Hi, don't mind me asking, but why was the ping column removed? I found (or used to) it useful to check my ping before entering an event server - if it was too high due to some ISP issue I wouldn't bother to join. And if it was reasonable I would get in if I could. Now I have to join the server to find out; and if the server is full, I can't even do that.

Just a minor feedback, if it's not possible anymore to reintroduce it, perhaps a general ping counter for the 4 server locations for us to keep track of our latency.

.... also, separate inquiry, perhaps more pressing right now for me - how and why has my ping increased over the years from 210ms to now, 340ms? Pre-covid, I was able to get a fair ping considering my location (Singapore), but since 2021, and most regrettably 2022 where I noticed the worst degradation, it's now almost un-raceable at 340ms.

For reference, in 2022, ping went from 260-280, straight up to 330ms, and has basically... been that way till now on NL servers, which is the most-used by leagues.

I believe I've asked this issue a year or two ago, and it's been brushed aside as ISP issue, but I've since switched ISP, upped my speed to 2GBPS, and haven't kinked or done silly stuff to my cable. Fellow Singaporean guys I've met and raced with have raised similar issues as well, going from 210-250ms to now 340-360ms. Is there any fix from the provider/server side or is this purely how it's going to be across the pond? Appreciate any insights

Quote from Scawen :

This update simply adds favourites to the List of Hosts screen, which is helpful as there is no longer a ping column. You can sort by that column and also the two-letter country code column.

Well for several weeks now nearly all development has ceased on my side as some strange people are doing daily attacks on our servers, for unknown reasons.

I mean, we are just trying to provide some entertainment for the people of the world. And although we are one of the world's smallest game developers, these peculiar individuals derive pleasure from bringing down our game servers.

One of the updates to make the servers more robust was to close open ports. One of those open ports on each server was the one listening for ping requests. As such it was a target for attacks, so the servers are now more resilient without leaving that port open.

Anyway, regardless, the attackers have found new ways to attack so everything is pretty pointless. But now you know the reason why.

The whole year I have been dealing with hacks, cracks and attacks. It's pretty joyless and not the reason I do this job. It would be great if the attackers could find something else to do, and I might get a chance to work on developing Live for Speed, for the benefit of all the world's people.

Thanks for the insight, makes sense. Then I'd have no issue with that, but pity that in rectifying one source they skip over it and find another....

Anyway, how about my other question/inquiry about my latency/ping? The issue I hope there's an answer to

Quote from Scawen :

One of the updates to make the servers more robust was to close open ports. One of those open ports on each server was the one listening for ping requests. As such it was a target for attacks, so the servers are now more resilient without leaving that port open.

I think your question is about the quality of the internet and its infrastructure. There's nothing I can tell you about the connections and hops between Singapore and the Netherlands, because I don't know anything about that (or the connections between any other locations).

Quote from Scawen :

I think your question is about the quality of the internet and its infrastructure. There's nothing I can tell you about the connections and hops between Singapore and the Netherlands, because I don't know anything about that (or the connections between any other locations).

Alright thanks

In case the attackers might read a message, I will ask sincerely:

What is it that you really want?

We are two people - a programmer (me) and an artist (Eric) that try to provide a game for anyone in the world to play. Also, part time, Victor does a few things on the servers (he did a lot more in the past) and Geraldine helps with support emails. That's all. This is not a big company.

We are massively helped by community members including forum moderators, mod reviewers, creators of mods and software, race organisers, broadcasters and people simply participating in races and events online. People do this for a hobby, to have some fun, entertain and interact with others around the world.

In addition to the free demo, so that we can continue developing, we have a license, people can make a single payment and play for ever, getting free updates for life. What could be fairer than that? Other developers keep making a new version and charging you again for it. It's possible because we have such a small team, our business can get by on a low income, even though we try to provide servers around the world so everyone can play with a good ping.

Why do you seem to want to disrupt our players, who just want to have a bit of fun racing around? Who is it that you are trying to attack? Is it the developers, or our community? Are you on a side, and trying to attack the other side? Have we or our players harmed you in some way? I would love to know, because we really have no idea.

Live for Speed is a system that aims to bring the people of the world together to have fun with each other. A bit of peace in a world with too many conflicts. Can't we all just get along, wherever we are from, and whatever language we speak and whichever culture we have grown up in?

Can't we all just have a bit of fun, try to be one of the good things in the world?

By replying in such a way you just give them what they want, don't you think?

Please be aware you don't know the history of this struggle.

After so many weeks doing almost nothing but this battle, I feel it may be beneficial to try to explain what our aims are, in case they think maybe we are the 'bad guys' in some way. You know, like one of these big companies that despises its customers and tries to think of ever more ways to suck money out of them, to keep the shareholders happy. Really we aren't that at all. There are no shareholders, just a couple of developers. We are trying to be the good guys, and we are part of the community ourselves. I'd like to make sure the attackers know that, in case they have misunderstood us.

Is very sad to see these ddos attacks....its very rare when we have clean race whitout losing connection

It's allways about the motive. Who got most affected by recent change to lfs net hosting? Some personal dispute with devs, community member or hoster. It may also be just a bithurt kid, discovering some hacker tools and playing around with it, without any particulair reason. There's not much point in thinking about who does it or why, as allways, it will just eventualy stop once we do not pay attention to it.

Hey, chin up. We enjoy every update, these attacks will stop eventually I'm sure - if not then you could look for help outside of your team perhaps

It's most likely a lot more expensive sadly. But there are many big hosting companies that provide DDoS mitigation with an SLA. I am sure, apart from the costs, that it's a good idea to look into external help. Not being able to work on development, or not finding joy in it is a waste of time (and also money).

Quote from rane_nbg :

It's allways about the motive. Who got most affected by recent change to lfs net...

I might be wrong, aswell as other people who did notice that attacks were mostly eu servers problem(atleast for last weeks) Even piracy-related forum threads may bring more insight. I clearly remember people were talking about pirate servers with their own "economics", account renthal and other paid stuff. I guess thats pretty enough info to highlight this small group of individuals who have "no longer welcome" status and may be responsible for attacks. Just dig into forum for past few years, lol.
So if we talk about motive its definetely $$$ they get from cracked players in their country.

Thanks for all your help with the testing.

The official version is now available: https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/108684