Garry's Mod — Achievement Walkthrough
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Open the in-game server browser and join any populated server. Sandbox, TTT, DarkRP — anything counts. Achievement pops on connection.
Open GMod, click 'Start New Game,' pick any map, hit Start. Achievement pops on map load. Quick free unlock.
Join any TTT, Murder, Prop Hunt, DarkRP, or Cinema server. The achievement pops on first non-sandbox spawn.
Quick alternative: start a single-player game and select a different gamemode from the gamemode dropdown.
Lua errors come from broken Workshop addons. Subscribe to many badly-maintained addons and load servers/single-player games — broken scripts throw errors that count toward this.
Alternative: write your own broken Lua snippets in the in-game console. Each runtime error counts.
Cumulative across all your sessions. Every unique map you load counts ONCE. To accelerate: cycle through the default maps in single-player (gm_construct, gm_flatgrass, etc.) plus DarkRP variants and TTT favorites.
Most casual players hit this within their first 10 hours.
Cumulative across your whole GMod career. Most active players hit this within their first month.
Q menu > NPCs > spawn any. 1000 total. Most combat-heavy sandbox sessions spawn dozens of NPCs naturally.
Fast method: rapid-spawn from the menu in clumps. The game limits you to ~100 alive at once but spawning + killing + respawning all counts.
Same approach as 'Marathon' but easier — only 4 hours. Most casual play sessions hit this once you find a comfortable server.
You'll usually get this naturally during normal play before 'Marathon.' Server-restart and map-cycle still reset progress.
Spawn balls via Q menu > Entities > Bouncy Ball. Pick up with the gravity gun (E + click) and 'eat' by clicking them at your face. Or hold them with use-key and press a context button.
Grinder method: spawn 200 balls in a corner of gm_construct and eat them in sequence.
Spawn Combine soldiers (Q menu > NPCs > Combine) on gm_construct and shoot them. Each kill counts toward 1000. Tedious but reliable.
Alternative: join servers running combat-heavy mods (Nextbot servers, zombie servers). Kill counts pool with normal NPC kills.
## How to set this up
Find a server you trust to stay up 8+ hours. Most populated DarkRP and TTT servers cycle maps every few rounds, which BREAKS the achievement progress. Better choices:
- Long-running RP servers with persistent maps (some servers run gm_construct for days)
- AFK in a sandbox server where the map doesn't change
## Tip
Server admins sometimes restart the server, which resets your 'same server' counter. Confirm the server's uptime before committing.
Cumulative. About 7-8 weeks of regular casual play, or a month if you go hard. GMod's open-ended sandbox makes this happen naturally for dedicated players.
Spawn friendly NPCs (Q menu > NPCs > Rebels / Citizens / Alyx). Kill them. Each counts.
A classic GMod meme. Build a setup on gm_construct: 100 friendly NPCs in a corner, mow them down with a shotgun, repeat 10 times. Done.
Open any server or single-player game, hit Y to open chat, type 'help im stuck' (no punctuation) and send. Achievement pops on send.
This is one of GMod's many community in-jokes. The 'help im stuck' phrase is the classic forum cry for help.
Spawn animals via the Q menu (NPCs > Animals) and kill them. Tedious but easy. Some Workshop maps come pre-populated with hundreds of animals for this exact achievement.
Avoid: friendly NPCs that fight back (rebels, citizens) don't count toward this — only passive animals.
Open the Q spawnmenu and double-click props to spawn them. 5000 is a lot but accumulates fast — most GMod sessions spawn 50-200 props between building and testing.
Building contests on Workshop accelerate this. So does spawn-and-clear practice in sandbox.
Cumulative. Many GMod veterans have this; new players need years. AFK-ing in sandbox servers overnight counts. The achievement track is built for long-term play, not grinding.
Spawn balloons from Q menu > Entities > Balloon and pop them with weapons. Balloons pop instantly on any damage.
Fastest method: spawn 1000 balloons in a small area, shotgun them all. 1-2 minutes of work if you're set up right.
Cumulative across your whole playtime — Steam tracks every time you boot the game. Most long-term GMod players hit this naturally over years. If you're hunting it, just launch + close repeatedly; the counter ticks each session.
Note: starting GMod from a Workshop subscription page also counts as a startup.
Q menu > Ragdolls > spawn any. Doubles as a posing-test for screenshots and machinima. 2000 spawns is several long sessions of posing work.
Hold Q to open the spawn menu. Each opening counts. 100,000 is many years of normal play.
Grind method: bind a key to toggle the menu open/close and let it cycle while you AFK. Some players have automated this with autoclickers but Steam may flag suspicious patterns.
Cumulative count. Every unique friend you've shared a server with counts once. Pop into a populated server and check your friends list often — invite anyone playing GMod over to join you.
If you don't have 10 GMod-playing friends, organise a Workshop-mod test session and invite people from r/gmod.
Use the Remover tool (default Z toolgun + Remover selection) on props. Every prop you delete counts.
Fast method: spawn 5000 simple props in a clump, use 'Cleanup All Props' from the Q menu... wait, that doesn't count. Use the Remover tool individually. Or spawn lots of props and let the Remover bind clear them rapidly.
## The challenge
Garry Newman rarely plays public GMod servers. When he does, the community goes wild and the server fills instantly.
## How to track him
- Follow Garry Newman on Twitter for any 'I'm playing GMod' announcements
- Watch r/gmod for community alerts
- Check Facepunch Studios' Discord
## When it happens
Jump on the same server he's announced. Achievement pops automatically on connection. Some players have waited years for this; some get it in week one.
Upload anything to the GMod Workshop. Even small additions (a personal prop pack, a re-coloured weapon, a custom map) usually get 10+ thumbs-up if shared on r/gmod or in active modding Discords.
Don't upload garbage; the Workshop community downvotes filler.
Cumulative playtime across your whole GMod career. 1 year = 8760 hours. Most players who get this have left GMod running idle on servers (e.g., AFK on TTT spawn rooms) for years.
You can technically accelerate this by leaving GMod running overnight on a sandbox server. Server admins generally don't mind AFK players in sandbox modes.
Cumulative across all your uploads. A single moderately-popular mod (e.g., a niche weapon pack with a clear theme) usually gets 100+ thumbs.
Quality over quantity: better to upload one good thing than 20 mediocre things.
Cumulative. Requires actually making a mod with broad appeal. Tools or maps that fill a missing niche tend to peak. Promote on r/gmod, GMod Discord, Facepunch forums.
Something going viral on social media can push 1000+ thumbs overnight. Most achievers spread this across 3-5 popular uploads.
## The big one
One single upload needs 1000+ positive ratings. This requires either:
- Filling a missing-niche tool that the community discovers organically
- Viral promotion through r/gmod, YouTube creators, or TikTok
- Long-term community presence — popular modders accumulate thumbs slowly
## Tip
The meme name (and 'then go to jail' subtitle) is a Kim Dotcom reference. The achievement was added when MegaUpload was raided.
Most achievers either know someone who'll feature their mod, or they've been making GMod mods for years.