So I might go all Harry Knowles here and explain whats happened to me as to why I am completely transfixed with this FREE game.
I've been working over the weekend in a hotel room in Stockholm in the least glamorous way, and needed something to pass the time. Papercut sends me a IM to the effect that I like wierd driving games, check out TrackMania, its free and downloadable.
My Laptop has an ATI X1400 in it, what does that mean? Who knows, I think it might be similar 3d spec to my current cobwebbed desktop PC.
So I install the game, setup an online account and hack away at the single player.
8 hours later.
No gears, nothing to customise, just you and the track and some excellently straight forward physics. The tracks are kinda akin to those in StuntGP, that kinda ribbon affair, then it might go over "dirt" and you get Sega Rally like drifting, and it might go over grass and you get a similar mega slide fest.
There are also some excellent non-crufted physics based obsticles in the vein of Race Driver / Stunt Driver with loop the loops, walls to drive around and my favourite the engine turn off pad, where you are expected to carry momentum enough through a sequence of corners without any engine power, which is a great test of the skillz.
The single player is a series of time trials vs pre recorded medal based opponents, y'know what makes this game so excellent is its absolute focus to timetrialing, not only is there a direct reset no reloading what soever button, but there is a reset to the last check point button too, so you can learn the lines without tracking through the stuff you know, although the momentum is lost.
On top of all this is a global ranking a times things that I haven't really understood, and also, an online make and share tracks thing, where you can get 30 or 50 players all timetrialling simultaneous against each other for a finite periot per track.
It appears to be totally free, and totally excellent, and really great for low attention span bursts of pure concentration.
I have Track Mania Nations on CD somewhere. You can have it if you like as it doesn't work under wine and I cba with Windows.
Oooo Bumpy.
Downloaded the Free game last night and tried it under Wine in Linux. It runs, but like a dog, so I'm going to have to do some tweaking to get the framerate > 1fps. Nevertheless looks very promising. I'm down with the whole ethos of the game, sounds right up my street.
Also I didn't know there's a DS version available, which by all accounts is supposed to be technically very impressive. 60fps (no lie), decent graphics, exceptional draw distance and no pop up apparently. This must be worth a purchase I would think. Anyone have this who can comment on it's awesomeness or otherwise?
I have it, Jibs has played it. Looks like the same game, but on a DS.
Cannot confirm its awesomeness as the game generally hasn't clicked with me.
Track editor though - has to be worth a punt? That was my logic, anyway.
Hmm. Perhaps I should clock up a couple of hours on the free version first to see if I like it or not. It's pure TA, which conceptually sounds great, just you versus the track.
The DS version is pointless if you have a PC capable. The controls are immediate enough, but...
I couldn't tell with the go I had, what makes the PC version good is the simultaneous online ghost car Time Trialing and a league table system to make it all competitive.
Also the track builder gives some entertainment, but there are a clump of tracks that appear to be recycled for extreme TT action. With a sprinkling of completely surreal tracks.
Quite charming in a community driven kinda way.
The paid for PC version gives you different car and track types, but as alway, with a dcent game, and to the chargrin of a developer, all you need is a decent game engine and 1 "track" and its optimisation and technique until you go blind.
They really should have sorted out the product naming side of things as it's pretty confusing as to what you're getting. The DS version appeals because I can see myself slowly drilling through the tracks to get gold on each. It sounds like the perfect pickup play for 10 minutes and put down again game, which is perfect for me at the moment.
I can see that appear certainly, the free PC version of the time (I understand it's been updated in some fashion) the number of tracks was just about right for an afternoon of "drilling".
In theory I should pick it up in PALand , it is cheap I understand, I just haven't ben DSing at all recently, not been on my radar at all.
wha what?
Wii version afoot. Rad. Although I've not got the DS version... but hey more TrackMania the better!
Look, look, its the game... some screens and pixels n' stuff:
http://www.joystiq.com/photos/trackmania-wii/#2646211
brill, this is on me get! list.
perfect Wii title I M H Oh baby.
Yay, Trackmania Wii!, it sort of appeared in the UK, sorry, PALand, without me noticing. Still thanks to a nudge from Paper I picked it up nice n cheap from the amazone.
It is essentially a perfect port of the PC version, with dpad, tilt and all the options you'd hope they'd bother to add considering its not the single most complex title in the world to wangle over.
I mean, Trackmania various version names was oozing content to a stupid point, but if you boil it down its about getting from the start to the finish as fast as possible, and thats it, there are various car types and the usual track tropes but its just about gettin' the golds and if you like that, you like this, if you don't you don't.
Had a little twiddle on the track editor, slightly crazy, as is the shift from Wii pointer to classic mode at less obvious moments in the navigation of menus, but hey, there is an instant restart button, and last checkpoint button, pure game.
So, if you've not played Trackmania at all, the Wii version is worth a punt, if you've got a PC get that one as there is some well subscribed online stuff happening which while available on the Wii appeared devoid of anyone.
I should really pick up Trackmania DS, or a new one that just appeared Trackmania Turbo for the DS... its all the same stuff mind.
Yay! Trackmania 2! There is no way of disguising this is another evolution of Trackmania (sssshhh its essentitially exactly the same as the previous iteration with the number 2 instead of the word extreme, ultimate or planet or something).
What is has is an EVEN BETTER rendering engine, and a completely redundant damage model that, considering the game is about perfect runs, kinda pointless, since one hit and its a restart anyways, and very rarely would a midtrack checkpoint restart bear any fruit.
Admittedly the demo (which I paid for!!!!) is just one (nu) mustang type vehicle and online, I can only imagine the whole game (which is what you are really paying for) will have quite the range of insane loops et al, in fact the furniture on which you drive is more diverse and the online tracks have been even more elaborate.
What spooked me was the specs for the game that inferred a decent GFX card was required (it mentioned Pixel Shader 2.
turns out if your machine ran Trackmania Nations United Forever (I'm not kidding) or whatever it was called, then you can play this.
In summary, I have no idea what the USP of Trackmania 2 is, but its still as fun as it always has been and they will always get my cash as the concept and execution is so brilliant they deserve investment.