I don't swear in LFS until I make a stupid mistake. Like getting it crossed up then fudging it and overdoing the recovery. South City also makes me swear a lot when I keep taking right angled corners wrongly and clipping the inside wall, lap after lap even though I keep telling myself each time to take the correct line.

In the car on my own I swear like a trooper, and tend to use "f**k" as a form of punctuation. Pet hates are boy racers that are incapable of driving anywhere without tyres squealing and stereo pumping; middle lane hoggers that should be shot in the head; dumb platinum blonde bitches aged 50 or more in their Range Rover Sports but have no clue about how to drive; people that drive across the Tyne Bridge at 28mph in the outside lane, dodging nervously everytime a bus goes the opposite way in the outside lane; the vast majority of BMW and Audi drivers; and finally people that blatantly and deliberately ignore "no right turn" signs, often causing a real danger in the process. I'd love for them to get rammed by an HGV unable to stop, but even then sadly it would still be the HGV's fault.

Oh, and I also hate the recent trend of putting your rear fog lights on when there's a bit of spray on the motorway. F**k off, I can't see your brake lights anymore, how does that make you safer?

And anyone who thought it was Brits who best understood sarcasm and irony, will no doubt have a wry smile at the irony of this.

Quote from DieKolkrabe :

Just curious as to whether the same rules apply to skins as well as numberplates?

The cars skins themselves are governed by the rules of LFSW, which I think prohibit anything generally considered offensive which would include foul language.

Yeah, basically. I'd rather have an R32 any day. Same kind of power and performance as a 3.2 TT DSG but without looking like a hairdresser, and people will let you out at junctions in a Golf.

Oh wait, but hairdressers drive something else don't they Tristan? Fully agree with your comments about the "sporty" TT though. A friend of mine has one of the new ones, and eventually I just gave up pointing out that it's not a sports car, when he kept mentioning how great and sporty and stylish (cough) his car was at any opportunity.

Quote from Bob Smith :

Well what else do American's use their guns for?

Putting speed holes in cars, for one.

Quote from SamH :

I keel you!

[edit] Damn.. removed!

[edit] new link.. I KEEL YOU!

Hahahahahaha... thanks for that one Sam.

Goooood morning madam!

Quote from wasup :

je and they say this is family sedan

No they don't, it's not called a Skyline anymore.

Quote from Hankstar :

I dunno, the styling of this thing is actually quite refreshing to me, considering the soul-crushing boredom that grips me when I see new Beemers, Mercs, Saabs, Porsches, Audis etc. and the complete lack of anything when I see most other Japanese coupes (new WRX doesn't even raise a yawn). Sounds like this baby will murder rotaries too

I like the lines on this car, sort of muscle car-like but not overly brutish like a Chrysler 300C or HSV Commodore. It looks like it means business but it doesn't look like a mob hitman. I dig that it still has R34-style tail lights too - there's a lot to be said for the good ol' circle as a design feature (works for Ferrari). I am just sick to buggery of triangles (hence me not being a fan of the 350z all that much). Plus they've kept the old font of the "R" in "GT-R"

Have to agree with all that, I think it looks cracking - just a nice balance of muscle/power and svelteness. And suffice to say that it's going to be really rather rapid. I like it so far, hope that it proves good to drive.

what's an "insim layout"?

The cruise servers use a layout (which anyone can make, it's a just a question of putting barriers and cones on the track. Making a playable layout however is a different matter) to define the rights of way.

Separate from this is that they use a separate program that interfaces with LFS via Insim. Afaik some of the programs are custom, one-off creations by those with programming skills. Some use an off-the-shelf application, I think LFS Lapper is one such thing.

Have to agree about the S2 tracks being too smooth and artificial. Yes, they're wider for a reason (to accomodate larger, faster cars) but that doesn't mean they have to have the surface of a billiard table. Westhill, for example, you'd expect to be quite bumpy since it appears as a generally low budget, undeveloped track (unlike Aston, with grandstands and kerbs and configs galore).

Speaking of Aston, it'd be nice to feel the difference in the surface when using (for example) the modern GP config, compared to bits of the old Historic config that aren't part of GP and would be an older, more pitted, weathered, frost-bitten surface.

Quote from tristancliffe :

If you were any good, you'd be racing and winning. Instead you run a shitty clone of karting.co.uk and teach youngsters how to kart. So, judging by your posts, your awful online record, and your driving ability in real life, I'd say you know shit.

Tristan, there are times when I read your posts and disagree strongly with them. This is not one of them. Well said sir, have a hearty pat on the back for saying what simply needs to be said.

Quote from SamH :

It could be that they're the majority shareholder of the WMSC...

You're joking, right? :o

Well that certainly explains the actions of Ferrari International Assistance...

I'm glad Kimi is champion, as Kev mentioned elsewhere, mainly because he isn't a goody two-shoes - he drinks a lot and swears on live tv for starters. Whereas Lewis is too busy thanking all his team and the sponsors at almost every opportunity. The domination of the Ferraris meant the race would've been quite boring were it not for Hamilton's antics. He n00bed it on the first lap trying not to let Alonso past, the gearbox electronic failure was very mysterious, and ultimately he just didn't have the pace to recover. His move on Barichello made for good tv, and Hamilton had to take risks (at the position he was in, he had nothing to lose); but was bad in terms of racing etiquette because it relied on Rubens getting his arse out of the way (or face being wrecked by a dive bomb), rather than Hamilton presenting himself in sufficient time for the corner. But then again, these guys aren't racing for fun like we do in LFS.

Quote from KSheppard :

does everyone REALLY care about the AI?

I don't, I never use it, and have no interest in using it.

However, it just occurred to me why it may be in LFS' long term interest to get the AI sorted sooner, rather than later.

One area where LFS lacks, currently, is in North America. It's common to hear people from there mentioning the lack of online activity during their timezones - there's no denying LFS is very Euro-orientated. And the AI is currently pretty unuseable, so there's no LFS for them in NA. But give them working (and good) AI, and you'll build an offline community of LFS racers in North America. When the offline players reaches a critical mass, an active online community will begin to form that could rival that of the European time zones. Obviously, North America is a huge sales market, and it can only be good for LFS in the long term to tap into it. Having revamped AI is like a first foothold in building the product's appeal in North America.

Quote from Gentlefoot :

Not sure whether that's good or bad but... thanks??

Well both, but more of the good than the bad. Only negative point I hinted at was the lack of different car types covered by your setups with it mainly being FOX, but that's understandable given the single seaters raced in your league, and the fact that the setup collection has just been started.

As much as I have to say that I tend to agree with those who take issue with your spamvertisements for the GFC league at any opportunity, I applaud any efforts to create a database of useful setups. The stuff available at Inferno is quick, but mostly seems biased towards hotlapping. What is far more useful to the average racer are setups orientated towards races, rather than hotlapping or alien sets that tend to be incredibly twitchy or unpredictable. Look forward to seeing the list of setups expand to the other popular classes in the future.

Quote from Bob Smith :

Now I'm going to sleep off beer and try and get some of the high frequencies back in my hearing. Oh how I hate places that deafen you with music. And meagre dance/pop at that. Ahh, Nightwish to the rescue....

If you don't mind me asking, where the hell did you go?

Congrats Bob. Pity that carshock has closed down opposite your office, otherwise you could have gone and bought yourself a dodgy* motor with your first paycheque in your lunch break.

[size]* Allegedly[/size]

Quote from SamH :

I prefer the US style.. easier on the lower back, particularly on sloping surfaces...

Yeah, but try manoeuvring an American one around your average Lidl over here, and it's probably like trying to park a Lincoln Town Car in one of our city centre multistoreys.

Not that I've ever been to America to try their shopping carts.

Or tried to park a Lincoln Town Car in a multistorey.

Or driven a Lincoln Town Car*.


[size]* Thank god. [/size]

Good interview, thanks to SRT and especially Victor for doing it. Always interesting to hear the devs chat and be interviewed about things.

lol at the question at the end asking about Victor "when he grows up" - isn't the guy in his late twenties or early thirties or something? Apart from that, good job and good questions.

Quote from danowat :

any suggestions

Yes - don't buy them from Jessops. Ebay is your friend when it comes to getting cheap filters, there are plenty of reputable Hong Kong dealers doing all the major filter brands. My 55mm Hoya Pro1D Circ Pol filter would've cost me £60+ even from a web shop in this country - straight from HK I got it for ~£25.

In terms of recommendations, what kind of shots do you want to achieve? For square filters (such as ND grads) you need a holder which clips onto an adapter that screws into your lens filter thread. So, you can use the same filters on different size lenses just by having a suitably threaded adapter for each lens size you have. Cokin is the usual starters kit for these things, they're cheap and cheerful - although apparently their ND grads aren't entirely neutral, which is why they call them "grey graduated" instead. As for soft edge vs hard edge gradation, the longer your focal length and the smaller your aperture, the harder the gradation needs to be.
Personally, my graduated filter kit consists of a 55mm Cokin adapter (both my kit lens and 24mm prime have a 55mm thread, which is handy), wide angle P-size holder, and a Hitech ND soft grad kit (which has three filters at 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 - which block out 1, 2, and 3 stops of light respectively) ground down to 84mm width to fit the Cokin P-holder.

A circular polarizer (Circpol, or CPL) is great for city shots, or anywhere that there's glass, water etc so you can either eliminate or enhance the reflections just by turning the filter (only really works on clear days with direct sunlight, although there is still some effect on cloudy days where the light is very diffused). But they do cut out a stop or two of light, so it's not a good idea to keep them on indoors. Most brands will be fine for entry level photogs like us using budget DSLR kit and lenses. You can spend silly money on filters (Lee filters spring to mind) but there's little point unless you've got a £2k lens to stick it on the front of.

So first thing you need to do is check the filter size on your lenses, and what filters you want to use on what lenses. Generally, imho, there's more opportunity to use filters on a wide angle or kit lens than a telezoom, so I'd err towards that.

Quote :

And yeah, they are from Snowdonia

I should know, I was there a few weeks ago. Sadly the weather was so atrocious that I didn't get a single shot of Snowdonia itself.

Quote from danowat :

This is where I need help, filters, which ones, what for, why etc etc etc.

Yep, ND grad filters are cool...

[size]Sony A100, 18-70mm @ 18mm, 1/80s, f/16, ISO 100, Hitech 0.9 ND grad[/size]

Basically when shooting digital you don't need the huge array of filters that film photographers needed. Colour effects can be done in PP, for example.

Graduated filters are good for landscapes, but get square ones, not the screw-in type.

Circular polarisers are useful for controlling reflections off water and glass, and sometimes enriching colours.

Some people like to use UV or Haze filters as a protector on their lenses. I choose not to, although the filters can cut some of the haze very slightly in landscapes and give you a clearer horizon.

There's all sorts of other filters available - soft focus, star effects, and so on. But the ones above are the starting points imho.

PS. Your pictures look like North Wales / Snowdonia to me.

Last edited by STROBE, Sat, 6 Oct 2007 10:55. Reason : added image info

Quote from CNSZU :

Is there a hidden option, or a crack, which prevents the tyre temperature from changing throughout an entire race?

No, but the next major patch is widely expected to feature improved AI, which presumably will mean they can cope with tyre temperatures, fuel loads, pits, etc.

nice car, and great drawing - wish I could draw like that. But I wouldn't want this to replace any of the cars we currently have either.

However it would be nice to have to genuinely more modern cars in LFS - ones that look like current designs rather than 80s/90s style. I suspect it's a helluva lot more difficult to realistically design and model a car with as many contours and pressings and curves as modern designs have (and requires a helluva lot more polygons too), but that's what is needed if the devs want something that looks more up to date. Obviously it would be heavier than the current TBOs, but also more stable. Good for beginners who would be able to drive it better, and probably be attracted to it more since it looks newer. Then those who are good with the current TBOs can thrash them with their vintage XRTs and so on.

I'd sooner choose to have some closed cockpit prototypes though.

Quote from TiJay :

The only advantage DSLRs have over this seems to be faster shots and even better picture quality, but they're hugely expensive, require different lenses...

Somehow, I think you're missing the point. The biggest advantage of SLRs is the interchangeable lenses, which gives you options that are unimaginable with a compact camera, no matter whether it's a super-slim Casio Exilim or a chunkier superzoom. From the huge long lenses (almost telescopes sometimes!) used by pro sports photogs, to the dramatic fisheye, primes for absolute image quality, and so on.

@ SamH: Sigma make some cracking lenses. The 17-50/2.8 is especially well received, even more so on the Sony/Minolta mount that I use. I haven't got one, but I do have the 70-300 APO DG. This lens is better than "kit" telezoom offerings, and frankly is unbeatable for the price class it occupies. Obviously it gets caned by lenses that cost >£500, but it gives you great image quality for the money. Whether it'll still be working in five years time is a different issue, however...

Quote from AndroidXP :

...£12. Come on, that's the average cost of one night out with your friends...

Bloody hell, I should go and live in Austria for nights out as cheap as that!

Quote from DarinSRT :

I swore to myself that i wouldn't reply to posts that are negative but I had to make an exception since there were two in this thread by the same person.

Don't let it distract you; once you've been around here a bit longer you'll soon learn to ignore them.