Installation

2 min readUpdated 2 weeks ago

Overview

ml_vehicle_persistence saves eligible parked vehicles with their mods, colors, fuel and damage. Saved records survive disconnects and restarts; the vehicle entity streams in when a player is nearby. With World Vehicles enabled, the first driver can claim an eligible unowned vehicle, subject to exclusions and the parking limit.

Quick Start

  1. Download from CFX Portal
  2. Extract to your resources folder as ml_vehicle_persistence
  3. Add to server.cfg:
server.cfg
1ensure oxmysql
2ensure ox_lib
3ensure ml_bridge
4ensure ml_vehicle_persistence
Load Order

ml_vehicle_persistence must start AFTER ml_bridge.

Database

The table is created automatically on first start. Existing installs are patched in place (missing columns are added on boot).

ml_vehicle_persistence: Stores each persisted vehicle: plate, owner, model, position, properties, fuel, damage

The SQL is also shipped in _INSTALL/schema.sql for manual creation.

Item Registration

All three items are optional. Register them in your inventory system for the features you enable:

  • vehicle_gps: Lists the owner's persisted and garaged vehicles and sets a waypoint. Requires Config.GpsItem
  • gps_scanner: Thief tool that locates and rips out a vehicle's GPS. Requires Config.GpsScanner.enabled
  • gps_module: Consumed by the owner to reinstall a removed GPS. Requires Config.GpsScanner.enabled

The definitions are in _INSTALL/items.lua. Set Config.GpsItem = false and Config.GpsScanner.enabled = false to skip them entirely.

Verify

After starting, the console prints the version banner. Once the table has rows, a restart also prints the load summary:

lua
1[ml_vehicle_persistence] loaded 12 persisted vehicles (0 already in world)
Server Artifact

The script needs SetEntityOrphanMode, otherwise the engine can cull spawned vehicles and they would leave persistence. A red console error on boot means the FXServer artifact is too old.

  • Vehicles not respawning after restart: confirm Config.PersistThroughRestart = true and that the database table has rows
  • Saved vehicles never appear near the player: raise Config.SpawnDistance or lower Config.ScanInterval; vehicles only spawn when a player is close
  • Claimed vehicles never appear: confirm Config.WorldVehicles.enabled = true and that the player sat in the driver seat
  • A script vehicle gets saved when it should not: call exports.ml_vehicle_persistence:DoNotSave(plate) from the spawning resource
  • An admin /dv brings the vehicle back: Config.RespawnOnExternalDelete is true; set it to false or route the delete through the hook
  • Nothing persists at all: enable Config.Debug = true and read the console gate messages. A red DATABASE WRITE TEST FAILED on boot means the table does not match