Issues With the ManiaPlanet 4 Update

[TheBoldman67]

I know everybody is freaking out right now (well all four of us) about the new ManiaPlanet Update. I'll get into my issues with the ManiaPlanet model somewhere else, but currently there are issues that came with the new update that need to be fixed as soon as possible. I'll list them out below and also add in what worked from the update for me. Feel free to add to the list below to create a central topic for them to look at. I'll start with the cons:

Cons:
- Canyon physics seem altered. Not a big issue, but its reasoning seems questionable.
- I cannot currently access the Canyon editor. It seems that when I try to open the editor, the editor tries to open the Lagoon editor, which I do not have and which isn't out yet.
- Other various glitches like ManiaPlanet randomly launching in 4k, after setting it to 1080p several times.
- Issues some Steam users have encountered with launching the game.
- Always an issue, but the game still only supports FXAA anti aliasing, leaving the game at 1080p with a very sloppy and jagged look, ESPECIALLY with the new Stadium textures (which are going on the pros list by the way).
- Not sure if this is a side-effect of my interpretation of the fuzzy visuals but shadows seem less high-res than I remember them being.
- Stadium seems to have a lower frame rate when around object with textures with holes in them, like the loops and walls.
- When downloading new titles, often times the title will not load or appear on a station until I have relaunched ManiaPlanet.
- Intros are not playing correctly, and are unskippable (so between loading and playing the player has to look at a still shot of a part of the track for about 3-8 seconds).
- You need a validation code to purchase titles with coppers (I do not have access to my validation code because I hadn't used it in two years, so I can't open new titles that require coppers).

A hefty list of cons, but nothing that can't be fixed. Onto the pros:

Pros:
- New textures for each environment look cool, as well as slightly tweaked shading (like in tunnels and the increased sun levels at sunset).
- The new interface is a great addition, especially for controller users who want easy navigation on controller. (maybe include options so keyboard players are satisfied?)
- Valley seems tweaked in a good way. Dirt always felt awful and now it feels slightly less awful (May just be sensitivity tweaks on controller, Still not amazing though).
- Levels do load faster as promised.
- New blocks are always a plus.

Still feel free to post anything I haven't mentioned up here below. As far as improvements I suggest Nadeo starts by addressing bugs. It is unacceptable that I can't access the Canyon editor. This and other bugs just makes it seem like it should still be in beta. On top of this, they should add new anti-aliasing options to accommodate the new textures. It's 2017 and with textures like they added for Stadium with see-through elements and such small details that can be seen through, FXAA looks incredibly ugly and almost ruins Stadium's presentation. Please, re-implement MSAA or even talk to Nvidia about adding optional TXAA, which would really smooth out some rough edges. As well as this, I'd reapply the old Canyon settings before the changes were made. No matter how small these are it seems to have upset a lot of people, and these undoubtedly have effects on records and leaderboards. Also, for the love of all that is good in this world, continue to fix up Valley; Dirt in Valley still does not feel good.

If it were up to me, I'd do away with the entire ManiaPlanet system and re-implement the old TrackMania's simplicity. You bought one game, got all of the environments, and raced. With ManiaPlanet, environments are not only split up and overpriced for a single environment, but in doing this you also killed the community by splitting up the TrackMania playerbase, which meant fewer players per environment, which meant fewer creations and levels for each environment. which is essential because this is a community driven game (no pun intended). I would say the best way to make TrackMania 2 would be to put all of the environments into one package like before, and include the extra development tools that you've included with ManiaPlanet. That way the playerbase isn't split up, and people have the ability to create new modes and campaigns, which could then be downloaded. This would also help in many ways because certain environments have received titles that can't be played in others due to the split. A stunt mode was made for Canyon, and would work just as well in Stadium and Valley can't because of the split. Let me know what you guys think, cause I think doing this and advertising are the only ways to bring TrackMania to more people. It honestly seems like the series is dying, which could easily be prevented.

[Filipe1020]

I agree especially on the Anti Aliasing part, I was expecting more options to be implemented, it was the main reason I was looking after the MP4 Beta, but no it's still jagged and terribly ugly.

[novationx]

I agree especially with "get rid of maniaplanet system" and its lack of clarity/user-friendliness.
Revert to MP3, while you work on design & fix bugs, please.

[djhubertus]

- You need a validation code to purchase titles with coppers (I do not have access to my validation code because I hadn't used it in two years, so I can't open new titles that require coppers).

I'm pretty sure it was possible to generate a new one on player page.

[celrak]

Can we get some more attention on this topic? Update 4 is facked.

For those of you who don't recognize the name I usually race as gooby in TM2 Canyon.

First and foremost the physics have been changed, however slightly. Cars are faster now. What this means is that literally every single pre-4 Update lap time in Canyon (and likely the rest of TM) have been invalidated, yet there they remain. How could something like this happen?

Beyond the aforementioned gigantic epic level proportion screw-up, I have run into numerous other issues. My entire config and setup was erased, car model reset, I got stuck in and endless update-loop 3 times, and what is going on with the UI design over there, each update seems to get worse and worse. Please stop reinventing the wheel. Please. I have to click about 8 times now to launch and join a game.

I know Nadeo for whatever reason likes to package a ton of games into the one ManiaPlanet install, but for the love of god why? I don't want to have to download a 500MB update for some other game that has nothing to do with me trying to race some Canyon. Oh and it jacked up the graphics, physics, sound, car handling..? Give us individual installers for each title or _something_ and stop forcing ManiaPlanet and all of it's glory down our throats por favor.

Sincerely,
Disappointed

[jar009]

cons:
- the new valley physics ruin loads of older maps. transitional maps and tight calculated jumps fail now 70% of the time (car doesn't jumps as high as before (like 35%reduction))
- when loading maps in the editor sometimes the menu freezes and you have to restart entire MP. (close it through Task manager)
- some textures of older objects got deleted
- single player: after driving a few maps with author medal (green) it says you got no medals for that map. but yet beaten the author time (record) it does not count any medals to the total.
- TM all enviroments title pack needs a Validation key, when entered it says invalid (Lagoon key needed).

[TheBoldman67]

Okay. I've played around a bit more, and it appears that they've updated the game today with a small patch. Here are some more pros and cons:

Pros:
- Handling in Valley is better, I can confirm now. After being away a while it is a LOT easier to get used to dirt controls. They're not perfect, but they're better (I believe they should clean up records since they changed it).
- Graphics look a lot better. I know someone above didn't like the change, but for me it really makes the game pop more. They added new types of clouds, and a lot of the shading changes really bring out the color in the environments more. Sunsets look more red and the sunbeams that bounce off of mountain sides really pop a lot more than they previously did. Also, I'm not sure if this worked before, but enabling high shadows on fast shaders brings unified shadow systems to the faster shading techniques (which should look really nice on slower PCs). Not only that, but they brought over the turbo effect from TM Turbo, so when you boost it now shows flames coming from the exhaust, which illuminates the ground and the back of the car if dark enough. As well as this computed shadows look better, especially when transitioning from indoor to outdoor areas.
- They seem to have fixed the issue when starting a new track in Canyon's editor.
- They fixed the issue with the client not saving graphical settings, or reverting back to default settings.

Cons:
- If you use faster shaders as opposed to the nice shader options, you can use MSAA. Nice shaders still have only FXAA. This is really a questionable design choice considering MSAA is more demanding. Shouldn't this be the other way around? (this may have been this way before but it doesn't make it any less odd)
- Canyon does seem faster by a bit. This doesn't hurt it too much, but on certain tracks you may gather more speed through a jump and get a less smooth landing as a result of increased jump distance due to the increased speed. Usually this isn't by too much though so I haven't encountered a level where this limits playability.
- Some people seem to be having problems accessing titles due to lost validation key entries or serial number entries. I haven't encountered this myself but I've seen several reports of this.
- It also appears that at times when playing solo, racing music will not start upon loading a track, so instead the menu music keeps playing.

A few steps in the right direction, but they still need to work on fixing problems with the update. I think they should either re-implement the old physics or wipe the leaderboards. This stuff isn't a huge deal to me but achievement hunters and world record chasers get heavily impacted by some of these small changes. Does anybody know any more direct ways to contact Nadeo? I know they have a few places they check in these forums but with how mixed up things are bug reports and feedback seems to be all over the place. Also, replying back to whoever spoke about the anti-aliasing options; you can apply MSAA to faster shaders. Since they enabled some new graphical features on the lower quality shaders, MSAA really makes it shine in comparison to max shaders if you keep all other settings up.

Keep on posting the feedback and if someone could tell me a good method of contacting Nadeo I'd be more than happy to compile a list of complaints and suggestions. At this rate if we don't give them some sort of consistent set of feedback they'll keep on doing their own thing, and ManiaPlanet will continue to have issues like this.

[videogamerTJ]

I dont know if this applies to anyone else, but with the new update, stadium has become unplayable. (I only play stadium) im running around 5 fps, and i turned my settings all the way down. the menus are perfectly normal, but when racing, it isnt.

[TheBoldman67]

I don't think so. I've gotten lower framerates in some areas, but it's generally still pretty playable. What are your specs?

[purdy44]

For me, the game looks absolutely terrible now.
-Textures are unnaturally shiny as if the track has been rained on.
-All of the edges appear SUPER rough, edgy, and jagged. I run the game at 3440x1440 so you'd think it would look smoother, but it looks worse than before
-It could be my monitor, but it seems like there is either a microstutter, or the #3 cam is shaky. It's incredibly annoying
-Motion blur is less pronounced. On some tracks it doesn't look like it's on at all. I personally love motion blur, as it helped my eyes focus more on the road ahead.

On the plus side though, it auto detected my DualShock 3 that I use for Rocket League. Before, I could never map the controls correctly and it wouldn't even recognize my controller. I've been a keyboard player since day one, and when I hit a wall my controller vibrated and it scared the living poop out of me. But it's a pleasant and welcome surprise and now I can switch to being a controller player. Too bad the game burns my eyes now.