Director Mode is a gameplay mode introduced in the PC version of Grand Theft Auto V with the Rockstar Editor, and later added to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 with the Freemode Events Update, on 15 September, 2015.

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Description

The mode is accessible from the Rockstar Editor menu and the Interaction Menu. The player can also access Director Mode from a contact called Los Santos Talent on each protagonists mobile phone which immediately launches the player into Director Mode. After the Freemode Events Update, this contact was changed to Acting Up.

Director Mode is not available if the player is currently in a vehicle, wanted or active in a mission.

Accessing director mode via phone. Updated contact name.

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Casting Trailer Menu

Actors

In Director Mode, the player is able to select a single actor from 17 different categories to control in a customised free mode map.

Animals

Beach Bums

Costumes

Downtown

Emergency Services

Gangs

Heist Characters

Laborers

Military

Online Characters

Professionals

Special Characters

Sports

Story Characters

Transport

Uptown

Vagrants

Some actors are only available after being unlocked during Story Mode gameplay. The player will receive a HUD message indicating a character has been unlocked for use in director mode. When selecting the actor, there is an option to cycle through various outfits for most characters. Some of the NPC models can also be changed in this menu. If the actor is wearing a mask, or other face-obscuring accessories, they can not be removed once in the session.

Settings Menu

Setting Options Description/Effect Time of Day Midnight

Pre-Dawn

Dawn

Morning

Midday

Afternoon

Sunset

Dusk Sets the time of day in the game. Each time starts from a pre-defined hour (i.e. Midnight always starts at 00:00/12:00 AM). When accessed in-session from the Interaction Menu, additional options are available to freeze time and make manual fine adjustments. Weather Clear

Broken Cloud

Overcast

Hazy

Christmas (snow)

Smog

Fog

Rain

Thunder Sets the weather in the game. For players who do not participate in Online, it is the only way to experience snowy weather in Los Santos. Wanted Status Normal

Low

Medium

High

Disabled Sets the Wanted Level, from Normal (unwanted but usual rules will apply if the actor commits any crime) or pre-set to Low (2 stars), Medium (3 stars) or High (5 stars) or can be Disabled (no wanted level can be gained in the session). Note that players may continue to be be attacked by police, military and security guards if Disabled is chosen while they are in the midst of battle, or if attacked directly. First responders (fire, ambulance) will still arrive. Does not disable "good Samaritans" who may attack if they witness a crime. Pedestrian Density Normal

Low

Medium

High

None Sets the density of pedestrians in an area. Choosing "None" also eliminates non-flying animals. Vehicle Density Normal

Low

Medium

High

None Sets the traffic density. Choosing "None" also prevents parked vehicles from spawning, as well as aircraft and trains. Trailers, however, still spawn, as do the UFOs. Restricted Areas On/Off Enables/disables the restricted area status from all places. The player may still be attacked by Merryweather Security at the Los Santos Naval Port. Invincibility On/Off Enables/disables the invincibility cheat. Flaming Bullets On/Off Enables/disables flaming bullets cheat. Explosive Bullets On/Off Enables/disables explosive bullets cheat. Explosive Melee On/Off Enables/disables the explosive melee attacks cheat. Super Jump On/Off Enables/disables the super jump cheat. Slidey Cars On/Off Enables/disables the slidey land vehicles cheat. Low Gravity On/Off Enables/disables the low gravity cheat. Clear Area On/Off Removes all possible entities in the area, such as dead pedestrians or wrecked vehicles on settings change.

Note: entering certain areas will disable some of the set conditions. For example, entering a building or tunnel will disable super jump; low gravity will be cancelled if the character enters a body of water. If a player is armed when changing a setting, they will be disarmed afterwards, even in the midst of battle.

Shortlist Actors

Manage the list of up to 10 actors marked as shortlisted. The player can access these actors from within the Director Mode session without needing to return to the Casting Trailer. Attempting to add an 11th to the shortlist will warn the player that this will remove the first actor from the list.

Recently Used

A list of recently used actors.

Exit to Story Mode

Quits Rockstar Editor and returns to GTA V Story mode.

Enter Director Mode

Launches the actor into the map.

Gameplay Features and Limitations

There are no clothing stores or barber shops accessible in this mode.

Random events and minigames are not available, nor is hunting, the amusement park rides, or the movie theaters. The Mount Chiliad cable car is not functional.

Parachutes are not available to NPC characters, but can be used by the protagonists if chosen as actors.

Safehouses may be entered, however the Vanilla Unicorn may not. Mission-related structures cannot be entered but a number of buildings such as the Pacific Standard Public Deposit Bank, the meth lab, convenience stores and liquor stores may still be entered, though the latter two may not be robbed (in fact in Director Mode there are no cashiers present, though cash registers will still dispense money if shot or hit).

The Phone is only functional as a Snapmatic camera. It cannot be used to summon services. As a result, the Atomic Blimp and taxi rides are not available (though both still spawn, with taxis being hijackable).

The actors that have access to weapons will have all weapons unlocked by the player at whatever point in the storyline has been reached (regardless of whether the protagonists own them), with unlimited ammunition (weapons do have to be reloaded as normal, however, with the exception of the minigun). Ammu-Nation is not accessible and no weapons are scattered around the map, but new weapons can be collected from dead drops. Additionally, weapons do not have any finishes or attachments, except if a particular weapon has an attachment by default (any sniper rifle's scope being an obvious example, as well as the Combat PDW's integral suppressor).

Vehicle access is limited to whatever is spawned naturally although all actors can access whatever vehicles are stored in the storage garages of the Story Mode Protagonists (not including special vehicle menu content or the protagonists' default vehicles). Stored helicopters and watercraft are also accessible from the garage menu, but not jets or other airplanes. Vehicles stored in safehouse garages or parking spaces may also be accessed by going to the garage itself, though removing the vehicle may cause it to vanish from the in-game garage, too. This does allow the actors to access some special vehicles such as the Space Docker.

Los Santos Customs is not accessible, leaving the player with no option to customize cars (however existing customization to in-game stored vehicles remain). Only vehicles from storage garages can be repaired by respawning them.

The subway system may be ridden as normal.

Prostitutes still spawn in their customary locations at appropriate times of night, but may not be hired.

Points of interest marked by the player on the regular game map are retained in Director Mode's map.

All radio stations are available, however generic versions of Weazel News bulletins may play rather than story-specific updates.

If the invincibility cheat option is not enabled, the death of the actor will end the Director Mode session and return the player to the casting trailer. The same applies when the actor gets busted.

The Ghost of Mount Gordo still spawns between 11 p.m. and midnight, and the Thelma and Louise sequence also occurs. If 100% completion has been achieved in the main game, the UFOs will also appear.

First person view is only available if the three protagonists or personally created Online characters are chosen. Some characters are unable to operate vehicles or take cover. Animal characters, of course, are unable to do this as well, in addition to not being able to use weapons (though some have the ability to attack). "Invincibility mode" also does not apply to birds.

Members of The Lost MC will attack the player, regardless which actor is in use, if they approach The Lost MC Clubhouse in East Vinewood.

Locations on the game map will reflect the status of the storyline at the point Director Mode is activated. For example, if activated after completing The Wrap Up, the remains of a crashed helicopter will be visible at the Kortz Center. If activated immediately after The Paleto Score, and if the gas station across from the bank was destroyed, the station will still show damage for a time. Locations created for GTA Online (such as The Diamond Casino & Resort, Arcades, etc.) are not available; a notable exception is the Pacific Standard Public Deposit Bank in Vinewood which was made accessible in story mode when it was added to Online, likely due to the fact it doesn't trigger a loading sequence when entered.

Both Online Protagonists created by the player can be used as Actors. They will spawn wearing whatever clothing they had on the last time they were accessed in GTA Online; as with the story mode characters, they cannot change clothes within Director Mode. They will have access to the same array of weapons as the other Director Mode characters; Online-exclusive weapons such as the Up-n-Atomizer are not available. On the PS3/PS4, players can still use their Online Protagonists in Director Mode, even if they allow their Playstation Plus membership to lapse and cannot access Online itself.

Interaction Menu

While in the map and on foot, the interaction menu provides the player access to the following options:

Unavailable Characters

Notable major characters missing from the Actors list include:

Notable missing Strangers and Freaks/Random Events characters:

Bugs and Glitches

There's a glitch where attempting to enter Director Mode will cause the game to restart to the Prologue. Simply reload the game after the loading screen.

There is a minor glitch where if the active actor is any of the three story protagonists and is in first person mode, pulling up the phone will bring up the physical version of the phone and the virtual version on the phone at the same time.

Using the Freeze Time function within Director Mode and then returning to Story Mode by using Load Game from the Pause Menu rather than exiting from Director Mode will result in frozen time in Story Mode. Tested and confirmed on PC only.

Trivia