Thanks!

One step closer... but now I get another error. This manages to open LFS, but it tells me "Host has a different game code" instead of letting me join the server.

I didn't know this tool existed. So I'll go start searching for

I added a LFS protocol for the directory and now when I attempt to join a server Firefox recognizes that an outside program must be started to handle LFS links. The problem is... LFS doesn't start. I created a .reg file and ran the following...

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\foo]
@="URL:lfs Protocol"
"URL Protocol"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lfs\shell]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lfs\shell\open]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\foo\shell\open\command]
@="\"C:\\Documents and Settings\\Michael\\Desktop\\LFS.exe\" \"%1\""

After further research it seems as if the problem isn't with either browser as with Windows it's the operating system that does or does not recognize certain protocols.

It looks like I might have to manually create a LFS protocol. Now the question becomes...

Does everybody need to do this? Why didn't LFS do this for me when I ran it?

I'm still not sure how it *should* behave. *Should* LFS open when I click 'join' ???

How does this work? If I click 'join' should it automatically start LFS? Should I have LFS open in the background?

I'm using Firefox 2.0.0.3 and when I try to join a server I get this message...

"Firefox doesn't know how to open this address, because the protocol (lfs) isn't associated with any program."

I've poked around the options and settings a bit to see if I can find some way to associate that protocol with LFS, but I haven't found anything.

I get similar results with IE, except I don't get an error message. It just doesn't work.

Is there anything I'm doing wrong here?

I suppose it depends on more variables than I care to bring into the discussion. Since this is a racing game I guess it could be assumed that the mild pad options would only be utilized by the autocrossers who need full brake power right off the line. In my personal experience these pads tend to be quite unpredictable when exposed to open track abuse... obviously so, since they're made for much lower temps.

I concede that proper track pads (assuming proper hardware is in place) matched to the level of grip the car is able to sustain and the power output of the engine are actually difficult to overheat and generally need to be abused to get them to that point.

It will be nice to throw the "cold brakes" hitch in to make race starts even more interesting.

Quote from tristancliffe :

There are several was to feel the brakes...

1. Obvious visual clues the car is braking/not understeering
2. Tyre/Brake noise (cold brakes squeal more)

Brake temps can also easily be represented through gauges and obvious vehicle behaviour, or sounds.

All you know about tyre issues are subtle visual clues that don't make themselves known until it's too late to do anything about them.

Okay, so that last bit is wrong, but so is your version on brakes. You don't think one corner brakes are fine and the next they are nothing??? They don't boil instantly, but you will notice a gradual deterioration of your braking performance. Easy.

We'll have to agree to disagree. It's hard enough to accurately modulate the brakes with zero pedal feel as it is. Making the brakes variable from one turn to the next is only going to make it needlessly difficult.



Concerning noise... yes, cold track pads make a lot of noise. But there's no noise differentiation between overheated pads and pads at optimal temperature, typically. Obviously your fluid shouldn't make any noise at all.

I think the greatest "f-you" to any dickhead in LFS is the "block chat" command.

That's not true at all. There are several ways to feel out the tires...

1. Obvious visual clues as the car is actually turning
2. Force feedback
3. Tire noise

Damage can easily be represented through gauges, obvious vehicle behavior, or sounds.

With brake issues all you get are subtle visual clues that don't make themselves known until it's far too late to do anything about it.



I'm not saying brake temps are a bad idea, so you don't need to take a sarcastic tone. It obviously has it's place in a simulator since brake temperatures are very important to anybody on a race track. What I'm saying is that it will be no small challenge to give the player adequate feedback on what his brakes are doing.

Last edited by Mykl, Thu 19 Apr 2007, 19:29.

Well, if you want people to see your skin, they have to have it on their computer...

Eh, most people say "whatever" if I tell them I play a racing game... it's pretty much a given to everybody I know that I'm interested in these types of games since I'm an autocrosser and track junkie.

When you walk into my home you see a few autocross trophies with checkered flags on them, so when you look over and see the steering wheel in front of my computer it shouldn't be any big surprise.

All that extra variable stuff is great, but the issue with brake temperatures is that in order to take full advantage of it you'd need force feedback pedals (anybody make those???). Brake fade would be a tricky beast to tackle since the only indication you would have of overheated brakes is with the car's stopping distance. As opposed to in a real car where fluid fade is represented by a mushy pedal and pad fade is represented by the increase in pedal pressure required to slow the car.

IMO brake temps are best left alone, unless somebody comes up with a really clever way to incorporate the sensation of cooked brakes to the driver.

Well, even though I bought an S2 license I still find myself on the demo servers a lot because I still want to race the XFG @ BL. I'd say that for every one race with a lot of bad driving or intentional wrecking, I get at least five good races in.

So I don't really think it's *that* bad. At least not during the times I'm playing online.

Thanks for the heads up. If I see them I'll jump to another server.

For some reason I like the idea of being able to drive my STi in a video game. I don't know why, I've got the real thing sitting outside...

I'm due for a new TV, but that video kinda makes me want to look into a projector...

I like coming across drivers as new as me who actually care more about racing and proper track etiquette than getting an uber fast lap time by the end of the race.

I was behind a guy last night on a demo server that I was certainly faster than, but I was having a hard time getting around him. It took me a couple of laps to get a good run on him going up the straight after turn one so I could cleanly get around him. But up to that point I had made a few failed passing attempts, one of which had us driving side by side through turn four, with him pulling away through turn five because I plowed wide from holding too much speed.

After we were done racing he jokingly said I was toying with him and I found out he had only been playing for five days. I told him I hadn't been playing for much longer and that it seems that he's got a good grasp of how to handle himself in a race situation.

To me that's what this game is all about. Getting faster and faster lap times is all good and everything, but I have the most fun when I'm trying to figure out how to execute a proper pass, or when I'm doing everything I can to hold on to my position against a faster driver.

Quote from atledreier :

I'm talking about you saying you're not leaving enough of an edge in your driving for unforeseen events like a car rejoining the track. Very very often these events are avoidable. I can't remember the last time I hit someone like that. Then again, I can't remember the last time I was anywhere near the front of a race either. Might be a connection there..

Do you mean when a yellow flag is shown? Because otherwise I'm going to be pushing my car as hard as my skill allows, and at that point if somebody just flys out in front of me out of nowhere I'm screwed. I will prepare myself for pretty much anything when a yellow is out.

Yeah... but when you hear a word or read a word being used with a negative slant over and over again, eventually your perception of it becomes warped.

There are plenty of words that have been turned into racial slurs. The words themselves may seem innocent enough, but if society's perception of the word has been warped to expect it to be used negatively it's really difficult to use it otherwise.

Quote from Jakg :

STCC don't have a demo server - could you provide more information? sounds like someone leaching their name!

hmmmm... maybe it was something else... I'll check when I get home. Sorry if I've spread any misinformation.

Quote from LFSn00b :

So... I usually don't do that. But i don't say it's the best idea.

But if the lapped car is blocking, sure you can't do anything else that do a PIT to him.

Ofcourse, it's not the best chance. Neither is yelling "Blue Flag Noob" in chat.

I know ramming isn't a good habit, but i get wrecked nearly every race. Maybe it's my fault - maybe the opponent's. That we will never know.

I usually don't do that ramming thing - I'm a clean racer, with average racing skills. I just said an example of that.

But the beginners of LFS - Drive the lessons, it helps a lot to get better.

And remember - RWD is the way to go

/ban FWD

Well ok... you're an average driver, and I'm probably worse than average. But if somebody is hauling around a course 3-4 seconds faster than me then they've probably figured out how to take the really important high speed turns about 3-5 mph faster than me or you. Which basically means that all they have to do is position themselves properly to easily get around me.

I guess on tighter courses this may be a problem though.



I don't mind FWD.

Quote from LFSn00b :

If he doesn't make a mistake - ram him off. It's his fault.

I don't agree with this attitude at all. If you ram me off the course because you couldn't pass me then it's YOUR fault.

As somebody who tends to be a backmarker when there are *good* drivers on course I will tell you that I'm not moving off the racing line unless I joined mid session. I have the same right to a clean lap as you do.

Half the problem with a backmarker moving off the racing line is that it can be unsafe. Lets say somebody is behind me and wants to pass. I decide to go wide through the turn and let them by on the inside... in their impatience they decide to attempt a pass on the outside... oops, we wrecked, and now I'm getting yelled at on chat.

Lets say I decide to go a little slower through the turn so I can let stay of the racing line and let them by on my left at the exit of a right hand turn. Well crap, they weren't prepared for me to slow down so much... I got tapped and knocked off the course.

Here's what I *will* do... if I see somebody making a move to the inside at an *appropriate* turn I will ease up and let them by. Also, if it is convenient and safe I will lift on a straight away coming out of a turn to allow their momentum to overcome mine before the next braking zone. But if you're not a smart enough racer to see those opportunities, then I certainly don't deserve to be put into the wall for it.

But to expect a blue flagged racer to just jump off the course is wrong, and to actually ram them off the course is even worse.

Sorry about my 'noob' rant. I can tell that most people mean no harm by it, but it's the times when people use it in a certain tone that it really gets on my nerves.

My words weren't so much directed at the LFS community as the online gaming community in general.

Yeah, I'm learning to like the STCC servers. Even on the STCC's demo server people are generally well behaved and a joy to drive with.

The server that I noticed most of the bad behavior on was one of the S2 Redline Racing servers.


But what makes a "blue flag ignorer?" Generally I just try to stay on my line when I've been blue flagged and maybe ease off the throttle just a hair at an appropriate passing spot on the track. I'm starting to think that *maybe* a lot of people who complain about blue flag ignorers are the people who are capable of cutting really fast lap times, but not so good when it comes to dealing with racing maneuvers. But I haven't been playing long enough to make that judgement call.

Actually, how I deal with a blue flag depends on if I started the race with everybody else or if I joined mid session. If I joined mid session I'll drive my car way off the track and park it in the dirt if I need to to keep from slowing the racers down.

heh... good old T1... I've learned to hate starting out up front. Last night after finishing second and getting a nice starting position for the next race we ended up restarting four times in a row because the guys in the back kept plowing into everybody and wrecking the field.

I always try to play it safe by either staying way wide or way inside and going at an appropriate speed to negotiate the either much sharpened turn or get an early jump on the throttle if I'm wide... but sometimes there's not much I can do. I just get hit.

Quote from The Moose :

In my limited experience, it's not the good, fast drivers that are spamming with the"blue flag" bollocks or insulting the "noobs" or as i prefer to call them "rookies".
It's usually the talentless morons that indulge in that sort of behaviour..it seems to makes them feel better about themselves.

Fair enough... our perceptions of what "fast" is may differ based on the fact that I'm genuinely slow right now.

I usually ignor others online anymore anyway. The only reason I bother to keep chat open at all is because I occasionally come across reasonable individuals who I'd like to compliment after the race is over if we had some nice wheel to wheel action and it was mostly clean.