Quote from axus :

I don't expect it will be One Big Patch. I expect it will be a few biggish ones, in 2-4 month intervals and then beta.

I think you're probably right about the intervals, but I suspect beta is further off than most of us think. I guess it all depends on how much stuff is planned for S2 and how much is being put off to S3. I have a feeling that we may not see engine temps, brake overheating, radiator damage, etc, etc, etc. for quite a long time. To my knowledge there is no list of what will be in S2, other than the few things Scawen has said definitely will be (most of which are in your list).

Quote from Cue-Ball :

You're the second person to say this and it's simply not true. Incompatible does not necessarily mean "physics changes". For instance, to make it so clients cannot Shift+S on a league server requires an incompatible patch. These types of changes require an incompatible patch but would have absolutely no effect whatsoever on the cars, setups, physics, etc. The only disrupt ion to leagues would be that everyone will need the patch, which they can now get automatically. Or the league could simply stay with the current release and not install the new test patch.

Okay, yes there are these sort of changes. But how does no "Shift + S" make LFS more interesting for people like Stealthy04?

Quote :

Most of the incompatible changes that we have been told are definitely on the way are not physics related at all, such as improved AI, false starts, server settings, etc. Many of them don't require any research, they only require time to complete the work.

We've been told nothing like the above is on the way to my knowledge, except the extra server setting. They are rumours created by the community, I can't remember Scawen telling us we'd be getting a proper start system in the foreseable future.

My post was more aimed at what Stealthy04 was saying that new content more regulary is what would keep him interested in the game. I don't think no Shift+S or no reset would make many people interested.

I can see there been more possibility for releasing small things like that more often which aren't too big of a deal affecting leagues etc. I still think there should be a `major` patch as it certinaly creates hype around LFS. I didn't properly understand LFS until the hype started around the S2 Demo and have been hooked ever since. Had I not heard about it on the Grand Prix Games forum I'd have never looked into it, at that time anyway.

LFS gets a lot of exposure on the major patches all over the place and although you may think it only attracts some people back for a little while and they disappear again, I can bet there are probably quite a few new ones appear on the scene at the same time. Just think how many forums are out there and how many members LFS there are... It all adds up to making more people aware of LFS.

It would be stupid to release an incompatible patch after 2-3 months. If there are some that don't care about the hotlaps, there are plenty that do. This thread is another way to express the dissatisfaction of the LFS development method. Remeber, the test patch forum got hidden because of the constant whine about the LFS progress, why you need another thread?

The frequency of patches has changed a lot since the early days. I just created a little list on the manual by trawling through the news archive: http://en.lfsmanual.net/wiki/A ... lete_List_of_LFS_Releases

Updates were thick and fast, but changes were mainly just bug fixes or little things. Patches now are few and far between, but we all grin like hell when they arrive. Yet when Scawen is in test patch mode things go full circle and we can get 2 patches per day. In a way we have best of both worlds now.

Also Scawen admits this is the slowest year for LFS, and is hoping for a faster move next year. We know he wants to move house but I'm assuming he helped Eric move house, so a) Eric can return the favour and b) they've both more experience at it so it can get done faster this time.

Quote from keiran :

Okay, yes there are these sort of changes. But how does no "Shift + S" make LFS more interesting for people like Stealthy04?

That particular thing might not, but other things like GTR interiors sure would! Interiors affect the way the physics are calculated, but wouldn't effect the performance of the cars or the average laptime of a driver.

Quote :

We've been told nothing like the above is on the way to my knowledge, except the extra server setting. They are rumours created by the community, I can't remember Scawen telling us we'd be getting a proper start system in the foreseable future.

http://www.lfsforum.net/showth ... mp;highlight=false+starts

Quote from Scawen on 1st July 2006 :

I expect to start working soon on some gearbox updates and also the false starts system, and try and get several incompatible updates into the incomaptible version.

Quote :

LFS gets a lot of exposure on the major patches all over the place and although you may think it only attracts some people back for a little while and they disappear again, I can bet there are probably quite a few new ones appear on the scene at the same time. Just think how many forums are out there and how many members LFS there are... It all adds up to making more people aware of LFS.

I agree that the "big stuff" is what makes news and brings people to the community. I just don't think the little things should necessarily be held up purely so that they can be released at the same time as the attention getting stuff. I would rather get one or two small things now, even if it caused server mismatches for a few days, rather than to wait to get those things until larger, more time consuming updates are ready, that's all. In the end the devs will do whatever they will do. I"m just expressing my opinion on the matter and seeing if others feel the same way.

I'd prefer getting big updates at once, without any progress reports or comments so that the community couldn't hype & panic itself to death

Quote from Renku :

Remeber, the test patch forum got hidden because of the constant whine about the LFS progress, why you need another thread?

Nobody here is whining. I said in my first post that I didn't expect this thread to change anything. I was curious how the people on the forum felt about compatibility and whether or not it would affect them. That's all. If you don't have anything constructive to add then you're just being part of the exact problem that you're complaining about.

Quote from Huru-aito :

I'd prefer getting big updates at once, without any progress reports or comments so that the community couldn't hype & panic itself to death

That pretty much happens either way. We're never happy. Patch Q was the biggest update ever (since S2 anyway) and what happened as soon as it came out? We kept bugging Scawen about what was on the way next. We're insatiable.

I think getting updates more often would take away some of the hype and speculation about what's coming up next becaude we'd be getting stuff sooner and see where things are going. As long as every update didn't change the physics and was just major updates it'd be ok. I know it'd get frustrating having to adjust after a physcis update.