Dedicated Server for BeamMP (BeamNG.drive): Hardware Requirements and Hosting Guide

BeamMP is the premier multiplayer modification for BeamNG.drive, transforming the physics-driven sandbox into a multiplayer experience where players can race, explore, and crash together in real time. What makes BeamMP uniquely demanding as a server workload is that it inherits BeamNG.drive’s soft-body physics engine — every vehicle collision, deformation, and interaction must be simulated and synchronized across all connected clients. This computational load makes dedicated server hardware not just beneficial but necessary for any server with more than a handful of concurrent players.

Before diving into hardware specifics, compare dedicated server providers on our comparison table to find configurations that match BeamMP’s unique performance requirements.

Why BeamMP Is Different from Other Game Servers

Unlike traditional game servers that use simplified physics models optimized for multiplayer, BeamMP runs the full BeamNG.drive physics engine server-side. Every vehicle in the world has a complete soft-body simulation with thousands of individual nodes, beams, and hydraulic elements. When two cars collide, the server must calculate deformation, component breakage, and the resulting physics response for every structural element — then broadcast those changes to all connected clients.

This architecture creates three distinct areas of server load:

• CPU-bound physics simulation: Each vehicle consumes 5-15% of a single CPU core depending on complexity and collision state. A server with 8 vehicles in close proximity can saturate a modern 8-core processor.
• Network synchronization: Vehicle state updates (position, rotation, velocity, damage state) are broadcast at high frequency. Each connected vehicle generates 200-500 Kbps of upstream traffic.
• World state management: The server tracks all world modifications, including destructible objects, vehicle debris, and player-created content. This state must be persisted and synchronized.

BeamMP Server Hardware Requirements

Based on testing with the current BeamMP server build (v1.38+), here are the hardware requirements calibrated for various player counts:

Player Count	CPU (Minimum)	CPU (Recommended)	RAM	Bandwidth
2-6 players	4 cores @ 3.0 GHz	4 cores @ 3.5 GHz+	8 GB	100 Mbps
6-12 players	6 cores @ 3.5 GHz	8 cores @ 4.0 GHz+	16 GB	250 Mbps
12-20 players	8 cores @ 3.5 GHz	10-12 cores @ 4.0 GHz+	32 GB	500 Mbps
20+ players	12 cores @ 3.8 GHz	16 cores @ 4.5 GHz+	64 GB	1 Gbps

The critical insight is that BeamMP’s CPU requirements scale super-linearly with player count. Doubling the player count from 6 to 12 more than doubles the CPU load because more vehicles interact with each other, creating combinatorial physics calculations. Over-provisioning CPU is strongly recommended.

Storage and World Persistence

BeamMP saves world state — including vehicle positions, damage states, and world modifications — to disk at configurable intervals. NVMe Gen 4 or Gen 5 storage is essential for servers running custom maps or modded vehicle packs, which can exceed 50 GB. Latency-sensitive save operations on HDDs can cause world-wide stutter for all connected players.

Network Configuration and Latency

BeamMP is sensitive to both latency and jitter. The soft-body physics simulation requires frequent state updates; if packets arrive late, clients may desync, resulting in teleporting vehicles and phantom collisions. For optimal performance, choose a dedicated server provider with low-latency peering to your target player region. European and North American players typically need servers in Frankfurt, Amsterdam, or Ashburn/New York. For global communities, consider multi-region deployments with geographic DNS routing.

Installing and Configuring BeamMP on a Dedicated Server

Setting up a BeamMP server on a Linux-based dedicated server requires several steps:

• Install SteamCMD and dependencies: Download and install SteamCMD, then use it to download the BeamMP server files. Install required libraries including libssl, libcurl, and mono-complete for the Launcher.
• Configure server settings: Edit the ServerConfig.toml file to set your server name, max player count, map rotation, vehicle selection, and authentication settings.
• Set up RCON: Enable RCON (Remote Console) for remote administration. Configure a secure password and restrict RCON access to trusted IP addresses.
• Optimize tick rate: The default physics tick rate is 30 Hz. For racing-focused servers, consider increasing to 60 Hz if your CPU can sustain it. For exploration/casual servers, 30 Hz is sufficient.
• Enable logging and monitoring: Configure server logging to track performance metrics and identify bottlenecks. Use tools like htop and nload for real-time monitoring.
• Implement auto-restart: Schedule automatic server restarts every 6-12 hours to clear accumulated memory fragmentation, which BeamMP is prone to over extended sessions.

Mod Management and Performance

BeamMP supports custom vehicles, maps, and gameplay mods. However, each mod adds CPU and memory overhead. Complex custom vehicles with detailed soft-body models can consume 2-3x the CPU of a base-game vehicle. Limit the number of custom vehicles available per server slot, and test mods in isolation before deploying them to production. Use a dedicated mods directory and version-control your mod selections to maintain compatibility.

Choosing the right hosting infrastructure is critical for a smooth BeamMP experience. See gaming server specs on our comparison page to evaluate dedicated server configurations optimized for physics-heavy game servers like BeamMP.