Haven't played in years (I think the last time I was active, racing daily was in 2010), and randomly thought of LFS while playing Assetto Corsa. Installed and was surprised there were 400 people online. I get into the server browser and I almost chuckled to see the stupid cruise servers were still a thing, then I hit "sort by number of racers" and it's a pee pee pants city -moment when I realize there are literally no s2 racing servers from all the drift, roleplay and drag nonsense.

I have hundreds of hours spent in this game and my fondest memories are from the FM (?) FOX racing server and after that cargame, sadly both of which seem pretty dead.

So the question I guess is, are there public servers where you can still have a good race? Cheers.

..

Quote from ensiferumm :

Haven't played in years (I think the last time I was active, racing daily was in 2010), and randomly thought of LFS while playing Assetto Corsa. Installed and was surprised there were 400 people online. I get into the server browser and I almost chuckled to see the stupid cruise servers were still a thing, then I hit "sort by number of racers" and it's a pee pee pants city -moment when I realize there are literally no s2 racing servers from all the drift, roleplay and drag nonsense.

I have hundreds of hours spent in this game and my fondest memories are from the FM (?) FOX racing server and after that cargame, sadly both of which seem pretty dead.

So the question I guess is, are there public servers where you can still have a good race? Cheers.

yes you will have, but not anymore in that part what you really want

Most nights we get any where between 5 and 20 people racing on B2r Rotate GTi! also there are a couple weekly events like the (FM) FOX events on Fridays and there is a side league for city liga called City Liga Sprint Races which is held when City Liga is on.

B2R rotate GTi has been great fun. Really well run fun server with a good atmosphere and some great racing. Also if you're in a GT and start from pole you can false-start with no penalty

Quote from sinbad :

Also if you're in a GT and start from pole you can false-start with no penalty

Haha it still borders you

Yay for B2R.
As with any game where you can choose which server/host to join then you will always find that it can be a bit hit and miss at the start.

Obviously I agree it is a pity there isn't more choice of licensed racing servers at the moment. We are working hard on things to improve the situation. We're beyond that slow period we went through a few years ago. I'm sure the new track and tyre physics will help, and some new types of vehicle, though these are still some months away. I've been trying to make sure LFS is the best VR sim racing experience to get some more people in that way.

One thing though, people could help by actually going online. I see a LOT of people saying, this would be fun if only there were people to race with. Well... guess who can do something about that? It's no good looking at the list of hosts then not joining. Instead, pick one and go there, even if it's empty. At least one person has to join or it obviously will be empty! The next person who comes along might just join you.

Quote from Scawen :

though these are still some months away.

Oh dear,careful with such messages - unpatient kids will start to flood the forum with "where is the promised free stuff" already in summer...

Quote from Scawen :

At least one person has to join or it obviously will be empty! The next person who comes along might just join you.

The problem is that many wants to join server with 20+ racers already in it,otherwise it's not worth it for them. The funny part is - often crowded servers have quite messy starts and first turns,where many cry that server is too crowded...

Quote from Eclipsed :

Oh dear,careful with such messages - unpatient kids will start to flood the forum with "where is the promised free stuff" already in summer...

Thanks, yeah, don't try to read time estimates from vague comments. I just mean months rather than years. We're on the case and want these things out as soon as possible, but there are always complications.

Quote from Eclipsed :

The problem is that many wants to join server with 20+ racers already in it,otherwise it's not worth it for them.

Yeah, but this is a mistake. People must try to understand that for a server to become populated, people must join it first. It is silly to be scared to be the first or second person. Others will join. Be brave, do a couple of practice laps while you wait.

Its a racers problem. LFS offers so many ways to create interesting

custom tracks these days, almost infinite. Even we on Reality Cruise

have nice racing events now and then, no idea why the people calling

for more racing action not just do something to get it started. Greets.

Quote from Scawen :

It's no good looking at the list of hosts then not joining. Instead, pick one and go there, even if it's empty. At least one person has to join or it obviously will be empty! The next person who comes along might just join you.

This is it, in a nutshell.

If I run my server and don't join it, I'll get one or two people pop in per day.

If I join it and leave it spec'd all day, I'll get about 20-30. Half of them will leave instantly when they see I'm not racing, half will do a few laps before they leave. (I guess a lot of people use the "don't show empty servers" option)

If I'm on there racing, or a second person joins while a first is racing, they'll stick around for a few races and that's when the join rate goes up, and you'll often end up with five or six people racing for a couple of hours as new people join before the earlier ones leave.

So, if all you're finding is empty servers, pick the combo you like best and jump in.

If you race it, they will come.

..

We had empty server on Flat Out, but all of sudden, people joins quickly, though it is definitely not for people who gets bored on Oval, though I think it is taste of matter.


I noticed I did find exactly same experience than others had. Random racer joins, steals a layout, leaves from the server. Or even better, whining about no BF1 is available, and leaves from the server because BF1 is not allowed. And even if it is allowed, it is priceless to see how he/she fails at turn by dropping that car off from the track. Simply not enough skills to keep car on smooth line, or any.

Community is not split out, instead of that, it is kinda spreaded and scattered on smaller groups, but that's simply because less racers, or so on, whatever the reason is.


EDIT:

Quote from P V L :

Its a racers problem. LFS offers so many ways to create interesting

custom tracks these days, almost infinite. Even we on Reality Cruise

have nice racing events now and then, no idea why the people calling

for more racing action not just do something to get it started. Greets.

This!

I do like any type of racing, but I am usually sticked something specific. I remember [CAD] Destruction Derby! All the time I was there, and people were doing the stuff. Some people liked it, some did not, but at least it was nice to see they actually did give a shot, at least once!

Quote from cargame.nl :

Nah not really, the continuity has been broken years ago already. This doesn't magically restores if you drive some laps on your own. Especially not in licensed environment. Too many people lost interest and are busy with different games or sims. This isn't weird because LFS is still mostly the same with realistic car handling but fantasy stuff. With the exception of Rockingham now but it's not enough to get people thrilled for daily casual racing. It will change when more real sim changing stuff gets released but I think these kinds of topics already have been discussed over and over..

But people do not reappear easily, people shift to a different community in another game/sim and tend to stay there.

I agree with this. I've been enjoying LFS a lot recently, I'd like to drive more LX but I'm happy if I can have some races in the GTi class most nights. Probably the only reason I have returned is that I don't like Assetto Corsa much, but those that do like AC (or whichever sim they try) are highly unlikely to return to LFS until we see the equivalent of LFS-2. A step change in tyre-physics alone will make the purists take notice, but it's hard to see it starting a full blown revival.

For those of us that just want the sort of thing LFS offers, LFS is perfect, but we are surely a tiny minority of the sim-community nowadays.

I'd love to see it broaden its appeal whilst retaining all of the simplicity and character.

Quote from UnknownMaster21 :

I do like any type of racing, but I am usually sticked something specific.

Welcome to club - I also stick mostly to one type of racing,that is league (event) racing. That's what does for me the trick,feels a bit more towards simulation than casual pick up races. It's a matter of taste of course.

Quote from Eclipsed :

Welcome to club - I also stick mostly to one type of racing,that is league (event) racing. That's what does for me the trick,feels a bit more towards simulation than casual pick up races. It's a matter of taste of course.

see you on next tuesday