes to modloader/Ariane/ instead of original files |
| Alt + MMB | Orbit around target |
| C | Toggle viewer camera (extends far clip distance) |
| Ctrl + Alt + MMB | Zoom into target |
| Ctrl + Alt + LMB | Alternative mode — W/S for forward/backward |
| RMB | Cancel and exit place mode |
| Snap to clicked object | Place on the collision surface of the object you click |
| Snap to ground below | Place on the ground directly below the click point |
| Shift + G | Align to ground normal + keep facing direction |
| Alt + LMB | Remove object from selection |
| Ctrl + LMB | Toggle selection (select/deselect) |
| RMB on selection | Deselect |
| RMB on deleted instance | Undelete it |
| Double-click in Editor list | Jump camera to that instance |
The Object Browser (B) has four tabs: Categories, IDE (filter by source file), Search (full-text), and Favourites. Right-click any object to add/remove it from favourites.
In the Tools panel (X), enable Follow ground to keep objects on the terrain as you drag them. The sub-option Align to surface also rotates them to match the slope. You can also drag & drop .ariane prefab files onto the editor window to import them.
The Editor window (E) has camera presets — save, load, and manage named positions for quick navigation.
Deleted instances are commented out with # in the IPL files when saved — not permanently removed. Right-click a deleted instance to undelete it before saving.
Press F to open the Changes window — a diff viewer that lists every modification since your last save. Entries are color-coded by type (added, deleted, moved, rotated, restored) with filter buttons and summary counters. Click an entry to select it, double-click to jump to its location.
| Ctrl + R | Hot Reload — push all changes to GTA SA while it's running (move, add, delete) |
| Ctrl + G | Test in Game — save IPLs and launch the game with your changes (Windows only) |
Hot Reload (Ctrl+R) patches streaming IPLs — including binary IPLs inside IMG archives — and sends entity commands (add, move, delete) to the running game via the Ariane ASI plugin. No need to restart GTA — changes appear in real time. Currently supported for San Andreas.
Test in Game (Ctrl+G) requires the ariane.asi plugin installed in your game directory. It saves all modified IPLs, launches GTA, and teleports you directly to your current Ariane camera position — so you instantly spawn right where you were editing.
Modloader Support — toggle File > Save to Modloader to redirect all saves to a modloader/Ariane/ folder instead of overwriting original game files. Ariane also detects existing modloader overrides (DFF, TXD, IPL) and warns if saved files are shadowed at runtime.
Binary IPL Editing — Ariane can now directly edit objects stored in streaming binary IPLs (inside .img archives like gta3.img). Move, rotate, add, and delete instances just like text-based IPL objects — changes are saved back into the archive automatically.
| H | Toggle water edit mode |
| Tab | Switch between Polygon and Vertex sub-modes |
| N | Create new water quad (click 2 corners) or triangle (click 3 corners) |
| LMB | Select polygon / vertex (Shift to add, Ctrl to toggle) |
| Ctrl + D | Duplicate selected water polygons |
| Del / Backspace | Delete selected water polygons |
| Ctrl + Z / Y | Undo / Redo water changes |
| Esc or RMB | Cancel creation in progress |
Water Edit Mode (H) lets you create and edit water surfaces for GTA San Andreas. In Polygon mode, select, duplicate, and delete entire quads or triangles, toggle visibility and limited-depth flags. In Vertex mode, drag individual vertices with configurable snap-to-grid. Hold Shift while placing to keep creating after each polygon. The Water Editor panel shows per-polygon properties and game limits (max 301 quads, 6 triangles, 1021 vertices).
Drag & drop .dff / .txd / .col |
Import a custom object — Ariane auto-detects matching files in the same folder |
| File > Import Custom Object | Import via file browser with ID and draw distance options |
Custom Object Import — drag and drop any DFF, TXD, or COL file onto the Ariane window. Ariane automatically finds matching files of the same name in the same folder (DFF + TXD required, COL optional). It generates IDE entries, assigns a free object ID (default SA range: 18631+), and handles multi-entry COL files. You can set the draw distance and preview the model before confirming the import.
Automatic Backups — Ariane periodically saves backup snapshots of all modified files. Configure the interval (default 300 seconds) and the number of snapshots to keep in the Tools panel (X). Backups are stored alongside your game directory and can be restored if something goes wrong.
Toggle editor panels with a single key.
| B | Object Browser — 3D preview, categories, IDE, search, favourites, placement |
| E | Editor — camera presets, CD images, selection list, instance browser |
| X | Tools — gizmo, placement snapping, ground follow, align to surface, automatic backups |
| I | Object Info — instance properties, object flags, effects, paths |
| T | Time & Weather — hour, weather, extracolour, wet roads |
| V | View — collision, zones, paths, water, draw distance, LOD mode |
| R | Rendering — post effects, building pipes, fog, backface cull |
| F | Changes — diff viewer showing all modifications since last save |
3D preview of selected object. Four tabs: Categories, IDE (filter by source file), Search (full-text), and Favourites. Mark objects as favourites. Click "Place" to enter placement mode.
Camera position/target, FOV slider, camera presets (save/load/delete). CD image browser. Full instance list with model/TXD name filter. Selection list with double-click-to-jump.
All editing tools in one place. Gizmo mode (translate/rotate), grid snap with angle/distance presets. Placement snapping (object surface, ground). Drag behavior: ground follow and align to surface. Automatic backup settings: interval and snapshot retention.
Selected instance properties: position, rotation, area flags. Object definition: model name, draw distances, rendering flags. 2D effects editor (lights, particles). Car and ped path info.
Hour/minute controls, total-minute slider. Weather A/B selectors with interpolation. Extracolour (VC/SA), day/night balance (SA), wet road effect, Neo light map.
Toggle collisions, zones (map/navig/cull/info/attrib), 2dfx, car & ped paths, water. Draw distance multiplier. Render mode: Normal / HD only / LOD only. Timed objects & area toggles.
PostFX toggle with game-specific colour filters (PS2/PC/Xbox/Mobile). Building pipe mode selector. Backface culling, PS2 alpha test, background, fog, TimeCycle boxes.
Diff viewer listing all modifications since last save. Color-coded entries: added (green), deleted (red), moved (yellow), rotated (blue), restored (light green). Filter by type, click to select, double-click to jump. Shows distance moved and angle rotated.
GTA SA water surface editor. Polygon mode: select, duplicate, delete quads and triangles, toggle visibility and depth flags. Vertex mode: drag vertices with snap-to-grid. Create new water with N key. Shows game limits and per-polygon properties.
Debug overlays, render modes and visual settings available from the View and Rendering panels.
| Draw Collisions | Visualize collision meshes |
| Draw Zones | Map, navigation, cull, info, and attribute zones |
| Draw 2dfx | 2D effects (GTA III & VC) |
| Draw Car / Ped Paths | Vehicle and pedestrian path nodes |
| Draw Water | Water plane visualization |
| Draw TimeCycle boxes | TimeCycle regions (SA) |
| Play Animations | Toggle NPC animation playback (SA) |
| Draw 2dfx (SA) | 2D effects for San Andreas (lights, particles, coronas) |
| Normal | Default rendering — HD + LOD as the game does |
| HD only | Show only high-detail models |
| LOD only | Show only low-detail models |
| Multiplier slider | 0.5x – 3.0x draw distance |
| Render all Timed Objects | Show all time-dependent objects regardless of hour |
| Render all Areas | Show objects from all interior areas simultaneously |
Full controller support for camera navigation.
| Left Stick | Orbit camera around target |
| Right Stick | Turn / look around (first-person) |
| D-Pad Up | Dolly camera forward |
| D-Pad Down | Dolly camera backward |
| Square | Zoom in |
| Cross | Zoom out |
| L2 held | Half speed (0.5x sensitivity) |
| R2 held | Double speed (2x sensitivity) |
| L2 + R2 held | Quad speed (4x sensitivity) |
| Start + Select (hold) | Quit application |
Ariane is a free, standalone map editor for the classic GTA trilogy: GTA III, GTA Vice City, and GTA San Andreas. Built as a native C++ application on top of the librw RenderWare engine reimplementation, Ariane lets modders place, move, rotate, and delete any map object in a fully rendered 3D environment. Import custom 3D models (DFF/TXD/COL), edit water surfaces, and benefit from automatic backups. All changes save directly back to IPL files and IMG archives — no manual file editing required.
Ariane includes a powerful Object Browser with 3D preview, full-text search, category filtering, and a favourites system for quick access to frequently used objects. The editor supports translate and rotate gizmos with configurable grid and angle snap presets, snap to ground with automatic surface normal alignment, and copy/paste with automatic LOD linking. A full undo/redo history ensures you never lose work. The Changes viewer (F) provides a color-coded diff of every modification since your last save, with filters for added, deleted, moved, and rotated objects.
Ariane can edit both text-based and binary/streaming IPLs directly inside IMG archives — no need to extract files first. Modloader support lets you save changes to a modloader/Ariane/ folder instead of overwriting original game files, and Ariane warns if existing modloader overrides shadow your edits.
For San Andreas, Ariane supports hot reload (Ctrl+R) — push your changes, including binary IPL edits, to a running game instance in real time via the Ariane ASI plugin. You can also use Test in Game (Ctrl+G) to save, launch GTA, and teleport directly to your current editor camera position.
The Water Editor (H) lets you create and edit water surfaces for GTA San Andreas. Create quads and triangles, select and manipulate polygons or individual vertices, duplicate and delete water, and snap vertices to a configurable grid. Full undo/redo is supported, and the editor displays SA engine limits in real time.
Custom Object Import lets you add brand new objects to the map by drag-and-dropping DFF (model), TXD (texture), and COL (collision) files onto the editor window. Ariane generates IDE entries automatically, assigns a free object ID, and lets you preview the model before confirming. Multi-entry COL files are supported.
Automatic Backups periodically save snapshots of all modified files at a configurable interval (default 5 minutes), with adjustable snapshot retention. This ensures you never lose work even if something goes wrong.
Visualization tools include collision meshes, car and pedestrian paths, map/navigation/cull/info/attribute zones, water planes, TimeCycle boxes, and 2dfx effects. The time of day and weather can be adjusted in real time with full interpolation between weather states.
Ariane runs natively on Windows (Direct3D 9), macOS (OpenGL 3, ARM64 and Intel), and Linux (OpenGL 3). It auto-detects the game version when launched from a GTA game directory.
Ariane is available as a free download from the GTA Stuff Discord server. Extract the archive into your GTA game folder and run the executable. The editor includes a built-in auto-updater that checks for new releases automatically.
Ariane replaces the browser-based GTA Stuff Map Viewer & Editor, which is now deprecated and will no longer receive updates. As a native desktop application, Ariane offers significantly better performance, more features, and direct file I/O that a browser environment cannot provide.
Ariane is forked from euryopa by aap, which provides the RenderWare rendering foundation. All map editing features — object placement, gizmo manipulation, undo/redo, IPL/IMG saving, hot reload, water editing, custom object import, automatic backups, and the object browser — were built on top of this base.