I've only had the S2 licence for 2 days, and I'm loving it! I can't wait till this game is complete, it's going to be an instant phenomenum in the world of sim-racing!!

Right now I'm racing with the UF100 on the Ashton track in the "Cadet" configuration. It's got a really cool dipping chicane that's like going down a slippery slide.

I love driving the slower cars and trying to wring ever last tenth of a second out of them. So far I'm not so fast, my best time is 1:11:50. I haven't started playing with the setup yet. Just the default setting with the ride height lowered slightly.

Does anyone know, does the AI drive with the default setup or some other setup? Cause they're damn fast. My PB of 1:11:50 is good enough to put me on pole for the "Quick" setting (haven't tried pro yet), but I can't consistently get near that. I consistently lap at about 1:12:50 which is more than half a second behind the AI on Quick.

Guys I've been playing this like an addict all morning!!

This game absolutely rocks. It's just so far ahead of any other sim I've played yet.

Quote from pauliaK :

heh, I'm sure you'd like Lithuania .

By the way, Latvia in English is Latvia, not Latvija, but in Lithuanian we write Latvia's name same as you did, so you have probably started learning Lithuanian, haven't you?

Well it's Latvija in Latvian too! I just spelled it that way for fun. Although I (and my parents) are born and bred in Aus, my heritage is Latvian so it was good to visit the country.

1 - Thanks guys! I appreciate the welcomes. Let's talk about what we like about LFS so there's something different here to whinging/moaning going on in other threads?

2 - Pearcy: thanks mate. I agree.

3 - Rugby is not for girls. We don't roll around screaming holding our face when we get tapped on the heel.

LOL! Whoops!!

I thought he was referring to me as newbie at LFS ... duh. Okay damn. I thought my avatar was worth commenting about too but apparently not! :mad:

Quote from HVS5b :

LFS Noob, love the avatar

pmsl!

I play rugby too. It's the one I use on the rugby forum I post at so I thought why not keep it?

Thanks PauliaK!

From Lithuania! Cool! I went to visit Riga in Latvija recently but didn't get to pop over to Lithuania. Would love to visit there one day though.

I don't want to argue about it.

I'm happy for you guys to drive your cars around sideways. All the power to you, I wish you much success and enjoyment - just far away from the guys who want to engage in proper racing!

In fact, I'm glad you guys can do it! If you couldn't then LFS wouldn't be the great, realistic simulation that it is! So it's a good thing.

My personal opinion is that it's a bit silly, and I don't like the hyped up "bling" culture that goes along with it. And I'm perfectly entitled to have that opinion. Yes, that was somewhat my opinion when I made the thread, but I was also asking genuine questing, making an honest attempt to understand it a bit better but that achieved little except defensive dummy spitting.

Quote from xaotik :

Well all's good then, at least now you know that if your racing career doesn't kick off you can always get by with dominating drifting competitions.

Let's not put words in my mouth. I said it was easier than proper racing, I didn't say I personally could dominate those unique individuals who choose to practise it all the time. I'm sure they can "drift" better than me, and I'm sure I regard that fact with nothing more than slight indifferent amusement.

Fact is that I still find drifting around corners relatively easy. Maybe not to "pro standards", but it's hardly rocket-science. I'm sure you have to have a good feel for weight-transfer and wheel-slip, but these things are just the basics of proper race-car driving.

Thanks guys.

Well I'm in Ireland at the moment, I'm actually Australian and will be going home soon. Point being that I have no Internet connection here and I'm not about to get one only for 1-2 months.

So you won't see me online until then! Probably a good thing too. I don't want to be the guy that crashes everyone else out of the race.

Likewise, because of the upcoming move home, I only bought myself a cheapo steering wheel & pedal combo to practise with here. It's actually really nice considering the cheap price! Anyway, I have a Force RS at home, so I'll either be using that or buying the new Logitech one everyone is raving about when I get back - G25 or something.... anyone got that? Is it really that good?

Quote :

You seem like a talkative nice chap, welcome as well...

LOL. Maybe online! Something to do with a boring, autonomous job and too much Red-Bull! (a single can :shy

Thanks again guys.

You're all very nice chaps too. lol.

Duh-duh!!

Now officially an S2 licensed driver!!

Quote from kamkorPL :

^Demo racer, registered in feb 2008. Simply the guy could be just a flamer. Based on what he says I can't think about it in any other way.

I just hope you will never try going sideways in a car, because this could involve a serious accident if you believe it's a very small step from doing burnouts.

I will give you hovewer a hint for understanding the difference more(IF xaotik answer wasn't enough). Do you know what a weight shift control is?

edit: Ofcourse drifting looks easy as hell if you just watch masters. Here's how not masters do: http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v= ... aIuko&feature=related

I never said it was easy.

But I will say it's MUCH easier than real racing.

Afterall, I drift by accident in LFS and when I muck around testing the physics and just having fun going sideways around the corners is not very difficult at all.

I've been playing racing simulators since before Grand Prix Legends and I'm still struggling to become what I would call a good racing driver.

There seems to be a lot of moaning, dick-measuring, complaining etc. going on on these forums, and not least of all by myself.

So I want to start a thread just to congratulate all involved on the fantastic achievement that is Live for Speed!!

As a (edit: ex-)demo user, I've only played it for a couple of days, but I am already completely blown away by it! It seems the developers share an almost identical vision to my own on what the perfect racing car simulator should be! I'll be buying a licence shortly.

I own a few other racing sims, and apart from Flight Simulator, they're pretty much the only gaming I do at all. Grand Prix Legends set the bench-mark all those years ago, and since then I've seen nothing that really compares until LFS, which seems to be taking things to a whole new level!

I'm so impressed with what I've seen so far, for example, I literally had to take a double take the first time I noticed the tyre-deformation when driving too hard into a corner!

I have no degree in physics, nor have I any real experience racing apart from winning my companies Christmas Go-Kart day event! But I can say without a doubt that, for whatever reason, Live for Speed just feels more like driving a car than any other game I've played. My sneaking suspicion is that that is because it is more like driving a real car than any other game I've played!

So I hope the developers read my thread. Keep up the good work, stay true to the vision of a highly realistic simulator that doesn't try and cater for all markets and you will create a classic!!

Simply amazing that, from what I can tell, it just seems to be a handful of guys working on this and they are completely upstaging the big companies ... simply awesome!

I must admit I've pirated my fair share of software, but when it comes to things like this I'm more than happy to fork over the price, even for an un-finished alpha product! In this case, the devs really deserve to reap the benefits!

And the potential for the game is just incredible and so exciting! If the "+" stuff in the sticky log thread in the "Improvement Suggestions" forum gets implemented then Live for Speed will simply be phenomenal. Things like dynamic weather, dirt on the track, improved damage modelling and the possible edition of a "classic era" class of racing are just so exciting!! (the latter obviously is a personal opinion, but I'd love to compare a 67 GP car in GPL --> LFS!).

Last edited by Ikaponthus, Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:02.

Quote from xaotik :

I dislike them.

...

some people, for whatever reason, want to ruin tyres while being stationary.

What's the difference?

"Some people, for whatever reason, want to ruin tyres while driving sideways very slowly".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNPD9nEPfZo ---> Yay. "Drifting" is really only one very small step up from this IMO. Same ballpark anyway.

Taking things to the next level (and, in my mind, it's only a very slight difference), what do you think of burnout competitions?

Is a burnout competition a respectable and valid form of motorsport? Or is it making a mockery of serious motoring competition?

Quote from xaotik :

Racing is not a practical matter. Nothing in motorsports is a practical matter and nothing in sports in general is a practical matter. It was all initially the passtime/hobby of people who had time (and/or some sort of wealth) at their disposal. Only in recent times have we seen the advent of such individuals as "professional sportsmen" who in all offer ZERO, NADA, ZILCH practical and of actual use yet are worshiped as gods.

Practical consideration = motorized vehicles for the transport of passengers were designed to get you from point A to point B faster than what you would do if you walked for a specific reason, usually relative to your survival, directly or indirectly. Not take you through point A over and over and over again in the case of circuit racing, or from point A to point B just for the sake of getting to point B faster than someone else and at a speed that is usually detrimental to your chances of survival.

Bottom line of my argument: citing "practicality" in such subjects is pointless.

Absolute nonsense!

Racing is about getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible. Simple as that. That is a perfectly practical objective. In fact, it's a fundamentally practical exercise!!

What is the point of drifting? Getting from point A to point B as sideways as possible? I don't know. Seriously, it was a genuine question at the beginning. What are they trying to achieve?

Quote from nihil :

Rubbish.

Cars are designed to slide on their tyres, infact its an inherent property of the material tyres are made from. Not that this is likely to satisfy you.... I'm still wondering why you insist on viewing 'sport' from the point of view of 'practicality'?

Rubbish? Please explain. To my understanding, tyres are designed to GRIP the road. If they were designed to slide they'd be made of something slippery. Almost everything about a tyre is to do with getting as much grip on the road as possible.

Sure, they can slide - and this can even be advantageous sometimes. But they're not DESIGNED to slide.

As for "practicality" ... hmmm. Well, I don't know. Maybe that's the wrong word. Maybe I am having trouble putting into words what I'm saying. ... drifting just seems "pointless". Other people have said, well, what's the point to anything? And I guess that's a valid argument. Drifting just seems ... I don't know ... silly.

xaotik & shotglass,

You appear to have missed the fundamental crux of my argument. Doesn't matter.

Xaotik, I'm comparing the tools, not the goal. You're getting confused.

Shotglass,

Yes, skates are made for skating in big circles or little circles. And I'm sure all the other physical things a skater has to do is taken into consideration when those skates are designed. They would be the most practical tool for those skaters to use.

Drifting is not practical at all. It's forcing a car to do something it's not designed to do. Racing cars are designed to go fast around a track, they're not designed to slide sideways around a track.

Now, from what I can gather so far, both from responses on this forum, and what I have seen of the "sport", I think it's totally fair to say I dislike "drifters". That doesn't mean I don't like them as people. I'm sure many of them are really nice guys. However, I'm not impressed by drifting, it seems infantile and pointless. And I certainly don't like the "bling", "ricer" or "street racer" culture that seems to accompany it, which I find tasteless, try-hard and egotistical. That's fair enough. I'm allowed to dislike something. It's just my personal opinion.

When I started this thread I was reasonable and open minded and hoping for some genuine discussion on the subject as I am willing to concede I may have been mistaken; but nothing I have read so far is doing anything to persuade me that is the case...

Last edited by Ikaponthus, Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:36.

March Hare,

Mate, I am with you. I feel your pain.

I've asked countless times what's the point of drifting, and so far the best I've got is "fun", and "to see how sideways you can go".

I approached this with an open mind, but I must admit, it does seem a little silly. You can't compare it to painting or race-driving or ice skating. The tools of those trades are made and designed for exactly what they do. Paint-brushes are used to paint, race cars are meant to race and go fast, ice-skates are used for skating.

To me, drifting is taking a car and making it do something it's not supposed to do for fun. Like painting a picture with the wooden end of the paint brush, or having a competition to see who can skid on their ice-skates sideways for the longest, or a form of motorcycle racing where everyone has to drive on the back wheel (for no apparent reason other than "it's fun"). A paint-brush is not supposed to be used back-to-front. Ice skates are not meant for skidding sideways as far as you can. Motorcycles are supposed to be driven on two wheels. A car is not supposed to be driven sideways like that. It's slow, dangerous and damages the car. Yes, it might be fun, I accept that. I even accept it takes some skill. But it's also a bit silly. It seems to me that Drifting is to motor-sports what WWE Wrestling is to full contact sports. Skilfull? sure. Fun? Probably. To be taken seriously? ...hmmmm.

My 2c.

Last edited by Ikaponthus, Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:35.

Quote from adulterated :

Actually F355 Challenge and Race Drivin arcade versions both are better than LFS. That isn't to say LFS is good. But the physics in those games were just better. Oh and if you think the stunt track loops in the Hard Drivin and Race Drivin series are way beyond reality then check out this video that will show you otherwise.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zs6rUOduWd4

With more speed and a bigger loop it could be done just like it is in the Race Drivin simulator. I'm not so sure about the Corkscrew on the super stunt track though.

The most realistic racing simulator for PC obviously goes to LFS. But the most realistic racing simulator for any system whether console/arcade/pc goes to the arcade versions of F355 Challenge and Race Drivin.

Don't be absurd!! You can download an arcade emulator (MAME32) and the Race Drivin' ROM and play it on your PC! The game is about 1MB I think.

I'm sure once you play it again you will realise it is NOT realistic in the slightest!!

lol.

Ouch.

For me a racing sim becomes unplayable when the frame rate is 15!

I think the absolute minimum you need to drive smoothly is in the range of ~25fps.

Quote from Hankstar :

Pull your head in. Did you miss this? He seemed genuinely curious to me

Believe it or not, it's actually possible that someone on t3h internets didn't know all about dorifto and asked a legitimate question in order to get an understanding of it. Didn't really deserve a smackdown imho.

There are no stupid questions, just stupid answers - especially those answers which don't even answer the question or contribute to the discussion.

Yes, thankyou!!!

One thing about this forum I have noticed so far is that a lot of people seem to use it as some kind of penis-measuring competition and will get aggressive and abusive quickly.

Not that I take it to heart or anything.

But yes, it was a serious question. To be totally honest, my initial reaction was, "what on earth are they doing? That looks really stupid, slow and dangerous, and there's not even any point to it!", so I suppose I did ask it with a slight initial negative bias, but I also genuinely wanted to know what is all the fuss about and I genuinely wanted someone to explain the purpose/goals/rules or whatever.

Last edited by Ikaponthus, Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:25.

Well guys, thanks for all your help and...

PROBLEM SOLVED!!!

The DirectX version I had was from my GTR2 install. I had assumed this was the latest version.

I don't know. Anyway, I downloaded and (re?) installed DirectX and it's running beautifully.

I can now play with 10 AI cars, with everything ramped up onto full, including the video hardware (x4 AA, x16 AS, image quality on "full quality") and it runs flawlessly. The wost FPS I get now is about 30-35 (with 10AI at the spots where it was previously about 9FPS with 4AI) and it now I regularly see it going about 200FPS!!!

Woohoo! I'm so pleased. And this game is just SO DAMN GOOD.

Easily the best racing sim I have played so far ... and it's not even finished!! I'm excited!!

Thanks to whatever mod added RBR for me.

No, the poll will not be accurate, posted on a LFS forum which seems to constitite 50% sim racers, 25% ricers and 25% people wanting to a have a cyber wang-measuring competition.

But it's a bit of fun anyway.

Well, for the record every other game I've tried on my mac-book works perfectly.

When I created the Windows partition, it loaded all the windows drivers needed from a Mac CD. However, it is Windows, running on an Intel computer, I can't see why installing the latest nVidia drivers would hurt. I'll try it when I get home.

But for example, GTR2 runs flawlessly in traffic with everything maxed out. So I doubt it's my hardware!