Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most prominent titles introduced in the past decade. Rockstar's uber-popular GTA franchise has sold over 355 million copies to date, and GTA V accounts for almost half of these sales. Although it has been eight and a half years since its initial release, the game continues to draw in new players, and its modding community is at its peak.
With hundreds of GTA V mods now available for download, it is easy to get lost browsing for the ones that improve various gameplay aspects, especially given that most of them are purely cosmetic. While Rockstar is not overly enthusiastic about third-party modding, the company remains neutral so long as the mods stay within the single-player campaign and do not affect the online experience. Players looking to track down and install any given GTA V mod should know that the process is not as cut-and-dried as with other games. Before they give the following five mods a trial run, they should first consider installing both Script Hook V and LUA Plugin.
VisualV For GTA V Aesthetics
GTA V was a state-of-the-art game when it was first released, but with time, its graphics have become subpar when compared to some of the later releases. While Rockstar is diligent in addressing graphical improvements on the newer generation of home consoles, PC owners are practically left to their own devices.
The VisualV mod brings the players a graphical overhaul of the game and reworks the existing weather effects while improving color correction and ensuring smoother rendering. It breathes life into Los Santos and Blaine County with its own ReShade and ENB presets, along with a heat haze exclusive to the mod. Players can expect to see increased draw distance, advanced motion blur, procedural shadows, realistic planetary and atmospheric representations, as well as compatibility with other mods and the latest DLC Story, The Contract.
FPS Booster For GTA V Speed
Regardless of how powerful a computing device is, a lack of proper optimization can result in inconsistent framerates. That said, engine limitations are also responsible for frame stuttering and unwarranted lag. This applies even more so if the game is pushing its limits by having a lot of things going on at once.
FPS Booster is a mod that helps players get a better framerate during their time with GTA V. It is user-friendly and can be utilized on any computer, regardless of its hardware specifications. The mod also includes an XML file with adjusted settings and additional documents to ensure its compatibility with lower-end devices. Players can run the mod in Online mode, as it does not modify the game's native files and merely sets the client priority to High while stopping idle services or programs that put a heavy load on the CPU.
Real California Architecture For GTA V Authenticity
With a large exploration area of 75.84 square kilometers in total, GTA V boasts the biggest map in the entire franchise. Like many games that mimic a real-life setting, GTA V does not include actual landmarks or architecture from the city the game was based on. While most developers who endorse imitations base their decision on intellectual property rights, others often choose quirky assets for comic relief instead.
The Real California Architecture mod does exactly as its name suggests. Aside from roadside and streetside props, it replaces Los Santos' version of freeway and billboard signs with the ones found in LA. The mod also adds a slew of real-life architectural highlights, such as the Griffith Observatory, Hollywood Wax Museum, US Bank Tower and Westin Bonaventure Hotel, to name a few. Since the newly added models are based on the existing in-game assets, they are optimized like the originals and will not cause a framerate drop. However, this mod is incompatible with other Billboard altering mods.
Better Chases+ For GTA V Vehicular Adventures
The GTA franchise is known for its wonky AI, although its effects were more noticeable in older entries. Nevertheless, the latest mainline installment has its fair share of humorous instances where AI fails to deliver. More often than not, authorities' efforts to follow up on crime and adequately respond to chases are usually affected by these shortcomings as well.
Better Chases+ offers a new solution to the community's response to inadequate police AI and improves on the performance of its predecessors, Better Chases and Arrest Warrants mods. It enhances the effects of the Wanted Level by turning it into a progressive system with extensive customization while seamlessly incorporating Arrest Warrants into the gameplay and allowing room for a more realistic and proportional police response. Although the mod makes the existing police aggression controllable, the AI feedback will sometimes result in the police using a stun gun on players rather than arresting them, even when they reach higher Wanted Levels.
Realistic Driving V For GTA V Cruising
Players familiar with action-packed racing games have a common pet peeve related to the game's representation of driving physics. Many developers opt-out of a realistic approach to smoothen the learning curve and contribute to a better player experience. However, for those into more realistic driving experiences, the achieved outcome is often the opposite.
Realistic Driving V is a successor to the popular GTA IV driving mod. It addresses and reworks the untethered in-game driving physics, making them feel and appear as realistic as possible. The revamped driving physics are created for each vehicle individually and improve the handling of 357 automobile models in total. The mod aims to enhance the driving experience of cars that came with the base game, but it also supports several lines of vehicles available as DLC. On the other hand, players may experience rougher car handling if they try using the mod with unsupported custom vehicles.