Garry's Mod gamemodes: Sandbox, TTT, DarkRP and more

Your Garry’s Mod server runs one gamemode at a time. Sandbox and Trouble in Terrorist Town come with the game. DarkRP, Prop Hunt and Murder come from the Steam Workshop. Set the gamemode and a map that suits it in Settings, and restart.

The gamemodes at a glance

The server uses the folder name, not the title you see in menus. For Workshop gamemodes, the folder name is usually in the item’s description. If it isn’t, ask the author.

How to set the gamemode and map

In Settings

1. Install the gamemode from Mods if it isn’t built in.
2. Add at least one map for it, from Mods or your Workshop collection.
3. In Settings, pick the gamemode and the map.
4. Restart the server.

In the Console

Switch without a full restart. Type the gamemode’s folder name, then change the map:

gamemode terrortown
changelevel ttt_mapname

The gamemode switches when the new map loads. To make it stick after restarts, set it in Settings too. The change map button in the Console works for maps.

As startup options

Under the hood, Settings writes these startup options:

+gamemode darkrp +map rp_mapname +maxplayers 32

Sandbox

The classic. Players spawn props, build with the Physics Gun and Tool Gun, and make whatever they like.

• Built in, with two maps: gm_construct and gm_flatgrass.
• Limits: props, NPCs, vehicles and more are limited per player with the sbox_max settings. See the sandbox limits.
• Good addons: an admin addon like ULX, and building tools from the Workshop.
• Lag: big builds mean heavy physics. Read the performance guide before raising limits.

Trouble in Terrorist Town

A round-based murder mystery. A few players are secretly traitors, detectives hunt them, and everyone else tries to survive.

• Built in as terrortown, but it needs ttt_ maps from the Workshop. Add them to your server, and they download to players when they join.
• Many TTT maps use Counter-Strike: Source textures. Players without it see purple squares. Pick maps that don’t need it, or tell players.
• Useful settings for server.cfg:

DarkRP

A roleplay gamemode: players pick jobs, earn money, buy property and roleplay a city.

• From the Workshop (item 248302805) or DarkRP’s GitHub page. Install it from Mods. Players download it on joining.
• Customise it with darkrpmodification. DarkRP’s developers say never to edit DarkRP’s own files. Jobs, shops and settings go in the separate darkrpmodification addon, uploaded to garrysmod/addons/.
• Data: money and jobs are saved in the server’s database, garrysmod/sv.db, which your backups include.
• Maps usually start with rp_, and many need Counter-Strike: Source textures.
• RAM: DarkRP servers tend to collect many addons. Start at 6 GB.

Prop Hunt

Hide and seek: props disguise themselves as objects on the map, and hunters search for them.

• From the Workshop. Several versions exist, so read the descriptions and pick one that’s kept up to date.
• Maps usually start with ph_, and some versions work on other maps too.
• Check the folder name in the description, often prop_hunt.

Murder

One player is the murderer, one has a gun, and everyone else collects clues and tries to survive.

• From the Workshop. Check the folder name in the description, often murder.
• Murder needs maps its author supports, because it places loot and clues on each map. The Workshop page lists them.

Switching gamemodes keeps your stuff

Changing the gamemode doesn’t delete anything. Addons, sv.db and your configs stay. Some addons only work in one gamemode, though, and throw Lua errors in others. If you run several gamemodes, keep a separate save for each in Games, so each has only the addons it needs.