I'm not sure how the Client/Server nature of physics works in the game but with the advent of physics processors and the Unified Shader models would it not be posible to do some basic CFD (Computed Fluid Dynamics) for areo on the client side? Clearly the areo for a car is static in a simulation, normally, but with the huge processing power that will soon be available can we not utilise it to further the physics? I understand that real (true) CFD is supercomputer terratory and non realtime but for a simple model computing for a set number of nodes on the car/track we could get a basic dynamic for calculation of turbulance, downforce, drag etc that would be more real for following another car in close quarters. As I understand the model currently used uses a table of values to calculate the values at any given speed, but does not take into account the angle of the wing to the wind. Clearly the whole track would not need to be modeled just the area prior to the cars and the area just after, a train of cars would increase the amount of processing but after a while it would settle out as only groups of cars would affect each other. I think i remember speaking to someone about this a while ago and they thought it would make too small a difference to the 'feel' for it to be worthwhile. Just typing while I think this, it could also be used to calculate the realtime venturi effect and ground effect (if they are not the same thing).

Regardless of the driving model I certainly think that the unified shader should be used as soon as possible (early next year, I know) to give interactive smoke and debris effects some real 'life'.

1. A graphical update will come with S3. Until that no major changes will be made (read: Eric may alter some models, but no new effects or so, only physics).
2. PPUs (physics processing units) can't be used because we'd need to force everybody to use them if we use them to calculate f.e. fluid dynamics. Either every player would need to by a PPU or the people would have to buy high-end systems to play LFS - and that for only a very minor change to the gameplay.
It doesn't work to have fluid dynamics only on "some" of the clients (those with PPUs) and not have them on all other clients. That would make the cars go out of sync immediately. That's like trying to mix patch P and patch U clients on one server.
However, we can expect correct ground effect sometime in the future. You don't need fluid dynamics for that. I personally expect the aero-model to be finished until S2 final. S2 introduced the aero-model and it will propably finish it.

Vain

PPU's also look set to standardise physics with that samey commercial feel, rather than use open physics libraries. The current one(s) use closed libraries with set physics systems based upon commercial development demands.

By not using generic physics LFS has set itself apart from other sims and delivers a very realistic racing game with great gameplay, moving to a PPU would destroy that and make LFS like any other off the shelf racing game.

Hopefully PPU technology will move forward in time, the key i'm looking for is an open physics library so that programmers can make changes directly to the physics system, until that happens there really is no point in PPU's unless you are into the standard shooter generic computer game in any of it's various guises, some people call it Halflife, others call it Quake, and some think it's called Battlefield...

I'm aware that all clients would require the PPU if that route were chosen, the advantage behind the Unified Shader moel is that is allows developers to use the GPU on a graphics card as a programmable processing unit. This means that (in ATIs implementation) you could have a graphics card for physics and a graphics card for graphics, they don't even have to match! I think this will mean it will be open to enough folk to consider.

SLi/Crossfire is only slightly more common than PPU's at the moment, as far as i'm concerned the move by the two big graphics card companies to put physics on the graphics card is just an excuse to sell more graphics cards to gamers, but LFS isn't about gamers, it's an accessible simulation.

On the one hand I would like to see LFS make use of some of the more modern technologies, bigger textures, shader 2.0 support and so on would be nice - but things which exclude users of underpowered systems are a bad idea - not everyone is willing to blow the same amount on computer hardware that I am, and I want people to crash into when I race .