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This article is about the speedrunning category. To learn how to make one, see Getting Started with TAS.
A Tool-Assisted Speedrun (TAS) in Trackmania refers to the use of specialized software to create theoretical runs without necessitating the skill to drive those runs humanly. Unlike RTA where a player plays the game, TAS makes use of input injection and optimization algorithms to achieve results that are, unless otherwise desired, out of reach for humans. TAS is not letting a computer or AI play the game by itself. It’s a player driven process, where the TASer carefully plans and tests input sequences. Being a good Trackmania TASer requires game sense, out of the box thinking, and ingenuity in directing the computing power (bruteforce) towards the correct goals.
The main tool for TASing in TMNF or TMUF is called TMInterface and is the only one accessible to the public. Tools for other games exist, but are not public. The reason for that being that they are either far too specialized (an example of that would be hardcoded values that depend on the TASer's computer and preferences), or the game doesn't have any way to prevent TAS from appearing in leaderboards as a legitimate RTA run, hence the creators decide to keep them private.
What TAS allows in Trackmania
- Precise Inputs: input changes can happen every tick after the countdown. In addition to that, the steering range goes from -65536 to 65536. In total, there are 2 acceleration values (on or off), 2 braking values (on or off), and 131073 steering values, allowing for up to 524292 input combinations per tick. This effectively renders it impossible to explore every input combination over multiple seconds, let alone minutes. This is why Trackmania will never be a solved game.
- Exploiting Game Mechanics: TAS makes frequent usage of unintended game mechanics, often luck-based and far more complex than humans intend to try in RTA.
- Benchmarking: TAS runs, when simply an optimized version of the human way, serve as benchmarks for human players, showcasing what is theoretically possible on a given track with a given route. Competitive players often use these runs as inspiration to push their own limits.
- Experimentation: TAS runs can be used to test, prove or disprove potential shortcuts, reroutes and tricks that may (or may not) be viable for RTA gameplay.