---
title: "BeamNG.drive: Complete Guide"
game: "BeamNG.drive"
game_url: "https://qna.gg/games/beamng-drive"
author: "Qloud"
author_url: "https://qna.gg/players/Qloud"
topics: ["Maps", "Settings", "Mods"]
summary: "Everything a new BeamNG.drive driver needs: controls, game modes, the maps, tuning cars in the parts configurator, Career mode basics, mods, and performance settings. It also covers what changed in the big v0.39…"
url: "https://qna.gg/g/beamng-drive-complete-guide-3577ade5"
published: "2026-09-27T16:22:46.261Z"
updated: "2026-09-27T16:22:46.261Z"
source: "QnA.GG"
---

# BeamNG.drive: Complete Guide

Everything a new BeamNG.drive driver needs: controls, game modes, the maps, tuning cars in the parts configurator, Career mode basics, mods, and performance settings. It also covers what changed in the big v0.39 update.

*Researched September 2026 — current as of v0.39.4 (hotfix, August 7, 2026). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.*

> **Status:** BeamNG.drive is still in **Early Access** on Steam. v0.39 (July 29, 2026) is the biggest update the developers have shipped: an overhauled UI and pause menu, HDR, volumetric clouds, a new aero system, and the **Cherrier Ardente**. Mods written for older versions may break after major updates.

## Quick Start

1. **Start in Freeroam on Gridmap or West Coast, USA.** Gridmap is a flat test area. West Coast has highways, a city, a track and dirt roads. v0.39 adds a **Freeroam tutorial** for new players.
2. **Learn the three "undo" buttons.** **Insert** recovers (rewinds) your car, **R** resets it where it is, and **Home** takes you back to your saved home position (set it with **Ctrl+Home**).
3. **Press J to pause physics.** Then fly the camera around the wreck or line up a shot.
4. **Use a controller or wheel if you can.** Keyboard works, but analog throttle and steering make the physics far more enjoyable. Adjust steering filtering in Options > Controls.
5. **Open the Vehicle Config early.** Every car has swappable engines, suspensions, tires and body parts, plus a **Tuning** tab for gear ratios, suspension, brake bias and more.
6. **Try the Radial Menu.** It gives quick access to vehicle functions, AI traffic, powertrain toggles and "fun stuff" (fire, explosions, breaking things).
7. **Scenarios, Time Trials and Missions teach driving.** Start on the easiest difficulty and work up.
8. **Career Mode is an early preview.** It's fun, but still in development, so expect changes between versions.
9. **Back up your user folder before big updates** if you rely on mods.

## Controls (default keyboard)

From the official beginner's guide:

| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Arrow keys | Throttle / brake / steer |
| Space | Temporary parking brake (handbrake) |
| P | Toggle parking brake |
| Left Shift | Clutch |
| X / Z | Shift up / down |
| Q | Toggle gearbox mode |
| V | Engine starter |
| H | Horn |
| N / Alt+N | Headlights / fog lights |
| , / . / / | Left signal / right signal / hazards |
| M | Lightbar |
| R or I | Reset vehicle physics |
| Shift+R | Reset all vehicles |
| Insert | **Recover** vehicle (rewind to a safe point) |
| Home / Ctrl+Home | Load / set home position |
| Tab / Ctrl+Tab | Switch vehicle |
| C | Cycle camera (1–7 jump to a specific mode) |
| Shift+C | Free camera |
| J | Pause / resume physics |
| Alt+U | Hide UI |

Other long-standing defaults: **Ctrl+E** opens the vehicle selector, **Ctrl+W** opens the vehicle configurator, **Ctrl+R** reloads the current vehicle (useful after config edits), and **F11** opens the World Editor. Walking mode (getting out of the car on foot) is also available; find its binding under Options > Controls. After v0.39 you can also do most of this from the redesigned pause menu. If a bind doesn't match, check **Options > Controls**.

**v0.39 UI changes to know:** the **pause menu** was fully redesigned (and is easier to use with a gamepad). There's a new **vehicle management tab** for spawning and removing cars. UI apps are now called **"HUD apps"** with custom layouts. **Replay management** moved into the pause menu, and the **Options** menu was rebuilt with live graphics previews and a confirmation countdown for display changes.

## Game Modes

| Mode | What it is | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| **Freeroam** | Any car, any map, no rules | Testing, crashing, exploring, AI traffic |
| **Scenarios** | Scripted challenges (chases, deliveries, stunts) | Learning car control with goals |
| **Time Trials** | Pick car, map and route, then beat your best time | Tuning practice |
| **Missions** (on maps) | Arrive, drift, rally, delivery and other challenges placed in the world, with leaderboards | Structured skill-building |
| **Rally (NGRC)** | Rally stages with pacenotes | Precision driving |
| **Career Mode** (early preview) | Earn money, own and repair vehicles, buy parts, do jobs | Longer-term progression |
| **Bus routes** | Drive a bus on a timetable | Relaxed, precise driving |

### Rally in v0.39

- New **NGRC Rally Utah 2026**: the first all-gravel rally loop, four stages totalling 16.4 km.
- **Three pacenote styles:** Pro (written and voiced by Alex Kihurani, 2024 British Rally Champion co-driver), Enthusiast (nearly 200 unique calls) and Casual (simplified for newcomers).
- **Virtual Competitors** with their own driving traits show up in the stage results, so you have rival times to beat.

### Career Mode basics (early preview)

- You start with little money and a cheap car, and earn cash from jobs, deliveries and missions.
- Damage costs money: repair and insurance matter, so crashing is no longer free.
- Buy parts, tune your car, and move up to better vehicles.
- It is explicitly labeled **Early Preview**, so systems and balance can change between versions and older saves aren't guaranteed to carry over. Keep a separate Freeroam habit for experimenting.

## Maps (official levels)

| Map | Best for |
|---|---|
| **West Coast, USA** | All-rounder: city, highway, race track, hills. Updated materials, LODs and night lighting in v0.39 |
| **East Coast, USA** | Small-town roads, forests, lakes |
| **Utah, USA** | Desert canyons, road racing, rally, rock crawling |
| **Italy** | Coastal roads, villages, vineyards. Great for spirited driving (expanded in v0.38) |
| **Johnson Valley** | Rocky desert off-roading and dunes |
| **Jungle Rock Island** | Tropical island with roads and trails |
| **Small Island, USA** | Coastal roads and open terrain |
| **Industrial Site** | Industrial areas with several race tracks |
| **Hirochi Raceway** | Circuit racing |
| **ETK Driver Experience Center** | Driver training facility and handling tests |
| **Automation** | Test track for cars imported from *Automation* |
| **Derby Arenas** | Demolition derby and dirt racing |
| **Cliff** | A huge mountain in the ocean, made for jumps |
| **Gridmap / Grid, Small, Pure** | Flat testing grids |
| **Showroom** | Studio for photos |

## Vehicles and Tuning

BeamNG's official lineup covers everything from economy hatchbacks (e.g. Ibishu Covet) to pickups (Gavril D-Series), trucks (Gavril T-Series), buses and heavy equipment (Hirochi HT-55 haul truck and WL-40 wheel loader from v0.38).

**New in v0.39:** the **Cherrier Ardente**, a two-door coupe on the FCV platform. It comes with FWD/AWD petrol, diesel and RWD/AWD electric configurations, plus racing and street liveries. Every vehicle also got movable sun visors and a reworked lighting system (light patterns based on bulb type and wattage).

### Using the configurator

- **Parts tab:** Swap engines, transmissions, suspension, wheels and body parts. Parts are hierarchical, so a different engine can open up different intake and exhaust options.
- **Tuning tab:** Adjust tire pressure, gear ratios, final drive, spring/damper rates, anti-roll bars, brake bias, and turbo/supercharger boost where fitted.
- **Save configs** to keep your builds, and look at the factory configs first. They're good starting points (e.g. "rally", "drift" or "track" trims).

### Tuning rules of thumb

| Problem | Try |
|---|---|
| Understeer (car pushes wide) | Soften front anti-roll bar, stiffen rear, lower front tire pressure slightly |
| Oversteer (rear steps out) | The opposite, and more rear downforce if you have a wing |
| Bottoming out | Raise ride height or stiffen springs |
| Wheelspin | Smoother throttle, traction control on, longer 1st gear |
| Brakes locking | Move brake bias toward the axle that isn't locking, or enable ABS |

**v0.39 aerodynamics:** A new system simulates air interactions **between nearby cars** (and objects), including slipstreaming, bump drafting and side drafting. Tucking in behind someone on a straight now actually helps.

## Graphics and Performance

v0.39 brought a big visual jump and memory optimisations, but the developers note that framerate may drop on some systems.

- **Renderer:** Vulkan and Direct3D 12 both support the new **HDR output** if your monitor handles HDR. If you have stutter or crashes, try the other API.
- **New visual features:** **volumetric clouds**, a physically based night sky, more stable shadows (including a VR fix), GTAO improvements, auto exposure and inverse-square light falloff. Clouds and shadows are the first settings to lower if FPS is low.
- **CPU matters most.** Every soft-body vehicle is physics-heavy. Limit AI traffic count and parked cars on weaker CPUs.
- **Photo Mode (overhauled in v0.39):** camera/scene/effects panels with presets, a flash, **Motion Capture** for motion-blur shots, and an in-game gallery.
- The official docs keep **performance tips** and a list of **incompatible software** that's worth checking if the game crashes.

## Mods

- Get mods from the in-game **Repository** (official) or the BeamNG forums. Be careful with random sites.
- Since v0.37 the default user folder is `AppData\Local\BeamNG\BeamNG.drive\current\`. Use **Manage User Folder** in the launcher to open it instead of hunting for it.
- After a big update, **disable all mods** first, then turn them back on in batches to find any that break the game. The launcher's **safe mode** helps here too.
- **Multiplayer** isn't part of the base game. The popular community option is the third-party **BeamMP** mod. It isn't official, and its compatibility can lag behind new game versions.

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

- **Keyboard-only driving at high speed.** Digital steering overcorrects. Lower your speed or use a gamepad.
- **Resetting with R when you meant Insert.** R resets physics in place. Insert rewinds you to a moment before the crash.
- **Spawning dozens of AI cars on a mid-range PC.** Each one is a full physics simulation.
- **Updating with outdated mods enabled.** This is the number one cause of UI errors and crashes after a patch.
- **Treating Career like Freeroam.** Repairs cost money, so drive carefully when you're broke.
- **Deleting the whole user folder to "fix" issues.** Clear the cache instead (launcher option) and keep your mods and configs.

## Advanced Tips

- **Slow motion and replays:** Use the replay system (now managed from the pause menu) to review crashes. Slow motion is great for seeing how the physics deforms.
- **Node grabber:** Freeroam lets you grab and drag vehicles with the mouse, which is handy for setting up stunts.
- **Rally pacenotes:** If you're new to rally, use the **Casual** style and move to **Enthusiast** or **Pro** once you know the call format.
- **Drafting (v0.39):** In races, set up passes by sitting in someone's slipstream on the straights.
- **Achievements:** v0.39 added more than 50 new achievements. Missions and the tutorial knock out a lot of them.
- **World Editor (F11):** Build your own tracks or edit existing maps. The official documentation covers the editor and JBeam vehicle modding.

## FAQ

**Is BeamNG.drive finished?**
No. It's still in Early Access (v0.39.x as of September 2026), and big updates arrive a few times a year.

**Does it have multiplayer?**
Not officially. BeamMP is the community multiplayer mod.

**Does it support steering wheels and VR?**
Yes. Wheels with force feedback are supported (configure them in Options > Controls). VR is supported, and v0.39 fixed shadow alignment in VR.

**Why did my mods break after updating?**
Major versions change the UI and vehicle systems. Update the mods, or disable them until their authors do.

**What's the best map for beginners?**
Gridmap for learning the controls, then West Coast, USA for a bit of everything.

**Is Career Mode worth playing?**
Yes, if you like progression, but it's an early preview. Expect rough edges and changes between versions.

**How do I fix low FPS after v0.39?**
Lower clouds, shadows and GTAO, reduce the AI traffic count, and try switching between Vulkan and DX12.

## Sources

- [BeamNG devblog — Long Time, Now See v0.39](https://www.beamng.com/game/news/blog/beamng-drive-v0-39/)
- [BeamNG news (release list)](https://www.beamng.com/game/news/)
- [BeamNG.drive on Steam — v0.39 hotfixes, v0.38 and v0.37 announcements](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/284160)
- [BeamNG documentation — Beginner guide & controls](https://documentation.beamng.com/getting_started/beginner-guide/)
- [BeamNG documentation — Official levels](https://documentation.beamng.com/official_content/levels/)
- [BeamNG documentation — Performance tips](https://documentation.beamng.com/support/troubleshooting/performance_tips/)