Replay Contest – Results

Do you guys remember the Replay Competition the TMU Blog advertised a month ago? Hastings has finally decided who the winners are and published the results on TMX. The best news for the contestants is that everyone gets something out of their submission (everyone gets a prize)! So as there have been five submissions, there are also five winners:

1. TDS#Sabaku
2. XT DanDaMan
3. XCS Weetos
4. [ATP]Jonkster_NZ
5. [ATP]Alcator

Curious what the prizes were, why Hastings ranked the contestants the way he did and what the submissions look like? Check out the Replay Contest Thread at TMX.

Congratulations to all the winners 😀

Track Review – ITC Jungle

Track: ITC Jungle (Download)

Author: ORA (TMX)

Type: Race

Environment: Desert

Length: 45 sec (author time: 0:50.91)

Mood: Day

Custom Content: Mod

 

First Impression

Tracks by ORA are usually great tracks. And this one has got 6 awards already one day after release. However, upon the first drive, it’s quite a disappointment. Perhaps famous authors are overrated after all, and get a bit too much extra attention just because of their names…

Track Design

ITC Jungle was made as a track for showing off a new mod, which ORA has made himself. Perhaps that’s an excuse to not make an extremely creative or innovative track, but unfortunately this is a track review, not a mod review (nice mod, though 😉 )

The design of the track is not that bad, but not outstanding either. For a Desert track, ITC Jungle is incredible fast, which makes it a lot more challenging (which is a good thing). However, thinking of the actual layout of the track, it’s not that special.

It’s a smooth, fast, challenging and surely fun track, but compared to what it could be, the track design lacks finesse, innovation, and feeling. Rating: 7.0

Scenery 

The scenery is quite simple, yet not too bad. Unfortunately, those big fat “poles” (or whatever they are) have been used to exaggeration throughout ITC Jungle, and at places, the scenery is straight out boring.

However, as this is a track meant for a mod, I guess that mod should count for something – and naturally, that’s the scenery rating! The mod is very good, with a “jungle feeling”. It sure adds to the otherwise poor scenery, and therefore saves the scenery rating a lot! But still, far from perfect… Rating: 8.0

MediaTracker

Intro: A few cam changes with a bit of special effects (such as the camera shaking). A bit too quick and appears to be a bit random as well. A disappointment, in fact.

In-game: Nothing, but it’s not required. But no “special features” (such as a GPS) either.

Outro: A bit like the intro. It fails to properly show the race, and some of the camera angles are straight out bad. However, the outro got some nice top-down views, so it’s not too bad.

Overall, the MT work is quite disappointing. Everything required to make a good intro and outro is there, but it’s not really designed too well, looking a bit random. Below average, I’m afraid. Rating: 4.0

Originality

Nothing really original with this track, except for the high speed. The mod adds a bit to the original rating as well, as it adds a fresh feeling for the Desert environment. Rating: 4.0

Fun Factor

ITC Jungle is, despite other flaws, very fun to drive. Especially the unusual speed for a Desert track makes the track fun and interesting, and the mod makes the ride even more enjoyable. Some challenging parts also make it fun for time-hunts. Rating: 7.5

Summary

An overall nice design but with a lack of innovation and creativity. The scenery doesn’t add much to the appeal of the track, but the mod the track was created with sure spice things up. The MT work is not lacking, but it appears a bit “random” and has a few flaws – a nice attempt, but the result is below average. Additionally, there’s nothing really original about the track, but despite that, the track is actually very fun to drive.

A decent attempt, and a nice track for showing off a mod, but in order to really appreciate this track, you must either love the mod or be a true Desert lover.

Final Rating: 6.5 (decent)

***

Notes:

– Ratings range from 1 (bad) to 10 (perfect). 5 is average.

– If you are interested in writing track reviews for the TMU Blog, you may apply by dropping an e-mail to Jozii@pp.inet.fi.

– If you want to have your own track reviewed, you can sign your track up for a fee of 250 coppers. Simply send an in-game message to “Jozii” with the coppers and the name of the track (which must have been uploaded at the United Exchange first).

Quick Review – Beyond

• Track: Beyond (Download)

• Author: JakeOIL (TMX)

• Type: Race
• Environment: Stadium
• Length: 1 min
• Mood: Sunset
• Custom Content: Signs + music

The Ups

• + Awesome PF start
• + First class scenery
• + Brilliant MT work
• + Dirt
• + Innovative design
• + Simple track, but a complex design

The Downs

• – No special MT features (such as a GPS – but then again, none needed)
• – Nothing, really

Additional comments

This is the most outstanding track I’ve ever seen! If a TMU track could be called art, JakeOIL sure must be the new Picasso. The track design is simple, yet so brilliant. The MT work is among the best I’ve ever seen. Words simply can’t describe this track… This is as near to perfectionism as you can possibly get!

Beyond is the first track ever here at the TMU Blog to achieve a perfect rating (10/10). You would be a fool not to try this track!

Final Rating: 10.0 (outstanding)

Would you like to have one of your tracks reviewed here at the TMU Blog? You can request either a longer Track Review, or a somewhat shorter and cheaper Quick Review (as the one in this post). The cost for a Track Review is 250 coppers, and for a Quick Review it’s only 50 coppers. Simply send an in-game (TMU) message to “Jozii”. Don’t forget to include the name of your track (which must have been uploaded to TMX first) as well as the coppers required.

Advertisement: RaVaGER’s Coastal Series

RaVaGER from TMX has made a little Coast series of four tracks – one for each mood (sunrise, day, sunset and night). The first three tracks have been uploaded, and the fourth one is on it’s way.

This little series of tracks is bound to be liked by any Coast lover, but also by those of are not major fans of the Coast environment. Here are a few quotes form awards already given to the first three tracks:

• “Easy, smooth and fun” – =ITC=Speedy
• “Good combination of speed & tech” – Hubby
• “Scenery is great – feels like Paridise”– Trojaner
• “Good offroading” – Andree
• “Hard Jumps, Cool Layout and pretty fast Track” – Softball
• “Lovely coast race that has it all” – Smok3y

I’ll let the quotes speak for themselves 😉 You can download the three released tracks here:

1. [CC°1]Mornin’ Mix (direct download)
2. [CC°2]Midday Mediterrane (direct download)
3. [CC°3]Evening Event (direct download)

And don’t forget to keep an eye out for the fourth one 😉

Enjoy 😀

Driver’s Contest, Round 2 Aftermath (+ Finals Info)

As you may know, the TMU Blog started a Driver’s Contest a while ago. You can find out more about this contest by clicking the “Games & Contests” category to the right.

So, the second round of eliminations is now over. Unfortunately, there ha sbeen a few problems, so this will be done more simple than last time…

Results

1. KellerKind (37.44) vs. Fòólie (no replay) WINNER: KellerKind
2. JumperJack (37.42) vs. NeoRufus (38.35) WINNER: JumperJack
3. TimeBreaker (no replay) vs. Topork (unknown) WINNER: Topork (Note: Topork did send a replay, but there were problems downloading it. As TimeBreaker didn’t send a replay, Topork still wins)

The winner of each race moves on the the finals, and the rest have been eliminated!

Here’s a complete list of how each individual contestant did compared to the rest:

1. JumperJack (37.42) +0.00
2. KellerKind (37.44) +0.02
3. NeoRufus (38.35) +0.93
4. Topork (unknown)
5. Fòólie (disqualified)
5. TimeBreaker (disqualified)

The second round of eliminations has now begun, and you can read more about that here.

Betting

Non-contestants (or eliminated contestants), have the possibility to bet coppers on the finals. Here are the details:

1. To bet, send between 10 and 200 coppers to “Jozii” in-game.
2. In your message, state which contestant (the name of the contestant) you think will win the contest.

Here are the odds:

1. JumperJack (1.50)
2. KellerKind (1.60)
3. Topork (2.10)

The numbers in brackets are the odds. Note that these aren’t scientifically calculated, just roughly estimated based on the previous performance of each contestant. Please, do not complain against these odds. The betting is meant for fun, and if you find that some odds are “wrong”, don’t say it or complain about it, just bet if you find an advantage and don’t bet if you find a disadvantage (or better yet, bet anyway, as it’s still quite fun 😉 )

All coppers lost when betting goes to the TMU Blog and will be used for future contests. All coppers won are paid by the TMU Blog!

TMU Blog Survey

Here at the TMU Blog feedback is taken seriously. It would be interesting and helpful to know what YOU think of the blog. Please take the time to answer the questions in the survey below. Your answers will be used to help improve the blog in the future.

TMU Blog Survey

Thanks in advance 😀

Screenshot of the Week – Week 4 (Special Edition)

This week the SotW looks a bit different. Even though the TMU Blog is (obviously) United only, this post is a Nations Special, with Nations screenshots made by Fòólie. Some who are still playing Nations may find this interesting, while others who have played Nations in the past might remember the good times when they see the screenshots. If you have never played Nations, here’s a little overview of what you’ve missed 😉 (although you got basically all of it with United, so perhaps you didn’t miss that much after all 😛 )

Screenshot of the Week, Nations Special

– Screenshots made by Fòólie

  

  

Fòólie is awarded 100 coppers for this collection of screenshots!

Do you have a screenshot (from United)? Send it to Jozii@pp.inet.fi!

In the Spotlight – Sk84funPrzemo (Underrated Author)

Thank you JumperJack for the help on this post.

In the Spotlight attempts to highlight authors, websites, mods, in-game features, or just about anything worth highlighting, in a detailed and interesting fashion.

As there’s a great deal of requests for underrated tracks, this first edition of In the Spotlight highlights an underrated author at the United Exchange: Sk84funPrzemo.

PRZEMO, the Stadium Specialist

Przemom, or Loony, is specialized at Stadium tracks. It’s a shame that his most awarded has gotten only 11 TMX awards (at the time of writing), and that some of his tracks are much less awarded than that. What makes Przemo’s tracks stand out is that they are very innovative and original. The design is brilliant and many of the tracks have a perfect and interesting use of scenery as a part of the track.

RECOMMENDED TRACKS

At the time of writing, Przemo has made 12 tracks, all in the Stadium environment. Here’s a list of some recommended ones among those 12:

• Moonlight – A nice full-speed track with some great loops and wallrides.
• The Last One – Another full-speed track with a technical start. Nicely designed parts and the jumps and wallrides are sure to give you an adrenaline rush.
• Spring – A smooth, well-designed track with a really nice layout.
• Déjà vu – A more technical track with some original re-use parts.

TRACK REVIEW (by JumperJack)

Here’s a complete review – TMU Blog style – of another one of Przemo’s tracks: LightRush!

Track: LightRush (direct download)

Author: Sk84funPrzemo + Sebik1992

Type: Race

Environment: Stadium

Length: 50 sec (author time: 0:52.53)

Mood: Day

First Impression

When I downloaded the track, I hadn’t played any tracks by this author. The track only had three awards, but these were really positive about the track, so I thought that it could be a nice track. When I played the track, I have to say that I was very impressed. So let’s have a deeper look at the track…

Track Design

The first part of the track is built by Sebik, and it starts with a PF start. This start is a bit boring, because it’s only straight road, but due that it’s not PF for a long time, and due the ‘hops’ and the custom camera, it’s still fun to watch.

When the track really starts, it begins with some corners, leading to an off-road part. No dirt, as United allows us now, but grass. A garden of cactus’ at the right side of the grass part cuts off the fastest line, but the second best line is a bit more challenging and fun to drive.

This leads us to a looping. When you jump out of this loop, you’ll land on a down-going road at a certain moment. From there you’ll enter a platform part. Overall, this platform is wide and fun, but there might’ve stood a bit difference in the scenery.

From here on, Przemo’s part (or Loony’s, because that’s his other nickname) starts. The jump from the platform to the road is pretty easy and smooth after all. Just like the first looping, the next one is of the same style. After the looping, you’ll land on a braking turbo, and after that there’s a turn to the immediate left. Due the lost speed, this corner is made easier. I know that many people will say that they want to brake themselves; however, I’ve got to say that this all happens in a really smooth way.

Now you’ll get to the second platform by a little hop, and after this platform you’ll jump back on the road. While landing on the road you’ve got three braking turbos there. And that is a bit too much in my opinion. With only one turbo less, you could still make the 180 degree corner, and then it would be a bit more challenging. From there you’ll drive a straight line to the finish, including a couple of jumps and a fake finish.

So the track is smooth all the way, nicely designed and there’re really good transitions. The only downside should be that there’re a bit too many braking turbos at the last part. Rating: 8.5

Scenery

The scenery is quite simple, not that much with it’s 4000 coppers. The new scenery blocks from United are mostly used in this track. The scenery might be quite simple, but that’s one plus for the online battlefield, and here it’s also a plus, because the whole feeling of the scenery is great. The scenery is different over the whole track, which is very nice. Rating: 8.5

MediaTracker

Intro:The intro is quite easy and stylish. The camera is a bit fast, and looks like it’s going through building parts, but that’s not really easy to say as it’s moving so fast. Together with the names, the intro is pretty good-looking, but not outstanding.

In-game:Well, apart from the cam-changes in the loops, there is the nice custom camera at the PF start, the stylish names when they appear, and there’s a GPS too. This last thing deserves some more attention. The GPS starts with a nice joke, which you just have to see if you want to know it. Then the transition between the beginning and the actual GPS is a bit weird. The cameras during the rest of the GPS are a bit unsmooth, but due the extreme zoom-in and zoom-out phrases it’s really a great one to watch, it’s not such a ‘normal’ GPS!

Outro: The outro is less spectacular than the track. Sometimes you just loose the car out of sight, and there’re parts too when there is no custom camera (that might be meant, but it’s not that smooth). There are also no special effects used. But the biggest minus for me is that the camera goes through buildings a lot of times, and that looks really bad… Rating: 6.5

Originality

The track is totally built from parts which aren’t uncommon in many tracks. However, due the maybe even impossibility of staying original, and due the order of these parts, it’s a very nice track, which has really got it’s own style. Especially the first corners and the finish part are things I haven’t seen many times yet. Rating: 7.0

Fun Factor

Well, here we come to the far most important part of the review: the Fun Factor. This track is due to it’s smoothness, flow and nice scenery really fun to play. Aside from the driving-fun you’ll get with a nice world record hunt, for the online battlefield it can lead to loads of fun! Rating: 9.0

Summary

The cooperative work of these two nearly unknown authors has lead to a nice track, which is especially rally fun to drive. The overall design might be a bit simple, but the feeling isn’t at all!

Final Rating: 8/10 (very good) 

INTERVIEW

The TMU Blog has talked to Przemo, and here’s a summary of questions asked and the answers given:

• Q: Did you play any of the games in the TrackMania series before United?
• A:I played Trackmania Nations and Trackmania Sunrise.
• Q: How did you discover TrackMania?
• A:I read about TrackMania in a magazine. There was also the full game Trackmania Nations in this magazine. I have played TMN and I can say that this game is one of the best games i ever played!
• Q: What is your favorite kind of track?
• A: My favourite kind of track is night stadium and stunt style.
• Q: What can we expect from you in the future?
• A:For the time being I have created tracks only in stadium mode. I’d like to create in different environments in the future but I will keep on creating speedtracks.

Do you have a suggestion for what should be in the spotlight in the future? Comment this post or e-mail Jozii@pp.inet.fi. Feedback is also appreciated.

Track Review – DjoShorty#03

Track: DjoShory#03 (Download)

Author: Djoszee (TMX)

Type: Race

Environment: Alpine

Length: 30 sec (author time: 0:30.64)

Mood: Sunset

Custom Content: Signs

Track Pack: DjoShorty Pack

 

First Impression

Short tracks are usually fun, but also harder to make really great, as there’s such a short racing time. This seems to be the case with DjoShorty#03 as well. However, the trck seems good, and quite challenging, but it’s far from prefect.

Track Design

The design of DjoShorty#03 is quite simple, yet very effective. The short track (about 30 sec) has some very challenges parts, not too hard to actually complete, but very hard to get a good time on. An instant online classic, in other words!

The turns in this track are often sharp and sudden, which is quite fine with Alpine tracks. And in DjoShorty#03, the sharp turns add a lot to the challenge. Beginners might find this frustrating, though.

There are no stunts or major jumps, and the flow is good once you get the hang of it.  Rating: 8.0

Scenery 

The scenery is quite simple as well. Very sutable for a short track. From hills to tunnels to forests to buildings. The variety is very nice. Rating: 9.0

MediaTracker

Simple and perhaps a bit lacking intro, but a very nice outro. No in-game MT work, but none needed. Rating: 6.5

Originality

There’s nothing really original woirth mentioning. The nice changes between long and sharp turns are not new, but not too common either. But nothing else, really. Rating: 3.0

Fun Factor

DjoShorty#03 is really fun and challenging to drive, even with the short length. In fact, the short length only allows you to play more times without getting bored. Overall, a fun track, but it lacks the real driving variety of a longer track. Rating: 7.5

Summary

Good design. Even though there are no stunts or larger jumps, the track has a changing scenery, tricky turns, and a lot of challenging parts. Very smooth, and should be ideal for online play, as there are a lot of places to get some seconds off your time.

Final Rating: 7.0 (good)

***

Notes:

– Ratings range from 1 (bad) to 10 (perfect). 5 is average.

– If you are interested in writing track reviews for the TMU Blog, you may apply by dropping an e-mail to Jozii@pp.inet.fi.

– If you want to have your own track reviewed, you can sign your track up for a fee of 250 coppers. Simply send an in-game message to “Jozii” with the coppers and the name of the track (which must have been uploaded at the United Exchange first).

TMX Track List #1

The TMX Track List that was announced last week started a few discussions (both private and public) about the list not featuring underrated tracks, just tracks in general. But the point of the list is for any author, famous or not, good or bad, to have their tracks listed and “advertised”, and for others to find nice tracks to play. If an underrated track slips through, that’s great. But it’s not something that is necessary to make this feature good and useful.

But here at the TMU Blog feedback is taken seriously, and therefore a new add to the TMX Track List concept has been added: Each underrated track is “tagged” as one, meaning it will say *Underrated* next to it’s name. The same will go for tracks suitable for online play, challenging tracks, etc. (suggestions for “tags” are welcome).

Additionally, in order to keep this list from being an unsorted random list of tracks, some basic information is given about each track (environment, length, etc.). Also, despite some arguments against this, the rating system is still included (each track receives a rating), but if this is not appreciated, it will be removed in the future.

Comments, feedback, complaints, ideas, suggestions, etc. are very much welcome. Just comment the post or e-mail Jozii@pp.inet.fi.

TMX TRACK LIST #1

• Nightfall, by Alselius
• Temptation, by [Fok!]Markus
• Promised Land, by Buchi *Challenging*
• Shaken Around, by MrA *Challenging*
• 10×10 Coastal Breeze GP, by [PDX]Wildcat *Online*
• Alcator’s CoaSTunts, by [ATP] Alcator

Note:If you have signed up for the TMX Track List, but are not listed, it’s because you have not uploaded a new track since the last time the list was updated.

Nightfall (direct download)

• Author: Alselius
• Environment: Rally
• Mood: Sunset
• Length: 1 min
• Rating: 6/10

Temptation (direct download)

• Author: [Fok!]Markus
• Environment: Stadium
• Mood: Night
• Length: 1 min
• Rating: 8/10

Promised Land (direct download) *Challenging*

• Author: Buchi
• Environment: Stadium
• Mood: Sunset
• Length: 1 min
• Rating: 9/10 (highly recommended)

Shaken Around (direct download) *Challenging*

• Author: MrA
• Environment: Desert
• Mood: Sunrise
• Length: 1 min
• Rating: 7/10

10×10 Coastal Breeze GP (direct download) *Online*

• Author: [PDX]Wildcat
• Environment: Coast
• Mood: Sunset
• Length: 2 min
• Rating: 6/10

Alcator’s CoaSTunts (direct download)

• STUNT TRACK!
• Author: [ATP] Alcator
• Environment: Coast
• Mood: Sunrise
• Length: 1 min 30 sec
• Rating: 8/10

Would you like to have your tracks included in this list? Sign up by paying a one-time fee of 300 coppers. Once paid, you will have one track listed every time the TMX Track List is updated. Note that only tracks uploaded after the last time the list was updated can be included in the new list.