we've (ATC) just added an insim to one of our servers. similar to he LR setup except we don't have a scoring system. we only use the insim for track rotation.
the car is XFR (ATC FAV) and it track selection is:
XFR @ BL = 8 laps
XFR @ SO Chicane = 9 laps
XFR @ FE Green = 9 laps
XFR @ KY Nat R = 6 laps
XFR @ WE R = 6 laps
XFR @ AS Club = 9 laps
XFR @ SO 1 = 14 laps
give it a whirl some time. ATC Public #1
I must admit that I did not play LFS online for a long time. Mostly because the only good races where on the CTRA Server and I had no time and not the talent to get up to the better Servers... and I hated that someone told me which car I can use.
Reading this thread I logged into LFSWorld again and watched at my Buddy list and some very good memories arised. Back in the "jump in and race" times I just looked if some of the Buddies where Online and where, jumped in and had great fun. Even if I was much slower than many of them these where clean and fun races most of the time.
Aaahh... how many good races I had on numerous RallyX Servers with Fetzo. A very generous person, always had a Setup for me and always a clean and fast driver. And there where a few other... what if you guys all look for your "old" buddies you had great races in the past. If everybody looks for "his" buddies before going Online there will be good races automatically.
And maybe I´ll be back again too... although I know nobody cares, because nobody misses me
LR server is good enough for those who looking for a "Ctra-like" server.
Ario thingy works like another competition tool but not useful if you are not racing regularly at those servers, thus some may find it annoying.
Many thanks for your like minded comments, and I agree with srdsprinter, its nice to have a constructive discussion with no flaming of the like. I must admit, I found a server last night, with SD, 3J, Pringles, AndyUK and Pingo, and before I needed my chinese, it was great racing, and fun through out, although like SD said, unless you race everyday and all the time, you are never going to reach that TBO class.
Thanks to Dadge for putting some more servers up. Maybe if you have another one spare, put the TBO class on there, so we have a choice. There is plenty of GTR and open wheelers, so this would give us a complete variation.
Again, it was great to see some familiar names last night, and Vain, I like your idea
Was nice to be dressed in those familar colours of mine
it wasn't just me bud. it was a team decission. we were thinking of doing it ages ago but never got round to it.
i'll see franky to try and get the GP server to rotate the TBO class. any track requests are welcome (10 minute races, so do the math too ). i'll see if we can allow the vote kick/ban set to allowed so the servers can be self regulated. if you get banned accidently, give us a shout on our forum (atcteam.org) and we will get you unbanned.
Yep, I only come here for the offtopic talk and laughs.
My thoughts on topic, please don't take these as passionate rants, I'm far too sad that LFS is in this state already:
The devs not wanting to split the community into racers/everybody else within forum and via server browsing might have ironically done just that destructively - thus killing the (hardcoreish?) racing scene that in the end was the LFS's driving force community wise.
Many agrees that LFS suited their schedules well. You could have gone for a 20-lapper with pit stops or drop in for a few 3-lappers around Blackwood if you were in a hurry. Last time I remember checking out the servers took ages as list was filled with servers of obscure rules and distracting/unnecessary Insim apps enforcing yet another set of behaviour guidelines or points system or whatnot.
Personally I would have hoped that the Devs would have enforced or suggested some sort of simple and effective 'Good Server Guidelines for Easy Racing'. That would have kept the bar low for pickup racing with a known and dev-approved set of default rules that hopefully would have taken ground as a sort of default server. That way a player would not have had to jump through hoops just to get into good racing and might come back more often.
The 'Good Rules' could have been simple suggestions as 'Remember to mix combos often enough to keep content fresh and people interested' - nothing super strict.
I don't know about you guys but when I first picked the game up after it was released years and years ago I used to have thrilling races with the same guys time after time. The thing that made the racing good was the easyness to pick it up and the easyness to drive(none of this clutch overcomplication so you can't shift down if you're accelerating etc.) but also the fact you could race fairly and have a great time doing it. Anyone fancy playing s1 again?!? MRT FTW
Haven't been active for the past two years. Mostly because I don't have access to good enough internet connection.
But I can remember that the online "feel" was changing, even then. If its worse now ... well, I don't know, in that case I guess its pretty bad?
Annyho, have been following this thread of lately, don't write much here anymore. LFS has a special place in my heart, so I just have to keep updated. Just noticed alot of old good friends/rivals in this thread.
The kind of things going on at the moment it is just a case of people want to have the most meaningful server. As dadge pointed out earler recently we have been racing in the LR Server. It has a points system but so long as you can get in the top 12 - 15 cars you are in for a stunning race.
Hopefully we can get some regular organised events going again like the 60 lap GP's used to be.
When im not knackered im sure i will type again. But nice to see you guys around again. Hope to catch you all around here more often (preferably on the track rather than in the threads
Wow, it's like a class of 2003 re-union in here. Evening Gents.
Like many of you, I'm pretty much inactive now. Every now and again I fire her up and think I might get back into it, but similarly I've been put off by the chronic lack of combo imagination (FBM/BL1 yawn) and the the fact that any server with anyone actually in it requires you to drive a lawnmower for six months to prove your worth.
Maybe we just need to set up an old timers server to suit our particular needs
Just about the only good thing about the rash of insim apps has been the improvements to LFS's woeful timing information display.
I don't mind racing in those common cars, GTR, STD, TBO - but its when the tracks are always long, straight, wide ones. Aston National, Aston National, Aston National is all I ever see on the list. On popular servers like FM Fox, there's only like 3 tracks I've ever seen on there, AS3, WE1, FE2. I love FE2, its probably my favourite track in the game, but the others are just wide open bland. Fair enough it might provide some good pick up and play racing for the masses, and you can get some decent races and battles on those tracks, but there's just no variety. What happened to tracks like SO2, FE1, FE4, the fun twisty tracks.
Someone needs to make a random combo server, the server chooses a track/car from the whole list, puts them together and you do 5 or so races on that combo, then it swaps. You've got ultimate variety, because the chances of you landing on FXR/AS3, are low.
What about a "old timers only" server then? Just make the insim to check up with LFS database on when the user got reg'ed. Then make the limit to 04-05 something to make sure there only are oldtimers racing there.
Sure, that system would have xx number of flaws and shortcommings, but if it somewhat could be implented on a more clever and usefull way, I'm sure it actually could be great fun having a race with 02-04 people only. I can immagine that even if maybe the racing itself were not that great, you would find a much better attitute than what you would find on the standard servers now.
I'd sure like to have a race with some other oldies. I never really bothered going to CTRA or any other of these insim-infested license servers, did only a few XRG races there and it would have taken way too much of my time to get a license to race my favourite class, the GTRs. Simply couldn't be bothered to be told by some unknown people what I can and can't drive on my own free time, so I stopped public racing completely and focused full time on drifting and some private races with buddies.
Anyway, just name a time and server for an old school race and I'll be there.
Hmm... I have to say that if I would be in Your shoes i would totally agree, racing with old mates simply for the fun of it. Great idea, but remember that among the new people there are also good racers who would also like to have a rewarding, clean and entertaining race without worrying If he will manage to race through the whole carnage on T1. Why one of You will not create a league? A league without any rules on "what car, what track and when". You would simply put a post like "let's race on this day, this car, this track", get Your mates together and have fun.
And that whole license system... if i'm correct there is only one server with license system and that is LR? Right? What's more... the whole "problem" is that some people want something more than racing, they want to ... race for something, points, licenses. That's why CTRA was so popular, so people could say i'm 62th in my country .
Well we could always setup a Passworded server, and you have to PM to get the password Simple CRC situation that worked, but we need to be careful, as don't want to create a "us and them" atmosphere, something LFS is and never will be about but I like the way this thread is going, just a shame it's taken "us oldies" and some like minded newbies to actually want to acheive something from it?
I think that restricting servers to people who have purchased LFS before a set date is what many people would deem as "slightly elitist". Join date has nothing to do with attitude on the racetrack or skill, IMO. The attitude problem, IMO, is more to do with it being "public" racing. But that's just my very personal opinion.
That´s so true. If you start with Passworded Servers, we get Off Topic now. Weren´t we talking about the "good old times" with starting LFS, pick some Server and have fun? It won´t work with passworded Servers. Some day you want to join to have fun and the password has changed. Then you write a PM, wait for it and when you get the password you realize that you are playing Flight Simulator again... or worse... with your GF (hope nobody takes this serious, just came into my mind)
Also I don´t like the Idea of a "filter" where you have to be licensed for x+ years. I am sure there are many other "younger" licensees out there not knowing how it was, but they will love it if the atmosphere comes up again.
Who knows... maybe I will exchange the Jostick on my table with the wheel again...