TrackMania United Review

[Father]

Discuss the frontpage article here.

[Iron Knight]

nice article

*PS* u write good reviews

[Vetinari]

Great review Father!

Maybe this will drag a few more TOGgers into the world of TMU. I tried wi my original lounge thread a few times, and picked up a handful. That thread is a bit dated now, but we have our Pit Lane forum thread with all the TOG TM series info HERE.

We have an xFire group all players of all TM games. We also have an in-game TMU group and we tend to get on each other's friends lists as well in-game. I run a small server flying the TOG flag on the east coast US, but we drive just about anywhere.

Purchase/Download/Modify/Drive - In some nations you can find TMU on the shelf. You can purchase a downloadable copy everywhere.

[Father]

I haven't seen it on the shelves in Oz but if you want a copy let me know and I'll check with the publisher as to where to get it. They were very helpful and even provided TOG with a review copy.

[bulldog698]

Love Trackmania nations. I am asking for Trackmania united for my birthday. Great review of the game.

[TJet]

Great review.

It's available on the shelves in Aus. I purchased my copy at Harvey Norman and have also seen it in EB.

I do however tend to play Nations more online. Love playing against people from all over the world, mainly on US short track servers. While the game is playable with a keyboard, I'd recommend using a controller. I use a Logitech Dual Action pad (the one that looks like a PS2 controller) but a joystick works just as well.

For anyone who hasn't tried it, even if you're not into racing games, grab the free Trackmania Nations. You may be pleasantly surprised.

[Lichbane]

Nice review. I'm almost tempted to pick it up, except ....

Does it have Starforce copy protection? I've already lost optical two drives to that demonic #$@&ing software and have vowed never to support any software that supports it.

[McMuttons]

Originally Posted by Lichbane

Nice review. I'm almost tempted to pick it up, except ....

Does it have Starforce copy protection? I've already lost optical two drives to that demonic #$@&ing software and have vowed never to support any software that supports it.

At least the storebought version has Starforce. Not sure about the downloaded version.

Otherwise, when it comes to the sound, you should be able to set both music and sound effects volume in the launcher control panel before you start the game proper up. It's good to give those settings a gander before heading in.

Can also note that you earn 50 coppers every day you log in to the game, in addition to earning it from uploading tracks and such. Also, a lot of online servers run mods that have copper lotteries while driving the tracks, so if you're a bit lucky, you can make off with some there. That being said, unless you're really into downloading lots of times and doing lots of single player official time attempts, you'll find that the coppers stack up without seeing a lot of use. I've donated hundreds of coppers to servers I play on to help fund the lotteries.

Though the manialinks are handy for downloading tracks/cars/etc, you're better off just going to trackmania-exchange.com or some of the other downloading sites and doing it directly. Then you don't have to spend coppers on them.

Also a note on the times. Beyond bronze, silver and gold, there is also the author time of the track (Nadeo's on the official ones), which is the absolute highest time to beat. On the early tracks it's not so hard, but on the most difficult, it is a pretty serious challenge.

I'm not a hardcore racing fan, but Trackmania United has me totally addicted. We play Trackmania Nations during breaks at work, since it is free, but the better graphics and variety of tracks you get in United makes it much more fun and worth the money for me.

Check out the Pitlane subforum for info about other TOG players.

[Vetinari]

Never had a single issue from starforce. I don't expect I ever will. I'm not sure what sort of protection the download version may have embedded, if any, except for the dual keys.

[Mordocai]

Sounds like fun! Might pick it up and try. Tested some earlier Trackmania stuff.