[TM2S] A Guide to competitive TrackMania!

[some0ne91]

I'll soon come to you for some more nascar infos

Great job you did here anyway !

[Alinoa]

Nice done Znik

[Wormii]

You could edit there a part that explains a bit about TMU ja other TM2 environments, at least ET's TMU competitions are doing strong still FET, UL, GC...

[Edster]

Great guide, but as a TM F1 driver I think you should make it clear that the Nascar and Formula One styles are quite different: F1 tracks tend to be quite similar to tech maps, whereas Nascar tends to have tracks that more closely resemble Full speed with lots of fast, elongated corners. (Although there are some shorter/faster F1 maps) Because all the tracks are multi-lap there is slightly more focus on endurance (Having the right pit strategy and not crashing excessively) rather than simply outright speed. The F1 races on TM that I've driven in usually rely on some mods created in the mediatracker in order to put a fuel gauge and pitstop elements into play. Also, some F1 leagues (I.E. UF1R) have rules that forbid wall-banging and 4-skid mark sliding as real F1 cars do not drift, so it would detract from realism. (The Black Angel team on the other hand, permit all the driving techniques commonly used in tech... Go figure, but it's no wonder the F1 scene on TM is so fragmented right now...)

Here are two good league sites to link to which have great F1 championships in TM:

http://ultimatef1racing.com/ Holds approximately 1 hour races on F1 tracks of the past and present, includes qualifying during the week before, a grid start and several different pitstop strategies. Players are put into F1 teams of two drivers for the whole season, on a (flexible) calendar which is decided by the admins pre-season.

http://www.blackangelteam.net Holds approximately 45 minute races the week after a real life Formula One race on a version of the real life track created in TM2S, with mandatory pitstops. Players may choose which team they drive for, or create their own.

I hope this gives you a better overview. If you want to see an F1 race in action, or even compete in one yourself, the Black Angels are holding the Chinese Grand Prix on their server at 21:30 EST tonight.

[znik]

Wormi: I think the guide should strictly keep a coverage of TM2S and not confuse players with content from the other environments. As you can see the guide is getting quite comprehensive already covering tm2s alone.

Edster: Thanks for your description and tournament links. I'll split NASCAR and FORMULA 1 in two separate categories and add the links you proivded later today

[some0ne91]

Have to agree with Edster that Nascar and F1 are two different things.

Like he said, Nascar tracks are usually very fast, and some of them are fullspeed (not a big part though).
Also in Nascar, you will never start a drift on your own

Due to the high speed we get, the main rule is the "600 rule". Basically -> As long as you are under 600 you can turn with no problem, but once you reach 600 (not 599, 600 ) and you turn a bit fast you instantly get a drift and thus lose some precious speed. It is possible to turn above 600 without drifting though if you turn softly (but you'll have to go wider and tracks are usually not that wide ) and it's not as easy to master as it seems.
That's where banked turns are interesting.
Two ways to go through them:
- Drift: you'll drive the turn fast, but your speed at the end of the turn won't be optimal, especially if you have a speed part following. It's the safest way to take those turn as it's the way the track author probably intended it. Very usefull when you are in a "technical" part with a lot of turns.
- No drift: depending on the width of the turn and the speed you have before entering it you'll have (or not) to release before entering the turn. You'll take the turn slower, but your out speed will be much better than if you drifted and quickly come back. Very usefull when you enter a speed part.
Also noteworthy: banked turns make it much easier to turn over the "drift limit" without drifting :p

An other trick, but less used due to the big amount of speed you need to have to do it is the SpeedSlide trick, just like in FullSpeed (but not as efficient, until you reach 800) which allows you to go faster by making small drifts on the road (left, right, left, right, etc... basically like this: )

"Ghost" GrassSlide. I call it ghost since it's not anymore possible to do it on TM²S. This trick was used on Nascar TMUF Envimix tracks (Island environment, Stadium car physics) and consisted in doing exactly the same as before (left, right, left right,...) on the grass that was present on the side of the track. It was only efficient once you were at least 350 which made it extremely usefull at the beggining of the maps or on short maps (which was also the reason it was banned from some competitions, people complaining about it being too unfair).


The main format used in Nascar is obviously Endurance, the best example being the Nascar Racing League, a TM²S competition offering 3 different type of races:
- Stadium Cup: common Nascar tracks (every sunday at 18:35 CEST, lasting about 30 minutes +- 10 minutes)
- Sprint Cup (Envimix): Nascar maps using exclusive blocs inspired by the Island environment with more looking like the real Nascar tracks with pit-stop system. (every sunday at 19:35 CEST, lasting about 30 minutes +- 10 minutes)
- Endurance Cup (Envimix): Same as above but tracks are much longer, as well as the races (every 1st saturday of the month at 18:35 CEST, lasting about 90 minutes +- 30 minutes).

But also classic 1v1 mode is used as in the ESL Nascar.

I think I wrote everything though I'm sure I missed some key informations... bah I'll edit that later if needed

[znik]

- Stadium Cup - Sprint Cup (Envimix) - Endurance Cup (Envimix)

Are these to be considered separate formats like CUP, TIME ATTACK etc? Or do you use the LAPS mode all the time?
EDIT: I guess you were talking mostly about TMUF here? LAPS format is what you use?

Thanks for all the other useful infos you had, I'll try to sort that into the DRIVING STYLES and DRIVING TECHNIQUES & TERMS section.

[some0ne91]

3 different competitions of the NRL (Stadium, Sprint Cup & Endurance) are driven in lap mode.
Most common mode used in Nascar is indeed the Laps mode.

Everything I wrote is about TM2S, we added new custom blocs Envimix-like to the SRE, which might be confusing ^^'

[znik]

I've now updated the guide and separated the two driving styles. Tell me if there is something very important I missed in the short descriptions that should be added, but we should try to keep these descriptions as short and informative as possible.

I also added your tournaments to the tournament & events list. Maybe you could help me write a few driving techniques that is related to them and that is not already explained in my driving techniques & terms section?

Thanks for you help

[Edster]

I've now updated the guide and separated the two driving styles. Tell me if there is something very important I missed in the short descriptions that should be added, but we should try to keep these descriptions as short and informative as possible.

I also added your tournaments to the tournament & events list. Maybe you could help me write a few driving techniques that is related to them and that is not already explained in my driving techniques & terms section?

Thanks for you help

No problem, you did a nice summary there and I'd be happy to explain to you a few techniques that we use in UF1R particularly, primarily because of the no-sliding rules and an incar mod which means your vision is much lower down than in normal outcar cameras. Maybe I'll do this in a PM later though, as I need some sleep right now.