What every vehicle meta file does
A car resource usually ships four or five XML files, and every one controls a different part of the vehicle. When something is wrong — no tuning parts, wrong colours, sirens not working, missing sound — knowing which file owns that feature takes you straight to the fix.
Short answer: vehicles.meta defines the model (spawn name, textures, handling ID, name, class, layout, LOD distances, flags); handling.meta the driving physics; carvariations.meta colours, liveries and which mod kit the car uses; carcols.meta the mod kits themselves and siren settings; vehiclelayouts.meta seating and entry animations for unusual vehicles. IDs must match across files, and mod kit and siren IDs must be unique server-wide.
#The files at a glance
| File | data_file | Controls |
|---|---|---|
| vehicles.meta | VEHICLE_METADATA_FILE | Model, textures, handling link, name, class, layout, LODs, flags |
| handling.meta | HANDLING_FILE | Mass, power, gears, grip, brakes, suspension, damage |
| carvariations.meta | VEHICLE_VARIATION_FILE | Colour combinations, liveries, mod kit link, lights |
| carcols.meta | CARCOLS_FILE | Mod kits (tuning parts) and siren setups |
| vehiclelayouts.meta | VEHICLE_LAYOUTS_FILE | Seat and entry animations for special vehicles |
#vehicles.meta: the key fields
<Item>
<modelName>mycar</modelName>
<txdName>mycar</txdName>
<handlingId>MYCAR</handlingId>
<gameName>MYCAR</gameName>
<vehicleMakeName>ANNIS</vehicleMakeName>
<audioNameHash>elegy2</audioNameHash>
<layout>LAYOUT_STANDARD</layout>
<lodDistances content="float_array">15.0 30.0 60.0 120.0 500.0 500.0</lodDistances>
<type>VEHICLE_TYPE_CAR</type>
<vehicleClass>VC_SPORT</vehicleClass>
<flags>FLAG_SPORTS FLAG_RICH_CAR</flags>
</Item>audioNameHash borrows a vanilla engine sound unless the pack ships its own audio. lodDistances decide when cheaper models take over — too high and busy areas cost frames.
#carvariations.meta and carcols.meta
carvariations.meta lists allowed colour combinations and liveries and names the mod kit (<kits>) the car uses. carcols.meta defines those kits — spoilers, bumpers, liveries as mods — and siren settings for emergency vehicles. Every kit and siren has an ID; two packs using the same ID overwrite each other, which is why tuning menus suddenly show another car’s parts.
#handling.meta
The handlingName in handling.meta must equal handlingId in vehicles.meta. The physics fields are explained in the handling.meta guide.
#vehiclelayouts.meta
Only needed for vehicles with unusual seating or entry points (buses, special bikes). Most cars reference a vanilla layout such as LAYOUT_STANDARD and ship no layouts file. handling.meta is the one most people actually want to change, and FAM Tools has an editor for it that writes the block out for you.
Questions
What does vehicles.meta do?
Why do tuning parts from another car appear on mine?
Which file controls car colours?
Do I always need vehiclelayouts.meta?
Ready to pick a map?
Twelve themes on three base map styles, $8 each, instant download.
Relevant to what you just read
Look it up while you work
The reference tables this guide leans on, free and without an account.
- The 100 blip colour indexesEvery index SetBlipColour accepts, with the hex value the radar actually draws.
- All 921 vehicle spawn namesEvery vanilla model with a picture, its display name, its class and the hash CreateVehicle takes.
- The map modding glossary38 terms — file formats, radar parts, framework words — each with a one-line answer first.