Help GTA V updated and now LSPDFR doesn't work!

With the ever increasing number of threads being made and the number of repeats we all have to make about Rockstar I figured it would be beneficial for you all to have a pinned thread on avoiding updates along with some useful information for you all.

Important Notices:
This is verified to work with the STEAM edition of GTA V, I cannot verify that it will also work with the RGSC edition, however if users report that it works I will update this thread to suit the requirements.

Do not upload or copy links to downloads containing the backup files, as we do not condone sharing the original game files.

Modding will always be broken by official updates. this is not just a Rockstar thing, this applies to any game that gets a new update. Cities: Skylines for example has native mod support through Steam workshop, but those mods get broken and require updating whenever Colossal Order (the developers) release an update.
Here is what they have to say on the matter:

And here is what Rockstar says on the matter:

So lets take a minute out of our time to not whine, complain, shout at and otherwise slander Rockstar for updating their game just because it slightly inconveniences you. If you had made backups you wouldn't be in any position to need to slander them. We're all getting tired of reading and responding to the same select posts "Rockstar sucks, they released a stupid update I don't care about". Let's just stop. Please?

With that over with, let's get onto....

The Guide Part 1 - Making a Backup:

It's no surprise that the title updates appear to be unavoidable in some regards. On Steam the launcher often forces you to update before you can play, I suspect this is similar for the RGSC edition. But fortunately it's possible to trick Steam (and possibly RGSC) into thinking it has updated, and as such that is the big secret about this guide.

1) Create a folder in your GTA V directory or in a preferred location (to avoid any possible chance of accidentally removing the files, I recommend making the backup outside of the directory)

2) Name this folder "GTAVBackup" or something similar so you know EXACTLY what this folder contains.

3) Take careful note of what patch you are currently on, this is best found via the RagePluginHook.log file, I'll show you what you're looking for:

Spoiler

Scroll down to the bottom of the log (most recent logged activity usually) and then slowly scroll up until you find the beginning of your last modded game session, it will look like this:
Product Version: 1.0.393.2"

Spoiler

4) Copy the GTA5.exe, GTAVLauncher.exe into the folder you created before (these are both located in the root of your GTA V directory)

5) Now go into Grand Theft Auto V / update / and copy the update.rpf file into the backup folder.

6) Congratulations you've just made a backup of the latest patch.
 

Now how do we stop GTA V updating?...

The Guide Part 2 - Avoiding the Update
Now as I mentioned earlier it is not actually possible to 100% avoid the update. But you can trick Steam and possibly RGSC into thinking it has updated.

1) Open your GTA V commandline file (called commandline.txt) and add the following to it "-scOfflineOnly" (without the quotes), this will force GTA V to load social club in offline mode (and therefore boot straight into singleplayer) NOTE: You must have loaded GTA V at least once to let it authorise your account before using offline mode.

2) Let GTA V update. CRAZY!? RIGHT? I know but there is method in the madness. Let it update to the latest patch version.

3) Here comes the magic, once the game has updated....guess what you do with those files we backed up in part 1? Yes, you replace the new files in your GTA V directory with the ones from your backup folder.

4) Launch the game and voila you've just gone backwards by a patch version. Your mods should now continue to work fine.

 

Keeping Track of Updates
Now that you know how to go backwards by a patch you also know how to manage your game versions. Or do you? You see while mods will all continue to work on the previous patch we will always strive to bring our mods up to date and in line with the latest patches so that you can keep enjoying them. Meaning they soon become outdated.

Keep an eye on all information possible, the main places to go to are:
• This forum (see the top of the website for important information).
• GTAForums thread for ScriptHookV (and Alexander Blade's development website)
• RagePluginHook website
• Rockstar Games website

Make your backup at the start of a patch when mods are all working again, as this is probably the point you want to go back to when an update occurs. Do not replace your backup files immediately. Only replace them when you KNOW mods work on that patch. And if you have the disk space, feel free to keep multiple backups.

 

Updated Information! - Reverting Game Version 757 to 678

Special thanks to all users who discovered this, and to MulleDK for the tutorial video that can be found at the top of the home page, or here.
In order to revert this game version you are required to backdate your Social Club Launcher application as well, failure to do so results in "error 16".

Follow the steps of the full guide as per usual, replacing the updated game files with the backed up old version (678). When you try to launch the game now you will received an error 16 launch failure.

1) Uninstall all traces of the Social Club application
2) Install the corresponding patch release for the Social Club launcher. This can be found direct from Rockstar's website here http://patches.rockstargames.com/prod/socialclub/Social-Club-v1.1.7.8-Setup.exe

3) Launch the game and enjoy your mods

Brilliant stuff; almost managed to follow these steps during last patch, but still somehow GTA V updated! Now I can delete my notepad file with these steps and reference this thread. Thanks!

Edited July 21, 201510 yr by luminouscarcass

Eh, Luke, you got one thing wrong in that guide. The developer of Cities: Skylines is Colossal Order. Paradox is simply the publisher for the game.

I'm going to have a Updates Backup folder that just stores ever version of them so I can go back, if needed.

Eh, Luke, you got one thing wrong in that guide. The developer of Cities: Skylines is Colossal Order. Paradox is simply the publisher for the game.

I knew that....You saw nothing...

Nice, easy to follow guide.

If you have steam version , you just need to disable auto-update and open steam at offline mode , and you are good to go ! 

If you have steam version , you just need to disable auto-update and open steam at offline mode , and you are good to go ! 

I've seen screenshots that showed that you can't disable Steam's auto-update for GTA5. Disabling your internet connection for a second, starting Steam and select offline mode (and then enabling your connection again) could work though.

I'm guessing there's no way to rollback once an update has been applied?

I've seen screenshots that showed that you can't disable Steam's auto-update for GTA5. Disabling your internet connection for a second, starting Steam and select offline mode (and then enabling your connection again) could work though.

But i am okay even i only make steam offline 

Edited July 21, 201510 yr by Claymmorez

I've seen screenshots that showed that you can't disable Steam's auto-update for GTA5. Disabling your internet connection for a second, starting Steam and select offline mode (and then enabling your connection again) could work though.

Correct Steams best option for disabling automatic updates of GTA V is "Update only when I launch the game" which of course solves nothing.

I'm guessing there's no way to rollback once an update has been applied?

That's the whole purpose of this guide? If you haven't made a backup then no you can't roll back.

But i am okay even i only make steam offline 

Yes if you put Steam in offline mode it can't update, however GTA may still complain it can't update and refuse to run the game.

I can't find the "commandline.txt" where is it please ?

Thank you!

I can't find the "commandline.txt" where is it please ?

Thank you!

You make it.

I can't find the "commandline.txt" where is it please ?

Thank you!

If it isn't in your GTA V directory then just create it.

I must create it and just write "-scOfflineOnly" ?

If you wanna play this without updating your GTA and you have the Disk version.

Do what he does in this video, just use your GTA5 files instead and be sure to remove those rules when you wanna update your GTA again.

I did this and you can then play in Offline mode on GTA5 Disk version.

 

Does this override Rockstar's licensing mechanism?

Yes, my copy of the game is legal, albeit the retail version. (Should have just bought the Steam version...but retail was 25% off...)

But what I mean is, I used to run v372 with my laptop's network adapters disabled, so that GTA V would let me launch it in Offline Mode. But after a while, GTA V wanted to "phone home" for a license activation check. At which point, it FORCED me to update. I couldn't cancel the update and launch again in Offline Mode, it would cry again about an activation check. Although I think that might have been because it downloaded the v393.2 EXE so quickly, the versions between each of the files didn't match up.

I believe I took a backup before letting it do the activation check, but now that 393.4 is out, I doubt I'll roll all the way back to 372.

Since your solution isn't tested on the retail version, I'll give this a try once the new RAGE Plugin Hook is out for v393.4.

But what I mean is, I used to run v372 with my laptop's network adapters disabled, so that GTA V would let me launch it in Offline Mode. But after a while, GTA V wanted to "phone home" for a license activation check. At which point, it FORCED me to update. I couldn't cancel the update and launch again in Offline Mode, it would cry again about an activation check. Although I think that might have been because it downloaded the v393.2 EXE so quickly, the versions between each of the files didn't match up.

Yes, the game will occasionally need to connect to the Internet for verification. This is stated in the "Additional Notes" section of the requirements on Steam, and probably the same on Rockstar's website:

 internet connection required for activation, online play, and periodic entitlement verification

If the game updates again during this verification, then just follow the same steps again.

Also, at least for the non-Steam version, all is not lost when the game starts to download an update. It actually downloads an .exe to your temp folder in AppData, then runs that .exe when it is done downloading. Nothing is changed to your game directory until it actually runs that .exe. So, if the game starts updating, pause the download and make a backup of the files, then continue the download.

Edited July 21, 201510 yr by willpv23

Rage Plugin Hook - Open Alpha - 0.18.641.4074 has been released! Support for v393.4 =)

This was very helpful, Thanks LukeD!