GTA:Starter Guide
CLICK HERE for fixes to common issues/bugs, CLICK HERE for FAQ's
Getting Started
Create Your Character
Now that you’ve installed FiveM and have connected to the server you will have the option to setup your first character. If you haven't got this far yet, take a look at the Installing FiveM Guide first.
You can have multiple characters, all with different backstories, jobs and bank accounts.
You are now ready to go and explore Los Santos, but before you do that make sure to read the rules.
Initial Interactions
You will initially complete a tutorial in Sandy Shores, where you will will find yourself waking up in a trailer home. You're given a car, a key for it and a repair kit at this point to help you get going into the city.
There are similar locals at most job sites around the city that can give you useful information Look for a whiteboard or a person standing about. You can call a taxi (using your phone by pressing F2), or use one of the many Boris Bikes marked on the map. The majority of the players hang around some key areas - for example Legion Square and the gang turfs. Head here to find other players to RP with.
Mission Row Police Station is worth making a note of as its where you'll have the best chance of finding a police officer to report a crime or just ask a question. Pillbox Hospital is also worth remembering for when you or a friend require some medical assistance.
It's also worth creating a Tweedle account in the F2 phone so you can interact with other players in-character to ask questions or just chat. You can also ask people for their phone numbers and build up your contacts.
Make Some Money
You have a couple of options starting off. You can try get yourself a car and do some Food Deliveries, located next to Vespucci Station. Alternatively you can head off to the mineshaft and get mining, quite hard labour but pays well.
If you’re not one for labour-intensive jobs you can buy a mechanic, taxi or commercial delivery license at the City Hall. With one of those licenses in your wallet you can start earning some real money.
Find more jobs at the bottom of the GTA Wiki homepage.
What's Next?
So you now know your way around and you’ve made some money. What now? There is a long list of opportunities available to you on San Andreas with some of them being:
- Join the LS Police
- Join the LS NHS
- Join a Gang or Business
- Become a Solicitor or Judge
- Play at the Casino
Setting up Evidence Capture
For the most part, you will have a positive experience playing on the RPUK server. Unfortunately, there are rare occasions where you may have your progress impacted by a game bug or you may become victim to someone breaking the server rules. RPUK staff can consider compensation in the right circumstances for any loss due to a bug or when victim to a rule breaker. To ensure fairness, staff request evidence when submitting these reports so there is a transparent view of the situation. This is best being a video of the incident and, especially with regards to player reports, a few minutes leading up to the incident so context of the overall situation is clearer for staff to review.
It maybe worth becoming familiar with the process when it comes to reporting players or seeking compensation;
It should be noted that any compensation request as a result of someone breaking server rules must be completed AFTER the player report has been reviewed and processed by RPUK staff.
Video Capture Solutions
You do not need to record continuously as this would likely fill your hard drive up pretty quickly, however there are solutions to have a 'buffer'; that is a period of time where you are recording but only when you press a hotkey does that clip save, otherwise it is not saved. This allows you to 'clip' incidents that you may require as evidence and can then trim (if required) and upload to a video host (such as YouTube).
Nvidia ShadowPlay
If you have a Nvidia GPU then you may already have the software installed through the GeForce Experience. This captures the video through your graphics card and may have less of a performance impact compared to other solutions. You will need to setup a hotkey and enable "Instant Replay". You will want to go into the settings (Default key to open the window is ALT + Z) and ensure that the length Instant Replay records is at least 5 minutes.
One point to note also is that you need to enable 'Desktop Capture' within the Privacy Control settings to record FiveM. Be aware that audio from outside of the game will also be recorded as a result and if you minimize the game some
OBS Studio / StreamLabs
Both of these are programs used to manage dynamic scenes for streaming and recording; taking inputs from games, displays, cameras, audio devices etc. Streamlabs OBS being slightly easier to use for the average streamer where as OBS Studio has some more complex features and a busier UI, generally. Both of these have the ability to record as well as stream. This requires a bit of setup to create a 'Scene' with a Game Capture or Display Capture option.
What you will also need to setup Instant Replay or Replay Buffer within the software settings and assign a hotkey so that you can save the recording going back so many minutes. Information on how to set this up is available for OBS Studio and Streamlabs.
Remember, test that both video and audio (that is the game and your voice) are recording correctly to avoid any frustration when the clip you wanted to record hasn't worked correctly.
Help and Support
Game Issues
Many game issues can usually be fixed by a quick Game Restart, You may face issues from disconnecting without quitting from the game.
Clear Game Cache
If you are still having issues you can try removing FiveM Cache. To do this:
1) Close FiveM
2) Browse to C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\FiveM\FiveM.app
3) Delete the folder called cache
4) Start FiveM & let it update
Alternatively / If that fails Google can be a lot of help or popping a message in Discord #gta-fivem-roleplay to see if a member of the community are able to assist.
Configure Voice Chat
In order to hear people you need to ensure that Voice Chat is set up properly. ESC > Settings > Voice Chat
Make sure 'Voice Chat' and 'Microphone' is Enabled, the Output and Input Device is correct and the Volume's are High enough. (If your game crashes on setting changes, try in SinglePlayer)
Key-binds:
- Press G to Change Voice Range (Displayed in Top Left). (Whisper, Normal, Shouting).
- Press N for Push to Talk (Can be changed in ESC > Settings > Key Bindings > GTA Online)
UI Issues (Windows Stuck Open etc)
The following commands can be used in the F8 console to reset different parts of the UI:
resetui
resetweaponwheel
openphone
openinventory
playermenu
gangmenu
pnc
Slow/Laggy UI
Some players may find that when any of the game UI's are open they find a drop in FPS or poor performance. One way to attempt to fix this is to toggle the "Enable NUI in-process GPU" setting within FiveM. This is found via the settings from the FiveM main menu and cannot be changed while on the server.
If it is currently enabled, try to disable it. If it is disabled, try to enable it as results on it's use will vary depending on your computer.
Vehicles Issues
Unlocking Cars
Sometimes the Vehicle will 'Unlock' but you are still unable to enter it. Try the following: Toggle between 'Locked' and 'Unlocked' Slowly waiting around 5 seconds between each press.
Missing Cars
If you have lost your vehicle (not returned it to a garage) then you can retrieve it at the Civillian Impound Lot or Police Impound Lot marked on the map. It could either have been picked up by your insurance or have been impounded by the Police. If you are still unable to locate your vehicle post a single message on Discord in #help, stating that you have lost your vehicle on FiveM, with the vehicle plate if possible. If you don't have it, your character name will be required.
Falling Through The Ground
This is an issue that occurs often due to a lack of memory on your computer (or at least runs out of memory for what GTA choses to utilise). If you find the floor or other textures become blurry or disappear, and you fall through it often then you should change your Texture Quality setting to Normal (or lower) in your GTA Settings.
If you are falling through the map you maybe able to prevent yourself falling indefinitely. If you are in a vehicle you should attempt to exit it. While falling press E in attempt to stop falling and be brought back up to the surface after a few seconds. If you have passengers in your vehicle they should also try to do so the same. If this does not rectify the problem you should disconnect, restart FiveM and reconnect where you should be placed either on the surface or at a location underground where a red circle will allow you to return.
Hearing Lots of Players Talking
All of the in-game voice chat is proximity based, or transmitted via a radio or on a phone call. Therefore, you should not hear the whole server as if they are standing next to you - but sometimes it can happen. There is a known issue with the Arctis SteelSeries headsets which if you have one, is likely the most common cause to this bug. See below.
If you do not have the headset then it is recommended you try turning Voice Chat off and back on again. To do this go to ESC > Settings > Voice Chat > Voice Chat Enabled - and toggle this off and back on after 20-30 seconds.
Arctis SteelSeries Headset Users
The SteelSeries software creates two output audio devices - 'Game' and 'Chat. GTA will pick one to use for the audio output. Quite often it will pick the 'Chat' one which is what causes the problem with everyone being heard, as this doesn't use a stereo channel (that is needed for the 3D positional sound).
To fix this press ESC > Settings > Voice Chat > Output Device > Change to the 'Game' SteelSeries device. You may have to toggle Voice Chat off and back on again for the change to take effect.
