TrackMania United (gamespot)
While there are plenty of racing games that require you to be the first to cross a finish line, there aren't many that are obsessed with the sensation of speed like the TrackMania games from French developer and publisher Nadeo. In fact, the idea of going as fast as possible is so important that TrackMania doesn't feature car collisions that would slow you down. That lets you focus on driving on the game's many imaginative courses, many of which sport elaborate loops and jumps. The other major feature of TrackMania games is that you can easily construct your own courses and share them online with others. In fact, there's a community that supports the game with tens of thousands of user-made tracks. To learn more about TrackMania United, the next game in the series that's due out in February, we caught up with Florent Castelnerac, the director of Nadeo.
;)
GameSpot: We had a lot of fun with TrackMania and TrackMania Sunrise, so we're happy to hear about TrackMania United. We'll go into specifics a bit later, but, briefly, what are the major new features of United?
Florent Castelnerac: While TrackMania is one of the most played online games in the world, our first TrackMania United tester said, "With the solo [mode], you just killed the multiplayer." [But] we only used the best thing ever for solo mode: online. While you can still play the classic solo mode on the 189 tracks, you can use the official mode to rank your race online. What's more, you have a limited number of tries because each one costs you some of your precious coppers, the unit of currency in the game. At this moment, your achievements are real ones. You rank in your state, in your country, or in the world. Do I care anymore to defeat a [computer opponent], or would I rather race against real players? The challenge is just better with a real target!
GS: In terms of gameplay, can we expect more of the pure racing action of the series? Cars still won't collide with one another, right? And are you adding new car models or types to the game?
FC: TrackMania United combines all the gameplay and environments that made TrackMania such a success, plus a new dirt-racing style. Cars won't collide. Players will unite and play together. The community is so constructive that this game, which combines all the previous TrackMania titles, will be an incentive for players to increase the 100,000 tracks and the hundreds of cars made so far by the community. We want players to enjoy being with others!
GS: Are there any major changes to the three racing modes in the game? Is it still time trials (try to finish as fast as you can), ramps (use a minimum number of checkpoint resets to finish a race), and puzzle mode (create a course that lets you get from point A to point B in a certain amount of time)?
FC: We have learned from our mistakes. Quality of track design should be better, even if players can create their own. We're concentrating on making an easy and fun default campaign with only quality tracks and quality modes. However, with the official mode, all these modes get another dimension. Race is still the king mode, but puzzle and platform are better than ever. And if you want more, increase the difficulty and download the best challenge created by players with a simple click!
GS: It sounds like the content editor has been improved considerably, with more than 1,000 different construction blocks now. That's a crazy amount of content. Just what sort of new blocks are there?
;)
FC: There are many new blocks in the TrackMania Nations environment, like dirt, water, sand dunes, [and more]. But my favorite is the block that shuts down your engine and makes you coast. You don't hear any more engine sound, and you race with the fear of losing speed. Imagine a race of 20 drivers that ends with a big slope after this block. Maybe some will stop just before the finish line because they run out of momentum.
GS: What are the new ManiaZones, exactly? They look like a way to organize the community by location, but this also looks like a way for users to create customized home pages. Could you explain?
FC: ManiaZones is the concept of a combined local newspaper and sports club. For each zone, you can have local players under the lights and local forums. A zone could be a state, or you can create your own zone for a school, a company, a family, your friends, and so on. Very simply, from within the game, you will then be able to be ranked and join other group races to compete in.
TrackMania United Q&A - New Features and an Enhanced Online Community
While there are plenty of racing games that require you to be the first to cross a finish line, there aren't many that are obsessed with the sensation of speed like the TrackMania games from French developer and publisher Nadeo. In fact, the idea of going as fast as possible is so important that TrackMania doesn't feature car collisions that would slow you down. That lets you focus on driving on the game's many imaginative courses, many of which sport elaborate loops and jumps. The other major feature of TrackMania games is that you can easily construct your own courses and share them online with others. In fact, there's a community that supports the game with tens of thousands of user-made tracks. To learn more about TrackMania United, the next game in the series that's due out in February, we caught up with Florent Castelnerac, the director of Nadeo.
GameSpot: We had a lot of fun with TrackMania and TrackMania Sunrise, so we're happy to hear about TrackMania United. We'll go into specifics a bit later, but, briefly, what are the major new features of United?
Florent Castelnerac: While TrackMania is one of the most played online games in the world, our first TrackMania United tester said, "With the solo [mode], you just killed the multiplayer." [But] we only used the best thing ever for solo mode: online. While you can still play the classic solo mode on the 189 tracks, you can use the official mode to rank your race online. What's more, you have a limited number of tries because each one costs you some of your precious coppers, the unit of currency in the game. At this moment, your achievements are real ones. You rank in your state, in your country, or in the world. Do I care anymore to defeat a [computer opponent], or would I rather race against real players? The challenge is just better with a real target!
GS: In terms of gameplay, can we expect more of the pure racing action of the series? Cars still won't collide with one another, right? And are you adding new car models or types to the game?
FC: TrackMania United combines all the gameplay and environments that made TrackMania such a success, plus a new dirt-racing style. Cars won't collide. Players will unite and play together. The community is so constructive that this game, which combines all the previous TrackMania titles, will be an incentive for players to increase the 100,000 tracks and the hundreds of cars made so far by the community. We want players to enjoy being with others!
GS: Are there any major changes to the three racing modes in the game? Is it still time trials (try to finish as fast as you can), ramps (use a minimum number of checkpoint resets to finish a race), and puzzle mode (create a course that lets you get from point A to point B in a certain amount of time)?
FC: We have learned from our mistakes. Quality of track design should be better, even if players can create their own. We're concentrating on making an easy and fun default campaign with only quality tracks and quality modes. However, with the official mode, all these modes get another dimension. Race is still the king mode, but puzzle and platform are better than ever. And if you want more, increase the difficulty and download the best challenge created by players with a simple click!
GS: It sounds like the content editor has been improved considerably, with more than 1,000 different construction blocks now. That's a crazy amount of content. Just what sort of new blocks are there?
FC: There are many new blocks in the TrackMania Nations environment, like dirt, water, sand dunes, [and more]. But my favorite is the block that shuts down your engine and makes you coast. You don't hear any more engine sound, and you race with the fear of losing speed. Imagine a race of 20 drivers that ends with a big slope after this block. Maybe some will stop just before the finish line because they run out of momentum.
GS: What are the new ManiaZones, exactly? They look like a way to organize the community by location, but this also looks like a way for users to create customized home pages. Could you explain?
FC: ManiaZones is the concept of a combined local newspaper and sports club. For each zone, you can have local players under the lights and local forums. A zone could be a state, or you can create your own zone for a school, a company, a family, your friends, and so on. Very simply, from within the game, you will then be able to be ranked and join other group races to compete in.
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