Quote from Stellios :

I love it, but i feel it needs to be made mroe clear the mandatory pits are required at the start of the race, maybe put a big message across the screen before the lights go green at the start saying they are required.

QFT

Pits add strategy and thought to the game, which is cool. Even on shorter races (10 laps), it adds another element to the game.

Slightly OT; Is it possible to change pit strategy mid race, as far as tire wear limits and fuel loads go? It would be nice to change the pit strategy if, for instance, you get into a crash early on and don't want to stop again. Set the fuel level higher and force a tire a change.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Plus there are those times when you find yourself in a lower gear than you would normally be due to traffic or yellow flags or whatever, and then you shift down one extra gear for the next corner out of habit... Whoops!

Bingo!

Quote from P1lot :

It is also possible to switch off the wheel in view if you prefer, check the options

I like having the the wheel there, though. I'll check the options. Thx.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Lift your seating position a bit with a custom view?

Didn't know you could do that. Thx.

Quote from MadCatX :

Im XRR addictive so I know how to leave the starting grid with this beast

It is a fun car, isn't it. Lots of "character".

I think I figured it out based upon everyone's posts (what you guys have been describing isn't anything like what I've been experiencing). I use auto-clutch (only have two pedals, Logitech Momo). Would that be the problem? If so, how do I manually clutch with only on/off buttons available? Without clutch slip, is there any way to get a good launch. I've defintely got the revs/boost up before the green light shows itself.

Quote from XCNuse :

FV8 is easy imo

as for the XRR, how long are you revving it for, because if your only revving it a right before it goes green then your turbo is just spooling up rather than already at its peak

its the same with the FXR too, if you dont have it revving for that whole time the start lights light up, your just going to bog down because the turbo engines need that boost to get it going

So, what would you recommend? I usually rev from the time the reds start cycling thru.

Reverse starts are great if the hot shoes in the back are willing to stay at the back for 1/2 a lap. It gives us mid-packers a fighting chance. I'm no "pro", but I can hold usually hold off faster drivers a least for a little while (which is fun) and the noobs at the start either brake super early inbto T1, letting me by, or brake super late and slide off the track and out of the way. Those noobs who do make it through usually give plenty of opportunity for a pass if you are patient.

It is annoying though, when drivers don't give room for cornering side by side. too many races are spoiled by somebody not paying attention to the other cars. And it isn't just noobs. I've seen plenty of so called 'pros' do it.

Quote from RoCkBiGdAvE :

I've never had a problem with the XRR, floored it and it just goes.

How do you have your ratios set?

Quote :

FV8 is a bitch though.

Yup, but for different reasons and in a different way. I really like the FO8 because it teaches good throttle control. I suck in it in general though.

Last edited by Spinjack, Wed 21 Jun 2006, 17:18.

Anyone know how to do a proper start in the XRR? As soon as the starting lights go green the engine bogs and I get a slow start while the FZR's blow by. I've got the engine rev'd prior to green, but once the light changes... :banghead:

The gear indicator (1,2,3,4..) on the dashboad is obscured by the steering wheel in the XRR. I never know which gear I'm in (well, not never). Is there a way to fix this?

There is also the psychological aspects of using somebody else's fast set. If you are running 5 seconds slower on the same set, then you know its the driver.

I'm not consistent enough yet to develop setups, but I'll use a known fast set and them maybe tweak it suit my driving style. I'm getting better at setups just be doing that.

And I've started simple. If I'm understeering in the FOX in a particular corner I'll add more front downforce, one click. Obvious enough, right? Maybe it helped, maybe not. If not, I'll either change it back and leave things as they are or change it back and try a small adjustment somewhere else. But at the end of the day, I still know that it is primarily driver skill that is holding me back.

Quote from t1ger :

This refers to the racing line the AI cars take, ie not the actual visible marks on the road, just the path the AI uses to get around the track. If you set it to OFF, the AI will have to learn the track themselves, if you set either of the other two options then the AI will learn from your driving line around the track.

Relating to disconnections, this will not affect anything.

I myself have problems with disconnections. I can stay connected to some servers without any problems at all for ages, with or without other people connected. But then on other servers, I disconnect. Sometimes after 5 minutes and sometimes after nearly 2 hours!

My belief is that the problem lies with internet routing somewhere between myself and the server, and this depends upon where in the world it is. I have been playing BF2 online quite a bit lately and I have not been disconnected once, however the net code here is obviously massively different.

At the moment, whenever I play online now, I am keeping two pings going in the background, one to the server I am on and one to www.google.co.uk - as yet I have not been disconnected while doing this, but I have only been online once!

Unfortunately, the only thing this will prove is that my connection to the internet does not go down - just the connection to the server I am playing on. If this is the case - I have no idea what I can do about it - if at all anything!!!

I am using a 512K ADSL connection with a Netgear DG834G router.

Tim

How do you detemine the IP of the LFS server for the ping? I'm having disconnection issues but I'm on a residencial broadband conenction.

I'm having a problem with random disconnects. I'm really not sure what is going on because there is no warning. No lag. No frame rate issues. No cars skipping around me. No performance issues of any kind. I'll be racing along, everything fine, and then I'll just get disconnected.

I'm not getting kicked (as best as I can tell), so I don't have a clue what's going on. It isn't server specific (happened on 4 seperate servers). I'm using Comcast broadband thru a cable modem thru a Linksys wireless router. The PC I use is connected via ethernet cable (NOT wifi. The wifi is for my laptop). Standard stuff.

Any hints?

I did a search and didn't come up with anything. I'll search again, but if anyone has any suggestions, please post them.

THanks

Good points, all. Not trying to stir up controversy. Just some thoughts.

I'll change the Logitech settings to find out the difference. It'll be a week before I can race again (travelling), so we'll see what we see next week.

Quote from Vain :

1. Yep, the same as in LFS. It's great how you can hear the reaction of the tyres from slightly scrubbing to squealing when you overdo it.
2. Yep, I love the surface-feedback in LFS. Just feels great! I always know what the car is doing, which forces apply to the car and what the car is going to do. At least this is so with my Logitech MOMO Racing.
3. Now I saw a lot of tyres, but I never noticed slicks change their appearance under load or whatever. Especially not while driving 100mph .

It takes a lot of time to get used to the subtle effects in LFS. That is because the effects are dynamically calculated which means they aren't overdone. You can of course always increase the FF-strenght (which I prefer, because I never drove a racing vehicle with aided steering and thus I feel strange when I can steer a car with one hand).

Vain

Like I've said before. My experience is different. I think there is less feedback in LFS than GTR. Could be a settins issue, but I basically used the defaults in both games. From a marketing and sales standpoint, initial experience is incredibly important. I hear a lot about "well, just change your settings." That doesn't help sell games, which is what LFS needs to keep doing so that they can finance additional improvements, upgrades, and enhancements. A new customer needs to have an incredible experience right off the bat. Having to jack with settings for 3 hours just to get a good experience does not a happy customer make.

Quote from ajp71 :

Slicks do change apperance from wear but you'll only actually be able to see this when the car is stationary or locked up, neither ideal situations.

Ever watch an F1 race? You can definitely see tire wear while car is at speed. During in-car-camera shots, pay close attention to the front wheels later in the race. You can see wear bands. This doesn't apply so much in race series' where tire changes are allowed.

But I know I'm hard on tires in LFS. In a 10 lap race, the car will get really squirrely at about 8 laps. Maybe visual wear cues are something other drivers would like to have. Maybe not. Just a suggestion.

These may have already been suggested, but here's my $0.02.

1) More audible cues as to what the tires are doing. Also, more progression with in the cues. Tires make a distinctive scrubbing sound when pushed and only squeal when really taxed.

2) More track surface feedback through FF. Since there is no 'seat of the pants' feedback in computer simulations, high resolution FF becomes even more important to the overall experience. An example is when going across bumps in the track, the visual cues are definitely there, but the FF (at least in my case, Logitech Momo) did nothing.

3) This only really applies to open wheel cars, but visual cues on the tires themselves as to their condition. (A minor suggestion)

Strapped myself into a FOX this past Friday.

Still have a few "wishlist" items, but Forbin wasn't far off the mark. I'll have to get back into the XRR for a true comparison, GT car vs GT car.

Quote from Forbin :

I believe someone once mentioned a tactic that appliance stores use for selling things like TV's and stereos. They have a typical model next to a high end model. You watch/listen to the typical model for a bit, then switch to the high end model. It's obviously a little better but the difference isn't huge. Then you go back to the typical model and it's absolute garbage. You wonder how you could possibly live without the high end model.

Same sort of thing here.

We'll see.

Sounds good on the patch. Thx for the input.



As far as game differences go, I just relayed my own experiences. A lot of it could be games setting difference (I pretty much used the defaults in both games). YMMV.

My intention isn't to knock LFS. I can appreciate the programming and research that had to go into it. Its been a few months since I raced in LFS. Maybe I'll have a different opinion after returning.

Edit: Just thought of a specific example. In GTR, if I run wide I get into the marbles. When that happens, I can feel the marbles through the FF and hear the change in the sound of the tires on the road. Also, I can tell if its just one side of the car on the marbles of if i am completely into them by the sounds, the FF, and the handling of the car.

Not to say LFS doesn't do that. I think the difference is in how the feedback (visual, audible, and FF) is presented.

Last edited by Spinjack, Fri 17 Feb 2006, 18:14.

Quote from tristancliffe :

You have P. Just install Q like normal. But there's no physics changes in Q.

Cool. Thx.

Quote :

May I ask, at the risk of this thread being hijacked, what you prefer about GTR's physics?

Three things come to mind immediately (two of which are closely related):

1) Tire physics - maybe 'tire physics' isn't the correct phrase, but GTR seems to do a better job of modelling how the car interacts with the road surface. For example, when cars in LFS loose traction, they do so rather abruptly and suddenly, regardless of the cause of the loss of traction. In GTR the traction loss is very situation dependent. My biggest frustration with LFS was the propensity for RWD cars to exhibit snap oversteer at 20 mph and light throttle input when the front wheels were not straight (usually after a spin). In GTR, i can be in the grass, turn the wheel, floor it, and the car acts as a real car would; progressively.


2) Communication of the car's attitude - GTR seems to provide more feedback , visually and through the FF, about what the car is doing. Steering kickback from curbs, loose rear end under braking, etc. Visually, there seems to be more subtle screen shifts indicating something is going on.


3) Track surface - the 'texture' of the track is a little more apparent. bumps, rough versus smooth, etc. The feedback is through FF, as well as, sound. I can hear how close I am to the limit of adhesion by the sound of the tires on the road surface. Also, the vibrations through FF communicate quite a bit.


Basically, it boils down to tire physics and feedback (visual, audible, and FF).

I hope that made sense.

Last edited by Spinjack, Thu 16 Feb 2006, 21:05.

I've been away from LFS for a while (switched to GTR because I like the physics better, but the quality of the racing is much much lower). It looks like a few patches have come out in the mean time. Is there a particular order to the patches or can I just load the most recent? I believe I have the first alpha patch, but nothing after that.

Thanks

Quote from AndroidXP :

Ofcourse he should have evaded you but there's a difference between "not letting him pass because you don't want to" and "not letting him pass because you couldn't".

Bingo.

The faster drivers need to understand the difference. Many don't.