Night Shifts - Mobile Data Terminal Resource

Night Shifts - Mobile Data Terminal for FiveM

A guide to install Night Shifts - Mobile Data Terminal for FiveM

📋 Table of Contents

  1. 🎯 Overview
  2. 🛒 Purchase Information
  3. ⚠️ Important Pre-Installation Notes
  4. 🔧 System Requirements & Compatibility
  5. 📦 Installation Process
  6. ⚙️ Configuration Setup
  7. 🎮 How It Works
  8. 🔗 Integration & Compatibility
  9. 📊 Exports
  10. 🛠️ Troubleshooting
  11. 💡 Best Practices
  12. 🆘 Support

🎯 Overview

EARLY ACCESS - This script is in early access. Help us out and report any bugs you find! We are planning on releasing a BETA version around SUMMER/FALL 2025.

Welcome to Night Shifts - MDT, a customizable MDT system for your community. Whether you’re running a police, fire, or EMS department, Night Shifts provides a range of features to help you manage your operations. Our MDT is configurable to fit the needs of emergency services in any country.

Key Features

  • ✅ Customizable MDT System - Adapt to any country’s emergency services
  • ✅ Multi-Department Support - Police, Fire, EMS, and Civilian departments
  • ✅ Emergency Services Hotline - 999/911/112 emergency call system
  • ✅ Police National Computer (PNC) - Person, vehicle, and record searches
  • ✅ Civilian Registry - Council/City Hall civilian management
  • ✅ Vehicle Registry - DVLA/DMV vehicle management
  • ✅ Shift Management - Department, sub-department, and status tracking
  • ✅ Unit Overview - Control and dispatch functionality
  • ✅ Report System - Create and manage police, fire, and ambulance reports
  • ✅ Statistics Tracking - Department performance monitoring
  • ✅ ANPR Integration - Automatic Number Plate Recognition
  • ✅ Emergency Response Simulator Compatible - Search NPCs and vehicles
  • ✅ Discord Integration - Role-based access control
  • ✅ Multi-Language Support - International server support
  • ✅ Escrow Protection - Secure resource protection

🛒 Purchase Information

Get Night Shifts MDT:

Purchase on Nights Software Store

⚠️ Important Pre-Installation Notes

Critical Installation Order: Always follow this exact sequence to avoid parsing errors in the F8 console:

  1. Download ZIP Package from CFX Portal
  2. Unpack in a folder on your local machine
  3. Set File Transfer Protocol (FTP) type to binary
  4. Drag files from local machine to server resources folder
  5. Add to server.cfg (ensure script)
  6. Boot up the server

Support Policy: Follow this guide step by step. If you’re stuck, ask for support in our Discord and provide the specific step name. Do not skip steps.

Database Requirement: Night Shifts MDT requires a MySQL database and oxmysql resource to function properly.

Emergency Response Simulator Compatible: It is possible to search NPCs and their vehicles in the MDT when they have been interacted with via the Emergency Response Simulator.

🔧 System Requirements & Compatibility

OneSync Compatibility

  • ✅ OneSync Legacy: Fully tested and compatible
  • ✅ OneSync Infinity: Fully tested and compatible

Framework Compatibility

  • ✅ Standalone: Works without any framework and is not made to integrate with QBCore/ESX. This will change in the future.

Dependencies

  • ✅ MySQL Database - Required for data storage
  • ✅ oxmysql - Required database API
  • ✅ Night Discord API - Required for permissions (included)

Note: Night Shifts MDT works seamlessly with all major FiveM frameworks and requires proper database setup.

📦 Installation Process

Step 1: Database Setup (Required)

We assume you have a database for your FiveM server. If you do not have one, contact your hosting providers’ documentation on how to get and build one. This is a dependency for Night Shifts MDT to work.

  1. Set up your database via your hosting provider
  2. Connect to your database using credentials in an SQL connection string
  3. Add to server.cfg above the ensure/start of resources:
set mysql_connection_string "user=Your_Database_Username;password=Your_Database_Password;host=Your_Database_Host;port=3306;database=Your_Database_Name;charset=utf8mb4_general_ci"

Localhost Example:

set mysql_connection_string "user=root;password=;host=localhost;port=3306;database=Your_Database_Name;charset=utf8mb4_general_ci"
  1. Automatic Table Installation - When you boot up the server, the code will run queries to install required tables

Manual Installation: The files include a datatables.sql file if you prefer to manually install the tables.

Step 2: Install oxmysql (Required)

If you don’t have oxmysql installed, download it from: Download oxmysql

  1. Place oxmysql into your resources folder
  2. Add to server.cfg - Ensure it starts before Night Shifts MDT:
ensure oxmysql

Documentation: For oxmysql questions, visit oxmysql documentation

Step 3: Test Database Connection

Start your server and check the console for oxmysql connection messages. You should see:

[script:oxmysql] Database server connection established!

Step 4: Install nearest-postal (Optional - Recommended)

This optional resource fits well within the purpose of Night Shifts MDT:

  1. Download from CFX Forum Release
  2. Extract and rename ‘nearest-postal-master’ to ‘nearest-postal’
  3. Add to server.cfg before Night Shifts MDT:
ensure nearest-postal
  1. Install postal map - Download from CFX Release
  2. Add map resource to server.cfg:
ensure map

Step 5: Install Night Discord API (Required)

Download our free Discord API: NS Discord API Free

  1. Install Discord API using this documentation page
  2. Note role names from Discord API config.lua for later use
  3. Add to server.cfg before Night Shifts MDT:
ensure night_discordapi

Step 6: Install Night Shifts MDT

  1. Download from CFX Portal Assets
  2. Extract and transfer using binary FTP mode
  3. Place ‘night_shifts’ into your resources folder
  4. Add to server.cfg:
ensure night_shifts
  1. Verify startup - Check console for both oxmysql and night_shifts starting without errors

⚙️ Configuration Setup

Required Tools

Visual Studio Code: We strongly recommend downloading VS Code for editing Lua files.

Configuration Files

File Purpose
night_shifts/config/anpr_config.lua ANPR configuration settings
night_shifts/config/config.lua Main configuration settings
night_shifts/config/departments_config.lua Department and role configuration
night_shifts/config/fictivenames_config.lua Fictive name configuration
night_shifts/config/handbooks_config.lua EMS Handbook configuration
night_shifts/config/mdt_config.lua Menu, HUD, statusses & more configuration
night_shifts/config/translations.lua Language configuration
night_shifts/client/c_functions.lua Client-side functions
night_shifts/server/s_functions.lua Server-side functions

Configuration Process

  1. Open VS Code and navigate to the config files
  2. Read thoroughly - each line has explanatory comments
  3. Configure in order - work from top to bottom
  4. Watch for notes - important warnings are clearly marked
  5. Test frequently - use F8 console and server console for error checking

Time Investment: Plan adequate time for configuration. Each variable is named descriptively to help you understand its purpose.

🎮 How It Works

Civilian Side

  • Emergency Services Hotline - Call 999/911/112 with detailed information
  • Council/City Hall - Register and edit civilians with custom profile pictures
  • DVLA/DMV - Register and edit vehicles connected to civilians

Emergency Services Side

  • Battery & Signal - Charge MDT in vehicles, signal based on ping
  • Shift & Status - Department selection, shift toggling, panic button
  • Emergency Hotline - Receive calls, view archives, locate with waypoints
  • Police National Computer - Person, vehicle, record, and fine searches
  • Unit Overview - Control and dispatch functionality
  • Operations - Create and manage reports, view guidelines
  • Statistics - Department performance monitoring

Server Owner Features

  • ANPR Camera Locations - Configurable camera positions
  • Fire Station Alarms - Configurable alarm triggers
  • Custom Images & Sounds - Configurable NUI elements
  • Multi-Language Support - International configuration
  • Department Management - Configurable departments, ranks, and roles

🔗 Integration & Compatibility

Framework Support

  • Standalone - Works independently without framework dependencies

Emergency Response Simulator Integration

  • NPC Search - Search NPCs and their vehicles in the MDT
  • Interaction Tracking - Track NPC interactions via Emergency Response Simulator
  • Vehicle Registration - Automatic vehicle registration from interactions

Integration Setup: Ensure Emergency Response Simulator is properly configured for NPC interaction tracking.

📊 Exports

Server-Side Exports 

-- Get user shift data for server ID
local src = source
local shiftDataResults = exports['night_shifts']:GetUserShiftData(src)
if #shiftDataResults > 0 then
    for k, v in pairs(shiftDataResults) do
        print("Key: "..k.." | Value: "..v)
    end
else
    print("No shift data found for server ID "..src)
end

Client-Side Exports 

-- Trigger alarm
exports.night_shifts:TriggerAlarm(isEmergency, isPoliceRequired, isAmbulanceRequired, isFireRequired, isTowRequired, description, coordinates)

-- Create emergency call
exports.night_shifts:CreateEmergencyCall(isEmergency, isPoliceRequired, isAmbulanceRequired, isFireRequired, isTowRequired, description, caller_name, coordinates, contact_details)

-- Get department counts
exports.night_shifts:GetCivilianCount()
exports.night_shifts:GetPoliceCount()
exports.night_shifts:GetAmbulanceCount()
exports.night_shifts:GetFireCount()
exports.night_shifts:GetTowCount()

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Parsing Errors in F8 Console

  • Ensure files are transferred in binary mode via FTP
  • Follow the installation order: ZIP → Unpack → Binary FTP → Resources → server.cfg

Database Connection Issues

  • Verify MySQL connection string is correct
  • Check database credentials and accessibility
  • Ensure oxmysql is properly installed and started

FiveM ID Not Found

  • Log into FiveM app when inside the app
  • Close and reopen FiveM app
  • Join server as a logged in user

Resource Naming

  • Ensure script is named night_shifts (do NOT rename)
  • Check resource folder structure

Configuration Tips

  • Start resource before players join - Prevents database errors
  • Order index numbers correctly - Use [1], [2], [3] not [1], [3], [4]
  • Read commentary in scripts - Logic is explained in comments
  • Test with civilian department first - Ensure basic functionality

💡 Best Practices

Configuration Tips

  • Role Planning - Set up appropriate Discord roles and permissions
  • Department Structure - Plan department, sub-department, and rank hierarchy
  • Language Localization - Configure for your country’s emergency services
  • Backup Configurations - Keep backups of working configurations

Database Management

  • Regular Backups - Backup your database regularly
  • Performance Monitoring - Monitor database performance
  • Table Maintenance - Periodically optimize database tables

User Experience

  • Clear Documentation - Provide users with MDT usage guidelines
  • Role Training - Train users on department-specific features
  • Emergency Procedures - Establish clear emergency call procedures

🆘 Support

Read through the instructions again if you have not managed to install the resource. Can’t get it to work still? Create a ticket through our dedicated support system in Discord:

Nights Software Discord

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Page last modified: July 22, 2025 at 04:00 PM.