TrackMania: The Racing Sim With An Undying Community

User-Created Tracks Keep Trackmania Alive.

TrackMania Featured Image

Trackmania at first glance is a pretty standard racing simulator that seems like it would have a small fan base but there is something more going on in the community that refuses to let this particular game die by only playing this iteration and not even glancing towards the other games that have been released in the series.

Key Takeaways

  • Trackmania’s core revolves around time, with players striving to beat world records on user-created tracks, fostering a dedicated community of runners.
  • The game’s longevity is sustained by its community-driven content creation.
  • High-quality content from creators like Wirtual keeps Trackmania relevant.

Trackmania as a game is all about time. Time to beat the tracks that are created. Each player competes to get the world record over each other and discovers new ways to beat each track.

A simple concept in theory that cultivated a community of die-hard runners who would stop at nothing to beat world records that would be made and last years on some occasions.

TrackMania Gameplay | Courtesy: Steam

One would think that surely the game would start to lose its charm after a year or two due to the repetitiveness of the gameplay loop since this wasn’t like a Rogue Genre game where there were randomized assets in each run. The only thing to improve was your racing lines.

Racing lines, if you don’t know, are a concept that essentially is an imaginary line that preserves the most amount of momentum for your car at turns.

Community Is King And The Sandbox Is The Kingdom

Getting back on track (see what I did there?), the main reason for the game’s longevity and survival in this new age of always online multiplayer games is a unique example since it implements the old-school style of racing games with ghosts rather than intractable players. The main reason is custom maps.

TrackMania Custom Map Resource | Captured By: VeryAliGaming

The ability to create is a powerful one and should not be underestimated by any game developer, Minecraft taught us this fact and that’s not to say that any sandbox game will remain alive but rather a good sandbox game that understands its audience and caters to its niche will survive. This along with the very tight and consistent racing mechanics of the game have kept it from going the way of Evolve or Anthem.

Talented Creators As A Magnifying Glass

Another contributing factor would be the content creators that make content for this game, in this case, I am referring to Wirtual, who create high-quality documentary-style content that is easy to watch/recommend and leave on in the background if need be.

Wirtual Video Catalog | Captured By: VeryAliGaming

It’s almost the perfect style of content for the YouTube algorithm of any racing game fan which lends it higher accessibility. This means there are almost always new eyes on the game and that is what keeps it from taking the virtual dirt nap.

Ready? Set? Go!

If I could give you a suggestion to play this game then I would say yes, but only if you like racing sim games. Otherwise, the mechanics of the game can be frustrating to get through initially and enjoy.

However, I would highly recommend you watch the content made about the game since it has amazing production quality and it is a solid investment of your time even within these videos you are explained any term or concept you are unfamiliar with so following along becomes much much easier.

Was this helpful? 🕹️

Good job! Please give your positive feedback 😏

How could we improve this post? Please Help us. 💡

Top