There is now four months to go until GTA VI is finally released. To lead into that month of November, I’m taking a look back at GTA V. In May, I took a look at the many updates that GTA V Online has had over the years. Remembering back to the good times of those early days of it releasing on PC. The one part of those updates I didn’t cover were the races. It just makes a whole lot of sense to look at those during Racing Month, after all.

And with the races also comes the creator, which mostly focused on races. Until recently. Those early days of GTA V Online on the PC were filled with races. Back then, they were a lot more basic. Props consisted of ground-based items such as fences, boxes, and containers. Such props weren’t meant to be used to create loops and wallrides, yet people did so anyway. And on PC, that became a whole lot easier.

It was on seeing some of those races, such as the video that got me into the Yogscast, that made me want GTA V. Get into Online and enjoy the chaos that such races brought. Back then, lobbies filled, so getting that chaos going wasn’t ever an issue. People wanted GTA mode more than standard racing, since it allowed further chaos with weapons. Whether that be the rockets and boosts placed as tokens on the track, or a person’s own weapons.

While the races I created were never prop heavy, I utilised areas of Southern San Andreas that would make for entertaining races. Such as the dirt roads of the canyon. A race around Mount Chiliad on its vastly difficult terrain having first used its dirt paths to go up to the top and then back down. Even one travelling along the beach, from the airport up to the very north of the map.

Whether the races were Rockstars, my own, or the creations of others, I greatly enjoyed that side of GTA V Online the most. I’d soon be enjoying a lot more races, as the first racing focused update arrived in 2016. Cunning Stunts let races officially leave the confines of the map with new track piece props, tubes, ramps, and regular platforms. The tracks that Rockstar had built with all that were great fun. Offering a lot of variety and theming that standard races couldn’t.

Of course, all these new props meant creations could truly get wild, so I was ready for the creator to be updated so I could utilise them. Out of all the racing themed updates, this was the one I was most excited by. Not just from it being the first, but the freedom it offered. Transfers between roads that didn’t exist. Taking things to the skies. Even driving over water. This was the update that allowed all the later ones to exist.

In the first quarter of 2017, Special Vehicle Circuit added new props but also new races for the Rocket Voltic, Blazer Aqua, and Ruiner 2000. A car with a rocket, an ATV that also worked as a jet ski, and a car that came equipped with a jump button and a parachute. The Ruiner became a favourite of mine, with me creating a race over rooftops for it when these races were added to the creator.

Another exciting addition to races were the Transform Races that came with Smuggler’s Run. Special checkpoints were added that transformed a player into another vehicle, allowing for races across land, sea, and air in the appropriate vehicles. It was also possible to let players go on-foot, allowing for some parachuting to also be part of these races. Which I took full advantage of with another of my Mount Chiliad races.

2018 saw Hotring Circuits added, which simply used the stunt props to create some oval and figure-8 tracks for a specific type of car to race on. I didn’t really touch those. And nor did I the race that was part of Arena Wars. This arena race was all about fighting for first, avoiding the traps or pushing others into them. Surviving until the line was crossed. I never really found lobbies having moved to the Xbox version, though it’s possible I wasn’t really looking. Intent as I was on building everything back up having left PC.

With Open Wheel Racing arriving in 2020 as part of the Diamond Casino Heist update, I felt like another new race mode had been made for me. This F1-like mode had body damage and tyre wear, with pit stops able to reset both to full health. Along with changing the grade of tyre. And it seemed people did enjoy this addition, as I did find some people in lobbies. Even if not everyone kept to clean racing.

Those open wheel races felt like the last major racing addition, despite more coming across the years. RC Bandito races put players in control of remote-controlled toy cars. Issi Classic races felt similar to Hotring Circuit ones. The Los Santos Tuners update attempted to make things more Need For Speed-like, with racers being hounded by cops that grew in difficulty the closer to finishing.

New props and other changes would keep coming to the creator, while new tracks continued to be made by the community. During my short stint of streaming, I even showed off quite a few of them. Including ones themed around Halloween and Christmas. Of course, I would also continue to create my own. Even doing so while streaming, once.

But no matter the race type, I was now solely a solo racer. Simply enjoying the tracks that Rockstar, myself, and others had created with nothing to focus on but the track itself. Sometimes I would try to see if I could get a lobby going with a race or a playlist. Though all to often I would be sat waiting, remembering the good times of old when lobbies filled fast and chaotic times were had.

Ending things off, it wasn’t just races that the creator allowed to be made. Team Deathmatches, Capture, and Last Team Standing were also a thing, which brought about many creative modes that players would create. Snipers vs Stunters and all its various forms. Sumo. Obstacles courses. Back in the early days, these would also be a lot of fun to take part in, despite how unbalanced they could be.

The additions and changes to the creator allowed for such modes to get even crazier, with the likes of bowling and racers vs aircraft. Of course, much like with any team-based mode, I only ever experienced them through videos of others playing them. They looked to be great fun. Of course, there was one other thing that came to the creator which no-one could have expected. Mission creator.

Released last year with Safehouse in the Hills, anyone could now create a mission. The full range of options existed to make them, with simple objectives to help craft them. Go to a location. Collect something or someone. Protect. Destroy. Chase. There’s so much to it, including placing people who could be friend or foe. Making things interactable. Of course, I’ve not made one myself, so I have no idea how easy it truly is. But those I’ve played from others have been fun.

The mission creator does strike me as an odd inclusion. Not because of what it is, but what it represents for the future. For the last few years, it has felt like GTA V Online has been a testing ground for features for a future game. Such as with the many odd jobs such as pizza delivery. Which means, whatever form GTA VI’s online mode takes, I’m sure it will be another great one that keeps content creation at its fore.

Images Taken From:
GTA 5 Online – Biking On Water (Ragequit Races) | The Yogscast
GTA V | Xbox Series S
The dumbest, lamest, slowest, most boring dog fight in GTA 5! | The Yogscast