http://autosimsport.teamssm.ne ... /index.php?showtopic=2119

Don't know if this has been commented on before, but anyway..........

Following this thread, the reason why LFS is very prominent in ASS (not that we NEED it to be, it would be nice to get more exposure) is because they haven't got an LFS writer.

Anyone fancy the job?, also in that thread is a piece of info saying that there is a "nice" piece about LFS in the next edition.

Since my posts turn into veritable articles by themselves anyway, I'd love to be able to offer myself up to do those kinds of articles. But without knowing exactly how much time would be required, I don't think I could.

But if that thread is anything to go by, LFS definitely needs someone. Someone there described it as being more "arcadey" than the other "sims" on the market? Please shoot that guy. He does raise valid points about the graphics and sound, but that's about it.

The bottom line is that until LFS is considered a "final" product or at least gets to S3 beta, there's not a lot of point trying to sell it against finished products, because you'll spend all of your time saying "yes but it's not finished yet" to all the other game fanboys.
But once it is finished, I fully expect them to eat their words with a nice side of apology.

Quote from Dajmin :

The bottom line is that until LFS is considered a "final" product or at least gets to S3 beta, there's not a lot of point trying to sell it against finished products, because you'll spend all of your time saying "yes but it's not finished yet" to all the other game fanboys.
But once it is finished, I fully expect them to eat their words with a nice side of apology.

I personally wish they would dump the stupid "Alpha" tag, it misrepresented, and has NO bearing on the quality of the product.

LFS is more final than a lot of other sims, ok so they are continually adding things too it, but I just wish there were a better name than "Alpha" to use

I have been lined up to write for them many times, but I just cannot find the kind of subject about LFS that is really even interesting....

Race reports would work, but other articles? I think any article relating to LFS would have to be in-depth developer interviews and sneak peaks (but we don't really get those anymore... and perhaps it would be around the pre-S3 era). There could be other subjects to write about, but there is hardly anything else that people don't know about when it comes to LFS, or already know.

Quote from Dajmin :

Someone there described it as being more "arcadey" than the other "sims" on the market? Please shoot that guy. He does raise valid points about the graphics and sound, but that's about it.

He wasn't talking about physics, only the arcadish "soul" or impression factor or whatever, which is pretty true.

Tweaker, so it was you who was writing an article about an year ago? I remember someone here was but obviously the article never got finished.

I don't think the subject needs to even be something amazingly interesting. Look at the other articles in ASS... they are usually very "yadda yadda bla bla this and that" type of arcticles. And because there have not been many acticles about LFS, the subject could be nearly anything.

Well, SURELY the latest patch is worth writing about?

That might just be me, but I'd rather not get associated with that magazine.

I try and keep my ear to the racetrack, and I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised by some of the things I've picked up recently regarding ASS.

I'll just say.. if you've dismissed ASS before, give them the benefit of the doubt for this next issue (and all being well, issues following it). I had, myself, been very critical of ASS in relation to LFS before.

I could, of course, finish up with egg on my face for the mere suggestion that things might turn a corner at ASS. I have a feeling I may not, though. LFS, like ASS, finds its userbase ONLINE. We are, in the global scheme of things, very much aligned. Any magazine editor that doesn't recognise where his readerbase comes from...

I'll write for them. What are they paying?

Quote from thisnameistaken :

I'll write for them. What are they paying?

Well they do pay, not sure how much and I'm not sure how heavily they will edit your work.

they pay, eh? if i wasn't so busy i might just take em up on that!

Quote from Gunn :

Well they do pay, not sure how much and I'm not sure how heavily they will edit your work.

Do they really?
No, not really. Not yet anyway

There will be a little something about LFS in this issue of ASS, but the problem as I see it is the lack of "new stuff" to write about. In the end, it all comes down to mods. Almost all the other stuff written about, is regarding mods for the sims, not the sims themselfs. If there wasn't any mods released for NASCAR Heat, I could stop writing about it right away, cause there simply wouldn't be anything to write about. Same goes for rFactor, GTR, Race and so on and so on. No mods, no news.

Quote from AndroidXP :

That might just be me, but I'd rather not get associated with that magazine.

This man be reading from the book...


The book of YES SIR BROTHER.

Quote from X-Ter :

Do they really?
No, not really. Not yet anyway

I was told that they do, straight from the horse's mouth in fact. They make money, that's one of their main goals eh? People can't be expected to supply their content for free while they reap the profits.

And there is plenty to write about. Think outside the square for a change.

Well actually, that's what I'd like to do for my next career - write, rather than code (which is what I do now). In fact making a start on a couple of my planned writing projects is one of my resolutions for this year so maybe it would be a good exercise to get in touch with them.

There are plenty of leagues on the go, I'm sure many of them would be more than pleased to recieve extra coverage. LFS News would be the perfect place to start. Advertise up and coming leagues or races, maybe even with the help of the community do track guides.. lots could be done if you think outside the square Just because the current content is based on mods etc doesn't mean thats the only content that could be done. I've read the ASS a handful of times and totally stopped after the nK Pro joke of an article which gave me confidence to purchase.

Looking upon that thread, it looks like another bunch of Gmotor kiddys thinking "ZOMG GTR2 HAS SO REAL FYSIXXX!!!" when its about as realistic as me smacking my sister and her flying into space, colliding with the moon, and not dying. Maybe someone should chip in, get them some track time, and have them realize that if they drive the whole GTR2 way...



...THEY WILL DIE

Quote from danowat :

Well, SURELY the latest patch is worth writing about?

What is there worth writing about? Could you really write a worthwhile page about the changes to the sounds?

Quote from Dajmin :

But if that thread is anything to go by, LFS definitely needs someone. Someone there described it as being more "arcadey" than the other "sims" on the market? Please shoot that guy. He does raise valid points about the graphics and sound, but that's about it.

IMO LFS is more arcadey than rF/GPL/GTR2, its menus are simple and arcadey not overcomplicated and it's very much designed to cater for quick 5 lap multiplayer races and comes standard with an undeniably arcadey HUD and a map, which IMO shouldn't be there it still does silly things like handbrakes in F1 cars (and horns in P). The physics may be great but IMO LFS does everything to give you a quick racing session in a way that other sims fail miserably at, the fact it doesn't actually do race sessions like virtually all other sims is another arcadey (but not necessarily bad) thing.

Quote :

The bottom line is that until LFS is considered a "final" product

As an LFS supporter that still really pisses me off, I've paid for S2 alpha and frankly IMO there isn't going to be a night and day change before it goes beta. Other games release as a final and then patch, LFS is doing the same but it's doing it with the right terminology.

There's lots to write about, with the new patch.. redesign of menus, an entirely different way of producing sounds (which will make further sound improvements a breeze - so it's suddenly very extensible), and the auto-update feature which is absolutely kick-ass and utterly unmatched in this field of online gaming. I suspect that most of us have been involved in the test patches and we've forgotten what we DIDN'T have in U, that we have now.

On the usage of the word "arcadey", I have to admit to running and shrieking at the mere suggestion, but at the heart of the matter, I think you're right ajp. In the sense that it's easy to get started, with LFS, yes it's arcadey.. yay! It's a massive plus! Unzip and go.. can't be beaten!

LFS is Alpha. Okay, so it's more Final than most other sims, but in the REAL programming scale, it's Alpha. It's Alpha because it doesn't yet contain all the features that are planned for the Final version.. so it's LITERALLY Alpha. It really gets my goat, that the "sim press" use LFS's honesty about the stage of its development to dismiss it as a reviewable product, most particularly because they so willingly accept the blatant DISHONESTY of other "Final" products.

I think Kev should get writing. I'd considered doing it, myself, a month ago but in the global scheme of things I think I'm too fanboi to be credible as an independent journalist. It'd be like "And now, over to freelance journalist Yasser Arafat reporting from the West Bank".

Quote from ajp71 :

As an LFS supporter that still really pisses me off, I've paid for S2 alpha and frankly IMO there isn't going to be a night and day change before it goes beta. Other games release as a final and then patch, LFS is doing the same but it's doing it with the right terminology.

Don't forget the AI are well below standard for a final product. I think that's the big downer at the moment (although few care, it's still a reviewable feature).

Otherwise I would agree most features and adjustments, while well welcome, and somewhat minor but will greatly boost the level of polish and completeness of LFS.

Well I read a few ASS articles today to get a feel for the style of it, and I don't think I'd really enjoy it.

Quote from ajp71 :

IMO LFS is more arcadey than rF/GPL/GTR2, its menus are simple and arcadey not overcomplicated

thats an arguement i never got ... how are simple to understand menues without any fance stuff like videos in the background (gtr2) or spinning cars to toy around with (rf) mor arcady than the menues of other games ?

now if you compared them to nkp we could have some common ground ... but nkps menues fail miserably when it comes to loading times

Quote :

As an LFS supporter that still really pisses me off, I've paid for S2 alpha and frankly IMO there isn't going to be a night and day change before it goes beta. Other games release as a final and then patch, LFS is doing the same but it's doing it with the right terminology.

isnt alpha actually when everything thats supposed to be in the final is coded but so buggy that most of it is still completely dysfunctional ?
would make lfs pre alpha

According to Wikipedia, LFS could be called pre-alpha as well as alpha..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_test#Pre-alpha

And for the topic; Now when Kid has been banned from here, he could write for ASS

Quote from Shotglass :

thats an arguement i never got ... how are simple to understand menues without any fance stuff like videos in the background (gtr2) or spinning cars to toy around with (rf) mor arcady than the menues of other games ?

It's mostly the visual look... It doesn't look like a professional racing sim. Do you think it does, really? I bet everyone who first time starts LFS and sees the menus thinks that "this looks like a funny game". You usually see this kind of colourful menus in old small shareware/freeware games. It looks like it's designed with MS Paint by some 5-year-old kid. Menu SYSTEM is superior, I don't know many games where I can change every possible setting while actually driving, but the visual look really needs to be redone. Better background pics, more solid button colours etc. no need for any animated crap. After all you could say who gives a shit about the menus but it's major part of the first impression.

If you just look the gui the most professional looking sim is nk pro. Simply because its windows themed gui. But if you add usability to the equation LFS wins hands down. The kind of menus you see in rfactor and gtr are pure eye candy and I at least get an impression of a game instead of sim.

What LFS menus imho lack is a clear way of doing things, similar options under one tab. I agree that the colors are a bit lame. Personally, a good menu is a plus in a sim, bad menu is just a bad menu, if the sim part is good, what do I care