TrackMania United

TrackMania United is a third-person racing video game, occasionally shifting to first-person or panoramic views. It uses the same gameplay system as previous titles, with non-adjustable cars and a four-button control scheme (accelerator, brake, steering). Players can influence jump trajectories with the brake or accelerator, and make slight rotations by steering just before a jump. The goal is to achieve the best time and reach the finish line by passing through checkpoints, earning gold, silver, or bronze medals based on race times. Artificial intelligence controls opponents, with the three fastest racers serving as medal benchmarks. Players can restart races at any time, either from the start or the last checkpoint. The game requires trial and error to master each track. It can be played using a keyboard or a gamepad.

United brings together the environments featured in TrackMania, TrackMania Sunrise, and TrackMania Nations. Nadeo’s aim was to unite all online and solo players scattered across previous games. The game engine displays improved graphics compared to Nations, with a redesigned Stadium universe and more realistic visuals. A new shadow calculation system launches before each race to improve rendering. It includes new building blocks for tracks and scenery, such as a “Freewheel” block that cuts the car’s engine.

United requires players to create an account to manage multiplayer aspects and rankings. It uses a friends list system similar to the previous game.

There are three new features designed to strengthen community involvement: ManiaZone, copper management, and ManiaLink. Official mode allows players to choose which race to count, usually their best time. Subsequent attempts after a free first attempt must be paid for with coppers. Players should use this official mode when ready to achieve their best race time. The game is inspired by sports competitions with time constraints, adding pressure to players. Players can download replays of the best players to study their races.

The ManiaZone is a zone system combining regionalization and online ranking, placing players in a geographical zone based on their results. Beginner players start at a level corresponding to their city, progressing to compete against players in their county, region, country, and finally, worldwide. There are separate rankings for each category, as well as for groups like coworkers and friends. Servers are sorted by city, county, region, or country. Players can organize tournaments or create teams within the game. To progress in solo rankings, players must earn skill points by achieving good times in official mode. In multiplayer mode, a separate ladder point system manages rankings.

Coppers, the virtual currency, are used to unlock building blocks, purchase ghosts, tracks, vehicle models, and improve times in the rankings. Coppers cannot be converted into real money or purchased with real money, but can be obtained by completing challenges, logging in regularly, and sharing creations. Players who own other versions of the games earn extra coppers.

ManiaLink is a peer-to-peer platform within the game for downloading tracks, replays, music, cars, and videos, hosted by Nadeo. A user interface provides access to officially published ManiaLinks. Each player's information is stored in an XML file. Items can be sold or purchased in coppers. ManiaLink also allows players to stay informed and connected through a messaging system.

TrackMania United includes the seven environments created to date by Nadeo: Desert, Rally, Snow (from TrackMania), Island, Bay, Coast (from TrackMania Sunrise), and Stadium (originally from TrackMania Nations). Each environment features a unique car with specific handling characteristics. Races can take place at different times of day, affecting the atmosphere and lighting. Tracks feature banked curves, loops, obstacles, and ramps for jumps.

The “Desert” environment is the first created by Nadeo, featuring flat sandy expanses and rocky mounds. The “Rally” environment takes place in lush, bucolic settings with paved or dirt roads and medieval buildings. The “Snow” environment is set in a snow-covered world with slippery surfaces. The “Island” environment is exotic and sunny, with wide highways and jumps. The “Bay” environment is urban and features elevated tracks. “Coast” takes place in a sunny Mediterranean setting. “Stadium” features a Formula 1-style single-seater on narrow tracks.

TrackMania United was developed by Nadeo, the company’s biggest project until United Forever. Nadeo presented United as the culmination of the TrackMania project, aiming to bring together all players scattered across the other games. The project required significant effort, with a team of twelve people working for 200,000 hours. Florent Castelnérac managed the project.

Nadeo prioritizes programming and features over marketing, believing it can create a more mainstream appeal through programming. The game’s development consisted of nearly 1.4 million lines of code. The team takes the community's opinion into account, separating tasks for novice and experienced players. Castelnérac believes the PC is still the benchmark for online gaming, explaining the franchise’s absence from consoles. He also stated that shifting the game towards more simulation-based gameplay would likely never happen, as it wasn’t the essence of TrackMania.

During its marketing campaign, TrackMania United was perceived as a compilation abroad and did not perform as well as in France. However, the game enjoys a very active community. At launch, the TrackMania series had nearly 100,000 tracks created by players. The game received generally positive reviews, praised for its varied visuals, ability to run on modest configurations, and fun gameplay. Criticisms included its resemblance to a compilation and the lack of new gameplay features. As of May 2018, it had an average rating of 80% on Metacritic and 79.79% on GameRankings.

TrackMania United was named best racing game of 2007 by Shacknews and Play magazine. In 2016, members of the TrackMania community created a video featuring 20,000 cars simultaneously, using replays from TrackMania Nations Forever and TrackMania United Forever.

At the 2008 Video Game Festival in Paris, TrackMania United Forever won the Milthon award for best PC game. In 2010, the TrackMania franchise inspired advertisers, who used the game’s concept and ghost cars in a television commercial. The game’s success led to the development of further installments in the series, including TrackMania²: Canyon, Stadium, Valley, and Lagoon, as well as TrackMania Turbo. Despite Nadeo’s desire to unite players with United, fragmentation of the online community persisted due to new versions of the game and a lack of communication from Nadeo.