Trackmania 2 Beta Begins Next Week

[Andy Chalk]

Trackmania 2 Beta Begins Next Week

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The multiplayer beta for Trackmania 2: Canyon begins next week, with access granted to anyone willing to pay for the game up front.

Nadeo and Ubisoft are doing something a little different with the upcoming Trackmania 2: Canyon beta. Anyone can get in at any time, as long as they're willing to lay down the purchase price of the game first.

"We're offering from August 17 onwards, until the launch of the game, the multiplayer beta to each one of you buying TrackMania 2: Canyon," Nadeo announced on the ManiaPlanet blog [http://blog.maniaplanet.com/?p=112]. "It is a turning checkpoint for Ubisoft Nadeo as we will be opening doors to all of the players willing to jump into the first ManiaPlanet online title right away."

The new Trackmania game is planned to be the first of several Trackmania 2 titles, all of which will connect through a new content hub called ManiaPlanet [http://maniaplanet.com/]. The multiplayer beta will include the usual map editor and "mediatracker" for editing videos, and will automatically updated to the full version of the game on launch day.

Nadeo can get away with charging for beta access because while the Trackmania Nations [http://www.amazon.com/TrackMania-PC/dp/B000QRABQU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1313075513&sr=8-4]. Trackmania games are also ridiculous amounts of fun, particularly in multiplayer matches, where dozens of cars can go head-to-head in various race modes on both official and user-made tracks. It's good stuff!

No release date for the PC-exclusive trackmania.com [http://trackmaniaforever.com/].


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[Yopaz]

Now who would want to be constantly reminded of every second passing when they're waiting for a new game? This does however look very awesome and I remember having a lot of fun with Trackmania in high school. I will check this out in 5 days, 5 hours 58 minutes and 5 seconds.

 

[Sevre]

Paying for beta access? Trackmania would be one of the only games you know who would get away with it. I'm dreading the imminent swarm of MMOs who ask you to put down money for beta access though.

 

[Andy Chalk]

But it's really not a loss for anyone. If you're a Trackmania fan who's been waiting years for TM2, it's a chance to pay your 25 bucks now instead of later and get early access in return. If not, you can wait and pay 25 bucks after it launches, like everyone else. The important thing is that everybody pays the same amount of money, it's not some kind of "pay now or pay more later!" scheme. I think it's a smart move.

 

[Yopaz]

Paying for beta access? Trackmania would be one of the only games you know who would get away with it. I'm dreading the imminent swarm of MMOs who ask you to put down money for beta access though.

Rift made you pay for beta access and I saw no complaints. Worms Reloaded did this. Duke Nukem Forever did this. Several MMOS and offline games do this. There's no rush of people complaining.
Paying for the complete game or the beta isn't that much of a difference since you can't play most games before the final version is released anyway. If I pay now I get to play the beta in 5 days and enjoy the beta until the full game is released. If I don't buy the game before it is released I will have to wait for the full game to be released to play it. I can't see that this is a problem.

 

[Skylants]

Well... I most certainly am.

 

[Rawne1980]

Looks good, one problem for me, i'm absolutely shite at driving games.

I can shoot the testicles off a fly at 100 yards in most shooters, I can fight like Bruce Lee possessed in fighters and i've been a huge fan of RPG's since Zork in 87.

No matter how many times I try and play a racing game (apart from Gran Turismo 3 for some reason) I remain absolutely crap at them.

 

[RA92]

Ah, Trackmania...

<youtube=yiEx187QT74>

 

[Sevre]

Paying for beta access? Trackmania would be one of the only games you know who would get away with it. I'm dreading the imminent swarm of MMOs who ask you to put down money for beta access though.

Rift made you pay for beta access and I saw no complaints. Worms Reloaded did this. Duke Nukem Forever did this. Several MMOS and offline games do this. There's no rush of people complaining.
Paying for the complete game or the beta isn't that much of a difference since you can't play most games before the final version is released anyway. If I pay now I get to play the beta in 5 days and enjoy the beta until the full game is released. If I don't buy the game before it is released I will have to wait for the full game to be released to play it. I can't see that this is a problem.

Problem: You pay for beta access and the game turns out to be terrible. Dropping the full price of a game on what is actually a risk does not sound like a good idea. When a game is in beta, all you have to go on is the hype. When a game is released then you have reviews, recommendations and much more to know whether it's worth the money.

Now for offline games I can understand paying, maybe you love the franchise and want early access, but for MMOs it's not a smart move unless you really love MMOs. The majority of MMOs tend to get slated and for good reason, although again I can understand doing it for big franchises like SW:TOR or Guild Wars 2, I definitely wouldn't put money down for Rift.

 

[Yopaz]

Paying for beta access? Trackmania would be one of the only games you know who would get away with it. I'm dreading the imminent swarm of MMOs who ask you to put down money for beta access though.

Rift made you pay for beta access and I saw no complaints. Worms Reloaded did this. Duke Nukem Forever did this. Several MMOS and offline games do this. There's no rush of people complaining.
Paying for the complete game or the beta isn't that much of a difference since you can't play most games before the final version is released anyway. If I pay now I get to play the beta in 5 days and enjoy the beta until the full game is released. If I don't buy the game before it is released I will have to wait for the full game to be released to play it. I can't see that this is a problem.

Problem: You pay for beta access and the game turns out to be terrible. Dropping the full price of a game on what is actually a risk does not sound like a good idea. When a game is in beta, all you have to go on is the hype. When a game is released then you have reviews, recommendations and much more to know whether it's worth the money.

Now for offline games I can understand paying, maybe you love the franchise and want early access, but for MMOs it's not a smart move unless you really love MMOs. The majority of MMOs tend to get slated and for good reason, although again I can understand doing it for big franchises like SW:TOR or Guild Wars 2, I definitely wouldn't put money down for Rift.

So you're unable to hear any opinions on a beta? Are you unable to check forums to see opinions? Are you unable to check Youtube for gameplay footage? Have you never disagreed with reviews?
GTAIV got mostly positive reviews, a friend of mine loved it and I've loved the franchise so I decided to get it. Turns out I didn't like it very much and the game had been out for several months. Buying games and finding that you don't like it doesn't involve betas exclusively. I've bought many popular games and not cared much for them, I've bought games that have received mixed reviews and loved them, I have bought games with great reviews and loved them and I've bought games with lousy reviews and hated them. The fact that a game is popular doesn't mean you have to like it, but if you turn out to love it despite what anyone says. Also Trackmania is a game I have enjoyed greatly so I guess I can say I do love the franchise despite that it's an online game. I've been wanting the sequel for a long time so how is dropping the money now and start playing in 5 days 15 hours 57 minutes and 20 seconds worse than waiting for the full release and give them my money then? Have you never bought a game on release date or preordered a game you've been wanting? Paying for the beta and end up disappointed leaves you with just as much regret as paying for the full game.

Also Rift had received several good reviews while it was only in beta.