Snice

Yo guys, this map became TOTD on the 1st of October 2024 and also marks my first TOTD in the game.

Style: Snice (SnowCar on Ice)

Background Information: Nadeo used Ice parts already in their first Trackmania game and campaigns, mostly however straight sections. With the Ice holes, it was also possible to create turns. Also there has been an Ice Checkpoint and a Ramp already in the earliest game. As I was thinking often outside the box, me and my friend built a bunch of tracks not using the typical Road for the SnowCar, but rather Rooftops and Roof-Tunnels.. and also Ice. It has always been an interesting style to me and since the introduction of the SnowCar in TM2020 it was inevitable, that I had to build a map in this style. Especially, as we have way more ice blocks and turn combinations available. One problem however was trying to avoid an excessive amount of wallbangs to quickly slowdown and turn. Hence there are parts, where the platform just ends, which could also be an interesting feeling, similat to the old game where you tried to stop your car before falling into the ice hole. But I didn't want the whole map blank, so I tried to find a compromise. Also, I wanted to use some elevation. One single Downhill would make you way too fast tough, and a single uphill would require a long straight before, so I used the combination of downhill + immediate uphill before the important finish turn.

How to drive: The current knowledge about SnowCar on Ice in TM2020 is probably following: It doesn't turn on Ice, unless you use reactor or boosters & driving with an angled car is faster than driving straight. But: it is not fully true. You actually can do turns at low speeds. Usually, I drive Snice completely without the brake button. It is just a mix of accelerating releasing (yeah releasing makes everything much easier and is not really slow, just let your car glide until the apex of the corner for example). If you need to slowdown, you'll have to turn your car by about 140° into the direction of the corner. So your car is sliding slightly backwards, but due to the acceleration it slows down. By only steering, you can easily do 360s as well, if needed. Generally, as always, it's just about feeling. I didn't do it many years, but after some hunting I got the feeling how the car grips and with which angle and speed I have to do it. The Author Time should be pretty fast and a tough challenge for the best, hopefully. Ofc I could also still oversee strats in this style.