Trackmania Dedicated Server Troubleshooting

Trackmania Dedicated Server Troubleshooting

Server Not Appearing in the Server Browser

Symptom: Server runs without errors but is invisible in the Trackmania client's internet server list.

Checklist:

• Allow 1–3 minutes after launch for the Nadeo masterserver to register your server.
• Confirm your Nadeo account credentials in dedicated_cfg.txt are correct. An invalid login silently prevents registration.
• Verify port 2350 (TCP + UDP) is open through your firewall and router.
• Ensure the server is started with /internet flag — without it, the server runs in LAN-only mode.
• Check that <connection_type> in dedicated_cfg.txt is not set to LAN.
• On Linux, confirm the process is actually running: ps aux | grep TrackmaniaServer

XMLRPC Controller Cannot Connect

Symptom: XASECO, PyPlanet, or ManiaControl reports "connection refused" on port 5000.

• Confirm the server is running and port 5000 is not blocked by a local firewall.
• Check <xmlrpc_port>5000</xmlrpc_port> is set in dedicated_cfg.txt.
• If the controller is on a different machine, set <xmlrpc_allowremote>True</xmlrpc_allowremote> — it defaults to False.
• Occasionally, if 5000 is already in use, the server binds to 5001 — check the server startup log for the line XMLRPC is listening on port XXXX.
• Verify the controller's configured password matches the SuperAdmin (or appropriate tier) password in dedicated_cfg.txt.

Config Reverts or Changes Are Ignored

• The server reads dedicated_cfg.txt only on startup. Stop the server completely before editing, then restart.
• If using Linux and the file reverts after stopping, check file ownership — the process may be writing a copy back from memory. Ensure the server user has write access to the Config directory.

Map Fails to Load / Server Skips to Next Track

Symptom: A map is listed in the match settings but the server skips it or reports it as invalid.

• Verify the path in the <challenge><file> entry is correct and relative to GameData/Tracks/ (TMNF) or UserData/Maps/ (ManiaPlanet).
• Check that the .Challenge.Gbx (TMNF) or .Map.Gbx (ManiaPlanet) file actually exists at that path.
• Mismatched environments: a Canyon map listed on a Nations/Stadium server will be skipped.
• Use forward slashes or backslashes consistently — both work, but mixing sometimes causes issues on Linux.

Server Crashes or Immediately Exits

• Check the server log (usually output to terminal or a .log file in the server directory).
• Common cause on Linux: binary is not executable. Run chmod +x ./TrackmaniaServer.
• Invalid or missing dedicated_cfg.txt causes immediate exit — confirm the path in the launch command matches the file location.
• Invalid XML in dedicated_cfg.txt (unclosed tag, non-UTF8 character) causes immediate exit — validate the XML with a text editor or online XML validator.

Players Complain of High Lag / Rubber-Banding

• Set <connection_type> in dedicated_cfg.txt to match your actual upstream bandwidth (DSL_4096, DSL_8096). Undersetting this causes the server to throttle ghost/replay data.
• Reduce <max_players> to match your server's actual network capacity.
• Confirm the server process is not CPU-starved — dedicated TMNF servers are very lightweight, but if running on a shared host, CPU contention can cause timing issues.

Getting More Help

• Trackmania Nations Forever: TM-Forum — community dedicated server forum
• ManiaPlanet: ManiaPlanet documentation
• Trackmania 2020: Trackmania support and the EvoSC# Discord
• Always check the server's console output first — most startup failures print a clear error message.