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!

Tracks 
If one would click the Tracks tab, you will get in the following Menu:

 
This list contains all users who have a ManiaLink that contains some of their tracks. Of course, you can possibly find these tracks on TMX too, but this way you don’t have to go outside the game. Still, I have to admit, the only track I ever downloaded via ManiaLinks was The Trump Card II. As you can see, Crusard is included in this list too. You’ll get on his homepage, and you will find out that you will get there in others ways too. For example, Crusard is also included within the Mod section, and you’ll be transferred to the same page. So a name can include multiple features!

You should definitely take a look at TMX’s own ManiaLink page! A place where you can download this week’s most popular tracks, and there is even a showcase.

3D Models/Skins
You could call this the in-game TM-Carpark. For this the same goes as for the Track page, unless you don’t want to go outside the game, just get yourself on the internet :) The ManiaLink has some nice skins though, with a nice scala of skins. Here you can spend your Coppers too, finally a place where you can use them!

Competitions

This section gives you a few links, focussing on the teams that organize competitions. When you want to subscribe to a competition you’re usually directed to a real website. Mostly it’s used to download competition tracks! The TMESWC link is down, but I expect it to be changed for the WCG-Link soon :)
The Freestyle Cup ManiaLink looks nice, and you can watch some of the vids too. I’d say, if you have nothing to do with the competitions, you can stay away from here though.

Teams
As the title says, it’s for teams. So, if your not in a team and you aren’t searching for one, I’d say you got nothing to do here. You can find some nice Skins, Tracks and maybe even Clips, but like I said, unless you are a fan of a team and want to race with their skin or like their tracks, there isn’t much left.

Community

This is not, like you maybe think, a place where all the TM-players group around as a “community”. It’s more of a mix of things related to TrackMania. You can find links, some skins (again), and some information. I have to advice you to skip the TM-Directory, it sounds good but (for me) none of the tags worked, and half is French. Manialinks that ARE worth looking at are:

- TM Ladder – Find your rank here, for every environment!
- TM Wiki – This page directs you to the actual website, which is a big bomb of info!
- Manialink Editor – Handy tool to help you with designing your own ManiaLink!

Videos
This is just a collection of a few users, who are very creative when it comes down to videos made in Trackmania. Probably all worth watching, but for me Hydrofise is still the king of videos with his video called “The Hunted” :)

- Hydrofise

Other Creations
Again, like the name says (and the description), this is for every thing that is left. That includes Mods, Horns, music and Avatars.

This is stuff that is easily found on the internet too (Horns excluded), Mods are easy to find on Tm Mod, for example, and avatars, well you just have to import those :)
I downloaded avatars from the ManiaLink though, because they are directly imported to the game.

The image is of Crusards page, which includes multiple features (as said before).

Webisodes

The Webisodes manialink is actually a very valuable one, because this is one of the places which explain in-game stuff, ManiaLinks included. It shows you the basic of, for example, Coppers and the Solo Mode! This is maybe even the information you have been searching for one day. So, this page is probably one of the most important one’s, and definitely a MUST for new users!

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Now, we have read through all the main subjects. You may have been triggered to look at some pages, and that was what we were aiming for. The ManiaLink isn’t a lame feature, it can be used for very nice stuff and, in my opinion, some pages look very professional. It’s also that solution to the coppers, because most users wonder what to do with them. Yes, it isn't a mindbreaking feature, but it's not a dumb icon in the TM-menu either. I just like to wander around through the ManiaLinks, searching for some nice skins or mods/avatars. You’d be surprised what is there to find! :)

We hope this article helped you a bit on the ManiaLinks, sorting the right pages from the one’s you have nothing to look for. Give it a try!

And please, leave a comment with your opinion about the ManiaLinks ;)