Taipei GTA beginner guide: your first session

You need nothing installed and no account. The playable build is embedded on the home page; the controls reference is the companion to this page if you prefer tables to instructions.

Step 0: load it, then leave it alone

A browser game downloads its own assets after the page appears, so a black screen for a while is normal rather than broken. Start the game, then resist the urge to click around while it works. If nothing has changed after a couple of minutes, the loading troubleshooting article goes through the fixes in order.

Step 1: click once inside the game

This is the single most common complaint from new players, and it is not a bug. Browsers send keyboard input to the last thing you clicked, and a webpage containing a game is still a webpage. Click inside the game area before you press a key, and click again whenever you come back from another tab.

Step 2: walk, do not drive

Move with W, A, S and D and look around with the mouse. Give yourself two or three minutes of walking before you look for a vehicle: the camera is the part that needs calibrating, and it is much easier to calibrate at walking pace than at speed.

• Walk one block, turn around, walk back. That is the whole exercise.
• Notice how quickly the character stops when you release the key — that timing is what you will need under braking later.
• Try Shift to sprint once, so you know what it feels like when the camera lags behind.

Step 3: find a vehicle and press F

Scooters and cars are parked around the streets. Stand close and press F. If nothing happens, you are probably a step too far away or facing the wrong way — get closer and try again; this is normal, not a failed attempt.

Once you are in, pick a straight, clear stretch of road before you touch anything else. Short taps of W teach you the acceleration curve. Press S and feel how the vehicle slows; hold it after you stop and you will reverse, which surprises people the first time.

Step 4: open the map and choose something close

Press M for the map and set a destination. Choose the nearest interesting thing, not the furthest. A short trip lets you practise reading the road, turning early and stopping where you meant to; a long trip mostly teaches you how to get lost. The map and navigation article explains how the metro fits into the same idea.

Step 5: take one mission from the phone

Press T for the in-game phone, where missions and the metro live. Read the prompt before you set off — the game decides what counts as complete, so the on-screen text outranks anything written here. One mission is enough for a first session; the point is to see how the loop works, not to clear a list.

The four mistakes almost everyone makes

1. Driving before walking. You skip camera calibration and then blame the handling.
2. Holding W permanently. You never learn the vehicle's acceleration, so every corner arrives too fast.
3. Choosing the far destination. You spend the session recovering instead of learning.
4. Clearing browsing data to fix a display glitch. Most browser games keep progress in local storage, so that can wipe your progress as well.

Your first session, as a checklist

Tick these off as you go. The ticks stay in this browser only, so nothing is uploaded and nothing follows you around.

First-session checklist

Tick the steps as you go. Your ticks stay in this browser only.

• Loaded the game and waited for the in-game loading screen
• Clicked once inside the game so the keyboard reaches it
• Walked one block, turned around and came back
• Found a scooter or car and got in with F
• Accelerated with short taps on a straight road
• Braking with S, then stopped holding it
• Switched the camera with V when the vehicle blocked the view
• Opened the map with M and set a nearby destination
• Finished the trip and stopped where I intended
• Opened the phone with T and read one mission prompt

Clear ticks

What to do next

If you enjoyed the driving, the scooter guide is the natural next read. If you would rather explore, start with the city guide. If something felt wrong rather than new, the FAQ is arranged by symptom.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a first session take?

About twenty minutes gets you from loading the game to finishing one short trip, ignoring loading time. You do not need to rush — the game has no schedule of its own.

Should I use a keyboard or a controller as a beginner?

Keyboard and mouse is the layout the game documents most fully and the one where the camera is easiest to control. A controller works too, but check the game's own controller tab, because button labels differ between pads.

Do I need to finish missions to enjoy it?

No. Missions are one way to give yourself a direction; the map, the districts and the driving are all worth time on their own. Nothing here punishes you for ignoring the phone.

Will my progress be saved?

Browser games typically keep progress in the browser's local storage. That usually survives a reload but can be lost by clearing browsing data or switching browser and profile — so avoid clearing data to fix a display problem.