Heyy,

Just tried returning to LFS after a long hiatus. Unfortunately, the only populated non-cruise server is basically unplayable with 300+ AUS ping. It's also not a fun experience racing with a HUGE imaginary box around your car, and some players and admins telling you to basically "get lost". Anyway, I get it...The racers left are the hardcore ones that don't want their race potentially ruined.

Last time I played, our region had pretty populated servers and Internode (I think) had some weekly tourny that was always full. Does anyone know where all these players went to? RF2? iRacing? ACC?

Looking to go where ever they went and will check back on LFS next big update to see if it brings life back to our region

P.S
Posting from a new account since I forgot my weblogin and the email I signed up with is long gone.

I've met a fair share of aussies throughout the years, and they all hung out in the popular cruise servers back then. Wasn't even hosted in OCE.

I remember a few cruise servers being hosted in Australia, but they never really got anywhere since the rest of the world would have way too high ping.

Some of the one's i know either stopped playing video games completely or just moved on to another genre of games. Its sad to see, but it is what it is.

Just thought I'd give an update in case any future Aussie/Kiwi has the same question.

I ended up searching through r/simracing for the answer and stumbled upon a couple of users with oddly familiar usernames. Turns out they are the same LFS racers I used to play with

Long story short, some of the Aus/NZ LFSers ended up in leagues in Raceroom and ACC but the majority went to iRacing (primarily due to its netcode and player base).

Anyway, don't do what I did - which was to quickly go and buy the iracing subscription and content from their website . Instead, sign up through Motorsport NZ or Aus to get the year's subscription for free.

https://esports.motorsport.org.au/get-started
https://motorsport.org.nz/esport/

I also downloaded ACC Ultimate, as it's currently 61% off (A$71) on steam. So if you go down this road, wait for a special!

So far I've found 6 LFSers from back in the day and looking forward to finding more of them

There are some well populated AU/NZ leagues using Automobilista 2 as well. Gravel Trap Legends and ANZCRL for example. Some Ex-LFSers there too.

Quote from farcar :

There are some well populated AU/NZ leagues using Automobilista 2 as well...

Heyy! Another aussie

Good to know about Automobilista 2 . I favourited it on steam for when it goes on special. Is just the normal version good enough ($56.95) or do you think the all-inclusive version is worth it ($254)? Does it go on special often? I'll think about giving it a try after I settle down with the other 2 sims!

Btw, you were around in 2005?! You probably played against my dad! I think he started in 04 but didn't really play much until the G25 came out in 2006.

He would have played on one of the four accounts we had. The 2 older accounts (his and my older brother's) we forgot the name and pw to long ago. The other 2 newer ones (illstopforlollipops and lollypopdontstop) I named when I was around 8...hence the memorable but cringey usernames (we used to race together for chupa chups). He would have changed the name that appears on top of the car to "Dennis" or something along those lines, each time he played online.

Can only imagine a LFS $250 edition and a kickstarter for a huge LFS 25th anniversary track and update package, maybe raise $2.5million and see what they turn out...

a few dozen of the most raced tracks and private clubs, and a few amazing features for local hosted servers and teams, points control, driver swaps, broadcasting/rendering de/centralized streams, and all without increasing rental charges.

Quote from illstopforlollipopss :

Heyy! Another aussie ...

Yeah it'll go on sale every month or so, up to 70% off. I'd recommend getting the season pack, to get all the content. It has it's quirks / flaws, but is a really great sim (at least to tide you over until LFS updates ). It has a huge amount of content and I personally love the historic stuff it offers.

Quote from Mister2zx3 :

Can only imagine a LFS $250 edition and a kickstarter for a huge LFS 25th anniversary track and update package, maybe raise $2.5million and see what they turn out...

a few dozen of the most raced tracks and private clubs, and a few amazing features for local hosted servers and teams, points control, driver swaps, broadcasting/rendering de/centralized streams, and all without increasing rental charges.

Money can't make 2 people work faster and it's been made crystal clear that Scawen & co are happy with the team and work styles as they are.

Quote from farcar :

Yeah it'll go on sale every month or so, up to 70% off. I'd recommend getting...

tyvm for the advice. I'll download it when it gets to around 70% off and have a shot at it at a later date

Quote from Mister2zx3 :

Can only imagine a LFS $250 edition and a kickstarter for a huge LFS 25th...

I bet it would be good . I wonder if that kind of money is even enough though? Doesn't Nurburgring/Nordschleife alone cost around $300k for the license? Then you'd be out more $ on top of that to scan it and develop it in game

It's interesting you mention those points as one of the OGs, as you'd be clued in pretty well! Do you think that's whats needed to improve the player base?

My take is actually quite a bit different...

I returned for 5ish days and am already done with the game. Didn't even bother to buy S3, which costs less than an overcook bland lunch at our local track (The Bend - Adelaide), and has content (mods) that I would have literally shed a tear for in the past. The reason? Toxic veteran players...

Nothing really against them personally. It's just how long-running games end out. As the player base decreases the average skill cap increases, and the average tolerance to new comers goes into the bin.

As an example,

The only populated racing server has the word "beginner" in the title. A "beginner" is someone who is new to the game. They are:
- unfamiliar with the track and racing line
- fine tuning their control settings
- learning to drive the car and trying to understand the game physics
- is unfamiliar with the rules (many of them unwritten - e.g. what an acceptable position is for blue flags)

So, new players install the game...see the only populated racing server with "beginner" in the title and thinks, "yup that's me"...they go in and more likely than not get verbally abused, kicked, or banned by veteran players for inadvertently impeding their game in some way. This is commonplace. I get that many crashers do exist, but sometimes it is clear when a player is genuinely new.

What the server name actually means by "beginner" is "novice/amateur" - someone who knows the track, game physics, car, and rules, and is learning to improve their race craft or lap times. They absolutely do not want or tolerate brand new players in that server. I'm not really sure why the devs allow this obvious ambiguity to exist, considering one bad experience on the only populated racing server completely devalues the LFS license for a new racer.

It's also not a "my server, my rules" kinda thing anymore when that server constitutes a significant portion of the multiplayer experience.

Without going into specifics, some veteran players are happy in their routine and have no want (or need) for new players in their server/game. Rather than nurturing new comers and getting them up to a level where they can progress on their own, they treat them as an unsightly road bump - something easily rectified with a kick or ban. This sort of mentality also sets the tone for others in what is acceptable, and results in the same actions/attitude being made by others.

Anyway, the end result is that this game is not a welcoming experience to new racers.

I think the newest post in "New players say hi here" is reflective of how many new comers feel:
"hello im yet another new dude to lfs,how to enter a game without pestering the other players?"

I should probably add that I did see a select few veteran players go out of their way to help new comers. This was few and far between, but an absolute breath of fresh air to see!


Getting back to my point

I don't think new physics/tracks/graphics will do much to increase the player base, as the issues run deeper than that. I think the devs should focus on creating a welcoming experience for new comers. They should utilise their greatest asset: the people who run the Cruise servers. These peeps have a history of:
- successfully onboarding new players
- know how to create a community
- understand how to create a progression system to keep players engaged
- are creative
- know how to manage populated servers

Ask them "If you had to create a fun, welcoming, and populated race/drift server for beginners, how would you go about it?" Give them the end goal of getting the new player from "beginner" to "novice" status - where they can then join the current servers with confidence.

Interested in your thoughts on this? Or am I just being a Karen?