I don't think i've done 120mph on Craners. maybe around 100mph (150-160kph) but i can't really tell because the bike didn't have a speedometer (only PRM meter). bare in mind though, it's my 1st time with such extreme bike and 1st time on this track, so i don't have good assesment of actual speed. i know that we went around 120+ mph on the straight (fun exit from the double apex right), and we could have gone more if he didn't break so early 
re: safest place to crash in the uk: i'll try to keep that in mind
re: safest place to crash in the uk: i'll try to keep that in mind
no, actually Craner Curves were fantastic. downhill flick from right to left. very fast and lots of fun
i just went on the grass before starkeys bridge, on a complete straight part of the track. there's a lesson, do NOT take your eyes off the track even on a straight
[continue]
Now, i didn't even started preparing for the (left) turn. no break yet, just a short straight on the right edge of the track going straight. tiny bend of the track when i wasn't looking and i was driving straight.. on the grass. I immidiately started to think "hey, it's way too fast, i can't use the breaks, the wall (tires) is getting near, will i just go straight untill i hit the wall??" guys, i was WAY too optimistic split second after i went on the grass (prob around 130-150 kph) with a straight bike, i was on the grass, rolling and flying, everything turning upside down, and again, and again, and again suprisingly, i was in one piece. only one glove fell during the incidens, and everything else was in place (bones included).
i was slowly getting up to my knees, looking around, the bike's few meters from me, windsheld gone, right foot peg and breaks broken and hangs on wires. long groove on the grass where the bike slided and it's all damn quiet. a marshal runs towards me, red flags are up... rest of the riders are already at the pits.. oops.. did i cause all that??? hmm.. then the van came to pick me and the bike back to the pits, and he ask me to go in.. and a second later.. "hmm.. would you mind entering from the passanger's side?" opps. they do RHD in the UK, how did i forget that?
eventually, i was back in the pits too. slightly brused elbow, few muscles hurt a bit, but i'm fine and walking and smiling. in the last debriefing they gave me a brochure for lawn mowers they said i've started my gardenning career a bit late, but it's better late than never
overall, an excellent experience. i would definately recommend to anyone (except the crash. if you crash there, do it in style, not stupidly as i did )
cheers,
avih
Now, i didn't even started preparing for the (left) turn. no break yet, just a short straight on the right edge of the track going straight. tiny bend of the track when i wasn't looking and i was driving straight.. on the grass. I immidiately started to think "hey, it's way too fast, i can't use the breaks, the wall (tires) is getting near, will i just go straight untill i hit the wall??" guys, i was WAY too optimistic
split second after i went on the grass (prob around 130-150 kph) with a straight bike, i was on the grass, rolling and flying, everything turning upside down, and again, and again, and again suprisingly, i was in one piece. only one glove fell during the incidens, and everything else was in place (bones included).i was slowly getting up to my knees, looking around, the bike's few meters from me, windsheld gone, right foot peg and breaks broken and hangs on wires. long groove on the grass where the bike slided and it's all damn quiet. a marshal runs towards me, red flags are up... rest of the riders are already at the pits.. oops.. did i cause all that??? hmm.. then the van came to pick me and the bike back to the pits, and he ask me to go in.. and a second later.. "hmm.. would you mind entering from the passanger's side?" opps. they do RHD in the UK, how did i forget that?
eventually, i was back in the pits too. slightly brused elbow, few muscles hurt a bit, but i'm fine and walking and smiling. in the last debriefing they gave me a brochure for lawn mowers
they said i've started my gardenning career a bit late, but it's better late than never overall, an excellent experience. i would definately recommend to anyone (except the crash. if you crash there, do it in style, not stupidly as i did
)cheers,
avih
Last edited by avih, .
Race school at Donnington on a bike :D : a report
Hey guys.
Yesterday I've been to Ron Haslam's Race school at Donington Park, UK. In one word, AWESOME
It lasted much less than i expected though. 3 sessions of 15mins on a Honda CBR600RR '05, with briefing and debriefing between. Every instructor rides with 2 riders, so it's pretty personal. On top of that, after the 1st session it turned out that my co-rider was riding at a different pace than me, so another instructor volunteered to ride with him, so eventually both of us had a personal instructor for the remaining 2 sessions
cool.
So, what do i have to say about the bike? smaller than i though. the damn thing is really tiny, and the seating position is almost impossible (although i'm a bit above average, 1.85m). pretty strong though. 115bhp @13k RPM on bridgstone tires which i was amazed with. your elbow, knee and ears are an inch from touching the tarmak, you open full throttle and the damn thing just sticks to the floor. really fun
the track itself was also.. smaller than i've expected and smoother than i expected. you go out of T1 full throttle, right right right, fast left, fast right, left left, right, blind double-apex right, backstraight (wtf?? so short?...), chicane, short straight, hairpin, hairpin, DONE. it ends really fast it also goes much smoother than in most raceing games i've tried it. especially out of T1 untill the bridge. really smooth series of turns. and, there was a GREAT weather just like the sunny one in LFS
Eventhough the track time was only 45 mins, and the bike was too small and the track too small etc, The experience was second to none I would really recommend it to anyone who likes riding a bike. I do own a sport-tourer bike (Suzuki DL650) but i've never really reached the limits on public roads (well, i'm sure some car drivrs thought i was way over the limit. i wasn't ).
On the track, however, it's a completely different thing. You get full leather suit (the one with the airodynamic bump on the back), boots, helmet and gloves. you go up in pace slowly, and i think i managed ok. by the end of the 2ns session we've been passing most other groups on the track (overtaking is not allowed unless you're instructed to by your instructor). I felt very good on the bike, well into the race lines (the yellow pylons markers for turn-point were very usefull for me) nice speed up from around the apex, tuck in befind the windsheld for extra speed on straights. it felt very smooth to me, and it felt as if i could go much faster if my instructor would (he was riding ahead of me). on every turn exit i was on his tail. it didn't feel like riding on the limits, the tires were amazing and the whole things just felt "right".
too bad that on the last session after few laps when we were passing few groups one after the other, just before starkey's bride, i was looking left at someone we've passed, then eyes back to the road and like, OMG it's the GRASSSS!!!! :/ WTF am i doing here????
[TBC]
Yesterday I've been to Ron Haslam's Race school at Donington Park, UK. In one word, AWESOME
It lasted much less than i expected though. 3 sessions of 15mins on a Honda CBR600RR '05, with briefing and debriefing between. Every instructor rides with 2 riders, so it's pretty personal. On top of that, after the 1st session it turned out that my co-rider was riding at a different pace than me, so another instructor volunteered to ride with him, so eventually both of us had a personal instructor for the remaining 2 sessions
cool.So, what do i have to say about the bike? smaller than i though
. the damn thing is really tiny, and the seating position is almost impossible (although i'm a bit above average, 1.85m). pretty strong though. 115bhp @13k RPM on bridgstone tires which i was amazed with. your elbow, knee and ears are an inch from touching the tarmak, you open full throttle and the damn thing just sticks to the floor. really fun the track itself was also.. smaller than i've expected and smoother than i expected. you go out of T1 full throttle, right right right, fast left, fast right, left left, right, blind double-apex right, backstraight (wtf?? so short?...), chicane, short straight, hairpin, hairpin, DONE. it ends really fast
it also goes much smoother than in most raceing games i've tried it. especially out of T1 untill the bridge. really smooth series of turns. and, there was a GREAT weather just like the sunny one in LFS Eventhough the track time was only 45 mins, and the bike was too small and the track too small etc, The experience was second to none
I would really recommend it to anyone who likes riding a bike. I do own a sport-tourer bike (Suzuki DL650) but i've never really reached the limits on public roads (well, i'm sure some car drivrs thought i was way over the limit. i wasn't ).On the track, however, it's a completely different thing. You get full leather suit (the one with the airodynamic bump on the back), boots, helmet and gloves. you go up in pace slowly, and i think i managed ok. by the end of the 2ns session we've been passing most other groups on the track (overtaking is not allowed unless you're instructed to by your instructor). I felt very good on the bike, well into the race lines (the yellow pylons markers for turn-point were very usefull for me) nice speed up from around the apex, tuck in befind the windsheld for extra speed on straights. it felt very smooth to me, and it felt as if i could go much faster if my instructor would (he was riding ahead of me). on every turn exit i was on his tail. it didn't feel like riding on the limits, the tires were amazing and the whole things just felt "right".
too bad that on the last session after few laps when we were passing few groups one after the other, just before starkey's bride, i was looking left at someone we've passed, then eyes back to the road and like, OMG it's the GRASSSS!!!! :/ WTF am i doing here????
[TBC]
Last edited by avih, .
It's probably a dirty POT. you can increase the Analog-Smooth slider in LFS. it tries to get rid of the input spikes.
imho, lfs is VERY easy to use. unzip and you're ready to go. i'm 34 btw.
well, ppl around 18-23 are at their top u know. from there onwards you start losing brain cells but gain experience. if you look at proffesional racers, most are "young". 30 is starting to be considered as old. ppl at the army are young. proffesional sport players are young.
however, racing is a sport where experience can compensate for reaction time and that's why there are more older guys racing than, say, playing CS.
specifically about the original question, i think that in LFS the presentation is fun and attractive. you can have names with colors, you can send and recieve setups so easily, the track and cars are colorful and good looking, driving is fun. it's very democratic (vote about everything), online play is so easy to do. LFS is just so "alive" and the presentation is much less boring that other "proffesional simulations".
it's just an attractive simulation, that's all
however, racing is a sport where experience can compensate for reaction time and that's why there are more older guys racing than, say, playing CS.
specifically about the original question, i think that in LFS the presentation is fun and attractive. you can have names with colors, you can send and recieve setups so easily, the track and cars are colorful and good looking, driving is fun. it's very democratic (vote about everything), online play is so easy to do. LFS is just so "alive" and the presentation is much less boring that other "proffesional simulations".
it's just an attractive simulation, that's all
it's the momo force. NOT momo racing (which is black and currently selling).
the momo force is red, with leather grip, metal pedals and paddles and not beeing manufactured any more. considered by many as the best wheel ever
don't forget to select s2 servers on the connection screen (default is to the demo servers).
welcome
welcome
hmmm, hard thread. since i've been a moderator myself for few years (doom9: digital audio/video stuff, about 50,000 members, more than 1000 active members, around 30 mods), all i can say is that it's hard beeing a mod. u ALWAYS have to make hard decisions, and can NEVER satisfy everyone, and it's really, REALLY a lot of work.
of course, u try to moderate posts as little as possible, but sometimes moderation IS needed. a decision taken is not always the "right" one, but a decision has to be taken if a thread goes out of control (as i assume happened on the said thread, i haven't read it i think). having more mods around helps taking better decisions. i remember that few issues caused quite a long threads in the mods area because it was really hard to figure out what to do with a thread/user/subject/etc.
and decisions are usually reversible. deleted threads should be moved to a hidden section where only mods can read them. IMHO, it's preffered that only the offending bits are removed with an explanation from the mods team and, if appropiate, thread closed. you should also remember that the forum is privately held, and it's NOT a democracy. mods and owners try to make it as usefull as possible but they have the final word on any issue.
as always, common sense should eventually prevail or else, the forum will die. perhaps this forum should get few more mods to be able to help each other with some decisions/tasks?. specifically about the thread, since more that one agreed that it's started as a usefull thread, maybe a mod could filter out some bits, close the thread and put it "out" again?
my $0.02
avih
of course, u try to moderate posts as little as possible, but sometimes moderation IS needed. a decision taken is not always the "right" one, but a decision has to be taken if a thread goes out of control (as i assume happened on the said thread, i haven't read it i think). having more mods around helps taking better decisions. i remember that few issues caused quite a long threads in the mods area because it was really hard to figure out what to do with a thread/user/subject/etc.
and decisions are usually reversible. deleted threads should be moved to a hidden section where only mods can read them. IMHO, it's preffered that only the offending bits are removed with an explanation from the mods team and, if appropiate, thread closed. you should also remember that the forum is privately held, and it's NOT a democracy. mods and owners try to make it as usefull as possible but they have the final word on any issue.
as always, common sense should eventually prevail or else, the forum will die. perhaps this forum should get few more mods to be able to help each other with some decisions/tasks?. specifically about the thread, since more that one agreed that it's started as a usefull thread, maybe a mod could filter out some bits, close the thread and put it "out" again?
my $0.02
avih
Last edited by avih, .
Actually, GPL has quite an impressive reconstruction of that track. "only" 15.4 miles though. guide with screenshots
Last edited by avih, .
does it happen when you play with mouse/kb instead of your wheel?? do u have any personal firewall running (try closing it)? done any virus/spyware cleanups lately?
the clip's here:
http://forum.needforbetterspee ... index.php?showtopic=14593
http://forum.needforbetterspee ... index.php?showtopic=14593
check out this thread about the subject (sw false clicks). also, note that there IS an "input lag" issue that's somehow related to network lag. It's much less noticable in S2 than in S1 (at least for me). I haven't seen any threads on the subject here, at the new forum, but there were quite a few on the old forum at rsc.
Last edited by avih, .
Microsoft Sidewinder FF USB (with the red grips). 2nd hand from ebay for $35 for about 8 months now. I like it very much and it's ALWAYS 100% calibrated without doing anything (both pedals and wheel).
great wheel imho.
lately the paddles (shifters) started to occasionally produce false clicks, but it seems i've fixed it by openning the wheel and applying some PCB cleaning spray on the microswitches.
[edited a typo]
great wheel imho.
lately the paddles (shifters) started to occasionally produce false clicks, but it seems i've fixed it by openning the wheel and applying some PCB cleaning spray on the microswitches.
[edited a typo]
Last edited by avih, .
not a problem at all to say "i was playing this great race simulation", however, it's been a while since i've done that. pretty busy with work lately. but it passes ok. just give it a try
oh... that sucks... :/
hope you'll seel it soon enough.
hope you'll seel it soon enough.
i hate to be a prty pooper but, come on guys, they're NOT gods! i've seen this more than once, scawen is probably a great programmer (and then some), and together they've put one of (??) the best sims available today, but they ARE humans carefull with admiration, it can take u to nasty places (hmm.. scawen's kitchen sink??)
i've seen this more than once, scawen is probably a great programmer (and then some), and together they've put one of (??) the best sims available today, but they ARE humans carefull with admiration, it can take u to nasty places (hmm.. scawen's kitchen sink??)hehe u can have her, i'll take the "likes water" one (... and then i could put on the t-shirt from the 1st post )
(... and then i could put on the t-shirt from the 1st post )hmmm... isn't that what's written in your quote of mine???
update report:
I've successfully opened the wheel (thx 2WDinNZ), applied few drops of PCB cleaning spray on the microswitch (only left paddle), and it's wokring pretty well now, about 2 hours of driving and zero false clicks so far
but i'll have to wait a month or two to really know if there are any long term side effects.
another solution which is possible, is to replace positions of the microswitches. there are 8 identical ones inside the sidewinder. a soldering-iron (?) is required, but it shouldn't be too hard for someone a bit familiar.
thx again guys, and i'll post another report in a month or two
avih
PS.
my initial suggestion to Scawen about smoothing button input still stands. i think it's a common issue with sidewinders at least. quite a shame since otherwise that's an excellent wheel...
I've successfully opened the wheel (thx 2WDinNZ), applied few drops of PCB cleaning spray on the microswitch (only left paddle), and it's wokring pretty well now, about 2 hours of driving and zero false clicks so far
but i'll have to wait a month or two to really know if there are any long term side effects.
another solution which is possible, is to replace positions of the microswitches. there are 8 identical ones inside the sidewinder. a soldering-iron (?) is required, but it shouldn't be too hard for someone a bit familiar.
thx again guys, and i'll post another report in a month or two
avih
PS.
my initial suggestion to Scawen about smoothing button input still stands. i think it's a common issue with sidewinders at least. quite a shame since otherwise that's an excellent wheel...
options - graphics:
- put all LOD options to minimum.
- enable track LOD reduction
- disable flags/trees/rubber/etc
- disable dither (?? is that done by the cpu or the gfx card?)
- enable hardware vertex shading
options - display:
- disable any visual option that you don't need
- some ppl report that removing the names list (N untill it's empty - while driving) has positive effect on framerate
options - misc:
- disable vertical sync
- play with various values of minimum sleep
- reduce multiplayer car draw distance
- reduce (/increase?) dynamic LOD reduction
- set updated path to user-car or off
options - view (on track with a car)
- set the view such that you see mostely the scenery and less car interiour (head position as forward as possible). some report that wheel view gives good framerate boost.
- i'd say that using virtual clocks should help too.
gfx card settings (not sure how much effect it will have since u have a pretty good one):
- aa/fsaa/anisotropic/trilinear/etc to minimum/off
- set image setting to "performance" (if applicable)
- try different drivers
hope it helps.
- put all LOD options to minimum.
- enable track LOD reduction
- disable flags/trees/rubber/etc
- disable dither (?? is that done by the cpu or the gfx card?)
- enable hardware vertex shading
options - display:
- disable any visual option that you don't need
- some ppl report that removing the names list (N untill it's empty - while driving) has positive effect on framerate
options - misc:
- disable vertical sync
- play with various values of minimum sleep
- reduce multiplayer car draw distance
- reduce (/increase?) dynamic LOD reduction
- set updated path to user-car or off
options - view (on track with a car)
- set the view such that you see mostely the scenery and less car interiour (head position as forward as possible). some report that wheel view gives good framerate boost.
- i'd say that using virtual clocks should help too.
gfx card settings (not sure how much effect it will have since u have a pretty good one):
- aa/fsaa/anisotropic/trilinear/etc to minimum/off
- set image setting to "performance" (if applicable)
- try different drivers
hope it helps.
Last edited by avih, .
FGED GREDG RDFGDR GSFDG