BeamNG.drive

***BeamNG.drive*** (or colloquially known as just ***BeamNG***), is a vehicle simulation video game developed and published by Bremen-based video game developer BeamNG GmbH. The game features soft-body physics, which simulates realistic handling and damage to vehicles. The game was initially released as a tech demo on 3 August 2013, and was made available on Steam Early Access for Microsoft Windows on 29 May 2015.

## Development

In 2011, some *Rigs of Rods* developer gathered to improve upon the open-source software with a new product.

On 28 May 2012, BeamNG released a YouTube video titled "Revolutionary soft-body physics in CryEngine3". Originally, *BeamNG.drive* was to be based on CryEngine 3, but its use in a driving game uncovered numerous bugs, leading development to be rolled over to Torque 3D.

BeamNG’s website, beamng.com, was opened on 8 May 2012 to deliver news of their development of the simulator.

The game was placed on an open vote on Steam Greenlight on 12 February 2014 and was greenlit eight days later.

On 29 May 2015, the game was released to Steam Early Access.

On 15 June 2018, BeamNG announced a partnership with Camshaft Software, Developers of *Automation*, revealing the addition of an exporter feature that allows players to export vehicles made within *Automation* as fully driveable vehicles in *BeamNG.drive*.

## Gameplay

*BeamNG.drive* features various gameplay modes and scenarios such as campaigns and a time trial mode, aside from free mode. Campaigns are collections of small scenarios on specific themes (races, chases, stunts, etc...), whereas in time trials, the player selects a vehicle, a level, a route, and competes against their own best time. In free roam, players can explore and experiment with levels, allowing them to operate, place, and manipulate objects and vehicles within the level, but also change environmental properties such as gravity and wind. Players can utilize various objects ranging from road barriers to weapons like cannons, to inflict damage on their vehicles. The player can also use mods via their website. This can include repository or automation mods. Some of them modify the engine, body, or the entire vehicle, while some mods are their own. Examples include customizable engines, maps, crash dummies, etc.

## Freeroam

Upon starting freeroam, the player selects a map, and their car spawns onto a location picked by the player. The player picks a car or prop, and they have the option to either explore the map, modify their vehicles, crash into AI, mess around with the nodegrabber, damage their own vehicles, or just practice getting the feel of driving. Upon execution, the player may feel the need to add AI to their cloned/extra vehicles, get chased/followed/evaded by AI, etc. They can also try out challenges (they vary depending on the map) scattered across the map, you can more easily find them via the map function, or just fast travel to them. When they start the desired challenge, the player (along with some AI depending on the event chosen) will spawn onto the desired location, sometimes with their proposed vehicle assigned to via the challenge, and the player is required to finish the challenge (races, time trials, chases, bus routes). If they meet the designated requirements following the challenge, they earn stars. This doesn't affect the game however. Some challenges are also accessible via Time Trials and Bus Routes via the main menu. More challenges are accessible via Scenarios, where the player is free to enjoy more challenges (chases, races, hypermilling, off-roading, drifting, hillclimbing, etc).

Props can also be spawned in freeroam. This can include cannons, tires, engines, traffic cones, and trailers. Players can use these props on multiple occasions. These strategies include (but can be not limited to) roleplaying, destruction, towing, shortcuts, etc. Cars can also be modified (parts vary on every vehicle), so players can focus on either the performance of the vehicle (engines, radiators, transmissions, stage # long blocks/superchargers, ECUs...) the design of the vehicle (spoilers, fenders, bumpers, hoods, wheels...) or both, depending on the vehicle.

Vehicles can be damaged in any way possible that can render the car unusable, like head on collisions with heavier opponents like the Gavril T-Series. As a result, the steering, accleration, and overall performance may vary depending on the cause of the crash, which can vary from a simple dent to a crushed vehicle.

## Garage

In the player's own garage, they have a couple of options. Parts, Tune, Paint, Vehicles, My Cars, Photo, Camera, Electrics, Garage features, Test (which takes the player's car to Gridmap V2) and Save. This isn't really useful because all of this is already accessible via the radial menu, but it does make modifying cars easier. The player has multiple choices that are also accessible via not only the radial menu, via the vehicle config. They can modify the body, the engine, even add aftermarket parts to the vehicle, if there aren't some already depending on the type of make and model.

## Track Builder

On Track Builder, players can modify, make, and create new maps by tinkering with the toolbar. They can create obstacles, checkpoints, and walls.

## Light Runner

On Light Runner, the player picks one of the three "Powerglow" vehicles avaliable (Ibishu 200BX, Bruckell Moonhawk, and Hirochi SBR4), and a layout, all created within November 2018. When started, the player spawns in a Rainbow Road-esque map called "Glow City", and the player has to do a certain number of laps selected by the player. It's like a normal race, but without AI, much like a time trial. Also some music can be heard.

## Replays

On Replays, players can create their own highlight reels or instant replays, by pressing the record button. This can go on for several minutes, and when the recording stops, players can see them via the Replay UI.

## Career (WIP as of version 0.26)

The Career mode (which is currently work in progress as of version 0.26) is accessible by clicking on it six times. When this succeeds, a warning message pops up, and the player clicks Yes. They pick a profile, or make a new one, and play through the tutorial (this is optional). After that, the player spawns in a stock Ibishu Covet and starts driving. As of version 0.30, They can earn XP and Bonus Stars by doing challenges, and can now redeem them for gas, vehicles, and more. Before that, they had no function. When buying for cars, they can test drive them, or trade them for discounts.

The game implements soft-body physics to control both vehicle dynamics and collisions between objects and vehicles.

### Physics

*BeamNG.drive* uses a real-time soft-body physics structure to simulate its vehicles. Algorithms have been written for the physics equations to be carried out. It relies heavily on coding in Lua, and uses packets of local data using the Lua network system while the game is running. The game's engine constantly calculates physics equations and problems in real-time during gameplay.

Vehicles in the game consist of a soft-body node-beam structure similar to those in *Rigs of Rods*. The physics engine simulates a network of interconnected nodes and beams, which combine to form an invisible skeleton of a vehicle with realistic weights and masses. In terms of soft-body physics, vehicles realistically flex and deform as stresses to the skeleton, such as impacts from collisions, are applied. Aside from body deformation, various other types of damage are simulated such as degraded engine, detached doors and shattered windows. If a vehicle is severely damaged, the engine may fail, rendering the vehicle unusable; additionally, the vehicle will also fail from overloading the driveshaft, clutch, and other important components that can result in catastrophic failure to the vehicle. Also, tires can be blown out and fuel tanks may explode after an excessive amount of collisions or a direct hit on the rear of the vehicle. BeamNG.drive currently supports VR as of version 0.30, however this is experimental, so expect a few problems with it. As long as your headset (Oculus/Meta Quest, Valve Index, HTC Vive, etc) supports PC and OpenXR, VR on BeamNG.drive should work.

Jack Stewart of BBC mentioned that *BeamNG.drive* "has received interest from the film industry to model vehicle stunts so that they can be prototyped and tested exhaustively – but cheaply – before a stunt driver smashes up a car on set." Polygon's Nick Robinson lauded the game's simulated physics and user-created content support, leading him to create a 38-episode video series for Polygon, "Car Boys", in which he and Griffin McElroy spotlighted new *BeamNG.drive* content each week. Automobile magazine praised the game for its diverse selection of vehicles and its realistic crash physics, saying that "the IIHS has nothing on BeamNG.drive."

## External links

* Template:Official website

Template:Torque Game Engine games
Template:Sim racing

1. ↑ Template:Cite web
2. ↑ Template:Cite web
3. ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/10/01/the-most-impressive-physics-engine-youve-never-seen, 'In October 2011 the Rigs of Rods team decided the potential for the sort of soft-body physics on show in their game was too great to ignore.', retrieved January 12, 2020,
4. ↑ Template:Cite web
5. ↑ Template:Cite web
6. ↑ Template:Cite web
7. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
8. ↑ Template:Cite web
9. ↑ Template:Cite web
10. ↑ Template:Cite web
11. ↑ Template:Cite web
12. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Template:Cite web
14. ↑ Template:Cite web
15. ↑ Template:Cite web
16. ↑ Template:Cite web
17. ↑ Template:Cite web
18. ↑ Template:Cite web