The online racing simulator
Quote from Scawen :But the carcass simulation, which I had to look into because the tread simulation model clearly ignored too much of how a tyre actually behaves, took me in a whole new direction for a good part of last year.

That's so eerily similar to what Dave Kaemmer said his new model is all about... Funny really how both are basically telling the same stories...
Quote from bbman :That's so eerily similar to what Dave Kaemmer said his new model is all about... Funny really how both are basically telling the same stories...

They are long lost brothers.
Sorry, it's on page 23.. did I miss an update?
i still dont quite understand how the tyre update project never got to the "oh shit this isnt working out" phase
i suppose its easy for me to say as someone used to a working environment where any idea that turns out to be too ambitious can be bumped down in priority loaded off onto cheap labour (ie students) and left to its own devices until it shows some promise again but even with that in mind i cant relate to how this never got to the point where scawen though "im losing sight of the big picture here"
Quote from tristancliffe :I dunno - I can't afford iRacing!!!

That "point of view" is getting so old; eat out for lunch 2 less times a month (heck, a 12" sub at Subway costs a month's subscription) and you'll break even pretty quick even with some extra start up content.

I understand your argument that it's not worth it to you because of the time (or lack thereof) you'd have to race, but 99.99% of people who say that "they can't afford it" really mean "I won't afford it". It's probably relatively impossible to own a PC capable of running it, have a wheel/pedal setup (a G25/27 costs way more than a year's sub), pay for high-speed internet, and not "be able" to afford iRacing - that's such a joke. Anyone who really "can't" afford to run iRacing if they want to, should probably sell their hardware to make ends meet for a while.

I do understand why it's not a priority for you personally though.
Quote from StableX :Sorry, it's on page 23.. did I miss an update?

Sorry, it's been over 2 years, you've missed nothing.

Quote from Shotglass :i still dont quite understand how the tyre update project never got to the "oh shit this isnt working out" phase
i suppose its easy for me to say as someone used to a working environment where any idea that turns out to be too ambitious can be bumped down in priority loaded off onto cheap labour (ie students) and left to its own devices until it shows some promise again but even with that in mind i cant relate to how this never got to the point where scawen though "im losing sight of the big picture here"

Well didn't he say that pretty much? The tire physics have taken so long he has lost track with the whole progress (big picture).

Quote from Ball Bearing Turbo :That "point of view" is getting so old; eat out for lunch 2 less times a month (heck, a 12" sub at Subway costs a month's subscription) and you'll break even pretty quick even with some extra start up content.

I understand your argument that it's not worth it to you because of the time (or lack thereof) you'd have to race, but 99.99% of people who say that "they can't afford it" really mean "I won't afford it". It's probably relatively impossible to own a PC capable of running it, have a wheel/pedal setup (a G25/27 costs way more than a year's sub), pay for high-speed internet, and not "be able" to afford iRacing - that's such a joke. Anyone who really "can't" afford to run iRacing if they want to, should probably sell their hardware to make ends meet for a while.

I do understand why it's not a priority for you personally though.

Been there since beta (3 years), I have all the content, and have paid 32 cents a day. I can find that on the ground on a daily basis and it will pay my iRacing.
Quote from DieKolkrabe :Read the whole sentences.

Scawen did NOT say 'we won't ever release the VW or Rockingham', instead, he said...

Hurr yeah. But im not intelligent
Quote from tmehlinger :Game development is completely different from applications development, especially with teams as small as the LFs dev team. The closest thing to a deadline you'd find in a game development schedule is rough timeline of projected product releases. "When it's done" is the norm.

To me, this is just another way to rationalize the "I'm pissed and I deserve more stuff for my buck" mentality. You paid for a game and got plenty of mileage out of it. You didn't pay for a protracted development schedule (with dealines!!!111!) and future updates.

To me, your post is just another to rationalize the usual "Great, a progress report, now I am satisfied" mentality.

I have been developing systems and applications for Galileo, ESA, Siemens, Vodafone and the like, right.

But I have also worked in game development.

Obviously, if you have worked in game development too, you know there are deadlines. And if you don't respect those deadlines, you're off for a big problem with marketing heads and the lot.

Obviously, Scawen is highly talented and is a respected professional. Obviously, the team behind LFS is terribly small.

Obviously, we all know that.

Read my post and a few other posts from LFS fans and loyalists, and understand them first before posting a comment.

@Scawen: as you said (understandably) you probably will not follow this thread anymore. Regardless, here's my final take on the matter:

post some milestones/deadlines for S3, abide by them, and I guarantee that if you do that, you may ask anything from 15 to 30 Euros for S3. I have been talking to a few LFS "loyalists" and we agree on this: S3 could cost us that much and we'll still purchase S3.

Take your time, research, implement, and surprise us. If you do so, in my view you'll be entitled to ask that fair amount for S3. We'll all stand to gain from this - your team and us.

As it is,

take care, and good luck.


Cheers,
Miguel
I totally understand game development and it's downsides, but for some reason I cant help but feel the progress they are making is taking FAR too long (although I also understand they are putting a lot of time into making sure it is right, which will make the end product far better)

Meh, I guess I'm just too impatient, but who wouldn't be after being teased with content for years?
Quote from MiguelMargarido :

Obviously, if you have worked in game development too, you know there are deadlines. And if you don't respect those deadlines, you're off for a big problem with marketing heads and the lot.

post some milestones/deadlines for S3, abide by them, and I guarantee that if you do that, you may ask anything from 15 to 30 Euros for S3. I have been talking to a few LFS "loyalists" and we agree on this: S3 could cost us that much and we'll still purchase S3.

Take your time, research, implement, and surprise us. If you do so, in my view you'll be entitled to ask that fair amount for S3. We'll all stand to gain from this - your team and us.

As a developer/programer you must understand the phrase "crunch-time" when the powers that be (marketing heads etc) come down hard on the people actually doing the work to speed up development in time for a set release date, I know big companys like to set these dates and employed programmers have to put in hard days with longer and longer hours to rush things out, how many big games get released early?

This is IMO a big part of why the 3 Devs here started LFS, to use their talents as programmers/designers at home and at their own pace, without anyone berating them all the time for updates or release dates, they get to work when they feel like it, and knock off when they want, call it flexitime if you like. But they do it because they enjoy it or at least believe in the dream.
I happen to agree and support this lifestyle and my own small bussiness will never be in the FTSE100 but it allows me to spend more time with my family and IMO live a happier and more fulfilled life as a result.

I will gladly pay for any updates to lfs when they become available and even though I don't know Scawen & co personally I believe the result of their hard work over the last 8 or 9 years and more importantly the quality compared to the competition bring me to conclude that Scawen knows what he's doing and always delivers "top notch" output.

We all want the same thing, even the devs want to give us what we want
I totally understand people asking for updates and content, and feel their frustration, but I don't think chastising the devs about development speed or complaining that "eric is doing nothing" or any of the negative comments on here will help anybody.

LFS is like a hand made car like maybe a Morgan, you can phone them up and demand a new +8 but you wont get it until they make it and finish the other orders, "its done when its done".

Thanks for the info Scawen, don't change for anyone

SD.
Quote from SparkyDave :
This is IMO a big part of why the 3 Devs here started LFS, to use their talents as programmers/designers at home and at their own pace, without anyone berating them all the time for updates or release dates, they get to work when they feel like it, and knock off when they want, call it flexitime if you like. But they do it because they enjoy it or at least believe in the dream.
I happen to agree and support this lifestyle and my own small bussiness will never be in the FTSE100 but it allows me to spend more time with my family and IMO live a happier and more fulfilled life as a result.

A thousand times this.

They aren't making this game for us, they're making it for themselves. Sales are a very fortunate side-effect.
it´s OK for me,

maybe i have enough with GT5 and BFBC on my PS3. So no Problem. You have the Time. The next Generation will come, early 2015
So uhm, why not start releasing/updating the textures/models now? Or will it again be, "I thought I was close so there was no point".

Surely now you must have SOME kind of an idea. But then again, it depends as to what you guys think the time gap between the two updates should be acceptable and whether to wait for tyres or not. Meh....
It's frustrating to see it's taken this long to acknowledge the mistake of delaying content, specially when you consider it was a commonly raised issue before they embarked on physics and tyre updates.

Given this revelation, it would be reasonably safe to say there won't be anything new that wasn't announced, so you really have to ponder whether the pending small content update will be enough to keep the LFS afloat.

Personally I don't think it will be enough. When we eventually see the patch, we'll see a spike/flood of old players return for a month. They'll try out the one new track/car and the new physics and shelve it again, as the reality is that the physics updates aren't going to radically change the appeal of the existing tracks. And the blaring fact is LFS won't survive another 3 years of content stagnation. Lets hope in light of the admission, they decide to develop/release some more fictitious cars/tracks that won't be subject to the physics updates and breath some desperately needed life into the community.



Quote from SparkyDave :As a developer/programer....

You would agree then, there's limits to everything. Unfortunately the reality is this endeavour is no doubt supported by sales and at some point (if not already) it becomes unsustainable without revenue.
Quote from DevilDare :So uhm, why not start releasing/updating the textures/models now? Or will it again be, "I thought I was close so there was no point".

Surely now you must have SOME kind of an idea. But then again, it depends as to what you guys think the time gap between the two updates should be acceptable and whether to wait for tyres or not. Meh....

Read dipshit, read.
Quote from Macfox :
Given this revelation, it would be reasonably safe to say there won't be anything new that wasn't announced, so you really have to ponder whether the pending small content update will be enough to keep the LFS afloat.

Personally I don't think it will be enough. When we eventually see the patch, we'll see a spike/flood of old players return for a month. They'll try out the one new track/car and the new physics and shelve it again, as the reality is that the physics updates aren't going to radically change the appeal of the existing tracks. And the blaring fact is LFS won't survive another 3 years of content stagnation. Lets hope in light of the admission, they decide to develop/release some more fictitious cars/tracks that won't be subject to the physics updates and breath some desperately needed life into the community.

This is really just a massive assumption followed by more assumptions about the first assumption.
All baseless too.
I have a question ... Does Volkswagen GmbH puts the pressure on the car in the game to be perfect and / or to make it available as soon as possible? Or is it that developers are free from that?

Sorry about my bad english, i hope you understand what i mean... Google translate
No - it is Scawen's purity level of determination to produce the most realistic racing sim possible.
Quote from CodieMorgan :No - it is Scawen's purity level of determination to produce the most realistic racing sim possible.

He's not trying to make the most realistic racing sim possible. He's trying to make the best as he can and then be happy with it.
Quote from Scawen :News from www.lfs.net :

Dear LFS Racers,

We hope you have had a good year.

The stable Z28 has been the latest version for a long time now, while we have been working on things for the long term future of LFS. As many of you know, the tyre physics system is being updated so all the cars will behave that bit closer to reality. It has proved to be a challenging and unpredictable project, involving a lot of studying, mathematics, testing and rewriting.

Sometimes, we had a version that felt good to drive and it seemed that soon we would be able to release it to the community. But then we found situations where the simulation produced incorrect results, leading to further investigations into the way tyres perform in various circumstances and why they do so. One thing tends to lead to another and for a while it seems that the more you learn about tyres, the more you realise that there is so much more to find out!

Scawen has written a little more about tyre design and simulation in case you would like to get a bit more technical.

The VW Scirocco and Rockingham have seemed quite close to release for some time now, but we decided to wait for the updated tyres because these things from the real world will be best experienced with the most realistic physics system. Eric has been working on some more S3 content but he would like to get nearer to finishing before we show any new pictures.

Victor has recently produced a special program "LFS Record" which can help you to produce smooth movies from Live for Speed, using advanced camera control. It is still in a beta stage at the moment. The program has a lot of features - too much to describe here, so if you do make movies or would like to have a go, take a look at the LFS Record thread on our forum.

- LFS Developers

Thanks for the update and the great game, looking forward to whatever you have in store.
This thread is closed

Progress Report December 2010
(1653 posts, closed, started )
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