The coolest video you'll see this year

by Joystiq Staff { Sep 2nd 2006 at 11:38PM }

Sorry, but there's just no way we can't post this one because this video certainly deserves all the attention it can get. Set to Moby's Flower, 1K Project II is the result of 1,000 cars combined together in Trackmania. We're sure you'll end up watching this thing a few times just to soak it all in. Kudos to whoever put this together.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

scott @ Sep 2nd 2006 11:33PM

Uh, not the coolest video I'll see this year ... I hope. Kind of repetitive. I mean if you've seen ten yellow game cars crashing, you've seen them all.

Guano @ Sep 2nd 2006 11:47PM

@ scott
What video did you watch?

emmzee @ Sep 2nd 2006 11:48PM

It was kinda cool ... and I imagine took awhile to put together, so yea, kudos to whoever put in all the work. But not really that fun to watch, at least IMHO.

arch @ Sep 2nd 2006 11:58PM

OMFG its the 8th plague!

Drake Lake @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:06AM

I liked it. It was different from every other video we see of someone 'owning,' and just felt enjoyable and relaxing.

Lonin @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:11AM

If I was the marketing director for a new "hip" car line (Yaris, Mazda's RX line, Vibe, etc) I'd commission the creator of this to do a similar one with my car. Have it all start off with one car, split into a thousand, then end with them all combining again... Throw on a different soundtrack and you'd have a really awesome commercial.

Uh_Oh @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:11AM

dancing cars, vroommmm

Hirsch @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:13AM

Deffinatly one of the coolest video I've seent his year. Must have taking quiet a lot of work to get that all working.

Kerina @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:15AM

It's good but the collision detection is really visibly off. It's probably a stylish effect I'd like to see what that many cars with real interactions would look like.

Twist @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:15AM

This is spiffy but definitely overrated by Robert. The Portal videos posted by Valve are much cooler than this IMHO. Would have been better with fewer cars that interacted with each other instead of just passing through each other.

chibimaria @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:16AM

I thought it was pretty cool. Must have took a very long time to make.

If anything, I think that'd make a pretty cool screensaver (maybe, minus the music).

Steven @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:18AM

Pretty boring in my opinion. I didn't even watch it through once, as it just got old.
It would be better if there was collision detection. Cars just flying through other cars with no effect is dumb.
Plus the music sucks.

DocGonzo @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:26AM

@6

Thats actually been done before, a hella long time ago...now see if I can remember what car it was, ehhe. I do recall seeing a commercial exactly as you describe, though...was maybe 25 or so cars, doing a big fancy drive around, skillfully manouvered so as not to touch each other, then suddenly BAM right at the end they all come to s screeching, drifting stop, all in the same place. Gotta love those ads that stick in your mind for years, but you can't ever remember what they were selling...

Wulkar @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:27AM

wow that looks awesome..anywhere i can download it i want this in my collection.

Hiro Protagonist @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:34AM

Noone plays TrackMania here?
The game has no collision between cars.

This was made by combining replays together, imagine playing the same map 1000 times a little bit differently each time then combining all of the replays.

This game is awesome, you should all try a demo (even if it doesn't do it justice).

Wedge @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:38AM

Love Joystiq readers... such a self loathing bunch. You hate everything you read, and yet continue to read everything.

Anyways, what exactly is this? I've never played Trackmania, but I'm assuming this is machinma. Did they do a bunch race recordings and play back all the recordings at once (a la' your typical "ghost" racers)? Can't really think of any other way you could make this, but I don't know what you can do in Trackmania. Must have beena lot of work to get all the recordings with proper variation if so, especially how everything fans out at the start.

Timothy Smith @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:41AM

@#13,
That comercial was the Isuzu Gemini wasn't it?

dmbrandon @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:44AM

@16 RIGHT?!

Seriously, you're all very self-important, and it's disheartening.

Stop being a bunch of jerks, and like something.

Striker Dude @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:44AM

Hiro Protaganist
"This was made by combining replays together, imagine playing the same map 1000 times a little bit differently each time then combining all of the replays."

Wow, that must have tooken a lot of time and effort.All in all, I thought the video was pretty cool. You really don't see much videos like this one at all. Plus, the music was pretty good to.

epobirs @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:46AM

It was like 'Soylent Green' as protrayed by the cast of 'Cars.'

FEEZY @ Sep 3rd 2006 12:56AM

ok, um... WOW? its like Burnout 6 for Wii2, but without crashes.

its "beautiful."

Madd_matt @ Sep 3rd 2006 1:02AM

Am I the only one not seeing a link to a video of any sort?

The read link is not present for me.....

B-Mo @ Sep 3rd 2006 1:07AM

This totally should've been a car commercial. None of this 30 second crap, in its entirety. Screw the plastic bag floating around in a parking lot, this is the most beautiful thing ever.

eialba @ Sep 3rd 2006 1:13AM

it's poetic, they are like purposeful butterflies swimming through a concrete wonderland. then again, i muted the moby and put on some dvorak during the video.

Babylonian @ Sep 3rd 2006 1:15AM

Wow. I was torn between a complete sense of "WHAT THE CHRIST THIS IS AMAZING" and a profound sense of unnervedness from my semiphobia of clusters.

Oh, and I liked Trackmania before it was cool. 8)

DeadPlasmaCell @ Sep 3rd 2006 1:21AM

Pretty cool video.. The music blew hard..I had to mute it to get through the video.

-the_mole- @ Sep 3rd 2006 1:25AM

very creative. the makers of this vid have my respect. and a LOT of free time :)

Jarrett @ Sep 3rd 2006 1:37AM

#: "It's good but the collision detection is really visibly off. It's probably a stylish effect I'd like to see what that many cars with real interactions would look like."

If there were collision detection the scene would look like a giant parking lot. You would achieve complete gridlock with a tenth of the cars used in the video.

I thought it was pretty damn cool. It almost looks like a study in fluid dynamics.

BONESTOCK @ Sep 3rd 2006 1:39AM

Where's the video???

nc454 @ Sep 3rd 2006 1:44AM

i've seen this before! It's the 405 in LA during rush hour!

Ayein @ Sep 3rd 2006 1:57AM

Looks like the Freeway. :(

supadude5000 @ Sep 3rd 2006 2:05AM

Wow...I really hate some of the people that post here. This video was amazing. I don't like very much Moby, but this song was pretty good.

Oh, and to all those that are whining about the cars not hitting each other....are you fucking retarded? They're not supposed to. This isn't about crashing, it's about being in awe of the flow that is created and the beauty that comes from controlled chaos. I'm not trying to sound pretentious, but really, some of you really missed the fucking point.

OmenChild @ Sep 3rd 2006 2:31AM

You guys can find a way to complain about everything. Opinions.. yes they're welcome but whining? Damn. I can see it now..
Doctor: I'm sorry to inform you but you have colon cancer son.
Joystiq reader: Colon cancer? Are you sure?
Doctor: Yes, I'm sure. You have a great chance of survival since we caught it in its early stages. I've done all the necessary testing.
Joystiq reader: WHAT THE FUCK! I wanted a g**damn brain tumor! Hold on wait.. when did you slip that finger past me? All I ever wanted was a malignant brain tumor (preferably in my head) and a sausage McGriddle.

Carter @ Sep 3rd 2006 2:43AM

Its actually similar to a current Volkswagon Rabbit commercial. One white 'rabbit' and one black 'rabbit' drive around and its a simulation of what rabbits do best, so eventually there are lots of grey 'rabbits' running around, until the whole city is clogged with them.

Psaakyrn @ Sep 3rd 2006 2:51AM

Am I the only one who gets a "Loco Roco" vibe here? I'd imagine Loco would be kind-of like this if taken into 3D..

nate @ Sep 3rd 2006 2:53AM

@13 i think that was the toyota matrix, i saw a lot of those commercials in the movies i just searched on youtube here it is :) though i dont like the music that much its kinda annoying.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lSKdYKhjtSc

rockintom99 @ Sep 3rd 2006 2:54AM

Whats with all this Moby hating? Thats a great song. Awesome vid, too.

Swifty @ Sep 3rd 2006 3:01AM

w00t! Nice vid, def went on a bit tho :/
Not coolest vid this year :S

Joonas @ Sep 3rd 2006 3:16AM

This is by far the coolest thing I've seen in ages. The top-notch editing is part of it, certainly.

"Lame physics". Really, what's wrong with you guys?

Matthew Maust @ Sep 3rd 2006 4:12AM

Number 33 makes a good point. Still though, I just really wasn't very impressed. I think the only thing that really would have helped was if Robert (the blogger) would have given us something that we should be looking for in the video. Like, I was expecting amazing graphics, amazing environment, or amazing interaction with the environment. The video sure didn't have those things. Beauty and a sense of flow, I suppose so.
Still not that great though.

Extinction @ Sep 3rd 2006 4:23AM

That was the worst music I've ever heard

bp @ Sep 3rd 2006 4:56AM

it reminds me of a river flowing... each car is a drop of water going in its own direction.

many of you are way to critical. people put a lot of work in to this. Putting a lot of work into something doesn't have to make it great but at least appreciate it a little, rather then being critical little kids that only good at criticizing and being little snots...

thats what the internet is, tons of people putting together their hard work. I am happy that i don't have to pay for stuff like Firefox, joystiq, and kick ass videos that people spend hours and hours of their lives for just to try and entertain some people for 60 seconds.

bjet @ Sep 3rd 2006 5:03AM

So who won the race?

Rogue Soul @ Sep 3rd 2006 7:10AM

Simply superb. Nice find.

Tom Watson @ Sep 3rd 2006 7:59AM

Reading some of the negative comments here actually makes me kinda sad about the type of person that plays video games. Now obviously they aren't representative of all of us but its still surprising to see how many people commented that they didnt like the video.

If you didnt like the video then dont bother posting that you didnt like the video, just ignore it and move on!

After visiting more niche sites where the comments are always of a very positive nature its a shame that visitors to the more mainstream VG blogs are such a bunch of whining little children (although i wouldnt be surprised if the demographic wasnt far off). Please guys, lets have a little bit more maturity!

Moogle @ Sep 3rd 2006 8:11AM

ARGH. To those of us not seeing the video, allow javascript from gametrailers.com. Stupid jerks do a js check for the existence of flash apparently.

Really, more people should use NoScript with firefox, if only so webmasters learn not to use so much unnecessary but still required js.

Troakey @ Sep 3rd 2006 8:16AM

Who ever put this together has real talent. The Camera direction was spot on! and Joonas had it right, excellent editing!

Wolfkin @ Sep 3rd 2006 8:18AM

This is definitely not the coolest video of all time because you need at least /some/ familiarity with the source material in order to truely appreciate it. I thought it was interesting mildly intereting, but it looks like the sort of tihng where you need to actually know what game it is to understand. I imagine if I knew the game at all I would have a much higher opinio of the game.

I must be the only one who was ok with the soundtrack. Not a moby fan by any means and I've never heard the song before but I liked it. It was mellow.

Sturek @ Sep 3rd 2006 8:24AM

I love this video, I love both ( Nations doesn't count :P) Trackmania games, I love the music, because it fits the vid perfectly, this is fantastic work.
If you don't like it, stop watching it and close the tab, don't complain about it like you are forced to watch it.
Of course you can say what they might've done better, but be constructive...
I personally thin kthat it'd be even better if it wasn't Coast, but Islannd (if I don't get that wrong ;), b ut maybe that's just because I loe the insanely fast tracks :D
Argh watching that video made me regret my switch to Mac OS (for a second ;)), I wanna play some Trackmania!! Just a little :/