Hello,

I recently downloaded the LFS demo and I'm very impressed. The level of realism is quite good! I also really like how the application is developed from a technical standpoint. No installation, no (obvious) registry entires -- it's just a bunch of self-contained, stand-alone files. It's one of those gems that really defines how software should be

Anyway, I'm curious about the technical details of the registration process. For example, after reading this on the introduction page...

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When you first buy a license you may unlock the game up to three times. This allows you to unlock on two computers and keep one spare unlock. After that, you will receive another spare unlock each month, up to a maximum of two, so that if you re-install Windows or upgrade your computer, you can always unlock Live for Speed again.

...the way I understand this is as so: I get 3 unlocks to start when I initially purchase a license. If I use up these unlocks (say, my Windows installation gets borked from spyware, I upgrade my OS, I buy a new PC, etc.), I can get only two more spare unlocks per month. But what of after that? Am I just left out in the cold? I'd be pretty disappointed to find out that I'm out $55 CAD (about equivalent to £24) just because of a few upgrades.

So...

• Is the registration in any way tied to hardware or software configurations?
  
• I regularly change my PC configuration and limited unlocks could be a problem. What happens after five unlocks?
  
• Does LFS "validate" itself every time it connects online or is unlocking a "one-time" process?
  

Believe me, I think that LFS is worth every penny (or pence, I suppose ), but I'm not sure it would be worth the potential trouble I may have with the registration being restricted in the way it is.


Oh, and an unrelated question: do different cars have different engine sounds in the unlocked S2? I've noticed the three cars available in the demo all sound pretty much the same. I just like to have a bit of variety

You won't run out of unlocks unless you are reinstalling windows on a weekly basis, even if you do you either wait until the next month to get another, or email support.

To unlock, you load up the demo, hit the button and bash in your account name and password. It connects to verify and then thats it, you can play without unlocking until your next rebuild.

The car sounds differ between cars, and have recently been updated in a patch (not sure if you knew about it).

Quote from epp_b :

Hello,
...the way I understand this is as so: I get 3 unlocks to start when I initially purchase a license. If I use up these unlocks (say, my Windows installation gets borked from spyware, I upgrade my OS, I buy a new PC, etc.), I can get only two more spare unlocks per month. But what of after that? Am I just left out in the cold? I'd be pretty disappointed to find out that I'm out $55 CAD (about equivalent to £24) just because of a few upgrades.

How often do you update your PC? I don't expect you upgrade more than two times every month?
When you've used up your unlocks for a particular month, the next month you will receive new unlocks up to two max.
If you're in a situation where you would need another unlock before the next month, a friendly email to the devs will suffice to receive an extra unlock.
You will never ever lose your investment in LFS though, you will always receive new unlocks.

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So...

• Is the registration in any way tied to hardware or software configurations?

Yes, tied to the hardware only afaik.
It isn't tied to every piece of hardware though (at least I don't think so). For instance, I recently got a new graphics card and I didn't have to unlock again.

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• Does LFS "validate" itself every time it connects online or is unlocking a "one-time" process?

Yes, everytime you connect to the master server LFS checks your license.
You'll won't have to unlock LFS every time you connect though. Once unlocked it checks the license automatically every time you want to go online.

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Oh, and an unrelated question: do different cars have different engine sounds in the unlocked S2? I've noticed the three cars available in the demo all sound pretty much the same. I just like to have a bit of variety

Yes, they're all different.

All 3 demo cars have inline 4 engines, S2 content brings a bit of variation to that (flat 4, flat 6, inline 6, flat 6 and v8's) and because of that the cars sound different too

1. As far as I remember: You can change the hardware as much as you like. LFS doesn't check wether it's still running on the same hardware it was unlocked on. I didn't even need to unlock again after I build a new computer, because the hard disc with LFS on it was untouched. (Which was the only device that was taken to the new system)
That was a while ago though. So don't sue me if it's wrong.
2. You get new unlocks each month. That's really sufficient for everyone, considering that the unlock stays with you forever until you delete the LFS-folder.
If something bad happened to your installation and you consumed all your unlocks you can ask the LFS support for an extra unlock, which you then usually recieve within a few hours. But usually this isn't necessary, because as said, the unlocks refill as time progresses.
3. Yes, the sounds are quite different. Though I personally recommend fine-tuning the sounds with a software-equalizer. That is obviously dependant on how LFS sounds on your specific hardware and how you want them to be like.

Vain

As long as you dont do a complete rebuild, you shold be alright - ive done a wipe and LFS has stayed unlocked, and ive dropped in new RAM, graphics cards, CPUs mobos etc with it staying unlocked as well!

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You won't run out of unlocks unless you are reinstalling windows on a weekly basis, even if you do you either wait until the next month to get another, or email support.

Well, I have a rather "unorthodox" way of making system backups, but it works very well: I copy the partitions from one hard drive to an identical drive, then put the "target" drive in my PC and the original back on the shelf. This way of backing up has been known to trip the same flags in some software that would happen from an OS re-installation. I do this backup process every two-to-three weeks.

However, from what I understand, you're saying that even if I do trip the "unlocked" flag from a backup or some other system change, I can always receive a new unlock key the next month or otherwise receive one from direct technical support. Is that correct?

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To unlock, you load up the demo, hit the button and bash in your account name and password. It connects to verify and then thats it, you can play without unlocking until your next rebuild.

Is it somehow tied to the hardware or software configuration of the PC on which the game is installed?

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The car sounds differ between cars, and have recently been updated in a patch (not sure if you knew about it).

I downloaded the game pretty recently; in the last couple of days. I have LFS S2 Version V (demo).

EDIT: Holy cow! There's some great community support here, most of my questions in this reply are probably answered already

EDIT 2:

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When you've used up your unlocks for a particular month, the next month you will receive new unlocks up to two max.

Oh! So, you're saying that I'm not limited to five overall locks, but that I can receive up to two additional unlocks per month if I run into a sticky situation with my PC?

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1. As far as I remember: You can change the hardware as much as you like. LFS doesn't check wether it's still running on the same hardware it was unlocked on. I didn't even need to unlock again after I build a new computer, because the hard disc with LFS on it was untouched. (Which was the only device that was taken to the new system)
That was a while ago though. So don't sue me if it's wrong.
2. You get new unlocks each month. That's really sufficient for everyone, considering that the unlock stays with you forever until you delete the LFS-folder.

So, theoretically, once "unlocked", I could carry the LFS directory over to a new installation and it would continue to run unlocked?

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Though I personally recommend fine-tuning the sounds with a software-equalizer.

My sound card includes a driver-level equalizer, so I can change the EQ for any sound the comes out of the speakers, and from any source


Again, great community response here, thanks for all the helpful replies!

V version is the newest, but the cars DO sound different, plus there is a community add-on called "CSR" or "Car Sound Re-mixer" which will make the cars sound VERY different!

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V version is the newest, but the cars DO sound different

Admittedly, I did notice that I can hear the turbocharger on the XR GT Turbo.