Monthly Archives: May 2012

A Twitch.tv ShootMania tournament and the E3!

Hi everyone,

Following the opening of the beta registrations and the release of our latest trailer, there’s been a lot of buzz around Shootmania lately, but don’t forget it’s just the beginning. Here’s a summary of what’s happening in the coming weeks:

  • First of all, if for some reason you haven’t received the new Shootmania trailer, don’t forget you can find it on Youtube ( http://youtu.be/oVUFv8QwmUY )
  • Then, we have the Twitch.tv Shootmania Tournament that will be streamed live on the 1rst and 2nd of June, with the comments of Total Biscuit and ESLTV’s Joe Miller as our shoutcasters. The two winning teams will be invited to attend E3 with us and compete in the final on the Ubisoft E3 stage on Wednesday. Watch it all live on http://twitch.tv/shootmaniastorm

  • And since we’re mentioning E3, Ubisoft and Nadeo are getting real serious about esports with Shootmania this year, with an exclusive showmatch between pro-gaming stars to be featured during the official Ubisoft E3 Press Conference. Following that, the Nadeo team will be joined by a unique cast of pro-gamers demonstrating Shootmania on the Ubisoft booth: Stermy, SpawN, veNemAA, Swifty, Ali, and more will be there for showmatcheswhile Total Biscuit and Joe Miller will be joined by Day9 to showcast all of this.

And this is just a taste of what’s to come ! Don’t miss any of it by following the Ubisoft E3 Press Conference on http://www.youtube.com/Ubisoft, and keep up to date on all the news by following Shootmania on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/Shootmania ), Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/Shootmania ) and on Google+ ( http://gplus.to/ShootMania ). Finally, the beta registrations for the game are still open on http://www.shootmania.com

Talk about it on the forum.

SOPA Lan with ShootMania on 16th-17th June at Paris

Hello everyone,

We are pleased to announce that the first ShootMania Storm LAN will take place on 16th & 17th June in Paris.

In partnership with SNGT and Esport University, the SOPA LAN including ShootMania Storm will assemble 32 teams of 3 players competing in the Elite Mode. The competition will be very interesting as several teams that participated in the Op3N ShootMania tournament at the Gamers Assembly will be here to show their talents!

There are more than 13 000€ worth of prizes on offer at the tournament! It will also have live commentary and the majority of the competition will be streamed online.

Don’t delay, register for the ShootMania SOPA tournament at the following address, there are only a few places left! http://sopa-lan.fr/etape/paris

As always feel free to talk about it on the forum.

Hello Planet #2

May 2012

Hello Planet #2,

Maniaplanet 2.0 is alpha.

Alpha because we are making new features and that there is a lot to test for this upgraded game operating system. We will do multiple alpha versions, with more people to be invited in each. Useless to ask us, it will be through already made list like at the Gamers Assembly, or by invitation of people that are already in or will be later.

To help explain Maniaplanet 2.0, I will list some new concepts. You can look in the wiki at wiki.maniaplanet.com if you look for previous concepts such as Planets, ManiaHome, ManiaScript, ManiaLink, ManiaCredits, MediaTracker, Packs, Macroblocks etc.

Titles

They are the equivalent of applications, but more entertainment oriented, such as movies or books, so we named them Titles. It is a simple file, and it can then be acquired by Planets or a key provided by the title author.

Stations

They are the titles reader. To illustrate, it is like a DVD player or book reader, but for titles. The reader is used to allocate resources online to your installed title. It can save your scores online, your rankings and more. It will also enable you to keep your installed Title in the cloud, so you can download them again later on another computer. There is a limited amount of station per user, and this number can increase with Planets.

Tiles + Stations

The goal is to enable for some players to create a customized experience with pre-downloaded datas thanks to titles (mods, scripts, maps, servers etc.) and services thanks to stations (ladders, updates, clouding, events etc.)

Map Types

A map type is a format of map as well as a plug-in to help edit this map. It is like file extension plugin you can add in some applications. For example, a map type can be a platform track that would offer to set the bronze, silver or gold target in number of tries instead of time. When you launch the map editor, the first question you will ask yourselves is: what map type am I going to do?

Modes

Modes are rules and possible settings to play on a given list of map types. For example, the platform mode will make the ranking at the end of multiplayer sessions based on the number of tries instead of the time.

Tiles + Stations + Map types + Modes

To illustrate, I will take the example of a platform mode for TrackMania. You first download the title ingame from a page. It appears in your library of titles. You can then install it in station. Now, you launch it and arrive in the main menu. From there: if you go solo, you have a campaign with medals to win. If you go in the editor, you have a platform map editor with the right format of tracks. If you go online, you have servers with a platform mode and ladder.

Objects

Since many years we allowed import of cars into the game, but about modifying the maps itself, we have been careful to keep the consistency of the experience for people who decided to play the game. Now, with Titles, it will be possible for players to add visual, static and collidable objects in the maps. It is another step with more opening, but keeping it somehow structured for usual players as well. For people familiar with the interface, it will be accessible through a new icon between blocs and macroblocks at the bottom of the map editor interface.

Tiles + Stations + Map types + Modes + Objects

If you create a mod that changes the texture of the environment + you import objects with given textures + you decide to deal by yourself the servers with your mode in order to keep some information on your side, like persistent world games, then it is useful to know that all users will have the data already downloaded when they enter your world, with your objects and your rules. And in another way, it is also better to know that when you connect to an existing Title, that you will be in a predefined environment, like a reference. So, if you connect to the Nadeo Title Canyon, for example, you will be confident that the map will be standard ones without objects you would like to avoid to see on tracks.

There will be additional features to discover later, but we have plenty of work and I think it is better to keep the info when we will be closer to release.

Stay tuned!

Florent – Hylis

Discuss together about ManiaPlanet 2.0 on the forum.

Review of the Gamers Assembly

Hello everyone,

The Gamers Assembly finished a month ago and we still have fond memories from the entire weekend. Firstly, we would like to thank the Gamers Assembly staff,  gamers and visitors for your help, support and the atmosphere created at the Shootmania Booth.

The Op3N ShootMania tournament was hotly contested! The combination of highly skilled gameplay and audience reaction made for a great show. We congratulate the teams that reached the finals (from first to fourth place) :

  1. aAa.oldschool (sunscorcher, Winz and Raoul), champions of the Op3N tournament
  2. allstars (HaRts, MoMaN and Strenx)
  3. Epsilon TF2 (Mitsy, basH and Stefan)
  4. Branque (skyyart, l’homme platré and OuTrag3)

A big GG to the aAa.oldschool for imposing their skill during the competition and becoming the first Op3n Shootmania Champions.

A special thanks to the “Grr” for their sportsmanship, even if they missed magic potion (don’t forget the cauldron next time!) Also thanks to ZeratoR for igniting the booth with great energy during games. But beware, we’ll beat you on the next game Glasses-Man!

Is wasn’t only ShootMania at the Gamers Assembly, TrackMania was also present with three tournaments (TrackMania Nations Forever, TrackMania United Forever and TrackMania² Canyon). All three tournaments were very close with great atmosphere. Congratulations YoYo for taking the first place on TMNF, Kaka on TMUF and Waaam on TrackMania² Canyon!

Go check the page of the results of the Gamers Assembly to see a video, photos and stats of the tournament: http://www.maniaplanet.com/en/tournaments/shootmania-gamers-assembly2012-results/

As always feel free to talk about the Gamers Assembly on the forum.

In a cold country…

TrackMania players are heating up! Now it’s Norway’s turn to get the monthly car.

In the pack you’ll find the Norwegian car, the desktop calendar for May and a sticker pack containing a speed stripe, a NORWAY text decal, a 2012 flag, a Norway Badge and a pair of Checkered Flags.

This new free pack is available at the “ManiaPlanet Store”.

See you soon for a new car and be free to react on the forum.