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Game Forum / Simulators / Car Simulators / June 2005LFS S2: Ovals, drafting, big grins.
Ok, decided to venture online. First server I dropped onto was running the oval track. Oooh, thinks me. Didn't know there was an oval. So out comes the V8 and... oh yes! A few years ago some of us used to get some kicks driving ovals in GPL. It could be a bit hit & miss, but when it was good it was great. And This morning I rediscovered that thrill in S2. In fact it took me right back to IndyCar2 by modem with a mate. Only with rather more pixels :-) Anyway. Oval, fast car, minimal wing. Much grinning. 'Nuff said ;-) Andrew McP PS Actually not 'nuff said. Watch out for drafting situation. You can get sucked up the car in front's exhaust very easily, and while you're in the danger zone your back end is looser than a busload of drunk prostitutes (not that I'd know anything about busloads of drunk prostitutes, sadly). Oh, and I wouldn't bother going online until you can get into the low 38's. The low 37 guys will eat you for breakfast... though there are plenty of muppets crashing to add spice to the equation and bump you up the results page. Sometimes the tortoise can still beat the hare. > Ok, decided to venture online. First server I dropped onto was running > the oval track. Oooh, thinks me. Didn't know there was an oval. So out [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > plenty of muppets crashing to add spice to the equation and bump you up > the results page. Sometimes the tortoise can still beat the hare. Yeah, it is fun, but the draft model's a bit uh, severe. Very little effect until you get right up on someone, and then it grabs you like a giant slingshot. Hmmm, maybe that's why they call it that... ;-) But you're right, you have to be ready to go around in a flash, or stay out of the aero hole until you are; else you're going around when all your rear end grip suddenly vanishes. Not very conducive to cooperative drafting, but it does make for some active pass/repass slingshot battles. NSR's turbo draft has nothing on LFS! May just be a function of the F08 open wheelers' high drag & downforce though; I'll have to see how it works in the slower, less downforce dependent cars. Definitely right on the last point, and even in the low 38's you're gonna have trouble running at the front. Finally figured the setup out and can just hit 37-teens in clean air when the tires come in and the fuel load's low. I'm not really up on the nuances of LFS Multi, but it's a shame there don't seem to be any practice/qual/race arrangements like you see in say, NR2K3 - join in practice, go qual and then get gridded accordingly for the races. LFS races seem like constant chaos in comparison, with people joining and leaving all the time (w/o lag on a good server, mind you), and then having them run around pointlessly trying to get a vote on going to the next race while one's going on. Even at alpha stage, it's bloody well worth 12GBP though - nice job! SB > May just be a function of the F08 open wheelers' high drag > & downforce though If the lead car isn't benefiting from the draft at all then this helps maximise the "oops, I appear to be sitting on your engine" effect. > LFS races seem like constant chaos in comparison That's why I stopped pretty quickly with S1. No doubt the same will happen again. As ever, league racing is probably the only reliable way to race online. Andrew McP So exactly how many more years is it gonna be before they finally finish this game? now that sounds like a question to pose to the West Brothers.. Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahaha >So exactly how many more years is it gonna be before they finally >finish this game? > So exactly how many more years is it gonna be before they finally > finish this game? Put it back in your pants, Mark. > So exactly how many more years is it gonna be before > they finally finish this game? LFS is excellent value for money if you ask me. And I like supporting the developers directly in an ongoing project. I hope they go on to give us S4, S5, and more. Incremental development/upgrades don't scare me at all as long as the interim stages having something to offer. The biggest improvement this time is damage. Hopefully that'll force some of the audience to grow up a little :-) Andrew McP > Finally figured the setup out and can > just hit 37-teens You and everyone else it would seem judging by this morning's races! I need to dig out my ICR2 manual from wherever it's hiding and get to work. I can turn solid 38.4's safely, but try to get too clever and I'm facing the wrong way too often. Nothing new there then. Once a backmarker, always a backmarker :-) Still good fun though, and I clocked up 100 points or so merely from finishing consistently. I get as much of a kick out of being a safe competitor as I do out of winning... whatever that is ;-) Andrew McP > (Steve Blankenship) wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Andrew McP Don't be shy about asking someone to send you a fast setup - it's easily done in LFS and people are generally accomodating. Did some oval racing in the Porsche-looking cars (don't remember the name) last night and ended up sending half the field my setup, which made for some great near-fixed-setup racing. Much more fun than having people running widely disparate laptimes and spinning repeatedly. Even those cars will do low 38's at KR, no doubt high 37's with a truly good setup - mine was a quick bodge. But if you're a DIY-guy, remember to take a hint from the Plate setups for NR2003 and blow all the tires up to max pressure - I farted around trying to nail the temp balance in the F08 and couldn't get under 38 to save me. Finally punted on a hunch and voila! If memory serves, that's something that generally produces speed in LFS without ill effect in the length races you typically see online. Not intimate with LFS options, so I don't know if there's an accelerated wear option for race hosting that would negate that or not. The more I mess with S2(still alpha, to be fair), the more I see it as a bit "sim-lite", and still shy of the likes of Papy/GTR/RBR fare. Back to back turns in the F08 and Netkar's F3000 is pretty illuminating in that regard. But regardless, it's a lot of fun and a very well-done effort. Still a lot I'd like to see in there that's not, but I'm glad to have given them a few bucks along the way. Good value. SB > But if you're a DIY-guy Thanks for the tips. I usually struggle with other people's setups. I'm often better off tweaking a nice, safe setup slowly until I find my own limit rather than starting with a fast setup and working backwards. Otherwise I end up being a danger on the track, and I'd much rather be slow & predictable than another pain in the *rse. There are enough of those already. DICKHEAD HAS VOTED TO RESTART DICKHEAD HAS VOTED TO RESTART DICKHEAD HAS VOTED TO RESTART WHY WON'T YOU GUYS RESTART? I CRASHED. IT'S NOT FAIR! FUKKIN RESTART! :-) > The more I mess with S2(still alpha, to be fair), the more I > see it as a bit "sim-lite" LFS has always been a bit of a strange beast. Hardcore in some ways, soft in others. For instance I'm less impressed now than I was before by the damage modelling. You can treat the hardware very badly a lot of the time and still carry on. A slight clip on the track can do limited damage though, and perhaps it's not a bad balance for maximising entertainment without alienating the bulk of longterm users. The project's progressing well though, especially considering the team's so small. Plenty of potential, and -- as you say -- good value for money. I've had my money's worth already, and I haven't even visited all the tracks yet. Speaking of tracks, there are some really nice new additions, with quite a few *really* satisfying corners and sequences. Ok, they're fictional tracks, but that kind of thing's never bothered me at all. Andrew McP > Thanks for the tips. I usually struggle with other people's setups. I'm > often better off tweaking a nice, safe setup slowly until I find my own > limit rather than starting with a fast setup and working backwards. > Otherwise I end up being a danger on the track, and I'd much rather be > slow & predictable than another pain in the *rse. There are enough of > those already. Right on that last count for sure! Had to laugh yesterday in some oval races when guys would crash out of 10th place 12 laps into a 20 lapper and immediately start whining and hitting the "vote to restart" button. And every race took about 5-6 tries to get the first lap in without half the field being taken out. Not quite as funny was once when I backed off to avoid a couple of cars crashing in front on a start and some bozo rear ends me at full throttle, then starts screaming and voting to ban me. And damned near enough voted to do it, even though they weren't anywhere around and had no idea what the kid was wailing about. Vote didn't go through, and I ended up winning from about 10th on the grid. Screamer didn't finish. Go figure... ;-) I've always been a bit off-put by the incivility of NR2003 races relative to the good old days in GPL, but with LFS it comes across more as just kiddies throwing tantrums than ill-mannered adults. Somehow that seems a bit more tolerable... > Speaking of tracks, there are some really nice new additions, with quite > a few *really* satisfying corners and sequences. Ok, they're fictional > tracks, but that kind of thing's never bothered me at all. Ditto; they've taken a realism approach in a fantasy world, other than some who would have you racing over Mt. Everest or such. Did some roadie action at Aston Historic over the weekend and highly enjoyed it. SB > with LFS it comes across more as just kiddies throwing tantrums > than ill-mannered adults. Somehow that seems a bit more tolerable Agreed. For some reason LFS has always sucked in the teenage "pimp my ride" and car park racing crowd. They're usually too funny to take seriously though, even when repeatedly whining. > Did some roadie action at Aston Historic over the weekend > and highly enjoyed it. That track is excellent. A great excuse to break out the Mini :-) Andrew McP > Oval, fast car, minimal wing. Much grinning. It's worth noting that the drafting model appears to be incomplete (hardly surprising with this ongoing project). The lead car appears not to benefit from the draft at all, which spoils the party a little. Andrew McP |
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