I can see exactly where the anti-wind argument is coming from. I agree with it in a way, although I do like to have some wind blowing myself.
Like others, I think low wind is good. Spices things up a bit, keeps you on your toes. High wind just turns it into a lottery.
The reason high wind (i.e. 40+ kph) in LFS is a lottery is the lack of feeling. In a real car on a real track in a strong wind, you would feel the buffeting on the car, or even on your helmet in a single seater, tugging or pushing you a certain way. Trees and grasses would lean and blow in the wind, clouds would be scudding across the sky, tyre smoke would blow noticeably, tiny bits of debris, leaves and litter that are too small to feasibly model would be whipping across the tarmac and through the air.
We have none of this in LFS. As mentioned, it's basically just a set of magnets that at varying corners align themselves to whip you off the track with absolutely no fore-warning or feeling that anything is about to happen.
I like the principle of wind, and I'd like the CTRA to make full use of it, but not until LFS' simulation of it is a lot more realistic (at least a vaguely consistent wind direction between races would be a start), and there's a lot more feeling from it, whether through graphical stimuli or the handling/movement of the car.
Like others, I think low wind is good. Spices things up a bit, keeps you on your toes. High wind just turns it into a lottery.
The reason high wind (i.e. 40+ kph) in LFS is a lottery is the lack of feeling. In a real car on a real track in a strong wind, you would feel the buffeting on the car, or even on your helmet in a single seater, tugging or pushing you a certain way. Trees and grasses would lean and blow in the wind, clouds would be scudding across the sky, tyre smoke would blow noticeably, tiny bits of debris, leaves and litter that are too small to feasibly model would be whipping across the tarmac and through the air.
We have none of this in LFS. As mentioned, it's basically just a set of magnets that at varying corners align themselves to whip you off the track with absolutely no fore-warning or feeling that anything is about to happen.
I like the principle of wind, and I'd like the CTRA to make full use of it, but not until LFS' simulation of it is a lot more realistic (at least a vaguely consistent wind direction between races would be a start), and there's a lot more feeling from it, whether through graphical stimuli or the handling/movement of the car.
The chicanes in LFS are already pretty damn fast, on average. What we need is more technical sections and sequences of corners, rather than the flatout-brake-turn-flatout style of S2's new tracks.
Maybe a new track environment would help address this.
Having said that, it would be nice to see some LFS tracks without chicanes.
Aston already does this - you can race the old Historic track with only the lairy dipped chicane, or the GP track with double hairpins, and an extra slowing twist at the bottom of the back straight.
With Blackwood, it would be nice to see a configuration without the chicane - on the condition that the original surface bypassing the chicane is suitably old, bumpy, pitted, and generally unsuitable for modern racing cars (GTRs, single seaters).
Fern Bay's chicanes are a bit of a mystery. Most chicanes are added to tracks after their initial design, yet with Fern Bay there's no evidence of any previous track without the chicanes. Then again, it appears to be a partial road course (bridge), but it seems a bit odd to have so many chicanes designed into the circuit that don't actually slow you down, but just force the traffic into single file. Ouch, messy.
But what I really miss are some technical sections where you can't just floor it inbetween corners. I might not be as quick at them compared to the foot-to-the-floor tracks, but I'll have a lot more fun in the process.
Maybe a new track environment would help address this.
Having said that, it would be nice to see some LFS tracks without chicanes.
Aston already does this - you can race the old Historic track with only the lairy dipped chicane, or the GP track with double hairpins, and an extra slowing twist at the bottom of the back straight.
With Blackwood, it would be nice to see a configuration without the chicane - on the condition that the original surface bypassing the chicane is suitably old, bumpy, pitted, and generally unsuitable for modern racing cars (GTRs, single seaters).
Fern Bay's chicanes are a bit of a mystery. Most chicanes are added to tracks after their initial design, yet with Fern Bay there's no evidence of any previous track without the chicanes. Then again, it appears to be a partial road course (bridge), but it seems a bit odd to have so many chicanes designed into the circuit that don't actually slow you down, but just force the traffic into single file. Ouch, messy.
But what I really miss are some technical sections where you can't just floor it inbetween corners. I might not be as quick at them compared to the foot-to-the-floor tracks, but I'll have a lot more fun in the process.
Heh, yes, I think I was racing with you for some of that. Well, not with you, I was usually about a minute behind down the road.
The wind is cool and it's nice to see it getting used - my problem with wind is in LFS' implementation of it, not the CTRA's. It's totally unrealistic. Firstly it changes so much each race, the first couple of laps aren't so much racing, and more seeing what the wind is like at each corner. In real life, the winds would be largely similar to the winds in the race 10 minutes previous. Changes in wind direction, speed and nature need to occur gradually and over time. Secondly the wind seems to have an un-naturally strong effect when hitting your car squarely from the front or back - disproportionate to when the wind is hitting you at an angle. It seems a bit exaggerated to me, but I've not done any specific testing to see if it's true, it's just the feeling I get when driving.
All of which means I'd like to see the wind in CTRA kept low (and on occasions, off - maybe it already is if it's picked at random) until LFS sorts it's wind trouble out.
And once it's been refined, let mother nature rip. 
I wouldn't buy any of those mate. Nothing to do with your choice of components, I'd just think twice about where you're buying from.
I do hope this is the case. Imho, higher licenced racers shouldn't score any points when competing on lower servers. They should still have the freedom to drive on the servers, but surely in order to progress towards their next licence, they should be expected to compete at their level, rather than beat a field of newbies on the bronze/copper server? (the same will obviously apply once the SS2 server is open)
If the system has been changed since I last raced on CTRA, forgive me (haven't had time for LFS for a week or two). But I can see how so many copper/bronze drivers were getting so frustrated and annoyed in that, in order to progress, they were expected to compete with (and drive laptimes within a certain percentage of) racers with platinum or titanium licences who had light years of mileage & experience clocked up in LFS, but still racing on servers that were aimed at new drivers.
Thanks - I don;t think most of them apply to me (my LFS isn't modded at all, no AI settings or knowledge, and I have no screenshots, no replays, etc worth saving, lol) but handy to have a list of the "personal" stuff in the LFS folder.
Hmm, the more I think about it, the more I think you might have a point there...
/me looks at his mostly empty 1TB of network storage...
Which files & folders to back up?
I'm gradually backing up all my stuff to my NAS box in preparation for moving to a dual-boot Linux/WinXP system, and it's LFS' turn.
Can someone tell me which files/directories I need to backup so that if I had to reinstall LFS in the future, it retains all my settings? Player details, controls, in-car view settings, wheel settings, the whole lot. Obviously I'll be backing up my setups folder too, but no point backing up the game files that I can re-download from lfs.net. I know the misc folder contains unlocking and some relevant files, but is there specifically anything else I should back up that personalises LFS?
Yes I did search, but didn't find anything in the first 100 topics mentioning backups and files, and reviewing another several hundred topics looked rather daunting.
Also, can I move my LFS installation between hard drives on this computer without having to unlock it? Not a problem if I have to, just curious, as I'm trying to shuffle some stuff around and balance the capacity of my hard drives.
Thanks in advance.
Can someone tell me which files/directories I need to backup so that if I had to reinstall LFS in the future, it retains all my settings? Player details, controls, in-car view settings, wheel settings, the whole lot. Obviously I'll be backing up my setups folder too, but no point backing up the game files that I can re-download from lfs.net. I know the misc folder contains unlocking and some relevant files, but is there specifically anything else I should back up that personalises LFS?
Yes I did search, but didn't find anything in the first 100 topics mentioning backups and files, and reviewing another several hundred topics looked rather daunting.
Also, can I move my LFS installation between hard drives on this computer without having to unlock it? Not a problem if I have to, just curious, as I'm trying to shuffle some stuff around and balance the capacity of my hard drives.
Thanks in advance.
Well yes, I've no objection to driving FOX at FE1 myself. What I meant was that in the context of the CTRA's SS1 server the tiny short course, narrow track, and sheer number of unskilled drivers made it a farce, not a race.
AS1 is also too short imo, but the extra width of Aston's track makes it a more feasible proposition with so many people on so many different laps.Glad to see that the FE1 tracks have been removed - they were just inappropriate for the FOX. Why no FE2 though, only FE2R?
I'd like to see SO1 and SO1R put back on, although I agree you were right to ditch the sprint tracks. At least with SO1 you can salvage a race if you need to pit.
Imho there isn't a great need to fiddle with the system too much as it's still early days and a huge range of skills is trying to fit into one server. I'd just suggest dropping the number of entries down a couple of places, and/or ditching FE1. In the long run when enough drivers qualify for SS2, it'll be a lot more balanced. As long as the fast drivers respect the beginner servers by staying on the SS2 server of course, which doesn't always happen on race 1 and race 2.
I'd like to see SO1 and SO1R put back on, although I agree you were right to ditch the sprint tracks. At least with SO1 you can salvage a race if you need to pit.
Imho there isn't a great need to fiddle with the system too much as it's still early days and a huge range of skills is trying to fit into one server. I'd just suggest dropping the number of entries down a couple of places, and/or ditching FE1. In the long run when enough drivers qualify for SS2, it'll be a lot more balanced. As long as the fast drivers respect the beginner servers by staying on the SS2 server of course, which doesn't always happen on race 1 and race 2.
Lovely panning shots, very nicely done. Next year when you go, you can try an even slower shutter speed for more background blur.
Looks like a great day out.
Looks like a great day out.
Well, hitting a tractor in F1 isn't that unrealistic.
Talking simply, it's the number of people you share your bandwidth with. Suppose you and 50 other households in your street has a 4meg adsl connection. If everyone tried to max out their connection at the same time, nobody would get 2 megs - the ISP (and in the UK's case, BT's local loop infrastructure and nearest exchange) don't have the capacity to deliver 200 megs per second. So the contention ratio defines how many you have to share with when the network gets congested.
A 1:1 contention ratio is effectively your own private leased line, which costs a small fortune. This is what bandwidth hogs like to think they're entitled to when their ISP starts clamping down on them running their connection flat out 24/7.
Disagree. Was racing FOX on SO1R recently, and I knew from prior experience there that none of the setups in my collection were any good for that track. A couple of races at first proved this. So I asked for a set from the quickest guy in the previous race, and suddenly I had grip in the slower corners and could get the throttle open sooner. I got way better entirely because of the setup. If I had the knowledge, and most of all, the time, I'd gladly make and tweak my own but with the sheer number of track & car combinations it's not really an option. Which makes me extremely grateful to those able to develop such a good set and those willing to share it.
I fully appreciate/respect it when people decline to share a setup, for whatever reason. But it's sad when you join a server, ask for a setup inbetween races, and just get ignored with silence rather than anyone saying "no, sorry". Not sure what leads to such a mentality, but some servers seem worse for it than others.
I rarely check setupfield myself though, because it's usually for hotlapping setups. Some of which have distinctly un-race-like handling characteristics!
Or maybe it's just my ham-fisted driving. Either way, I'd always prefer (if possible) to get a set that is shown to be capable of doing well in races, than a hotlap set from setupfield....finish your sentence?
On topic, however: speed bumps? In a racing simulator? You gotta be joking.
On topic, however: speed bumps? In a racing simulator? You gotta be joking.
Agreed. Unless, of course, dyslexia suddenly compels you to write perfectly in txt spk mobile phone language.
No, BMI isn't something to be taken as gospel - it doesn't take into account an individual's natural build, lifestyle, or even gender. Guys who push a lot of weights in the gym get classed as overweight on the BMI scale, because BMI assumes that any significant extra weight is fat, not muscle. It's just a guideline for an "average" person.
At 5'10" and just over 12 stone I wouldn't say you're significantly overweight if you're of average build, but if you've done jack shit for the past three years then I wouldn't suggest exercising every day. Do something more intensive, maybe a brisk walk interspersed with quick jogs (and keep a rough idea of how long you can jog for in one go to give you an idea of your progress), but do it 3 times a week rather than every day. Make sure you have a rest day inbetween. Also, as someone who gets to the gym four or five times a week, I'll urge you not to underestimate the importance of a good solid night's sleep. Not always practical or possible depending on work, stress, noise levels, love life, neighbours, emotions, etc, but an extra hour's sleep gives me twice the energy the next day.
Once you get to the point where you can sustain a single walking/jogging session for longer than you have time for it (eg. you've got an hour spare in the evening, and after an hour of alternating jogging/walking you still feel like you could go a bit further), them imo that's the point to take it to 4 times a week, and so on from there.
And feel free to shake things up a bit too. It shocks your body into improving faster, because it gets used to the same routine. Throw in a few random 30 second flat-out sprints, or take a hilly route one day, and so on.
P.S. Forgot to mention reading a report a short while ago suggesting that walking alone isn't intensive enough to produce noticeable health benefits if used as an exercise regime for the normal person (i.e. not the hugely obese). Bump up the intensity and for the time being decrease the frequency as suggested above.
Last edited by STROBE, .
Reason : remembered something
Yeah it would certainly help. Was racing at SO1R tonight on the SS1 server, good racing but it was far too frantic with almost no downtime inbetween races. Once the results were confirmed (bearing in mind it only takes about 50 seconds for everyone to finish after the winner), the restart procedure began immediately - not even time to check the CTRA results panel or licence status or anything.
I think a minutes breather space inbetween races after dodging wrecked noobs for 15 laps would be quite welcome!
Other than that, good racing once again tonight. Apart from an ATC guy who completely ignored a waved blue flag for four laps, the racing was fun, clean and fast. I think the quality of CTRA must have suffered from the popularity of the launch hype, because it's been great this week.
Last edited by STROBE, .
What kind of fitness level were you starting from, body shape/size/weight etc? Ignore the question if it's too personal.
But I can't see why you'd be getting headaches from such relatively light exercise - you definitely drinking enough? (Water, that is, not alcohol beverages.
)I do spinning classes a couple of times a week and soon learnt that drinking Lucozade Sport helped stop the occasional cramps in my calf/foot that water couldn't prevent, as it was the minerals and salts getting sweated out that water can't replace.
Eat plenty veg, a moderate amount of carbs (eat more meat if you start doing weights), drink at least 2 litres of water a day, and start any exercise gently while building it up over a few weeks, and you can't go far wrong imo.
Slight correction: Prodrive modified Humberside's handful of Imprezas, and those of another force in the country (I forget which at the moment). That's about it.
If you think that police forces have the budgets to arrange bespoke engineering solutions on whole fleets of hundreds of vehicles, then I wish I lived in the same world as you. They've got some neat stuff and often some very nice motors, but not quite the chinese army of invincible rally cars that you seem to be trying to make out. :-/
And for the record, the only reason Beemers aren't in police fleet use as much as a few years ago has nothing to do with their performance or reliability. It's because the seats were too uncomfortable to spend an eight or ten hour shift in.
If you think that police forces have the budgets to arrange bespoke engineering solutions on whole fleets of hundreds of vehicles, then I wish I lived in the same world as you.
They've got some neat stuff and often some very nice motors, but not quite the chinese army of invincible rally cars that you seem to be trying to make out. :-/And for the record, the only reason Beemers aren't in police fleet use as much as a few years ago has nothing to do with their performance or reliability. It's because the seats were too uncomfortable to spend an eight or ten hour shift in.
Ahh, love these threads that pop up every now and again where people talk utter shite pretending they know so much and that everything they say is true. It's like a pub conversation without the social aspect or the alcohol or, well, anything that makes it enjoyable.
Prodrive tuning all the police cars? Old 2.0 litre auto Omegas doing 0-60 in less than 10? Claims that a first-generation fwd Mondeo with 350bhp and adorned with plastic crap actually handles well? Police forces trading and selling cars like DelBoy in order to afford something else?
Lol, very funny.
Prodrive tuning all the police cars? Old 2.0 litre auto Omegas doing 0-60 in less than 10? Claims that a first-generation fwd Mondeo with 350bhp and adorned with plastic crap actually handles well? Police forces trading and selling cars like DelBoy in order to afford something else?
Lol, very funny.
Haven't driven anything for the past couple of days so don't have any more experience of CTRA-X than what I garnered on Friday/Saturday, but even then I noticed how few points were given out.
I can see both sides of the argument. I don't want to advance too quickly through the licences and find that other folk are coming through as well without any real racecraft, otherwise eventually it'll just end up like the CD servers with a bunch of single-minded, unaware drivers piling into each other at T1 in 15,000bhp of GTR cars. And it's true that if you haven't got the pace to finish well on a tier 1 server then there's not much point in progressing to tier 2.
However...
imho it's fundamentally wrong that it's all based on your fastest laptime. It's the same wierd logic that the CD servers use, whereby your eligibility for the restricted servers is judged on single lap times, regardless of your cleanliness, racecraft, and overall race time.
It's the old tortoise and the hare scenario, which does crop up quite often on public servers. Which is the better racer that you'd prefer to compete against on a restricted server? The tortoise who is consistently a bit off the pace but drives steadily and cleanly, or the hare who tears around in hotlapping mode, twatting into people and sometimes falls off the track but who puts in a couple of blinding laps?
Obviously there are some who drive very fast and very consistently, but out of everyone else at the moment it seems only the hare gets rewarded. What do individual lap times have to do with anything other than the concurrent qualifying? Surely what matters is your overall race time? To me it seems as though involving the fastest lap time in the points calculation risks putting the emphasis on the hotlapping performance, which I thought was what the CTRA system was against. Hopefully I'll be proven wrong when I get on for a drive this week and try out the tier 1 servers for a bit.
I can see both sides of the argument. I don't want to advance too quickly through the licences and find that other folk are coming through as well without any real racecraft, otherwise eventually it'll just end up like the CD servers with a bunch of single-minded, unaware drivers piling into each other at T1 in 15,000bhp of GTR cars. And it's true that if you haven't got the pace to finish well on a tier 1 server then there's not much point in progressing to tier 2.
However...
imho it's fundamentally wrong that it's all based on your fastest laptime. It's the same wierd logic that the CD servers use, whereby your eligibility for the restricted servers is judged on single lap times, regardless of your cleanliness, racecraft, and overall race time.
It's the old tortoise and the hare scenario, which does crop up quite often on public servers. Which is the better racer that you'd prefer to compete against on a restricted server? The tortoise who is consistently a bit off the pace but drives steadily and cleanly, or the hare who tears around in hotlapping mode, twatting into people and sometimes falls off the track but who puts in a couple of blinding laps?
Obviously there are some who drive very fast and very consistently, but out of everyone else at the moment it seems only the hare gets rewarded. What do individual lap times have to do with anything other than the concurrent qualifying? Surely what matters is your overall race time? To me it seems as though involving the fastest lap time in the points calculation risks putting the emphasis on the hotlapping performance, which I thought was what the CTRA system was against. Hopefully I'll be proven wrong when I get on for a drive this week and try out the tier 1 servers for a bit.
Last edited by STROBE, .
I suspect the concern is not that the poster will plough into the field as he/she joins on their second lap, but that Joe Public on the starter servers who doesn't read the forums will do exactly that.
I myself find the no-first-lap joining extremely frustrating (there's plenty of valid reasons why one might want to join in the first lap having missed the start of the race), but still have the sense not to launch myself out of the pitlane into the middle of the pack. But I'd be surprised if everyone else shows similar respect for others racing, which wouldn't be an issue if you were allowed to join after x seconds, where x varies depending upon the circuit/lap time, and is typically about 2/3rds of a flying lap.
lmfao! music's not my cup of tea, but that blast past the correct route by all but one car is hilarious.
FGED GREDG RDFGDR GSFDG