fng_thatoneguy wrote:I'm going to throw in some two cents here too.
My apologies for not having the time to read every line of every post in this thread (I've read a lot of it), but I have some theories as to why things seem grim for TM2 right now too...
1. Too much of a good thing?
This game seems insanely customizable, even more so than previous TM games. I've seen gamers starting to take off with trying to show off what ManiaLInk is capable of (Tetris and Doodle Jump, for examples) and that has taken some away from the game.
RPG maps have been popular with others, which move people off from the normal racing servers and off either playing them in Local Play -- making online numbers look worse.
Couple these with people out making tracks, others making videos, others programming mods, etc... and we spread ourselves pretty thin. As everyone has pointed out, it has been a slow launch, but I think that was in turn a lot to Ubisoft's decision not to market it hard (at least not here in the USA -- I'm still pushing for more marketing here...) - which brings me to my next point:
2. Where is the marketing?!
We can't expect this game to sell by word alone... No matter how excited we are about TM and how much we may evangelize it to our friends... if it's not a big known game in the industry, others are hesitant to try it. For this argument alone, I will agree with those that gripe about the game not being released on Steam. Now releasing on Steam isn't enough... it has to be MARKETED on Steam as well... advertised in gamers' faces with their popout specials and front-page news items.
(Sidenote: I get really frustrated when I hear people gripe about the game not being released on Steam and saying they'll only buy it if Nadeo does release it there. Do we not all realize that non-Steam games can have shortcuts placed in Steam, so for all intents and purposes, it still feels a part of Steam? I'd rather have a non-DRMed game outside of Steam... and everyone else should to, since that best respects everyone's liberty. If it's a matter of having your one-stop shop to launch your games, great... add TM2 to your Steam list of games... nothing else is gained by a release on Steam for an individual basis.)
... back on topic ...
For those of us that have gone off on different paths of having fun with the game, but not showing up online, we need to remember to spend some time online still too... so it does still look like people are playing it.
I hope to have more time soon to do that myself.
3. Solo mode isn't as fun to as many -- yes I'm talking about the timer.
Even some that fought for the timer in the infamous thread discussing whether it should be there or not have changed their tune and agreed that it's not a good way to handle the mode for the entire TM community. I'm really happy for those that like it, but for those that got turned off by it, it was one less enjoyable mode available in the game, leaving online and one environment all they had to show for the game they love so well. Compared to 7 environments and several fun game modes in TMUF, it doesn't make TM2 look like it has much value to someone that can't get into the solo mode too. Speaking of the lack of other modes...
4. Lack of Platform, Puzzle, Stunts, etc.
The game would seem to have more value to those that purchased it if the modes from previous TMs were still available in Canyon. I've heard rumor that some (if not all) are coming later, but the fact that they aren't in there now can account for a lack of playtime for gamers right now. Will they come back when those modes are available? I hope so.
Having all that said, I personally still think the game kicks butt and I'm very happy with it (still hoping for more) and think I well got my money's worth (and then some.) I just hope some of the problems can be solved, especially the marketing one. The only good thing I saw from the Ubisoft acquisition was the potential for marketing dollars to be spent here in the USA getting more players in-the-know about the TrackMania universe by the time of TM2's release. I was sorely disappointed that the only real exposure was a short 30-seconds at E3 (less than all the other games had) and no major game magazine coverage, etc.
Ubisoft needs to get the gaming community here (and all over the world) in-the-know about TM so we can have more people get interested in it. I hope that they will and hope that Nadeo will continue to deliver more goodness with this even though ShootMania and QuestMania are next on the roadmap.
Now, time to get off here and go race some so there will be one more player in the online list.
GG...
Nice to hear something from you, Florent.
Can't make it right in the first place we can always patch it up, can't we. 
