Custom car models... the easy way!! UPDATED FOR TMF

[UKFC»ACE]

Updated for TMF.

This is an easy and quick way to get custom cars for TMF, but before we go any further, you must have an authenticated TM account AND have your ports 2350 and 3450 open on your router/firewall before other people will be able to see your car. You can still use custom cars without an authenticated account but you will be the only one who sees it.

Basically when someone else customises a car, that car has to be downloaded to your PC before you can see it. They only have to download it once because your PC stores it so if you ever play that person again their car will load straight away. The location these custom cars are kept is your game cache folder found here...

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\TrackMania\Cache
Please not that the folder 'Application Data' is hidden by default. To un-hide go to Tools>Folder Options>View> and click 'Show hidden files and folders'

In here you will find various file types but the ones we're looking for are the .zip files. Those that contain the word 'vehicle' in the file name are custom cars from people you have played against on various servers. You may have just a few.. or you may have hundreds.

For us to see and use these cars we have to move them to our own custom car folder which is located here...

C:\Documents and Settings\***YOUR NAME***\My Documents\TrackMania\Skins\Vehicles\StadiumCar
This is the location for stadium environment cars only. For other environments go up one level.
You can also create a folder called 'CarCommon' in C:\Documents and Settings\***YOUR NAME***\My Documents\TrackMania\Skins\Vehicles. Cars placed in the CarCommon folder will be available in all environments.


Copy all the zip files that have the word "vehicle" in the file name from your cache folder and paste them into your stadium cars folder or CarCommon cars folder DO NOT UNZIP!! Restart the game and you will have a whole new selection of cars in your garage.

Remember to check your cache folder often for any new models.

This method is for WindowsXP and may differ slightly for Vista

[Tylerbot]

... have your ports open on your router/firewall before other people will be able to see your car.

Which ports? I ran a search on this forum, and I can't tell if this has been answered or not. I didn't notice anything in the TMU manual about it.

[expressman]

port for p2p is 3450

[Retodon8]

You advise renaming the cars (Why by the way? What does it matter if a file name is long?), but wouldn't that created an unnecessary copy of an existing car, basically a whole new car?
That way other people who already have the car will now have to download it again because you renamed it.
If ten people download car ABC and everybody renames it, and if I played online against those ten people, I'd have to download ten different cars, which aren't really different in the end result.
I think I'm right, so I advise against renaming cars!
(Please correct me if I'm wrong!)

[UKFC»ACE]

You advise renaming the cars (Why by the way? What does it matter if a file name is long?

...because "Merc SLR" is easier to recognise then "9dcfa9bf_Vehicles%5cStadiumCar%5cMercedes+SLR%28cus+engine%292"

That way other people who already have the car will now have to download it again because you renamed it.
If ten people download car ABC and everybody renames it, and if I played online against those ten people, I'd have to download ten different cars, which aren't really different in the end result.
I think I'm right, so I advise against renaming cars!
(Please correct me if I'm wrong!)

Hmm your right. Personal preference I suppose.

[UKFC»ACE]

Updated for TMF.

[Gravite]

Hi, what do you mean by a authenticated account?

[Retodon8]

A TMU(F) account.
It won't work with free TMNF accounts, since you didn't pay for this feature.

[jaybud43]

I'm currently investigating this on Vista. I assume, since almost everything else like this goes into:
C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData(Hidden)\Roaming folder, that this will go into:
C:\Users\All Users(Maybe? It's most definitely not in the aforementioned one.)\AppData(Again, hidden)\Roaming folder.
My explorer.exe has a tendency to crash a lot for no reason, which is inhibiting my ability to investigate with my usual speed (Which.. you guys have never heard of... Don't worry about it.)
And no, it's not a virus or anything of that sort.
Probably just that my computer can't handle Vista.. A shame, but I have no copy of XP to revert back to...

[Mac Matrix]

I'm pretty sure the Cache folder is in c:/ProgramData/TrackMania on Vista.

It's also hidden by default =P

[flamesterart]

Ok. I couldn't use that route for mine. I use the GameTap Version of the Game, so, i can give other gametap users the filepath. ( you have to be able to see hidden files. ) C:\ProgramData\GameTap Web Player\games\151000950\trackmaniaunitedforever\GameData use this filepath to get to the files for tmu if you have gametap. and you use a vista comp. ( then you can just follow what he is saying. )

[AliRemix10]

I have a question, isn't there any other way how to get the cars in documents? Because my HDD (C:) is only 48GB and I only have left is about 5.5GB left and I install most of my games, apps etc. on the (D:) and most the updates the PC installs is on the HDD (C:). How? HOW?!?! I tryed using shortcuts, which work on any game I use (GTA IV- custom music), but not on this one, just create a shortcut and nothing in the game, try to get the whole ZIP file in there, it's there?!?!? WTF!!! I play TMNF on my notebook and on desktop and on my NB there is so much space about 48GB left in which I use Windows 7 and PC uses Vista. And Vista uses too much space maybe. JUST PLS HELP ME!!! I want to have custom cars, but I can't. I tryed to remove useless datas from the (C:), but it didn't really help.

[hoppyla]

i think you should change a higher profile.