Banner by   Keissla.wp

Welcome to the Monthly Track Contest (MTC) for July 2024!
The MTC is a track building contest hosted by TrackmaniaExchange which challenges you to build a map with a specific theme. Later, all the tracks are rated and a winner is found.
There are no prerequisites or qualification requirements to enter; just read the theme below, hop in your editor, and submit a track before the deadline!

Frankly, Trackmania has strayed too far from the true purpose of driving cars: driving for hours and hours on small, straight roads. Time to rectify that by making sure our maps don't stray from a good, narrow line!

Theme: On the Straight and Narrow
Theme suggested by pastek..! Thanks!

• The route must remain within a 3 block wide strip
  
  • The route is specifically defined as where the car contacts (some clarification is in a post below)
• A 10% bonus to your score will be given if your route is only 2 blocks wide (I liked the bonus idea from May, so I figured I'd try it again!)
  
• There is no length or height restriction
  
• Block placement isn't restricted either, so you can still place blocks wherever you want

General Rules

• One entry is allowed per user. Multi-author maps count as the single entry for all authors involved
  
• "MTC" must be present in the track name as it appears on TMX. Example: "3 Lane Highway (MTC)" or "mtc - squeezed!"
  
• All entries must be built using the latest version of the game
  
• All entries must be built specifically for this MTC
  
• Blockmixing, Offgrid mapping, and Embedded Items are allowed
  
• Texture mods are allowed
  
• Royal tracks are not allowed
  
• Stunt tracks are not allowed

If you have any questions or would like to contest a rule, feel free to ask!

Submitting and Deadline

• Submit your course to the MTC mappack before the deadline below
  
• Submissions may be freely updated within the submission period
  
• The earliest deadline for submissions is the end of July 31st. Submissions will continue to be accepted until I officially announce closure in this thread
  
• Everyone will have 24 hours after submissions close to make any last minute edits to their submissions
  
• After this, you may not make any more updates until after the results are published

Prizes

• Honour and the right to brag! (Jozii used to say that. I wasn't around then, but maybe some of you still remember him? )
  
• The winning track will be featured on the TrackmaniaExchange front page!

Judging

• For judging, we will be using a public voting system
  
• A server will be opened for about a week that anyone can play the MTC maps on
  
• Anyone can vote by using the server's karma system
  
• More details on this will be provided in this thread once voting opens

Good luck! If you have any questions, feel free to ask in this thread or in Discord! Now then, get to building!

Very nice idea! Just a few questions for clarification:

- Can you place a magnet block just inside the 3block limit but drive on the outside? So the the surface on which you need to drive to finish the map is inside.

- Does a plastic bounce outside counts as route?

- Or is it even more strict that the car is not allowed to leave the 3 Block limit?

Ooh, very good questions here. To be more specific, I'd say that the route is defined by where your car contacts rather than the position of the car (your magnet idea is too cool to exclude ). So, for how that would answer your questions:

• If the car drives on the surface of a magnetic block at the edge of the strip, the route would be counted as inside the strip since the surface is inside the strip
  
• The car has to contact plastic to bounce off of it, so the route would include wherever the plastic surface bounced off of is
  
• Technically, the car can leave the 3 block limit as long as it doesn't touch any surfaces outside of that limit

To note, for edge cases like these, I wouldn't disqualify anyone, even if they did technically violate the rules. At most, I'd probably apply a 10% score penalty, but I like to err on the side of allowing creative yet dubious interpretations of the rules rather than punishing them.

Hi!
I have some questions here:
- Those maps will be played on mtc server, but how long (in time) map can max. take? I mean, on server there will be 10 min per one map?
- If someone test my map, is he the coauthor?
- If someone build only scenery, is he the coauthor?
- Can i send my map to the TOTD verification?
Have a good day!

• By default, it's 6 minutes per map. However, players can vote to extend the time as much as they want
  
  • The MTC hangout session might have a different time per map, depending on how many maps we get and how long I want the session to go for
• I'm not going to be policing co-authors. Its up to you guys as to who gets credited as a co-author (and, by extension, can't make their own map for this MTC) or not
  
• You're free to do whatever you like with your map as long as you don't update the TMX map file during the voting period. As such, you can send your map to TOTD verification if you want

I need a clarification, if you can.
If I have a risky finish within the 3 blocks limit, can I have a far, safe finish that extends way beyond the three blocks limit, if the car may have to touch the ground to reach said safe finish, or is it considered outside of the rules?
I know you said you're not gonna disqualify anyone, but I ask because, if you say no, I can get creative with it, if I need.

https://ibb.co/mXg0whj

Good question. The way I see it is this: the risky finish is the intended route, so that's the only route I care about as the MTC host. As such, you're allowed to have a safe finish outside the 3 block limit.

As a voter and NOT an MTC host, I'd prefer if you kept the safe finish within the limit as well, since I like it when people go beyond the main theme restrictions. But, my vote as a voter is still just one vote; I'd wager that most other voters won't take that into consideration like I might.

Alright, submissions are officially closed! You've still got 24 hours to make any final edits, if you need it. Soon after, voting will be underway!

It's voting time! We've got 15 maps of 3 blocks width or less, which theoretically means all their routes could fit in one amalgamation of a map. If you want to drive, consider voting on some of these fine maps. Here's how to vote:

Method 1: Room Voting
Nice and easy. Just hop into the MTC room and vote as you play!

• Go to the "MTC" room found in the TM Exchange club
  
• When you're on a map, send one of these vote messages into chat to vote:
  • -- = 1 point (bad)
    
  • - = 2 points
    
  • +- = 3 points
    
  • + = 4 points
    
  • ++ = 5 points (good)
• If you need to change your vote on a map, just send your new vote in chat. Only the most recent vote on each map is recorded
  
• The jukebox and voting are enabled, so feel free to request, extend, and skip maps

Method 2: Google Form Voting
Great if you like taking your time with the maps. This lets you give more detailed votes and even leave comments for the mappers!

• First, go to this form: https://forms.gle/jT33nHDZbiSHwdWJ8
  
• For each map, give a score between 1 (bad) and 5 (good). Decimals are allowed!
  
• If you have comments, add them after your score
  
• Example: 4.2 - Fun route, but boring scenery
  
• If you don't want to vote on a map, simply don't leave a score. You can leave a comment without a score, if you wish

General Voting Info

• Voting will last for at least two weeks
  
• The map with the highest average rating wins!
  
• Everyone can vote! If you made a map, your vote on your own map WILL be counted (feel free to give it a ++ !)
  
• You do not need to finish a map to vote on it, but please give it your best effort!
  
• You must vote on at least half of the maps for your votes to count
  
• If you liked a map, please leave it an award
  
• If you have any feedback, please leave a comment on the map's page

As for the MTC hangout session, I'll be a little busy for a bit, so expect it to be on the 20th. I'll make a more official post when I have that fully sorted out.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Otherwise, start driving and get voting!