Getting started
What is NodeMP
NodeMP lets you drive BeamNG.drive online with other people: one map, everyone’s cars on it, everyone’s crashes. You install one program, pick a server and hold a button. The rest happens by itself.
The parts
Section titled “The parts”| Part | What it is | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Launcher | A Windows program: signs you in, lists servers, keeps the mod up to date, starts the game. | Every player. Install it. |
| Client mod | NodeMP.zip, the part inside the game: other players’ cars, the chat, name tags. The launcher installs it. |
Every player, without lifting a finger. |
| Server | Node-Server, the program players connect to. Runs on Windows, Linux or in Docker. |
Whoever hosts. Run a server. |
| Plugins | What makes a server different: commands, roles, races, rules. Mostly Lua on the server. | Whoever writes them. Plugin development. |
| Account | A free account at nodemp.com. It keeps your name the same everywhere and puts servers in the list. | Optional for players, needed to list a server. Your account. |
What happens when you join
Section titled “What happens when you join”- You pick a server in the launcher and hold Hold to play.
- The launcher checks the client mod and your game files, as closely as the server asks.
- It downloads the server’s mods you don’t have yet.
- BeamNG.drive starts and loads straight into the server’s map.
While you play, your game simulates your own car and sends its position to the server many times a second; the server passes it on to everyone else. If something goes wrong on the way in, the launcher says what and why (When something breaks).
Versions
Section titled “Versions”| Part | Version | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|
Server (Node-Server) |
1.12.0 | GitHub releases: Windows, Linux, Docker |
| Launcher | 1.1.25 | nodemp.com/download |
Client mod (NodeMP.zip) |
1.7.7 | Installed by the launcher |
The client mod is built for BeamNG.drive 0.39.4.0. The launcher and the server speak wire protocol v23; when one of them is too old, the launcher says which, and offers to update itself.
Where to go next
Section titled “Where to go next”- Playing: Install the launcher, then join a server.
- Hosting: Run a server.
- Writing plugins: Your first resource. Wrote plugins for another multiplayer mod before? See Moving from other platforms.