Rockstar Games and Take-Two have not made themselves popular over the last few years when it comes to the modding community. Several scandals, such as the takedown of the beloved Liberty City Preservation mod, and reports of an unhealthy working environment within the FiveM team, have spoiled the scene. Developer Hypersonic wants to provide an alternative: HELIX, a modding platform based on Unreal Engine 5, being made “by modders, for modders.” The platform positions itself as the spiritual successor to FiveM and Garry’s Mod. “We always wanted to create an open platform of our own, where we can truly create and share anything we want, without being too dependent on existing game IP.”
Key features
A key feature of HELIX is its support for dedicated multiplayer servers. Users can create and host servers for any gamemode or map of their choice, allowing for significant flexibility and customization. Modders will also be able to create and build maps in real-time. In a move to attract FiveM talent to the platform, Karakot, the creator of QBcore, FiveM’s most widely used roleplay framework, which powers over 25,000 servers, has ported the framework to HELIX.
In the features overview trailer, Hypersonic highlights several key features. The game includes a fully customizable character creator, with support for modding in custom faces, clothes, and accessories. There is also a vault system, which allows you to download creations from other creators and upload your own. Cars are customizable in a similar fashion, allowing you to import any car you want and add as many parts as you desire. HELIX also supports an unlimited number of maps, as well as being enormous in size, with a 1:1 scale recreation of Manhattan already supported.
GTA Modders jump ships
The platform is being received positively by GTA modding community members such as Liberty City Preservation project lead Nkjellman, who states: “Rockstar’s worlds inspire the most creative minds, but the moment a mod hits critical mass, it’s like tripping an invisible wire—bam, cease and desist. With HELIX, we finally have a solid foundation we can safely modify, experiment with, and share without worrying it’ll all disappear overnight.” Rockstar Games community member Dark Space, who recently recreated a rumored GTA VI map within GTA V, before his video was taken down by Rockstar, states that HELIX prioritizes creators: “No takedowns—just support.”
Hypersonic Laboratories has raised over $11 million from major investors, including Play Ventures, Samsung Next, and AppWorks. The modding community hopes Hypersonic will manage to fill the void that FiveM created due to its limitations.
HELIX is currently in pre-alpha and coming out in closed-alpha soon. More information can be found at www.helixgame.com, stay tuned for our first impressions.
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