I do not know how you people do it, but it seems extremely difficult for me even stop freaking out. I have participated in a drifting competition hosted by a few buds of mine, nothing big but just a few people to make it happen. We had about three rounds to show what we could do and earn our scores. I was second or third to go in some occasions, so I simply drove out there before I was a go. An immense amount of pressure just came over me, I race with a Mouse and Keyboard by the way, my hands would not move like i wanted it too. Others could notice what was going on through my performance; I sometimes hesitated to turn for a drift and often braked too early because I was cautious.
At the end of the night I took, fifth place out of a couple of people, first event and it seemed intense.

Any tips on how you guys get ready for these kinds of events or relieve yourself from this anxiety?

It's a computer game, not real life. So ask yourself this:

1)Are you REALLY racing with friends, or jerks who laugh at your mistakes?

2)Is there money or prizes involved? If not, why worry?

3)If you crash your car, is someone going to be hurt or killed, or property damage?


I will be honest and blunt: It is just a game. Nothing more. If you keep that mindset, and PRACTICE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN, you should have no worrys. If you are new to driving simulators, this game is not going to be easy. Patience and persistence is the key to developing skill here.

Good luck, and dammit, have fun, OK? OK.

Of course, it is a game… It will always be a game; no one will ever get hurt.
You have to remember that this was my first event I have ever been too, only knew one or two people. Now I did not want to embarrass myself, I am sure no one does.

I know sometimes I feel some pressure when racing, mostly I just don't wanna make a mistake. However, to make it go away, I just calmly tell myself that its just a game and it doesn't matter how badly I drive. At that point I am calm and able to race better. I can't explain it, it just somehow relieves me, gets all that off my mind, am I am able to race. If I make a mistake, I don't care, I just laugh it off and keep going. The point is not to let this game turn into real life. It is just a game, and the reason we all play it is to have fun. Don't make it any more than that, especially since you haven't even bought S2 yet, there's so much more for you to experience.

I want to add that with time you will get faster. When you get faster you will have more confidence going into races with new people. At that point there should be a lot less pressure on you, so just keep driving!

Thanks, Red Cobra for your words of confidence, I understand that I have not been playing this that long and yet I have so much to experience. I will continue on practicing daily and continue entering events and competitions to increase my skill and motivation.

It is a game, which is why it is so fun.

First of all,

stop acting like a little girl,

second of all,

it's stage fright. just continue doing your competitions and in a while it will disappear - you will get used to the pressure. So no worries, just practice and get experience.

thirdly,

stop acting like a little girl

PLAYLIFE please read my avatar, then go screw yourself. These situations are always caused by people like you. Just remember, we were all noobs at one point, and sometimes noobs need encouragement.

Quote from shiny_red_cobra :

PLAYLIFE please read my avatar, then go screw yourself. These situations are always caused by people like you. Just remember, we were all noobs at one point, and sometimes noobs need encouragement.

And you're better for replying like this how??

I guess I also forgot to mention when i participate in big races, I am usually shaking and want to throw up, or run away. Or both! Recently the team I belong to participated in a big 24 hour race, and when my turn was up, I mentally blocked out all fears, all thoughts, and thought only of the race, and how I would finish.

Pretend that you are the worlds greatest driver. Now typically, the worlds greatest real world drivers are that because they are also pretty stupid. They only have ONE thought on their mind. Emulate that.

Just stop thinking and DO IT, regardless of made up consequences and errors that haven't happened yet.

How am I better than him? Easy: I don't go around bashing the new guys, unless they really deserve it. This guy doesn't so I don't know why playlife has to lash out at him...

4) Why have you named your thread like a song from Rise Against?

I think everyone gets a littler nervous at league races. I know I do at the start, getting through the opening turns and not crashing. Then once the field is opened out a little it becomes like any normal race for me in that try to go as fast but consistent as possible. I think that as you play youy will get used to events and the pressure will be lifted. Also practice is helpful, if you have done alot of laps of the car/track combo then you will get into your rythem round the track which lessens the pressure.

Thank you all for the responses and words of encouragement, I greatly appreciate it.

I have noticed someone flaming me for asking for advice, yes, I am a Noob and I have looked for several ways to overcome this pressure during competitions. What better way of expressing myself then coming along the LFS forums and looking for some advice.

That isn't nervousness, that is adrenaline, I get that sometimes especially when there are intense battles up near the top 5 or so drivers. Yes it is a game, but then again.. it is a game, if you get into it enough adrenaline will start to pump through you and you'll start shaking, it can get pretty intense. I don't really get that way much anymore, but I remember getting it a few times back in my earlier days of LFS. Every now and then I'll get it, but not enough to make me shake. Good times.

Ask for a wheeel for your birthday or christmas or whatever.
Or get one yourself, you can get really cheap non-FF wheels which is what most people start off with, my first wheel was a Logitech Formula GP, I belive its now a $25 wheel and it is of great value, I still use its gas pedal for my clutch.

Was thinking of purchasing a Driving Force Pro to start off with.

I didnt wanna spend the 300$ on the G25, i think my best bet would be the DFP, so i will get it pretty soon.

I remember the feeling. I could play offline all day no problem, but online I'd get all nervous/adrenaliney. It went away with time. For serious cases of anxiety though, it's best to drink plenty of beer before an important race. It really helps you relax and not worry about your mistakes.

As for the DFP, it's an excellent buy. I've never used the G25 so I can't compare, but I'd say the DFP's certainly a good starter wheel. I'd say S2 is a great deal too though. I ordered both at the same time myself, and just dinked around with a gamepad until the wheel came. I don't get how you guys can play with mouse/keys.

But yeah, just relax. As you get better at driving, you'll feel more confident and less worried about screwing up, and therefore you'll actually screw up less! Funny how that works.

Quote from Rider's Motion :

4) Why have you named your thread like a song from Rise Against?

You mean Black Flag

Quote from Loveless :

I do not know how you people do it, but it seems extremely difficult for me even stop freaking out. I have participated in a drifting competition hosted by a few buds of mine, nothing big but just a few people to make it happen. We had about three rounds to show what we could do and earn our scores. I was second or third to go in some occasions, so I simply drove out there before I was a go. An immense amount of pressure just came over me, I race with a Mouse and Keyboard by the way, my hands would not move like i wanted it too. Others could notice what was going on through my performance; I sometimes hesitated to turn for a drift and often braked too early because I was cautious.
At the end of the night I took, fifth place out of a couple of people, first event and it seemed intense.

Any tips on how you guys get ready for these kinds of events or relieve yourself from this anxiety?

I see no problem here.

Great game + great competitors = extreme adrenalin rush. I get it all the time, my heart will be thumping at a million beats per minute as I try to outbrake some ****er into a hairpin, and I end up braking too late and slamming into the outside bumpers.

I was looking into getting a Driving Force Pro soon…
The game will probably have to wait for along time but I can still settle for demo seeing most of my friends still reside there.

a couple things.

You will have to pretty much re-learn the game with a wheel, but its worth it (not so much at 270 degrees, but at 720-900 its loads different)

I see no problem in him calling you a little girl, he is joking. I saw it as him telling you to be more confident and step up and do what you need to do instead of freaking out, but that comes with more seat(play) time.

I drag race in real life, and it requires more concentration than racing go karts (raced for 5 years) ever did. The races I get psyched up for I don't breath from the moment I stage until after I see a win light at the end of the track. I'm not doing that on purpose, rather its a reaction to the nerves and the thrill. The excitement from bracket racing doesn't come from going fast, its from doing everything a little more perfect than the other guy and taking the win. When my light comes on there is a rush that is like nothing else, well...actually its the same rush that everyone else describes like that...

Anyways, where I am getting at is being nervous or caring about what other people are doing/thinking won't help you. Concentrating on what you are doing will. The moment you start focusing on the other people you will screw yourself up. When racing go karts you had to learn to look past the person in front of you even though you were inches away. If you didn't learn to ignore the person in front of you, you would just start following them. You would make the same mistakes, and be stuck behind them.

This turned into a pretty long post...

anyways, ignore other people and most of your nerves will go away. The rest is most likely from you putting too much pressure on yourself. The way I try to take care of that is acting like I don't care. Its the only way I've learned to keep my wits about me.

Hey Loveless,

Just experience overcomes the feelings you are having before races and I'm sure you have noticed that once the race has begun and you are concentrating on the track, those butterflies just disappear. I'm still trying to get rid of that feeling when I'm in front during a race. I start worrying about the car behind me too much and lose the bottle ( and the front of the car to a wall usually )

I just bought a G25 from dell.com for $180 and i highly recommend it.

You'll soon learn to enjoy this feeling, it's a combination of nerves, excitement and anticipation. If it's a long race then you will more than likely calm down after a few laps, I was in a similar situation when i started racing in the OLFSL .
Go get S2 and you can watch other racers, for tips and racing line etc...also remember when you buy s2 you can still go back and race with your mates on the demo servers.
The wheel will make an enormous difference to your driving confidence, just remember to own your racing line and be in control of exactly what your doing and where your going, i know this sounds bizarre but i spent months just trying to go as fast round the corners as possible until i realised its about the entire lap and going too fast round one corner might affect another...

I look forward to seeing you and your mates on S2 :-)

You think thats bad, wait until you're the front man a pack of 30 hungry wolves who are snapping at your heels trying to get past you then you'll really know what nerves are

Dont let it get you down though as its that same feeling that you will learn to recognise and use to fuel you through a tough race.

I'm still waiting for the

"You young 'ungs have got it easy these days! We used to have to walk 15 miles to school in blizzards and there was always a high likelihood of being eaten by a great white shark"

reply.... ermm

Hahhaha! "Aye when I were a kid there were no LFS - we used to have to make turn 1 in wooden carts - and there wir nae restarts either"

Quote :

"Aye when I were a kid there were no LFS - we used to have to make turn 1 in wooden carts - and there wir nae restarts either"

"Wood'n cart! You wer' lucky! We got dragged on plunk o' wid while holdin' on tae a horses tail"

Seriously though... Experience is all it takes.... and a pack of 30 hungry wolves according to Bram