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Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V) is among the most popular videogames of all time. And for good reason. It’s a good game. It provides players with a plethora of options and its developer Rockstar Games has spent a lot of time adding new stuff to the online experience. However, some players want more and GTA has always been quite famous for its modding community.
It was no different for GTA V. Fans created a lot of single player mods for the game. Eventually they started modding the multiplayer experience, too. Playing a modded version of GTA is forbidden on the actual Rockstar servers as the company rightfully wants to keep an equal playing experience for everyone.
So, if you want to play a modded multiplayer version of GTA V, you have to use a third-party modded server. This is where FiveM comes in. Initially, they were frowned upon by Rockstar, but these days the company has accepted that FiveM will always be around. It’s still not allowed to play a modded version of GTA on Rockstar servers, but you will be fine playing it on FiveM.
What’s FiveM
FiveM started as a community project with a simple goal – to make it possible to play GTA V online with modifications. Originally, it was called Five Reborn, but then evolved into FiveM (M is for modifications). FiveM aims to bring maximum modding capabilities and supports various game modes, vehicles, weapons, scripts, server and world modifications and more. It also allows players to have a full experience both as a single player and in a multiplayer environment.
FiveM doesn’t modify the original game files and does not interact with Rockstar Online. So, you’re safe and won’t get banned. With that said, you must own the original GTA V in order to be able to run FiveM modifications. The FiveM launcher will verify that before it allows you to start the modded game.
Why use it instead of vanilla online
Simple – for the mods. The GTA modding community has always been very big, providing a lot of interesting projects. Anything from new cars, updated textures and better weapons to new missions, scripts and a lot more. If you love modded games, or want to experience your favorite game in a new light with friends, FiveM is your choice. It’s also popular for role play servers.
FiveM has been around for more than 5 years and is being developed a lot. FiveM doesn’t touch the original GTA V files, so you’re good on that front. But you will need a lot of extra disk space to accommodate all of the FiveM extra files and all of the mods you have or will add. It’s also good to have a powerful computer, which can run these mods, especially if they include new high-resolution textures.
FiveM server lists
With all that in mind, it’s no wonder why a lot of players search for FiveM server lists. And there are plenty of servers each with a different focus. Some are only for role play. Others are for races and new content. Some are for those who love chaos with crazy mods.
FiveM runs a relatively tight ship. It can ban servers from its network if they don’t follow the rules. Or if you try to run a server without a license. Yes, you do need a license if you want to run a FiveM server. The good news is that servers with up to 32 players are free, so you won’t have to pay anything. Servers for 33-64 players require a $15 monthly fee, while 65-128 players – $50. Important: even free servers need to have a license first.
How to make your own server
You don’t want to rely on others’ servers? Well, make your own one. It’s possible and allowed. You will need a computer to host it. It’s possible to use a cloud server or even a dedicated server. This way you will get great hardware, so there won’t be any issues when running the server for a lot of players. Also, if you opt for a cloud or dedicated server, you will enjoy the low latency, high-speed bandwidth of a top notch data center.
Creating a FiveM server will also add it to the official FiveM server list. This way players can find and join it. It’s a great way to find new friends who will enjoy the same mods as you do. Don’t try to make a profit from such a server, though. It can land you in hot water. The project is meant for fun. You can also run a private server with invited friends.
How much would that cost? Depending on your plans for the server, you can get a suitable cloud server for as little as about 18 EUR per month. As we established, the FiveM license is free for up to 32 players. The server won’t run the actual game, so something with about 4GB-8GB RAM would be enough for about 32 players. If you plan to play with less than 16 or even 10 players, you could get away with even less RAM and get an even cheaper cloud server.
It’s recommended that you use a Windows installation for your FiveM server. There’s also a Linux version, but it gets much less support, so any issues with it will be solved more slowly if at all.
You can set up a FiveM server relatively easy. The official walkthrough is available right here and it’s the best source for you.
Do note it’s very important that before you install the server, you register for a license key as per the guide. You will also need a public IP to do so. The initial registration will need this public IP to verify the server.
It’s also important that you install Visual C++ Redistributable 2019 or newer along with Git. Other than that, the whole process is quite straightforward. You can have the server up and running in around 10 minutes.
You will need another 10 minutes or so to set it up. This means creating the server admin user admin pass and choose a template. Then you add the license key and you’re done.
The next step would be to add the mods you want. As always, it’s a very good idea to create a complete backup copy of the installation folder of FiveM before you add mods. This way you will be able to quickly restore things if there’s an issue with а mod.
You add the mods and scripts into the Resources folder of your FiveM server files. Before that, delete the cache from the main folder. Then activate them in the citmp-server.yml file in the main folder of the server.
How to uninstall it
Sometimes FiveM can act up, be it because of a faulty mod or another problem. Uninstalling and re-installing everything can help.
Obviously, you can simply use the uninstall options Windows gives you. That’s the start. Some files can remain even after this. FiveM folders can remain or give an error that there’s something using them, so you can’t delete them.
Review what apps start along with Windows. You can do that via the Task Manager in the Startup tab. Remove any FiveM references if there are any. Then restart the system and try to delete the remaining files again. Another option would be to try by starting Windows in Safe Mode and deleting them through there.
And that’s about it. Setting up a FiveM server is easy, especially if you already have the experience of installing mods on GTA V. So, have fun!
If you are keen on building a Minecraft server, here is how:
Free fiveM host