GMod roleplay map types: DarkRP, SCP-RP, MilitaryRP and more

Roleplay maps in Garry's Mod differ mainly in which areas the game mode needs and where the engine reaches its limits. A DarkRP city lives on streets and ownable buildings, an SCP facility on sectors and doors, a MilitaryRP map on a base and open terrain. If you know the type, you know what to look for when choosing and buying.

The types at a glance

The names are used here only for the respective kind of roleplay server.

DarkRP: the city

DarkRP needs a city where jobs collide. What matters is a protected spawn, police department, bank, shops along walking routes and many buildings that can be owned and turned into bases. The size has to fit the player count, otherwise the city feels empty or overcrowded.

Technically the city is forgiving as long as it is built with corners. Blocks of houses limit the view, and the engine can leave out most of what lies behind the next corner. Long straight streets, large squares and accessible rooftops are difficult, and player props add load that no test on an empty map shows. The selection criteria in detail are in how to choose a DarkRP map.

SchoolRP: one building with many rooms

SchoolRP takes place mostly in a single large building. It needs enough classrooms for parallel lessons, corridors, a cafeteria, a gym, a staff room, a schoolyard and often apartments or a small surrounding area for the time after class.

The traps are long straight corridors with many open doors leading into them, and stairwells across all floors. Every door is an entity, and with many rooms that adds up. Good maps separate wings and floors so that the whole building is never visible at once.

SCP-RP: the facility

SCP-RP requires a branching facility with clearly separated sectors of different security levels, cells for the individual objects, checkpoints, offices, quarters for the test subjects and usually a surface area. Gameplay depends on doors, airlocks and access control.

That leads to the typical problems:

• Many entities: doors, buttons, sounds and logic add up quickly. The engine has an upper limit for entities, and a very full map leaves little room for what is added during play.
• Switchable lights: alarm lights and blackouts look good. But every switchable light source creates additional lighting data, and only a limited number of them is possible per surface.
• Compatibility: access systems with keycards often depend on the map's buttons and doors. Ask whether the map was tested with the system you use.

For visibility, facilities have an advantage: corridors and doors separate the areas well.

MilitaryRP: base and outdoor terrain

MilitaryRP needs a base with barracks, an armoury, a parade ground, a command centre, a vehicle hall and training facilities such as a shooting range and an obstacle course. Add terrain for missions, often with a second base for the opposing side.

Open terrain is the hardest environment for the Source engine. Hills made of displacements block the player's view but do not limit what the engine renders. Without buildings or other solid world geometry as view blockers, almost everything is visible to the engine all the time. On top of that, the space of a map is limited. Wide landscape on the horizon is therefore shown through a 3D skybox and cannot be walked on. If your server uses vehicles or aircraft, check whether roads, gates and the height of the sky are sufficient. Background is in optimizing GMod map performance and the 3D skybox guide.

Star Wars RP and HogwartsRP: sets with lots of content

Both types recreate a familiar setting. For Star Wars RP that is usually a ship or a base with hangar, bridge, briefing rooms, quarters, cells and training rooms. HogwartsRP takes place in a castle with a great hall, classrooms, common rooms, towers and grounds.

They share two points. First, very large rooms such as a hangar or hall, where everything is visible at once and many players gather during events. Second, a lot of custom textures and models, which makes the download large. Check whether the content is packed into the BSP or has to be distributed as a separate package.

What to look for when buying

Regardless of type, the same questions help:

1. Which games or content packs does the map require?
2. How large is the file, and how does it reach the players?
3. What player count is the map intended for, and have you tested the critical spots yourself?
4. Is there an admin room and are there enough spawn points?
5. Are a navmesh or AI nodes present if you use NPCs?
6. What does the license allow regarding number of servers, changes and distribution?
7. Is there a version history and a reachable mapper?

Maps sorted by game mode are listed in the categories. General advice on buying is in buying GMod maps safely.

FAQ

Can I use a DarkRP map for a different RP type?

Technically yes, a map loads in any game mode. In practice the areas the mode needs are missing, such as classrooms or barracks. Props can add some, but they do not replace a suitable layout.

Which map type is hardest on performance?

Maps with wide open terrain, so mainly MilitaryRP. Visibility is hardest to limit there. Interior maps such as facilities have an advantage in visibility but tend to struggle with the number of entities instead.

Does the file size say anything about the size of the map?

Hardly. File size is largely determined by packed content and lighting data. A small map with many custom textures can be larger than a sprawling map that only uses standard content.

Do I need custom content for every RP type?

Not necessarily, but often. Cities frequently get by with the content GMod ships itself. Since the July 2025 update that includes most Counter-Strike: Source content. Set-piece maps with their own style almost always bring their own textures and models.