Grand Theft Resurrection

Overview

GTR is an Arma 3 Altis Life roleplay server with an Invision Community hub. The audience is players from that UK/EU Altis Life scene — Reborn Roleplay, GrandTheftArma, PhoenixRP, LifeYourLife and similar. I built the custom web layer: Steam and Discord sign-in, application/form plugins for whitelist and faction apps, MyGTR player dossiers, and Life/Conflict leaderboards that talk to game data rather than forum posts.

Problem

Invision is excellent at forums. Out of the box it does not give Altis Life players a Steam/Discord login they already use, structured applications for whitelist and factions, or a live dossier — cash vs bank, licences, vehicles, police/NHS/HATO flags, Conflict boards. Players used to Reborn, GTA, Phoenix, and LYL expected that next to the community, not in a disconnected admin panel.

Solution

Custom Invision plugins and pages. Steam and Discord OAuth so members link the same accounts they play with. Coded form/application plugins for whitelist and faction pipelines (police, NHS, HATO, and similar) with staff review states. MyGTR shows identity, playtime, membership, last faction, economy chart, civilian vs Conflict gear, and whitelist flags. Leaderboards switch between Altis Life, Conflict, and weekly Conflict periods.

Technical implementation

• Invision Community as the host: members, permissions, theme, and routing for /mygtr/ and /leaderboards/
• Steam and Discord login/account linking so forum identity matches in-game and Discord
• Custom application/form plugins for whitelist and faction applications, with staff approve / decline / under-review flows
• Custom PHP against game MySQL (or synced tables) for cash, bank, licences, vehicles, properties, deaths, deposits, disputes
• MyGTR panels: player info, stats, money chart, civilian vs conflict gear, faction whitelist (Police, NHS, HATO, Staff)
• Leaderboards: richest players and gangs, highest level, best Conflict players/gangs, weekly Conflict periods

Challenges

• Keeping custom plugins inside Invision’s member session, permissions, and theme without fighting upgrades
• Mapping Steam/Discord identities onto Invision members and the game UID without duplicate or orphan accounts
• Application forms that staff can actually process (pending, approved, declined) without leaving the community
• Leaderboards that stay fast when ranking many characters, gangs, and weekly Conflict windows

Results

• Players can sign in with Steam or Discord and submit whitelist/faction applications on-site
• Live MyGTR and leaderboard routes on grandtheftresurrection.com
• Players used to Reborn / GTA / Phoenix / LYL-style dossiers can inspect economy, gear, and ranks without leaving the community site
• Invision stays the membership/forum brain; custom plugins own login, apps, and game-facing surfaces

Future improvements

• Richer empty and loading states when leaderboard data is offline
• Tighter cache/refresh so charts and weekly Conflict boards stay current under load