TM Creative Forum

What's the best way to play TMN.. That is indeed a tricky and difficult question to answer, but I'll try to give you my thoughts on the subject:

Input device: Keyboard vs gamepad
My point of view is that you can get very good at playning TMN using both a keybord or a pad. It just comes down to how much you practice and learning the tricks of the trade.

If you drive with a keyboard you should imidiately allocate a second key for braking so that you don't have to use the down-arrow.
When I used a keyboard I set "W" as a second brake because it left my hand in a comfortable position.
The thought of using an extra brake button is to make powersliding/sliding much easier (the term varies from community to community). Powersliding is when you come to a turn and you corner using the accelerator-, turn-, and brake keys simultainiously to throw the car into a controlled slide. This way you can take the corner at a higher speed that if you brake in a "normal" (old) fashion.

Keep pressing the accelerator, and as you begin the turn, press the brake key. If you loose control of the slide you can release the accelerator to reduce your speed and regain control. Just remember to start turning BEFORE you press the brake.
You need a certain amount of speed to get the car to slide so it won't work on every corner.

I bought a gampad two weeks ago and I find it much more relaxing to drive with it that with a keyboard. It's also much easier to correct mistakes using a pad, and powerslides come much more naturally. I'm using a Logitech Chillstream, but any pad that connects to a pc will do. Though I recomend going for one with analog sticks since it will make your cornering much smoother.
What key configuration to use on the pad is most certainly a personal preferance. I use my right thumb on the accelerator and my right index finger on the brake button. On a PlayStation pad this translates to X for accelerator and R1 for braking.

When switching between two different input devices, expect to have a decline in driving skill since it takes time to learn how to use the new equipment. I've used my pad for two weeks, and I'm just now starting to set new personal bests on tracks. It takes at least a month of regular play to get proficient with a new device, so hang in there!

Point of View
You can change your view while driving by using Num pad 1, 2 and 3.
View 1: Raised chase-cam.
View 2: Close-up chase-cam.
View 3: Bumper cam/internal cam.

When I started driving I was using view 2 alot and it worked just fine. However when I came back after a three week long brake during last summer I somehow ended up using view 1, and I've stuck with it ever since. I find that it's easier to drive using view 1 because since the camera is raised higher off the ground it gives you a much wider view of the track and you can see "over" obstacles and corners. This will help you to anticipate each turn more easily and get a more correct line through the turn.
I've never used view 3 much unless I'm driving a track with loops that have no MT (Media tracker). I know, though, of very good drivers that use this view with success, so again it comes down to personal preferance.

Graphics settings
When it comes to graphics you yourself know your pc best. I recommend setting the detail level of the graphics so that you have at least a frame rate of 30+. Don't use a higher setting just because it looks nicer. You won't be able to judge corners at high speeds if you have a fps below 25. You can see your fps by pressing "0" (zero).

Driving with lots of cars around you may also cause lag and fps-drop. You can prevent this by limit the number of cars shown simultainiously.
You do this by clicking "Option" and then "Advanced" in the game laucher. On the last tab you'll find an option to limit the number of cars shown. The lowest value you can set here is 8. There is a way to hack this information so that you don't se any cars but I don't know the procedure. Anyway, TMN is an online game. What fun is there to drive online and not see other cars?

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Driving tips

Basics:
The basics of racing applies to TMN as well as the real world.
To get around a track in the shortest ammount of time you want to brake enough before the turn to take it smoothly and get maximum acceleration out of the turn. The quicker you're on the accelerator the faster your car will go. So; slow in, fast out!

Wallrides and loops:
I'm no master in driving loops and wallrides but the theory is quite simple.
In wallrides you want to go as low as possible and if possible without losing contact with the driving surface. Try imagining the wallride as lying flat on the ground and drive the shortest distance between the two lowest corners. The same applies to loops and cork screws. Set up the car so that you don't have to turn/correct much while in the loop. The shortest distance between two locations is always a straight line, or as straight a line as you can manage. Something that you might find helpful with wallrides when it comes to judging them, is to drive it in an arch shape. You can judge this by focusing on the middle point and making sure that your car is relatively straight half way around the wall. The lower the arch the better but only if it results in a smooth exit, you don't want to be skidding on the exit.

Jumping:
When you hit a jump and fly through the air your car will start to pitch forward. To stop this pitching motion tap the brake and the car will "freeze" in mid air. Try judging the angle of the landing so that all four wheels of your car hit the ground at the same time. This will minimize the ammount of bounce the car gets from hitting the ground and increase your control.

Sometimes a jump is constructed in a way that you have to brake hard to be able to make the next turn. Try anticipating the turn and angle your car by turning your car at the last moment before you leave the ramp. This will make your car go straight into a slide when it lands. If you need to lengthen the slide, press the brake and/or the accelerator as you land.

Also, if you for some reason need to adjust the length of a jump, do so in the begining of the jump, or before you leave the ramp, rather than at the end. You should have the maximum revs possible when landing. You can reduce the length of a jump by just releasing the throttle or by using the brake. Yes, TMN-cars come with air brakes, or flaps. Good thing this isn't a drivng simulator but an arcade game.

Powerslide/sliding
[see above for description on how to perform a powerslide]
When you want to powerslide through a turn you need to anticipate the turn and start the slide well ahead of the turn so that you slide into the turn. I find that if I start across the center line of the track when I start my slide I usually get a good "hit" when coming into the turn.

High speed driving:
On tracks that are designed for speed, really high speed, you want to keep your car from sliding at all! Sliding on a speed track will make you lose time. To avoid sliding, release the throttle a bit at the start of a turn you know your car tends to slide, and accelerate through it. Again; slow in, fast out. Though here it prbably is better to say fast inn, faster out

Learning a track
There's no use in being the best driver in the world if you don't know the track you're driving. And learning a track can be a pain in the b-hind
It takes many runs to get every curve right. Breaking points, jumps, landings all have to be memorized.
If you want to learn a track faster I suggest that you join a server online and go into spectator mode (Esc --> Spectator) and watch how the best drivers drive the track. Some players may start to complain about being specced, but I wouldn't pay them much attention. It's a part of the game and they should in my opinion accept it. But if you want to be nice you could switch between who you're speccing.
Select who you're watching by holding down "Tab" and clicking any nickname.
Be aware of the fact that speccing can be forbidden on some servers.

Another way to learn a track is to download replays uploaded for each track on TMX and view them in the in-game editor. You can even drive against the replays and that way see where you are losing time on a track.

I hope this little tutorial will help many of you into becomming better drivers. As in all things it takes time and practice to become better.
I'm not the best in the world at playing TMN, but I've played this game since February 2006 and have picked up some nifty things here and there.

I will add more to this post when I remember more. I'm currently at work but had nothing else to do, so I thought I'd write a guide to help you newcommers discover how great Trackmania Nations is.


Ferril
OWN - Original Wheels of Norway
http://www.own.no

Ramstein slide:
The Ramstein slide is a slide used when the car hasn't got enough speed for you to throw it into a slide in the normal fashion. Instead you drive over the dark gray line on the side of the road while turning and pressing the break key at the same time. This will make the car skip, or do a small jump, and loose contact with the road for a split second, which is enough to get the car sliding around tight corners.

For a comprehensive guide on how to do the various slides, check out Madness' "Sliding to victory - A beginners guide to competitive Trackmania" here..

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Oh, you will find view no 3 helpful sometimes, especially on speedy tech tracks!