Adding real recoil to FiveM weapons

#How scripted recoil works

The game tells you each frame whether the ped fired (IsPedShooting). When it did, you tilt the gameplay camera up by a small amount. Because the bullet goes where the camera points, the next shot lands higher unless the player pulls down — which is recoil control.

#A clean recoil script

local KICK = {
    [`WEAPON_PISTOL`]         = 0.35,
    [`WEAPON_COMBATPISTOL`]   = 0.40,
    [`WEAPON_PISTOL50`]       = 0.90,
    [`WEAPON_SMG`]            = 0.35,
    [`WEAPON_CARBINERIFLE`]   = 0.55,
    [`WEAPON_ASSAULTRIFLE`]   = 0.65,
    [`WEAPON_PUMPSHOTGUN`]    = 1.40,
}
local DEFAULT_KICK = 0.45

CreateThread(function()
    while true do
        local ped = PlayerPedId()
        local _, weapon = GetCurrentPedWeapon(ped, true)

        if weapon == `WEAPON_UNARMED` or IsPedInAnyVehicle(ped, false) then
            Wait(500) -- nothing to do: check rarely
        else
            if IsPedShooting(ped) then
                local kick = KICK[weapon] or DEFAULT_KICK
                if GetFollowPedCamViewMode() == 4 then -- first person
                    kick = kick * 0.8
                end
                SetGameplayCamRelativePitch(GetGameplayCamRelativePitch() + kick, 0.2)
            end
            Wait(0)
        end
    end
end)

• Backtick hashes make the table keys match GetCurrentPedWeapon directly.
• The loop sleeps 500 ms when unarmed, so the cost is only paid while holding a gun.
• View mode 4 is first person; the example reduces kick there because the view is closer.
• Addon weapons fall back to DEFAULT_KICK unless you add them.

#Tuning by class

Recoil interacts with damage and accuracy: a server with high recoil can afford higher damage because hits are harder. See weapon balance for roleplay.

#Vehicles and drive-bys

The example skips vehicles. Shooting from a car uses different cameras, and adding pitch there tends to feel wrong. Servers that want drive-by recoil usually use a smaller value and apply it only while aiming in a vehicle.

#Script recoil vs weapons.meta shake

weapons.meta has RecoilShakeHash, RecoilShakeHashFirstPerson and RecoilShakeAmplitude. Those produce a camera shake for feel, but the aim returns to where it was. A recoil script moves the aim itself. Many servers use both: meta shake for feel, script for control. The fields are explained in weapons.meta explained. The recoil fields themselves live in weapons.meta, and FAM Tools has an editor for it.