Quote from djgizmo68 :

following all of us, cruising at about 80, through a selection of 30mph Villages along the way.


Bastards

Yeah, how evil of them to tail and then stop people doing nearly three times the speed limit...

Quote from TAYLOR-MANIA :

The Met. Police have a Caparo.

:banghead:

No... they... don't.

Quote from CobraDrifter :

Awesome - if I need to outrun that fat sheriff, I just need to drive up a gently sloping wet piece of grass.

Quote from duke_toaster :

Don't see why the US police use Crown Victorias though. It's mainly agility that's needed for police cars

There's plenty reasons why they drive them. If they drove a UK police car the way they drive those Crown Vics, the tracking and steering would be knackered, the suspension shot, the bodywork wrecked and the structural integrity of the car compromised.

Crown Vics are built on a separate chassis - unlike pretty much any car designed in the last 20 years, there's no monocoque. This gives them the ability to bash, ram, and bend the bodywork to a fairly huge extent, then just take it off and bolt a new wing/sill/bootlid on. I suspect a Crown Vic can take the kind of abuse that defies belief of people brought up on modern, lightweight monocoque cars. The sheer size of the car is probably necessary when you consider how much larger many cars are that are native to the North American market. You also have to consider that the Crown Vics of some police depts (I'm guessing the inner city precincts and suchlike, not the highway patrols) basically have to run 24/7, which is unheard of for a UK police car.

It has nothing to do with agility, and everything to do with how much abuse they can take, and consequently how much it costs to keep the fleet running.

Congrats Dan - really inspiring stuff. I was aware of your training via the thread on here, but hadn't followed it that closely and didn't realise how much it had changed your life (or to put it rather more bluntly, how much you'd let yourself go. ). Well done on your achievements, you've a lot to feel rightly proud about. I'm a gym regular myself (well, sort of, injured knee at the moment) but am naturally slim and can appreciate what kind of a monumental effort you've put in to your running and weight loss.

Quote from Fordman :

Holy Cow, our Coopa's got Elise's now, and they said they are cost cutting?

Nah, 'course they haven't. It's just a show car. It's a popular thing to do for some very cheap publicity - put some police stickers on a car and team up with one of the constabularies that need some publicity for a new initiative or suchlike.

There's been Esprits, Elises, Lamborghinis, Smart cars, and all sorts of wierd and wonderful stuff cosmetically dressed up as police cars over the years.

Quote from Mustafur :

Why would they replace a track becuase of lack of facilities for one with even worse facilities?

God knows. Or rather, Bernie knows. He's always had it in for Silverstone. But changing it for Donington? Well it's a great track and it's nice to see other venues getting a higher profile, but why move from a track where the facilities are allegedly substandard to one where they are agricultural in comparison?

I just hope they don't butcher the track too much. Maybe do something with the Melbourne loop, especially if it creates some paddock space, but leave the rest of the track alone...

Quote from Mazz4200 :

But yeah, the game looks so good these days, pah who needs DX10, or even DX9 for that matter.

n00bs who think that using DX9 or DX10 will automatically fill the game with eye candy and bling, that's who. (Nonetheless, from what I've read, I believe ultimately DX9's features will be needed to bring about the kind of graphical effects and lighting that people seem to expect for S3).

Thanks devs for the new patch. Although it's felt like a long time coming (and to be fair, it has been), it delivers some much needed/appreciated things. AA/AF, replay controls, new interiors, etc. Most of all, when I upgraded my main LFS installation tonight, I felt the urge to race again - something I've not felt with LFS for a while now. Maybe it's the AA, maybe it's the new interiors, maybe it's the further general refinements. Or maybe (most likely), it's a combination of all of them. I hopped on CTRA Race1 tonight in the XFG with it's new interior and had a couple of great races. Patch Z runs flawlessly on my machine and FPS is up while the game looks better - a rare feat for most games.

It's nice to see some sort of visual/content updates to match the technical/physics side of development. Hopefully these will continue to come as S2 begins to take shape and get closer to being final.

Now, if only there was a new track on the horizon...

In white, that Scirocco loosely reminds of a Volvo C30R that's melted a bit.

Not keen on the front end, and the back is a bit "meh"...

If they were to revive the Corrado VR6, that might be more interesting.

Quote from Boris Lozac :

Yes i know, they are just drawn, but they don't share the same leather texture with the rest of the car, as you can see on the picture... and that's what i meant about wierd modeling It's pain in the a** to make a custom interior...

And this little thing is soo iritating, it seems like the interiors were rushed or something, it's a small thing, but it pokes me in the eyes.. I altered it on the picture as how it should be..

If only Eric could iron these little things until they go public...

I'm sure I can't be the only one finding it a bit odd that you complain about the "state of LFS" and it's content (not without reason, imo) but then when we do get some nice new, immersive interiors, you complain because you can't go and alter their appearance?

I've had a quick spin in cars with new cockpits, and am suitably impressed. They look very appropriate for the cars - very immersive. The FOX dash looks a bit like something out of Blake's 7, but still cool.

Quote from Cue-Ball :

My bets of what S2 will get before it's final:
New car models (including body panels that fall off and no license plates on the race cars)
Improved damage model (blown engines, more easily bent suspension, crushed radiators, etc)
Fixed collision system (no more flying cars when hitting barriers or walls)
Improved longitudinal grip tire model
Adjustable track temperatures
Improved turbo modeling
Further improved clutch model (with a grinding noise when you miss a gear)
More realistic lap time and flag displays (animated GPL style marshals for Yellow flags and a nkPro-like pit board instead of numbers flashed across the screen)
Improved textures, added details, perhaps working pit lights - general graphical improvements.
And I'm going to go out on a limb and say we'll see at least two tracks (tracks, not layouts) and two more cars (and possibly lose a few of the current cars).

That would be wonderful, and I hope you're right. But I don't think you will be. I think it's somewhat optimistic based on recent progress - progress which yes has included plenty of significant changes but hardly any large additions that draw crowds, bring back lost "old timers", or represent "milestones".

Quote from Hyperactive :

Sure, the south city and blackwood did get updated but who would notice unless we were told there being changed?

As much as I've got both feet firmly planted in the "lack of content is hurting LFS" camp, I feel that statement I quoted is too harsh. The updates to Blackwood and South City were pretty significant in terms of visual appeal, race tracks, all the kerbs fixed, corners revised and rescaled, etc.

Quote from Hyperactive :

It's not about glass being half empty or half full, it is simple a matter of looking what has been done since the launch of S2 and looking at the future with that in mind.

Have to agree. There's no doubting the quality of what's going into S2, it's just that the pace of it doesn't give much to get excited about in the future.

Another issue is that away from coding, as the various models (mass, aero, physics, tyres, etc) get more advanced, the more research Scawen has to do, before he can even start coding. Learning so much must take some serious time and effort, especially in such specialist areas. After all it's not like you can wander down to your local library and pick up a book called The Varying Co-efficients and Centres of Drag and Downforce as they relate to Aerodynamic Undertrays of Racing Cars which has all the answers you need.

Like others, I think the answer to the thread title can be summed up in one word: no.

Imho, the slow pace of development is beginning to have an effect. Both on the community as a whole, and for me personally.

Imho, the fact that we still don't have modelled aero undertrays or engine heat (and thus, radiator damage) is disappointing. When S2 was released in 2005 I can't say I ever thought we'd be half way through 2008 and still not have such things. LFS is also lacking what I call "procedural" features. Like the ability to run a formation lap and have everyone park on the grid, or have a rolling start, or have a dedicated safety car option. The kind of things that aren't so relevant to public racing, but would be huge with league racing, or just more "serious" pick-up servers.

Speaking of a safety car model, the main problem for LFS at the moment, and the reason I can't get back into it properly, is the lack of new content. LFS is absolutely crying for some new tracks. Whilst an RB4 or FZ50 with a lightbar would be handy and novel feature as a safety car (although one that would require some rendering of light sources), what we really need is tracks. I know we're not entitled to any, as we knew what content was included when we bought our S2 licenses, but dammit, I'm so sick of doing the same corners in a variety of configurations. Yes, someone will come along and say, "well there's 8,389 combinations and you haven't mastered any of them". True. Maybe I don't want to "master" them in the sense of running at WR speed. Maybe I want to enjoy racing in a variety of tracks and environments, which is something that LFS is sorely lacking these days.

I really want ot be "into" LFS again, but it's just feeling stale at the moment, I'm afraid.

Quote from Luke.S :

If you get it get the oem version of home premium it costs £100 less than the retail version and all it is missing is the fancy box.

And you're also missing a licence that allows you to transfer it to a different machine.

Quote from AndroidXP :

So I guess you're living very offroad or in a snowy area, because better handling in these environments are pretty much the only benefits you have from a 4WD car.

Meh, I know someone who chose 4WD in his new Audi TT and the closest he gets to any slippy conditions is his multi-storey car park at work.

Some people are just stupid like that though, they see "AWD" as a status thing, not a functional thing.

Quote from Stang70Fastback :

Obviously there's a lot more to mileage than JUST the drivetrain.

You don't say.

What's this topic doing down on page 3? I blame the snakes. Anyway, here's some shots I took today of my hometown.

Views across the Tyne:






Views from by the Tyne:






Views from inbetween the two previous sets of locations:

Quote from sgt.flippy :

but you're right

Nah. There are cars over here in Blighty with the wipers on the wrong way round (Renault Clios spring to mind) - the wipers are set for left hand drive, but in Britain it's the front passenger who gets the nice big sweep of the left-mounted wipers. So it's not unknown for the wipers to be the wrong way round when the steering wheel moves.

Quote from Ian.H :

pinchin the odd bird or 2's arse.

I bet you're a real hit with the classy ladies.

Nonetheless, I agree with you about the social networking craze. Can't stand that crap. However, i can't understand everyone else either why it's such a big issue that there's now a few little icons there, whether they are at the bottom of the page or not. I suppose it does become an "epic fail" worth protesting loudly about if anything slows you down as you march past 14,000 posts. After all, that's much easier than getting some perspective on the issue...

Redundant now that you've chosen one, but another vote for the Samsung 501s here. I use a pair of them in my Synology DS207, and they're mighty quiet and cool.

He means an electrical switch.

Quote from SamH :

the condition of the track that made it possible is a disgrace.

True.

I like how every year, Bernie starts bleating to the press about how he's going to take the British GP away from Silverstone next year because their garage doors aren't shiny enough.

And yet at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, although it's a superb track, it's literally falling apart, and yet it's fine by Bernie.

Quote from SamH :

There aren't many full-frame digitals out there.. certainly none within reach of an amateur like me. Medium format digital backs are £25K or more, but they do exist. Nikon and Canon (who I'd consider to be the market leaders, in the sense that where they go the market follows) have invested a lot more effort into the smaller-frame CCD, with whole lens ranges. I'm hesitant to assume that they're doing that with the intention of moving full-frame later.

I think Nikon, at least, are going to stick with the smaller CCD. I don't necessarily think it's the best choice, because of lens resolution (despite an evident move towards some very clever aspherical extra-low dispersion glass) but I think they've made a decision that they'll stick with.

True, there are few full frame digitals, but it's where the market is headed. At the moment it's the preserve of camera bodies aimed squarely at working pros, although soon Sony will be adding to the line-up with their own full frame camera (which they're refusing to call a "pro" camera, hinting that they're leaving space for an even higher end camera body in the future), and it's often suspected that the next generation 40D/A700 will be full-frame.

I expect the APS-C sensor to be the preserve of low-end camera bodies for a while yet, where the number one issue is cost. The advantage of APS-C is the lenses require less glass making them smaller, lighter, and cheaper. Lens resolution isn't really an issue - I think the Carl Zeiss 16-80 outresolves even the 12MP of the A700. Changing to full frame only makes even more demands of the lens, especially when the pixel density barely changes from APS-C sensors (as is the case with Sony's forthcoming 25MP full-frame flagship camera).

Quote from SamH :

@ STROBE, those embankment/Thames photos are fantastic! What's noise like with that A700? Did you need to do any cleaning up?

Thanks - the noise on the A700 is pretty good. Those Thames shots were taken at a mixture of ISO 800 and 1600. Obviously a lot of the noise is lost when downsized for the web, but they're not too bad at 100%. The main problem is that the A700 performs on-chip noise reduction at ISO1600 and above, which Lightroom can't handle and starts to make a mess of the images. It's an Adobe issue in that LR/ACR doesn't perform the correct procedures on A700 high iso files, but not one they acknowledge or are willing to fix. Fortunately I rarely shoot at 1600 or above, and on the occasions when I do need maximum quality, I can always use the Sony RAW converter which does a pretty damn good job in terms of image quality (but has a terrible interface).

Those bird shots are impressive, a million times more so when I remembered that they were MF! I can only do MF with macro, I'm useless at it on more distant subjects.

Quote from SamH :

What's the disadvantage of DX lenses, then? I figured it was a "for-digital" designation.. is it more of a "for consumers" lens?

DX lenses are just those that are designed for an APS-C sensor - nowt to do with "consumer", "pro" labelling, etc. One of the appealling features of the Nikkor lens range, imho, is that they don't need to differentiate between different "grades" of lens (Canon L, Sony G or CZ, etc), they just let the glass do the talking. There are more advantages to APS-C lenses than disadvantages, if you're using a camera with an APS-C sensor. The downside is that if the lens is quite an investment, it may become useless in future when full frame becomes the standard.

Quote from jayhawk :

Plus, yes, you are correct, the DX line is for the average user, a good lens for all around uses.

As I explained above, it has bugger all to do with lens grade, it's simply that the image circle is designed for an APS-C sensor. It wouldn't be at all surprised if there are some DX lenses which outperform their Nikkor full-frame alternatives.

Quote from Becky Rose :

Aren't exhaust fumes carbonmonoxide not carbondioxide?

No - cars with catalytic converters mostly emit carbon dioxide and nitrogen.

Quote from Becky Rose :

Did you know that nature turns all that CO2 back to O again during daylight hours ? :P

No - mainly because it doesn't.

Do let us know how it works out. It'll be quite interesting. It's a beautiful day today, and I drove to work with all the windows down and the warm fresh air blowing through the car. I would've gladly cycled or walked to work today if (a) I had anywhere to keep my bike at the flat, and (b) I didn't have an injured knee.

But come the winter and the cold, frosty, windy dark mornings and evenings, and I'd never consider anything other than the car.

So I'll be interested whether you can keep the no-car thing going after the summer too.

Quote from DevilDare :

Or am i missing something?

Yes. The fact that as head of FIA, Mosley meets and liases with heads of governments and corporations around the world, and it's now (allegedly) known that he has kinky sex with five prostitutes with Nazi overtones. Oh, and he's the son of a Nazi.

I just really hope the various motoring organisations aren't simply bluffing.