A TrackMania game is composed of very different environments. Each environment features its own car model, so all players have the same gameplay. The only key for victory is their driving skill.
The concept comes from toy circuits from childhood, including the building phase of the play. The main goal of the game is to reach the finish line after validating all the checkpoints in a minimum timespan. There are also different modes with different goals.
TrackMania is a precision game, and many portions of circuits are hard to pass. Considering this extra difficulty the game doesn't detect collisions with the others player's car, only with the landscape and the roads sliders. Cars can go through others without crashing themselves, so nobody can fail another player's ride. Even when you drive in team mode, only your own drinving skills determines your victory : TrackMania is a perfect-driving game.
Multiplayer is what makes TrackMania one of the funniest game ever made. In order to play against other trackmaniacs from all around the world, you must join or create a server.
The network mode is designed to allow you creating a server on a local network (LAN). You need one computer for each player, but only one CD is mandatory as it's only used for the Starforce genuine test at game startup.
Internet mode is the better way to join the huge TrackMania community. You can drive online against players of various skill, on a serious competitive server or on another funny one where chatting is the main activity.
These two modes features the same game types:
* Time Attack : to make the better time on one round.
* Round : like Formula 1 competitions: totalise more points than your opponents.
* Lap : make the more laps you can before the allowed time is spent.
* Team : round mode where the players are divided in two teams.
* Stunt : get the maximum amount of points making acrobatic stunts.
