.VOL File Extension
Video Game Archive
| Developer | N/A |
| Popularity |
3.8 | 23 Votes |
What is a VOL file?
A VOL file is an archive used by various video games, including Tribes and Earth Siege 2, to store game data in a single, compressed package. It may contain textures, sounds, maps, models, scripts, and other assets needed by the game. Game developers use VOL files to organize and compress game resources, which helps reduce loading times and simplifies file management.
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No single developer standardized the VOL game archive format. Instead, several game development studios used and implemented the format in various forms during the 1990s and early 2000s. Most notably, it was used by Dynamix, a game studio under Sierra On-Line, in titles such as EarthSiege 2 and the Tribes series. Later, Planet Moon Studios used a variation of the format in Giants: Citizen Kabuto.
Each developer typically implemented a custom version of the VOL format tailored to their game engine's needs, so while the .vol file extension remained the same, the internal structure could differ significantly between games. As a result, VOL files from different games are often not interchangeable and may require game-specific tools to extract or modify.
How to open a VOL file
VOL files are not meant to be opened. Instead, the game packaged with the VOL file references it to load its contents.
However, players or modders sometimes extract the contents of a VOL file to modify or replace game assets. For example, you can use Dragon UnPACKer to unpack assets in VOL files in Windows. However, not all games using VOL files support modification, and editing these files may corrupt them.
Programs that open or reference VOL files
Volfs File System Directory
| Developer | N/A |
| Popularity |
3.2 | 6 Votes |
Directory in Mac OS X used as a mount point for the "volfs" file system, which supports the Carbon File Manager APIs on top of the standard BSD file system.
Programs that open VOL files
Gran Turismo Game Archive
| Developer | Polyphony Digital |
| Popularity |
3.7 | 3 Votes |
A VOL file may also be a game archive used by various games in the Gran Turismo racing series, including Gran Turismo 2 and 3. It contains resource files for the game, including music, sound effects, car models, and textures compressed with a proprietary compression method. Most Gran Turismo players will never encounter VOL files unless they attempt to extract files from the archives, alter them, and re-package them to modify gameplay.
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Polyphony Digital develops games in the Gran Turismo series, and Sony Interactive Entertainment distributes them. The games are only available for PlayStation systems (1-5 and Portable).
Since various versions of Gran Turismo use VOL files, the VOL format may differ slightly from game to game. For example, a VOL file packaged with Gran Turismo 2 differs from a VOL file packaged with Gran Turismo 5. Additionally, VOL files are typically large, often around 10 GB.
Common VOL Filenames
GT.vol - Common name for the VOL archive included with various versions of Gran Turismo, including version 5.
How to open a VOL file
You should not attempt to open VOL files. Instead, the Gran Turismo game references the VOL file to load the resource files in the archive for gameplay purposes.
However, game modders may use tools to extract resource files from VOL files, alter them, and then re-package them with the game. For example, GTVolTools is a popular modding tool for extracting VOL files from various Gran Turismo versions, including Gran Turismo 2, 2000, and 3.