Is it even true that the number of active LFS players is declining? I'd like to see some numbers please. Otherwise this discussion is pointless.

The G25 is a very sturdy unit. I had the MOMO before, and the G25 feels a LOT more solid. There's no slack in the steering column at all, for instance. It feels like it can take a lot of abuse without problems. Same thing goes for the pedals. The shifter is, as you know, the weakest link. However if you handle it with care it's not a problem. At least it hasn't been for me, and I've used mine for a year. (I always use H-gate when possible)

I had my shifter attached to the same desk as my wheel before I got my Rinoseat. It actually worked quite well.

So I'm sure you'll be happy with the G25! However, I always recommend people to consider the Fanatec GT3 RS wheel which will be released in a month. Quite competitive price, and it comes with some really great pedals. (looking at the specs)

Very sad news indeed. During my first year with LFS I did virtually all my racing in the CTRA, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. IMO the system is unique and very well maintained.

I was also curious to see how X2 would play out. From what I've read, it could have pretty much revolutionized the whole LFS experience. It might even have been a model for other sims as well (iRacing for example). Did you ever consider "exporting" your stuff to other sims..? That might bring in some steady income!

Quote from [Viking] :

I've signed up for a month of iRacing now as well, and wow. I had no idea modeling the bumps and other formations on the track could do so much for immersion and excitement. The more people who try iRacing, the more LFS has to consider modeling bumps etc on tracks for S3. This is obviously something that has been left out for too long from racing sims.

In LFS, a high speed corner is always the same as long as the tire temps are appr. the same and the setup and car is the same. In iRacing, if you take a corner right on the limit, a small bump in the road can send you out of control onto the grass where there is no friction at all, and smashing into the wall, making the car undrivable and giving you a juicy reduction in safety rating. Driving fast on the limit has never been more exciting, IMO. I will not abandon LFS, but iRacing definitely got something going for it.

I agree, the tracks are definitely iRacing's strongest point, and also illustrates LFS' main weakness. LFS feels very dull in comparison. The cars and the general track layout in LFS are both excellent, but like you say it's like driving on rails compared to iRacing. Totally predictable.

I'll illustrate by an example: in iRacing I've been racing a lot lately on a track where there's a long straight leading to a very sharp 150 degree hairpin. It's a narrow track, so naturally you want to go as far out to the curb as possible when braking for the corner. However there's a little dip on the outside of the track which means that unless you correct your steering just a tiny bit while braking you're likely to loose grip on the outside tyres under braking, which could cause you to spin off in a spectacular fashion. It really is a lot more important to know the track very well than it is in LFS. I find myself spending quite some time in practice driving off the ideal line, so that I can get acquainted with the bumps and cracks in the tarmac here, too, which will be useful in overtaking- and defending situations.

A bit of constructive advice for LFS: laser scanning isn't the only way of getting believable track surfaces! It shouldn't be too hard to make some algorithm or something to create a random pattern of cracks and bumps..? I understand that the polygon count on the tracks will go up, but that shouldn't really be an issue with today's computers. I'd love to see more believable track surfaces in LFS!

It's easy to fix, too.. just place a small coin or something at the end.

Quote from pearcy_2k7 :

Mine have started now Most annoying is when im on full throttle sometimes it will cut back the throttle a little bit for a split second.

That's precisely my problem too. It sounds like gearbox failure in LFS (you know, the popcorn sound).

If your pedals are still covered by the warranty I'd hand them in and complain!

EDIT: I "fixed" the problem (for now at least). What I did was I opened the pedal case and removed the gas pedal cylinder to expose the black plastic sprocket thing that turns the POT. (augh, what a sentence.. I'm too tired to rephrase it :P ) Anyway, I just rotated the sprocket thing fully from lock to lock for a few minutes. I read somewhere that this should make the slider thing inside the POT remove any dust and dirt that might have gotten stuck inside the mechanism. And voilà, now there is no sign of spiking, and that horrible crunching sound is gone!

I doubt that this will be a permanent fix, though, since the dirt hasn't techically been removed -- it's just been moved out of the way a bit. So I guess I'll have to do it again some time.. for now I'm just happy that it's working.

Last edited by Gnomie, Mon 2 Feb 2009, 22:11.

Thanks guys! Race King, did you pry apart the POT itself, or did you just clean it from the outside (like I did)?

Last time I opened my pedal case I didn't notice how the POTs are actually attached. Are they screwed in place..? I guess I'll find out when I open it again. I just want to do this without taking apart too much.. I don't have much tools, but hopefully I'll manage with what I have or what I can borrow.

What sort of stuff would you recommend for cleaning them? Some kind of electrical contact cleaner or something?

Thanks!

Well, the problem is back. The throttle is spiking again, although not quite as bad as before. It's getting annoying though, so I want to fix it if possible.

How do I clean the pots? Is there a tutorial somewhere that I might use? Do I need a lot of equipment? Maybe it's cheaper to buy new ones..?

OOhh, AS3! What a shock!

Looks like a nice league though if you're into that kind of thing.

Hi I don't know, but apparently there's a firmware update available now. Here's a post from the iRacing board (by Leo):

Quote :

If you are using DFP/G25 standalone pedals USB interface then you may want to try new utility that opens internal calibration feature. You can now go ahead and store calibration inside the device box. I think this should be a big step ahead in iRacing calibration struggle since they seem to bypass Windows calibration settings. You would need to press "Upgrade Firmware" button once at the beginning to load new firmware into the box. This has been tested on a few PCs and should work OK but if the application crashes just try a few more times. You should see the device version change from 1.1 to 1.2 and all the calibration features should get unlocked. After you start using internal calibration reset the Windows/DIView/DXTweak2 calibration to default! Calibrate gently - don't push or stomp on pedals while calibrating or tuning the limits. This will make sure you are setting realistic limits and always achieve 100% acceleration and braking. The software can be downloaded here: Calibration-DFP-G25.exe http://www.leobodnar.com/produ ... n/Calibration-DFP-G25.exe This has just been developed so please report any problems directly to me via email. This option only applies to DFP/G25 standalone pedals USB adaptor. BU0836, BU0836A, BU0836-LC and BU0836X are not compatible with this software

Quote from BlueFlame :

Well, call me ignorant and stupid but I honestly think there are a few cheaters online with IL-2, I mean, you can be climbing vertically in a jet(BI-1 [the fastest plane on the game])and still get shot down by someone in a stalled Bf-110 for christ sake. I do understand clearly I mustn't be of a good enough level to compete with these people, but sometimes you just wonder... :P

Cheats are a problem on some of the server that allow mods. I'm not sure about the details, but apparently it's difficult for the server to discern between "good" and "bad" (i.e. cheat) mods. The 4.08 servers are mostly clean from what I've heard. Granted, I've never really gotten into online play. Still waiting for my new joystick to arrive!

Great news! I know a lot of people are looking forward to your review.

Yep, IL-2 is a fantastic sim. And with the constant stream of mods it's almost as if there's no need for SOW. Just check some of these screenies: (from this thread)

Ouch.. Hope the recovery goes well!

Quote from GTM :

Cant understand why a feature as good as this has never been put in other driving sims! It must make the game so much more fun, espcially if you drive in real life.

Indeed! There's quite a number of LFSers who think it's more important to drive as realistically as possible (clutch, H-gate shifter, right foot braking, heel&toe...) than going super-alien fast and using paddle shifter, clutch macros and all that jazz. It's of course a matter of personal preference, but I think it's great that it's possible to do both! The clutch simulation is of course an important part of that.

I often drive the less driven cars, but that's just because I love them! The RAC is such a joy to drive if you have a decent setup. And I would never drive the steamtrain (FXO) if I can drive the XRT instead.

Sounds like you had a good time! What car/track did you run?

Yup, I use the stick too. I think we're in a minority though, even among G25 users

Quote from lerts :

i was thinking if you start acelerating in the corner 1 tenth of a second before at the end of the straight you have not gained on tenth but maybe a whole second, is this correct

As has been said already, you're correct.

When doing hotlaps, trying to improve your laptimes, it's sort of intuitive to think that "oh, in order to go faster I should brake later". While it might sound like a good idea, my experience is that the opposite tactic is more often better. That is, go slower into the corner and focus on maintaining the balance of the car so that you can get back on the throttle earlier than normal. You'll gain a lot more by doing it this way than the split second you gain from braking later. Plus, you'll have better control of the car throughout the corner, which is crucial for consistency. (which, after all, is arguably more important than anyting in a race!)

Quote from The Very End :

Ballistics.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/driving/ballistics/index.html

Epilepsy!!

I'd like to mention Mount&Blade. Fantastic RPG that's been in Beta state for years, and was recently released. Combat is really innovative and feels more satisfactory than in any other RPG I've played.

Quote from 1993weeman :

I think i shall try and see this. It sounds fun

Good Luck to everyone

And good luck to you too if you plan to watch the entire thing.

I'll definitely tune in from time to time to check on the action! Should be exciting.

I never understood some people's need to consistently speak badly of racing games, whether on PC or consoles. In fact we should be grateful to these games, because they expose huge numbers of casual gamers to racing. And surely among some of them it sparks an interest for getting into more serious simming. I believe the main gateway to sims is through games -- very few people go directly to the sim world.

I've had near accidents too. I've never owned a motorbike, but I did own a snowmobile a while ago.

Once I was out driving my snowmobile on the ice. I was doing maybe 80 kph, just cruising along. Unfortunately the ice cover had split and shifted, which created a ~ 15cm high edge, which I hit straight on. I was thrown into the air and went flying for what seemed like at least 5 seconds, but I managed to stay on the snowmobile and keep it straight. Luckily I make the landing too. And snowmobiles are sturdy things, so there was no damage. My back hurt for a few days from the landing impact, but other than that I was fine.

That could have ended very differently though.. I was lucky! It certainly makes you think, when you've had a near-accident like that. Previously I'd been doing 180 kph on ice just like that.. (had to take that 1100cc engine for test run! ) I don't even dare think about what would have happened if I had hit a ledge like that at those speeds!

I know what you mean about your self confidence taking a hit! You'll get over it though. And I agree with the others. If the damage is purely cosmetic I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Quote from Gills4life :

I never really check to see how I am doing it I just do it. Now I am looking I flick the throttle with my heel. To me it feels very comfortable and easy to do. I don't understand why you cannot picture it.

Because using the heel would mean you'd hit the very base of the gas pedal, no? So you'd effectively get a very strong blip even with very low force. And if you blip too much (100% gas for some time) the rev matching won't be perfect...

Man, this is hard to explain. Anyway, as long as it works for you I guess that's all that matters. But if someone would like to make a short youtube vid that would be cool.

Quote from Gills4life :

Heel toe is way easier with the Fanatec pedals.

Do you press the base of the gas pedal with your heel (or side of foot)? I guess that could work, but I'm having trouble picturing it.. there's no videos on Youtube either (from what I could see anyway)