I find it's very easy to loose your orientation while looking left and right with the view controls and you can't get a feel for what is around you.

I know there is the pitspotter program which announces when someone is beside you, but it isn't that affective when things are going a bit fast.

What about an option for a simple overlay with a rectangle that represents you car and one for each neighbouring car?

A crude example in the attachment. I know it would certainly help with orientation and stop me knocking people at corners in close races. Good or just rubbish? Maybe it would be better just under the circuit map or some other type of overlay.

Looks like some kind of HUD you might expect to find in a fighter jet, but for LFS no way, bit too arcadey for TRD tbh.

Yea, I considered that. Perhaps my example was bad. What I am thinking of is some kind of visual cue to help with orientation between you and cars that are right beside you.

I had a similar idea to pitspotter, with visible instead of audible cues.

(I hope this hasn't been suggested before, but...)

My idea was that the edge of the screen would glow red (or whatever colour) if there was a car in that direction nearby. For example, the bottom of the screen would glow if there was a car close behind you, or the left side of the screen would glow if there was a car on your left side.

The intensity of the glow could also be used indicate how close the car is to you.

I think that this would adequately simulate peripheral vision as it would give you the "feeling" of a car being there and, in effect, it would give you an extra "sense", but you would still have to turn your head to see exactly where the car was. Overall, I think it would be a valuable addition without being too arcadey.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

I agree it's too "arcadey". You'll eventually learn to race in the pack with experience, but if you had an aid like this you wouldn't. Go out and practice!

Agreed first thing is to get to a stage where you can lap a combo at consistantley without having to think about it, that doesn't mean thousands of laps just enough to know what you're doing and not get caught out. Then once you've got the hang of this you need to be looking in your mirrors as much as you look at the cars ahead, if you had a guy behind you who disappears from view that's when you need to start thinking about where he is.

Quote from ajp71 :

Agreed first thing is to get to a stage where you can lap a combo at consistantley without having to think about it, that doesn't mean thousands of laps just enough to know what you're doing and not get caught out. Then once you've got the hang of this you need to be looking in your mirrors as much as you look at the cars ahead, if you had a guy behind you who disappears from view that's when you need to start thinking about where he is.

I can understand this, and i am always aware when someone is beside me, but it is still very hard to negoatiate corners without droping back out of fear of spinning someone else off the track or them doing the same to you becuase you cant tell how far ahead or behind you they are, especially on the first lap when there are so many cars. It would make the first corner alot more fun I think.

Quote from Wordan :

but it is still very hard to negoatiate corners without droping back out of fear of spinning someone else off the track or them doing the same to you becuase you cant tell how far ahead or behind you they are,

Nobody ever said it's easy That's what's supposed to make it exciting, making that decision to either go for it or to take the safe way. And ofcourse you will make the wrong decision sometimes and take someone out. But that's part of racing, in LFS and in real life. The main thing is, people should learn to "feel" the situation. Being scared of what you might cause is what will really be holding you down.

Quote :

especially on the first lap when there are so many cars. It would make the first corner alot more fun I think.

People using their brains more every once in a while and not trying to win the race at the first corner is what would make it more fun. This is not directed at you or something.

Anyway, a -1 from me.

It's all confidence. There's a parallel for it in real racing too - drivers without confidence are generally slower and loose out in side by side fights, so the same psychological process is happening here too.

Admittedly LFS does sometimes have problems whereby some drivers have more confidence than they should - which when it happens in real life usually ends in a stewards inquiry or an emergency room xray, but at this end of the scale it's quite realistic.

It is good that you have this concern over other racers though, so for that I thank you .

But, if we don't have a big box around the other cars, we can't aim directly for the backmarkers! We might miss the backmarkers instead of hitting them! illepall

we see lfs trhough the monitor wich is a small box while in real life we have a much wider field of view, thus "lfs is very unrealistic (not its fault btw ), because it gives us only a small view compared to RL", so to have lfs more realistic we need to compensate this, the best thing imo is to have virtual side mirrors, so we will have something closer to RL.
btw scawen mentioned int the test patch thread that it's his intention to implement a "not compatible way" for improved "smooth/partial left/right view", but it will be in a "not compatible patch", i'm sure it will be a huge improvement, btw i think virtual side mirrors will be the best

Quote from Wordan :

Yea, I considered that. Perhaps my example was bad. What I am thinking of is some kind of visual cue to help with orientation between you and cars that are right beside you.

Yes, that's already implemented - they're called "mirrors".

Mir-ror? Oh, I thought those were for fixing your hair... :P

Put the look left/right function setting on instant. Use it often. Then use it some more to get use to it. Eventually, all it takes is a quick fraction of a second hit to the side look to take in all information you need. Just keep racing and it will come.

Once you race enough, you learn who everyone is and which ones will drive responsibly. You said above "I can understand this, and i am always aware when someone is beside me..." If you and the other driver follow racing etiquette, then you should both be leaving room for each other. The outside car leaves room at the apex, and the inside car leaves room at the exit. It all comes down to experience and if you are serious about your racing, you will get it.

It was not uncommon for me to be racing with a certain group of folks on the CRC demo server a while back side by side (in packs of 4-5 cars even) for entire races. That was with licensed racers and demo racers both.

I use the pitspotter and 90 degree look left/right set on instant. I look so often and so quickly anymore that I would have no need for something as suggested here (and suggested a while ago as well). I'm with everyone else who feel it would be too archady.