TrackMania
Encyclopedia
TrackMania is a series of racing game
s for the Windows PC
, Nintendo DS
and Wii
platforms, originally developed
by the French team Nadéo
for the PC. Instead of following the usual trend of choosing a set car and track to play the game, in TrackMania the players can create their own tracks using a "building block" process similar to that of the 1984 game Excitebike
, the 1985 game Racing Destruction Set
and the 1990 Brøderbund release, Stunts
.
Unlike most other racing games, the TrackMania series lets the player race a track as many times as they want within a time limit. Players may choose to respawn
at any time if they land upside down, leave the track or get off to a poor start. Although in multiplayer games multiple cars race on the same track, they cannot collide or otherwise influence each other.
There is also a small, promotional Macromedia Flash online game
called Mini TrackMania.
TrackMania includes some pre-constructed tracks that players can race on to unlock "coppers", the in-game currency. These can be used to buy different building blocks, usually called "blocks", for their track, including regular roads, checkpoints, long bends, loop-the-loops, and jumps, which all snap to a grid automatically. Regular roads can be dragged to create straight sections as well as 90 degree corners. Most other blocks are automatically connected by placing them next to each other. There are three themes, or environments, to choose from: Jungle, Alpine, and Desert, each of which offers a unique car.
making a total of 87 different cars available. Using the built-in or external graphics editor
, players can create their own skins, or modify the originals.
or over the Internet while players may upload their created tracks or skins to the game's website for use by other players.
A large number of tracks for both the original and sequel are available on the community
-driven site TM Exchange website. Skins and 3D car models are also available from the community – TrackMania Carpark having the most car models and TM Skincenter skins ranging from the original TrackMania Sunrise car models to those available from the TrackMania Carpark website.
, making accidental oversteering more likely. "Coast" features slower cars with little traction and small roads where cars are able to drift
through corners. The game was built on an overhauled engine
for better visuals and Internet connectivity with tracks that include skinnable advertisement panels. This version also features two new gameplay modes:
Some of TrackMania Sunrise other enhancements were later added to the Original edition of the game. These include the ability to import new car models and customize many more aspects of the game. "Sunrise" features improved Internet connectivity and implements a peer-to-peer system allowing players to share car models, skins, and more. The new track editor primarily uses the mouse as opposed to the keyboard-driven original, and makes possible special effects like displaying text and changing the camera angle using Media Tracker.
A free expansion pack called eXtreme was released later while the game was also repackaged as TrackMania Sunrise eXtreme, which added multiple elements to enhance the speed and number of stunts in the game. The new "stunt mode" lets players obtain points by performing stunts, such as spinning the car around in mid air and doing flips. After the expiry of a set amount of time, points earned are quickly drained, so players must try to finish with the best score before the time expires.
Mini TrackMania is a simple, online, Macromedia Flash game developed by Inbox Digital to promote TrackMania Sunrise. The game is played with a side on, 2D
perspective, and has only one track featuring jumps and a nitrous boost on both sides of the road against a backdrop featuring some islands. Only the keyboard's left and right arrow keys are used to play the game, which are assigned to "brake" and "accelerate" respectively.
The object of the game is to score as many points as possible by jumping off a series of ramps without crashing the car on landing or failing to clear the gap. The key to successfully clearing the ramps is to keep the car's speed within the two indicated points on the car's speedometer, which move closer to each other after every jump.
, and also for TrackMania itself. This free, stand-alone game had one new environment, "Stadium", and many of the Sunrise edition features, including the advertisement panels, which show ads from sponsors streamed from the internet. The game contains 100 single player tracks, the earlier ones relatively simple in both design and gameplay, but it is largely pitched as an online game. One of the main attractions is the leader board, where players compete for the best times and points. The top five players can be seen on the game's homepage. Nations quickly became popular with almost 1 million registered online players within weeks of its launch), largely due to the wide availability of the freeware game.
acceleration system, which is used in the most recent Stadium version. The new engine allows for more realistic shadows on high end systems while the Stadium environment has double the number of blocks featured in the free version, including dirt paths, water, and indoor sections.
Focus announced on November 9, 2006, that 10,000 copies of TrackMania United could be bought and pre-loaded online then activated from November 16, 2006 onwards. The game became available in retail outlets in France, Canada, Australia, Belgium and the French-speaking part of Switzerland later in 2006, and then from February 23, 2007 in all other regions.
The game is available in the UK and was made available in the US via download for $49.99 on March 23, 2007 and $39.99 on April 17, 2007. As of September 7, 2007, the game is available for $29.95. It was made available for pre-order and pre-load on Steam on June 7, 2007 and unlocked on June 14, 2007.
Players who previously purchased TrackMania or TrackMania: Sunrise can earn a daily copper bonus in TrackMania United by registering their product keys through the game.
Trackmania United Forever is an updated version of Trackmania United featuring seven environments and an all-new mediatracker. It was published by Focus Home Interactive and developed by Nadeo and has a similar layout to Trackmania Nations Forever. Four main modes are available: "Race", "Stunt", "Platform", and "Puzzle" as well as all the tracks from Trackmania Nations Forever.
Nadeo has stated that because they want the game to have a long lifespan, they are working on the engine and user interface rather than adding new content. TrackMania United Forever, for instance, no longer requires the CD to be in the drive due to different copy protection and anti-cheat systems. They also warn players that some features may not be the final versions.
TrackMania United Forever was released on April 15, 2008, with TrackMania Nations Forever released the following day. Both titles are available for download, including on the Steam platform.
was in production for several months by Firebrand Games
and released in Europe on November 14, 2008, then in the United States by Atlus
on March 17, 2009.
TrackMania DS features gameplay similar to that of the other titles in the TrackMania series and also features a comprehensive track editor. It supports single-player and multiplayer play and contains more than 100 tracks and three game modes ("Race", "Platform" and "Puzzle"). Of the seven environments available in the PC version only three are featured in the DS version: "Rally", "Desert" and "Stadium". With Trackmania DS, players can share tracks with other game owners but there is no online connectivity.
The edition and adds three new exotic environments alongside "Stadium": "Island", "Snow" and "Coast", while nearly 150 new races have been specifically created for DS' new environments and game modes.
A track editor has been reinstated which allows players create an infinite number of new tracks then share them worldwide through the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection.
Multiplayer mode also returns with a "Hotseat" mode allowing many players to play on a single console in "One Card" and local "Multi-Card" modes. The release includes the long-awaited online mode available through the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection.
Key Features:
An updated Wii release date on the Nintendo website for the region GB version published by Focus Home Interactive is given as September 23, 2010.
The game will feature an updated graphics, as well as a Split-Screen racing mode and an improved track editor. A new environment named Canyon
will be available in the game, and none of the previous Trackmania environments will be included.
.
Due to the success of the TrackMania series, Guinness World Records
awarded the games six world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. These include "Biggest Online Race", "Most Popular Online Racing Sim" and "Largest Content Base of Any Racing Game", with hundreds of thousands of user created tracks and hundreds of unique cars available for download.
system called StarForce
, which silently installed a driver
with all versions of TrackMania Original, TrackMania Sunrise and the original TrackMania Nations. Many sources falsely reported that TrackMania Nations updated the StarForce drivers only if they were already installed, although versions released after 28 May 2007 installed the StarForce drivers on all computers, even though TrackMania Nations is freeware. The original TrackMania United features StarForce restrictions built into the executable to check the software's key
, but does not install the driver.
Although Valve Software originally included it in the system, on 29 June 2007, the company announced that the version of TrackMania United distributed via their Steam digital distribution platform would no longer include StarForce.
TrackMania United Forever and TrackMania Nations Forever do not include StarForce. If they are applied as upgrades to version of TrackMania United or TrackMania Nations which include StarForce, they attempt to remove it.
Racing game
A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
s for the Windows PC
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
and Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
platforms, originally developed
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
by the French team Nadéo
Nadeo
Nadeo is a French video game developer, based in Issy-les-Moulineaux, Paris. They are the developers of the TrackMania, QuestMania, ShootMania and Virtual Skipper series of video games....
for the PC. Instead of following the usual trend of choosing a set car and track to play the game, in TrackMania the players can create their own tracks using a "building block" process similar to that of the 1984 game Excitebike
Excitebike
is a motocross racing video game franchise made by Nintendo. It first debuted as a game for the Famicom in Japan in 1984 and as a launch title for the NES in 1985. It is the first game of the Excite series, succeeded by its direct sequel Excitebike 64, its spiritual successors Excite Truck and...
, the 1985 game Racing Destruction Set
Racing Destruction Set
Racing Destruction Set is a car racing and motocross computer game that was published in 1985 by Electronic Arts. It was developed for the Commodore 64 computer system, and was advertised as being Commodore 128 compatible...
and the 1990 Brøderbund release, Stunts
Stunts (video game)
Stunts is an early 3D racing video game developed by Distinctive Software, Inc.. The game places emphasis on racing on stunt tracks and features a track editor, it is clearly influenced by the earlier arcade game Hard Drivin' and has many similar elements to the game Stunt Driver which was...
.
Unlike most other racing games, the TrackMania series lets the player race a track as many times as they want within a time limit. Players may choose to respawn
Spawning (computer gaming)
In video games, spawning is the live creation of a character or item. Respawning is the recreation of an entity after its death or destruction....
at any time if they land upside down, leave the track or get off to a poor start. Although in multiplayer games multiple cars race on the same track, they cannot collide or otherwise influence each other.
History
There are currently four basic games in the series. After receiving a freely available patch along with extra content, a game becomes available which adds a word to the title. These newer versions are also offered in stores while a fifth game has been created for the Nintendo DS.- TrackMania, the original, often referred to as TMO
- TrackMania Original
- TrackMania Sunrise, the second game, (TMS)
- TrackMania Sunrise eXtreme, (TMSX)
- TrackMania Nations, the freewareFreewareFreeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
game of the series, (TMN)- TrackMania Nations Forever, also available as a freewareFreewareFreeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
game, (TMNF)
- TrackMania Nations Forever, also available as a freeware
- TrackMania United, sometimes considered a compilation of all previous games, (TMU)
- TrackMania United Forever, (TMUF)
- TrackMania DS, a version for the Nintendo DS
- TrackMania Turbo, the sequel to TrackMania DS
- TrackMania Wii, a version for the Wii
- TrackMania 2Trackmania 2-External links:*...
, the complete sequel, (TM2)
There is also a small, promotional Macromedia Flash online game
Online game
An online game is a game played over some form of computer network. This almost always means the Internet or equivalent technology, but games have always used whatever technology was current: modems before the Internet, and hard wired terminals before modems...
called Mini TrackMania.
Tracks
Cars
TrackMania has three styles of cars, rally super minis, alpine 4x4s, and speed muscle cars. Each has numerous skinsSkin (computing)
In computing, a skin is a custom graphical appearance achieved by the use of a graphical user interface that can be applied to specific software and websites to suit the purpose, topic, or tastes of different users....
making a total of 87 different cars available. Using the built-in or external graphics editor
Raster graphics editor
A raster graphics editor is a computer program that allows users to paint and edit pictures interactively on the computer screen and save them in one of many popular “bitmap” or “raster” formats such as JPEG, PNG, GIF and TIFF....
, players can create their own skins, or modify the originals.
Other features
The game features a network option, which allows players to compete via a LANLocal area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
or over the Internet while players may upload their created tracks or skins to the game's website for use by other players.
A large number of tracks for both the original and sequel are available on the community
Virtual community
A virtual community is a social network of individuals who interact through specific media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals...
-driven site TM Exchange website. Skins and 3D car models are also available from the community – TrackMania Carpark having the most car models and TM Skincenter skins ranging from the original TrackMania Sunrise car models to those available from the TrackMania Carpark website.
TrackMania Sunrise
The second game in the series, TrackMania Sunrise, features more realistic graphics and contains three environments: Island, Bay, and Coast. As in the original game, each has a unique car to fit the environment's characteristics. "Island" features fast sports cars which can turn sharply on mostly wide roads while "Bay" has bouncy cars with less tractionTraction (engineering)
Traction refers to the maximum frictional force that can be produced between surfaces without slipping.The units of traction are those of force, or if expressed as a coefficient of traction a ratio.-Traction:...
, making accidental oversteering more likely. "Coast" features slower cars with little traction and small roads where cars are able to drift
Drifting (motorsport)
Drifting refers to a driving technique and to a motorsport where the driver intentionally over steers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns, while maintaining vehicle control and a high exit speed...
through corners. The game was built on an overhauled engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
for better visuals and Internet connectivity with tracks that include skinnable advertisement panels. This version also features two new gameplay modes:
- Platform gives players a start and finish point with mandatory checkpoints and restart points inbetween. The objective is to finish the race while restarting as few times as possible. Many of these races have jumps and other features that make it difficult to stay on the track.
- Crazy returns to the race course, but this time pits the player against ghosts, each of which has a faster time than the last. Players must score a faster time than each ghost but at the same time not exceed an overall time limit.
Some of TrackMania Sunrise other enhancements were later added to the Original edition of the game. These include the ability to import new car models and customize many more aspects of the game. "Sunrise" features improved Internet connectivity and implements a peer-to-peer system allowing players to share car models, skins, and more. The new track editor primarily uses the mouse as opposed to the keyboard-driven original, and makes possible special effects like displaying text and changing the camera angle using Media Tracker.
A free expansion pack called eXtreme was released later while the game was also repackaged as TrackMania Sunrise eXtreme, which added multiple elements to enhance the speed and number of stunts in the game. The new "stunt mode" lets players obtain points by performing stunts, such as spinning the car around in mid air and doing flips. After the expiry of a set amount of time, points earned are quickly drained, so players must try to finish with the best score before the time expires.
Mini TrackMania is a simple, online, Macromedia Flash game developed by Inbox Digital to promote TrackMania Sunrise. The game is played with a side on, 2D
2D computer graphics
2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
perspective, and has only one track featuring jumps and a nitrous boost on both sides of the road against a backdrop featuring some islands. Only the keyboard's left and right arrow keys are used to play the game, which are assigned to "brake" and "accelerate" respectively.
The object of the game is to score as many points as possible by jumping off a series of ramps without crashing the car on landing or failing to clear the gap. The key to successfully clearing the ramps is to keep the car's speed within the two indicated points on the car's speedometer, which move closer to each other after every jump.
TrackMania Original
TrackMania Original is a version of TrackMania that runs on the Sunrise graphics engine. It features over 10 new block types, from PowerUp! and (unreleased) SpeedUp! patches as well as some functionality from Sunrise such as ad-panels and Media Tracker effects. This version also allows the player to import 3D models for the cars, which can also be skinned. It was released free of charge for owners of TrackMania, in the form of a patch//expansion pack, and made available in store as a cheap collector's edition containing bonus features.TrackMania Nations
On January 27, 2006, Nadeo released TrackMania Nations, partly as a promotion for the Electronic Sports World CupElectronic Sports World Cup
The Electronic Sports World Cup is an international professional gaming championship.Every year winners of national qualifier event around the world earn the right to represent their country in the ESWC Finals...
, and also for TrackMania itself. This free, stand-alone game had one new environment, "Stadium", and many of the Sunrise edition features, including the advertisement panels, which show ads from sponsors streamed from the internet. The game contains 100 single player tracks, the earlier ones relatively simple in both design and gameplay, but it is largely pitched as an online game. One of the main attractions is the leader board, where players compete for the best times and points. The top five players can be seen on the game's homepage. Nations quickly became popular with almost 1 million registered online players within weeks of its launch), largely due to the wide availability of the freeware game.
TrackMania United
On June 30, 2006, TrackMania United was announced, a version that amalgamated all previous TrackMania editions into a single game that includes all the environments from the earlier games, and subsequently future installments of the series. TrackMania United features a peer-to-peer networking system allowing players to share custom content more easily, and a unified ranking system. The updated graphics engine includes a shadow mappingShadow mapping
Shadow mapping or projective shadowing is a process by which shadows are added to 3D computer graphics. This concept was introduced by Lance Williams in 1978, in a paper entitled "Casting curved shadows on curved surfaces"...
acceleration system, which is used in the most recent Stadium version. The new engine allows for more realistic shadows on high end systems while the Stadium environment has double the number of blocks featured in the free version, including dirt paths, water, and indoor sections.
Focus announced on November 9, 2006, that 10,000 copies of TrackMania United could be bought and pre-loaded online then activated from November 16, 2006 onwards. The game became available in retail outlets in France, Canada, Australia, Belgium and the French-speaking part of Switzerland later in 2006, and then from February 23, 2007 in all other regions.
The game is available in the UK and was made available in the US via download for $49.99 on March 23, 2007 and $39.99 on April 17, 2007. As of September 7, 2007, the game is available for $29.95. It was made available for pre-order and pre-load on Steam on June 7, 2007 and unlocked on June 14, 2007.
Players who previously purchased TrackMania or TrackMania: Sunrise can earn a daily copper bonus in TrackMania United by registering their product keys through the game.
Trackmania United Forever is an updated version of Trackmania United featuring seven environments and an all-new mediatracker. It was published by Focus Home Interactive and developed by Nadeo and has a similar layout to Trackmania Nations Forever. Four main modes are available: "Race", "Stunt", "Platform", and "Puzzle" as well as all the tracks from Trackmania Nations Forever.
TrackMania Forever
On 7 October 2007, Nadeo announced that they were working on updated versions of TrackMania United and TrackMania Nations. Both new versions have Forever added to their name, and are network compatible. TrackMania Nations Forever includes the new stadium blocks and physics system introduced in TrackMania United, which allow TrackMania United Forever and TrackMania Nations Forever players to compete on the same (Stadium) servers.Nadeo has stated that because they want the game to have a long lifespan, they are working on the engine and user interface rather than adding new content. TrackMania United Forever, for instance, no longer requires the CD to be in the drive due to different copy protection and anti-cheat systems. They also warn players that some features may not be the final versions.
TrackMania United Forever was released on April 15, 2008, with TrackMania Nations Forever released the following day. Both titles are available for download, including on the Steam platform.
TrackMania DS
The TrackMania edition for the Nintendo DSNintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
was in production for several months by Firebrand Games
Firebrand Games
Firebrand Games is a video game development company with studios in Glasgow, Scotland, Florida, USA, and Baton Rouge, USA. The team specialises in the production of racing games. Firebrand Games was founded and is run by Mark Greenshields who has been in the games industry his entire career...
and released in Europe on November 14, 2008, then in the United States by Atlus
Atlus
is a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for developing the console role-playing game franchise Megami Tensei. The first Megami Tensei was a Nintendo Entertainment System video game published by Namco based on a trilogy of...
on March 17, 2009.
TrackMania DS features gameplay similar to that of the other titles in the TrackMania series and also features a comprehensive track editor. It supports single-player and multiplayer play and contains more than 100 tracks and three game modes ("Race", "Platform" and "Puzzle"). Of the seven environments available in the PC version only three are featured in the DS version: "Rally", "Desert" and "Stadium". With Trackmania DS, players can share tracks with other game owners but there is no online connectivity.
- Main Article: TrackMania DS (French)
TrackMania Turbo
TrackMania Turbo is the successor to TrackMania DS. It was scheduled for release on 21 May 2010, but was delayed until September. On July 19, 2010, a new release date of December 21, 2010 was announced. The game was delayed yet again and 19 April 2011 set as the release date. It will feature the "Coast", "Island" and "Snow" environments from previous games, as well as 150 new tracks.The edition and adds three new exotic environments alongside "Stadium": "Island", "Snow" and "Coast", while nearly 150 new races have been specifically created for DS' new environments and game modes.
A track editor has been reinstated which allows players create an infinite number of new tracks then share them worldwide through the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection.
Multiplayer mode also returns with a "Hotseat" mode allowing many players to play on a single console in "One Card" and local "Multi-Card" modes. The release includes the long-awaited online mode available through the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection.
Key Features:
- Three solo modes ("Race", "Platform" and "Puzzle") and nearly 150 new progressively difficult tracks.
- Four environments of which three are new on the DS, four completely different vehicles to drive and to play; "Island", "Coast" and "Snow" and "Stadium".
- A 3D track editor and hundreds of available blocks to create custom tracks using the mouse.
- Multiplayer mode for up to four players using one or many cards, or compete with players from all around the world using Nintendo Wi-Fi.
- Share your tracks using Nintendo Wi-Fi.
- Earn coppers by winning medals in solo or multiplayer, while unlocking new tracks, blocks and skins.
- Compatible with Nintendo Rumble-Pack.
- Main Article : TrackMania Turbo (French)
TrackMania Wii
On June 30, 2009, TrackMania Wii was announced by jeuxvideo.com in an interview with one of the developers. The game features all the environments from TrackMania United apart from "Bay", due to the complexity of its scenery. The game was supposed to be released in North America on July 20, 2010 but on July 19, 2010, Michael Mota of Dreamcatcher Interactive, TrackMania Wii's publisher, told the Examiner "We made the announcement to the major retailers about the Trackmania delay; I’m not sure why that hasn’t been changed. The game has been delayed until December 21, 2010."An updated Wii release date on the Nintendo website for the region GB version published by Focus Home Interactive is given as September 23, 2010.
TrackMania 2: Canyon
TrackMania 2: Canyon is an upcoming game in the series of TrackMania. A beta version of the game was set for release in July 2011, and the retail in September 2011.The game will feature an updated graphics, as well as a Split-Screen racing mode and an improved track editor. A new environment named Canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
will be available in the game, and none of the previous Trackmania environments will be included.
QuestMania and ShootMania
As the TrackMania games have grown in popularity, Nadeo has started plans for two completely new games, which instead of racing will feature a First Person Shooter and an RPGRole-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
.
Environments
The game's featured environments are "Stadium", "Desert" (aka Speed in TMO), "Rally", "Snow" (aka Alpine in TMO), "Bay", "Coast", "Island" and "Canyon".Reception
| Metacritic Metacritic Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,... |
GameRankings | |
|---|---|---|
| TrackMania | 74 | 73.73% |
| Sunrise | 82 | 82.66% |
| Nations Forever | N/A | 87.33% |
| United Forever | 84 | 80.00% |
| DS | 75 | 75.41% |
Due to the success of the TrackMania series, Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
awarded the games six world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. These include "Biggest Online Race", "Most Popular Online Racing Sim" and "Largest Content Base of Any Racing Game", with hundreds of thousands of user created tracks and hundreds of unique cars available for download.
Controversy
The games in the TrackMania series used a controversial copy protectionCopy protection
Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy obstruction, copy prevention and copy restriction, refer to techniques used for preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media, usually for copyright reasons.- Terminology :Media corporations have always used the term...
system called StarForce
StarForce
StarForce is a software copy protection mechanism developed by Protection Technology, which claims that products protected with StarForce are difficult to reverse engineer.- Product families :Currently known official versions of StarForce include:...
, which silently installed a driver
Device driver
In computing, a device driver or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device....
with all versions of TrackMania Original, TrackMania Sunrise and the original TrackMania Nations. Many sources falsely reported that TrackMania Nations updated the StarForce drivers only if they were already installed, although versions released after 28 May 2007 installed the StarForce drivers on all computers, even though TrackMania Nations is freeware. The original TrackMania United features StarForce restrictions built into the executable to check the software's key
Key (cryptography)
In cryptography, a key is a piece of information that determines the functional output of a cryptographic algorithm or cipher. Without a key, the algorithm would produce no useful result. In encryption, a key specifies the particular transformation of plaintext into ciphertext, or vice versa...
, but does not install the driver.
Although Valve Software originally included it in the system, on 29 June 2007, the company announced that the version of TrackMania United distributed via their Steam digital distribution platform would no longer include StarForce.
TrackMania United Forever and TrackMania Nations Forever do not include StarForce. If they are applied as upgrades to version of TrackMania United or TrackMania Nations which include StarForce, they attempt to remove it.
See also
- Racing Destruction SetRacing Destruction SetRacing Destruction Set is a car racing and motocross computer game that was published in 1985 by Electronic Arts. It was developed for the Commodore 64 computer system, and was advertised as being Commodore 128 compatible...
- StuntsStunts (video game)Stunts is an early 3D racing video game developed by Distinctive Software, Inc.. The game places emphasis on racing on stunt tracks and features a track editor, it is clearly influenced by the earlier arcade game Hard Drivin' and has many similar elements to the game Stunt Driver which was...
, a similar game - GripShiftGripShiftGripShift is a hybrid title video game that was developed by Sidhe Interactive and co-published by Red Mile Entertainment, Sony Online Entertainment and Ubisoft Entertainment for the PlayStation Portable handheld in 2005. The game was later released for download on PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation...
, a similar game - Build 'n RaceBuild 'n RaceBuild 'n Race is a video game developed by Icon Games Entertainment and published by Zoo Games for the Wii. It was released on August 4, 2009 in North America.-Gameplay:...
, a similar game - ModNation RacersModNation RacersModNation Racers is a kart racing game developed by United Front Games for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable. User generated content will be a central aspect of the game, such that it uses the same "Play, Create, Share." adage as LittleBigPlanet to convey its basis in online user-generated...
, a track-building game