Mods approval - it's based on community ratings
Hello Community Members!
It took a while to get going but for the last 3 days we have approved four mods each day, based on your ratings.
There are a lot more good mods, with high ratings, but still not *enough* ratings. We would like to approve more each day but there is no way the developers can do all the testing, and our mod reviewers, who are volunteers, can't do that either.
That's why we have a community approval system. YOU rate the mods, and we'll approve the good ones! For now it is a manual process but we plan to make it automatic after a while.
Your ratings are needed in the following categories:
You can get to any mod's page either:
- through the vehicle mods page
or:
- click the star rating beside the mod in game
Thanks!
Notifications about the approved mods can be found on this thread: https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/96603
It took a while to get going but for the last 3 days we have approved four mods each day, based on your ratings.
There are a lot more good mods, with high ratings, but still not *enough* ratings. We would like to approve more each day but there is no way the developers can do all the testing, and our mod reviewers, who are volunteers, can't do that either.
That's why we have a community approval system. YOU rate the mods, and we'll approve the good ones! For now it is a manual process but we plan to make it automatic after a while.
Your ratings are needed in the following categories:
- Overall
- Technical
- Graphical
- Physics
- Animation
- Engine sound
You can get to any mod's page either:
- through the vehicle mods page
or:
- click the star rating beside the mod in game
Thanks!
Notifications about the approved mods can be found on this thread: https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/96603
Last edited by Scawen, .
Approving mods based on your ratings!
Dear mod users,
We don't think the acceptance and approval of mods has reached its final form, but we can do better with the current system while we consider how mods will be initially submitted, accepted and approved in a sustainable way.
We are currently looking at the system that allows the community to approve mods by use of the ratings on each mod's page. We have been a bit slow to get this system working as designed. Of course, for a while after it was first implemented, there weren't enough community ratings to produce reliable results.
It's now clear that a lot more mods should pass 'APPROVAL' and be visible on the approved mods list. But a lot of mods still don't have enough ratings for our algorithm to produce a reliable result.
So please can you visit the web page of some mods you have tested and if you have reliable knowledge about each category, go and give the mod a rating in each of the categories.
https://www.lfs.net/files/vehmods -> Show: All
We don't think the acceptance and approval of mods has reached its final form, but we can do better with the current system while we consider how mods will be initially submitted, accepted and approved in a sustainable way.
We are currently looking at the system that allows the community to approve mods by use of the ratings on each mod's page. We have been a bit slow to get this system working as designed. Of course, for a while after it was first implemented, there weren't enough community ratings to produce reliable results.
It's now clear that a lot more mods should pass 'APPROVAL' and be visible on the approved mods list. But a lot of mods still don't have enough ratings for our algorithm to produce a reliable result.
So please can you visit the web page of some mods you have tested and if you have reliable knowledge about each category, go and give the mod a rating in each of the categories.
https://www.lfs.net/files/vehmods -> Show: All
- Overall
- Technical
- Graphical
- Physics
- Animation
- Engine sound
New Version 0.7A - Mods Support
Dear Racers,
We have always wanted to support user created content in Live for Speed. We thought it could be done after the new version release, with the new physics. That would have been ideal but there is a lot of demand for mods and we started to look into it this year.
At first we started thinking about simply allowing VOB mods, with some restrictions. But it would of course be better if we had an official way to edit and export mods. So we experimented with some changes in the current public version of LFS, to the point where it could load VOB models saved from our development version. It was immediately obvious that it would be too restrictive if we only allowed VOB mods on existing cars. So we made more changes to save fully edited vehicles that could be loaded in the public version.
As a standalone model and vehicle editor was proven to be possible in principle, we got more serious about the whole thing. We started working on a mod submission system, with mods stored on our website and automatically downloaded in LFS. With the new system, you can visit any server and see new mods there for the first time as they are automatically downloaded like skins.
To make a mod you can build a model (3D mesh) directly in the LFS modeller or start by importing one from another program, e.g. Blender, then make adjustments and apply texture maps within the LFS modeller. To create a driveable vehicle with your model, you could either start from scratch with a new vehicle or choose an existing car as a starting point. Adjust wheel positions, mass, suspension, engine and so on. Test the mod in your public version of LFS then export and upload it to our website. Reviewers will check it follows the rules and accept / reject / request changes. When accepted, the mod can be downloaded in LFS and used online.
There are some restrictions.
- The mods system is only for S3 licensed users.
- We do not allow real car names or logos, unless permission is proved.
- We do not allow meshes converted from other games, unless permission is proved.
- There are limits (e.g. triangle count and texture size) so the mods are quick to download.
Changes to hosting:
There are some changes to the way game servers work. We believe the only way to prevent piracy is to no longer release any server code at all (or even support LAN games). For the new version, we provide the servers, using our existing server rental system. Game server owners can use InSim connections to their servers. We have set up internet servers in various continents so you should get a good ping wherever you are.
You can start a free server in game, using the "Start new host" button. But now, that starts a host running on one of our servers, instead of locally on your computer. When you leave a free server, it closes down after a few minutes.
If you want to run a full-fledged server, or multiple servers, that stay online all the time and store replays and layouts, you can use our game server hosting system. You can choose Netherlands, USA, Japan, Brazil, Hong Kong, Turkey or Australia for the location of your game server. The prices are approximately a quarter of what they were before this change.
You can manage your hosts from https://www.lfs.net/hosting/admin
That works for free hosts started from in-game as well as rental hosts. An InSim port is always opened and available to the IP of the user who started the host. If you would like to whitelist more IPs for InSim, you can do so using the hosting admin link above.
Please read the full list of changes below.
How to use the mods system : downloads, web pages, videos, documents
Four ways to get version 0.7A :
1) AUTO UPDATER - If you already have version 0.5V or later :
- Click on "Multiplayer" then "List of Hosts" in LFS and choose a download mirror.
2) MANUAL PATCH (35 MB) - If you already have version 0.6R or later :
- Click HERE and save the patch installer.
- You can run the patch installer from its download location or from your LFS folder.
4) FULL VERSION (521 MB) - If you are new to LFS or making a fresh installation.
- Click HERE to visit the download page and get the full version installer.
Changes from 0.6V to 0.7A :
Mods:
Mods support is now available for S3 licensed users
A vehicle editor and object modeller are available
Includes support for single-gear electric vehicles
Multiplayer:
Start new host screen starts a new host on LFS.net
Host options screen now available for admins while online
Message "[user name] is connecting..." when someone is joining
Unlimited number of bans in ban file
Updated cars:
MRT with improved frame, steering wheel, wider tyres, minor updates
RB4 with more detailed exterior, interior, 10mm shorter wheelbase
Graphics:
Minor improvements to drivers and spectators
Updated ADS jpg textures for all tracks except RO
Increased number of mipmaps for number plate textures
Updated car shaders to better reproduce the editor materials
- Variable shine can now be used (alpha channel sets shine level)
- Material type 'overlay or plain' can be used for chrome parts
- Roughness value is NOT supported (specular reflection disabled)
Interface:
Using updated font from new version of LFS
Improved display size of vehicles in game setup screen and garage
Removed feature that enabled "window while connecting" on new patch
FIX: Player name could be displayed wrongly in F11 and F12 menu
Misc:
More prominent warning for clipping in engine sound editor
Experimental anti clipping audio option (enabled by default)
Anti clipping is automatically disabled in engine sound editor
Layouts:
Plain area 4km x 4km designed specifically to allow large layouts
Max selected objects in editor is now 60 (was 30)
Controllers:
Support for controllers with up to 128 buttons
Look Heading and Look Pitch are no longer automatically assigned
InSim (for programmers):
New packet size byte - now represents packet size divided by 4
This allows larger packets up to 1020 bytes (old limit was 252)
IS_ACM and IS_MCI make use of the increase packet size
New packets IS_MAL / TINY_MAL set / get allowed mods
Commands:
/allowmods=yes to allow mods on host
/cars=none to disallow all of the official cars
/cars+=xfg+xrg to add xfg and xrg to the allowed cars
/cars-=ufr+xfr to remove ufr and xfr from the allowed cars
/window X Y sets window client area width and height
/enforce - spectate anyone who is driving a disallowed car
/unapproved=yes to allow unapproved mods to be used on host
/mods=AAAAAA+BBBBBB sets a list of allowed mods (and allows mods)
/mods+=CCCCCC+DDDDDD adds to the list of allowed mods
/mods-=BBBBBB+CCCCCC removes mods from the list
/mods=ALL removes the list of mods and sets /allowmods=yes
/mods=NONE removes the list of mods and sets /allowmods=no
/mods and /cars commands can accept plus or comma as delimiter
Scripts:
Script 'ev.lfs' is run when an electric vehicle is selected
Script 'kart.lfs' is run when using vehicle with centrifugal clutch
Script 'free.lfs' is run when using vehicle with no engine or drive
- LFS Developers
We have always wanted to support user created content in Live for Speed. We thought it could be done after the new version release, with the new physics. That would have been ideal but there is a lot of demand for mods and we started to look into it this year.
At first we started thinking about simply allowing VOB mods, with some restrictions. But it would of course be better if we had an official way to edit and export mods. So we experimented with some changes in the current public version of LFS, to the point where it could load VOB models saved from our development version. It was immediately obvious that it would be too restrictive if we only allowed VOB mods on existing cars. So we made more changes to save fully edited vehicles that could be loaded in the public version.
As a standalone model and vehicle editor was proven to be possible in principle, we got more serious about the whole thing. We started working on a mod submission system, with mods stored on our website and automatically downloaded in LFS. With the new system, you can visit any server and see new mods there for the first time as they are automatically downloaded like skins.
To make a mod you can build a model (3D mesh) directly in the LFS modeller or start by importing one from another program, e.g. Blender, then make adjustments and apply texture maps within the LFS modeller. To create a driveable vehicle with your model, you could either start from scratch with a new vehicle or choose an existing car as a starting point. Adjust wheel positions, mass, suspension, engine and so on. Test the mod in your public version of LFS then export and upload it to our website. Reviewers will check it follows the rules and accept / reject / request changes. When accepted, the mod can be downloaded in LFS and used online.
There are some restrictions.
- The mods system is only for S3 licensed users.
- We do not allow real car names or logos, unless permission is proved.
- We do not allow meshes converted from other games, unless permission is proved.
- There are limits (e.g. triangle count and texture size) so the mods are quick to download.
Changes to hosting:
There are some changes to the way game servers work. We believe the only way to prevent piracy is to no longer release any server code at all (or even support LAN games). For the new version, we provide the servers, using our existing server rental system. Game server owners can use InSim connections to their servers. We have set up internet servers in various continents so you should get a good ping wherever you are.
You can start a free server in game, using the "Start new host" button. But now, that starts a host running on one of our servers, instead of locally on your computer. When you leave a free server, it closes down after a few minutes.
If you want to run a full-fledged server, or multiple servers, that stay online all the time and store replays and layouts, you can use our game server hosting system. You can choose Netherlands, USA, Japan, Brazil, Hong Kong, Turkey or Australia for the location of your game server. The prices are approximately a quarter of what they were before this change.
You can manage your hosts from https://www.lfs.net/hosting/admin
That works for free hosts started from in-game as well as rental hosts. An InSim port is always opened and available to the IP of the user who started the host. If you would like to whitelist more IPs for InSim, you can do so using the hosting admin link above.
Please read the full list of changes below.
How to use the mods system : downloads, web pages, videos, documents
Four ways to get version 0.7A :
1) AUTO UPDATER - If you already have version 0.5V or later :
- Click on "Multiplayer" then "List of Hosts" in LFS and choose a download mirror.
2) MANUAL PATCH (35 MB) - If you already have version 0.6R or later :
- Click HERE and save the patch installer.
- You can run the patch installer from its download location or from your LFS folder.
4) FULL VERSION (521 MB) - If you are new to LFS or making a fresh installation.
- Click HERE to visit the download page and get the full version installer.
Changes from 0.6V to 0.7A :
Mods:
Mods support is now available for S3 licensed users
A vehicle editor and object modeller are available
Includes support for single-gear electric vehicles
Multiplayer:
Start new host screen starts a new host on LFS.net
Host options screen now available for admins while online
Message "[user name] is connecting..." when someone is joining
Unlimited number of bans in ban file
Updated cars:
MRT with improved frame, steering wheel, wider tyres, minor updates
RB4 with more detailed exterior, interior, 10mm shorter wheelbase
Graphics:
Minor improvements to drivers and spectators
Updated ADS jpg textures for all tracks except RO
Increased number of mipmaps for number plate textures
Updated car shaders to better reproduce the editor materials
- Variable shine can now be used (alpha channel sets shine level)
- Material type 'overlay or plain' can be used for chrome parts
- Roughness value is NOT supported (specular reflection disabled)
Interface:
Using updated font from new version of LFS
Improved display size of vehicles in game setup screen and garage
Removed feature that enabled "window while connecting" on new patch
FIX: Player name could be displayed wrongly in F11 and F12 menu
Misc:
More prominent warning for clipping in engine sound editor
Experimental anti clipping audio option (enabled by default)
Anti clipping is automatically disabled in engine sound editor
Layouts:
Plain area 4km x 4km designed specifically to allow large layouts
Max selected objects in editor is now 60 (was 30)
Controllers:
Support for controllers with up to 128 buttons
Look Heading and Look Pitch are no longer automatically assigned
InSim (for programmers):
New packet size byte - now represents packet size divided by 4
This allows larger packets up to 1020 bytes (old limit was 252)
IS_ACM and IS_MCI make use of the increase packet size
New packets IS_MAL / TINY_MAL set / get allowed mods
Commands:
/allowmods=yes to allow mods on host
/cars=none to disallow all of the official cars
/cars+=xfg+xrg to add xfg and xrg to the allowed cars
/cars-=ufr+xfr to remove ufr and xfr from the allowed cars
/window X Y sets window client area width and height
/enforce - spectate anyone who is driving a disallowed car
/unapproved=yes to allow unapproved mods to be used on host
/mods=AAAAAA+BBBBBB sets a list of allowed mods (and allows mods)
/mods+=CCCCCC+DDDDDD adds to the list of allowed mods
/mods-=BBBBBB+CCCCCC removes mods from the list
/mods=ALL removes the list of mods and sets /allowmods=yes
/mods=NONE removes the list of mods and sets /allowmods=no
/mods and /cars commands can accept plus or comma as delimiter
Scripts:
Script 'ev.lfs' is run when an electric vehicle is selected
Script 'kart.lfs' is run when using vehicle with centrifugal clutch
Script 'free.lfs' is run when using vehicle with no engine or drive
- LFS Developers
Last edited by Scawen, .
FF Steps is visible in the controllers screen in Axes/FF section. The default is '1' seen in the cfg.txt but that appears as 400 steps in the controllers screen. 400 should be fine for ordinary force feedback wheels. The high numbers were added to support the high end direct drive wheels. I was just trying to think of reasons why you would experience controller lag.
Maybe the best thing is to make sure your frame rate is limited to 100, or vertical sync is enabled. There is no point in going above 100 fps as the physics is at that rate anyway. In older versions there was a reason (related to force feedback) to allow higher frame rates than 100 but that was sorted out with a controller update within the last few years (I can't remember when).
Maybe the best thing is to make sure your frame rate is limited to 100, or vertical sync is enabled. There is no point in going above 100 fps as the physics is at that rate anyway. In older versions there was a reason (related to force feedback) to allow higher frame rates than 100 but that was sorted out with a controller update within the last few years (I can't remember when).
I like this project and it's good to see that our physics seems to go down to this scale but I'm confused by the engine - it is said to be electric motor, but sounds like a single cylinder four stroke engine. Maybe if it's meant to be internal combustion, it could use a two stroke engine and a centrifugal clutch? Or if meant to be electric (as it appears in the image) why not use the normal gear whine sound?
I can't answer for sure but it looks like the collision mesh is far too small. Due to the way the physics system works at the moment, the collision mesh should cover most of the wheels and the driver too. The centre of mass of the whole system (including rider) must be well within the collision mesh.
I see what you mean about lowering the drag. An internal calculation goes wrong because it calculates that with the given engine power and unbelievably low drag, the maximum speed is some insane number.
This is one of these issues with releasing a development editor. It doesn't matter when I'm the only one moving the sliders, as I simply wouldn't try to set near zero drag!
I think in your case you could try sticking to reasonable drag values, something like 0.3 would be OK, I guess? I don't know what the drag of a dragster is really but I'd guess it's not too different from an ordinary racing car. I don't know what sort of downforce amounts they use but the wings look quite big, seemingly a lot more substantial than a Formula 1 car.
About the top speed, there is a built in limit of 200 m/s. It's around 720 km/h or 450 mph. But according to Wikipedia, the fastest dragsters reach around 335 mph so that limit shouldn't affect you too much. To me it seems like tyre physics are the biggest problem the dragster faces at the moment.
I was thinking today how far we can go. I realise your dragster and some other vehicles have trouble with tyre physics limitations. But it doesn't seem sensible for me to delay the public release, in order to work on the old tyre physics. I've got a new tyre physics system in development and it seems as if that's where my work should be focussed.
For the mods support, there are quite a few bugs and issues to sort out and it seems sensible to me to make this a public release at that point, instead of going on trying to support every one of 100 features that 'so nearly could be supported' for the first release.
Hi, that power steering I'm pretty sure doesn't do anything at the moment. Although it actually does in the development version.
In the public version there is some calculation that works out a multiplier based on a few values, but it really doesn't work with vehicles so varied as mods.
In the dev version I made it so there is a consistent force based on physics things, then that force can be reduced by power steering.
I think it may be possible to implement this into the public version. I don't know if any unexpected problems might come up but one problem is that I'm not sure how mod creators would be able to set this consistently. At least, it is part of the setup so drivers can set it to their taste. But if left at zero for some vehicles there could be a real problem.
I'll try to have a look anyway.
In the public version there is some calculation that works out a multiplier based on a few values, but it really doesn't work with vehicles so varied as mods.
In the dev version I made it so there is a consistent force based on physics things, then that force can be reduced by power steering.
I think it may be possible to implement this into the public version. I don't know if any unexpected problems might come up but one problem is that I'm not sure how mod creators would be able to set this consistently. At least, it is part of the setup so drivers can set it to their taste. But if left at zero for some vehicles there could be a real problem.
I'll try to have a look anyway.
Thanks for the easy and reliable reproduction method. You are right that it is related to the wheel revolution.
It only happens to remote cars in the middle distance, because it is related to the low-resolution version of the physics. But after the bug has happened, it can 'stick' so you can see the bug close-up. It happens to small wheeled cars which is why we haven't seen this problem in the past.
I have a fix here that bounds the wheel rotation rate, and also includes some graphical updates (e.g. 'metal' specified in the editor, using the 'overlay or plain' material type, can now be seen correctly in LFS, and materials with 'rough' settings will appear matt in LFS instead of shiny).
Also I have a note about a number plate bug "Could not get number plate" which I'll try to fix before doing a release this afternoon. And I'll look at other bugs and suggestions too, that have already been reported.
It's different since W47. If people want to test their physics it is good to upload and test it online, while they are still working on the model. It won't become *approved* until the texturing is done, but they can have fun with the unfinished mod and get feedback on physical aspects.
By the way on the MZD, there is a drive side issue. I have drive side set to "right" (in Options - Driver) and when I enter the game I end up in the car, with steering wheel on the right but dashboard is on the left.
You should either:
- click "select side" at the bottom left in the vehicle editor to give it a *fixed* drive side.
Or:
- make the dashboard swap sides when the driver changes side.
(I need to make the editor detect this as it is such a common fault)
Last edited by Scawen, .
Test Patch W47: New system for mod approval
This is an important update and comes along with various website changes. Have a look at any of the mods' own web pages here. You will see some changes there including a comments thread and multiple star ratings.
We now support the concept of "unapproved" and "approved" mods. You can now upload mods in an earlier stage of development and they will be allowed on the system if they are fully legal and reasonable. For example, we won't insist that all the lights work, all texturing is done, animations fit exactly or the shadow mesh is of high quality at this point. You can continue to work on your mod after upload.
If your mod passes initial acceptance then you can now update and publish it without needing reviewers to check the mod each time you do an update.
Such early stage mods will need to receive several good ratings to eventually become approved. Reviewers will need to check the mod thoroughly when the mod has received enough high ratings from community members. There are multiple ratings on each mod's page:
Overall, Technical, Graphical, Physics, Engine Sound
Currently, when at least 60 people have rated your mod and all ratings have at least achieved 4 stars your mod will be eligible to become APPROVED. You do not have to do anything for this, except make improvements to your vehicle mod in order to gain the required level of quality. This is experimental and we expect the number and level of rating required for approval to change over time.
There are filters in game to show unapproved mods (only approved mods are shown by default) and you can select an online host to allow unapproved mods if you like (the default setting is not to show unapproved mods).
We hope this new system allows everyone to use the system for experimentation and online testing, while still making it easy to find high quality mods.
Changes from W46 to W47:
Multiplayer:
New host option "Allow unapproved mods" allows early stage mods
Message "[user name] is connecting..." when someone is joining host
Misc:
New filter to show all mods / approved mods / staff picks only
Removed filter "Include work in progress" on vehicle mods screen
Rating button on vehicle mods screen now links to mod's web page
FIX: Finished refuelling message for EV is now "Finished charging"
FIX: Subobject number plates did not show the correct number plate
Commands:
/unapproved=yes to allow unapproved mods to be used on host
/enforce (and options button) now spectates disallowed mods
/mods=AAAAAA+BBBBBB sets a list of allowed mods (and allows mods)
/mods+=CCCCCC+DDDDDD adds to the list of allowed mods
/mods-=BBBBBB+CCCCCC removes mods from the list
/mods=ALL removes the list of mods and sets /allowmods=yes
/mods=NONE removes the list of mods and sets /allowmods=no
/mods and /cars commands can accept plus or comma as delimiter
Download:
https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/95664
We now support the concept of "unapproved" and "approved" mods. You can now upload mods in an earlier stage of development and they will be allowed on the system if they are fully legal and reasonable. For example, we won't insist that all the lights work, all texturing is done, animations fit exactly or the shadow mesh is of high quality at this point. You can continue to work on your mod after upload.
If your mod passes initial acceptance then you can now update and publish it without needing reviewers to check the mod each time you do an update.
Such early stage mods will need to receive several good ratings to eventually become approved. Reviewers will need to check the mod thoroughly when the mod has received enough high ratings from community members. There are multiple ratings on each mod's page:
Overall, Technical, Graphical, Physics, Engine Sound
Currently, when at least 60 people have rated your mod and all ratings have at least achieved 4 stars your mod will be eligible to become APPROVED. You do not have to do anything for this, except make improvements to your vehicle mod in order to gain the required level of quality. This is experimental and we expect the number and level of rating required for approval to change over time.
There are filters in game to show unapproved mods (only approved mods are shown by default) and you can select an online host to allow unapproved mods if you like (the default setting is not to show unapproved mods).
We hope this new system allows everyone to use the system for experimentation and online testing, while still making it easy to find high quality mods.
Changes from W46 to W47:
Multiplayer:
New host option "Allow unapproved mods" allows early stage mods
Message "[user name] is connecting..." when someone is joining host
Misc:
New filter to show all mods / approved mods / staff picks only
Removed filter "Include work in progress" on vehicle mods screen
Rating button on vehicle mods screen now links to mod's web page
FIX: Finished refuelling message for EV is now "Finished charging"
FIX: Subobject number plates did not show the correct number plate
Commands:
/unapproved=yes to allow unapproved mods to be used on host
/enforce (and options button) now spectates disallowed mods
/mods=AAAAAA+BBBBBB sets a list of allowed mods (and allows mods)
/mods+=CCCCCC+DDDDDD adds to the list of allowed mods
/mods-=BBBBBB+CCCCCC removes mods from the list
/mods=ALL removes the list of mods and sets /allowmods=yes
/mods=NONE removes the list of mods and sets /allowmods=no
/mods and /cars commands can accept plus or comma as delimiter
Download:
https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/95664
Test Patch W47
This is an important update and comes along with various website changes. Have a look at any of the mods' own web pages here. You will see some changes there including a comments thread and multiple star ratings.
We now support the concept of "unapproved" and "approved" mods. You can now upload mods in an earlier stage of development and they will be allowed on the system if they are fully legal and reasonable. For example, we won't insist that all the lights work, all texturing is done, animations fit exactly or the shadow mesh is of high quality at this point. You can continue to work on your mod after upload.
If your mod passes initial acceptance then you can now update and publish it without needing reviewers to check the mod each time you do an update.
Such early stage mods will need to receive several good ratings to eventually become approved. Reviewers will need to check the mod thoroughly when the mod has received enough high ratings from community members. There are multiple ratings on each mod's page:
Overall, Technical, Graphical, Physics, Engine Sound
Currently, when at least 60 people have rated your mod and all ratings have at least achieved 4 stars your mod will be eligible to become APPROVED. You do not have to do anything for this, except make improvements to your vehicle mod in order to gain the required level of quality. This is experimental and we expect the number and level of rating required for approval to change over time.
There are filters in game to show unapproved mods (only approved mods are shown by default) and you can select an online host to allow unapproved mods if you like (the default setting is not to show unapproved mods).
We hope this new system allows everyone to use the system for experimentation and online testing, while still making it easy to find high quality mods.
Changes from W46 to W47:
Multiplayer:
New host option "Allow unapproved mods" allows early stage mods
Message "[user name] is connecting..." when someone is joining host
Misc:
New filter to show all mods / approved mods / staff picks only
Removed filter "Include work in progress" on vehicle mods screen
Rating button on vehicle mods screen now links to mod's web page
FIX: Finished refuelling message for EV is now "Finished charging"
FIX: Subobject number plates did not show the correct number plate
Commands:
/unapproved=yes to allow unapproved mods to be used on host
/enforce (and options button) now spectates disallowed mods
/mods=AAAAAA+BBBBBB sets a list of allowed mods (and allows mods)
/mods+=CCCCCC+DDDDDD adds to the list of allowed mods
/mods-=BBBBBB+CCCCCC removes mods from the list
/mods=ALL removes the list of mods and sets /allowmods=yes
/mods=NONE removes the list of mods and sets /allowmods=no
/mods and /cars commands can accept plus or comma as delimiter
Download:
https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/95664
This is an important update and comes along with various website changes. Have a look at any of the mods' own web pages here. You will see some changes there including a comments thread and multiple star ratings.
We now support the concept of "unapproved" and "approved" mods. You can now upload mods in an earlier stage of development and they will be allowed on the system if they are fully legal and reasonable. For example, we won't insist that all the lights work, all texturing is done, animations fit exactly or the shadow mesh is of high quality at this point. You can continue to work on your mod after upload.
If your mod passes initial acceptance then you can now update and publish it without needing reviewers to check the mod each time you do an update.
Such early stage mods will need to receive several good ratings to eventually become approved. Reviewers will need to check the mod thoroughly when the mod has received enough high ratings from community members. There are multiple ratings on each mod's page:
Overall, Technical, Graphical, Physics, Engine Sound
Currently, when at least 60 people have rated your mod and all ratings have at least achieved 4 stars your mod will be eligible to become APPROVED. You do not have to do anything for this, except make improvements to your vehicle mod in order to gain the required level of quality. This is experimental and we expect the number and level of rating required for approval to change over time.
There are filters in game to show unapproved mods (only approved mods are shown by default) and you can select an online host to allow unapproved mods if you like (the default setting is not to show unapproved mods).
We hope this new system allows everyone to use the system for experimentation and online testing, while still making it easy to find high quality mods.
Changes from W46 to W47:
Multiplayer:
New host option "Allow unapproved mods" allows early stage mods
Message "[user name] is connecting..." when someone is joining host
Misc:
New filter to show all mods / approved mods / staff picks only
Removed filter "Include work in progress" on vehicle mods screen
Rating button on vehicle mods screen now links to mod's web page
FIX: Finished refuelling message for EV is now "Finished charging"
FIX: Subobject number plates did not show the correct number plate
Commands:
/unapproved=yes to allow unapproved mods to be used on host
/enforce (and options button) now spectates disallowed mods
/mods=AAAAAA+BBBBBB sets a list of allowed mods (and allows mods)
/mods+=CCCCCC+DDDDDD adds to the list of allowed mods
/mods-=BBBBBB+CCCCCC removes mods from the list
/mods=ALL removes the list of mods and sets /allowmods=yes
/mods=NONE removes the list of mods and sets /allowmods=no
/mods and /cars commands can accept plus or comma as delimiter
Download:
https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/95664
Last edited by Scawen, .
Proposed system for mod approval
EDIT: The new mod approval system is now live: https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/95940
Hello Mod Creators,
You may know we have been trying to sort out the mods approval system. We want it to be easy to find high quality mods, but we would like to allow people to experiment online with early stage WIP mods.
Our current system to try to ensure reasonable quality has involved talking a lot with mod creators, sometimes trying to get them to improve the mods quite a bit before we publish them. But we know that isn't helpful for early mods, and it's just too much work for the reviewers.
So we've come up with a new plan that involves mods going through two stages. Currently we have called these stages WIP and APPROVED.
The idea is to make it much easier to get early stage mods on the system but still provide a strong quality control system for approved mods.
How the system would work:
If a submitted mod is legal, moral and not going to cause problems, we would allow it onto the system, as a WIP mod. Then, after a while, and probably various updates (and usually requiring community support, by various ratings) good mods could eventually be checked by the reviewers and APPROVED.
By default, lists of mods (on website or in game) would show only approved mods. Servers can be started with "allow WIP" if they want to be testing grounds. I think that servers that define their own shortlist of mods don't really need to think about "allow WIP" because the list defines which mods can be used anyway.
When I was checking comments yesterday (after formulating this plan the day before) I came across a post by xspeedasx which seems to match our plan quite closely. Start from "So the takeaway..."
https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/1969572#post1969572
Only he says "unverified" and "verified" where we have called it "WIP" and "APPROVED"
Additional information:
Each of those early stage mods would have a comment thread accessible directly from the mod's own page (and probably visible right there on the mod's page) for feedback and help that community members may wish to provide.
About the voting system, our current thoughts are that we need a voting system to get the mod to that stage where the reviewers can be asked to approve it. The public evaluation is supposed to take a lot of work off the reviewers. But we suggest that the user of a WIP mod can have the option to zero the votes at any time (e.g. if votes were low but now they have uploaded a new version).
The thing is that we need something numerical so that the mod reaches a certain quality level before the user can request approval. But a single star rating is too crude for this purpose. For example a mod might be great fun but its model is far too underdeveloped for the mod to become APPROVED.
An initial list of voting points (that could be on the mod's own page or comments thread) are:
- Overall rating (the one you can select in game)
- Technical quality (shadow errors, drive side errors, light functions)
- Model graphical quality (detail level, completeness)
- Physics quality (handling, default setups)
- Engine sound quality
We look forward to hearing any comments you may have on the plan.
Thank you for all the testing and experimentation!
Hello Mod Creators,
You may know we have been trying to sort out the mods approval system. We want it to be easy to find high quality mods, but we would like to allow people to experiment online with early stage WIP mods.
Our current system to try to ensure reasonable quality has involved talking a lot with mod creators, sometimes trying to get them to improve the mods quite a bit before we publish them. But we know that isn't helpful for early mods, and it's just too much work for the reviewers.
So we've come up with a new plan that involves mods going through two stages. Currently we have called these stages WIP and APPROVED.
The idea is to make it much easier to get early stage mods on the system but still provide a strong quality control system for approved mods.
How the system would work:
If a submitted mod is legal, moral and not going to cause problems, we would allow it onto the system, as a WIP mod. Then, after a while, and probably various updates (and usually requiring community support, by various ratings) good mods could eventually be checked by the reviewers and APPROVED.
By default, lists of mods (on website or in game) would show only approved mods. Servers can be started with "allow WIP" if they want to be testing grounds. I think that servers that define their own shortlist of mods don't really need to think about "allow WIP" because the list defines which mods can be used anyway.
When I was checking comments yesterday (after formulating this plan the day before) I came across a post by xspeedasx which seems to match our plan quite closely. Start from "So the takeaway..."
https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/1969572#post1969572
Only he says "unverified" and "verified" where we have called it "WIP" and "APPROVED"
Additional information:
Each of those early stage mods would have a comment thread accessible directly from the mod's own page (and probably visible right there on the mod's page) for feedback and help that community members may wish to provide.
About the voting system, our current thoughts are that we need a voting system to get the mod to that stage where the reviewers can be asked to approve it. The public evaluation is supposed to take a lot of work off the reviewers. But we suggest that the user of a WIP mod can have the option to zero the votes at any time (e.g. if votes were low but now they have uploaded a new version).
The thing is that we need something numerical so that the mod reaches a certain quality level before the user can request approval. But a single star rating is too crude for this purpose. For example a mod might be great fun but its model is far too underdeveloped for the mod to become APPROVED.
An initial list of voting points (that could be on the mod's own page or comments thread) are:
- Overall rating (the one you can select in game)
- Technical quality (shadow errors, drive side errors, light functions)
- Model graphical quality (detail level, completeness)
- Physics quality (handling, default setups)
- Engine sound quality
We look forward to hearing any comments you may have on the plan.
Thank you for all the testing and experimentation!
Last edited by Scawen, .
There is a very long story about this. It starts with a VW Scirocco, that we discovered highlighted some flaws in the tyre physics system. Maybe we told the truth and weren't just holding back the Scirocco because we are liars who enjoy torturing the community.
I've made a note about this, it may be possible to include a knw generator. The existing knw generation system is very slow, takes a few minutes to generate each knw file as it adjusts the curves bit by bit in every direction, keeping the lines ones it predicts will produce better lap times for that particular car. Maybe a quick version could be provided, that does a rough path. No promises but I do have a note on my list to look at it, obviously not very high priority yet.
LFS Mods [TEST VERSION] Introduction and Discussion
[EDIT: This thread was for the test version. We have now released the official version so this thread is now closed. Thank you all for the testing over the past few weeks]
Dear Community Members,
A test version of a new mods system is now available!
NOTE: There may be changes to any part of this plan, between now and when this test becomes an official version.
About the new system and how it came to be:
We have always wanted to support mods because of the huge variety that becomes possible. We thought it could be done after the new version release, with the new physics. That would have been ideal but there is a lot of demand for mods and we started to look into it this year.
At first we started thinking about simply allowing VOB mods, with some restrictions. But it would of course be better if we had an official way to edit and export mods. So I experimented with some changes in the current public version of LFS, to the point where it could load VOB models saved from our development version. It was immediately obvious that it would be too restrictive if we only allowed VOB mods on existing cars. So I made more changes to save fully edited vehicles that could be loaded in the public version.
As a standalone model and vehicle editor was proven to be possible in principle, we got more serious about the whole thing. We started working on a mod submission system, with mods stored on our website and automatically downloaded in LFS. With the new system, you can visit any server and see new mods there for the first time as they are automatically downloaded like skins.
To make a mod you can build a model (3D mesh) directly in the LFS modeller or start by importing one from another program, e.g. Blender, then make adjustments and apply texture maps within the LFS modeller. To create a driveable vehicle with your model, you could either start from scratch with a new vehicle or choose an existing car as a starting point. Adjust wheel positions, mass, suspension, engine and so on. Test the mod in your public version of LFS then export and upload it to our website. Reviewers will check it follows the rules and approve / reject / request changes. When approved, the mod can be downloaded in LFS and used online.
There are some restrictions.
- The mods system is only for S3 licensed users.
- We do not allow real car names or logos, unless permission is proved during the submission process.
- We do not allow meshes converted from other games, unless permission is proved during the submission process.
- There are limits (e.g. triangle count and texture size) so the mods are quick to download.
Changes to hosting:
There are some changes to the way game servers work. We believe the only way to prevent piracy is to no longer release any server code at all (or even support LAN games). For the new version, we provide the servers, using our existing server rental system. Game server owners can use InSim connections to their servers. We have set up internet servers in Europe, America and Asia so you should get a good ping wherever you are.
You can start a free server in game, using the "Start new host" button. But now, that starts a host running on one of our servers, instead of locally on your computer. When you leave a free server, it closes down after a few minutes.
If you want to run a full-fledged server, or multiple servers, that stay online all the time and store replays and layouts, you can use our game server hosting system. You can choose Europe, America or Asia for the location of your game server. The prices are approximately a quarter of what they were before this change.
You can manage your hosts from https://www.lfs.net/hosting/admin
That works for free hosts started from in-game as well as rental hosts. An InSim port is always opened and available to the IP of the user who started the host. If you would like to whitelist more IPs for InSim, you can do so using the hosting admin link above.
How to try the mods system:
downloads, web pages, videos, documents
We look forward to hearing your feedback and seeing your mod creations!
Dear Community Members,
A test version of a new mods system is now available!
NOTE: There may be changes to any part of this plan, between now and when this test becomes an official version.
About the new system and how it came to be:
We have always wanted to support mods because of the huge variety that becomes possible. We thought it could be done after the new version release, with the new physics. That would have been ideal but there is a lot of demand for mods and we started to look into it this year.
At first we started thinking about simply allowing VOB mods, with some restrictions. But it would of course be better if we had an official way to edit and export mods. So I experimented with some changes in the current public version of LFS, to the point where it could load VOB models saved from our development version. It was immediately obvious that it would be too restrictive if we only allowed VOB mods on existing cars. So I made more changes to save fully edited vehicles that could be loaded in the public version.
As a standalone model and vehicle editor was proven to be possible in principle, we got more serious about the whole thing. We started working on a mod submission system, with mods stored on our website and automatically downloaded in LFS. With the new system, you can visit any server and see new mods there for the first time as they are automatically downloaded like skins.
To make a mod you can build a model (3D mesh) directly in the LFS modeller or start by importing one from another program, e.g. Blender, then make adjustments and apply texture maps within the LFS modeller. To create a driveable vehicle with your model, you could either start from scratch with a new vehicle or choose an existing car as a starting point. Adjust wheel positions, mass, suspension, engine and so on. Test the mod in your public version of LFS then export and upload it to our website. Reviewers will check it follows the rules and approve / reject / request changes. When approved, the mod can be downloaded in LFS and used online.
There are some restrictions.
- The mods system is only for S3 licensed users.
- We do not allow real car names or logos, unless permission is proved during the submission process.
- We do not allow meshes converted from other games, unless permission is proved during the submission process.
- There are limits (e.g. triangle count and texture size) so the mods are quick to download.
Changes to hosting:
There are some changes to the way game servers work. We believe the only way to prevent piracy is to no longer release any server code at all (or even support LAN games). For the new version, we provide the servers, using our existing server rental system. Game server owners can use InSim connections to their servers. We have set up internet servers in Europe, America and Asia so you should get a good ping wherever you are.
You can start a free server in game, using the "Start new host" button. But now, that starts a host running on one of our servers, instead of locally on your computer. When you leave a free server, it closes down after a few minutes.
If you want to run a full-fledged server, or multiple servers, that stay online all the time and store replays and layouts, you can use our game server hosting system. You can choose Europe, America or Asia for the location of your game server. The prices are approximately a quarter of what they were before this change.
You can manage your hosts from https://www.lfs.net/hosting/admin
That works for free hosts started from in-game as well as rental hosts. An InSim port is always opened and available to the IP of the user who started the host. If you would like to whitelist more IPs for InSim, you can do so using the hosting admin link above.
How to try the mods system:
downloads, web pages, videos, documents
We look forward to hearing your feedback and seeing your mod creations!
Last edited by Scawen, .
I kind of think that the tyre physics system is the biggest unknown.
Eric has kept on at South City longer than any of us had ever imagined, because he kept getting new ideas and going for it. I'm guessing he could wrap it up fairly quickly if needed. In my mind Kyoto has the most unfinished parts, though I might be wrong about that.
Eric did leave Kyoto in the end stages when he moved on to South City. But the end stages of projects generally take quite a while. I'm speaking generally, not actually speaking for Eric or specifically about South City or Kyoto.
As I say I believe the tyre physics are still the least predictable. I need to get my teeth into that and see where we are at.
Georgia and Turkey are in the lower price category, which is half of the full price. I do understand that even so, it can still seem more expensive, considering exchange rates and earnings.
But it's hard to lower the prices too much as we have to run a service and it costs money. These are lifetime licenses. Most other internet services I see want your money every month or year, so I still think it's good value.
Still, that doesn't solve the problem that it seems a lot of money in some countries. But I do have a question because I am trying to understand better - how much does a computer cost in those countries with economic issues? I'd be interested to know how much an LFS license costs in relation to the price of a computer.
There aren't specific limits on every variable. I think we will have to exercise judgement when reviewing submitted mods.
At the moment you can make a truck but it must be four wheeled, as the LFS system has not been designed to handle more than 4 wheels. It might be possible in future, but at the moment I am faced with duplicating any changes in the development version to the public version so that makes it important not to change much in the existing system. We noticed when trying a test truck that it gets stuck in some pit garages. My truck wasn't developed properly, so I can't say whether the tyre physics really scales properly to that size and mass of vehicle. I want to use trucks and karts as reference points when I am working on the new tyre physics. Most likely the public LFS physics works best for car-sized mods, as that's what it was originally designed for.
I think we will have to ask people to test carefully before uploading their mod, and if there are certain issues then warning notes added. We will rely on people being sensible and we believe that most people will want to submit high quality work.
It may be possible to avoid applying limits or use lower limits when you want to test locally in LFS.
The mods have their own unique SkinID as you can see in the videos. It appears to the user or mod creator as a 6-character code. But really it is a hexadecimal number and this is represented in 3 bytes internally and in InSim, so it fits into the same slot as the official cars' 3-character codes.
You can put number plates on mod vehicles just as we have done for official cars. This is done by adding a special texture name "s_plate" in the "page" mode of the modeller.
It's all the existing LFS physics and features, but with editors.
Also some basic EV support and centrifugal clutch for karts.
Hotlaps have been preserved. This is not an aerodynamic physics overhaul.
Also some basic EV support and centrifugal clutch for karts.
Hotlaps have been preserved. This is not an aerodynamic physics overhaul.
OK I see what you mean. It's like people who made VOB mods in the old LFS, and they could make mods that only have a visual effect.
We aren't doing anything to support that type of modification. If you resave one of the old vobs, using the new editor, it is not guaranteed that it will remain in sync with the unmodified vob on the remote computers. The trouble is the order of vertices can change in the physics LOD so I don't know. It might depend on which vob you modify. The older it is, the more likely it will go out of sync.
We aren't doing anything to support that type of modification. If you resave one of the old vobs, using the new editor, it is not guaranteed that it will remain in sync with the unmodified vob on the remote computers. The trouble is the order of vertices can change in the physics LOD so I don't know. It might depend on which vob you modify. The older it is, the more likely it will go out of sync.
I would like to say yes that is certainly my hope. In my mind, after we get through the public testing of the mods system and it becomes the official version, I should be on the completion of the tyre physics system and Eric will finalise some tracks. So then we can put that together and release the new graphics and tyre physics.
That's how I see it. But plans can change and do change all the time. And apparently every task takes longer than I can possibly imagine. An alternative scenario is to re-implement the old tyre physics into the new graphics system (it was deleted years ago from that branch of the source code). But how much time would be wasted doing that? Maybe it's only a week's work, I don't know. The new tyre physics has a better feeling, which is encouraging as it is based on physical principles. So maybe some good solid work on fixing the link between heating, slip, load, pressure and grip could be sorted out and we'd be ready to go. I prefer this option, though the other way might be quicker to get the graphics to you.
I think I thought the mods support could be done in a few weeks and would be a bit of fun while Eric finished some tracks and I did the tyre physics.
But the mods support turned into a much bigger project. It wasn't an easy task to turn development editors into ones that are suitable for public use, and the way that mods work with automatic in-game download and have version support and so on... these are pretty big systems.
Also it was becoming painfully clear that we needed a way to prevent piracy. Seeing your business melt away due to continual theft isn't a great feeling. Just putting out the updated tracks with the old system would have been a nice gift for the pirates and we simply can't do that any more. Our servers are linked with the mods system too.
LFS Mods Support - Coming Soon!
EDIT: The mods system is ready for testing! https://www.lfs.net/forum/498
Dear Community Members,
We have been working on a new system to support mods. We need a little more time to get to public testing, but there's quite a bit to show you and talk about already.
NOTE: There may be changes to any part of this plan, between now and the point of public testing.
About the new system and how it came to be:
We have always wanted to support mods because of the huge variety that becomes possible. We thought it could be done after the new version release, with the new physics. That would have been ideal but there is a lot of demand for mods and we started to look into it this year.
At first we started thinking about simply allowing VOB mods, with some restrictions. But it would of course be better if we had an official way to edit and export mods. So I experimented with some changes in the current public version of LFS, to the point where it could load VOB models saved from our development version. It was immediately obvious that it would be too restrictive if we only allowed VOB mods on existing cars. So I made more changes to save fully edited vehicles that could be loaded in the public version.
As a standalone model and vehicle editor was proven to be possible in principle, we got more serious about the whole thing. We started working on a mod submission system, with mods stored on our website and automatically downloaded in LFS. With the new system, you can visit any server and see new mods there for the first time as they are automatically downloaded like skins.
To make a mod you can build a model (3D mesh) directly in the LFS modeller or start by importing one from another program, e.g. Blender, then make adjustments and apply texture maps within the LFS modeller. To create a driveable vehicle with your model, you could either start from scratch with a new vehicle or choose an existing car as a starting point. Adjust wheel positions, mass, suspension, engine and so on. Test the mod in your public version of LFS then export and upload it to our website. Reviewers will check it follows the rules and approve / reject / request changes. When approved, the mod can be downloaded in LFS and used online.
There are some restrictions.
- The mods system is only for S3 licensed users.
- We will not allow real car names or logos, unless permission is proved during the submission process.
- We will not allow meshes converted from other games, unless permission is proved during the submission process.
- There will be limits (e.g. triangle count and texture size) so the mods are quick to download.
Changes to hosting:
There will be some changes to the way game servers work. We believe the only way to prevent piracy is to no longer release any server code at all (or even support LAN games). For the new version, we will provide the servers, using our existing server rental system. Game server owners can use InSim connections to their servers. We are setting up internet servers in Europe, America and Asia so you should get a good ping wherever you are.
You can start a free server in game, using the "Start new host" button. But now, that starts a host running on one of our servers, instead of locally on your computer. When you leave a free server, it closes down after a few minutes.
If you want to run a full-fledged server, or multiple servers, that stay online all the time and store replays and layouts, you will be able to use our existing game server hosting system, but now you will be able to choose Europe, America or Asia for the location of your game server. We are still finalising the prices but we are thinking around a quarter of the current prices.
More information about the new system
Downloads: [NOT YET AVAILABLE]
1) LFS Editor - Modeller and Vehicle editor to be installed separately
2) LFS Test Patch with mods support
Mods page:
https://lfs.net/files/vehmods
Tutorial videos: (there are more to do)
1) LFS Mods Introduction (11:49) https://youtu.be/9EPWaGraQfs
2) LFS Modeller Overview (3:30) https://youtu.be/05y8apUWyVs
3) View Controls Overview (3:40) https://youtu.be/As_aPoU2Qr4
4) Updating a mod with a new version (4:06) https://youtu.be/vDSn_XkyGGM
5) Building the Brickmobile: Part 1 - Model (11:58) https://youtu.be/eegTP5mo8Zk
6) Exporting from Blender to LFS Editor (3:01) https://youtu.be/Rf6HK_niFjo
7) Building the Brickmobile: Part 2 - Texturing (9:24) https://youtu.be/_HIrlxJMWnI
8) Building the Brickmobile: Part 3 - First Drive (5:07) https://youtu.be/c9Pi0aYbA0c
9) LFS Steering Animation Editor (12:09) https://youtu.be/JPbMCfZ8VmU
10) Building the Brickmobile: Part 4 - Level of detail (LOD) meshes (5:43) https://youtu.be/DAyiQbhvbYM
11) Building the Brickmobile: Part 5 - Masses and object positions (5:22) https://youtu.be/l0iiQOk_1Os
Documents: (just a start - incomplete)
Modeller
Vehicle Editor
We look forward to hearing your feedback!
Thanks,
Scawen
Dear Community Members,
We have been working on a new system to support mods. We need a little more time to get to public testing, but there's quite a bit to show you and talk about already.
NOTE: There may be changes to any part of this plan, between now and the point of public testing.
About the new system and how it came to be:
We have always wanted to support mods because of the huge variety that becomes possible. We thought it could be done after the new version release, with the new physics. That would have been ideal but there is a lot of demand for mods and we started to look into it this year.
At first we started thinking about simply allowing VOB mods, with some restrictions. But it would of course be better if we had an official way to edit and export mods. So I experimented with some changes in the current public version of LFS, to the point where it could load VOB models saved from our development version. It was immediately obvious that it would be too restrictive if we only allowed VOB mods on existing cars. So I made more changes to save fully edited vehicles that could be loaded in the public version.
As a standalone model and vehicle editor was proven to be possible in principle, we got more serious about the whole thing. We started working on a mod submission system, with mods stored on our website and automatically downloaded in LFS. With the new system, you can visit any server and see new mods there for the first time as they are automatically downloaded like skins.
To make a mod you can build a model (3D mesh) directly in the LFS modeller or start by importing one from another program, e.g. Blender, then make adjustments and apply texture maps within the LFS modeller. To create a driveable vehicle with your model, you could either start from scratch with a new vehicle or choose an existing car as a starting point. Adjust wheel positions, mass, suspension, engine and so on. Test the mod in your public version of LFS then export and upload it to our website. Reviewers will check it follows the rules and approve / reject / request changes. When approved, the mod can be downloaded in LFS and used online.
There are some restrictions.
- The mods system is only for S3 licensed users.
- We will not allow real car names or logos, unless permission is proved during the submission process.
- We will not allow meshes converted from other games, unless permission is proved during the submission process.
- There will be limits (e.g. triangle count and texture size) so the mods are quick to download.
Changes to hosting:
There will be some changes to the way game servers work. We believe the only way to prevent piracy is to no longer release any server code at all (or even support LAN games). For the new version, we will provide the servers, using our existing server rental system. Game server owners can use InSim connections to their servers. We are setting up internet servers in Europe, America and Asia so you should get a good ping wherever you are.
You can start a free server in game, using the "Start new host" button. But now, that starts a host running on one of our servers, instead of locally on your computer. When you leave a free server, it closes down after a few minutes.
If you want to run a full-fledged server, or multiple servers, that stay online all the time and store replays and layouts, you will be able to use our existing game server hosting system, but now you will be able to choose Europe, America or Asia for the location of your game server. We are still finalising the prices but we are thinking around a quarter of the current prices.
More information about the new system
Downloads: [NOT YET AVAILABLE]
1) LFS Editor - Modeller and Vehicle editor to be installed separately
2) LFS Test Patch with mods support
Mods page:
https://lfs.net/files/vehmods
Tutorial videos: (there are more to do)
1) LFS Mods Introduction (11:49) https://youtu.be/9EPWaGraQfs
2) LFS Modeller Overview (3:30) https://youtu.be/05y8apUWyVs
3) View Controls Overview (3:40) https://youtu.be/As_aPoU2Qr4
4) Updating a mod with a new version (4:06) https://youtu.be/vDSn_XkyGGM
5) Building the Brickmobile: Part 1 - Model (11:58) https://youtu.be/eegTP5mo8Zk
6) Exporting from Blender to LFS Editor (3:01) https://youtu.be/Rf6HK_niFjo
7) Building the Brickmobile: Part 2 - Texturing (9:24) https://youtu.be/_HIrlxJMWnI
8) Building the Brickmobile: Part 3 - First Drive (5:07) https://youtu.be/c9Pi0aYbA0c
9) LFS Steering Animation Editor (12:09) https://youtu.be/JPbMCfZ8VmU
10) Building the Brickmobile: Part 4 - Level of detail (LOD) meshes (5:43) https://youtu.be/DAyiQbhvbYM
11) Building the Brickmobile: Part 5 - Masses and object positions (5:22) https://youtu.be/l0iiQOk_1Os
Documents: (just a start - incomplete)
Modeller
Vehicle Editor
We look forward to hearing your feedback!
Thanks,
Scawen
Last edited by Scawen, .
Thanks for the feedback.
I think the stutter you are talking about is a well known issue due to the difference between LFS physics update rate and the frame rate of the headset.
Reason (2) in this post:
https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/1954698#post1954698
I think the stutter you are talking about is a well known issue due to the difference between LFS physics update rate and the frame rate of the headset.
Reason (2) in this post:
https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/1954698#post1954698
Thank you for that. It's good to hear there is no serious issue with your Reverb G2. But it makes MagicFr's case even more puzzling.
The stuttering is probably due to a fundamental limitation of LFS at the moment, that the physics runs at 100Hz. So each 10th of a second, you see 8 graphical frames that are 1 step apart, then the 9th graphical frame has 2 physics steps. This particular type of stutter is more noticeable when you look sideways as you are driving along.
The other thing is that it's not as good as it could be, due to being rendered in Direct3D 9 then passing a texture to Direct3D 11. This causes certain difficulty with timing and is better in the development version of LFS.
The stuttering is probably due to a fundamental limitation of LFS at the moment, that the physics runs at 100Hz. So each 10th of a second, you see 8 graphical frames that are 1 step apart, then the 9th graphical frame has 2 physics steps. This particular type of stutter is more noticeable when you look sideways as you are driving along.
The other thing is that it's not as good as it could be, due to being rendered in Direct3D 9 then passing a texture to Direct3D 11. This causes certain difficulty with timing and is better in the development version of LFS.
New LFS Version 0.6V
Hello Racers,
We are pleased to announce a new update with a lot of new features, fixes and improvements. This is not the graphics update we have been talking about in recent progress reports. This one still uses the same physics system as the public version it replaces, but allows a wider range of setup options for some of the cars.
We have had requests over the years to allow more possibilities for rallycross and drifting. We were able to implement these changes by making a new version that could not connect online with the old version. Wider steering angles and a wide range of tyres are now possible on the GTR cars by selecting a new ALTERNATE configuration in the setup screen. This also allows some interesting possibilities for hard track racing as narrower tyres can be selected, which can help when creating lower powered racing classes for some events.
As we were making an incompatible version, it was a good opportunity to improve the prediction system that allows you to see remote cars driving on your screen. Every car's position, velocity, fuel load, damage and so on are transmitted frequently to all the other racers on a server. We have used various methods to make this information more accurate so the cars appear to move more smoothly. We were also able to improve some things about pit stops. For example you can now change tyres without being forced to repair body or suspension damage.
There are really a lot of updates in this version and we can't describe them all in detail in this news item. Please do have a look at the list of changes on the 0.6V information page. They include improvements for force feedback, controls including steering wheels and handbrake, more layout objects, VR, views, InSim and OutSim.
Read all about this update and how to install it on the Live for Speed version 0.6V page.
- LFS Developers
We are pleased to announce a new update with a lot of new features, fixes and improvements. This is not the graphics update we have been talking about in recent progress reports. This one still uses the same physics system as the public version it replaces, but allows a wider range of setup options for some of the cars.
We have had requests over the years to allow more possibilities for rallycross and drifting. We were able to implement these changes by making a new version that could not connect online with the old version. Wider steering angles and a wide range of tyres are now possible on the GTR cars by selecting a new ALTERNATE configuration in the setup screen. This also allows some interesting possibilities for hard track racing as narrower tyres can be selected, which can help when creating lower powered racing classes for some events.
As we were making an incompatible version, it was a good opportunity to improve the prediction system that allows you to see remote cars driving on your screen. Every car's position, velocity, fuel load, damage and so on are transmitted frequently to all the other racers on a server. We have used various methods to make this information more accurate so the cars appear to move more smoothly. We were also able to improve some things about pit stops. For example you can now change tyres without being forced to repair body or suspension damage.
There are really a lot of updates in this version and we can't describe them all in detail in this news item. Please do have a look at the list of changes on the 0.6V information page. They include improvements for force feedback, controls including steering wheels and handbrake, more layout objects, VR, views, InSim and OutSim.
Read all about this update and how to install it on the Live for Speed version 0.6V page.
- LFS Developers
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