Actually let me walk that back a tiny bit - that pf bobsleigh map is a fucking joke and a waste of a map slot. Glad to see a08 back though!

Significantly better, and it's nice to see them bringing back the maps being locked off like the old games.

After spring I was a little worried, but there are some really fun maps in there.

I still feel like there's some way to go though. You can have maps that are accessible, or have a fun gimmick, o show off some mechanic AND have those maps be built with good flow and lines that make them enjoyable to both noobs (like me) and top players alike.

No shade on the mappers either. I find it hard to believe that a) they are paid enough to really put time into getting so detailed with the route and b) anyone at Nadeo understands their own game enough to give the kind of guidance/feedback to get there.

This isn't just a Trackmania issue either. Any game that has community content generally ends up with the official content sucking in comparison. Turns out that the people playing your game for thousands of hours have both the knowledge and passion to create things even the Devs couldn't get close to.

I finished the map, then decided that was enough for one day. I'm happy with my not-even-bronze on this one

I didn't mind how many there were as such, more how they were placed. Each one had an obstacle afterward that would be worth practicing to get better lines on, but the way they were placed meant that if your approach was wrong, you'd not be able to avoid the same error each time.

To watch it, Wirtual and Spam cast it in English. I think there's an official Trackmania cast as well but I don't think it's well viewed. Trilluxe casts in German. These are all Twitch streams btw.

In terms of getting in to it, if you mean getting in to it as a spectator, probably just watching the matches is best really. The format this time is way easier to understand than previous seasons. In terms of getting into it as a competitor, there is a challenger league, but the skill level in TM is insanely high as most of the top players have been playing for 10+ years.

This is Spam's perspective, I'm sure there are others but this is the one I was watching. He covers the whole day but the final I'm talking about it toward the end: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1849440552

Nice work! TMNF ATs are not trivial to get.

I've only had half an hour or so but I'm struggling hard with even gold here. Nice aesthetic for a map though.