DrawMarker in FiveM: every marker type, every parameter, and how to keep it cheap

#The parameters

The native's arguments fall into groups. Once you see the groups, any DrawMarker call becomes readable.

DrawMarker(
    1,                          -- type: vertical cylinder
    215.8, -810.1, 29.7,        -- position (ground z - 1.0)
    0.0, 0.0, 0.0,              -- direction
    0.0, 0.0, 0.0,              -- rotation
    1.5, 1.5, 0.6,              -- scale
    40, 130, 255, 140,          -- colour + alpha
    false,                      -- bob up and down
    false,                      -- face camera
    2,                          -- rotation order
    false,                      -- rotate
    nil, nil,                   -- texture dictionary / name
    false                       -- draw on entities
)

#Marker types 0–43

The names below are the ones used in the Cfx documentation's marker reference. Types 41 and 43 are unnamed there; test them in game before relying on them.

In practice most servers use six of these: 1 for classic ground cylinders, 25 or 27 for flat rings on the ground, 2 or 20 for a floating chevron above an interaction point, 29 for money-related spots, and 36 for vehicle spawn and garage points. Type 28, the debug sphere, is ideal during development for visualising a radius because its scale is exactly the size you pass.

#The loop that keeps markers cheap

A single DrawMarker call is cheap. The expensive part is scripts that loop over every configured location every frame, doing distance maths and drawing markers the player cannot possibly see. The fix is a two-speed loop: check distances once a second, and only run per-frame drawing while something is close.

local POINTS = {
    { coords = vector3(215.8, -810.1, 30.7), label = 'Garage' },
    { coords = vector3(-47.2, -1757.5, 29.4), label = 'Shop' },
}
local DRAW_DISTANCE = 25.0
local USE_DISTANCE = 1.5

CreateThread(function()
    while true do
        local sleep = 1000
        local pos = GetEntityCoords(PlayerPedId())

        for _, point in ipairs(POINTS) do
            local dist = #(pos - point.coords)
            if dist < DRAW_DISTANCE then
                sleep = 0
                DrawMarker(1, point.coords.x, point.coords.y, point.coords.z - 1.0,
                    0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0,
                    1.5, 1.5, 0.6, 40, 130, 255, 140,
                    false, false, 2, false, nil, nil, false)

                if dist < USE_DISTANCE and IsControlJustReleased(0, 38) then
                    TriggerEvent('myresource:use', point.label)
                end
            end
        end

        Wait(sleep)
    end
end)

With nothing nearby the thread wakes once a second and does a few vector subtractions, which does not register in the resource monitor. Near a marker it runs every frame, which is unavoidable because the native only draws for one frame. Control 38 is the E key (INPUT_PICKUP).

#Placing ground markers correctly

Coordinates copied from a player position are at the ped's centre, roughly one metre above the ground. Ground markers drawn there float at knee height. Subtract about 1.0 from z for markers of type 1, 25 and 27, or find the real ground height once and cache it:

local function groundZ(coords)
    local found, z = GetGroundZFor_3dCoord(coords.x, coords.y, coords.z + 2.0, false)
    return found and z or (coords.z - 1.0)
end

Only call the ground lookup once per point and store the result. It needs the collision around the point to be loaded, so run it when the player is near, not at resource start for every point on the map.

#Custom texture markers

Marker types 8 and 9 are flat planes that normally show the Lost MC logo. Pass a texture dictionary and texture name and they draw your image instead, which is how servers put their logo on the floor of a garage or a job icon above a door.

local DICT, TEX = 'my_markers', 'garage_logo'

CreateThread(function()
    RequestStreamedTextureDict(DICT, false)
    while not HasStreamedTextureDictLoaded(DICT) do Wait(0) end
end)

local function drawLogo(coords)
    DrawMarker(9, coords.x, coords.y, coords.z - 0.97,
        0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 90.0, 0.0, 0.0,
        2.0, 2.0, 2.0, 255, 255, 255, 220,
        false, false, 2, false, DICT, TEX, false)
end

The image lives in stream/my_markers.ytd. Keep it small, 256 × 256 or 512 × 512 with an alpha channel; a 4K logo under every garage adds up in texture memory for no visible gain. Rotating 90 degrees on X lays the plane flat on the ground; with zero rotation and faceCamera set to true it floats like a sign. For ideas on texture budgets, see texture optimisation.

#Colour, size and visibility conventions

Markers are part of your server's visual language. Players learn quickly that a blue cylinder means "press E here", so keep the meaning consistent across every resource you install. Mixed conventions from different script authors are one of the things that make a server feel assembled rather than designed.

• Keep alpha below about 180 so the ground texture still shows through ground markers.
• Use the same scale for the same purpose everywhere; a 3 m ring at one shop and a 1 m ring at the next reads as two different things.
• Hide markers while the player is in a vehicle if the point is for players on foot, and vice versa.
• Do not draw markers through walls into interiors the player is not in; check the interior with GetInteriorFromEntity if points sit inside MLOs.

#Common mistakes

#Markers, checkpoints or target systems

Checkpoints are created once with CreateCheckpoint and removed with DeleteCheckpoint; do not create them every frame the way you draw markers. Many modern servers replace floor markers with a target system for immersion, but markers still win for spots players need to find from a distance, such as garages and job starts. Their map counterpart is a blip, covered in the blips guide.