Start With the Auth Key

Without it, nothing happens. Head over to the beammp server hosting page, log in, and make a key for your server. Think of it as your house key. Tweet the key in a Discord screenshot, and in the hour, a stranger is hosting a server on your account.

On the client side, you’ll need an unmodified BeamNG.drive. The server app is separate and free. You can download a build for either Windows or Linux and run it once in its own directory. It will then print a configuration file and stand by for commands.

Reading Server Config.toml

Open that file. It’s not that bad.

Enter your server name, max players, map, and then paste the key. Done. The map value is a level path – but get a typo in there and you’ll have a server that just spawns in the void.

Ask me how I know.

A friend of mine spent 40 minutes blaming his router until he spotted an extra slash in the level path.

Switch “Private” on if it’s only you and the crew. Turn it off if you want some anonymous outsiders walking in and bumping your bumper.

Home or Rented?

HOSTING FROM YOUR PC is free. You will require to do port forwarding and the default port is 30814 (TCP & UDP). Miss one and half your mates will join you and the other half will just stare at a spinner.

Some internet providers make this a no-go. Carrier-grade NAT is the common offender, and you won’t get around it with router tinkering. Once you’re there, you’re there.

A rented server cleans that up. You spend a few dollars a month, get an address, and the machine is on when your laptop sleeps. Buy from a host with a decent ping where your audience lives. A cheap box in the wrong part of the world will be as sluggish as driving through syrup.