ManiaLib is a lightweight PHP framework for developing Manialinks. Its core framework contains a set of Object-Oriented libraries. It was created to keep a Manialink applications' code simple with plain procedural programming with advanced functionality.

Who developed it?
ManiaLib was developed by Gou1 (Nadeo Developer) and was released on 6th July, along side with his simple philosphy to keep it simple and advanced.

What do I get out of it?
What you get using ManiaLib, is a professional and advanced functioning Manialink with a strong infastructure.

What's inside the package?
Inside the ManiaLib package you get the ManiaLib core which includes the main libraries and a set of premade modules such as Admin, Posts, Auto Connect and Multipage List.

Are tutorials provided with ManiaLib?
Yes! ManiaLib has a devised set of tutorials to help you develop an advanced Manialink. Tutorials provided are GUI (Classes for creating Manialink graphical elements), Database Engine (Database Abstration layer - DBAL), Request Engine (Handles the GET variables and referers, creation of links and  directions), Session Engine (Handles the variables of sessions) and Lang Engine (Internationalization). All of which are simple and very, very easy to understand.

So, who's using ManiaLib?
At the moment, to my awareness, Mania Team (tmtp:///:maniateam) is the only manialink powered by ManiaLib.

Further information about ManiaLib can be found at the core project home or the ManiaLink.

Project home at Google Code (The ManiaLib project home, wiki, downloads and an issue tracker).
Manialink Demo can be found here (Common manialink using the full ManiaLib package).

The ManiaLink. It’s one of those extra features you pay for, in Trackmania United.
So what exactly is there to find? Would we need it? And what are the best spots?
Were about to find out.

The ManiaLink main page (like shown above), consists out of multiple sections; Tracks, 3D-models, Skins, Competitions, Teams, Community, Videos, Other Creations and Webisodes.
We will take a look at them all, some a bit less and some a bit more explained. I have tried to link to the manialinks pages, but because I (how dumb it is) didn’t enable this option for myself I hope I used the correct links. Enjoy!

 More...

Are you somebody who just picked up TMU and have this desire to place on the best of the week?

If so, you’re going to need to know a few basics about track building, which should help pave a road towards fame and glory. Here are 5 tips that should help get you on the right track (pun not intended).

1. Find the right environment for you.

Here’s one tip that’s rarely noted. Before you can even begin to build tracks, you’re going to need to know which environment suits you best for track building. You’ll want to try them all for long enough to get a “feel” of how the car handles on each environment before deciding on one that you’d like to build the most. This is best done with the Nadeo tracks, which will provide a wide variety of pieces and transitions for you to discover. However, it is also a good idea to try popular tracks on TMX as well, which leads to tip 2.

More...

As with most stuff you do on your computer, there are hotkeys and shortcuts available in TrackMania. Here’s a list of ten standard features, most of which you probably know, but some which you might be new to. In any case, especially new players are bound to find this useful.

Note, though, that many of these shortcuts are customizable, and that in some cases the buttons may be different depending on the standard layout of keyboards in your country.

Racing

1. Show/hide ghosts (G) – Press G to show or hide ghosts while racing a track.

2. Show/hide opponent vehicles (O) – In online mode, use O to show or hide your opponents. This is useful on crowded servers or small tracks.

3. Show/hide names of opponents (§) – Use § to show or hide the name tags above opponent vehicles online.

4. Open/close chat (C) – Open or close the main chat screen online using the C-button. Useful if you missed something in the smaller chat window at the bottom of the screen.

Track editing

5. Change mood (Shift) – Hold Shift when loading a saved track to select a new mood for it.

6. Enter Free mode (Alt) – Press and hold Alt in the editor to enter Free mode. Use the mouse buttons to move around and rotate the camera freely, giving you a nice view of the track.

7. Enter Race Mode (Enter) – Use Enter to go into Race mode to test your track or a part of your track. The vehicle will start where the mouse cursor is currently located.

8. Copy an MT camera setting (Alt or Ctrl) – When editing MT, highlight a camera clip you want to change the camera view of, then hold Alt or Ctrl and click on a different clip (or a different part of the same clip). This copies the camera view of the clicked clip onto the highlighted clip.

9. Copy a block (Ctrl) – Hold Ctrl and click on an already placed block to select that specific type of block. Useful if you don’t want to click through the block menus all the time.

10. Clear the track (Backspace) – Press Backspace to remove all blocks.

Got more shortcuts? Share them in a comment!

MediaTracker is a great tool to enhance the quality of your tracks. A great intro can boost the oh-so-important first impression, cool in-game stuff can help make the experience more enjoyable, and a good outro can finish things of nicely, leaving a positive mark with the player.

However, I’m often surprised to see even some of the best track builders make unfortunate mistakes. Often, it’s a matter of little details that can make or break the MT part of a track.

This guide brings up some suggestions and thoughts on how to make good MT work in your tracks.

General

1. You don’t have to be an expert! As a general tip, “simple” is often a key word. Yes, MT work does look better if you make use of some of the more advanced features, but in many cases it’s better not to go overboard. And above all, it’s better to include MT work that is simple and nice than advanced and flawed. More...

Of all the TM guides out there, there’s one that I’ve always been especially impressed with. It’s a series of videos created by the professional British gaming team Team Dignitas back in 2007. The driver and writer is a Swedish player called MadneSS, who at the time played TMN in the Electronic Sports World Cup.

The guide brings up a number of different ways to slide in the Stadium environment. It might be a bit outdated due to its age, but I believe most of the “tricks” still work. If there’s one that doesn’t, feel free to say so in a comment :) And even if all of them don’t work, it’s still cool to watch.

Click here to read and view the sliding guide.

Psst! Curious about MadneSS? Here’s an interview with him, though once again, it’s from the year 2007. Might still be a good read though.