I say leave the demo the way it is, if you don't like wreckers buy a license. :thumbsdow:twocents:

easier said than done in some countries though viper

How about a time-limited demo? Give people 100 hours (for example) of online play, then when it runs out it asks if you want to buy a license..if not, no online left but you can still race the AI..

I, like many of us, had plenty of experiences with S2 demo wreckers back in the day and I would've killed for a ban system that actually worked. It's no problem for me anymore but just the idea of dedicated wreckers and "wrecker teams" pisses me off. I just can't think of a bigger waste of time than firing up your PC, getting on to a server and making enemies (not to mention it's totally anonymous and actually quite cowardly - I mean, if you went into a bar and messed up someone's game of 8-ball you'd get a cue to the head quicker than you could say "WTF").

How about this: if someone gets banned from more than one server in a day they're blocked from the main server and can't even see a server list or start their own? Is that even feasible?

Your probably right, I do not know. Just think of how many more names would have to be stored to do that =)

hell ..i say we just make up our own cracks that lock up LFS entirely for all the people that do crack LFS and then.. ..well, sit back, have some lemonade and laugh

Time limited demo i would agree with, if you dont want it after say 50 days then your not going to want it at all.

Quote from Stellios :

Time limited demo i would agree with, if you dont want it after say 50 days then your not going to want it at all.

I like the idea but then the new people that get the demo will not nearly as big of fields when they play the demo, that "could" effect on how they view the game. You could say the same for the banning thing, both ways.

Quote from JohnUK89 :

Big bro unzips LFS to a different location and leaves that locked, passwords his PC, and prevents bro using the unlocked LFS using security options built into the NTFS file system

Ah but if, as suggested, the ID is based on the HW, wouldn't it be the same for both copies? If yes, it sounds a bit ineffective; If not, what stops a wrecker having multiple copies of LFS and just switching between them?

Quote :

Time limited demo i would agree with, if you dont want it after say 50 days then your not going to want it at all.

Problem with time-limited software is that, unlike online unlocking, it's relatively easy to crack. Just have a look at the amount of time-limited software, and the % of which have a way of going around it. Although if it could be made secure it could be an option.

Im sure something like banning demo racers using a hardware based key would be workable. Of course someone is always going to find a way around it no matter how hard you try, but it will take more effort and cut down on the number of wreckers

Ooh, now thats an interesting idea...

Demo racers should NOT be allowed to post in improvement suggestions.

Also, the demo should require e-mail activation and also an unlock thing (one unlock of the demo content). Also, a 14 day time limit on the demo.

LFS should just take some hints from IRC and let server admins ban hostmasks instead of single IP's. Hell, it would be enough to have access to the users IP's through InSim and people could easily write their own ban tools, but the way it is now, there's nothing you can do against wreckers getting a new IP and coming back with a different nick.

It would also be great for admins to have a /whois command to display a users host, so you can easily tell if the user who just joined is the same guy you banned 20 secs ago.


This whole issue would be so easy to resolve, but instead we're forced to spend half an hour banning the same guy over and over or even making the whole server private just because of one guy.

Oh...another things that really bugs me about the demo hosts is that admins do not have an option to limit the number of clients per IP. You have wreckers clearing whole servers via vote banning cause they have 6 clients connected at the same time. Seen it first hand...

Maybe we should look at some other options to get rid of the wreckers.

One thing I tought of at work today:
Including the drag strip in the demo. Maybe just the 4 lane , not the 8 lane.
Don't flame just yet , let me explain first

When I was still playing on the demo server , I noticed a lot of demo drivers were using the straight on Blackwood as a drag strip. They set up at the run-off area , 4 cars next to eachother and drag race. Usually they crash into any car that is actually racing laps on that server.
If the demo included the drag strip , drag race wannabees can race there , and leave the others alone on the track.

Plus , putting the drag strip in may convince some of the demo racers to buy the game. Once they notice they can drive a 490hp car on a 8 lane drag strip , they could get interested.

Just my 2 eurocents. What do you think ? (you can start flaming now)

Quote from Hankstar :

How about a time-limited demo? Give people 100 hours (for example) of online play, then when it runs out it asks if you want to buy a license..if not, no online left but you can still race the AI..

Not a bad idea. I don't like time limited demos but if the limit is that high and only applies to online, anyone who hits the limit must be hooked and should spend the cash.

Well, people need a fair trial and 100 hours could provide as much as a couple of months usage, depending on the level of addiction. Then, when they're totally hooked, make them buy it or take away their online play forever! Ar-harr! pirate:

Until they download it again

Quote from Hankstar :

Until they download it again

Lol! Maybe a little flaw in the concept.

omg wrong thread sorry!

*very fast edit!*

[quote=mrodgers]Excellent idea [quote]

+1

Quote from werewolf :

Plus , putting the drag strip in may convince some of the demo racers to buy the game. Once they notice they can drive a 490hp car on a 8 lane drag strip , they could get interested.

Just my 2 eurocents. What do you think ? (you can start flaming now)

Bad idea. Bad, bad, BAD idea. Adding another track won't get rid of the wreckers at all. Not at all sure how you came to this conclusion. The only way to get rid of wreckers is to either be able to ban them (you can do that now, but they can come right back after an IP refresh) or make wrecking so costly that people avoid it (something like nK's "hard core mode" where repairs happen in real time). Even the latter would not prevent wreckers completely as they could join a server, wreck out some people, then change servers. Really, proper banning is the only good solution.

In addition, people already play the demo version of the game for YEARS without buying the full version. The last thing they should do is add content to the demo.

Isnt the hole wrecker problem , caused by to many people play the demo instead of buying a S2 license ?

If anything, the people that do stick around on the demo servers for longer are usually the drivers who keep demo racing clean. Plus, it's not like people only race there because they don't have a license. Many license-holders simply enjoy the demo track/car combos and since these aren't too popular in S2, you use a demo server.

There are the occasional newbies that sit on the track or try going the wrong way, but in my experience they don't last very long. The real problem are the 5-10 retards who use the demo servers exclusively to wreak havoc. Text floods, impersonation, vote banning, wrecking...you name it.

Wildcard/hostmask bans would go a looong towards improving the online experience on the demo servers. Right now it really is needlessly frustrating. After all it's not like server admins don't know what it would take to get rid of these people, the problem is simply that they don't have the tools to do it.

Yes, that is why having a trial time on the demo would hurt those, few, who race clean and are satisfied with the demo car/track combos.

I may have read the thread too fast, but I still don't see any reasons against having the demo as it is today plus the addition of demo servers that recquire players to have registered on the site, like one would have to for S1/S2(except no pay). These servers would be more managble and accesable to those who don't mind the registration prosses for the sake of a more admin managable environment.



...I know- I can't spell.

i still playing demo, cause £24 still kinda expensive to me. i like the idea of register, iam already register, the i could put my username and password, unlock the "demo mode" and play.

imo wreckers dont know how setup a car, dont understand mechanics of a car, dont enjoy driving/racing, all the wrecker i meet in demo, none of them realy play racing games, on chat they talk about, soccer game, mmorpg, fps, that king of game.


that what i have to say. tnks

Quote from newage :

i still playing demo, cause £24 still kinda expensive to me. i like the idea of register, iam already register, the i could put my username and password, unlock the "demo mode" and play.

imo wreckers dont know how setup a car, dont understand mechanics of a car, dont enjoy driving/racing, all the wrecker i meet in demo, none of them realy play racing games, on chat they talk about, soccer game, mmorpg, fps, that king of game.


that what i have to say. tnks

24 quid isn't that expensive. Rfactor and NetKrap Pro are £30.

Quote from duke_toaster :

24 quid isn't that expensive. Rfactor and NetKrap Pro are £30.

well, i didnt buy netkart neither rfactor license, iam saving money to buy a wheel first, so i can learn to drive and i wont be a slow car on a race track.

here in Brasil, £24 = R$96, on my last job(iam jobless now :shrug my salary was about R$450. so is quite expensive for a game.