MTM 2 Help

Basic Info

The company that actually wrote Monster Truck Madness and Monster Truck Madness 2 for Microsoft was Terminal Reality Inc (TRI). They made MTM in such a way as to allow custom tracks and trucks to be added (or .PODed) into the game - similar to the way you can add courses to a Golf game, or levels to a Shoot'm Up game. The big difference with MTM is that anyone with enough time and patience can make a track or truck that everyone can use. That is what THIS MTM site is all about... Making these free track and trucks available for anyone to upload and everyone to download and race.

Getting Started

1. Make sure you have the Retail CD of MTM2. Not an old beta hack from a warez site or the Demo (The game is not expensive anymore so those are not worth the hassle). Do a Full Install to the default "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Monster Truck Madness 2\" folder. Make sure the game starts, and you don't need the CD in the drive.

Note. You will need an Un-zip program like WinZip. This is the newest version, but almost any ZIP program will work. And the newest Internet Explorer does it for you too. And you can also use winXP's built in zipping program. Take a moment to learn how to use it.

2. Install the MTM2 Patch (ver 2.00.42 MMX 909K) by clicking the link mtm2pat.zip, saving it to disk, unzip it using winzip, then double clicking the mtm2pat.exe file. This fixes some game bugs and allows you to mount up to 99 addons. It is self installing and must be installed before anything else.

3. MTM2 uses Direct X for graphics and sound, and will install DirectX 5.0 on your computer during MTM 2 install. Direct X is at ver 9.0 now, you can get here. You might use older versions if you're running windows 95 or windows 98 and don't want to install the higher versions of Direct X. MTM2 will work very well with these files.

DirectX 6.1 Full Download (6789k)

Direct Play 6.1a Full Download (437k)

Note. Type dxdiag at the run prompt to see which version of Direct X is installed on your computer. You should not try to install a lower version.

4. Restart your computer, and make sure you can still race stock tracks. IF NOT look at the error help below.

Add-On Track or Truck (.POD)

The following instructions are the "meat and potatoes" of add-ons.

1. I recommend you get Podini2.zip This is the program that mounts up to 99 tracks and/or trucks into your MTM2 game. But Podini is just for convenient. You don't need any program to add tracks and trucks.

A file called pod.ini in you MTM folder is a little text file with a number at the top and a simple list of the track or truck .pod files you want the game to include when it starts. The number must always equal the number of file names in pod.ini. You can use notepad to open the pod.ini file, add pod file names at the bottom of the existing file, change the count at top, save it, and your set.

What is nice about podini2 is you don't have to type anything. You just point and click what you want to add or remove from pod.ini with your mouse.

NOTE: This is for the retail version of MTM2 with at least the Minimal install only, you can NOT "mount" tracks into the Demo Version, or Run From CD install.

Just put podini2.exe into your "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Monster Truck Madness 2\" folder. The easiest way to do this is to simply select the MTM 2 folder to download to.

2. Run MTM2 and make sure you can race. If not, look at the Error Help below.

3. Run Podini2.exe (or open pod.ini in notepad), you will get a screen with a list of game pods, 19 of which are mounted.

It is CRUCIAL you never uncheck the first 6, they are required by the game.

19
startup.pod
sound.pod
music.pod
truck2.pod
cockpit.pod
ui.pod

The following 13 are the stock tracks. It is recommended you do not remove these either.

TPARK.POD
ALASKA.POD
JUNK.POD
crazy98.pod
SNAKE.POD
MAIN.POD
AZTEC.POD
OUTBACK.POD
rockqry.pod
BAJA.POD
SUMMIT1.POD
SUMMIT2.POD
SUMMIT3.POD

At this point, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you get this 556K file called FixMore2.pod. UnZip it to your "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Monster Truck Madness 2\" folder, then, edit pod.ini and add the this line at the top:

FixMore2.pod

There is a text file in the .zip that explains what it does, but suffice it to say it does what it says, it fixes several hundred minor MTM2 bugs. In the above example of stock tracks and required files, before any add-on's, your pod.ini file should look like this now. If it does not, copy this text and make a new pod.ini file.

20
FixMore2.pod
startup.pod
sound.pod
music.pod
truck2.pod
cockpit.pod
ui.pod
TPARK.POD
ALASKA.POD
JUNK.POD
CRAZY98.POD
SNAKE.POD
MAIN.POD
AZTEC.POD
OUTBACK.POD
ROCKQRY.POD
BAJA.POD
SUMMIT1.POD
SUMMIT2.POD
SUMMIT3.POD

Podini2 will look like this.

If you would like some in-depth understanding of how pod.ini works, the MTMG pod.ini Help page is great.

4. You are now ready to Download Tracks and Trucks. Click the Tracks or Trucks links above, save the Track or Truck of your choice to a /temp folder, and Un-Zip the .pod file to, or copy it to the "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Monster Truck Madness 2\" folder.

5. Run Podini2.exe again. Any new Track or Truck .POD's you have put in the MTM2 folder will be listed at the bottom of the list. Simply double click on the Track or Truck name to add or remove it. I find it helpful to keep a piece of paper with the add-on pods I have loaded handy.

6. If you have any errors, read the Errors Q&A below.

All Internet Racing

In ALL Multi-Player Racing, there is a "Host" that controls all Track related matters such as Track Selection, Weather, Laps/Time, etc. The "Host" also selects how many people may "Join" the "Hosting Session" (up to a total of eight racers, including the host).

The Multi-Player room is much improved in MTM2 (over MTM1) with a "Chat Room" and the ability to "Join" a "Hosting Session" in progress.

When all the other racers have "Joined", the "Host" selects all track conditions, and everyone can change their Name, Truck, Skill Level and Truck Setup, as well as chat in the MTM2 Multi-Player chat room. Once you have your truck setup for the race, click the READY button in the lower right hand corner of the Multi-Player screen. When all players click Ready, the race begins. When the race is over, you are presented with a Results screen, and clicking Continue returns you to the Chat.

A good "Host" will post what type of Race he is hosting (Track Name, Rumble Name, etc), and some teams are now posting entire lists of tracks. If you do not have what the host is running, you should not join. Doing so will only annoy other racers and will probably get you booted from the game. The host has the ability to boot anyone from the game from the Chat screen.

Racing at the Internet gaming Zone

When you enter the Zone, register an account so you can finally get to the MTM2 room. Save the URL as a Bookmark to return easily. The Zone Room has a HELP link at the top of the page, or press F1. I will not duplicate everything there. Here are my tips:

1. Select LIST option from the top of screen. This makes it much easier to see games and takes less space.

2. Use your left mouse button to "grab and move" the bar separating the Game Area from the Chat Area, and move it up, making the Chat Area larger.

3. On the right side of the screen, at the top, is the list of people in the room. Generally keep this sorted by Name by clicking it, it makes it easier to "ignore" people as explained below.

Click the Latency option to sort player list by who has a fast modem and/or is close to you for best racing. Latency is also known as Lag. Green is Great, Yellow is OK, Red will give you lag in the game. BUT, that is Zone Latency displayed, not Game Latency. If a host has a player with horrible Latency once you are all in the Multi-Player chat room, that player will cause some lag in the game. This is usually due to vast distances between the players. This is OK for just 3 or 4 players, but you can't run 8 without bad lag if you're very spread out.

4. In the Description of a hosted game, the Host will usually tell you what kind of game, if it is private, the tracks (or type, like rumbles or racing or add-on's) etc.

TIP: Hosting a game named something like "I Rule!" means nothing. Try to be more descriptive or informative.

If you only have Stock, say so. If you want to run add-on's, or just race, or just rumble, say so in the Game Description. It makes it much easier to find the type of racing you are looking for.

If you have set the Zone to LIST VIEW, you will see the full description of the game.

Sometimes you will see a game hosted (like one of mine) that says something like "Pro's, KC's 10 Sort, and some stock". Some teams use lists. These special lists allow you to know exactly what tracks, and get them if need be, that are being played in that room.

Don't join a game if you don't have what the host wants. By doing so, you will soon find yourself kicked out of every room you try.

5. If someone (not you of course, because you know better) keeps flooding the chat screen with messages, Don't add to the mess by telling them to stop... Instead, sort your player list by Name (not Latency) look for the users name and RIGHT click it... then just click IGNORE. Problem solved. This is by far the best way to keep the chat free of unwanted scrawl because you just don't see it!

6. When you do enter the zone and join a room and the host launches the race (this can take a while from the Join Chat), get yourself in Ready Mode as soon as you see the track and setup your truck. Nobody likes to wait around for a slacker, and you'll just get booted from game.

7. When you are racing (or rumbling) don't just wander off into "la-la land". Either play, or don't go in. There is nothing wrong with being last. You learn. But leaving or just taking off will have the same result as the other no-no's above... Nobody will want to race with you. Unless, of course, free roaming is what they want to do too. In that case, no problem. Just host a room called "free roam" and everybody who joins will know what to expect.

The Zone can be a blast. Racing and Rumbling others is far more fun than computer trucks.

Don't get discouraged if you are new, we were all new once. It takes skill and practice to become a pro, and even then anything can happen. It is always good to race those better than you, but not to the point that they have to sit around forever waiting for you to finish a race. If a race says Pro's in the title, wait until your pretty good before you join them. When you can compete, you will learn a lot more, but you have to get your "feet wet" racing awhile on-line with other rookies first.

Enjoy! And I'll see you there. My Zone handle is KCs_MTM_Place.

If your ready, click this logo and Play MTM2 on the Net.

IP Racing

Direct IP to IP racing is exactly the same as the zone except you don't goto the zone to hook up with other racers. You must communicate with other racers through e-mail or instant messaging programs, the host must communicate his/her IP number, then set up the race.

1.To HOST direct IP races. First, contact your friends and give them your IP address. This is yours.

Now, do the following:

• Start MTM2 from the desktop.
• Click the Multiplayer button.
• Click the Connect button.
• Click the Host button.
• Step 1 - Type a name for your host session. Eg. My Truckin' Game.
• Step 2 - Select "Internet TCP/IP Connection for DirectPlay. Then click OK.
• Wait for others to join the race.

Note. Click the Disconnect button to end the hosting session.

2.To JOIN direct IP races. Obtain an IP address from the host. Then do the following:

• Start MTM2 from the desktop.
• Click the Multiplayer button.
• Click the Connect button.
• Click the Join button.
• Step 1 - Select "Internet TCP/IP Connection for DirectPlay. Then enter the IP number the host provided to you. Click OK.
• Step 2 - Select the host session that appears in the box. Eg. The Host's Truckin' Game. Click OK.

Note. Click the Disconnect button to leave the race.

MTM 2 Errors Q & A.

PROBLEM: After loading Podini2, MTM2 will start with the error message "Pod not found".
ANSWER: There are a few things I know of that can cause this:

1. There is a pod mounted that's name is simply a vertical bar.pod. This is the old DOS End Of File marker. It is not a track. Just un-check it.
2. You added a track name manually to the pod.ini file but made a spelling error. Double check that the pod file names are spelled correctly.
3. You deleted a pod file from the hard drive but did not remove it from the pod.ini list. Make sure all entries in the pod.ini list actually exist on the hard drive.
4. When all else fails, delete the pod.ini file in the MTM2 folder. Run Podini2 again, you will get an error. Close podini2 and and run it again. Use the list above to copy and paste the 19 pods to return the game to stock.

Run MTM2. If it runs, close MTM2, then add your new tracks. If it does not, repeat the above.

PROBLEM: After I mount tracks with podini2, they don't show in the game.
ANSWER:You may have had MTM2 running (open) when you podded. MTM2 must be closed before you can add new tracks.

Or, you did not follow the instructions above. Un-install MTM2, delete the entire "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Monster Truck Madness 2\" folder, and follow the instructions.

PROBLEM: After I added podini2, and several new PODs, I kept getting an error in the msrt24.acm file after exiting MTM2. Everything ran fine, just the annoying error when I left.
ANSWER: Check for a podini FOLDER in your "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Monster Truck Madness 2\" folder. If so, move the pods in it to the MTM2 folder and DELETE THE PODINI FOLDER.

PROBLEM: When I am racing on-line, I get a message saying that I am using a different version of a track, even stock tracks.
ANSWER: You have used PodMate to combine pods. Or you just have an old or beta version of the track. The MTM2 patch makes sure no racer is using a "cheat track" by comparing the actual .pod files on everyone's computer. Delete the pod causing the error, then redownload the original file. If you merged stock tracks, re-copy them from the cd or reinstall the game.

The patch and podini allows 99 pods, do not mount merged pods.

PROBLEM: I can't host or join online races.
ANSWER: Turn off all ad-blocking software, and turn off all firewall software. If you use a router, set your computer as DMZ host.

PROBLEM: After installing Podini2, I get the error message "You do not have the retail version".
ANSWER: It is possible podini added an end of file marker to you pod.ini file. Pod.ini is a text file that MTM2 uses to see what tracks you want to use. Open pod.ini with notepad and look for a strange character at the very end of the file. Delete it and save the file.

OR, There may be leftover files from the demo version, or you are not installing a store bought version of MTM2. Look in the Control Panel and run ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS. Remove the trial version if it is there, and then the retail version. Then, delete the entire "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Monster Truck Madness 2\" folder. Then, follow the instructions above starting with a Full Install.

PROBLEM: After installing a new track or truck, the colors are all messed up.
ANSWER: First of all, make sure you manually installed FixMore2.pod as the first file in your pod.ini file as outlined in the Installing Instructions above.

OR, some graphics cards do not perform well with MTM2. See the readme.txt file that installs with the game for a list.

OR, try using a different render setting. Goto the menu > graphics > graphics renderer and choose a different option. Changing the screen resolution might help too.

PROBLEM: Podini2 doesn't work right on my computer. The track names are all messed up.
ANSWER: Podit is another popular choice. Download PodIt here.

QUESTION: Where can I learn more about the pod.ini file?
ANSWER: An excellent reference for pod.ini is the MTMG Podini Page.

I will add new problems as they come along, but these are the most frequent.

Submit your bug fixes to KC at BugFix@vales.com

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