The online racing simulator
JFYK, I have spend time in LFS alot, though not in multiplayer, but single player. Have to enhance my layouts, and it takes time.
Quote from Eclipsed :Here's version history,start from bottom to follow evolving timeline: http://en.lfsmanual.net/wiki/Version_History

Thanks.
I have to agree the updates are a bit thin on the ground, with long gaps in between.

Oh well.. Still a very nice driving sim experience.

The servers seem to be very easy to join and work well.

I guess there is fun to be had with whats here already.

The price I paid for the S3 though, I do think there should be some more material added soon.
Hopefully I got this game 'just at the right time' and the devs are going to fulfill the promise of adding more content to S3 very soon!
Quote from cargame.nl :And after that it collects dust or get sold to someone else who tries everything out.. Not very structural.

Lol, once you exprienced some close racing in VR there is no going back. The immersion and presence is breathtaking, there is no going back ever to Simracing with a flat screen. For me that's like watching a race on TV compared to actually racing.

The CV1 is what brought me back to LFS since several years. And it's working very good. But you know what? After enjoying a few nice races in LFS with the CV1, iRacing added support for it. I reactivated my license there just to try VR. And the races there were not just nice, they were great. Long-distance, perfect match-making, and you have the feeling that you are actually racing for something "larger" compared to the endless 5-laps pickup-racing with the same combos on the public LFS servers.

So you can still count me to the long-time LFS lovers that are disappointed by the devs decisions and therefor moved on. So many chances missed, it is very sad. Still the fact that i regularly check this forum means I still love LFS for all the great times I had. And there is always a little hope that I see an unexpected announcement that convinces me to get S3...
Quote from MikeB :Lol, once you exprienced some close racing in VR there is no going back. The immersion and presence is breathtaking, there is no going back ever to Simracing with a flat screen. For me that's like watching a race on TV compared to actually racing.

Indeed, exactly this.
Quote from Ball Bearing Turbo :Indeed, exactly this.

I have a powerful 970m SLI laptop, but unfortunately VR is not suppoerted well with SLI set ups.

This means I can only have one 970m running on VR.. that's not usually enough.

IF I did buy a DK2 Rift, I could probably get LFS running on it though, as its such an undemanding game.

BUT the immersion factor would probably put me off playing all my other driving games which I can't yet run on VR; Project Cars, Assetto etc..

SO I might keep away from VR until I upgrade my Laptop again in a few years Frown


But this point highlights again how nice LFS is for VR... even less meaty computers have a chance to run it.
I have a pretty old I7 920 with a mild overclock, and was running 2 670s in SLI before... Now I use one 670 due to lack of SLI support in VR, and suprisingly, most things run quite well. LFS obviously, AC runs fine since you have to turn off most things anyway at this point, the Climb, Chronos ... the only stuff that I can't really play at all because it's just to low of a frame rate are ETS2/ATS. No problems other than that. 1070 is on it's way though Tongue
Quote from MikeB :Lol, once you exprienced some close racing in VR there is no going back. The immersion and presence is breathtaking, there is no going back ever to Simracing with a flat screen. For me that's like watching a race on TV compared to actually racing.

I think I said the same thing about a year ago, and not just in LFS. VR has ruined all driving sims for me. I tried going back to a flat screen, more for the social aspect than anything practical, and found it really difficult to readjust.
I think the major downside of VR is the limited FOV that force you to turn your neck so you can see around, I think triple screen solution is the best for longer session because it's easier and more confortable to use the eyes to see around compared to the neck which cab surely become tired.
Quote from lfsrm :I think the major downside of VR is the limited FOV that force you to turn your neck so you can see around, I think triple screen solution is the best for longer session because it's easier and more confortable to use the eyes to see around compared to the neck which cab surely become tired.

Once I put on my helmet and balaclava, it feels constrained in FOV a lot. It's definitely not the same as putting on VR head set, but having the limited FOV in VR feels to me quite natural, feels like race day on the track...

And about neck... turning around is least of your problem, it's just keeping the head straight/into corner, which hurts much more. Few laps with 2+G, and if you didn't ever train your neck, you will feel sore for few days... Big grin
Quote from lfsrm :Cmon lets dont become a bunch of apologists, yea the game is smooth and all ( from a 13 year old engin running on modern pc what more do you expect ? ), but don't tell me RB4/FZ5/UF1 etc interiors are the finest details in gaming industry or Aston is a realistic track, LFS deserve a way better representation because of the solid base!

Fanboyism will not fill up the server lists or make the game more attractive. Shrug

fanboyism may not fill servers but such comments that constantly put lfs down would only make them emptier. Great graphics should never become more important that physics in a racing sim so little things like interiors are not important and as for real tracks yeah they would be great if added but not essential
Quote from Ball Bearing Turbo :I have a pretty old I7 920 with a mild overclock, and was running 2 670s in SLI before... Now I use one 670 due to lack of SLI support in VR, and suprisingly, most things run quite well. LFS obviously, AC runs fine since you have to turn off most things anyway at this point, the Climb, Chronos ... the only stuff that I can't really play at all because it's just to low of a frame rate are ETS2/ATS. No problems other than that. 1070 is on it's way though Tongue

That sounds promising.

By the way, are you going to put the 1070 in your current computer with the i7 970?
Check that the slightly slow processor wont cause bottlenecking.

If your processor can manage a 1070 without any serious bottleneck, my i7 4810mq should also.

If my laptop and mother board etc can accept a higher spec GPU also of course.
Quote from bishtop :fanboyism may not fill servers but such comments that constantly put lfs down would only make them emptier. Great graphics should never become more important that physics in a racing sim so little things like interiors are not important and as for real tracks yeah they would be great if added but not essential

So explain why the server list have nearly 0 active racing servers ?
Quote from Ped7g :Once I put on my helmet and balaclava, it feels constrained in FOV a lot. It's definitely not the same as putting on VR head set, but having the limited FOV in VR feels to me quite natural, feels like race day on the track...

And about neck... turning around is least of your problem, it's just keeping the head straight/into corner, which hurts much more. Few laps with 2+G, and if you didn't ever train your neck, you will feel sore for few days... Big grin

But I prefer to use my eyes to see the mirrors instead of turning my neck all the time to expend field of view, it's more natural for me.
Quote from lfsrm :But I prefer to use my eyes to see the mirrors instead of turning my neck all the time to expend field of view, it's more natural for me.

Yes, that's definitely true. The limited FOV is more annoying than the low resolution in the CV1. In real life I have a FOV of almost 180 degrees, especially detecting movements is easy. From the corner of my eyes I can immediately recognize movements that happen left or right of me. With the CV1 this is not possible. I constantly need to turn my head just to check what is left/right or to glance in the mirrors.
So there is still a lot of improvmements possible for the Generation 2 VR headsets Nod
Quote from MysticReverie :That sounds promising.

By the way, are you going to put the 1070 in your current computer with the i7 970?
Check that the slightly slow processor wont cause bottlenecking.

If your processor can manage a 1070 without any serious bottleneck, my i7 4810mq should also.

If my laptop and mother board etc can accept a higher spec GPU also of course.

I've got a new cooler to put on the 920, and from everything I've read, if I can get in the 3.8 to 4.0ghz range I'm within about 10-15% of the fastest newer processors in real world applications (excluding some crazy 5ghz overclocks that are sometimes possible on the new 14nm chips). I made the same assumptions as you and had a new CPU/MOBO picked out and all but then decided to do some extensive research before pulling the trigger thankfully. Apparently I have a lot of room left on this old X58 chipset which was a pleasant surprize.

Quote from MikeB :Yes, that's definitely true. The limited FOV is more annoying than the low resolution in the CV1. In real life I have a FOV of almost 180 degrees, especially detecting movements is easy. From the corner of my eyes I can immediately recognize movements that happen left or right of me. With the CV1 this is not possible. I constantly need to turn my head just to check what is left/right or to glance in the mirrors.
So there is still a lot of improvmements possible for the Generation 2 VR headsets Nod

I do agree with you guys on this, although I have to turn my head a little in real life to see my mirrors anyway... just not as much. I certainly wouldn't turn away some more horizontal FOV especially.
Quote from MysticReverie :I want to say that I think this game should be used a a template for any other games in development.
For a few reasons:

The graphics are so smooth. Yes, they are not the same detail as say Project Cars, but they look absolutely fine, they really do. This is due to the way they have been implemented I guess. Great looking, bright sky, with everything else just Very clear and functional. The anti aliasing works well too. The Frame rates I'm able to achieve with maxed out settings is incredible. I've also heard great praise for this game for its Oculus Rift support - also a famously smooth experience, so people with limited power computer may even be able to enjoy the experience too.
So, that's lesson one - Brilliantly optimized graphics.

Lesson two would be the incredibly good interface. So many options available and all pretty easy to navigate.
The graphics settings can be changed ON THE FLY, which is just GREAT. So many other games require you to restart the game even if you change just one setting - this makes the whole tweaking process very cumbersome.


I've also had no problems at all getting online and into a race pretty fast.
The skin modding process is so easy, even I can do it !
The game feels quite relaxing and enjoyable when driving around too - a nice atmosphere.

So, there are a few other lessons.

Anyway, sorry if this sounds too much like a review - I just wanted to add my comments on this excellent game.

I had the demo game for a while, and very recently upgraded to S3.

Great game.

the online multiplayer system is one of the strong points for sure, as well as the whole graphical interface, welcome to lfs and look forward to racing sometime hopefully
Quote from lfsrm :But I prefer to use my eyes to see the mirrors instead of turning my neck all the time to expend field of view, it's more natural for me.

Driving looking at a flat 2D screen is more natural than driving using VR to you? Really? Thank you for making me smile .
Quote from Cote Dazur :Driving looking at a flat 2D screen is more natural than driving using VR to you? Really? Thank you for making me smile .

Your life must be sad to smile at the preferences of others.
Quote from lfsrm :Your life must be sad to smile at the preferences of others.

Thank you, again.Smile
Quote from MikeB : In real life I have a FOV of almost 180 degrees, especially detecting movements is easy. From the corner of my eyes I can immediately recognize movements that happen left or right of me.

You would be suprised at how much of your periphery is completely made up by your brain. This video is a great way to show this.

Just to throw my 2p in here...

I used to play LFS A LOT! But then my PC died and I got a PS3 instead to play games. I returned to LFS a few times but for various reasons it was a pain to plug a laptop into my TV, sort my wheel out to work on the laptop etc... However I still loved LFS and really wished it could be on my console.

So what I think might be a good idea is for the game to launch a Kickstarter to get it ported and developed onto PS4 and maybe XBOX One. As they both are very similar in architecture to a PC hopefully it wouldn't take too much trouble once developed to keep all three updated.

Current S2/S3 owners could get a discount on S4 or whatever they called it and new people pay full price for would be one of the best sim racers around. The extra cash could be used to update the graphics engine, add new content, new features, new tracks, new cars... Also allowing the developers to focus just on LFS.

Anyway it is just a thought. I know I'd fire £30 off to upgrade my S2 license to include a PS4 version and possibly even an annual sub to keep it updated with more content etc.
Let's stop the fanboyism right now please.

Quote from MysticReverie :The graphics are so smooth. [...] - Brilliantly optimized graphics.

Graphics are old and outdated, not "smooth". I understood what you are trying to tell us, the game dosen't have bloom, motion blur and other graphics effect like that that can disturb you while racing, but that also means that it's less realistic for me.
When you are driving with the sun right in front of you eyes, you should be distracted, that's logical for me.

About that 'optimized graphics', I think it's more about 'outdated graphics' that helps having solid GPU performance, for exampled the baked vertex shadows, while every new game uses shadow mapping and even precomputed global illumination for the AAA. Scawen did some optimisations, but LFS is really low poly and shaders are simple, so those optimisations will be actually effective and useful when GPU will be stressed more.

Quote from MysticReverie :Lesson two would be the incredibly good interface. So many options available and all pretty easy to navigate.
The graphics settings can be changed ON THE FLY, which is just GREAT. So many other games require you to restart the game even if you change just one setting - this makes the whole tweaking process very cumbersome.

Not even a wheel/gamepad support for menus is what you call "something that should be a base for other games" ? There are a lot of options, I agree on that, that's nice and all, but most of the options are not easily understandable by a newcomer.
It took me years to understand every features in the options menu, and some of them are now useless (, and some of them should be hidden in a "advanced" menu. It's nice to have options, but the menu should be easy to navigate and shouldn't be saturated with things that most people won't understand.
Not having to restart the game each time you change something on the graphics settings is a really bonus too (looking at you Project CARS).
An example of a good improvement for LFS options menu would be to create graphics presets, so that people can select theirs graphics options in two clicks, without having to touch mipmap settings or the number of maximum reflections, but still have all those options in the "Advanced" panel.
LFS also needs to have the "?" button next to nearly every options, so that people that are interested in customizing LFS can learn and tweak as they like.

Just my two cents as a gameplay and graphics programmer who plays LFS since 2005.

FGED GREDG RDFGDR GSFDG