Hello Racers,

We are pleased to announce a new update of Live for Speed with some very good performance improvements. Various systems have been updated to reduce the work done by the graphics card and the CPU. The simulator runs more smoothly and you can choose a higher frame rate or run your computer more efficiently and consistently with a limited rate. This is a great help at the highly detailed Westhill environment released in the 0.6H update. We have improved the frame rate limiter (in Misc Options) so Live for Speed can run very accurately at the rate you set. There is a new live frame timing graph to help you see what's going on if you like that kind of thing!

For Oculus Rift users, we are supporting Direct mode and the 0.6 runtime. You can now enter or leave 3D mode at any time without restarting LFS. Just click the 3D button in View Options. In the LFS window that remains on your monitor you can see what the person wearing the Rift is looking at.


Four ways to get Version 0.6J :

1) AUTO UPDATER - If you already have version 0.5V or later :

- Click on "Multiplayer" then "List of Hosts" in LFS and choose a download mirror.

2) MANUAL PATCH (1.5 MB) - If you already have version 0.6H or later :

- Click HERE and save the patch installer.
- You can run the patch installer from its download location or from your LFS folder.

3) MANUAL PATCH (156 MB) - If you already have version 0.5Z or later :

- Click HERE and save the patch installer.
- You can run the patch installer from its download location or from your LFS folder.

4) FULL VERSION (273 MB) - If you are new to LFS or making a fresh installation.

- Click HERE to visit the download page and get the full version installer.


Changes from 0.6H to 0.6J :

Optimisations :

Static vertex buffers reorganised to reduce DirectX instructions
Frames buffered (default 1) to allow next frame to start rendering
More efficient car distance sorting system for sound and graphics
Dynamic vertex buffers now set to use hardware vertex processing
Better frame rate in places where many objects may be visible

Graphics :

Sky texture is now drawn in mirrors
Layout editor object selection buttons are sorted by distance
Z-buffer depth setting can now be changed without restarting LFS
Mirror now uses 24 bit Z buffer if Z buffer setting is more than 16

Frame rate limitation system :

Frame rate limitation system is now accurate and has better values
New frame info display shows sleep / physics updates / gpu waiting
Now using an event query instead of a lock for input lag prevention
Minimum sleep setting changed to "Sleep every frame" (yes / no)

Misc :

Now using Direct3D 9Ex if available (Windows Vista and later)
Reduced glitch when autocross objects are optimised (e.g. on load)
Reduced min / max values for "Sound lag" setting - default now 0.08
New Audio Option "Sound when window is inactive" (off / on)

3D view modes :

Added a 3D level slider option to adjust monitor-based 3D views
Reduced CPU / GPU usage by sharing scene preparation for both eyes

Oculus Rift :

Now using Oculus SDK version 0.6.0.1 which includes timewarp
You can now enter and leave Rift mode without restarting LFS
Smooth display (if you do not use SLI or force vertical sync)
Monitor window view options : blank / one eye / two eyes

Oculus Rift compatibility mode :

For users who cannot use the Oculus 0.6 runtime, you can still use
the 0.5 runtime. Simply rename the ORDIRECT.dll to some other name
and LFS will then use LFSORDLL.dll instead (extended mode only).

Fixes :

Some buildings at Westhill track were drawn using a slow method
Mouse clipped to window (CTRL+C) now works properly with ALT+TAB
Using mouse wheel to change gear did not work properly at high fps
Layout editor object selection buttons used interface button slots
Crash changing texture resolution with two or more objects selected
Anisotropic filtering did not work on car textures (including skin)


TIPS on using Live for Speed with an Oculus Rift DK2 :

NOTE : Oculus runtime 0.6.0.1 (or later) is required

1) How to enter Rift mode in LFS :
- Start LFS and click 3D on the View Options Screen
- Select Oculus Rift and click OK

2) To reset your seating position, the text command /rift reset is assigned by default to the F8 key.
- When a new driver takes over, ask them to look straight ahead then press F8
- Key assignments can be edited in Options - Game - F1 to F8

3) Accessing your desktop while LFS is on the Rift.
- You will find that your mouse cursor is confined to the Rift's virtual monitor
- Press CTRL+C to free the mouse and now the mouse can go onto the desktop

4) Optional command line options /rift=on and /rift=off
Use e.g. in a shortcut to make sure Rift mode is entered or not
LFS.exe /rift=on - try to go straight into Rift mode
LFS.exe /rift=off - do not go into Rift (ignores previous mode)


- LFS Developers

Thank you for the update, LFS has got even better and works way better on my Pentium4. Lovely.

Ty for this update

Any idea why I got 2 times higher framerate when running LFS with integrated graphics on my i3-3120M laptop? I get almost 300 fps, while with GF710M (I knew it's bad, but didn't know it's THAT bad) its only about 150.

The CPU load is very low, so maybe it's some Intel magical architecture that lets do the CPU some of the integrated GPU (Intel HD4000) calculations if the CPU itself is not heavily loaded? I currently have the latest drivers, but I guess it doesn't matter, because no update has noticeably changed the LFS framerate in the past. Oh, and in 0.6H the framerate with integrated GPU was slightly lower than with the Geforce.

Tested again and in 0.6F I got 60 fps on the old Westhill with Intel GPU, with 0.6J however, I'm getting 200-250 fps on the new Westhill. Nice - 4 times higher framerate with Intel GPU, and only 10 fps more with Geforce 710M. That's weird.

Thank you for the update

Thank You very much

Monster FPS update! Great for low end system users, great for high end systems with uber high resolutions and multi monitor setup. Even future Rift gadgets. Stable high FPS, looks good, sounds good, feels good!

I got around 50-100% FPS boost in most cases, pushing me past the magic 60 FPS number so I'm a happy camper

I gotta ask: what happened to "I" version? Apple said No?

I, 1, l ... they look too similar and we like to avoid confusion if possible!

@Scawen you right! xD

Nice update! next going test K.

0.6i RIP

VWS test pls!

On the Downloads page, Windows 10 can be added to the OS requirements.

Quote :

OS requirements
LFS works on both 32 and 64 bit Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10).

Quote from Scawen :

I, 1, l ... they look too similar and we like to avoid confusion if possible!

Meanwhile, I remembered "J" is the key to perform hyperspace jump in the original Elite. Same speed LFS is performing now

After test patch H8, i now have fingers crossed for test patch M8, m8.

Awesome patch, well done guys, much appreciated. Even if I don't have FPS problems, the guys who have less powerful PCs will take advantage of the performance improvements. Performance updates are always good and come handy for any upcoming graphical updates!

Ty devs

Thanks for the update, big FPS increase so I can finally cap it highly now.

Super job.

The FPS increase , hope to have Sirocco soon What about it Scawen ? Are doing real good work

Thanks great News!

I must test this after my Holiday

Awesome work guys.

Brilliant

Quote from borja_s13 :

hope to have Sirocco soon What about it Scawen ?

I was wondering this too.. But in a different way. The new physics is good, Eric only wants to drive with this. But it can be cheated... Now I was thinking what can actually be cheated about it compared to the old physics. Wiggling the steering wheel all the time... Blowing against your computer screen to let the tires cool down more.. Eehhhmm.. What else..

Thanks ScaViEr for this brilliant FPS boost and continious work on LFS again, keep it up!

Quote from cargame.nl :

I was wondering this too.. But in a different way. The new physics is good, Eric only wants to drive with this. But it can be cheated... Now I was thinking what can actually be cheated about it compared to the old physics. Wiggling the steering wheel all the time... Blowing against your computer screen to let the tires cool down more.. Eehhhmm.. What else..

Dave mate I was laughing so hard at that!!

Excellent update, thank you Judging by the replay I watched of westhill races I have recently done it makes the difference from a jerky 30-40fps race start to a smooth 70fps minimum for me.

Generally, is it better to have sleep every frame as yes or no? I am not sure what it does.

Quote from englishlord :

a jerky 30-40fps

So do you think when you go see a movie at a theater the movie is "jerky" because standard cinema frame rate is still 24 FPS unless you go see IMAX which then is only 48 FPS. This stupid bickering over frame rate and LFS performance is stupid. If you can't achieve decent FPS in a 12 year old simulator, UPGRADE YOUR HARDWARE.

If you can afford to buy a G27 or an Oculus Rift then you can afford to buy a decent graphics card. Stop making the developers waste time on new things like your poor performance related to outdated hardware.

@Lfs Devs. You can purchase an AMD FX CPU and a current generation NVIDIA graphics card that will gladly give you more than 100 FPS in LFS for really really cheap now. Stop catering to the few and start advancing this simulator that has been stalled of any major progress for years now.