i'm sure this has probably been suggested before and i'm sure that if it has i'll soon be told so

why not allow demo users to watch licenced replays?

obviously it might be impossible or difficult and could cause cracking probs if not done properly (but im sure the devs can do it )

what it would do is make demo users able to see what we are all upto with the licenced cars and tracks. in fact the devs could bundle a few replays in the download.

Well they would'nt be able to allow hotlap replays to be run. Seeing as you can 'test drive' the drivers set. And if you allow demo users to run standard MPR replays someone might create a 'crack' to use SPR replays and then they're able to drive the cars illegally. Just a thought

Simple, time limited demo.

Dan,

both are bad ideas. if a demo racer wants to see replays, there are lots of rendered movies online.

Well, if we had something like LFS TV, where you have a certain amount of spectators that can watch the race over a relay client, then it would be cool if demo racers could watch those races too, so they see what they're missing.

You could also make a shallow registration system that takes a while to activate, and then online play would only be allowed with registered demo clients. That way you could limit the time that is allowed online (for example, two[?] hours per day; when time's over you get disconnected as soon as the last ongoing race is finished, or you are booted to spectator) and it would also make the online experience better, by making the life harder for wreckers as bans would work better.

But in the end that would mean a high effort for people that didn't bring in any money anyways, so whatever

Bottomline.

Demo racers who continue to use the demo for long periods won't buy the full version, why?, because they are cheapskates.

The only way to get those types of demo players to go licensed is to force them to do so, if they don't do it then, nothing lost as they aint going to do it either way.

Dan,

You are right

Yeah. And what's to stop a time-limited demo from being reinstalled? Or any more complicated solution from being cracked? Although I don't encourage demo users to play the game for years (like some do), at least they become good racers and such can provide good racing for all the newbs on the demo servers (which are bad enough without removing the few experienced drivers that occupt them).

You can't stop cracking, everyone knows that unless there is a remote checking system, as per the S2 license system, then anything can be cracked, its just one of those things that we seem to have to live with.

Theres no reason why the demo license cant operate in the same way as the S2 license does, when some much time has been used up then the demo is unable to be used for mutliplayer, IMO LFS without multiplayer is no worth having.

Dan,

Quote from danowat :

Demo racers who continue to use the demo for long periods won't buy the full version, why?, because they are cheapskates.

Not sure I fully agree with you. I think the demo content alone is enough to keep a certain level of player interested over a long period- those that like to just race say half an hour at the weekend as a diversion, they can continue doing this for free. Don't slag them off for being cheapskates, they are only making use of what has been made available for them. Maybe you'd rather criticise the deveopers for being so generous with the free content? Go listen to the griping on other forums about trying to get the right level of options available as a demo and if it is enough to draw people in to the right degree, its a very delicate balance that few will agree on.

It's not "slagging", its a fact, sure there are reasons why people can't afford £24, but come on, it aint gonna break the bank is it.

I have, and always will say it (said it in many threads on here), that the content that is available in the demo is far, far too much.

Dan,

I thought about getting a group of us, to some nights pop into the Demo servers and show them how it should be done. Then I thought, they'd just knick your skins and your name to use in other Demo servers. So it's catch 22.

Quote from danowat :

It's not "slagging", its a fact, sure there are reasons why people can't afford £24, but come on, it aint gonna break the bank is it.

I have, and always will say it (said it in many threads on here), that the content that is available in the demo is far, far too much.

Dan,

that the content that is available in the demo is far, far too much. i total disagree with that 3 cars 3 tracks and you saying thats far far to much eh what about s2 i could say the same has your saying about the demo side . I mean there must be lots of cars on the s2 side far enahugh but demo racers have not got far far too much.

But saying, "only" 3 cars and "only" 3 tracks isnt enough is a very blinkered view of what you actually recieve in the demo, lets look at it subjectivly.

For FREE you get.

Unlimited offline play with 3 different cars, on 3 tracks
Unlimited online play on the demo servers
Unlimited LAN play
The best physics engine bar none
Updates and patches
A thriving community
Support from the people who make the game

Show me another demo that comes close to that.

TBH, anyone who uses the demo exclusivly without a good reason is a cheapskate, we should be supporting games and devs like LFS, so they don't all end up as bloody great, soulless corporations.

Dan,

I think you guys forget that the devs aren't making LFS to get rich. Obviously they need money to survive, but as they've clearly said before, the goal is not to make money, it's to make a good sim. If some people are satisfied with just the demo, that's okay. It doesn't necessarily mean they're being cheap. The money we have paid for our licenses is probably sufficient to keep the devs going for some time. It's the crackers that aggravate me because they clearly want the extra content but are unwilling to pay for it.

@faster111: That made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

I was a demo racer for a long time, simply because I was young, had no job, and no money. At the time I didn't have my driver's license either, so I had no way to get to a job. Sure, people will say I could have walked to a job, gotten a paper route, etc. etc. Out here, the nearest store is a 25 minute walk and all the paper routes are done in cars. I'm not complaining though, I played the demo, never tried to crack it, never whined that I couldn't get it for free, but if you look at the transaction record on my checking account, the very first purchase is LFS

Anyway, I'm very grateful that the demo is not time limited, because I doubt I would have bought LFS then, I'd probably still be playing Racer....

Quote from danowat :

It's not "slagging", its a fact, sure there are reasons why people can't afford £24, but come on, it aint gonna break the bank is it.

I have, and always will say it (said it in many threads on here), that the content that is available in the demo is far, far too much.

Dan,

I agree.

How to sort this problem

1. One car only (XFG)
2. One configeration only (BL GP)
3. No online
4. No InSim
5. Nag screens
6. No posting on the "Improvement suggestions" section in the forum
7. 14 day time limit.
   

we had a thread about that, danowat (obviously you know that already).
http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?t=7857

why are you so eagerly trying to highjack this one?

actually this thread already has been high jacked .

What do we care about demo users buying licenses?

What do demo users care?

The people who care about license uptake are the devs, and they are the only ones with acess to statistics on demo user usage patterns.

Anything we suggest is a poke in the dark, because we do not have acess to LFS' business model or acquired data.

So what do we hope to achieve with our bi-weekly moan that demo users aren't buying the game, when clearly they are, because we're all licensed users !?

If there was a problem with the number of people purchasing the game you can rest assured the devs would address it, because nothing effects them more directly than the number of people buying their game.

However, if you where to say "can I show my mates replays of my league races"? That's another matter, I just dont think it should be masked as doing the devs a favour. The answer for now is to framegrab it and show them as a wmv.

Quote from faster111 :

that the content that is available in the demo is far, far too much. i total disagree with that 3 cars 3 tracks and you saying thats far far to much eh what about s2 i could say the same has your saying about the demo side . I mean there must be lots of cars on the s2 side far enahugh but demo racers have not got far far too much.

its too uch in comparison to what other sims have

Wouldn't just screenshots make you want to buy it???

Quote from newage :

1. No InSim - what is this?

AFAIK, it allows you to run external additional programs like Pitspotter in LFS.

Quote from newage :

1. One car only (XFG) - i dont know...
   
2. One configeration only (BL GP) - i only see server with blgp
   
3. No online - how demostrate online capabilities?
   
4. No InSim - what is this?
   
5. Nag screens - is very annoying!!!
   
6. No posting on the "Improvement suggestions" section in the forum - whats for?
   
7. 14 day time limit. - no one like trial stuff

1. The current car selection is fine I think.
2. There's BLGP rev and the rally configs
3. I agree the online play shouldn't be removed from the demo. But it should be limited.
4. See previous reply
5. So? The propositions posted are meant to encourage demo users to buy the full game.
6. Well, it's a bit strange that people have been playing the demo for ages and post things they want added to a game they didn't even pay for.
7. Once again, that's kind off the point. Lots off game demos have time limits. The LFS demo can be played till the end of time. And I don't think that's right.

Please don't minunderstand me, I don't want to bash demo racers and I'm not talking about you specifically.

I think a time limit on the demo is the best way to go. Make it 30 days or something. Heck, make it two months. But it shouldn't be playable infinitely.

I don't agree with a time limited demo at all...

The very fact that the demo servers are not time limited has created a thriving demo population, this in itself enables new people to try the online features in populated servers (rather than empty ones) If you were a shop owner you want to be in a high traffic area not some backwater dead town, the demo as it is has created a great amount of interest and therefore generates even more interest which always will convert to better sales figures... regardless of a number of long term demo users. This is also a principle of good website design, add features that are good value and offer them for free to attract traffic which will then enable you to sell your primary product to a larger audience. I'm sure it's no mistake why they have created the demo the way it is.

I'd have to say that the online features are one of the major selling points of LFS and if prospective new buyers were not able to see that side of the game alot of sales would be lost.

Also in some time zones the number of players online can be very small and if it wasn't for demo players you wouldn't be able to get a race in anything other than the BF1 which would also cause some S2 lic people to loose interest in LFS as well...

So I believe the demo is fine how it is even with the wrecking problem.