TrackMania 2 is a racing video game. It is available in three separate environments -- TrackMania 2: Canyon, TrackMania 2: Stadium, and TrackMania 2: Valley. The dedicated server component can be run as a Windows Service using FireDaemon Pro, which allows you to start the dedicated server automatically at boot prior to login, start multiple instances of the dedicated server and more. This HOWTO will show you how to set it up. You can also use FireDaemon Fusion to manage FireDaemon and other Windows services via a web browser.

TrackMania 2 Dedicated Server Setup Under FireDaemon Pro

Download the TrackMania 2 dedicated server software from the official TrackMania 2 website here.

Extract the files to the directory of your choice. For the purposes of this HOWTO, we will use C:\ManiaPlanetServer.

TrackMania 2 Dedicated Server uses one configuration file to manage its settings. A sample dedicated_cfg.default file is located in the UserData\Config directory within the ManiaPlanetServer folder. Edit this file to suit your preferences. Some settings of interest include setting a login and password for the server, as well as a name and message for your server. More information on editing the configuration file is located in the TrackMania 2 server documentation.

Download and install FireDaemon Pro into the directory of your choice, typically C:\Program Files\FireDaemon.

Next, start the FireDaemon GUI from the desktop shortcut. Click on the "Create a new service definition" button in the toolbar (or type Ctrl+N) and enter the information into the fields as you see below. Adjust the paths to suit your installation. Note the required parameters.

• Executable: The path to the ManiaPlanetServer.exe file. For the purposes of this HOWTO, that path is C:\ManiaPlanetServer\ManiaPlanetServer.exe.
• Working Directory: The directory containing the ManiaPlanetServer.exe file. For the purposes of this HOWTO, that path is C:\ManiaPlanetServer.
• Parameters:  The parameters differ depending on which version of TrackMania 2 you are running. The minimum parameters required are /Title=TitleId /dedicated_cfg=DedicatedCfgFile.txt /game_settings=MatchSettings\MatchSettingsFile.txt
  • The above parameters are the minimal requirements to start your server. You can view a full list of supported parameters at the TrackMania 2 documentation.
  • /Title=TitleID - The identifier of the title you wish to start. View the TitleID list in the TrackMania 2 documentation to find the right titleID.
  • /dedicated_cfg=DedicatedCfgFile.txt - The path to your server configuration file, located in UserData\Config.
  • /game_settings=MatchSettings\MatchSettingsFile.txt - The path to your match settings file, located in UserData\Maps\MatchSettings.

Now click on the Settings tab. If you DON'T want to see your dedicated server running, uncheck the Interact with Desktop check box. You can optionally run your TrackMania 2 server as the user you installed it as. In the Logon Account field type your username (e.g. Administrator) and then enter the user's password twice in the Password and Confirm fields. You can change the Process Priority to allocate more CPU time to the dedicated server or specify which CPU or core the dedicated server will run on (in the case of multi-processor, hyperthreaded or multi-core CPUs).

Now click on the Lifecycle tab. Uncheck Graceful Shutdown as TrackMania 2 doesn't respond to it.

Now click OK to finish setup and start your TrackMania 2 server!