Troubleshooting

Below are some common issues you might be having, and ways to solve them.

The game doesn't start

You're likely missing the latest 64 bit version of the Visual Studio C++ runtime. Do not skip this! Don't assume you already have this installed on your system! If Openplanet doesn't work, this is very likely the cause. Download it from here - you can find the runtime elsewhere online but downloading from this link ensures that you don't accidentally install a different unsupported version.

After following the installer's instructions, you might have to restart your PC before it'll work.

The game works but Openplanet doesn't start/can't be accessed

Almost all issues are caused by the following things - check these first:

Did you start the game in offline mode? Openplanet requires the game to connect to Ubisoft's servers during the startup to check your access level and permissions. This might change in the future, but for now make sure Ubisoft Connect is not in offline mode, and the login procedure in the game's startup flow is successful.
Are you on a laptop and F3 doesn't seem to do anything? Try pressing Fn and F3 at the same time - laptops often have different primary actions bound to the function keys, so this might already be what you're looking for.
Otherwise, the usual suspect is because you're missing the latest 64 bit version of the Visual Studio C++ runtime. Do not skip this! Don't assume you already have this installed on your system! If Openplanet doesn't work, this is very likely the cause. Download it from here - you can find the runtime elsewhere online but downloading from this link ensures that you don't accidentally install a different unsupported version.
Restart your computer, especially right after installing the Visual Studio C++ runtime in the previous step.
Openplanet needs to be installed in the same directory as the game you're actually running. You can double-check where the used Trackmania instance is located: Once Trackmania is started, open the task manager, right-click Trackmania.exe and select to open its file location. Specifically if you've installed Trackmania (2020) through Epic Games (but also sometimes when only using Ubisoft Connect), there's a chance it installed the game twice (once in Epic, once in Ubisoft Connect).

In the rare case that none of those apply to you, there can be a variety of other causes for issues, but the most common ones are:

Using an older unsupported version of Windows, such as Windows 7 or older. (Consider upgrading, as Microsoft dropped support for Windows 7!)
Interfering third-party applications, such as anti-virus, firewall software or overlays such as ReShade, MSI Afterburner, Overwolf, Geforce Experience, NVIDIA App, Medal TV, etc. - you can try turning off some of these interfering programs on your computer before starting Trackmania, which might solve the problem.
A corrupt installation of Openplanet.

Further troubleshooting

If none of the above seem to apply, you can start doing some more technical troubleshooting. First of all, check if there is an OpenplanetHook.log file in your Trackmania installation directory. If there is, make sure there are no errors at the end of the file. A successful startup might look like this:

[22:35:12] Finding libs path
[22:35:12] Updating PATH to add: 'D:\Games\Trackmania\Openplanet\Lib'
[22:35:12] Attaching DLL to: 'D:\Games\Trackmania\Trackmania.exe'
[22:35:12] Module handle: 00007FF9E2A50000
[22:35:14] DirectInput8Create

A failed startup could look like this:

[22:36:05] Finding libs path
[22:36:05] Updating PATH to add: 'D:\Games\Trackmania\Openplanet\Lib'
[22:36:05] Attaching DLL to: 'D:\Games\Trackmania\Trackmania.exe'
[22:36:05] Failed to load Openplanet module, error 126
[22:36:05] Module handle: 0000000000000000
[22:36:05] DirectInput8Create
[22:36:05] Openplanet.dll is not loaded yet!
[22:36:05] Couldn't find DinputInit function!

From here you could look up the error or ask for more advice on Discord. If there is no log file at all, check if there's a dinput8.dll file next to Trackmania.exe. If there is not, your installation is corrupt and you should try re-installing Openplanet. If there is, there's probably some anti-virus software blocking Openplanet from loading.

Next, you should check your main Openplanet log file located at: C:\Users\<Your Username>\OpenplanetNext\Openplanet.log, where OpenplanetNext could also be Openplanet4 or OpenplanetTurbo, depending on the game. Check if there are any obvious errors there, and ask for help if you can't figure it out.

You can ask for additional help on Discord.

Openplanet works on one of my Trackmania installations, but not on the other

If you have multiple Trackmania installations (e.g. Steam and Ubisoft Connect), updating Openplanet can occasionally lead to issues with one of the two Openplanet installations.

Start the Trackmania installation where Openplanet doesn't start correctly. An installer should pop up, telling you to update Openplanet. If it doesn't, you can manually download the latest version of Openplanet and run that instead.
Follow the instructions in the installer, but pay special attention to the installation path. It may point to your other Trackmania installation, so installing the update wouldn't actually affect your currently running game. If necessary, change the path to the correct Trackmania directory.
Install the update and restart your game. If Openplanet still does not work, there might be a deeper issue - check the top of the page and follow the instructions there to troubleshoot what's going wrong.

Openplanet starts but plugins can't be installed

If you can't seem to install any plugins, check your Openplanet logs (open the Logs window under the main Openplanet button in the top left of the overlay).

ScriptEngine PluginManager Unable to load plugin 'UltimateMedals' because the zip file doesn't exist!

If you see errors like these, it's very likely that this is caused by permission issues in your user folder.

In Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\Users, right-click your user's directory and open its Properties. Switch to the Security tab and make sure that your active user (or if that doesn't show up, the Authenticated Users entry) has full control over the directory. Once that's done, restart Trackmania, and the problem should be fixed.

TrackMania Turbo issues

The game fails to start

After installing Openplanet for TM Turbo, the game might fail to start and display a generic "The application could not be started" error message. You're likely missing the 32 bit version of the Visual Studio C++ runtime. Do not skip this! Don't assume you already have this installed on your system (note that it's the 32 bit version, not the 64 bit one)! Download it from here - you can find the runtime elsewhere online but downloading from this link ensures that you don't accidentally install a different unsupported version.