Yes really. The BeamMP multiplayer mod for BeamNG is now stable enough that anyone can host a server (previously it was available only to patreon subscribers). It even supports mods. I set up a server and tested it out earlier, and while like any multiplayer mod it’s a bit rough, it’s surprisingly playable.
Since it supports mods, this means it’s possible to hold a live race of Automation cars, where each contestant drives a car of their own making. All you’d have to do is send your .car file to the host (me in this case) and it can be added to the server. Once the server is up, everyone’s Automation car will be in the list of vehicles.
I’m thinking a proper “challenge” would look something like this: you submit your cars according to the theme. Instead of a qualifying lap, non-racing factors determine your qualifying position, such as visual judging or scores like “comfort” if they’re relevant to the challenge. At a certain time, everyone gets on the server, and has race. I think 3-5 laps around Hirochi Raceway should be plenty to find a clear winner, but of course there’s the potential for other sorts of challenges- maybe something like trailer pulling, or a long jump. I would record from a spectator camera and probably commentate, so the results come out in video format.
Before all that though, it’d be good to do a test just to see how well it works. I also don’t know if there’s a good way to have proper checkpoints which record time in Beam Multiplayer, so it might be good to figure that out, although not actually necessary. It’s also a minor pain to get BeamMP set up, you have to join their discord server (this lets them administrate bans and such).
If you’re interested in trying this out, let me know what times might work for you, and maybe send me a car you want to drive testing out the game.
I was thinking about something simpler earlier, something like an community server, where every member can have 1 or 2 cars of their own making, and every month one of the members have to update the list of cars according to a defined table. But this would be really good! I’d vote for varied challenges though, as I’m a terrible racer.
Sounds interesting. Unfortunately my laptop doesn’t have good enough specs to decently play BeamNG, so would collaborations be allowed? e.g. I submit a vehicle and let someone else drive in my place.
I don’t think I could make keyboard driving mandatory- that would be cruel! And, impossible to enforce. Hopefully most people have, at least, a gamepad.
Would it be possible that people who only have keyboards run AWD or FWD? I mean i can drive RWD keyboards but only with high downforce and thicc tyres.
Like with all racing with more than 1 person on track at the same time, this could turn into a giant nuclear saltmine trainwreck.
I love it.
That said while having certain gear confers advantages, it would be a strong participation disincentive to penalise people simply for having gear. Just make everybody register their gear and put the results in separate leagues: keyboard, controller and wheel.
This sounds like fun! Drag racing could be done bracket style so cars with vastly different performance can still compete. Road Atlanta is my favorite track so if there’s a challenge involving that I’d sign up instantly.
Anybody up for a proper test? Meeting time, monday afternoon US is good for me, or maybe late at night (also US time). Send me some .car files to include in the server if you want, too. I’ll try to figure out a little more BeamNG administration stuff, but I don’t think I’ll be able to neatly automate starting, checkpoints, or recording times in multiplayer, we’ll probably have to judge finishes by eye. I can at least use level editing tools to place obstacles and create routes though, as well as use something to create a “starting gun” of sorts. I’ll also have to figure out if there’s any better way than freecam to spectate on drivers, particularly, if I can jump between cars without just using tab to go in order (possibly not though).
If I can get enough people on for a challenge at once and it runs okay (I expect it will be fine but you never know) then I’ll come up with some rules for the first official challenge. Breaking drivers into multiple brackets is a good idea, but it ultimately depends on whether or not we have enough participants.