[TM2]Can't launch Stadium. "Do you want to load this title?"

[FFStudios]

Uh, I've been playing Trackmania United for a long time and I finally decided to buy TM2....except that literally everything is changed and I can't launch the game I just purchased? Every time I launch this stupid Mania client thing, it asks me if I want to load TM2 Stadium into "the station". I can click load 4000 times and nothing will happen. Apparently everybody else on the internet that has had this problem has never been replied to, because I can't find any tips or steps to fix this anywhere.

edit: On top of that, I try to enter a CD Key on the website and it says I need Steam to do it. So I launch the game through Steam and it tells me that I haven't bought Trackmania 2 Stadium yet. Is this for real? How could something this broken get onto the Steam servers?

edit2: I have now uninstalled and re-installed the game 4 times. Simply terrible.

[TMarc]

You wont find any really helpful tips on this because this issue usually has resolved itself when Steam has downloaded all the necessary files.
The initial installation is ManiaPlanet, and the actual game takes ~1GB of download.
Watch the library, and if there is pending download.

Did you purchase it directly in Steam or outside of Steam?

[FFStudios]

I purchased it directly through Steam and no, there is no pending update. I have verified the integrity of the game cache multiple times and have manually checked for updates as well.

[afluffypillow]

I must say, these games have the WORST customer service there is, they're even worse than EA. I'm having the exact same problem as the original poster and am getting really annoyed with the "help" (If you could call it that) that these threads have been recieving, you copy and paste the replies to people and when they tell you they've restarted Steam you completely ignore them, I really wish I could get a refund, because you guys are really shit at what you do.

[afluffypillow]

Hey FFStudios, do you think I could add you on Steam? maybe we can try and get this terrible game fixed then, because it's clear customer support is doing fuck all to help people

[TMarc]

I must say, these games have the WORST customer service there is, they're even worse than EA. I'm having the exact same problem as the original poster and am getting really annoyed with the "help" (If you could call it that) that these threads have been recieving, you copy and paste the replies to people and when they tell you they've restarted Steam you completely ignore them, I really wish I could get a refund, because you guys are really shit at what you do.

Please don't swear only because you don't get instantaneous help
Be polite
Support capacities are limited, and Steam issues are something that is not always related to the game itself.

In the game details in Steam, do you see the game key?
If you login to the player page with your ManiaPlanet account, can you see Stadium as game, and also at the accounts/downloads? (this would be the indicator that the key is properly registered).

[afluffypillow]

I can see the game on my downloads page, but when I put my key in on player keys, it says this game requires steam?
So I know it isn't a problem with my key, but I still can't open it via Steam, it starts maniaplanet, and gives me a choice to load all Trackmania games, and upon clicking load on Stadium, nothing happens. However, when I download maniaplanet client from the internet (not steam) it gives me the choice to play Stadium, but won't allow me because my key is only for the Steam version. I apologize for getting angry, I was just really frustrated.

[TMarc]

it's ok. I know it is frustrating, especially as I cannot do much at the moment - many Nadeo members are on summer vacation.

The steam keys are also transferred to the steamless database, but this happens manually so it takes several days up to weeks.

I'm just added my regular Stadium key to Steam, it started to download 127.6MB. Most probably the update from the Beta to the release.
Then I could click on Play. Steam checked for DirectX setup.
But to not mess up with my settings, I chose to use my existing account, and I could play Stadium instantaneously.

Now if I click with the right mouse key on TrackMania² Stadium, and select "View CD key", Steam shows me the key.
Is it also there for you?

[afluffypillow]

Yes, my key is there. However, I can't use it on the player page because it says that this key is for steam, or, this key is already in use (by me obviously). EDIT - I just took a look at the folders of Stadium, I have noticed that inside the ManiaPlanet_TMStadium/Packs I have many files and folders named TMStadium, whereas when I downloaded the maniaplanet client on it's own without Steam I only had maniaplanet files/folders, but with Steam I have Trackmania Stadium folders and files.

[TMarc]

This is normal, as there are two different downloads of the regular client: one minimal setup with ManiaPlanet only (it downloads all registered titles automatically) and one with each full game.

So you have Stadium with Steam, which is good
Now I think you have a wrong local account in ManiaPlanet (local accounts often have no valid keys, they are only to be used for hotseat or splitscreen gaming).

Do you remember what you did at the first start of ManiaPlanet?
Where it asked for login (create new accout / use existing account)?
How many accounts do you have there?
The thing now is to give exactly the ManiaPlanet account that has Stadium registered.