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[Teknopathetic]

Genre: Fantabulous Loop de loop, wall riding, booster, big air, drifting, community driven, custom track creating, replay sharing, movie making, leaderboard obsession arcade racing
Platform: PC
Release Date: September 14th, 2011
Price: 20e/20l~/25$


I debated not making a snarky Q&A for this OT. It's the next installment in the best arcade racing series of the past decade. End of. That's all you need to know. Buy it.

Seriously.


You praise this game pretty highly, what does this game do differently from other

A built-in track editor with which you can create your own tracks? Huge loops? Instant restarts? Half-pipes? Wall-rides? Big jumps? Built in movie maker with which you can make amazing videos like this classic?

It's just an all around unique racing experience. There's no car collision, it's simply you against the track, trying to get the fastest time possible.


No car collision? How can I be a turn 1 warrior if I can't rear end someone? Did you just interrupt me?

The tracks in Trackmania often require a certain amount of precision. It's almost like Platforming with cars. Having people bump into you, ruining your run, especially after a particularly tricky section would be frustrating to no end. Trackmania is very pure in that it's just you against the track, I like to think this leads to a more friendly community in multiplayer as well.


What's the single player like, then?

The single player is almost exactly the same as the multiplayer, it's just you against the track, with optional ghosts on Tracks made in-house by Nadeo. You practice a few runs on a track, and after 5 minutes you will be allowed to make an official run. Your timing on the official run places you on the leaderboard and uploads a ghost for anyone to download and race against themselves. If you manage to get a medal by beating specific times, you will earn a certain amount of Planets, depending on how good of a medal you got.

What else can you do with Planets?

There's a huge community focus with Trackmania. It's all about players creating things for players and players interacting with players. Trackmania is very mod friendly. You can create your own custom car skin in-game. You can also import your own custom car models for that extra bit of personalization. Thus, there's also built in support for players to "buy" models and skins with Planets.

One thing that's also popular in Multiplayer are servers that have custom skins on them with random drawings and race betting to award Planets.

I've heard enough! Where can I buy?

It's available only from the official website and ubi-soft store.

http://www.trackmania.com/

http://shop.ubi.com/store/ubina/en_.../productID.234204400/TRACKMANIA-2-CANYON.html

Media:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sB4uuXBG44
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj7oVuHlFKs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzkR-cbJN6g


Playing with other NeoGAFfers

There is a NeoGAF Group that you can join by going to the Profile menu. The Username is NeoGAF and the password is believe.

Joining a group will let you keep track of other gaffers on the leaderboards and make it easy for us to compare times and download ghosts of other gaffers. Join!


Get custom cars and skins!

http://www.maniapark.com

 

[hamchan]

Buy this game.

 

[Symphonic]

So if I have the beta, how do I get to the full release from that?

 

[Teknopathetic]

The beta will update itself to the final version.

 

[ascully]

When can we update?

 

[Alex Connolly]

I'm having a lot of fun with it. Such a relaxing experience.

 

[Carm]

Still hasn't released yet =x, thought it was suppose to be midnight. As for the beta to retail build, they better give beta players access to the retail build for back up purposes. I already posed the question on their forum but no one from Nadeo bothered responding to it.

 

[Para bailar La Bomba]

As a newcomer to the Trackmania series on PC does it have wheel support?

Also no DRM, right?

 

[The M.O.B]

I stopped playing the beta for a couple weeks, didn't want to overdose on TM.

First thing im gonna play when I get back from classes tomorrow.

 

[Soulstar]

I'm definitely going to buy this game.

 

[Teknopathetic]

"Still hasn't released yet =x, thought it was suppose to be midnight. As for the beta to retail build, they better give beta players access to the retail build for back up purposes. I already posed the question on their forum but no one from Nadeo bothered responding to it."

You can redownload the client from your Players page.


"As a newcomer to the Trackmania series on PC does it have wheel support?

Also no DRM, right?"

It doesn't really have much in the way of Wheel support, though you can map your wheel just fine. No Force Feedback or anything like that, though.

No Ubisoft DRM, but it requires you to be online for Multiplayer (obviously) and the Single player mode, though you can play LAN, hot seat, and split screen modes offline.

 

[Symphonic]

The beta will update itself to the final version.

Great...I'm still stuck restarting the game from the last update! And Ubisoft doesn't let me download the game again! Yay!

 

[Carm]

"Still hasn't released yet =x, thought it was suppose to be midnight. As for the beta to retail build, they better give beta players access to the retail build for back up purposes. I already posed the question on their forum but no one from Nadeo bothered responding to it."

You can redownload the client from your Players page.


"As a newcomer to the Trackmania series on PC does it have wheel support?

Also no DRM, right?"

It doesn't really have much in the way of Wheel support, though you can map your wheel just fine. No Force Feedback or anything like that, though.

No Ubisoft DRM, but it requires you to be online for Multiplayer (obviously) and the Single player mode, though you can play LAN, hot seat, and split screen modes offline.

The consumer shouldn't have to use in game currency to get access to a retail build, at least the first download.

 

[Para bailar La Bomba]

It doesn't really have much in the way of Wheel support, though you can map your wheel just fine. No Force Feedback or anything like that, though.
.

Thanks. A bit surprising no FFb. What is the preferred method of control?

 

[Teknopathetic]

"The consumer shouldn't have to use in game currency to get access to a retail build, at least the first download."

While I agree that it shouldn't be the case, with Ubisoft publishing I'd take that over no redownloads at all.


"Thanks. A big surprising no FF. What is the preferred method of control?"

Most people will say Pads or KB, though.

 

[Carm]

"The consumer shouldn't have to use in game currency to get access to a retail build, at least the first download."

While I agree that it shouldn't be the case, with Ubisoft publishing I'd take that over no redownloads at all.


"Thanks. A big surprising no FF. What is the preferred method of control?"

Most people will say Pads or KB, though.

If it was on Steam... yea I'm a little bitter about that. Nothing I've seen so far in the beta warrants it not being on Steam. It would fix this issue and others that have arisen for people preordering the beta. Unless the Single player is a massive overall from TMUF, it even has the same shitty key configuration UI from TMUF.

Thankfully the game itself can be fun, if you can get past all the horrible user created tracks that make up most of the servers.

Enough complaining though, it's hard not to want to love the game. When it clicks, nothing I can think of comes close to the feeling I get when you nail a good time on a track.

 

[.nimrod]

Since nobody saw it in the old thread:

I made my first track yesterday

It's a 1 minute course, let me know what you think


Download at tm-exchange: http://tm.mania-exchange.com/tracks/view/3846

alternate download link since tm-ex is down right now: http://www.mediafire.com/file/aom561r083i6k00/Jackpot.Map.Gbx

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGgsFO2jLUk&hd=1

 

[Teknopathetic]

It would appear that I'm updating to the release version right now.

 

[mxgt]

Game is awesome, looking forward to the release version.

 

[Ikuu]

I'm having a lot of fun with it. Such a relaxing experience.

I love that about the game, it's the perfect game to fire up for 10-15 minutes when you need to kill some time.

 

[Gen X]

I knew I should've got the Beta and paid for retail the other week when I looked at the Trackmania website. Oh well, it was only going to be an impulse purchase, I'll check back tomorrow.

 

[DieH@rd]

Imma gonna wait for Steam version.

 

[Corky]

Imma gonna wait for Steam version.

when is this supposed to be?

 

[Dynoro]

when is this supposed to be?

Maybe never as Maniaplanet doesn't work within the the structure/pricing that Valve have for Steam.

 

[TheLegendOfMart]

Thanks. A bit surprising no FFb. What is the preferred method of control?

Keyboard/Gamepad. This isnt a game for a steering wheel there are lots of sharp corners and stuff that would be unplayable if you used steering wheel.

 

[Shawsie64]

I was in the beta preorder, downloaded but formatted my PC how I download again? Can you just log in?

Edit: Just sifted through my emails and found it woohoo!

 

[CoolS]

So how can I do official runs in singleplayer? Joint up with the NeoGAF Group as slooc btw.

 

[enzo_gt]

Yeah I think "Why isnt it on Steam?" should be included in OP because people will probably ask that often.

 

[1-D_FTW]

Have they completely altered the driving model? Tried the first single player map and couldn't get my car to power slide no matter what I did. Only other explanation I can think of is its my Razer Onza controller. Been playing GTA IV lately and cars handle like tanks. It doesn't seem like I have much range of motion anymore. But considering the overly sensitive nature of steering in Trackmania, I find it hard to believe this is the problem.

Yeah I think "Why isnt it on Steam?" should be included in OP because people will probably ask that often.

Except at this point it's clearly been debunked by the reality of the product. It's the same exact engine as the old games. It's not there because they want 100 percent of the sales profits. There's nothing wrong with that, but it goes back to the old "Don't piss in my ear and tell me it's rainwater."

 

[Teknopathetic]

"So how can I do official runs in singleplayer? Joint up with the NeoGAF Group as slooc btw."

It's actually different from the OP where I assumed it would be similar to TMU.

After starting to play a track, you have to wait 5 minutes before you can do an official run. It'll prompt you asking if you want to or if you want to keep training, where it'll ask again in another 60 seconds.

After trying an official run you have to wait another 5 minutes.

I don't believe I like it. If you must wait, I'd prefer it be around 1-2 minutes before official attempts.



"Have they completely altered the driving model? "

Hasn't been altered at all from what I can tell.

 

[mxgt]

Yeah the 5 minute wait is too long

 

[Dynoro]

5 minutes is rather excessive, especially if it is that between attempts as well. Does it vary with the length of track as waiting 5 minutes on a short (20-30 second track) is a little overkill

 

[Myriadis]

So, I remember that the area size in Trackmania Sunrise is pretty limited (what was it?32x32x32?) and I always wanted to create some nice big landscapes. Is the area size in the level editor now bigger?

 

[strata8]

I want to buy this but I'm not too sure how well it will run on my Mobility 5650. I'm able to play Trackmania Nations Forever on the highest settings, though others have told me that Trackmania 2 is much more demanding.

 

[1-D_FTW]

"Have they completely altered the driving model? "

Hasn't been altered at all from what I can tell.

For some unknown reason my controller was radically remapped. Now that it's been reprogrammed and I'm actually hitting a brake button, works the same. Who woulda thunk

I want to buy this but I'm not too sure how well it will run on my Mobility 5650. I'm able to play Trackmania Nations Forever on the highest settings, though others have told me that Trackmania 2 is much more demanding.

Seems like it runs a lot better than the beta. At 1080P with everything cranked (except for shaders on fast and real AA @ 8X) and triple buffering enabled, my GTX 460 was running at about 60-65 percent load and my Q9400 CPU @3.4Ghz never really moved. Not sure there was a single core above 40 percent load. Could have sworn there was one CPU really getting worked in the beta. The video RAM, however, still is high. Was using around 900MB. Depending on how much VRAM you have, could or could not be an issue.

 

[TheExodu5]

I love the game to death, but I will still express my overall disappointment for Trackmania 2. The UI is still just as bad as the original game, and the game performs much worse, considering it's not really a major leap in visuals over TMNUF.

 

[Symphonic]

Ok, can someone please help me with the restarting thing? Ever since the last update it just keeps telling me to restart the game to complete the update when I try and login.

 

[crowphoenix]

When I have money that can be spent as I see fit again, this game will be purchased. The first one is amazing.

 

[1-D_FTW]

Ok, can someone please help me with the restarting thing? Ever since the last update it just keeps telling me to restart the game to complete the update when I try and login.

Should work. I got that twice during the update. Did update, told to restart to complete update, did, told restart to update, did, and it worked on the third time both times. Thought for sure it was going to hang me in this loop, but the third time was the charm on both updates.

 

[Imp the Dimp]

No Steam? Ugh...

I will buy it eventually because I loved Trackmania 1 but the lack of Steam is a huge bummer. Honestly, every freaking PC game should be Steamworks at retail and available through the Steam store.

 

[Joseph Merrick]

feels good man

 

[hiverbon]

old? http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/trackmania-2-launch-trailer-lands

 

[vermadas]

Awesome. I was waiting for this game to update to retail before devoting more time to it. The beta was pretty fun. Hopefully playing Driver:SF simultaneously with this game won't screw me up when I go back to Trackmania's handling model.

 

[1-D_FTW]

"So how can I do official runs in singleplayer? Joint up with the NeoGAF Group as slooc btw."

It's actually different from the OP where I assumed it would be similar to TMU.

After starting to play a track, you have to wait 5 minutes before you can do an official run. It'll prompt you asking if you want to or if you want to keep training, where it'll ask again in another 60 seconds.

After trying an official run you have to wait another 5 minutes.

I don't believe I like it. If you must wait, I'd prefer it be around 1-2 minutes before official attempts.

EDIT: Fuck me. And I wasn't a big fan of the original method. That's retarded to the extreme.

EDIT: Wasn't stealth enough.

 

[Teknopathetic]

"Can someone please tell me where the "official race" is hidden. I've gotten it to appear one time. Even went back and changed the control scheme to default and only remapped gas/brake. It seems like every other button just restarts my race (including hitting the start button). Never had issues with the older games. I can pull up every single menu in the game but the one that asks if you want to run an official lap."


See my previous post where I responded to you about the handling.

 

[ahoyhoy]

Anything change since the beta? Didn't see any mention in the OP.

Fantastic game, by the way. Feels good to actually pay the guys that made the awesomeness that was Nations.

 

[Teknopathetic]

"Anything change since the beta? Didn't see any mention in the OP."

It now includes the Solo mode campaign with the Nadeo made tracks and timing leaderboards. MP is still the same. I believe there are some new skins too.

 

[.nimrod]

EDIT: Fuck me. And I wasn't a big fan of the original method. That's retarded to the extreme.

EDIT: Wasn't stealth enough.

You don't have to wait the full 5 minutes, you get the option to do an official run as soon as you're fast enough.
If you get a bronze/silver/gold medal on your first try in training, it'll ask you right away if you want to do an official run.

 

[-SD-]

old? http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/trackmania-2-launch-trailer-lands

That's an old trailer, yes.

 

[1-D_FTW]

Maybe it's a placebo pill, but the game actually looks better to me. It's almost like the "fast shaders" had the candy upped a bit. I don't remember it looking as good as this before (and I'm not just talking about the gorgeous replays).

You don't have to wait the full 5 minutes, you get the option to do an official run as soon as you're fast enough.
If you get a bronze/silver/gold medal on your first try in training, it'll ask you right away if you want to do an official run.

Yeah. It seems like there's different times for different circumstances. Wasn't pleased when my official lap attempt defaulted back to 1st person (from far out 3rd) for the official race, muffed it, and was put on another timer though.