THE BORE

General => Video Game Bored => Topic started by: Smooth Groove on April 16, 2008, 07:32:00 PM

Title: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Smooth Groove on April 16, 2008, 07:32:00 PM
Just saw this today.  Pretty cool of Valve and the developer.  I wonder how they are gonna make money from this . 



(http://storefront.steampowered.com/v/gfx/apps/11020/0000004008.1024x768.jpg)

A free game in the truest sense of the word, TrackMania Nations Forever lets you drive at mind-blowing speeds on fun and spectacular tracks in solo and multiplayer modes.

TrackMania Nations Forever offers a new "Forever" version of the Stadium environment, a solid solo mode and 65 brand new, progressively challenging tracks. TrackMania Nations Forever will unite an even larger number of players than the original Nations thanks to its engaging multiplayer modes, innovative online functions and revolutionary interactivity between players.

For TrackMania Nations Forever, Nadeo studio chose to take advantage of the PC's capacities as a gaming, creative and communications platform in order to allow a greater number of players to share a unique gaming experience:

Features:


A completely free game.
A captivating solo mode with 65 brand new tracks.
Join millions of players online and compete on thousands of tracks on the TrackMania servers.
One complete TrackMania environment: Stadium "Forever".
An in-game editor to create your own tracks, video studio to realize your own movies and a paint shop to customize your vehicles.
Official ladders for solo and multiplayer.
Compatible with TrackMania United Forever (profile and multiplayer servers).


N/AComing soon
  Read Critic ReviewsPRE-LOAD NOW
Pre-load now, purchase when ready, play as soon as the game is available.

Media + Links
  visit the website

Game Details
Title : Trackmania Nations Forever
Developer : Nadeo
Publisher : Focus Home Interactive
Languages : English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Slovakian, Dutch, Russian, Hungarian, Czech, Polish


  Single-player  Multi-player  Includes level editor



Latest News 
New Trackmania Games Available N...
  Read more news

Product Updates
%latest_updates_date%
Changes/Additions
---------------------------------------

  Read More Updates

System Requirements
Minimum:

Supported OS: Windows 2000/XP/XP-x64/Vista
Processor: Pentium IV 1.6GHz / AthlonXP 1600+
Graphics: 3D accelerator 16 MB DirectX 9.0c compatible graphics card
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c or better
Memory: 256 MB (512 MB with Vista)
Sound: 16 bit DirectX compatible sound card
Hard Drive: 750 MB free disk space

Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: FatalT on April 16, 2008, 09:17:01 PM
Bitches, download this. I bought Trackmania United when it launched on Steam and its the best racing game ever. Make an Evilbore group so I can laugh at how much better I am at Trackmania than you all.
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Eric P on April 16, 2008, 10:29:04 PM
trackmania is mad amounts of fun

i will be purchasing Trackmania United Forever
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Eric P on April 16, 2008, 10:35:46 PM
couldn't find it so i bought rainbow 6 vegas instead
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Fragamemnon on April 16, 2008, 10:57:57 PM
You can find Trackmania Nations Forever on steam here:

http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=game&AppId=11020

TMU was one of the top 10 PC games released last year IMO. The update brings a whole host of new UI improvements and all-around slickness to the product, as well as adding in tons of Nations content.

I can say without much hesitation that Trackmania Nations Forever is probably the best free game on the Internet, it really is that good.
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Eric P on April 16, 2008, 11:00:46 PM
that's odd

i wonder why i couldn't find it through the steam client

i looked in racing games and searched for "trackmania"
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: FatalT on April 17, 2008, 01:07:23 AM
that's odd

i wonder why i couldn't find it through the steam client

i looked in racing games and searched for "trackmania"

http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=game&AppId=7200&cc=US

YOU BUY NOW YES OKAY
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Smooth Groove on April 17, 2008, 01:27:28 AM
Like FatalT suggested, we should have an EB Trackmania contest.  Quite a few should be able to participate since it's free and runs well on low-spec PCs. 
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: FatalT on April 17, 2008, 01:29:55 AM
Like FatalT suggested, we should have an EB Trackmania contest.  Quite a few should be able to participate since it's free and runs well on low-spec PCs. 

Fragamemnon will probably win. I can never beat any of his times.
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Fragamemnon on April 17, 2008, 01:51:40 AM
to be fair I'm pretty meh at multiplayer. Much better with the nadeo tracks.

if we can get six or so people I'll see if I can start up a server or something.
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Eric P on April 17, 2008, 08:46:32 AM
couldn't find it so i bought rainbow 6 vegas instead
you should buy the second one.  it has a whole level set in a convention center.

really that sounds pretty awes--

wait a minute
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Eric P on April 17, 2008, 07:19:56 PM
this game is a lot of fun w/ the 3d glasses

i need to find some red/blue.  my red/green from LXG Black Dossier  aren't providing as good an effect
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Smooth Groove on April 17, 2008, 07:29:12 PM
Does the 3d effect work with LCD monitors? 

to be fair I'm pretty meh at multiplayer. Much better with the nadeo tracks.

if we can get six or so people I'll see if I can start up a server or something.

Sounds cool.   Maybe we can do something during the weekend. 
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Eric P on April 17, 2008, 07:39:26 PM
Does the 3d effect work with LCD monitors? 

yes.  it would have worked better if my glasses were red/blue as stated
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: TVC15 on April 17, 2008, 10:34:14 PM
I click on Frag's link, and the Trackmania Nations page comes up (like it should), and I click install, and it starts installing Trackmania United (which I already own).  Are they the same game or something?
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Smooth Groove on April 17, 2008, 10:37:16 PM
I click on Frag's link, and the Trackmania Nations page comes up (like it should), and I click install, and it starts installing Trackmania United (which I already own).  Are they the same game or something?

No, Trackmania Nations is completely free.  Frag's link is for Trackmania United which you have to buy.

Try this one:

http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=game&AppId=11020
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Crushed on April 17, 2008, 10:38:21 PM
This game is hard to control. :(
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: TVC15 on April 17, 2008, 10:40:22 PM
I click on Frag's link, and the Trackmania Nations page comes up (like it should), and I click install, and it starts installing Trackmania United (which I already own).  Are they the same game or something?

No, Trackmania Nations is completely free.  Frag's link is for Trackmania United which you have to buy.

Try this one:

http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=game&AppId=11020

Same deal.  The page is for Trackmania Nations, I click install, and it starts installing Trackmania United, which I have owned for like a year.
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Smooth Groove on April 17, 2008, 10:56:15 PM
That's weird.  Maybe United is just a fullly unlocked version of Nations?  I wonder if both games are compatible in MP games. 

edit-

Looks like they're compatible.

On the bottom, it says "Compatible with TrackMania United Forever (profile and multiplayer servers)." 

I wonder which tracks are shared by both games.  Maybe Frag or FatalT can figure it out. 


Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: FatalT on April 17, 2008, 11:04:09 PM
The recent Trackmania United Forever patch also adds Trackmania Nations to it, I believe. So now both versions can play on each other's servers or something like that.
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: TVC15 on April 17, 2008, 11:10:25 PM
So Nations is more of a content patch than it is a sequel, then?
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Smooth Groove on April 17, 2008, 11:11:48 PM
So Nations is more of a content patch than it is a sequel, then?

Seems more like a gimped but free version. 

Can someone check how we can set up games between owners of both games? 
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: CajoleJuice on April 17, 2008, 11:12:29 PM
So if I download this on my piece of shit laptop NOW, even though I can't play it, will I be able to download it again free when I get a new PC?
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: FatalT on April 17, 2008, 11:15:35 PM
So if I download this on my piece of shit laptop NOW, even though I can't play it, will I be able to download it again free when I get a new PC?

I don't see why not. Why wouldn't you be able to? It's free.
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: CajoleJuice on April 17, 2008, 11:16:31 PM
So it isn't only free for a limited time?
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Smooth Groove on April 17, 2008, 11:17:55 PM
So it isn't only free for a limited time?

I think it's one of those new PC games that give you a bunch of free content in order to entice you to pay money for more. 
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: CajoleJuice on April 17, 2008, 11:18:55 PM
I see. Kinda like Peggle Extreme.
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Fragamemnon on April 18, 2008, 12:34:16 AM
Trackmania Nations Forever will always be free. It has tools that can be used to create new tracks and the community features to share those tracks with other users easily. The only difference between the free product (Nations) and the currently sold retail product (United) is that United has seven environments and Nations has only one (the Stadium).

Of course, this really isn't too much of a problem really, because the Stadium environment is far and away the most popular TM environment for track makers and Nations servers will run tracks just on that environment.

It rocks, played tonight for a few hours.
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: CajoleJuice on April 18, 2008, 12:36:59 AM
NICE :rock

:bow PC GAMING :bow2
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Smooth Groove on April 18, 2008, 12:41:57 AM
People interested so far:

me
Frag
FatalT
TVC
Cajolejuice
Eric P

Is that enough for a game?

Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: CajoleJuice on April 18, 2008, 12:42:30 AM
I don't think I can actually PLAY. :lol


:(
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Smooth Groove on April 18, 2008, 12:49:39 AM
I don't think I can actually PLAY. :lol


:(

You never know.  Try the lowest settings at 640x480.  It can't look worse than the average WII game. 
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: CajoleJuice on April 18, 2008, 12:54:57 AM
I'll try once it's done downloading. Should be done in 20 minutes or so. Even if it does work decently...it'll probably start locking up after 15 minutes.

I'm gonna buy a new laptop soon. A fairly expensive one. I think I'm gonna make a thread for suggestions. :P
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: bork on April 18, 2008, 01:33:21 AM
Would this run on my MacBook (in Boot Camp) and does it have support for the 360 controller?
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Smooth Groove on April 18, 2008, 01:47:21 AM
There's no native support for the 360 controller but you can configure it to work with the game. 

But the Game seems easier with keyboard which is really odd for a racing game. 

I'm not sure about the Mac question though.  Why don't you try since it's free?
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: bork on April 18, 2008, 02:10:24 AM
There's no native support for the 360 controller but you can configure it to work with the game. 

But the Game seems easier with keyboard which is really odd for a racing game. 

I'm not sure about the Mac question though.  Why don't you try since it's free?

Yeah, I will The MacBook has an integrated graphics card, and it's kinda shitty so I've been told not to expect many games past 2004-2005 to really work well or work at all.
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Crushed on April 18, 2008, 02:16:43 AM
No seriously, I can't control this thing with my keyboard at all. I mean, it works OKAY, but for some things it's impossible.


It doesn't help that 90% of the custom tracks are these crazy "tricky" (read: douchey split-second easy to hit obstacles or gaps) ones.

"Whoops you should have known that I was going to put a hole right where you need to turn for a straightaway that you need to travel over perfectly to hit a jump just right."
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Smooth Groove on April 18, 2008, 02:23:38 AM
Really?  I played a couple of times with keyboard and was doing really well.  Once I switched to the 360 pad, I began crashing more often.

I assumed the game had more assistance for keyboard users but maybe it just go harder when I switched to the pad?

Also, I wish the game has analog support for braking.  It's counterintuitive to have analog controls for accelerating but not braking. 
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Flannel Boy on April 18, 2008, 03:04:45 AM
downloading, thanks.
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Flannel Boy on April 18, 2008, 02:21:20 PM
The game is pretty good. It looks plain, but it doesn't make my eyes bleed like a wii game. And the controls seems pretty tight.

Haven't played online yet, however.
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Smooth Groove on April 18, 2008, 02:24:49 PM
The game is pretty good. It looks plain, but it doesn't make my eyes bleed like a wii game. And the controls seems pretty tight.

Haven't played online yet, however.

Did you max out everything?  The car models have relatively simple geomeotry but there are some spiffy visual effects such as the motion blur or reflective surfaces.  I actually had to turn down the AA to only 2x for certain stages, even with 2x8800 GTXes. 

Btw, when is a good time for everyone to play and is Frag still going to setup a server?  I think we have enough people now. 

I'll start posting the steam IDS in my OP later today. 
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Flannel Boy on April 18, 2008, 02:27:08 PM
I haven't had any slow down and AA is at 4x.  ???

I'm working 32 hours this weekend and trying to mix in some taped basketball games.  :'(

I'm good Mon. through Wed. next week
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Smooth Groove on April 18, 2008, 02:32:09 PM
Did you try the acrobatic stage where you have to flip over a bunch of stuff to the other side? 

The framerate drops quite a bit in it.  But don't just check it out for the graphics because that stage is crazy fun. 

It took me 10 mins before I finally completed the race but I never felt frustrated. 

I don't know why Trackmania is PC only.  It's really perfect for consoles. 
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: FatalT on April 18, 2008, 07:47:30 PM
I made an Evilbore group called Evilboreans.

Login: Evilbore

Password: lolcars
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: TVC15 on April 18, 2008, 07:56:20 PM
The game is pretty good. It looks plain, but it doesn't make my eyes bleed like a wii game. And the controls seems pretty tight.

Haven't played online yet, however.

Did you max out everything?  The car models have relatively simple geomeotry but there are some spiffy visual effects such as the motion blur or reflective surfaces.  I actually had to turn down the AA to only 2x for certain stages, even with 2x8800 GTXes. 

I keep AA turned off.  It's a fast game with lots of effects, I usually don't have time to notice jaggies.
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: FatalT on April 18, 2008, 08:39:57 PM
How do I join the EB group?

Go to Profile and then you should see Groups to the right. Click Add and then type in the information and click Subscribe.
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: Smooth Groove on April 19, 2008, 12:58:53 AM
FatalT, it doesn't work for me either.  Maybe it's a feature that you have to paid to get.  If so, that's pretty dumb. 

The game does allow me to add friends though. 

Maybe we should all put here our Trackmania accounts since they are different from Steam's.

My Trackmania account is the same as my Steam's: Datruelegend 
Title: Re: Trackmania Nations Forever: Free on Steam!
Post by: FatalT on April 19, 2008, 03:02:40 AM
Awwww that's really lame. Evilbore group is useless, then.

Trackmania account name: FatalT