GTA 5 Updates FAQ - Need To Know
These are the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that go along with the article What you need to do for the next GTA update.
Can I stop the update? No you can't, unless you go offline, and even then your game might not run in SP (Single Player) offline due to the stupidities of R*. There are hacks such as emulators and launcher bypass mods although most are outdated.
Do I need to backup my trainer, scripts folder, my dlcpacks, and any other files due to this update? No. You should backup your files anyway, but the update will not overwrite your files. The only files you need to backup are the executable ones in the root folder and update.rpf.
Do I need to backup update.rpf from the game/root folder too? No, you don't but it's not a bad idea. It is the update.rpf from the mods folder that determines what addons will load and it contains your gameconfig.
Will the update overwrite, replace, or delete any of my mod files? No, none. Only files overwritten will be those from original game. Your mods folder will not be touched. If you installed addons or did replaces in your game folders you will lose those mods.
Will I need to update SHVDN? No. SHVDN only relies on SHV, so this is highly unlikely and would be mod specific.
Will I need to update gameconfig.xml and similar files? Based on past updates, this is usually the case.
Will I need to update vehicle, ped, wea_pon addons? Possibly, but unlikely.
Will I need to update missions or script mods? Maybe, likely.
Will I need to update OpenIV. Nope.
Will I need to reinstall certain mods? Yes, possibly, but unlikely for entities (peds, vehicles, props, objects). It is very possible also, as was the case for the Los Santos Tuner update, that you will need a new gameconfig.xml mod. However, if you made changes directly in your game folders (for example replaces or addons) than you will lose those because while the game doesn't overwrite personal or your mods folder, it will definitely overwrite and restore the game files and folders.
What about files like x64v.rpf which have player customizations, do I need to back them up? Not a bad idea, but up until now, only the game's Update folder has been changed along with the .exes. So you might want to backup files where you used an OIV, replaces, etc. Up to you. In other words, you might want to back up any files or packages (rpf) where you have made customizations. Obviously you can reinstall all mods but you don't want to lose files where you changed textures for example. Again, just to be clear none of the files in your mods folder, including x64v.rpf, will be overwritten or deleted by the update.
Notes on Update.rpf package
This package contains important files like your dlclist.xml. You don't want to lose this information. Do you really need to copy over the new Update folder from the game to your Mods folder? Yes, if you want to have access to the new DLC in SP. This is not mandatory but it is recommended. WARNING: don't copy the new Update (from OpenIV or manually) over unless you have backed up the Mods version of Update.rpf (or extracted key files). More to come on this after the update. Even if you forget to do this you can recover information from the backedup mods version of Update.rpf simply by renaming it and adding it back with OpenIV.
What exactly is in my Mods Folder anyway?
- X64v.rpf and similar X64.rpf files - don't need any attention after an update. These files are actually optional but is frequently used to make to changes to replace vehicles, clothes, textures, and game peds such as Michael, Trevor, and Franklin, etc. Again, good practice to backup any files you have modified.
- Update Folder: Contains X64 folder and Update.rpf. Mandatory.
2.1. X64 folder contains your DLCpacks folder with the majority of your addon mods (maps, peds, vehicles, etc). Will not be impacted by update but should be backedup regularly. Mandatory.
2.2. Update.rpf. Very important package to backup. If you prefer you can extract key files from OpenIV to use as backups. Most of the changes you make will be in the common/data folder of this package, it includes the file dlclist.xml with your addons. Mandatory.bolded text
Remember: GTA5 updates only impact original game files. So if you're using a Mods folder none of your files will be impacted. Same for your trainer and ASI files in your root folder. Same for your scripts and dll files in your Scripts folder.
ScriptHookV.dll however will not work with the new update because it does a version check and some of the native functions may have changed (add, deletes, modify) as well. This is why we need to keep our old game with our old ScriptHookV.dll until a new one is released. At that point we can do a verify integrity which will force an update again on Steam at least.
