TrackMania Nations (TMN, subtitled Electronics Sports World Cup, often abbreviated to ESWC) is a racing game developed by Nadeo and published on PC by Focus Home Interactive in France on January 27, 2006. A sequel to Sunrise, from which it borrows its concept, it was developed specifically for the ESWC international competition. To compensate for the lack of financial income, Nadeo integrates advertisements into the game. When it was released, the game offered an atypical approach compared to other games of the same genre, with its simple arcade-style gameplay, level editor, ease of sharing creations, and interesting multiplayer mode. Offered free of charge so that all players could train for the world competition, it featured a single environment called Stadium, representing a large stadium. Only one car with a single driving style was available: a kind of Formula 1 single-seater resembling an Ariel Atom, which required speed and skill.
Despite limited media coverage, Nations was very well received by the specialist press. The game quickly racked up several million downloads. In mid-April 2008, Nadeo released TrackMania Nations Forever and TrackMania United Forever, two expansions for Nations and TrackMania United, which mainly allow these two games to be played together in multiplayer mode. This standalone expansion also received positive reviews from observers. Nations and TrackMania Nations Forever are played at various LAN parties as well as in numerous competitions. The ESWC included both versions of the game from 2006 to 2012. This allowed Nadeo to enter the exclusive circle of high-level esports. Nations is part of a very prolific series with numerous sequels.
Gameplay
General TrackMania Nations is a race game displayed in a third-person view. It follows the arcade-focused concept established by the two previous games in the series, contrasting with the gameplay of competing racing games that focus on simulation and precision. Specifically, there are still no collisions between cars. Cars pass through each other like ghost vehicles if their trajectories cross or overlap. Players race alone on the track in both multiplayer and single-player modes, so it is impossible to touch or push an opponent. The game offers only one car with unique handling and no adjustments, apart from the distinctive body color representing each nation. Nations uses a simple control system with four buttons for braking, accelerating, and steering, as well as two additional buttons for restarting the game. There is also a horn. During jumps, the player can brake or accelerate to influence the car's trajectory.
Players participate in timed races that take place on circuits or tracks where they must reach the finish line by passing through checkpoints. Checkpoints are represented by arches above the track, some of which are sometimes placed in unexpected locations. The player must therefore achieve the best possible time and can win three medals for each track: bronze, silver, and gold. These are obtained by completing the circuit within a set time. Players can also earn the “Nadeo record” which is even more difficult to obtain than in previous games.
Nations introduces many new features. The revamped game engine offers improved graphics compared to its predecessors. The game includes around 100 pre-built tracks with gradually increasing difficulty. An internet connection is required to play the game in order to create an account. The cars can also drive on the walls. Nations includes a scoring system with global, national and regional rankings for each race. At the end of each race, the rankings are automatically updated and displayed. To establish these rankings, each player earns points based on the races and their results. The number of points earned in multiplayer mode is calculated by an algorithm based on the player's results and the number of opponents in a game.
The Nations Forever expansion offers graphics upgraded to the level of those in TrackMania United, as well as sixty-five new races. This version also features a new interface, which is largely based on the one used in TrackMania United. The game includes the ManiaLink, ManiaZone, and United ranking systems. To climb the solo rankings, players must earn skill points by achieving good lap times. Points earned vary depending on the ranking and the number of potential opponents. In multiplayer mode, a completely independent system manages the rankings: ladder points. This system, which takes into account the player's progress, awards points to a player based on their results and the level of their opponents.
Environment
TrackMania Nations offers only one environment, called Stadium, which is competition-oriented with technical gameplay and a single driving style that requires precision in trajectories and speed management depending on the track configuration. This environment offers a more classic graphic style for a racing game, abandoning the previous sunny worlds, landscapes, and underground settings. The action takes place in a very large competition stadium, in the style of Formula 1 circuits, featuring numerous logos and advertising panels for brands such as Nvidia and ESWC. As well as the classic asphalt, the tracks have a new surface: grass. However, the game only offers one setting in daytime, whereas the previous installments offered several. The Nations Forever expansion adds a new surface: some races take place partly or entirely on dirt. Some Nations Forever tracks sometimes feature scenery that resembles aerial tunnels or passages between partitions in buildings, similar to motocross or indoor karting races. Furthermore, the expansion allows deciding the time of day at which the race takes place, which affects the lighting and atmosphere.
The tracks range from the simplest to the fastest and most complex, with multiple levels, ramps, and numerous jumps. They feature steep slopes, banked curves, winding and unusual roads, platforms, loops, half-pipes, and blocks that suddenly accelerate the cars. Players must sometimes avoid obstacles such as holes or columns in the middle of the road. Going off the track often results in elimination, as it is rarely possible to return to the circuit.
Only one car is available. It is a type of Formula 1 single-seater resembling an Ariel Atom, with low suspension and a tendency to roll over. The car's handling differs significantly from the models offered in previous games and provides a more realistic driving experience. In the same way as in the previous game, it can reach very high speeds, up to nearly 500 mph. Each country has its own vehicle colors: fifty-three skins match the flags of different nations and are automatically applied to the cars based on the player's country of origin. Players can still customize their cars.
Single player and multiplayer The core of TrackMania Nations is its multiplayer aspect, in which players from around the world are ranked according to their scores. It includes new online modes. Each player receives information about the ESWC qualifiers in their country directly in the game interface.
For solo play, the game offers the same Race mode as in the first installments, which is called “Training” here. However, the Puzzle, Platform, Stunt, and Survival modes from its predecessors are absent. The game includes around a hundred pre-built tracks sorted into three difficulty levels (beginner, advanced, and expert). The player can access all the single races in any order they wish. They can also complete campaigns, which are groups of races. In Nations Forever, the circuits are unlocked gradually based on the medals won in previous races. The tracks are sorted by color (white, green, blue, red, black).
Online multiplayer offers three game modes that can be played solo or in teams, with nearly seventy tracks. There is no limit to the number of players on a network or the Internet. In “Time Trial” mode, up to eight players must achieve the best time on a track within a set time limit (players can use the feature that allows them to restart the game from the last checkpoint). In “Lap” mode, players are only allowed one start, and the goal is to achieve the best time. The “Team” mode allows two teams to compete against each other.
In hotseat mode, each player must create a profile in order to play. In “Turn-based” mode, players (up to eight) compete on the same track, each taking turns on the same PC with the aim of setting the fastest time. Players have a limited number of attempts (represented on screen by a colored bar that gradually empties). In Time Trial mode, players have a certain number of attempts rather than a time limit.
The Nations Forever expansion allows multiplayer gaming in the Stadium universe with players who own United Forever, the expansion for TrackMania United. The interface and sorting of single-player tracks has been modified. Regardless of the game mode, tracks are classified by difficulty level: “beginner,” “easy,” “normal,” “difficult,” and “extreme.” Tracks are presented in a table with thumbnails showing the type of environment. They are also marked according to four criteria representing their nature: Race, Acrobatic, Endurance, and Speed.
Features The game includes all the essential features from previous episodes. The level editor, similar to the one in the previous games, allows creating custom tracks and choosing the game modes and music. In the level editor, all blocks are immediately accessible, without the need to be unlocked. The replay editor and Mediatracker allow you to manage camera placement and create intro and outro sequences. The game does not include peer-to-peer functionality, as Nations is focused on competition. The game includes a system that allows the players to create and manage a friends list, or challenge them by email.
TrackMania Nations Forever is able to display anaglyphic stereoscopic graphics that can be viewed with 3D glasses.
Development
Genesis TrackMania Nations was developed by Nadeo, "in close collaboration with the World Cup organizers, who brought all their expertise from the competition to the video game." Development began in 2005 and lasted six months. Even though Nadeo had just released the expansion pack for the second game, Sunrise eXtreme, it announced the release of TrackMania Nations at the end of January the following year.
Florent Castelnérac first encountered the world of esports through his friend Matthieu Dallon, founder of the Electronic Sports World Cup (since renamed the Esports World Convention). He attended this event at the Futuroscope Convention Center in Poitiers, where nearly 400 players competed in games such as Counter-Strike and Quake 4. It was in 2005, during a trip to China for the Chinajoy video game trade show, that he understood the craze for this aspect of video games. Watching the Need for Speed competitions, he thought that TrackMania would be much more suited to esports than Need for Speed. The ESWC, through Matthieu Dallon, signed an agreement with Nadeo for the French company to develop and distribute a free video game for competition. As Nadeo was working on TrackMania Sunrise, around September 2004, the ESWC asked the studio to create a specific game for its competition. Nadeo was not ready to meet the demand, and Caltelnérac felt that this was also the case for the ESWC. A year later, the company returned with the concept of a customized version of the game for ESWC 2006, focused on competitive play.