# BeamNG.drive Long Time, Now See v0.39 - Product: BeamNG.drive (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/beamng-drive) - Vendor: BeamNG - Date: 2026-07-29 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/284160/view/695394018676179396 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/beamng-drive/releases/2026-07-29-long-time-now-see-v0.39 What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog. Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'. --- - **added** — HDR output support on Vulkan and Direct3D 12 for brighter highlights, wider color ranges, and improved display accuracy on HDR-capable monitors - **added** — Volumetric clouds in the sky system - **added** — Physically-based night sky with Milky Way rendering and constellation database synchronized with latitude, longitude, date, and time of day - **added** — Multiple scattering sky model with new dynamic ambient lighting based on spherical harmonics - **added** — New vehicle tab in the Pause menu to manage spawned vehicles individually or in bulk - **added** — Dedicated Pause-menu workflow for managing replays with ability to manage recordings entirely from the Pause menu - **added** — Photo Mode presets that can be completely or partially restored and shared with other players via metadata JSON files - **added** — Photo Mode gallery to view all screenshots inside the game and load presets from it - **changed** — Improved shadow stability while driving and moving the camera - **changed** — Replaced old light falloff models with physically correct inverse-square physical light model for more realistic lighting behavior - **changed** — Redesigned entire Pause menu for more flexible solutions for players, modders, and developers - **changed** — Improved gamepad functionality with vastly easier menu navigation for gamepad users - **changed** — Renamed UI apps to HUD apps with new UI for editing layouts in the System tab of the Pause menu - **changed** — Fully ported Options menu to Vue with new back-end and ability to apply heavy graphics settings live with feedback and confirmation countdown for critical display changes - **changed** — Ported Photo Mode to Vue with new UI and customization parameters across Camera, Scene, Effects, Overlays, and Capture options - **fixed** — Shadow detachment and floating away from objects like wheels and car bodies - **fixed** — VR shadow alignment for both eyes in VR - **fixed** — Flickering when the sun moves and blending between different shadow cascades - **security** — New UI system is much more moddable than before with ability to add Options tabs and custom buttons It's alive!!! Hello drivers, and thanks for your patience while we put together **the biggest update** we’ve ever delivered! Version 0.39 comes jam-packed with features, including **massive graphics changes, a full UI overhaul, a new vehicle,** and a ton of quality of life features. ##### Graphics Let’s start with **shadows**, which have received a massive overhaul. We’ve improved the stability of shadows while driving and moving the camera. Shadows should no longer detach or float away from objects like wheels and car bodies (Peter Pan will be so pleased). We’ve fixed VR shadows as well. They should now align properly for both eyes in VR. Besides that, we’ve also improved GTAO quality and added auto exposure. We’ve also made a number of smaller fixes and changes that should result in less flickering when the sun moves, smoother blending between different shadow cascades, and so on. Check the patch notes for more information on the improvements we’ve made to the shadow system! But that’s not nearly the only thing we’ve done, graphics-wise. We’ve added **HDR output** support on Vulkan and Direct3D 12, for brighter highlights, wider color ranges, and improved display accuracy on HDR-capable monitors. We also implemented physically correct **light attenuation**, replacing the old light falloff models with an inverse-square physical light model, resulting in more realistic lighting behavior across the board. We’ve done some work on the sky as well. Not only have we added **volumetric clouds**, but we’ve also added a **physically-based night sky**. The sky is based on real astronomical values, including **Milky Way** rendering and a constellation database, fully synchronized with latitude, longitude, date, and time of day. For the daytime travelers, we’ve added a multiple scattering sky model with **new dynamic ambient lighting** based on spherical harmonics, which will result in a more realistic and natural sky across different times of day. Many of you will be able to enjoy the improved visuals as is, while others might want to revisit their graphics options and dial them back a bit to reach a desired framerate. All of the default graphics presets will look better than before, so **don't be afraid to experiment** with lower settings than you're used to! If you were already running with the lowest preset, the impact should be minimal, hopefully. ##### User Interface ##### User Interface Overhaul We’ve made some major changes to the UI. First up, the entire **Pause menu** has been redesigned, offering much more flexible solutions for players, modders and us as developers. Part of the reason for the UI overhaul is to improve **gamepad functionality**. With the old system, gamepad navigation in the menus ranged from annoying to virtually impossible. The new system will vastly improve the experience for gamepad users, who should find it significantly **easier to navigate** the menus and systems in the game. We’ve also added some new functions that could come in useful, please check the patch notes for exact details of what’s changed. However, here’s a small sampler of what we’ve done. The **new vehicle tab** in the Pause menu will allow you to manage every vehicle you have spawned into the level, whether individually or in bulk. These quick actions should make vehicle management a less painful process. UI apps have been renamed to **HUD apps** to better represent their function, and we’ve made a new UI for editing the layouts which can be found in the **System tab** of the Pause menu. We’ve completely revamped the UI for managing **Replays**. The new system will use a dedicated Pause-menu workflow instead of requiring an app to be added, and recordings can be managed entirely from the Pause menu. The **Options menu** has been fully ported to Vue, with a new back-end that controls all its functions. You’ll now be able to apply heavy graphics settings live with feedback, while critical display changes use a confirmatio _[Truncated at 4000 characters — full notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/284160/view/695394018676179396]_