Better4 is a THPS4 modpack that includes modern gameplay and QOL features while maintaining the look and feel of the original game.

Warning

Better4 is beta software and may contain bugs. See Known Issues.

Installation

First, verify THPS4 is installed. Download the latest GitHub release, unzip it, and run install.bat, selecting your Skate4.exe file when prompted. Alternatively, you may drag and drop Skate4.exe from your THPS4 game directory onto install.bat.

If you have an existing PARTYMOD-THPS4 installation, you may copy partymod.ini to better4.ini to reuse the same configuration. Alternatively, you may run better4config.exe and configure from scratch.

Better4 does not modify any vanilla game files. Any game data created by the installer is contained in **/better4/** subdirectories, which are only referenced when better4.exe is run.

Note

If THPS4 is installed to Program Files (or another directory which requires admin access to write files), you may have to run as admin for config changes to save. The installer script will prompt to re-run as admin if needed, but better4.exe and better4config.exe must be manually run as admin. This may be set persistently by right-clicking on the exe and going to Properties > Compatibility > Change settings for all users > Run this program as an administrator.

Features

Online

• Added NAT negotiation when connecting to servers (no more port forwarding!)
• Restored server browser, lobby user list, and peerchat from PS2
• Restored in-game player list from PS2
• Added observe UI, improved observing behavior
• Added chat commands (/obs, /set, /goto)
• Added "Restart Game" option to game ranking screen

Gameplay

Better4 ships with THPS4 vanilla controls, but may be configured to your liking. Here is a brief overview of all gameplay features added:

• Added left and right dropdown
• Added left and right manual spin
• Added PS2-exclusive manual float glitches (MFG, MQT, etc.)
• Added spacewalk
• Added wallpush
• Added pressure flips
• Added single-tap WalliePlants
• Added configuration for boneless trick (beanplant, fastplant, MikeV)
• Added toggles for:
  • Double revert after dropdown
  • Lip tricks
  • Rail spin
  • Wall spin
  • Wallride bail (enables THUG1 BP)
  • Stance change
• Restored unused animations:
  • Beni Fingerflip
  • Nollie 360 Flip
  • Kickflip to Indy
  • Kickflip to Crail
  • THPS3 specials (Handspring Layout, etc.)
• Made some tricks holdable:
  • Ollie North
  • Double Kickflip Varial Indy

Levels

Better4 ships with improvements to the original THPS4 levels (configurable by Misc > Updated Collision) and adds levels from other games.

• THPS
  • Warehouse
  • Skatepark
  • Streets
• THPS3
  • Rio
  • Airport
  • Los Angeles
• THPS4
  • Made more surfaces wallridable
  • Removed bottom-plane collisions in a few spots where a wallride makes the skater hit their head on a ledge above (e.g. slam bros warehouse in San Francisco)
  • Enabled Zoo teleport in multiplayer games; teleport is now two-way

CAS

• Restored hidden CAS items for pros, secret skaters, and neversoft devs
• Added X + Y + Z + XYZ sliders for all scales, widened scale range (0-200)
• Added board scales
• Unlocked full saturation/value range
• Added custom board types (banana, hoverboard, old school, ollie)
• Added various CAS items from other games (bunched cargos, zoom glasses)
• Added option to change CAS during gameplay (local-only)

Misc

• Added 12th special trick slot
• Added button to unassign trick in "Edit Tricks" menu
• Added configuration for buttons font (PS2, Xbox, PC)
• Added size customization for panel elements (trick string, score, chat, etc.)
• Added FOV configuration
• Added aspect ratio configuration
• Added toggle for pause-on-unfocus
• Added toggle for board scuff
• Added toggle for the main menu demo that plays after a period of inactivity

Known Issues

• Custom levels from other games do not support gaps, CTF, or level objects

Credits

A special thank you to the following people, without whom this project would not exist:

• @zedthps, @voss10, @1borgy, and @clairethps for their contributions
• @PARTYMANX for their work on partymod-thps4
• @DCxDemo for their work on THPSQScriptEd
• The folks at @GameProgressive for their work on UniSpySDK
• @denetii for their work on io_thps_scene
• @Peachboy for their work on various loading screens
• @Trekeln for their work on the Better4 logo
• @ILC-YTP for their work on THPS4-mods, specifically Faster-SaveLoad and Fix-Stutter
• @PunishedFiddle for their work on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 Gamepad Prompts
• @c4marilla for providing a 100% save file (cam100.CAR)

For Developers

Clone the Better4 repo with the --recurse-submodules option:

git clone --recurse-submodules git@github.com:better-4/Better4.git --config core.autocrlf=false --config core.eol=lf
cd Better4

Building with Docker

Using Docker is the easiest way to build Better4, as it automates the process of pulling build dependencies and building a release.

Install Docker Desktop, then verify the Docker Engine is running and run:

docker build -f Dockerfile --target export -o build/out .

Build artifacts will be exported to the build/out directory.