Join a server

You pick servers in the launcher, not in the game’s own menu. First install the launcher and sign in or choose Test Drive.

Find a server

The launcher opens on Home. If you’ve played before, it offers to take you back to your last server, and All servers opens the full list. The list itself is under Servers. It shows only servers that are running right now.

The tabs above the list are Public, Favorites (the servers you starred) and Recent (where you played lately).

Each row shows the server’s name and map, its country, how many players are on out of how many slots, and its mode. Click a column heading to sort by it, click again to reverse.

To narrow the list down:

• Search (press /) looks at names, tags, maps, countries and descriptions.
• Filters hide full or empty servers and servers that need an account (Free slots, Players online, No account needed). You can also limit the Download size, ask for servers with no mods or with a particular mod, and pick maps and countries.

Look at a server

Click a row and the server’s card opens on the right:

• a picture of the map, the name and the description;
• the host’s links: Discord, rules, website, donations, voice chat. A link opens in your browser; a Mumble or TeamSpeak address is copied instead, to paste into that app;
• tags, how many players are on, whether you need an account, the mode and the location;
• who’s playing right now;
• It will send you: the server’s mods you don’t have yet, with their total size. Stock content means the server sends nothing extra.

The same list is on the website: nodemp.com/servers. Its Connect button opens the launcher straight on that server.

Join by address

If the host gave you an address, click Direct Connect above the list and enter address:port, such as 203.0.113.10:30814 or example.com:30814. An IPv6 address goes in square brackets: [2001:db8::1]:30814.

If the server is listed, the launcher finds it and joins as usual. If it isn’t, the launcher says so and connects anyway.

The first time you connect to a server that isn’t listed, the launcher remembers its certificate. If the certificate is different next time, the launcher refuses to connect: somebody could be pretending to be that server. Ask the host whether they reinstalled it.

Join

Select a server, press and hold Hold to play at the bottom of its card, then let go. The hold is there so you don’t join by accident. You can turn it off under Settings → Launcher → Hold to play, and then one click joins. Holding Enter, Space or a gamepad’s A button works too.

While you wait, the button shows what’s happening, and Cancel stops it. In order:

1. If a launcher update was found, the launcher updates, restarts and carries on.
2. The launcher checks the client mod and downloads a new version if there is one.
3. The launcher connects to the server, which lets you in or says why not.
4. The launcher checks your game files. How closely is up to the server, see below.
5. The server’s mods you don’t have are downloaded.
6. BeamNG.drive starts. This is the longest step.
7. The server’s map loads and you appear in the world.

If something goes wrong, the launcher tells you what and why, and the notification stays under the bell icon. Common cases are on When something breaks.

What the server checks

Before letting you in, every server asks the launcher to check your game files. The check runs on your computer; the server only hears the result.

• A normal server compares the game’s files with the list that comes with the game. It doesn’t look at your user folder or your mods. If it refuses you, verify the game files in Steam.
• A strict server compares the whole game folder, the contents of its archives and your user folder with a clean install the host prepared. Extra files in your user folder, other programs in the game folder or a different game version get in the way. What to do about it is on When something breaks.

What about my own mods? Zip mods in your mods\ folder never fail a check. During a session the game turns them off, unless you turned on Use my local mods in multiplayer and the server allows it.

In the game

The session panel sits in a corner: the server’s name, your ping and how many players are on. Click the player count to open the list. From there you can spectate a player or move your camera to them.

• T opens the chat: Enter sends, Esc closes.
• Tab shows or hides the player list.
• Everything else is in the game’s options, on the NodeMP tab (Settings).

If your connection drops, you see Connection lost, reconnecting… with a countdown, and the launcher tries to get you back by itself. More on A bad connection.

Leave

Hold Leave in the session panel. When you leave, the launcher comes back. If the server ended the session, the launcher shows the reason.

You can’t hop from server to server inside the game: close BeamNG.drive and pick the next server in the launcher.