[New & Very Confused] How to buy & setup for 3 home users

[kc3]

Hi, I'm very confused by all the different accounts, profiles, verification codes, etc, that seem to be required to set-up 3 home users.

All I want to do is play with my two sons at home, (ideally offline/LAN) but I can't work out what I need to buy for that.

Sorry, but I find all the different accounts/profiles very confusing (maniaplanet, steam, trackmania, ubisoft...)

We want to play TM2 Canyon, Valley and Stadium,

- Do we need one copy of each game installed on 3 pcs?, or do we need to buy each game 3 times?
- Do we need 3 register trackmania profiles or is it local profiles?
- Can we avoid needing to be connected to the internet to play?
- Is it cheaper to one 3 player packs for each game or 3x Celebrat10n TrackMania2 Pack? (If the latter, how/where can I buy this because steam only seems to only allow me to add one pack?)

Some [clear] help would be very welcome and greatly appreciated. Thank you

[xrayjay]

hey,

possible solution:

buy this pack 3 times > http://store.steampowered.com/sub/34409
3 x 19,99€ = 59,97€
each computer needs his own (free) steam account (buy this packet on each steam account one time)

Every account can play online and got all the online funcionality

No further account is needed, only the individual maniaplanet account for each steam account
So we got 2 accounts for each computer (steam and maniaplanet)

I guess that´s the easiest solution if your sons (or you too) would play online the game simultanious and i bet one day they (or you^^) would play this online on servers to race against other competitors


I never tested if it´s possible to play lan with offline accounts on several computers which appears from 1 online account (i don´t know if it´s possible)

[kc3]

@xrayjay

Thanks, what about 'profiles'? are they the same as maniaplanet 'accounts'?

[TMarc]

If you plan to play only local in Hotseat or Splitscreen mode, you need only additional local accounts that don't have any keys.
But you have to start the local game on your machine.

If you plan to have a own dedicated server, and different PC for each player, then those will need separate accounts with new game keys, as you cannot use the same account at the same time on each machine.

[xrayjay]

marc explained it already, that´s the right answer, hope you found all informations you need kc

[kc3]

We plan to play sometimes in hotseat mode, but mostly on 3 PCs at the same time

OK, so from what you kind people said, I think I have to:

- Create 3 steam accounts
- Log into steam on each computer with a different account
- Buy the "Celebrat10n TrackMania2 Pack" and install it on each computer
- Create 3 ManiaPlanet accounts <---still don't understand if this is the same as "profiles"??

Still not sure I understand what happens when we play hot seat mode...obviously you run the game on one PC, then select one "profile" (is that a maniaplanet "account"?), then invite the other 2 to play, then how do the other 2 get added to the hotseat game?? Do they have to login with their "accounts"? ...or "profiles?" or what?

(Sorry, but it's confusing)

[kc3]

I just read here, and it seems you don't need to have steam - is that still the case?

[nailbomb69]

yes one profile (account) per game and no you dont need a steam account to play you can buy them from the maniaplanet website

[TMarc]

If you plan to use only the free version, which is available for TrackMania² games until 15.12.2103,
then you can download it only once and install it on the three machines.
Then, on each machine, create individual accounts for either one of your sons.

Steam is only an additional salespoint, the original game client also runs without Steam.

[mk2]

So to say, steam is only needed if you don´t like Maniaplanet.
An online Account will do the following:
a) Make sure you can install the game on a new PC without having to rebuy it ( as long as you don´t play it on the older one)
b) Represent you and your driving skills in online ladders and on multiplayer servers
c) Classify you as "one player" in those lists and allow you to race against other players/your friends online(which wouldn´t be possible with just one copy of the game.

However, if you plan to play in "hotseat" or "splitscreen" you can simply enter names for your opponents without them having an actual account.