Old Version Discussion

Spoiler: Original post

Through download_depot you can access almost any version you want, until you try to go below 0.4. I believe this is because there used to be 2 branches, "Stable" and "Experimental." Ever since 0.4 released they've been removed from Steam entirely, never to return. So my questions are;
A: Is there any way I could get these versions?
and
B: Can any of you OG players corroborate my theory?

(Proof that no other versions before 0.4 exist on SteamDB)
Your help is greatly appreciated!

A thread for discussing all things about old BeamNG.drive! Only rule is that the content has to be at least 6 years old at the time of posting (but it's not strictly enforced or anything)

 

bump because I'm a bum-ass loser who needs a response

 

It's because there aren't any copies of the game from back then saved on steam, 0.4 is about as close as you can get to early beam as far as I know

 

unfortunate
rebuilding from techdemo v2 proved too difficult (can't get car spawning to work + some bugs) although it did still function as a driving game from early 2015

 

I tried this once, but could only get multiple maps to work, as reimplementing the vehicle spawner seemed near impossible without coding it yourself

 

I just put in the old UI (beamngui on github) and tried to load up a different vehicle and the game just crashed

 

So, you can implement map selection back into the tech demo, but their anti-mod car measures are impenetrable. Strange
Perhaps look into the Lua folder? might be something like this

Code:

If vehicle ~= "D-series" then game quit

 

doing this with techdemo v2 and also it almost 100% wouldn't be one simple line of code
my theory is that it's baked into the executable or in code that can't be accessed

 

As @Car8john said there aren't any builds prior to v0.4 on steam. BeamNG came out in late 2012 and only came on steam sometime in mid-late 2015. Any version prior to that 2015 timeline is basically gone forever.

 

I believe there is afew cracks of the release version of the game floating about. Personally I wouldnt trust them but it might be the only way to play 0.3. If youve bought the game already you could give them a go in a vm

 

couple objections:
1. it came out in june 2013 ( ik)
and 2. steam keys were available since 2014 at least

(from internet archive, October 2nd, 2014)
--- Post updated ---

I'm not really down to make my computer turn 5D, alright?

 

Yes, but they did not keep a backup of every version. Most backups of early versions of the game where kept as 'legacy versions', which began around the 0.4 release. Earlier versions of the game where not prioritized, and it has even been said they deleted most of the original versions while cleaning up desktop space by accident

 

I'd ask for someone to just send it to me but I'm not gonna bother with that (eula n shit)

 

You could get someone to send it to you if they are willing to risk the elua, but that would be a rare opportunity, the only other way would be to send your pc to mars

 

again, 5d computer
--- Post updated ---
I feel like I'm getting closer to an answer but I'm code illiterate so I'm gonna need someone to help me comb through to find the cause.
Basically, the game will crash if you try to replace your car, which includes the following parameters:

• Loading new parts (that have a 3d model)
• Loading a new vehicle

but I think it's more worth it to focus on that little "that have a 3d model" in parentheses.
If you try to remove your bumper, CRASH. If you try to add a rollcage, CRASH. If you try to add a turbo? That's fine! Go ahead!

 

Either built in failsafe to prevent vehicle form being swapped, or missing vehicle files (such as vehicle data for listed vehicles being removed in order to save space on tech demo) causing an instability for which the game has no solution (since code to deal with this would also be removed) causing it to simply stop responding

 

more likely a failsafe
they didn't want people getting wise
because changing parts DOES work but only if they have no model attached to them. it's wierd isn't it?
--- Post updated ---
also there's a lot of wierd files alluding to a server system, so... yeah that's odd
--- Post updated ---
UPDATE: These 3 don't crash the game:
2527.186375|CEF|local://local/html/js/hookmanager.js:75|[HookManager]: undefined hook triggered: EngineChange
2527.186610|CEF|local://local/html/js/hookmanager.js:75|[HookManager]: undefined hook triggered: VehicleReset
2527.186677|CEF|local://local/html/js/hookmanager.js:75|[HookManager]: undefined hook triggered: Message

 

Tried my best to see if by some chance the old download links worked from back in August 2013 when I purchased the game, but no luck there
I'll have to dig around on my old HDD to see if I still have the .exe in downloads, but that is across the USA from where I currently live.

 

the main version I'm looking for is 0.3.7.whatever (ideally 7.6-9)
--- Post updated ---
because of the gray Dashboard™
--- Post updated ---
MASSIVE DEVELOPMENT:
The game is coded to crash when RESET_COMPLETELY is called, as when I commented it out in one of the LUA scripts the car stopped changing parts but it didn't break or anything. So, yeah! I'm closer than ever to getting this working!

 

BeamNG is nearly 11 years old and was first available on the 28th - 29th of May 2012. and a little digging on the forum will find you tdev himself saying on May 28th of 2022 that BeamNG has existed for 10 years. I first played BeamNG in early 2013.

At the earliest late 2014 is when the keys were offered. It wasn't available for purchase on the platform itself until mid-2015. I know because I remember BeamNG being in the Steam Greenlight and voting for it to be added.