License plates modding guide

Not so long ago a new feature has been added to BeamNG Drive. It allow us to create custom license plates for vehicles. In this article, you will enjoy this detailed guide on modding this part of the game models in BeamNG Drive.

All you will need to mod a license plates in the game, is a image and a text editors. We were use GIMP and notepad++.

Preparing

To create a properly working license plate mod, we need at least three files: jbeam file, json file and a texture file.

Jbeam file contains all relevant information about your license plate and designates the path to the corresponding json file.
At the same time the json file contains the path to all the texture files you are going to use in your mod.
Moreover, you will need to have at least one background texture for your license plate.

Creating a mod

Preparing file structure

Go to following path:

"C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Documents\BeamNG.drive\mods\unpacked"

Create several folders to match up the corresponding file path of the mod. In the end it should looks like this:

"C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Documents\BeamNG.drive\mods\unpacked\username_mod\vehicles\common\licenseplates\username_license_plate\"

Change the bold parts to your mod's name. Just make sure that the name is unique, to avoid problems with mods from other users or official content of the game.

Names username_mod and username_license_plate define the name of your mode within the game.

Creating texture

Open GIMP or any other image editor. We are going to create the background of our license plate. Texture for the background have a resolution of 512 by 256 pixels - use only this resolution.
Use this template to create your own background for the license plate. Remember that you need to create a template without the text on it. We will add the text later.

Once you're done, export th file as .png in the folder you created earlier and give it a unique name.

Creating json file

After we finished creating the texture, we need to create another json file that will provide the connection between the liccense plate and texture.


{

"name" : "username_license_plate",

"version" : 1,

"data" : {

"size" : {"x" : 512, "y": 256},

"text" : { "x" : 0.5, "y" : 0.65, "scale" : 1, "color" : "rgb(187, 61, 0)", "limit" : 8},

"diffuse" : {

"spriteImg" : "vehicles\common\licenseplates\default\platefont_d.png",

"backgroundImg" : "vehicles\common\licenseplates\user_license_plate\user_license_plate_background_d.png",

"fillStyle" : "black"

},



"bump" : {

"spriteImg" : "vehicles\common\licenseplates\default\platefont_n.png",

"backgroundImg" : "vehicles\common\licenseplates\default\licenseplate-default_n.png",

"fillStyle" : "rgb(0,0,255)"

},



"specular" : {

"spriteImg" : "vehicles\common\licenseplates\default\platefont_s.png",

"fillStyle" : "rgb(233,233,233)"

}

}

}


Next we need to configure our file:

name: can be whatever you want.
data:

• text: determines the appearance of the text. Change the value for "X" and "Y" to define the text location. Change the "scale" setting to adjust the size of the text and the parameter "color" to change the color of the text. Option "limit" specifies the maximum number of characters on your license plate.
• diffuse/bump/specular: here you need to describe where are the various texture files. You can use up to three different map types: - diffuse-, -bump-, -specular-.
• spriteImg/backgroundImg: determine what textures will be used for text (spriteImg) and background (backgroundImg).
• fillStyle: determines which color will be used until the options spriteImg/backgroundImg not defined.

Note: if you have created your own map mod, you can create your own standard license plate for your mod. All you need to do is specify the name for the folder with your mod the same as the name of the map and rename one of the json files in licensePlate-default.json. Don't forget to fix the file paths.

Creating jbeam file

{

"USERNAME_license_plate_2_1": {

"information":{

"authors":"BeamNG",

"name":"License Plate Mod",

"value":50

},

"slotType" : "licenseplate_design_2_1",

"licenseplate_path" : "vehicles/common/licenseplates/user_license_plate/user_license_plate.json"

}

}

• Change the part name: first of all, change the part name in the second line to something unique.
• Adjust the "information" section: the parameter "authors" specify the author's name, and the "name" parameter is the name of your license plate. This name will appear in the game.
• slotType: this setting MUST be "licenseplate_design_2_1". This parameter is crucial and has a direct relationship with the root jbeam file of the vehicle. The value "_2_1" defines the ratio of the plate.
• licenseplate_path: specifies the path to the appropriate json file.

Once you have completed all steps above, it's time to test your mod in the game. Open the part selector menu and check if your mod is in the list.

Activate it, start the game and observe the results.

Ready! You are great!