Synthetic Data Generation for Visual Geo-Localization using GTA V

This repository contains the data generation pipeline to generate a visual geo-localization dataset from the video game Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V) proposed by Skutsch et al. in their papers Synthetic Data Generation for Visual Geo-Localization using GTA V and No Mountain, no Building, no Cue? Synthetic Data Generation of Digital Surface Models and their Application to Visual Geo-Localization. It can be used to generate ground-view images and panoramas, drone-view images, and (overlapping) aerial-view images, as well as their stencil map and depth map. For each image, the corresponding metadata is exported. This includes the intrinsic and extrinsic camera matrices, the camera's position and orientation within the game environment, the field-of-view (FOV), the prevailing weather conditions, and the current time of the day.

The setup for initializing the necessary software can be done either semi-automatically or completely manually. In the semi-automatic setup, most of the steps are performed by an initialization script, while in the manual setup, all steps are performed by the user.

The data generation has been tested on a Windows 10 system running Grand Theft Auto V Legacy v1.0.3751.0, ScriptHookV v3751.0 / 1013.29, ScriptHookVDotNet v3.7.0-nightly.93, RenderDoc v1.42, and Windowed Borderless Gaming v2.1.0.1. The 3D-reconstruction from aerial imagery has been tested on the same system running RealityScan 2.2 and Blender 4.5. Steps may vary for other versions.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Example Outputs
• Important Notes
• Semi-Automatic Setup
  • GTA V
  • Python
  • Visual Studio
  • Further Initialization
• Manual Setup
  • GTA V
  • Python
  • Visual Studio
  • ScriptHookV
  • ScriptHookVDotNet
  • Windowed Borderless Gaming
  • RenderDoc
  • Scripts
  • Save Game
• Data Generation
  • Selection of Locations
  • Adjustment of the Config File
  • Data Generation
• In-Game Controls
• Possible Errors
• 3D-Reconstruction from Aerial Imagery
  • RealityScan
  • Blender
• Modification and Copyright Policy of Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive
• License
• Citation

Features

• Ground-view images and full 360° ground-view panoramas.
• Drone-view images.
• Single and overlapping aerial-view images, the latter suited for photogrammetric 3D reconstruction.
• Depth map and stencil map export alongside every RGB image.
• Per-image metadata export: intrinsic and extrinsic camera matrices, camera position and orientation, FOV, weather conditions, and time of day.
• Three location-sampling modes: the current in-game location, a list of map-based locations, or random locations.
• All directories, downloads, and generation settings are configured centrally in a single config.toml file.
• An included browser-based tool (map/map.html) for selecting and editing render locations directly on the in-game map.
• An optional downstream pipeline for reconstructing a 3D surface model from the generated overlapping aerial-view images using RealityScan and Blender.

Example Outputs

Ground-view and single-view images generated during data generation: RGB, depth, and stencil.

The 18 cubemaps and the stitched panorama generated during ground-view panorama (RGB) data generation.

The 6 cubemaps and the stitched panorama generated during ground-view panorama data generation, for the depth map (left) and the stencil map (right).

All 64 drone views generated during drone-view data generation.

The 1 nadir and 4 oblique views generated during overlapping aerial-view data generation.

Important Notes

• The global hook feature of RenderDoc is used to inject into the GTA V process. This feature requires Secure Boot to be disabled.
• Currently, the pipeline only works with the Legacy version of Grand Theft Auto V.
• If any of the directories accessed require administrator privileges, the scripts must be executed as administrator.
• The initialization script's automatic downloads may only work on private networks.
• After copying the save game to the profile folder, you may need to manually select it after the next startup. To use the copied save game, check the box labeled Select all local data, click Review, and then click Confirm.
• It may take a few days for ScriptHookV to be updated after a GTA V update.
• The resolution set in the Windowed Borderless Gaming's config.ini file is multiplied by the global scaling factor defined in the Windows settings. For example, if the global scaling factor is set to 125%, the resolution is multiplied by 1.25.
• All directories, downloads, and generation settings are configured centrally in config.toml. Every script (initialize_project.py, compile_script.py, generate_data.py, process_metadata.py) reads its configuration from this file instead of taking command line arguments.
• Whenever config.toml is changed, the script must be re-compiled by running compile_script.py; this also copies the updated config.toml to the GTA V installation directory. Simply editing config.toml has no effect until this is done.
• After re-compiling, run Reload() in the ScriptHookVDotNet console (see In-Game Controls) to reload the updated script. The game does not need to be restarted.

Semi-Automatic Setup

GTA V

1. Download and install the latest version of GTA V Legacy from Steam, Epic Games, or the Rockstar Games website.
2. Open the Rockstar Games Launcher, then go to Settings.
3. In Settings/Launcher Settings/General disable the option BattleEye.
4. In Settings/My Installed Games/Grand Theft Auto V disable the option Enable Automatic Updates.
5. In Settings/My Installed Games/Grand Theft Auto V add -windowed -width 1280 -height 720 to Launch Arguments.
6. Start the game, then go to the settings menu.
7. In Settings/Notifications disable all notifications.
8. In Settings/Saving and Startup set the option Landing Page to Off and set the option Startup Flow to Load into Story Mode.
9. Adjust the graphics settings to the desired level of detail and resolution. Make sure NVIDIA TXAA is enabled.
10. If you experience random frame drops in the menu or map at any point, enable V-Sync.
11. Close the game and edit the settings.xml file in the user directory of GTA V. Increase the LodScale to 1.5, the Shadow_Distance to 5.0 and the MaxLodScale to 5.0.

Python

1. Download and install Python from the website. A version newer than 3.12 may cause deprecation warnings and errors.
2. Download and install the required modules by running pip install -r requirements.txt.

Visual Studio

1. Download and install the latest version of Visual Studio from the website.
2. Set it up for .NET and C++ Desktop development. MSBuild, dumpbin, and lib are located automatically and do not need to be added to the Windows PATH.

Further Initialization

1. Open config.toml and fill in at least the [Paths] section, in particular:

   • GTAV Installation directory of GTA V (usually C:\Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto V Legacy)
   • GTAVUsr User directory of GTA V (usually C:\USER\Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA V)
   • VS Installation directory of Visual Studio (usually C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VERSION\Community)

   Adjust the remaining paths and settings, such as the directories for the data, logs, configs, scripts, and WBG, as needed.

2. Download and install the modifications by running the initialization script initialize_project.py. The script takes no arguments; all paths are read from config.toml.

Manual Setup

GTA V

1. Download and install the latest version of GTA V Legacy from Steam, Epic Games, or the Rockstar Games website.
2. Open the Rockstar Games Launcher, then go to Settings.
3. In Settings/Launcher Settings/General disable the option BattleEye.
4. In Settings/My Installed Games/Grand Theft Auto V disable the option Enable Automatic Updates.
5. In Settings/My Installed Games/Grand Theft Auto V add -windowed -width 1280 -height 720 to Launch Arguments.
6. Start the game, then go to the settings menu.
7. In Settings/Notifications disable all notifications.
8. In Settings/Saving and Startup set the option Landing Page to Off and set the option Startup Flow to Load into Story Mode.
9. Adjust the graphics settings to the desired level of detail and resolution. Make sure NVIDIA TXAA is enabled.
10. If you experience random frame drops in the menu or map at any point, enable V-Sync.
11. Close the game and edit the settings.xml file in the user directory of GTA V. Increase the LodScale to 1.5, the Shadow_Distance to 5.0 and the MaxLodScale to 5.0.

Python

1. Download and install Python from the website. A version newer than 3.12 may cause deprecation warnings and errors.
2. Download and install the required modules by running pip install -r requirements.txt.

Visual Studio

1. Download and install the latest version of Visual Studio from the website.
2. Set it up for .NET and C++ Desktop development.
3. Add dumpbin and lib to the Windows PATH. In Microsoft Visual Studio 2026, the files are usually located at C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\18\Community\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.50.35717\bin\Hostx64\x64\. Note that the versions in the path need to be adjusted accordingly. These tools are used directly from the command line in the RenderDoc section below.

ScriptHookV

1. Download the latest version of ScriptHookV from the website.
2. Copy ScriptHookV.dll and dinput8.dll to the installation directory of GTA V.
3. If you want to use the native trainer plug-in, copy NativeTrainer.asi to the installation directory of GTA V.

ScriptHookVDotNet

1. Download the latest version of ScriptHookVDotNet from the website.
2. Copy ScriptHookVDotNet.asi, ScriptHookVDotNet.ini, and ScriptHookVDotNet3.dll to the installation directory of GTA V.

Windowed Borderless Gaming

1. Download the latest version of Windowed Borderless Gaming from the website.
2. Copy all the files into the folder WBG.
3. Copy the pre-configured config.ini from the configs folder into the folder WBG, overwriting the existing file.
4. In config.ini, set DefaultDeskTopWidth, DefaultDeskTopHeight, Width, and Height to the resolution the data should be generated at. This value must match the Resolution set in the [Generation] section of config.toml.

RenderDoc

1. Download the latest stable version of the RenderDoc source code from the GitHub repository. The Python version, the build files are designed for, is referred to as XX in the following steps (e.g. 36 for Python v3.6).
2. Download the Python embeddable package for platform x86 and x64 for your Python version from the Python website. The current Python version is referred to as YY in the following steps (e.g. 312 for Python v3.12).
3. In the RenderDoc directory, replace pythonXX with pythonYY in each the following files: qrenderdoc\pythonXX.natvis and qrenderdoc\qrenderdoc_local.vcxproj.
4. In the RenderDoc directory, replace pythonXX.lib with pythonYY.lib in the following file: qrenderdoc\qrenderdoc.pro.
5. In the RenderDoc directory, replace <PythonMajorMinor>\XX</PythonMajorMinor> with <PythonMajorMinor>\YY</PythonMajorMinor> and pythonXX with pythonYY in the following file: qrenderdoc\Code\pyrenderdoc\python.props.
6. In the RenderDoc directory, rename the file qrenderdoc\pythonXX.natvis to qrenderdoc\pythonYY.natvis.
7. In the RenderDoc directory, delete all files in the directory qrenderdoc\3rdparty\python\include.
8. Copy all files from the include directory of your Python version (usually located at C:\Program Files\PythonYY\include) to qrenderdoc\3rdparty\python\include.
9. In the RenderDoc directory, delete all files in the directory qrenderdoc\3rdparty\python\Win32, all files in the directory qrenderdoc\3rdparty\python\x64, and the file qrenderdoc\3rdparty\python\pythonXX.zip.
10. From the Python embeddable package (x32) the files pythonYY.dll and _ctypes.pyd to qrenderdoc\3rdparty\python\Win32 in the RenderDoc directory. From the Python embeddable package (x64), copy the file pythonYY.zip to qrenderdoc\3rdparty\python\ and the files pythonYY.dll and _ctypes.pyd to qrenderdoc\3rdparty\python\x64 in the RenderDoc directory.
11. In the directory qrenderdoc\3rdparty\python\x64, generate the pythonYY.def by running the following command: dumpbin /exports pythonYY.dll. In the directory qrenderdoc\3rdparty\python\Win32, generate the pythonYY.def by running the following command: dumpbin /exports pythonYY.dll. If the command could not be found, it has not been added to the PATH (see the section Visual Studio).
12. In the directory qrenderdoc\3rdparty\python\x64, edit the pythonYY.def. Remove the header, the summary, and all numbers in front of the function names leaving only a list of names. Finally, add EXPORTS as new line above the function names and save the file. In the directory qrenderdoc\3rdparty\python\Win32, edit the pythonYY.def. Remove the header, the summary, and all numbers in front of the function names leaving only a list of names. Finally, add EXPORTS as new line above the function names and save the file.
13. In the directory qrenderdoc\3rdparty\python\x64, generate the pythonYY.lib by running the following command: lib /def:pythonYY.def /machine:x64 /out:pythonYY.dll. In the directory qrenderdoc\3rdparty\python\Win32, generate the pythonYY.lib by running the following command: lib /def:pythonYY.def /machine:x86 /out:pythonYY.dll. If the command could not be found, it has not been added to the PATH (see the section Visual Studio).
14. Open the renderdoc.sln in Visual Studio. On start-up, retarget all projects to your current Platform Toolset version if possible.
15. In Visual Studio, open the configuration manager by right-clicking the solution and selecting Configuration Manager.... Set the active solution configuration to Release and the active solution platform to x86. Build the project by right-clicking the solution and selecting Build Solution. This may take a while.
16. Open the configuration manager by right-clicking the solution and selecting Configuration Manager.... Set the active solution configuration to Release and the active solution platform to x64. Build the project by right-clicking the solution and selecting Build Solution. This may take a while.
17. In the RenderDoc directory, the x64 built files are located at x64\Release. Copy the renderdoc.dll to the scripts directory scripts.
18. Translate the generated header file to C# using the HeaderTranslator class from initialize_project.py, for example by running python -c "from pathlib import Path; from initialize_project import HeaderTranslator; HeaderTranslator.c_to_cs(Path('INPUT'), Path('OUTPUT'))" from the main directory. The input path must be the absolute path to x64\Release\renderdoc_app.h and the output path must be the absolute path to scripts\RenderDocHeader.cs.
19. Delete the directory obj and all exp, lib, and pdb files inside the x64\Release directory. Create the directory RenderDoc inside C:\Program Files\. Move all remaining files from x64\Release to this directory. Create the folder x86 inside of the directory RenderDoc. Move all dll, json, exe, and yes files from Win32\Release to this directory.
20. The other downloaded and generated files may now be deleted.

Scripts

1. Change to the directory scripts. The API version used in the original version of the file RenderDoc.cs is referred to as XX in the following steps (e.g. 1_5_0). The new API version is referred to as YY in the following steps (e.g. 1_6_0).
2. Get the new API version from RenderDocHeader.cs by searching for the following line of code: public unsafe struct RENDERDOC_API_YY. Replace the API version in RenderDoc.cs in the following two lines of code: public readonly RENDERDOC_API_XX API; and if (GetAPI(RENDERDOC_Version.eRENDERDOC_API_Version_XX, &api_pointer) != 1).
3. Fill in the [Paths] section of config.toml, in particular the Data path to which the data and logs are saved (usually Data).
4. Open the DataGeneration.sln in Visual Studio. On start-up, retarget all projects to your current Platform Toolset version if possible.
5. In Visual Studio, open the configuration manager by right-clicking the solution and selecting Configuration Manager.... Set the active solution configuration to Release and the active solution platform to x64.
6. In Visual Studio, build the project by right-clicking the solution and selecting Build Solution.
7. Create the folder scripts in the installation directory of GTA V.
8. In the directory scripts, the built files are located at bin\x64\Release. Copy DataGeneration.dll and its NuGet dependencies (Microsoft.Bcl.AsyncInterfaces.dll, System.Buffers.dll, System.Collections.Immutable.dll, System.IO.Pipelines.dll, System.Memory.dll, System.Numerics.Vectors.dll, System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Unsafe.dll, System.Text.Encodings.Web.dll, System.Text.Json.dll, System.Threading.Tasks.Extensions.dll, and Tomlyn.dll) to the folder scripts in the installation directory of GTA V.
9. Copy config.toml to the installation directory of GTA V. The script reads its configuration from config.toml in this directory at runtime, so this step must be repeated every time config.toml is changed.

Save Game

1. Copy SGTA50015 and SGTA50015.bak from the configs folder to the profile folder in the user directory of GTA V (usually C:\USER\Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA V\Profiles\PROFILE\), overwriting the existing files.

Data Generation

Selection of Locations

1. Open the tool for location selection located at map\map.html in a browser.

2. If a location file already exists, it can be imported by clicking the Import CSV button in the top left.

3. Select the setting for which the locations should be selected from the Setting dropdown in the top left. It can be set to Urban, Rural, or Drone. Select the map representation using the layer control in the top right. It can be set to Game, Print, or Render; the Urban, Rural, and Drone location layers can be shown or hidden independently there as well.

   

   The three map representations (Game, Print, and Render) that can be selected in map.html.

4. Set the desired Pitch, Roll, Yaw, and FOV for new locations in the top left, then click on the map to add a location with these values. Click on an existing marker to select it; while selected, its Setting, Pitch, Roll, Yaw, and FOV can be edited in the panel and applied with the Apply Changes button, or the marker can be removed with the Delete button. Click on empty map space to deselect the current marker. All markers can be removed at once with the Clear Markers button.

5. Export the locations by clicking the Export CSV button in the top left and save it as render_targets.csv to the map folder.

6. Copy the render targets file to the data folder. An example file is included in the folder.

   

   The pre-selected render locations contained in the project's example render_targets file.

Adjustment of the Config File

1. Most generation settings (resolution, checkpoint interval, camera FOV, ground sampling distance, randomization, and so on) are set directly in config.toml and are picked up at runtime, without needing to re-compile the script.

2. The non-randomized default weather and time of day are still hardcoded in Script\DataGenerator.cs, in the parameterless SetWeather() and SetTime() methods of the GameState class. Adjust the default values there, namely:

   • weather in SetWeather(), with possible weather types being CLEAR, EXTRASUNNY, CLOUDS, OVERCAST, RAIN, CLEARING, THUNDER, SMOG, FOGGY, XMAS, SNOW, SNOWLIGHT, BLIZZARD, HALLOWEEN, NEUTRAL, RAIN_HALLOWEEN, and SNOW_HALLOWEEN.
   • h, m, and s in SetTime(), being the hour, minute, and second.

   Whether the random or the fixed value is used is controlled by RandomWeather and RandomTime in the [Random] section of config.toml.

3. Re-compile the script by running the script compile_script.py. The script takes no arguments; all paths are read from config.toml. This also copies the current config.toml to the GTA V installation directory, so the script must be re-compiled after every change to config.toml, even if DataGenerator.cs itself was not modified.

4. If GTA V is already running, run Reload() in the ScriptHookVDotNet console (see In-Game Controls) to reload the newly compiled script instead of restarting the game.

Data Generation

1. Start the game with all necessary parameters by running the script generate_data.py. The script takes no arguments; the GTA V, data, and WBG directories are read from config.toml.
2. Once the game is loaded, start the data generation by pressing the key corresponding to the desired data generation mode. If a current location mode was selected, the data will only be generated for the current location. If a map-based locations mode was selected, the data will be generated for all locations in the render_targets.csv file for which rendered is set to false. If a random locations mode is selected, the data will be generated for NumberOfRandomLocations random locations, as set in the [Random] section of config.toml.

In-Game Controls

Key	Function
F4	Toggle the native trainer console
F5	Open the script console
F6	Toggle the First-Person-View (FPV) and the visibility of the HUD elements
F7	Toggle the visual modifier (removes all vehicles and pedestrians and disables fog)
F8	Toggle the freezing of the scene
F9	Toggle the No-Clip mode
F10	Destroy all cameras and reset the render script cameras
F12	Manually trigger the RenderDoc capture
PageUp	Increase the speed while in No-Clip mode
PageDown	Decrease the speed while in No-Clip mode
Num1	Data Generation: current location - ground-view panorama and corresponding aerial-view image
Num2	Data Generation: map-based locations - ground-view panoramas and corresponding aerial-view images
Num3	Data Generation: random locations - ground-view panoramas and corresponding aerial-view images
Num4	Data Generation: current location - drone-view images and corresponding aerial-view image
Num5	Data Generation: map-based locations - drone-view images and corresponding aerial-view images
Num6	Data Generation: map-based locations - overlapping aerial-view images
Num7	Data Generation: current location - ground-view image and corresponding aerial-view image
Num8	Data Generation: map-based locations - ground-view images and corresponding aerial-view images
Num9	Data Generation: random locations - ground-view images and corresponding aerial-view images

In the script console (F5), the command Reload() reloads the compiled script without restarting the game; this is needed after every re-compile (see Adjustment of the Config File).

Possible Errors

Error Message	Description
Unrecoverable fault - Please restart the game	The GTA5.exe has been used instead of the launcher
[Errno 10054] An existing connection was forcibly closed...	The header is incorrect or the firewall blocks access
FATAL: Unknown game version, check http://dev-c.vom for updates	New ScriptHookV version required
[Errno 13] Permission denied: ...	Administrator privileges required
Cloud Sync Conflict	Select the correct save game
ERR_GFX_D3D_INIT	Re-install GTA, update drivers/BIOS, disable OC
The website "..." could not be requested.	No internet connection or URL changed
The file "..." could not be requested.	Website has changed, switch to manual setup for this mod
The website "..." does not contain any links.	Website has changed, switch to manual setup for this mod
The RDC file "..." could not be opened.	Saving the capture file took too long
FileNotFoundError: [WinError 2] The system can't find the specified file	Check the PATH for dumpbin and lib
An error occurred during the compilation of the ... source code.	Add ScriptHookVDotNet as reference1
RuntimeError: The path "..." does not exist.	Check the paths configured in config.toml
Crash without error message during the data generation	The GPU may have run out of memory

3D-Reconstruction from Aerial Imagery

A 3D surface model reconstructed from overlapping aerial-view images.

RealityScan

1. Create the trajectory file by running the script process_metadata.py. The script takes no arguments; it reads metadata.csv from the Data path configured in config.toml and writes trajectory.csv next to it.
2. Open RealityScan.
3. At Workflow > Application > Settings > Coordinate System set the project and output coordinate system to local.
4. At Workflow > [1] Inputs > Images add all overlapping aerial-view images of one area.
5. At Workflow > Import & Metadata > Trajectory import the flight log data file and set File format to Image X/Lon Y/Lat Z/Alt Yaw Pitch Roll, Euler angles order (YPR) to ZYX (photogrammetric YPR convention), Camera mount to Nadir-facing, X-axis to right wing (RealityScan convention), Values separator to Semicolon ";", Ignore first line to Yes, Coordinate system to local:1 - Euclidean, Automatically group camera calibration to All in one group as a fixed lens was used, and Accuracy settings source to Global camera prior settings.
6. At Workflow > [2] Process > Align Images start the image alignment.
7. Adjust the bounding box for the reconstruction.
8. At Workflow > [2] Process > Calculate Model under Settings set Image depth map calculation / Normal model / Image downscale to 1, Mesh calculation / Remove marginal triangles to Enable, and Mesh calculation / Minimal distance between two vertices to 0.001.
9. At Workflow > [2] Process > Calculate Model > Normal quality start the calculation of the surface model.
10. At Workflow > [2] Process > Simplify simplify the mesh if necessary.
11. At Workflow > [2] Process > Clean Model remove topology defects from the model if necessary.
12. At Workflow > [2] Process > Texture & Colorize > Calculate Texture start the texturing of the surface model.
13. At Workflow > [3] Output > Export export the textured surface model as .obj file, set Export vertex normals and Export vertex colors to Yes, and under Export transformation settings, set Coordinate system to Project output and Transformation preset to Default.

Blender

1. Start Blender and create a new blender file.
2. At File/Import/Wavefront (.obj) import the surface model.
3. In the Object Properties of the surface model remove all translations and rotations.
4. By clicking Shift + A add a new camera to the scene.
5. In the Object Data Properties of the camera set the Lens Unit to Field of View, the Field of View to the value the ground-view images have been rendered with (GroundDroneFOV in config.toml, usually 50°), and the Clip End to 10000 m.
6. In Output Properties/Format set the Resolution X and Resolution Y to the the desired resolution (Resolution in config.toml, usually 1024).
7. In View Layer Properties/Passes/Light enable the Diffuse Color Pass.
8. A Python script can be used to control camera parameters, such as position and rotation, as well as trigger rendering. The rendered images can then be used for visual geo-localization algorithms.

Modification and Copyright Policy of Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive

Rockstar Games has issued two statements regarding its policies on the use of single-player mods and the publication of copyrighted Rockstar Games material.

Rockstar Games states that it will not take legal action against third-party projects that involve GTA V, as long as the modifications do not:

• provide multiplayer or online services;
• include tools, files, libraries, or functions that could be used to affect multiplayer or online services;
• use or import Rockstar's or other intellectual property;
• include making new games, stories, missions, or maps.

Rockstar Games also states that Take-Two Interactive does not object to the use of materials for non-commercial purposes, as long as the materials do not include:

• pre-release footage of any kind;
• spoilers such as the ending of the game or an edited combination of cutscenes, dialogues, or major story events;
• in-game entertainment such as the TV shows or comedy performances;
• actions that encourage cheating by describing, displaying, or promoting ways to cheat online;
• modifications that violate Rockstar's rights;
• content that violates the Terms of Service.

Since the modifications do not affect the online mode, do not use Rockstar's or anyone else's intellectual property beyond the approved use, do not involve the creation of new game content and the data generated does not contain story content, does not encourage cheating, and does not violate Rockstar's rights, this project is in compliance with Rockstar Games' and Take-Two Interactive's Modification and Copyright Policies. It should be noted, however, that these policies are not a license and Take-Two reserves the right to object to any third-party project, or to revise, revoke, and/or withdraw these statements at any time in its sole discretion.

License

The GTAGeo data generation pipeline (this repository) and the GTAGeo dataset by Skutsch et al. are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license. See the LICENSE file for the full license text.

This license governs the pipeline and dataset themselves and is granted in addition to, and does not override or supersede, the Modification and Copyright Policy of Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive described above, which continues to apply to any use of Grand Theft Auto V and its assets.

Citation

Please cite our work if you use data from the GTAGeo dataset, generate new data using our pipeline, or modify our pipeline.

Synthetic Data Generation for Visual Geo-Localization using GTA V, presented at the 11th International Congress on Information and Communication Technology (ICICT 2026):

@inproceedings{skutsch_gtageo_2026,
	author = {Skutsch, Nicolai and Hellwich, Olaf and Fuchs-Kittowski, Frank},
	title = {Synthetic {Data} {Generation} for {Visual} {Geo}-{Localization} using {GTA} {V}},
	booktitle = {Proceedings of 11th {International} {Congress} on {Information} and {Communication} {Technology} ({ICICT} 2026)},
	volume = {2},
	publisher = {Springer},
	year = {2026}
}

No Mountain, no Building, no Cue? Synthetic Data Generation of Digital Surface Models and their Application to Visual Geo-Localization, presented at the 21st International Conference on Computer Vision Theory and Applications (VISAPP 2026):

@inproceedings{skutsch_gtadsm_2026,
	author = {Skutsch, Nicolai and Hellwich, Olaf and Fuchs-Kittowski, Frank},
	title = {No {Mountain}, no {Building}, no {Cue}? {Synthetic} {Data} {Generation} of {Digital} {Surface} {Models} and {Their} {Application} to {Visual} {Geo}-{Localization}},
	booktitle = {Proceedings of the 21st {International} {Conference} on {Computer} {Vision} {Theory} and {Applications} ({VISAPP} 2026)},
	volume = {2},
	pages = {743--751},
	isbn = {978-989-758-804-4},
	doi = {10.5220/0014487400004084},
	publisher = {SciTePress},
	year = {2026}
}

Footnotes

1. The DataGeneration.csproj already references ScriptHookVDotNet3.dll at its default installation path. If the path differs, open ProjectName/References/Add Reference... via the Solution Explorer, remove the existing reference, and browse for ScriptHookVDotNet3.dll in the installation directory of GTA V. Also ensure System.Drawing and System.Windows.Forms are added to the references. ↩