ModNation Racers: Road Trip Message Board

A ModNation haiku…
finally it’s here
fantastic dlc sale
modnation racers

That’s right. Check this out…

• PS3 Career Theme Extension Packs (Arctic, Big City, Far East) DLC regularly $9.99 each, now only $4.99 each
• PS3 Mini-Theme Sets (Alien, Medieval, Pirate, Western) DLC regularly $6.99 each, now only $3.49 each
• PS3 Props Packs (Carnival, Construction, Moon Colony, Prehistoric, Stunt, Water World) DLC regularly – $4.99 each, now only $1.99 each
• PS3 Parts Packs (Gladiator, Haunted, Junkyard) DLC regularly $4.99 each, now only $1.99 each
• ModNation Racers Dynamic Theme regularly $2.99, now free!
• ModNation Racers for PS3 (Full Game) PSN Plus Store – regularly $29.99, now only $14.99.

This offer runs from May 22nd 2012 – May 29th 2012

Special Limited-Edition DLC: Stowaway Mod & Kart Giveaway

The Special Limited Edition Stowaway Mod & Kart for PS3 is not available for sale and will only be given away in small numbers over the remaining days of the Two-Year Anniversary Celebration. Check this blog and our Facebook page this week for random voucher codes drops. Now’s your chance to stow him away into YOUR collection!

Track Creation Challenge: “Home Sweeeet Home”
Players will need to simulate the city where they live. Our favorite tracks will make their way into PS3 Top Tracks or Hot Lap for a week of notoriety (San Diego Studio Faves for Vita). Sign up HERE!

The “Moddys”: Our Favorite Karts
Two weeks in to the popular “Moddys” Celebration 2.0. We searched through thousands upon thousands of Mods, Karts, and Tracks to present you with some of our favorite amazing, scary, and wacky creations.

This week we bring you… our favorite Karts!

The categories include:

• Found Down By The River (Favorite Vans)
• P-51 / P-52; Whatever It Takes (Favorite War Planes)
• Ugh. This Guy Is My Neighbor (Favorite “Beater” Karts)
• How Many Karts Could A Kart Creator Kart If A Kart Creator Could Kart Karts? (Favorite Wooden Karts)
• Alright, Who Karted? (Favorite Smelly Looking Karts) *
• You From Jersey? (Favorite Orange-ish Karts)
• Eep Opp Ork (Favorite Alien-Themed Karts)
• These Seats Are So Sticky (Our Favorite Taxi Karts)
• Double Would Have Been Better (Our Favorite Rainbow Karts)
• It’s Not All About You (Our Favorite Princess Karts)
• You Two-Faced So‘n So!” (Favorite Karts With Images On Both Sides)

Please take the time to view these creations HERE

ModNation Racers For PS3

Project Cinema
Again the ModNation community delivers big time! Members of the track creating community came together to build tracks based on their favorite cinema experiences. You must take a look at these amazing creations. You will have the opportunity to race these epics in Top Tracks over the next few weeks. Great job everyone. Truly amazeballs!

Check HERE for more details on this great community driven event.

ModNation Racers Two-Year Anniversary Collectable Wallpaper
ModNation Anniversary wallpapers in various designer colors. Visit our Facebook page to get yours now!

Anniv. Celebration Fun Race Nights in May
Join ModNationSD for a night of fun races all throughout the month of May from 4:30 – 5:30 pm PST! If you would like to race, send a friend request to ModNationSD and I will add you for the night!

Top Tracks: Faves of ripper171 and drew_sux
Two community members chose their favorite Top Tracks for this week. Thanks for the lineup!

ModNation Racers Hot Lap Tracks: *MOD* PRISON PLANET by KING_MEPHISTO

Monday: Camping in the woods by VintageOctopus
Tuesday: The Four Kingdom Rally by OnePoppa
Wednesday: CIRCUS ARCTICUS by RADMANROB
Thursday: The Arctic Ruins by MagicalHamster
Friday: BLADES OF DOOM by RADMANROB
Saturday: *MOD* PRISON PLANET by KING_MEPHISTO
Sunday: The Ark by ath_racing

ModNation Monday blog Location Change

For the next few weeks the ModNation Monday blog will be hosted solely in the ModNation forums. The PlayStation blog team has been more than generous in offering us such a long run in this valuable e-real estate. Thanks to all the ModNation Monday blog supporters! The blog will be located HERE.

Happy Anniversary ModNation-ites!,
Mark
PS3: ModNationSD
Vita: ModNationSDVita

* Thanks to PSN ID: Pacmania1967 for the great category suggestion.

Palooza it up people! This party’s not over yet!

Track Creation Challenge: “Home Sweeeet Home”
This challenge will test the skills of even the best track creators in the game. Relying on imagination and not a “midnight pizza-vison” to come up with amazing tracks or creations; those skills may not work here. Players will need to simulate the city where they live. Our favorite tracks will make their way into PS3 Top Tracks or Hot Lap for a week of notoriety (San Diego Studio Faves for Vita). Sign up HERE!

The “Moddys”: Our Favorite Tracks
Two weeks in to the popular “Moddys” Celebration 2.0. We searched through 1,000’s upon 1,000’s of Mods, Karts, and Tracks to present you with some of our favorite amazing, scary, and wacky creations.

This week we bring you… our favorite Tracks

The categories include:

• “Rollercoaster of Love. Say What?” (Favorite Rollercoaster tracks)
• “U-G-L-Y, You Ain’t Got No Alibi, You Ugly” (Favorite Not-Pretty tracks)
• “Gosh Darn It” (Favorite Dam Tracks)
• “You Must Be Petrified” (Favorite Epic Animal Track Creations)
• “What Is It Good For? Absolutely Nothing!” (Favorite War Themed Tracks)
• “Auto-Populated… My Eye!” (Favorite “Overstated” Track)
• “It’s All In The Name” (Favorite Named Tracks)
• “Hands Off Me Booty” (Favorite Pirate Themed Tracks)
• “USA! USA! USA!” (Favorite PSN ID: marusarusa Tracks)
• “That Sir Is Utterly Inflammatory” (Favorite Tracks With Flames)
• “It’s A Wonderful Day In The Neighborhood” (Favorite Suburban Tracks)
• “You’re As Cold As Ice” (Favorite Ice Themed Track)
• “Fortification Schmortification” (Favorite Fortress Track)
• “Yippee Ki-yay” (Favorite Western Tracks)

Please take the time to view these creations HERE

ModNation Racers Double XP Week!

You: Are you down with Double XP?
Mark: Yeah, you know me!

Enjoy Double XP for the Week of May 14th – 20th – brought to you by the good folks of MNR!

“Road Trip” Track of the Week / Community Hot Lap Challenge
Each week we will host the “Track of the Week” Community Hot Lap Challenge to see who can post the best time on selected tracks. The top three times will be mentioned here in this ModNation Monday blog for the world to see.

Last Week’s Hot Lap Results:
Track: “Catfish Rally Vita” by CAPNDigital

ZlheckJr 53.081 Punishthem420 54.476 jadace12 56.708

This week’s track:

ModNation Racers For PS3

ModNation Racers Two-Year Anniversary Collectable Wallpaper
ModNation Anniversary wallpapers in six designer colors. Visit our Facebook page to get yours now!

ModNation Racers: Grand Prix Track Selection
We asked you to build the tracks for the upcoming Grand Prix and wow!… did you deliver! It was difficult to narrow it down to just 10 tracks, but here are our favorites:

• 2012 MNR UFG MRC GP by Onemama
• Desert GP rally by The_Pwner007
• 2012 North Woods GP by Onepoppa
• Green Valley Speedway by ath_racing
• Grand Prix 2012 by prob_alex
• 2nd Annual MNR Grand Prix by John31269
• The 2012 H*3*L*L *A* GP by KING_MEPHISTO
• Icecap Colosseum by Yika
• Eternal Life: Tree Shaker by Freshwick
• Canal Streets GP by mackattack8000

Thanks to everyone who obviously put a lot of time and effort into creating all of the tracks!

Anniv. Celebration Fun Race Nights in May
Join ModNationSD for a night of fun races all throughout the month of May from 4:30 – 5:30 pm Pacific Time! If you would like to race, send a friend request to ModNationSD and I will add you for the night.

Top Tracks: Best of PSN ID: Kickin’ It Old School
For those that were never able to experience the Top Tracks rotation for the first six months of the game’s life, we present them one more time.

Too soon?

My bad.

ModNation Racers Hot Lap Tracks: Best Of UFG and San Diego Studio

This week we celebrate Hot Lap with the “Best of UFG” tracks Monday-Friday. Which tracks you ask? You’ll have to show up in the Modspot to find out. Note: Saturday and Sunday will run the tracks that were replaced by the Grand Prix races.

Happy Anniversary ModNation-ites!,
Mark
PS3: ModNationSD
Vita: ModNationSDVita

Wow! Two years? Really?

Let me tell you the secret to the success of the MNR franchise … it’s you, the ModNation community that keep the games strong. The numbers speak for themselves… you’ve hosted millions upon millions of great races and as of today you’ve created 629,972 Tracks, 1,331,405 Mods and 1,221,817 Karts for a total of 3,182,817 creations!

It’s not just the remarkable numbers that stand out, it’s the genuinely nice, friendly, encouraging, and yet competitive members of the community that make this game like no other. Thank you to each and every person that has played ModNation Racers for the PS3, PSP or Vita. We are honored that you enjoy this game as much as we do!

ModNation Racers Two-Year Anniversary Collectable Wallpaper
Over the next few weeks we will randomly be handing out these limited edition wallpapers (25 for PS3 / 25 for Vita). Those lucky fans will have our crack team of artists customize their wallpaper with their PSN ID! Everyone will have the chance to attain the non-personalized anniversary wallpaper through our Facebook page and in our forums soon!

Most Clever or Funniest Track Name?
Sometimes I just don’t know how players come up with their hilarious track names. Some cute, some insane, some more insane and some are simply insanely creative. I can attest to experiencing at least four spits takes and two milk-through-the-nose blurts, and one memorable “trip to the cleaners” in my time as community manager.

We want to know…

Favorite / funniest / most clever user-created TRACK name? Favorite / funniest / most clever user-created MOD OR KART name?

We will post a collection of our favorites here in a few weeks.

Race UFG Created PS3 Tracks in ModNation Racers: Road Trip
You’ve got to give them a go. Truly great tracks…

Mod Circuit Vita, Island Dash Vita, Rumble Island Vita, Miner’s Rift Vita, Alpine Drop Vita, Village Run Vita, Farm Frenzy Vita, Boardwalk Vita, Sandstorm Vita, Flaming Jumps Vita, Wild Run Vita, Market Run Vita, Craggy Hills Vita, Marina Vita, Breakwater Vita.

Download them now in the Share Station of ModNation Racers: Road Trip under the creator name – ModNationSDVita.

Anniv. Celebration Fun Race Nights in May
Join ModNationSD for a night of fun races all throughout the month of May from 4:30 – 5:30 pm PST! If you would like to race, send a friend request to ModNationSD and I will add you for the night!

“Road Trip” Track of the Week / Community Hot Lap Challenge
Each week we will host the “Track of the Week” Community Hot Lap Challenge to see who can post the best time on selected tracks. The top three times will be mentioned here in this ModNation Monday blog for the world to see.

Last Week’s Hot Lap Results:
Track: “iceland” by Nathancho17

JuJitsu97 45.302s ShamgarBlade 45.679s ZlheckJr 46.32s

This week’s track:

ModNation Racers For PS3

ModNation Racers Grand Prix 2012
Sign up’s begin this week for the ModNation Racers Gran Prix 2012 Racing Championship. The first set of qualifying races will be held on the weekend of May 12-13th. Racers will have the chance to qualify on a pre-determined United Front Games track to be hosted in Hot Lap all weekend. The top five fastest lap times (of those signed up) will automatically be entered into the finals. One racer from the MNR Vita community will also qualify for one of the 11 spots! The remaining five spots for the finals will be decided the following week. Check HERE for more info on how to participate.

ModNation Racers “Hall of Fame” Tracks
With over 500,000 user-generated tracks to choose from we set the players to work to narrow the list down to ten. What were we thinking when we began this endeavor? Well, the ModNation community has narrowed it down to 25 and now we need your help to vote for the top ten!

Please visit the post in our forums HERE to vote for your favorites.

Top Tracks: Best of PSN ID: RockToonz

ModNation Racers Hot Lap Track of the Week – UFG SKATE by punishthem420

Dude created a skatepark!

This is a very fast and fun race and, to my amazement, punishthem420 has replicated a real-life genuine skate park to a tee! Grind rails, ramp angles, box spacing and even banner placement felt so real I couldn’t believe it. It’s not pretty like many other tracks this week but the detail and “nailing” of the whole park (pool, parking lot, etc..) have to be rewarded.

Mark: punishthem420 – build that park for real in sunny San Diego and you’ll be a rich man!

Monday: Big Hermitage by big-village_920_
Tuesday: Green Garden by fu_ko_1-5
Wednesday: Willow Rocks Raceway by anaximperator
Thursday: Nurfield Speedway by mini_schnauzer67
Friday: Ruins Exploration by arcanine7829
Saturday: Emerald Coast by atheistsw
Sunday: UFG SKATE by punishthem420

Upcoming Anniversary Palooza Events

• Hometown Track Challenge
• 12 Hours of LeMod
• The “Moddys” 2012

…and much more

Stay tuned!,
Mark
PS3: ModNationSD
Vita: ModNationSDVita

but these have…

2012 “Jumped The Shark List” Zombies Cupcakes The current bacon frenzy * Meme’s Trolling LOL, ROFL, TTYL, YOLO, BRB and of course BFF Saying “that would make a great name for a band” The term “Jump The Shark” Athletes who claim “it’s not about the money”.

… almost forgot planking! Definitely planking.

One thing though, that never gets tired is fun and the ModNation franchise of games (PS3, PSP, Vita) ooze fun! (Actually that would make a great name for a band “oozefun”. Maybe “oozephun”?. You’re welcome).

I’m sure you and my boss are both wondering the same thing… why do I bring this up?

Let me tell you… ModNation Racers Two-Year Anniversary Celebration Coming Soon!
The ModNation Racers Two-Year Anniversary (ModNationpaloozatwo) is only days away and it’s going to be a blast! We are working hard to put together a fun month of events surrounding our May 25th Anniversary. Let’s put aside our troubles and our 9-5 lives and just have a fun time! Play-Create-Share FTW!
We would love your input on some upcoming events…

• All-Time Favorite User Created PS3 Tracks?
• Favorite Track Name? (ie funniest, best pun, spelling, etc…)

Race UFG Created PS3 Tracks in ModNation Racers: Road Trip
If you have never had the pleasure of racing these great career tracks from ModNation Racers for the ,

Mod Circuit Vita Island Dash Vita Rumble Island Vita Miner’s Rift Vita Alpine Drop Vita Village Run Vita Farm Frenzy Vita Boardwalk Vita Sandstorm Vita Flaming Jumps Vita Wild Run Vita Market Run Vita Craggy Hills Vita Marina Vita Breakwater Vita

Download them now under the creator name: ModNationSDVita

Alert – racing these epic tracks in Road Trip may lead to your purchase of the PS3 ModNation Racers game if you don’t already own it.

“Road Trip” Profile Panels Are Here!
The new Player Profile Panels are here!

Go ahead, slap that bad boy on your Vita’s PSN ID. This is the kind of spontaneous publicity – your name in print – that makes people. Things are going to start happening for you now.

Here’s how:
Go to settings > PlayStation Network > Account Information > Password > Panel

“Road Trip” Community Hot Lap Challenge
Each week we will host a Community Hot Lap Challenge to see who can post the best time on selected tracks. The top three times will be mentioned here in this ModNation Monday blog for the world to see.

Last Week’s Hot Lap Results:
Track: “Seaside Speedway” by Sumsin25

ZlheckJr 13.936s Punishthem420 14.205s JuJitsu97 14.997s

So far (two months in) it looks like ZlheckJr and Punishthem420 are the “Road Trip” top racers to beat. Can you beat them? I’m sure they are up for the challenge!

ModNation Racers For PS3

Top Tracks: Meepcow

Creations of the Week: Best of D_W_inc

ModNation Racers Hot Lap Track of the Week – “Archaeological Anarchy” by lop330

One of the collective best weeks of tracks I have had the pleasure to race in a long time. What amazing variety! Great work people!

Monday: Watergang Reloaded by BongSoldier
Tuesday: Futuris Aquaponia by OnePoppa
Wednesday: Dueling Organs by flathletics102
Thursday: Jimis psychedelic circus by RADMANROB
Friday: Château des Alpes by mini_schnauzer67
Saturday: Archaeological Anarchy by lop330
Sunday: Metropolis by Itachifox

Have a great week everyone,
Mark
PS3: ModNationSD
Vita: ModNationSDVita

* please note _ I am a HUGE fan of bacon both literally and figuratively. I think it was the bacon toothpaste or the bacon taco that put it over the top.

Fingers crossed the term above has no impending underground or urban double-meaning.

Either way, if you are not modding you should be. It’s a lot of fun! “Adults” can deny all they’d like, yet creating your own personal Mods in ModNation Racers: Road Trip (Vita) takes us back to those memorable, endless days of playing with our action figures and figurettes (some still do? oops, my bad).

Enjoy this very informative tutorial to help you create that ultimate Mod you have been dreaming of…

ModNation Racers Two-Year Anniversary Celebration Coming Soon!

Keep your eyes and ears peeled to this blog over the next few weeks as we begin to roll out plans for ModNation-Palooza 2012 in celebration of two great years for the ModNation franchise.

A few of the activities / events to look forward to…

The “Moddys”. A collection of our favorite Mods / Karts / Tracks ModNation Racers Grand Prix – Who will attain the title “Best Racer in ModNation”? Rare Limited Edition Stowaway Mod / Kart for PS3 giveaways “12 Hours of LeMod” – a weekend marathon of ModNation racing

… and much more!

“Road Trip” Community Hot Lap Challenge

Each week we will host a Community Hot Lap Challenge to see who can post the best time on selected tracks. The top three times will be mentioned here in this ModNation Monday blog for the world to see.

Last Week’s Hot Lap Results:
Track: “A Three Hour Tour” by ModNationSDVita

ZlheckJr 60.426s ShamgarBlade 64.21s OveReAction10 65.679

Think you’re the best racer in Road Trip?

Two words… Bring It!

ModNation Racers: Road Trip Track of the Week – “Asian Frenzy by smj101

ModNation Racers For PS3

All-Time 10 Best User-Created Tracks?
In just a few short weeks, The ModNation Racers franchise celebrates its two-year anniversary! Help us by nominating the 10 best user-created tracks in the game.

Your nominations can be posted HERE.

Track Creation Challenge – MNR Grand Prix 2012
Plans are underway for the “ModNation Racers Two-Year Anniversary Celebration Grand Prix” and we’d like your help!

We are looking for the community to design three of the twelve courses we will use in the Grand Prix event. Over the next few weeks you will see more details in the ModNation Monday blog about this exciting Track Creation Challenge. Imagine having the VERY best racers ModNation has to offer competing on your track. This one has to be special! Race-ability is key, but the judges will be looking at aesthetics as well.

Check HERE for more details

Top Tracks: Best of Biver_

Creation of the Week: Junko GS-500 Geisha by BlacklistGT1

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Hot Lap Track of the Week: Isle of Legends v1.1 by lop330

Monday: Oasis of Mazzura v1.0 by lop330
Tuesday: Une pyramide de la glace by inosan0518
Wednesday: The Bhutan by Itachifox
Thursday: Desert Metropolis Resort by statickey_660
Friday: WHALE racing lake site by tadaryou
Saturday: Isle of Legends v1.1 by lop330
Sunday: Emerald Coast by atheistsw

Have a great week everyone,
Mark

PS3: ModNationSD
Vita: ModNationSDVita

Wha-what’s this all about, you say?

We’re talking some pretty sweet ModNation Racers: Road Trip exclusive unlockables, thank you for asking!
This past week I noticed that “Road Trip’s” Global Travel Points feature had really started to gain some notable momentum. “How does this affect me?,” again a great question. Well, if we all work together like the great nation we are, we will begin to see some of the 15 uber-cool Road Trip exclusive unlockables come to life.

Here is how it works…

Essentially the Mod Explorer feature in ModNation Racers: Road Trip allows you as an individual, and the community as a whole to be ultimately rewarded for each and every mileage check-in. The more Mod Explorer check-in’s you post, the more miles you accumulate, the more pieces you attain. Similarly, this goes for the community. When all of our miles are “pitched” together into the big Mod Explorer pot even more items become unlocked to use. Yahoo!

These highly-detailed models of famous landmarks from around the world are ready and waiting for a home in your new track(s). With the powerful track creation tools in Road Trip, I am pretty sure we will be racing some absolutely stunning and/or wacky tracks very soon!

“Road Trip” Community Hot Lap Challenge
Each week we will host a Community Hot Lap Challenge to see who can post the best time on selected tracks. The top three times will be mentioned here in this ModNation Monday blog for the world to see.

Last Week’s Hot Lap Results:
Track: “Let It Snow” by MNR_RT

ZlheckJr – 37.594s Panpa00 – 38.316s Dtvtb – 39.057s

Think you’re the best racer in Road Trip?

Two words… Bring It!

ModNation Racers: Road Trip “Track of the Week” – A View from a Pier by mooglestar

ModNation Racers For PS3

All-Time 10 Best User-Created Tracks?
In just a few short weeks The ModNation Racers franchise celebrates its two year anniversary! Help us by nominating what you think are the 10 best user created tracks in the game.

Your nominations can be posted HERE.

Track Creation Challenge – MNR Grand Prix 2012
Plans are underway for the “ModNation Racers Two Year Anniversary Celebration Grand Prix” and we’d like your help!

We are looking for the community to design three of the twelve courses we will use in the Grand Prix event. Over the next few weeks you will see more details in the ModNation Monday blog about this exciting Track Creation Challenge. Imagine having the VERY best racers ModNation has to offer competing on your track. This one has to be special! Race-ability is key, but the judges will be looking at aesthetics as well.

Check HERE for more details.

Top Tracks: Best of BongSoldier

Hot Lap Track of the Week: *Arachnophobia* by prob_alex
(prob_alex has done it again. This track’s gargantuan spider creations are expectedly astounding but his hive of spider eggs literally gave me the creeps. Ep-Ick! Eight thumbs up!)

Monday: Andorian Avalanche by KING_MEPHISTO
Tuesday: Big Castle Circuit by hey_monday_v
Wednesday: Majestic Avenue by John31269
Thursday: Hot Plains Drifter 1.1 by anaximperator
Friday: The Lost Labs Of Laquinta by atheistsw and OnePoppa
Saturday: *Arachnophobia* by prob_alex
Sunday: THE SWARM by mackAttack8000

Have a great week everyone,
Mark

PS3: ModNationSD
Vita: ModNationSDVita

(He says with a smile…) As the self-appointed spokesperson for men everywhere I can personally attest to the widely unspoken truth than men indeed do some of their best work in their secondary “office.” In fact, had I been given permission to test there, I guarantee I would have scored 175-250 points higher on my S.A.T.’s leading to my unfulfilled dream of attending an “accredited” college. Since that dream has long passed me by, I am left with the dilemma: such a throne of inspiration and enlightenment now left to its utilitarian purpose, what to do? Left to task, those minutes can seem like an eternity. Put to proper use they can be redeemed into many leg-numbingly wonderful times!

The “Pick Up and Play” Gamers Oath:
On a bus, on a train. On a boat, on a plane.
On a ladder, or a stool. In a garden, by the pool.
Standing up, lying prone, or sitting quietly, on a throne.

Okay, all kidding aside, ModNation Racers: Road Trip is a great “pick up and play” game for your new PS Vita. Whether you have a quick few minutes (one race) or the next millennium off from work or school (500,000+ user created tracks) we’ve got you covered.

So put down that newspaper, take a break from doing your taxes or homework and treat yourself to a little gem we call ModNation Racers: Road Trip. You’ll be glad you did!

“Road Trip” Community Hot Lap Challenge

Each week we will host a Community Hot Lap Challenge to see who can post the best time on selected tracks. The top three times will be mentioned here in this ModNation Monday blog for the world to see.

Think you’re the best racer in Road Trip? Two words: bring it!

Check here next week for the results and the next track in the series. If you have a track that you would like to nominate as “The Hot Lap Challenge Track of the Week” please let us know HERE

“Road Trip-ers” – Enjoy Double XP Week!
That’s right Mods and Modettes — it’s Double XP time! All systems (Vita, PS3, PSP) will receive Double XP from Monday, April 2nd – Monday, April 9th! Go ahead, knock yourselves out! (Mama said).
ModNation Racers: Road Trip “Track of the Week” TheGiantCamelChronicals5 by BorisTheBear7

ModNation Racers For PS3

Top Tracks: Best of its2l84that

All-Time 10 Best User-Created Tracks?
In just a few short weeks The ModNation Racers franchise celebrates its two year anniversary! Help us by nominating what you think are the 10 best user made tracks in the game.
Your nominations can be posted HERE.

Hot Lap Track of the Week: Roulette Raceway Casino by IndustrialSavior

Monday: Zenkane City by City_Zen_Kane
Tuesday: Antarctica by Xv_AmBiTionZ_vX
Wednesday: Urban Dash by mini_schnauzer67
Thursday: Garbage Dump Athletic by statickey_660
Friday: Pueblo Modina by City_Zen_Kane
Saturday: Roulette Raceway Casino by IndustrialSavior
Sunday: WAVE RACER by SpeedDemon

Have a great week everyone,
Mark

PS3: ModNationSD
Vita: ModNationSDVita

I was pleasantly surprised by how a half hour walk at lunch provided “fodder” for my first batch of Mod Postcards. A quick jaunt outside the campus revealed unexpected photo opportunities: A putting mini-green? High-rise window washers? I couldn’t have planned it better!

Of course, I knew at least one of the stops on my mini-Road Trip would be well… ummmmm, a restroom*. Shortly after snapping a few shots in the “loo” I found myself being escorted back to my desk by security, where I began to fiddle with my new favorite feature of ModNation Racers: Road Trip – Mod Postcards! As you can tell from the images below, I had a good time unleashing my mod-creativity (read: insanity) and must admit I had a difficult time holding back a few dozen chuckles, snorts and smirks! If my co-workers didn’t already think I am a doofus, they do now!

You really have to give Mod Postcards a try. Get up, get out and you’ll be surprised what you’ll come up with. It’s very simple (yet surprisingly powerful) and it’s another great way to express your Mod creativity.

Please take some time and share with us what you come up with in Mod Postcards!

You can submit your “works of art” HERE.

I’ll be posting more as time goes on. Let’s see what you can do. I know I for one can’t to see them!

(*tip – I highly advise an EMPTY restroom. It cuts down on the number of people wanting to punch you!)

Show Us Your Creations!
So ModNation… show us your (or other’s) great creations!
Don’t be shy. Really, we mean it. We’ve got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell creations.

Here is what we are looking for:

• ModNation Racers: Road Trip for PS VIta – MODS / KARTS
• ModNation Racers: Road Trip for PS VIta – TRACKS
• ModNation Racers: Road Trip for PS VIta – POSTCARDS
• ModNation Racers for PS3 – MODS / KARTS
• ModNation Racers for PS3 – TRACKS

So get to some creatin’ and show us what you’ve got. ALL skill levels welcome and encouraged! We have a great community of players and most will offer very helpful tips on how to improve.

ModNation Racers: Road Trip For PS Vita

ModNation Racers: Road Trip “Starter Set – Week Five”
Take a minute to download some of the best track creations from ModNation Racers on the PS3. These should give you a good idea of just what ModNation Racers: Road Trip is capable of with its new and enhanced track creation features. Enjoy!

ModNation Racers: Road Trip – Developers Tip #3 “If At First You Don’t Succeed”
So many great themes to work with in the track studio, yet if you are anything like me (I hope not for your sake) you just can’t decide which to choose. Don’t fret, you’ll find your groove by experimenting with quick-changing themes of your tracks. Myself, I happen to be a Jungle Theme man. I’m decent at making tracks with other themes but my go-to, my inspiration, my muse is in the jungle!

Three tracks (listed below) were created by a MNR team member all using the same layout / spline. Track Themes were then switched using different props and set pieces. Download them and see for yourself what a change of scenery can do to produce the track you are looking for.

Deja Vu, Deja Vu 2, Deja Vu 3

ModNation Racers: Road Trip “Track of the Week” Jungle Schmungle by DougHeffernan

ModNation Racers For PS3

Become A Hot Lap Judge For A Week
That’s right, Hot Lap Tracks will be chosen by the MNR community (with our “guidance”) for the Hot Lap Tracks seating. If you are interested in becoming a Hot Lap judge look for more details HERE.

Top Tracks: Best of PSN ID: MagicalHamster

Bottom line – SHE doesn’t just makes great tracks, SHE makes moments!
Hot Lap Track of the Week: Ciudad de la Paz by atheistsw

Monday: Landwasserviadukt(CH) by Std9325 (I don’t know what a Landwasserviadukt is but I LandwasserLOVEIT!)
Tuesday: Mack’s Beach Resort by mackAttack8000 (Can you say setting the “setting the track creation community on fire”?! Yes, you can. I knew you could!)
Wednesday: The Capitol with the : _ by Biver_ (Round and round they go, where they stop, nobody knows! Reason #13c why I loves me some Biver_ tracks!)
Thursday: WHALE racing landmark by tadaryou (It’s really one “ very large marine mammal with a streamlined hairless body, a horizontal tail fin, and a blowhole on top of the head for breathing” of a track!)
Friday: Raven Hill by John31269 (John31269 is on streak lately. Keep em coming!)
Saturday: Ciudad de la Paz by atheistsw (muy, muy bien!)
Sunday: MNR Rally – Sweden by prob_alex (Please do yourself a favor and download all of prob_alex’s Rally Series of tracks. Such vision for creating courses. Wow!)

Have a great week everyone,
Mark
PS3: ModNationSD
Vita: ModNationSDVita

“Now is the time for all good men (and women! and kids!) to come to the aid of their ModNation!”
– “Uncle Tag” (March 2012)

There is whole new community of great creators springing up with their copies of ModNation Racers: Road Trip for PS Vita. It’s time for them to join the ranks of their fellow ModNation-ites and rise up to once again lay claim to the crown and the glory befitting “The Greatest Community of Creators The World Has Ever Seen” (or something like that).

So, ModNation: SHOW US YOUR (or others’) GREAT CREATIONS!

Don’t be shy. Really. We mean it. We’ve got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell creations.

Here is what we are looking for:

• ModNation Racers: Road Trip for PS Vita – MODS / KARTS
• ModNation Racers: Road Trip for PS Vita – TRACKS
• ModNation Racers: Road Trip for PS Vita – POSTCARDS
• ModNation Racers for PS3 – MODS / KARTS
• ModNation Racers for PS3 – TRACKS

So get to some creatin’ and show us what you’ve got. ALL skill levels are welcome and encouraged! We have a great community of players and most will offer very helpful tips on how to improve.

ModNation Racers: Road Trip For PS Vita

ModNation Racers: Road Trip “Starter Set – Week Four”
Got a shiny new PS Vita and your copy of Road Trip in hand? If the answer is “yes,” take a minute to download some of the best track creations from ModNation Racers on the PS3. These should give you a good idea of just what ModNation Racers: Road Trip is capable of with its enhanced track creation features. Enjoy!

ModNation Racers: Road Trip – Developers Tip #2 “Show Us Your Curves”
Want to catch the attention of players searching for your great new track? With this simple tip you can help your track(s) stand out from the crowd and help increase your numbers of downloads. And who knows? Maybe you’ll even catch our eye and become an upcoming San Diego Studio Fav seen here in the blog and in Road Trip’s Share Station!

ModNation Racers: Road Trip “Track of the Week” Monaco by Zerveruz26

Recent Top Times:

punishthem420 – 67.175 s naruspider15 – 74.333 s IrishPride4 – 81.315 s

Can you beat em’?

ModNation Racers: Road Trip – San Diego Studio Faves
Only a few weeks into release and the Road Trip community is cranking out some great tracks. Take a look at some of our favorites and give them a try!

ModNation Racers For PS3

Become A Hot Lap Judge For A Week

Next week we will put your tracks though the ultimate proving grounds: your peers! That’s right, Hot Lap Tracks will be chosen by the ModNation community (with our “guidance”) for the following week’s Hot Lap Tracks seating. If you are interested in becoming a Hot Lap judge, look for more details here.

Track Creation Challenge: How RAD Can You Be?
RADMANROB and RADBOYROB (same person? Yes!) creates some of ModNation’s more unique and utterly entertaining tracks in the game. Perhaps more importantly, he is one of the friendliest community members in the ModNation family. His life goal seems to be to put a smile on people’s faces with his sense of humor. All we can say is, mission accomplished!

Since imitation is the purest form of flattery, we thought that the most appropriate way to celebrate this creativity would be to challenge the ModNation to design a track in the spirit of RMR/RBR.

To participate in this track creation challenge please click HERE.

Top Tracks: Best of PSN ID: SergioChileno

SergioChileno’s portfolio of tracks is huge, but when he creates a track it is always an epic creation! One of my all-time favorite tracks is Aquatic World — it’s utterly breathtaking! Must plays for sure.

Hot Lap Track of the Week: Shamar 1.5 by abc123y

Monday: Mack’s City Resort by mackAttack8000
Tuesday: City Garden *NAGOMI* by ylSK8TLZPqQ
Wednesday: Cascata della primavera by inosan0518
Thursday: Willowbury Point by punishthem420
Friday: Stairway to Heaven by mini_schnauzer67
Saturday: Shamar 1.5 by abc123Y
Sunday: Solitude by OneMama

Let’s see your creations.
Do it for me!
Do it for “Uncle Tag”.
Do it for your (mod)NATION!

Peace,
Mark
PS3: ModNationSD
Vita: ModNationSDVita

Associate Producer Josh Hart and I recently snuck out of the studio a little early on a Friday to go on, well… a short “road trip” to Hollywood, CA (or La La Land as SoCal natives like to call it) to experience the fun new feature in ModNation Racers: Road Trip – “Mod Explorer”.

Upon receiving a loan from the bank to pay for gas we trekked up the 5 Freeway on our way to our first location for a “Destination Check-in” – beautiful Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

Quickly making our way through the gathering of “celebrity” look-a-like street performers on Hollywood Blvd. one of the “entertainers” (in a square yellow sponge outfit) convincingly hustled my attention for a photo-op. In a surprising low baritone voice said spongeman instructed me that he worked for “generous” tips. Immediately after our awkward (yet AWE-some!) photo taken together I reached into my pocket and pulled out a one dollar bill and a ten dollar bill. Due to his utter lack of effort to not break the actor’s third-wall I decided he would receive the crisp one dollar bill. Sorry spongeman.

But I digress. Again.

Upon arriving at the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre I booted up the game, entered “Mod Explorer” and voilà, the game recognized I had indeed arrived and was prompted to check in. Once complete I unlocked the free location based DLC items and was prompted to snap a photo (posed with my fav Mod and Kart) and publish the Mod Postcard to my Facebook page. Simple, fun and honestly pretty rewarding.

Following our star-studded experience we jumped back on the Sunset Strip and cruised a few miles west before pulling off “The Strip” for another check-in. Now being just two days after the game’s release I must say we were more than pleasantly surprised to find five other players in the area with the game via our first NEAR check-in (see image-right below).

Our last check-in at the Santa Monica Pier concluded what turned out to be a really fun day with the game, Mod Explorer and our beautiful new Vitas.

ModNation Racers: Road Trip “Starter Set – Week Three”
This “Starter Set” of ModNation Racers for the PS3 user-created tracks demonstrate a great cross-section of some of the best tracks our community members have made (so far!). You won’t want to miss these!

ModNation Racers: Road Trip “Track of the Week” Iceland by Nathancho17

ModNation Racers: Road Trip – San Diego Studio Faves
These choices can be found in the “search creations” section of the Share Station. Each week we will select five new tracks to be featured. Make sure to download them and show your appreciation to their creators!

These choices can be found in the “search creations” section of the Share Station. Each week we will select five new tracks to be featured. Make sure to download them and show your appreciation to their creators!

ModNation Racers For PS3

Track Creation Challenge: How RAD Can You Be?
RADMANROB and RADBOYROB (same person?… yes!) creates some of ModNation’s more unique and utterly entertaining tracks in the game. Maybe more importantly he is one of the friendliest community members in the game. His life goal seems to be to put a smile on people’s faces with his sense of humor… mission accomplished!

Since “Imitation is the purest form of flattery” we thought what better way to celebrate this creativity than challenging the ModNation to design a track in the spirit of RMR/RBR.
To participate in this upcoming track creation challenge please click HERE.

Top Tracks: Best of RADMANROB / RADBOYROB

Hot Lap Track of the Week: Hanging Track of Babylon by mackAttack8000

Monday: Dinosaur Island by ldwfva
Tuesday: Suburb Speedway by JNM-CIM
Wednesday: Son Of Dreamwarp by OnePoppa
Thursday: Arctic Void by John31269
Friday: ZLH Cup – Rock Quarry by zlheck
Saturday: Hanging Track of Babylon by mackAttack8000
Sunday: The Temudjin Complex by atheistsw

Where will your first Mod Explorer check-in be? Will anyone get them all? That would be INSANE!

Mark
PS3: ModNationSD
Vita: ModNationSDVita

Wow, here we are! ModNation Racers: Road Trip is out and the feedback from gamers who’ve played the game sounds like they are loving it. Personally, I must confess to being a little more than enamored with the game and my PlayStation Vita; so much so that I couldn’t wait any longer to get my copy of the game. I actually purchased mine at retail a week early because… well, “I’m not only the Community Manager for ModNation Racers, but I’m also a client”! lol. True, but lol.

I honestly don’t think you can beat the gaming value found in ModNation Racers: Road Trip. For $29.99 you have in your possession well over a lifetime of great, and most importantly, fun kart racing experiences. I could go on and on singing the game’s praises ad-nauseam (too late!) but no expensive, highfalutin, big city words can describe the experience until you have the game in your hands. In our ModNation Labs research we found the term “Wow!” came closest to an accurate description.

I personally suggest going directly to the Share Station and downloading some of the tracks from our recommended user-created “Starter Set” of tracks (see below). This will give you a great example of the amazing graphics, powerful (yet simple) creation tools used by the gamers, and the ability to quickly search through the 3,000,000 user-generated creations of which over 500,000 are user-created tracks!

ModNation Racers: Road Trip

ModNation Racers: Road Trip – San Diego Studio Favorites!

Each day we search through the growing Vita collection of user-created Mods, Karts and Tracks looking for the best of the best to feature as the San Diego Studio favorites in the game. These choices can be found in the “search creations” section of the Share Station. Each week we will select five new creations from each creation category to be featured. Make sure to download them and show your appreciation to their creators!

If you have some great Mod, Karts, or Tracks that you feel need to be seen, please let us know HERE.

ModNation Racers: Road Trip – Track of the Week

ModNation Racers: Road Trip Developers Tip #1 – “Can’t We All Just Get Along?”
When racing against AI opponents, try resisting the temptation to constantly bombard your opponents with weapons and see what happens. (hint “eye for an eye”). Remember, you can always cash-in your weapons for added boost.

ModNation Racers Road Trip: Track Starter Kit – Week Two
So you just received your brand spankin’ new Vita and ModNation Racers: Road Trip and noticed the 500,000 + plus user created tracks to choose from. Let me help you with a few of my (ModNationSD: MNR Community Manager) favorites. Over the next few weeks I will post some great tracks in this “Starter Kit” section which demonstrate a great cross-section of some of the best tracks ModNation community members have made (so far!). You won’t want to miss these!

ModNation Racers For PS3

Top Tracks: Best of John31269

Hot Lap Track of the Week: Encroaching Wastelands by its2l84that

Monday: Iciclette Valley by mackAttack8000
Tuesday: Fat Joe’s Fishy Fish Farm by flathletics102
Wednesday: fin-de-siecle unrest v1.3 by inosan0518
Thursday: Armageddon 2012 by CapnCwby1969
Friday: Golden Valley by mackAttack8000
Saturday: Encroaching Wastelands by its2l84that
Sunday: Grand Forge Dam Sector 05 by IndustrialSavior

ModNation Thursday Fun Races
Join ModNationSD for an evening of fun racing this Thursday from 4:30-5:30 PST. This is a great opportunity to meet some fun people in a casual racing environment. Bring your favorite Mods and Karts and strut your stuff out on the track. Check our ModNation Facebook page on the day of the races on how to join.

Keep Up On All Things ModNation
Here are some useful links to stay up to date with all things ModNation Racers!

• Official ModNation Racers Facebook Page
• ModNation Racers Website
• ModNation Racers Forums

What a great week to be in the ModNATION!

• New kickin’ portable handheld PlayStation Vita portable: check!
• New ModNation Racers: Road Trip – your new favorite fun kart racer: yep!
• New ModNation Monday blog: fresh!
• New members of the ModNation community: boo-to-thee-yah!

We present you our labor of love – ModNation Racers: Road Trip. She’s* all yours now so take care of her. Bring her to nice places. Introduce her to your friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Take pictures with her and post them to your Facebook page. Treat her right and she’ll stay by your side forever, most importantly… take her for a spin at least three times a day! Trust me, she loves it!

(*not sure if one refers to video games in the female form but we thought we’d start the precedent. We’re cutting-edge like that!)

Keep Up On All Things ModNation

Here are some useful links to stay up to date with all things ModNation Racers!

• Official ModNation Racers Facebook Page
• ModNation Racers Website
• ModNation Racers Forums

ModNation Racers Road Trip: Track Starter Kit – Week One
So you just received your brand spankin’ new Vita and ModNation Racers: Road Trip and noticed the 500,000 + plus user created tracks to choose from. Let me help you with a few of my (ModNationSD: MNR Community Manager) favorites. Over the next few weeks I will post some great tracks in this “Starter Kit” section which demonstrate a great cross-section of some of the best tracks ModNation community members have made (so far!). You won’t want to miss these!

BTW… If you come across some great tracks that you think need to be seen let us know in the comments below of visit the MNR forums HERE. Who knows, a track you recommended or maybe even created could end up in this ModNation Monday blog!… “Track of the Week” maybe?

ModNation Racers For PS3

Top Tracks

This week we feature some of the best tracks of marusarusa. One of ModNation’s top-quality track creators. Read more about him HERE.

Creations of the Week: Our Favorite “Two-Faced” Mods

Hot Lap Track of the Week: Cowboys Vs Indians by Laidbackcat
What a GREAT selection of tracks submitted for this week’s “Track of the Week”! This was one of the more difficult weeks to choose just one but “Cowboys Vs Indians” by PSN ID: Laidbackcat just edged out the others as our favorite this week. Congrats Laidbackcat! Yee-haw!

Monday: Journey thru Fire n Ice by its2l84that
Tuesday: Ice ** by yuda-i
Wednesday: MNR Rally – Finland by prob_alex
Thursday: P! University Park by Lloyd2k4
Friday: Monet’s Garden by mini_schnauzer67
Saturday: Cowboys Vs Indians by Laidbackcat
Sunday: Utopia Reborn by PH1LThy31

ModNation Thursday Fun Races
Join ModNationSD for an evening of fun racing this Thursday from 4:30-5:30 PST. This is a great opportunity to meet some fun people in a casual racing environment. Bring your favorite Mods and Karts and strut your stuff out on the track. Check our ModNation Facebook page on the day of the races on how to join.

Let’s See What You’ve Got!
If you are interested in submitting your Mod, Kart or track for consideration as “Creation of the Week”, please visit us on the official ModNation Community site. Do you have the skills to make it into the blog? You’ll never know until you try!

I go through a sequence of phases when a big electronics product is announced. Starting with mild interest, I quickly transition into research mode where I find out everything I can about the device. By the time launch day rolls around, I’m worked into a frenzy and inevitably end up waiting in a line for midnight release. I’m Jeff Rubenstein, and I’m an early adopter. And I know that I’m not alone.

If you’re like me, please join us this coming Monday night for Sony Store midnight launches in the following locations:

Towne Center at Boca Raton – Boca Raton, FL
Houston Galleria – Houston
Fashion Valley – San Diego
Century City Mall – Los Angeles
Valley Fair –  Santa Clara, CA
Flagship Sony Store – New York

It’s not a major gaming launch without a ritzy, glitzy New York launch event, and this one is open to you, the gaming public. We’ll start with the best part: the first 200 people to buy a PS Vita at our Sony Store event will get a free copy of ModNation Racers: Road Trip!

We’re flying in PS Vita development teams from around the country to meet and greet you, talk PS Vita games, and sign autographs. While you wait, hostesses will be bringing PS Vitas to you to play and enjoy. This will be the most fun line you’ve ever stood in!

So get there early — you *know* you want to be the gamer who gets handed the ceremonial First Vita from SCEA President and CEO Jack Tretton.

Sony Style
550 Madison | New York, NY 10022

ModNation Racers jumps in the Vita lane, but does it have what it takes to keep up?

In just a few short days, ModNation Racers: Road Trip will hit store shelves alongside the release of the much-anticipated PS Vita! Our team at San Diego Studios has worked very hard to produce what we think is the best portable kart-racing game on the market. We’ve added many new features (see below) to the already acclaimed ModNation Racers franchise and we are quite excited to finally get them into the hands of gamers everywhere.

Sure, it may sound a bit silly to the uninitiated but the Mod, Karts, and Tracks YOU create become a small extension of yourself. You experience a sense of e-pride (just made that word up) similar to whipping out your wallet to show pictures of your gorgeous wife and kids to anyone who will listen. You’ll notice a grin on your face and a slight swell in your heart (admit it or not) the first time you hand your PS Vita and ModNation Racers: Road Trip to a friend as they “ooh and ahhhh” at YOUR “genius” creations.

Trust me, you will hear at least one of the following comments…

YOU did that? How did YOU do that? Make me! Make me! Do I know you? Let me try Ding!, fries are done.

or quite possibly…

Wow, I really like your Mod! … are you single?

We hope you’ll agree the kart racing experience in ModNation Racers: Road Trip is second to none. Perfectly tuned racing physics and spectacular graphics add to the intense yet intuitive racing. With well over 500,000 tracks to race you’ll be busy until the next millennium going through them all. We know, We counted.

So if you are a fan of ModNation Racers, the Play Create Share family, or just kart racing in general we know you will enjoy ModNation Racers: Road Trip. If you haven’t made the leap into this great game and even greater community of players then we have just one suggestion – Try it – you’ll be hooked for life!

ModNation Racers Road Trip: Recent Features Preview
Track Studio I
Track Studio II
Mod Studio
Kart Studio
Racing Features
Big, Bad Weapons
New Career Mode
Mod Postcards
Online Features

ModNation Racers Road Trip: Tutorials Week 2
Track building has come a long way since using mom’s kitchen utensils to scrape out your course in the dirt. We’ve got some new-fangled track creating tools in ModNation Racers: Road Trip and these videos will help you get acquainted with the ins-n-outs of creating those tracks of your dreams!

Track Editing

Terrain Editing

ModNation Racers For PS3

Creations of the Week: Happy Valentine’s Day – ModNation’s Cutest Couple

Hot Lap Track of the Week: The Dragon’s Lair by Biver_

Monday: Mt Mahh-Chuk-Chuk by its2l84that
Tuesday: Valentine by Bongsoldier
Wednesday: Heart of Darkness by OnePoppa
Thursday: Thriller House by marusarusa
Friday: EATEN BY THE SNAKE by RADMANROB
Saturday: The Dragon’s Lair by Biver_
Sunday: Yeshua’s Tomb by prob_alex
This Week’s Top Tracks: PROJECT TIMESHIP – Week 2

This is what happens when a great group of creative people get together…

ModNation Thursday Fun Races
Join ModNationSD for an evening of fun racing this Thursday from 4:30-5:30 PST. This is a great opportunity to meet some fun people in a casual racing environment. Bring your favorite Mods and Karts and strut your stuff out on the track. Check our ModNation Facebook page on the day of the races on how to join.

Let’s See What You’ve Got!
If you are interested in submitting your Mod, Kart or track for consideration as “Creation of the Week”, please visit us on the official ModNation Community site. Do you have the skills to make it into the blog? You’ll never know until you try!

Remember that recent big hit movie? …the one with the buildings that were all upside-down, catawampus, and kcabwards?… Yes exactly! THAT movie! Well, we knew from ModNation Racers: Road Trip’s inception (cough) our track creators wanted even more flexibility (and potential insanity) in their track creating process.

We delivered with new Track Studio features that allow you to literally turn the game on its head with full 360 degree rotatable props and the ability to mix-and-match track themes and props packs to your heart’s content.

ModNation Racers: Road Trip for Vita is only days away and it’s time to start thinking about your 1,000s upon 1,000s (upon 1,000s) of great new creations, and we can’t wait to see what you come up with! Over the next few weeks we will get you up to speed with a series of tutorials aimed to teach you all you’ll need to know to make those unbelievable Mods, Karts and Tracks come to life!

Track Studio

Prop Placement

ModNation Racers For PS3

This Week’s Top Tracks: PROJECT TIMESHIP
This is what happens when a great group of creative people get together…

“At some point in the 21st century, modkind, with the help of a vastly superior AI, finally discovers the means to travel through time. The only problem is the actual method is a little complex, involving building a huge timeship that has the ability to travel the speed of light in order to slingshot around the sun and break through a wormhole that has been discovered across the other side of our galaxy. Some of ModNations’ most esteemed track creators have been granted passage on the maiden voyage and each has chosen one particular period of Earth’s history (past or future). Hold onto your space hats ladies and gentlemen, it’s going to be one heck of a ride!”

Creations of the Week: Best of PSN ID: xX0-B-L-S-0Xx

Hot Lap Track of the Week: Canyon City Construction by Yika

This week’s Hot Lap Tracks were chosen by the MNR community. Take a look at the selections and see if you agree with their choices for “Tracks of the Week”.

Monday: Hillsides of Morzine by Lloyd2K4
Tuesday: Modocross Stadium by JNM-CIM
Wednesday: Vesijarvi GP by Kuningaskotka
Thursday: WHALE dawning mountain by tadaryou
Friday: Wasteful City’s Backyard by abc123Y
Saturday: Canyon City Construction by Yika
Sunday: I Declare A Thumb War by ModNationSD*

* Flattered. Thank you!

When I first started dating my wonderful wife, her mother asked how I was at playing board games. Puzzled (*chuckle*) my wife answered “why”? Come to find out you can tell a lot about one’s character from playing board games and gauging their reactions / attitudes to the games twists and turns. This somehow predicts their “potential spousal aptitude”. I did not know that.

Yippee!…
Land on blue…you win! (good luck)
Roll an eight…you lose! (bad luck)
Flip a card…“move back two spaces”… start over! (no luck at all)

Pure luck dictating the outcome of a game? Narts to that!

Needless to say I’m not a fan of board games but I do now have a wonderful wife and kids and “a” mother-in-law. Who cares Mark?… (point taken, I’ll move on).

So here are but a few of the many reasons I enjoy playing the fun (and FAIR!) ModNation Racers: Road Trip – less luck, more skill!

Choosable Weapons: Weapon classes are distinguished by their item pod color. This means I get to choose what weapons I want to use when and where I want to use them. If I find it necessary I can also “cash-in” any weapon I posses to convert into boost with a simple touch your weapon icon. Cha-ching! That was me coming from out of nowhere!

Personalized / Balanced Matchmaking: With my frail ego the last thing I need is to compete against players soooooo much better than me that I get chills from the winds they produce whizzing by me. ModNation Racers: Road Trip’s matchmaking system searches for those closest to my (we’ll call it) ability to place me in some winnable heats. I love that!

Defensible Weapons: YES! Not only will I receive audible clues (can be toggled off) of incoming attacks but I’ll have the advantage of a visible “lock-on” reticule over my mod’s icon on the status bar helping me time my protective shield. This means on my long plane flights I’ll finally have a fighting chance to defend myself in races. Trust me, the person sitting next to you in coach does NOT want to hear the increasing, whirling, crescendo of your warning tone. Go figure – (they must be boardgame lovers).

Amnesty Shield: Have you ever experienced that gut feeling that right as you’re about to let loose your level three hydras that the kart behind you is about to do the same thing to you? Problem solved! The new Amnesty Shield feature protects you from any similar weapon launched from an opponent until your devastation has been imposed. Pretty fair I say.

Refined / Controlled Drifting And Braking: I like my racing straight up. Literally. That’s how I roll.
Some enjoy “snaking” or frenetically “zig-zagging” down the track to build up their boost meter. ModNation Racers: Road Trip refinements allow much more controlled, subtle yet powerful drifting, This means I’ll always be moving forward on the track instead of constantly battling the under and over-steering issue present in most racing games. I think you will notice and enjoy the difference too.

Race Assist: Although I may not have a need for racing assistance it’s good to know it’s there for others to use. I know my mother-in-law is going to need all the help she can get when I deliver her a new Vita and ModNation Racers: Road Trip for her upcoming birthday. I’ll show you “mom”! muwahahaha!

ModNation Racers For PS3

ModNation Grand Prix Final Results: Epic Racing From Epic Racers!

Congratulations to PSN ID: maverick—07— for his outstanding win in the recent MNR Grand Prix! In true ModNation fashion the competition was fierce but racers lived up to all expectations as fair, fun and friendly racers. Congrats to all 60+ competitors!

Double XP Next Week!
Get those racin’ and creatin’ appendages warmed up because Monday, January 30th – Sunday, January 5th is Double XP week in the Nation! Enjoy!

This Week’s Top Tracks: Best of PSN ID: jefferzone

Become A Hot Lap Judge For A Week
Next week we will put your (and mine!*) tracks though the ultimate proving grounds… the opinions of your peers! That’s right, Hot Lap Tracks will be chosen by the MNR community (with our “guidance”) for the following week’s Hot Lap Tracks seating. If you are interested in becoming a Hot Lap judge look for more details on our Official Facebook page.

Creations of the Week: Best of PSN ID: BabyNeedShoes

Hot Lap Tracks of the Week: Castle Krashenburn by OnePoppa

Monday: CITY the port street v1.2 by inosan0518
Tuesday: Garden of Aggression by D_W_inc
Wednesday: Fortress of Mithras by punishthem420
Thursday: VacationNation1v2 by anaximperator
Friday: The Scenic Route by Meepcow
Saturday: Castle Krashenburn by OnePoppa
Sunday: Eden’s Skyway by John31269

Have a great week everyone!
Mark (PSN ID: ModNationSD)

* against my better judgment (and current absence of consistent psychotherapy) I have decided to place my newest track into the fray to see if it is truly worthy of a Hot Lap choice. Be kind!

I wanted to give Mark Wilson a break this week so that I could talk about the robust online features in ModNation Racers: Road Trip. The team here in San Diego created an impressive list of online functionality to take advantage of the WiFi/3G and GPS functionality. This game is intended to let you take advantage of your road trips—whether they’re across the country, to another state or just traveling between home and work or school. More importantly, ModNation Racers: Road Trip was designed to work around your schedule and let you compete with your friends whenever (and wherever) you want.

1. Competitive Localized Leaderboards
When a gamer who has opted to “Use Location Data” posts a lap time to the Leaderboards, that time is connected to their current location. Gamers can personalize their location names (i.e., My Home, My Work, Mark’s House Where I Always Win, etc.) for easy reference. These times become part of the Local Leaderboards which gamers can use to compete in a fun arcade-style atmosphere.

Gamers can also select one of their saved locations and view other competitors’ times that were earned nearby. For example, if I earn a great time on “Construction Mayhem” while at “Mark’s House,” I can check my rank versus other gamers’ local times and more importantly, my friends…including Mark. The game would find the 8, 24 or 48 closest gamers to “Mark’s House” who posted local times for “Construction Mayhem.” This means you’ll have an ever-expanding level of challenge through asynchronous competition to play instantly when and where you want!

2. Continual Match-Making, Ghosts and Time Trials
Where ModNation Racers for the PS3 automatically matches gamers against one of the most difficult lap times in the community, ModNation Racers: Road Trip instead matches you against other gamers’ Ghosts who have set times which are competitive to yours. This continual match-making and the shorter play time of a single lap competition makes for a fun and constantly challenging online gaming experience. For those of us who are competitive with our friends, we can select a filter to race against friends’ ghosts.

An option on the Vita even allows you to receive a push notification whenever your time is beat or to boast to your friends when you beat theirs—I believe I will use this feature plenty with Mark once ModNation Racers: Road Trip goes live next month.

3. Travel Points: Time For A Road Trip

The first time a gamer checks-in with Mod Explorer the game will recognize their location. Every time a gamer checks-in at any location after that they will earn Travel Points based on the distance from their last check-in. Individual gamers will then unlock additional parts for Track Studio when they reach certain amounts of Travel Points. There will also be an in-game leaderboard ranking gamers by the amount of Travel Points they have earned.

3a. Global Travel Points: Help Us Help You
Travel Points earned by every gamer are added together to form Global Travel Points. When the community of gamers reach certain distance milestone amounts of Global Travel Points everyone who uses Mod Explorer will unlock new track creation parts! This could be how world peace starts. Don’t you want to be a part of it?

4. Destination Check-ins: Better Than A Passport Stamp
Mod Explorer contains 45 featured cities across the globe–each city with three distinct destinations. When a gamer checks-in at a destination that they can find using PS Vita’s GPS functionality, they will unlock unique creation pieces to use in the creation studios.

In addition, the entire ModNation Racers: Road Trip community is further rewarded when parts associated with the destination are unlocked for the global community of gamers. For example, if you check-in at Navy Pier in Chicago, you will unlock associated parts for your use. When the predetermined threshold of player check-ins at Navy Pier has been reached, a unique part is unlocked for ALL gamers. Other parts associated with Navy Pier will be unlocked for all gamers as the number of unique player check-ins increase there.

Finally, when a gamer checks-in at a destination, they are prompted to take a picture and modify it using their Mod and Kart. This is done with ModNation Racers: Road Trip – Mod Postcards feature (See last week’s blog.)

5. Ad-Hoc Play: It’s ModNation Party Time!
For those racers looking for that head-to-head experience with your friends, Ad-Hoc play is where it’s at. Up to four gamers can race simultaneously on any San Diego Studio track or choose from over 500,000 user created tracks from the ModNation Racers community. That ought to keep you busy for a millennium or so.

6. Race, Create, Publish and Download!
As you’d expect from a ModNation Racers game, you have incredibly strong creation studios literally at your fingertips to create anything in your imagination. Publish your creations for the entire community to enjoy. And if creation isn’t your thing, enjoy downloading anything published by the entire community. And to sweeten the deal, you have full backwards compatibility to download any of the over 3 million creations from ModNation Racers PS3!

I know there are some of you that are disappointed that ModNation Racers: Road Trip doesn’t let you play head-to-head online other than ad-hoc. But we really wanted to evolve online functionality and take advantage of the PlayStation Vita’s unique feature set in new ways. If all we ever did as developers is rehash features that have been done in previous games, we’d still be entering passwords instead of using save files and you’d have to start the entire game over after you lost your three lives (extra 1-ups aside). While online head-to-head has been a mode used in many games in recent years, we focused on making a game that is crafted for how portable games are most often played—in quicker “pick up and play” sessions multiple times in a day. Your online interaction, competition and socialization will always be when it’s convenient for you. I hope that all of you are as interested to check-out the robust online features that ModNation Racers: Road Trip has as we are to see you enjoy them!

ModNation Racers For PS3

Hot Lap Track of the Week: Twilight Seidenstrassen by big-village_920_

Hot Lap Tracks of the Week:
Monday: Cathedral Of Tundrith by John31269
Tuesday: @ the lost city by marusarusa
Wednesday: They Took Our Town! by MrDufus
Thursday: Mod Canyon River Tour by ArgorokX
Friday: Crystal Waltz by marusarusa
Saturday: Twilight Seidenstrassen by big-village_920_
Sunday: Hiyazaki Point Raceway by atheistsw

ModNation Racers: Road Trip features a brand spankin’ new set of 25+ tracks in an all-new career mode. No resting on your laurels from ModNation Racers for PS3. This is a completely new experience with a new set of challenges to enjoy.

1. New Career Tours

The 25+ ALL NEW tracks in ModNation Racers: Road Trip are divided in five tours of five races each in an effort to claim victory in the Mod Championship! Initial tours introduce the basics of racing like drifting and boosting (see here), track layouts, the exciting new weapons (see here) and how to use (or avoid) props or attacks on tracks. The challenge increases through a combination of intensifying track layouts and strategic use of item and prop placements. For newcomers, the learning curve is simple and short. For the veterans, the progression will help introduce new elements that add a fun twist of strategy to your racing different than you’ve had before.

2. Career Mode: Progression
Progressing through the tours in ModNation Racers for the PS3 may have been a little daunting for some since moving on to more tracks required an advanced set of racing skills. Now players are still challenged to do their best, yet are rewarded with experience Tour Points which enable them more flexibility to progress. You’ll be able to retry races to acquire Tour Points to complete your career.

3. Career Mode: Bonus Tracks
In addition to the five new tours in the Mod Championship there is an additional Bonus Tour. The Bonus Tour is accessible by winning Tour Five and passing each of the Cumulative Stats requirements (see below).

4. Career Mode Stats

Stats are tracked as you play through career and the are keys to success in ModNation Racers: Road Trip:

Drift Distance: Total distance you have drifted while playing through the career tracks. Shortcut Uses: Shortcut paths, alternate routes or other breadcrumb paths you’ve found and used on the tracks. Target Time Differential: The cumulative time you’ve finished the career tracks faster than the target times. Weapons Expert: Total number of opponents you’ve attacked with weapons and the weapon attacks you’ve shielded. Item Use: Total number of weapon pods collected and boost pads used.

ModNation Racers Road Trip: Features Previews

Track Studio I – ModNation Racers: Road Trip Track Studio – Your Wish is Our Command!
Track Studio II – ModNation Racers: Road Trip Track Studio – Part Two
Mod Studio – ModNation Racers: Road Trip – Mod Studio Preview
Kart Studio – ModNation Racers: Road Trip – Kart Studio Preview
Racing – ModNation Racers: Road Trip – New Racing Features
Weapons – ModNation Racers: Road Trip – Recipe For Fun… Big, Bad, Weapons!

ModNation Racers For PS3

The Moddys 1.5: More of Our Favorites

Our fun (and mildly silly) way to recognize you, the ModNation community for all the effort, creativity and skill you have poured into this game.

The Mods 1.5

“It’s Just Me, Myself and I” (Favorite Real Life Portrait Mods) “He’s Only Mostly Dead” (Favorite Zombie Mods) “Get Over Yourself Already” (Favorite Mods With A Big Head) “That Itch Will Go Away” (Favorite Sports Mods) “So Hip To Be Square” (Favorite Box Head Mods) “It Tastes Like, Well… Chicken” (Favorite Poultry Mods) “Mod Is My Middle Name” (Favorite Spy Mods) “You Take My Breath Away” (Mod Most In Need of Oxygen) “Think You’re Bright Don’t Ya’” (Favorite Neon Mods)

Click HERE to view the recipients.

The Karts 1.5

“The ModNation Hat-Trick” (Favorite Zamboni Karts) “Dude, Where’s My Kart” (Favorite Far-Out Karts) “That’s Quite The Booty!” (Favorite Pirate Karts) “I’ll Take That Bet” (Favorite Casino Karts) “Accents, Flourishes, Fleur-de-lis, oh My!” (Favorite Ornate Karts) “Don’t Eat That. Eat This.” (Favorite Food Themed Karts) “Especially Love The Yellow Ones” (Favorite Submarine Karts) “Mix In A Breath Mint” (Favorite Dragon Karts) “I’m Giving It All She’s Got” (Favorite Upper-Atmosphere Karts)

Click HERE to view the recipients

ModNation Thursday Fun Races

Join ModNationSD for an evening of fun racing Thursdays from 4:30-5:30 PST. This is a great opportunity to meet some fun people in a casual racing environment. Bring your favorite Mods and Karts and strut your stuff out on the track. Check our ModNation Facebook page on the day of the races on how to join.

This Week’s Top Tracks: Best of OnePoppa

Hot Lap Tracks of the Week: UFO Site: Reclamation by its2l84that

Mark’s Review: I haven’t seen this much devastation and destruction since the holidays with my in-laws! (TMI? Too soon?)

We are kicking off the new year with a few adjustments to the Hot Lap line ups. Starting THIS week our spotlight “Track of the Week” will be placed in a Saturday slot (instead of Monday) to bring more well deserved attention to the “best of the best”.

Monday: Checkerboard Of Realms by John31269
Tuesday: Bay side freeway by ylSK8TLZPqQ
Wednesday: FANTASTICA by RADBOYROB
Thursday: Another Earth by big-village_920_
Friday: Brick and Mortar by MagicalHamster
Saturday: UFO Site: Reclamation by its2l84that
Sunday: Umeth Fossil Park Tar Pit by IndustrialSavior

I didn't play ModNation Racers enough. When it first came out, it had everything I could have wanted in a kart racer: fun driving, customizable karts, and a ton of creation tools for building my own tracks. But after a day of discouragement racing a vicious rival in story mode, I walked away. I had the intention of coming back, but I never did...

Way back in early August, we alerted you to a naming contest for PlayStation Vita's iteration of ModNation Racers that was being conducted on the PlayStation Blog. Today, the Blog has revealed the winning entry, which, as promised, will be used as ModNation Racers Vita's official title...