A new highly ambitious GTA V mod will add Liberty City into the game, rendering in Rockstar's high-end engine.
The mod is being developed by the OpenIV Team, who has been working on the project since GTA V released. "Today we are proud to announce the project we worked on since initial GTA V release. Liberty City is finally coming into GTA V in all its glory," reads the the announcement on OpenIV Team's blog.
Liberty City won't actually replace Los Santos--the two areas will co-exist and essentially merge two massive GTA games together. Due to legal concerns, the mod will essentially transfer Liberty City from a player's owned copy of Grand Theft Auto IV into their copy of GTA V. So the mod itself is a converter of sorts that takes the older GTA IV files and transforms them into high-def assets, textures, etc usable on the GTA V engine.
"Because Liberty City takes a lot of space and we do not have rights to distribute it as our work, we decided to make this mod as an automatic converter that converts Liberty City from your copy of GTA IV into your copy of GTA V," reads the mod's FAQ.
Since you'll essentially be combining two GTA games together, you'll need a lot of extra HDD space: "The converter tool requires a lot of free space on your hard drive."
You'll be able to fly across Los Santos' ocean to the smoggy metropolitan crime-ridden city whenever you want.
"Liberty City will not replace Los Santos or Blaine County, but appears across the sea. Using the power of OpenIV and openFormats, we was able to bring Liberty City right into GTA V map."
This conversion process will also convert the standalone Episodes From Liberty City, too.
The OpenIV Team has no official release date in mind, but there won't be any public or private beta tests--when the mod is ready it'll be released.
Check below for the full FAQ, and keep an eye on the OpenIV Team's blog for updates.
GTA V Open IV F.A.Q
Q: Why?
A: Because, why not?
Q: When it will be released?
A: We are trying to make first release as soon as possible but currently we do not have information when it will happen.
Q: How can I get access to early preview or beta version?
A: There is no private beta or something like this. As soon as mod will have proper state, it will be released to public.
Q: The Liberty City is big, how much I must download?
A: Because Liberty City takes a lot of space and we do not have rights to distribute it as our work, we decided to make this mod as an automatic convertor that converts Liberty City from your copy of GTA IV into your copy of GTA V.
Q: Legal issues.
A: See the answer above.
Q: How this will work?
A: You will need to download a convertor tool with some additional assets. This tool will convert Liberty City from your copy of GTA IV into GTA V.
The converter tool will create a single player DLC pack, which will be installed into your GTA V.
Q: How long the conversion process will take?
A: Depends on your hardware, we will provide more information with first release.
Q: What are the requirements for convertor tool?
A: First of all the convertor tool requires a lot of free space on your hard drive. The OpenIV is also required because the convertor tool uses it during conversion process.
Q: Does Liberty City requires unofficial multiplayer clients?
A: Of course, not.
Q: Will this tool work with Episodes from Liberty City?
A: Yes.
Q: Can I play with this mod Online with my friends?
A: No, you will not be able to play online because Rockstar Games does not allows mods in GTA Online.
Q: Will I get banned in GTA Online with this mod?
A: With a high probability, yes.
Q: How can I help?
A: In a future, we will need help with creating some arts, additional assets, testing etc. We will announce it separately.
Q: Any other ways to help or give you motivation?
A: As always, you can make a donation, but it is not mandatory. Also, follow us on social networks and watch our YouTube videos with disabled Ad Block.