Hiya all. Just something that came into my head while adminning the TE League race (and what a race!) last night

There are many racers out there, looking for races, yes? But (And I mean /no/ offense here) many of them get on a server, and aren't too good. So they get insulted/flamed on the server(s) (again, /no/ offense to the servers/admins in question). So they come here and post 'I got banned', threads, which leads to them getting flamed in the forums. *sigh*

Also, I have seen a few drivers ready to criticise others at a moments notice in chat, but not out on track. Which kind of annoys me. Also, I'm feeling kind of angry about the keyboard/mouse drivers being flamed/discriminated against on the forums/in game. Not everyone has/can use a wheel. Get over it. And also, stop bashing mouse users as well. As one post said 'Every PC needs a keyboard and mouse to start up'.

Thoughts/suggestions/comments (Please. No flaming! I already set the toast on fire this morning)

DK

Quote from DieKolkrabe :

Thoughts/suggestions/comments

You've not explicitly said what you want thoughts on... How to deal with this behaviour, in which case "we" can't do much. People will do what people will do. It maybe bad behaviour, it maybe uncourteous and they'd never do it in real-ife, but this is the internet. Welcome to the flame-filled mess that it is.

Providing servers for "newbie" players is a good idea, and the GURU team used to activity tell people in the forums that they'd be welcome to practise and get pointers from people there - and it was successful. If more people did that now, then it might not be so much of a "problem".

I meant thoughts on what I said.

And the Team Eire server's always up for new racers to come and drive on.

DK

Yup that's the situation.

Not much to talk about really. Things like that will always happen.
It's just plain old human behaviour.
No worries. It just needs you to be a little picky with which racers you 'll race with that's all.

I think Mouse users need alot of skill to race with a mouse i tryed it and its solid. When i first got LFS i used a controller but you could tell that wasnt ment for LFS, i got a wheel the next week but yeah alot of people complain about them because they are harder to use and therfore will be prone to more mistakes if they are not good enough but you use what ya have.

I use a mouse and can't really say it's harder to use, people who always used a wheel are just not used to anything else. Mouse support is what got me into LFS in the first place, I actually prefer driving with a mouse. Maybe I'll get only the pedals and turn the steering wheel with the mouse.

There is one big advantage with a mouse, you can turn the steering wheel all the way in the other direction VERY quickly. I think there a situations where you can loose control with a wheel while you could have saved it with a mouse. At least that is my general feeling that wheel users can't get out of some situations. For example when your back end is going it's own way and you need to turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction as quickly as possible.

You can be WR fast with a wheel, a mouse, a keyboard or even a joypad maybe. I know only one person who uses a joypad and he does above average times. I'm sure there would be a WR with a joypad if more people used them.

I don't remember ever seeing anyone kicked, banned or even flamed for being a keyboard or mouse driver...
(at least not since ancient history when Scawen removed the keyboard helper code that made keyboard the fastest way to drive)
Mostly folks are flamed and banned for causing crashes, and making idiotic moves during a race...
If you join a server and cause mayhem, "It's not my fault, I'm using keyboard" is not going to be a valid excuse

If there are newbies (as opposed to noobs) joining a server, and having trouble, I would suggest that part of the admins job is to try and help them by explaining the basic rules and etiquette...
Any time someone new joins there is a point at which they will:
#1 get some help from an experienced LFSer, have some fun and join the community
or
#2 get flamed and leave with a bad taste in their mouth, never to come back - telling everyone who asks how crap LFS is
or
#3 get flamed and get angry and go on a wrecking spree

I would suggest that #1 is the preferable option, and it is the responsibility of the experienced racers and the server Admins to ensure that this happens as often as possible
It doesn't take much, and you gain bags of respect for doing it !!

Quote from the_angry_angel :

Providing servers for "newbie" players is a good idea, and the GURU team used to activity tell people in the forums that they'd be welcome to practise and get pointers from people there - and it was successful. If more people did that now, then it might not be so much of a "problem".

We're still around, folks!

im one of those racers, i suppose
i don't like being kicked from a server it's not fun and when it's for no reason it's even worse, but hey sunrise sunset

normally what i do is, if your really bad like i used to be don't join the race at the start stay in pit (telepit that is) and once the 5 second limit has finished join then. it might help
i worked for me

Biggest problem I see, is this is a worldwide game, and thus, it brings out many drivers of vastly varying skill levels. Thats great! the problem is however, there is no simple way to find a server on your level to compete on.

A prime example is people running FOX @ AS Club, the fast people post 1:00.XX to 1:01.XX laptimes, then a second group is posting 1:03.XX to 1:08.XX, and usually a few laggards even slower. I know as well as all of you do, this cant be fun for the slower people. Setups help & practice helps, but not everyone has time to practice, or can obtain/make a setup that works really well for them.

Without a server or client side way to diferentiate between skill levels, you almost always wind up on servers where its not fun for everyone. Even with a system in place, how would you implement it? How would it work, License tests, or something to certify a set skill level with potential for advancement. Then servers can be set to allow/disallow license(s).

Afterall, not everyone races to win, and not everyone is a rocketman.. some people are called wreckers just because they are far enough off pace to be caught in bad places by leaders and get hit. Also, not everyone has the time to dedicate to being competitive.. I'm lucky as I've just found my niche, a few car/track combos I can compete on, other places I'm simply racing to finish and stay outta the way, So i realise how both sides can feel.

~Dark

DK , if there was ever a good saying about something like it would have to be " people are a**h*l*s "

i can count on 1 hand how many time's ive been kicked since i 1st installed lfs. If you find yourself being kicked often, maybe you should start working on your racecraft and/or behavior. I notice that some people are unaware they are using dirty or unintelligent maneuvers. Some take criticism on their driving well, some get pissed... and some just cant understand...

Only ever been kicked twice iirc. once for mouthing off at an admin for being a tw*t and another time for beating some guys at drifting on demo. . I use mouse and run usually around 1-2 seconds off WR pace and on hotlaps can somtimes get below a second off WR pace. depends on the track type etc. The new patch with preload is gonna help mouse drivers a lot. because we have the most problems coming out of corners when you have to accelerate from deep in the corner and drive round most of it accelerating. therefore locked diff makes this a little hardbut clutch pack dont. but the fact is locked diffs faster... for now.