A rotating tips carousel for your loading screen
Keep an array of 15–40 short tips, shuffle it, and show one at a time for about 7–9 seconds with a fade between them. Write each tip as one actionable sentence, mix gameplay, commands and community tips, and review the list whenever you add or remove features.
Games have used loading-screen tips for decades because they work: one short, useful line at a time teaches players without asking them to read a manual. On a FiveM server, a tips carousel can teach your jobs, commands, rules and features to every new player — and remind veterans about things they forgot.
The carousel
<p class="tip" id="tip"></p>.tip { min-height: 3em; max-width: 60ch; text-align: center; transition: opacity .5s ease; opacity: 1; }
.tip.out { opacity: 0; }const TIPS = [
'Press F1 to open the radial menu — most interactions start there.',
'Lost? Use /report and a staff member will help you.',
'Paychecks arrive every 15 minutes while you are on duty.',
// …
];
// shuffle once per load
for (let i = TIPS.length - 1; i > 0; i--) {
const j = Math.floor(Math.random() * (i + 1));
[TIPS[i], TIPS[j]] = [TIPS[j], TIPS[i]];
}
const el = document.getElementById('tip');
let i = 0;
el.textContent = TIPS[0];
setInterval(() => {
el.classList.add('out');
setTimeout(() => {
i = (i + 1) % TIPS.length;
el.textContent = TIPS[i];
el.classList.remove('out');
}, 500);
}, 8000);Tip ideas for a roleplay server
- Getting started: where to spawn, how to get a first job, where the job centre is.
- Commands: /me and /do, /report, /ooc, phone and radio keys.
- Economy: how paychecks work, banks, selling to other players.
- Jobs: “Mechanics earn more at night — fewer shops are open.”
- Rules: one rule per tip, in plain words.
- Community: events night, Discord channels, how to apply for whitelisted jobs.
- Lore: a line about your city’s factions or history.
Keeping tips accurate
A tip about a command that no longer exists makes the whole server look neglected. Review the list with every major update, and date seasonal tips so they can be removed. For themed updates, see seasonal themes.
Common questions
How long should each loading screen tip stay?
About 7–9 seconds: long enough to read one sentence twice, short enough that the screen feels alive.
How many tips should I have?
15–40. Fewer and returning players see repeats; more and they are hard to keep accurate.
Should tips be random?
Shuffle them on each load so returning players see different tips first.
Want a loading screen you never have to debug?
Build it in the browser, export once, and edit it whenever — no HTML, no re-uploads.
Start free