Monthly Archives: April 2013

ShootMania is launched, join the party !

Today is the big day we’ve all been waiting for since ShootMania welcomed its first external players in closed alpha phase. Today, ShootMania Storm is officially launched !

That calls for celebration don’t you think ? So don’t forget the ShootMania 4 All Launch Party happening all around the world today. Check out the various live events over there, and if you can’t join any of them, don’t forget to join us online on the O’GamingTV and FragDolls livestreams !

So, ShootMania is out of beta, and is now available for purchase on ShootMania.com, Steam, UPlay and other digital retailers. Spread the word and invite your friends to join the party.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMM0LGGUIwQ]

If you took part in the closed or open beta events but have not bought the game before the April 10th, today your account will be converted to a trial account, and you will only have access to the Elite and Royal game modes. To gain back access to all the game modes and possibilities of ShootMania and ManiaPlanet, all you need is to purchase a full copy of ShootMania Storm and add the key to your account.

Note that for the time being, it is impossible for new players to create a trial account. All new players who would like to join the community need to buy a copy of ShootMania Storm. Free trial accounts with access to Elite and Royal will come back in the future along with more updates of the game.

This is only the beginning ! We have a lot of plans for future updates of ShootMania that we’ll expose here when the time comes. We thank you for the continued support you provided us through the alpha and beta phases of the game: enjoy the launch part, and see you in game !

Nadeo Live

Video & Community mode contest results

Hello everyone,

After a great ManiaGala & Gamers Assembly, remember that we have announced the winners of the video contest as well as the community modes selected for the Launch Event.

Let’s start with the video contest. The winners are:

  • For TrackMania² Canyon, “Escape to Canyon” by Adsun:
  • For TrackMania² Stadium, “This is TrackMania” by Shortz:
  • For ShootMania Storm, “Showmatch” by Sky:

All the three players won a $400 Amazon Gift Card! They’ll receive it in the coming days.

And now discover which gamemodes have been chosen by you, the community, to be used on the online ShootMania 4 All servers at the launch day, April 10th. The winners are Obstacle, a skilled Time Attack gamemode and Jailbreak, a dodgeball-like mode.

We hope that you’ll enjoy these modes plus Elite, Royal and Battle. If you are a server admin and that you want participate on the event, feel free to register your server and make sure to follow the rules.

Have a great time during the ShootMania 4 All and afterwards!

Hello Planet #3

(this post has been written by Hylis, Director of Nadeo)

One year ago, I was explaining the concepts of titles, stations, map types, modes and objects. We still have things to do to support these functionalities,  however it is also time to start testing new major features for ManiaPlanet.

Matchmaking

When you connect to a matchmaking server, you will be added to a list of players who are also looking to play the same mode at that time. As soon as two individuals or teams are ready, the match launches and you are transferred to a server for the match. The result of this match will be used to determine your points required to advance higher in the rankings. Some key things will be taken into account, like the level of the players you played against and scores. We also may introduce points loss in matches with higher stakes to enable good players to progress even faster. Combined with the weekly loss of points in the higher ranks, we should keep the best players at the top. The system may also evolve by taking into account the number of matches played, if it seems necessary.

Teams

In 2006, we introduced team rankings in Trackmania. Soon we will be bringing them back, with principles based on simplicity and the ability to see rankings per countries and regions. By linking with the team creation system, these teams will lso be able to see their information directly inside the game, such as their logo right into matches. The team ranking system shall give an approximation of their level, enabling easier registration in regional or intermediary level ompetitions.

Compétitions

We will have a way to make the competitions available ingame, for the players, and for those who organize them. The players or teams looking to be part of official competitions will be capable of finding a direct link to the organizing sites, and to the people that are so crucial to the video games competitions environment ecosystem.

With an architecture enabling players to create custom titles, based on custom modes, with their own rankings, matchmaking tools, teams and competitions, the goal is to open the creativity of the players even more by bringing new ingredients for designing their own experiences and vision of fun.

Items

Map makers will be able to add items easily from the map editor. They can be different types, such as sets, generators, pick ups, turrets, teleporter or even bots! The idea is to enable and add interactive elements to solo or multiplayer experiences. Pathfinding will be included, while script functions will allow you to define bot targets. Items are a new file type, that will be linked with a later version of the editor, enabling players to define their editing and interactive properties.

Actions

Actions are sequences and consequences that players and items can do. For example, it can be to trigger a specific animation at a given spot in the map, or to make a sfx, or to launch projectiles with modified properties. The tool that will link to this file type will enable players to make animations, play sounds, define particle effects and script the consequences of the actions.

On a more global example, we have made a little FPS MOBA internally, with selection of champions, with each ones having different spells. Each champion can level up, and little creatures assist you while attacking the opposite team. Once  things are done, we will release the code samples, like the one of the upcoming Shootmania Storm title: Combo, based on 2vs2, items to pick up and switchable weapons on the 1-2-3-4 keys.

It will takes months for us to implement all of these functions, and we may have to put some other question on hold during this time. We think it is very important to open Maniaplanet soon, to bring more and more creative players inside the  system. We have worked 10 years on Trackmania about map editor, replay tool, skin import, regional ranking, dedicated server, script, titles, object import. Now, we think that we are reaching a new step in the opening to players. It may take time before the best things appears, but it is a goal to make the launch of Shootmania Storm, Trackmania² Stadium and Valley the start of something great for ManiaPlanet. The goal is to bring the power from our team to the players, with our support and yours.

Thanks to all players from before, now and in the future that participate in this fun adventure with a positive spirit.

The Nadeo team.

Brace yourselves, the “ShootMania 4 All” is coming!

Hi everyone,

ShootMania Storm is launching next week, on the 10th of April, and to properly celebrate this launch, we are happy to introduce you the “ShootMania 4 All” launch event !

On April 10th, players from around the world will be able to take part in a wide range of online and live events. ShootMania parties will be held in many countries such as the UK, Norway, Denmark, USA, Canada, Ukraine and many more where gamers will gather in pubs and internet cafés to celebrate ShootMania in a fun and friendly atmosphere. Check out if there is an event organized in your area, and join it to meet other players, creators and eSports supporters.SM - SM4ALL - slide

If you can’t join the live events, Nadeo will be opening severs bearing the tag “S4A” and running both official and community-made game modes for everybody to enjoy together.

This celebration will be broadcasted in Europe by O’GamingTV who will show you what’s happening in the live events, and allow you to interact with them while in North America, the FragDolls will lead the dance !

To know more abouts the events, check out our ShootMania 4 All Launch Party page in the ManiaPlanet website.

See you soon for the Launch Event online or offline!