Why I Reupload Mods — My Side of the Story

Hello everyone!

I thought long and hard about whether to write this post, but I finally decided to do it. Today we're going to talk about the BeamNG.drive forum and repository — and about why its inhabitants seem to still be living in 2010. Let's start from the very beginning.

Situation 1: A fix that wasn’t allowed into the repository

I made a fixed version of the "Small Island" map (the old one). Originally, this map was available for version 0.3.0, but Car Killer ported it to a more current version at the time (0.15.x). In December 2025, I decided to take and fix the textures on a map I really like. However, as it turned out, I don't have the right to take a map made by the developers, update it, and submit it to the repository without permission. On my side, I did everything to make the map work on the then-new 0.38.x, and I also credited the authorship, labeling it as a fixed version.

The map was rejected, and Car Killer wrote to me saying that you can't just take and publish a map without permission. By Car Killer's logic, I can't update a developer's map for a new patch, yet he himself updated that very map to 0.15.x — where's the logic in that? In the end, I published the map on Modland and other independent sites.

I also recently learned that the forum and repository prohibit publishing mods that contain other people's 3D models, textures, and sounds. So no one is going to upload mods to the forum or repository — but on Modland you can upload them, and in most cases no one will do anything to you. The exception is if the author himself finds his model and files a complaint, then moderation will remove your modification from the site. Moreover, here, as on many other sites, you can publish reworks or fixed versions of maps made by other users — whereas on the forum, as in the situation with the Small Island map, you can't take a map, update it for a new patch, and upload it, even with credit, although Car Killer himself did exactly the same thing earlier. It seems the repository operates on the rule "what is allowed to Jupiter is not allowed to the bull," and this rule is carefully passed down from generation to generation of local old-timers.

Modland offers more opportunities, while the forum/repository is an official source but with a ton of drawbacks and more limited functionality. Does anyone even use the mod subscription feature? It's stupid — everyone I know downloads mods and drops them into the folder manually. If there were a single repository with all mods, including paid ones, and a proper system, people would use it. Those who genuinely defend the repository and lick it clean, in my opinion, are stuck in the past and don't know that in 2026 this could be improved a thousandfold. I believe that as of October 2026, the BeamNG.drive repository is outdated and requires serious rework. But apparently, its defenders would rather argue themselves blue in the face defending an archaic interface and strange rules than admit the obvious.

Situation 2: Mod reuploads

Lately, I've been getting a ton of hate from unauthorized users who sit on the forum 24/7 and cry when their mods appear on Modland. This part is especially for you, dear retrogrades.

Let's start with the simple: what can the repository or forum hook you with, apart from automatic installation via subscription (the in-game repository)? Nothing. It literally looks like a site from the 2000s, when internet forums were just emerging: a sparse interface, sometimes confusing, small images, no ratings on the main page (see screenshots below)..

Meanwhile, on Modland (and not only there), the mod tiles are large and clear. You immediately understand that you're downloading a tuning mod, not some obscure icon. But no, some stubbornly cling to their antediluvian pages, as if progress were something shameful.

Furthermore, comrades, people here make money from reuploads. The scheme is simple: I download a mod from the repository, upload it to Modsfire servers, insert the link, and publish the content. The user downloads the mod, watches ads, and I get a little money for it. Isn't that a miracle?

But forum members think content should either be paid or freely downloadable directly from the forum. They just don't consider that no one is going to go to the forum to sell real cars, maps, and tuning. Can you imagine what Royal Renderings, Bubon2012, diey, Kenemation, Frix, and others would look like on the forum? Of course, forum lovers will reply that you can use Modland and other ways of communication between players and authors. However, I want to note that by gathering all mods in one place, we give players a choice: drive a BMW from Bubon, a McLaren from Frix, or download a lore-friendly car like the Ibishu King Gym. And you keep sitting in your museum corner telling everyone how things used to be better.

Situation 3: The forum ban

90% of those who write angry comments under my posts came specifically from the thread about the Gavril D15 — a paid mountain mod that came out for $3.5 and looks worse than the standard Gavril D.

These aren't excuses, just bare facts. The one who banned me (Fluffy Panda) didn't look into the problem and caved to complaints from forum authorities. Every time I visited the Gavril D15 thread page, I stated that I don't promote piracy or mod leaks and asked not to touch on topics unrelated to the mod discussion. But you, comrades, deliberately provoked me. I sent screenshots of the mod's problems several times so the author would notice them and fix them in a future update. But for some reason, every time moderation deleted my screenshots but didn't delete the off-topic from other forum members. Strange, isn't it? As if moderation there exists only to protect "their own" and punish those who don't fit into their cozy little world.

Situation 4: GoogleBurst

DaveBro, sorry, I couldn't resist highlighting your mod as a separate situation 😂.

So, DaveBro claims that the "GoogleBurst" skin is his mod. However, "his" mod uses the Google logo, which is protected by copyright (according to DaveBro himself). Thus, DaveBro contradicts himself: he says it's his mod, even though the logo (the only thing in the mod) belongs to Google. Moreover, this mod was removed on the BeamNG forum but remained on Modland and other sites. If Google had any complaints, it would have filed a lawsuit long ago — either against Modland or against me (especially since Google officially suspended its operations in Russia). So much for the double standards of the local guardians of order.

So, dear offended forum lovers, if you have any complaints about my mod reuploads, please take them to court! And while you're writing reports and downvoting my posts, I'll continue using Modland and other normal platforms where there's no place for this bureaucracy.

Love and peace to all!

The text was translated using DeepSeek AI; 

errors are possible. Original in Russian: glas.su/s/21RtHO