The latest in Nadeo’s hugely popular Trackmania series has been created specially for this year’s Electronic Sports World Cup. Florent Castelnerac, CEO of Nadeo, discusses the creation of this groundbreaking title…


NVIDIA: What was the motivation for Nadeo when creating a free game for use at the ESWC?
Florent Castelnerac: It’s taken a lot of time and money to develop this special Trackmania Nations edition, but it’s something we consider a privilege. At the end of the day we’re happy that everybody everywhere will get the chance to play the game. And if people enjoy playing it then they may go on to buy Trackmania Sunrise, which opens things up with additional features, modes, and special environments. So for us it’s good marketing, it’s an investment, and it’s fun.

NV: And how does this free edition differ from previous versions of Trackmania?
FC: Trackmania Nations introduces various ‘e-sport’ features, including official maps to be used in the competition, dedicated online servers, and a more advanced version of the spectator mode.

NV: Has the game engine changed?
FC: We’ve been continually developing the game engine. We wanted the game to run as many PCs out there as possible, but obviously we also wanted to take advantage of the latest technology so that it would be as visually impressive as possible for the Electronic Sports World Cup. And we’ve also been working with NVIDIA, adapting the code for the range of NVIDIA chipsets and really pushing the limit with the latest GeForce cards.

NV: What graphical improvements can we expect?
FC: This edition possesses better lighting, integrated cinematic effects, and there’s less of a shiny gloss to the textures. We’ve also introduced a new grass rendering system, which can pretty much handle an infinite number of blades. We can’t wait for people to play it – it just looks so much more immersive and precise.

NV: But does its status as a World Cup event game mean it’s only one for die-hard race fans?
FC: Actually it’s more important for as many people as possible to get to grips with it, to make it easier for people to enter the competition. And because it needs to be entertaining for spectators it’s also crucial that those not playing the game can easily see and understand the challenges faced by the drivers. So after the more complex track designs of Trackmania Sunrise we’ve gone back to simpler designs. As it’s free I hope that it becomes a game everybody installs on their PC, in the same way that they always have Solitaire on there.