Hey everyone,

I just unlocked my LFS, the cash was transferred from my bank account to Paypal in less than 24h - impressive!
Anyway, that what I had feared and expected happened as soon as I gained access to all the cars and tracks: I have no idea what to do and where to begin ;D

Some people will probably say that I should just go out and drive and see what I like, but I am very much a goal-oriented gamer and I love to set goals for myself to reach. As such, I'm looking for the cars that are driven most in the leagues, are there certain cars I should start with? My fastest lap with the GTI on BL was 1.34.22, so I think there is some potential in me, but I'd like to find out for real as fast as possible.

Which car would be the most logical step up from the GTI?

Finally, which track configurations are driven most commonly? I know that the city track, for example, has like 7 different lay-outs, is the standard one automatically the most popular one in most leagues?

Thanks in advance!

PS. I should probably mention that the LFS Demo is the best demo ever released on any platform, ever. I have spent more time in that demo than I have in most full games! (two weeks of fairly intensive driving )
I suppose a simple 'thanks' to the developers would be in order for such a nice introduction to a much larger thing.

The moment I first read about the different race-teams and leagues I was intrigued by the sheer depth and professionalism exhibited by them! I've been part of many organised communities, but the LFS community seems to be in a totally different league. I'm proud and glad to be a part of it as a full member, as of today, and I'm looking forward to many good moments with many of you online!

Welcome to S2.

The first thing to do with the access is to start a race at Blackwood and try out all cars. You might just like one a lot.
The second thing would be to look at the server browser at a time like this and see where all the people drive with your favorite car. You might have chosen a less public car, so you will then want to switch to something else you like.
After that you would go and get a setup from http://setupfield.teaminferno.hu for that or a similar combination and practice a bit offline. Then, when you feel confident enough (equals "are able to stay on the track without problems") you can join online and start gathering experience.

A sound step forward from the XF GTI would be the XF GTR (XFR), It's bigger brother with front wheel drive, racing slicks and loads of power. One of the most fun cars in LFS. The small formular car, the Formula XR (FOX), is also a very nice handling car that is loads o fun, though a bit tricky because it's grip depends on 'clean air' like in F1.
A good track choice for this car would be Aston Club or Westhill International.

Have fun!

[Edit]
I just thought I could point you towards some leagues... If you happen to enjoy the FOX, head yourself towards www.owrl.de . It'll be a while but then a new season will start. So you can train and get your driving skills up and then the new season should be ready to start. There's space for everyone.
If you enjoy the XFR and are into endurance racing you can take a look at the ATC 60 Lap GPs in the leagues-forum of this board. Those races typically last around 1 to two hours.

Vain

Welcome to S2

There are many different cars used in leagues so there's no point in concentrating on 1 car. Though that depends on what league you want to participate of course. I would suggest you try the GTi on a few different tracks just for a bit sightseeing just to get a bit familiar with them. All the rest is up to you and what you like, some new people like to drive the BF1 as their first "new" car but be aware : the transition between slick/aero cars and the "road" cars can be quite difficult when you're new to them. If I had to do it all over again, I would start with the GT (xr gt) and then the GTT (xrt) etc. etc. (always just one class above them) instead of just picking the fastest car.

Have fun in whatever you want

If you want to scare yourself silly, do a couple laps around a familiar track (BL1) in a familiar car (GTi). Then hop in the BF1.

I would highly recommend working your way up to the BF1, though. If you go with it first, you start comparing all the other cars to the BF1 and they all seem so slow by comparison (because they are).

Welcome to Live for Speed S2!

I went S2 as well last night. I tried out every car on Blackwood to get a feel for them (BF1 = :eek: ). Once you think you've got a feel for them, go out and do some races!

Heh, the BF1 is reasonably similar to the F1 cars in GT4 in terms of speed, so it was an expected factor ;D
I know of myself that I'm not a great fan of such cars, but just now I hopped into the XF GTR and I felt right at home! I will work my way up around one car a day and maybe I'll hop into a few servers every once in a while!

welkom bij s2
zoals al werd gezegd, test de wagens en heb plezier
probeer de servers, en ondek de verschillende types van race-stylen

we zien elkaar wel op de baan

in english:
welcome to s2
as said before, test the cars and have fun
try out the server, and discover the different race-styles

hope to see you on the tracks

Quote from Forbin :

If you want to scare yourself silly, do a couple laps around a familiar track (BL1) in a familiar car (GTi). Then hop in the BF1.

I would highly recommend working your way up to the BF1, though. If you go with it first, you start comparing all the other cars to the BF1 and they all seem so slow by comparison (because they are).

Oh man, the first thing I did after buying S2 was join an FO8 race. After spending a couple months on the demo, I was grinning from ear to ear all night. The formula cars are so fun with all that downforce and LFS is so real. It was kinda funny how excited I was after driving a formula car. After all, its just a game isn't it

Just did a FOX race on BL, man that thing is like a big kart with an almost endless amount of grip, nice

FOX is a very good intro to the Formula cars, you will get a fright when you try out the v8 though
I'd also recommend the FXO GTR as a faster but still very forgiving car (because it's 4WD).

Good luck, and enjoy your license

mannn...i need to buy s2.

everyone thinks the FV8 is so hard, i promise you, besides a tiny bit of wheelspin at the start of a race, it handles great; the FOX is more work than the FV8 usually, i have to wrestle the FOX to get it to where i want it to go (but .. then again, my times are real fast in the FOX so that may explain why..)

Quote from 4age11k :

mannn...i need to buy s2.

right

Quote from 4age11k :

mannn...i need to buy s2.

Yes you do. Go to it already

And back to the whole FOX v FO8 thing. I have always thought the FOX was a lot easier to control, because it's not just the spin at the start, it's the fact that even slightly too much throttle coming out of a corner will spin you. It's great fun, but the lack of power mean the FOX is way more forgiving.

Or to put it another way - before I got my wheel I could drive the FOX with the keyboard. I could barely get the v8 moving in a straight line

The FOX is by far and away the easiest car - easiest to drive, and easiest to drive fast. I think almost anyone can get within 2 seconds of almost any WR in a few laps, and it's quite hard to spin most of the time.

The FO8 is a lot easier with the new tyres, but still much more of a challenge than the FOX, simply because of more power, and more grip. I think a lot of people would struggle in the FO8, which is much closer to the LX's in terms of driving required.

Quote :

i have to wrestle the FOX to get it to where i want it to go

Nothing quite beats the fealing of getting the Fox sideways and keeping it under control with the throttle. Now all I need is to spend less time coding and more time racing so I can get quick at more tracks. I love racing the Fox, but for some reason Blackwood is the chosen Fox track at the moment and i'm useless there :/ (and always have been, for some reason I just cannot hook that track up right).

I wish some city or aston servers where more popular at the moment, but it's just aswell reallly as I dont have much spare time for racing at the moment.

More people should really give the FO8 a chance.
Yes, it's a bit more difficult than the FOX, but it really isn't that difficult. It will teach you throttle control, whereas the FOX will allow you to just slam the throttle at the start and it will keep going in straight line.
The FO8 is not nearly as tricky as it was before Patch T and it really is a lot of fun to drive.
But it seems it's all about quick short race fixes aimed at winning instead of actually enjoying learning to drive a car.
Don't get me wrong, I love the FOX. You can have some great races with it. But you can with the FO8 can too, if only people will give it a chance and not walk away from it because they spun it at the first start.

Quote :

it's the fact that even slightly too much throttle coming out of a corner will spin you

This really is the pre-Patch T FO8 version you're talking about right? Because that is so much better now.

FZ50! RAC! LX! see the light, steer with the throttle!

Quote from Bob Smith :

FZ50! RAC! LX! see the light, steer with the throttle!

Try to get into driving the cars in LFS, open wheel racers cannot be called cars, cars have roofs, mudguards and bumpers. Open wheelers are just open wheelers and should be restricted to LFS: Open Wheel Mania S2

Glad to see you're enjoying youself and S2

Quote from ShannonN :

Try to get into driving the cars in LFS, open wheel racers cannot be called cars, cars have roofs, mudguards and bumpers. Open wheelers are just open wheelers and should be restricted to LFS: Open Wheel Mania S2

Glad to see you're enjoying youself and S2

What a peculiar thought - I guess you must be deranged by being upside down all the time.

Tristan you freak.

I'm happily tuned into this thread now, as Haikoe's generosity just granted me a shiny new S2 licence. Jertje's right- there's a lot to absorb when you first open up into the licenced game. Tried all the tracks- and a few of the cars, from the karty cars to the BF1. I think I like the XF GTR the most atm, as it's familiar ground for me and I appreciate the extra power. I'll spend some time offline getting used to the tracks before I come hassle you guys...

To prevent opening up another thread I'll post here ;D

I've been driving the FZ50 on Aston National, and I like both the track as well as the car, so I started practicing a little bit.
My current best is 1.44.55, I've attached the replay of this lap and the setting I used. The set-up is basically the set-up by biernot from inferno, but I adapted it slightly to make the ass of the car a bit less adventurous. (anything I could improve on the setup? I'm hardly capable/experienced enough to 'feel' the car and know what to do to improve the setup )

Now, my question is - and you've probably already felt this one coming - what can I do to improve? I know my T1 is horrible, I can never match the entry speed of many others with any set-up, so I usually just improvise it, which is bad. The U-turns: Mwah. I don't take em very fast but I can't see any clear ways of improving them fast and gaining a significant amount of time; low priority unless you guys think I suck. Be honest ;p

The chicane.... well, it's that damn chicane... I've raced on this track for a day and a half and I already know of the terror it strikes into many people's hearts. In this particular replay I'm just being a big coward, but everytime I try to turn in faster, or exit faster, people die - possibly children, too.

Help would be appreciated, although this might not be the proper thread for it.

Hi. I'm practicing that combination myself at the moment and already got into the mid 41 section.
When watching your replay I expected worse. You're already doing nicely.
To add stability in the two U turns try turning while slightly understeering. You did that in the first U turn nicely. With the trust in the stability of the car you can get your acceleration points clear. Always begin acceleration from the apex forward. If the car needs it, put some throttle in before the apex.
Remember: If you're not accelerating by the time you hit the apex, you're doing it wrong.
That lost you some serious time at the second U turn. You just didn't get on the gas early enough because of the line you took. Ideally you want a elliptical line, but putting the apex a bit early (more turn angle in the beginning, less at exit) makes accelerating easier and is okay if you don't aim for WR times. Old saying: "Slow in, fast out"
You did the chicane nicely, but the apex of the first left-turn was too late. By the time you hit the first curb on the left you should already begin to turn right so that the second left curb is just a full-throttle straight. A good exit from the chicane earns you seconds.
For practice, try a "cool down lap" and do the lap slowly and conentrate on the ideal turn-exit line. The turn entry really only gains you tenths, but the exit decides over several seconds. That is especially true at the As chicane.
I drive a setup with 3° front angle and 9° rear angle. I saw that you weren't hitting maximum speed on the straight so you propably increased the rear wing angle of the original setup. The only turn where that really earns you grip is T1. So the effect of the rear wing should mostly be drag. You can reduce oversteer by increasing the front ARB or decreasing rear ARB. That will especially help you in the U-turns.
T1 is a science in itself and I think only practice will teach you how to take it. Just learn it in different cars (the FOX is nice for learning the exact geometry of turns) and you can soon understand the turn as in keeping a mental image of it in your head while driving it. You can't see where you are in the turn and you can't feel the apex, you need to memorize it from the mental image of the turn in your head.
I have found an easy to drive setup while practicing online. I didn't like it because it's a tad bit on the understeery side, but it's easy to control and can take long stints (the author, VoID, said the tyres will last a complete tank). See the attachment for the setup.

Vain

Thanks for the tips, I'll be aiming for a low 33 tomorrow