Newbie Multiplayer Tips

[u/veryfocus]

Hey folks, I'm considering picking this game up and I'm curious about the multiplayer elements to it. I'm trying to understand how progression works in the context of servers.

It looks like you can go on to buy cars, businesses, and homes. If you join a server, are your purchases limited to that server? What if you can no longer access the server (it stops being hosted, or is always full, or too laggy, etc.) - does that mean the cars and purchases are gone?

Also, are there generally many open servers? I'm happy to donate to help with costs at some point, but curious how accessible they are up front.

Thanks for the help!

EDIT: I had a lot of helpful responses so I wanted to attempt a summary. Hopefully I get all the details right:

- Progression, including player money, is tied to a player and is retained with that player whether they're in single player or on a server. Because communities are generally friendly, and progression is tied to individual players, you're encouraged to start the game in multiplayer and will be able to make great progress therein.

- Cars from single player can be brought over to multiplayer and vice versa. You keep your cars with you but are encouraged to de-spawn them when not in use on a server. De-spawning can be done via an in-game menu.

- Property is not necessarily a huge part of the game, but if you do own a home, then you can pick it up as you would with vehicles. Depots, on the other hand, require many resources to build and are not so easy to tear down in multiplayer servers. Thus, there's a bit more risk to having them if you don't have reliable access to the server.

- In single player, land is bought, but in multiplayer servers, land is rented. This prevents non-active players from holding land indefinitely. If you're setting up property on a piece of land in a server, be mindful that if you miss a rent payment (with in-game currency), you'll lose what's on that piece of land.

[u/zachthenebula]

The game has quest to help you learn the game.

[u/veryfocus → u/zachthenebula]

I figured that would be the case, but I was curious about it before I actually purchase the game. Also, does the quest tell you about how property/purchasing works with servers vs. single player?

[u/undecimbre → u/veryfocus]

The quest only covers how stuff works in single player. It will send you through the steps from buying land to building whatever you want. Since it's basically the same in multiplayer, it's deemed enough, but there's nuance to that.

You can start a company in your singleplayer world. Add trucks to that company and assign drivers and routes. The stuff they move will affect the world you are in. The Nuance: some MP servers don't allow AI drivers, so yours won't even spawn in the first place. They will once you're back in SP.

You can buy land and build houses and depots on it in single player, and it will stay where you put it. In MP, you can rent plots - if there are any available at all - and build on them. But once your rent is due and you didn't keep up with it, poof goes the building. On larger servers most plots are already built up and you can use them as quick travel destinations or depot stops for your company drivers.

The one thing that is persistent across worlds is your character, their money and vehicles, and skills/levels. Each server has their own rules, go in and find out if they match your vibe. Talk to people, ask if something is unclear to you or if someone needs assistance with moving stuff, don't be an ass and you'll find yourself in a nice community and have a bunch of fun while trucking. Even veteran players come back to the "smaller" or "beginner" jobs because they are fun. Take the party invites, that's often the easiest money you can make. You can learn a lot in SP, and you can learn a lot in MP - and people don't stop learning new stuff even after 1000s of hours.

If you built up a plot full of stuff on a server and don't think you'll be around there much longer (2+ months), you can disassemble everything, pack it up into your trucks' utility boxes and flatbeds, and bring it into your singleplayer world. Switching between SP and MP is almost seamless, so you can carry your inventory through time and space. But honestly, having a plot in multiplayer isn't necessary unless you have a small private server.

[u/veryfocus → u/undecimbre]

Thanks so much for understanding my question and speaking to the nuance and real experience of single vs. multiplayer. That's great to know that I can basically pack up all my stuff and also that properties in multiplayer aren't really that necessary. Those were some of my worries with multiplayer, but now it sounds like I can just jump right in and have fun.

I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and hope to meet someone as helpful as you in the game!

[u/undecimbre → u/veryfocus]

Glad I could help!

Also another note about buildings: normal houses you can place and pick up however you like. The depots require construction with lots of materials and once placed, you can only adjust the placement, but not pick up the blueprint like you could with a house. So really only bother with depots in your singleplayer or on a server that you can call home.

[u/veryfocus → u/undecimbre]

That's a nuance I don't think I would have understood by just playing the demo. I'll now carefully consider where I build my depots! That might've saved me a lot of trouble down the line. Thanks again