Quote from Neil777 :

Reading some of the replies above I think I must be some kind of exception, I downloaded the demo and the first thing I did was go through the lessons. As soon as I'd finished them I bought the S2 licence and went through the remaining lessons, this was all in one day by the way.

I'd be willing to bet on you being an asset to any server without having to do those, though. They may have taught you something (just time in the cars is worthwhile, though you don't need any kind of lesson structure for that), but I believe that the type of person, like yourself, that is considerate of their actions, would not be any problem in any LFS server, regardless of if they have completed "Lesson 99G- Overtaking whilst typing" or not

After all, there have been newbies coming to LFS for a long time, long before the lessons were invented. Some do a few silly things, but most (in my experience) do just fine, regardless of how well/fast they are actually driving. I just don't see a problem in need of solving, certainly not one that warrants restrictions placed on newbies playing experience in any way.

Quote from Neil777 :

Reading some of the replies above I think I must be some kind of exception, I downloaded the demo and the first thing I did was go through the lessons. As soon as I'd finished them I bought the S2 licence and went through the remaining lessons, this was all in one day by the way.

Most of us have done all the lessons at least once and just lost it because of reinstalling LfS... Would you really want to do it all over and over again just to go online? I think not... And it's not like "you finish all the trainings, you go fast" either... When you did all the trainings, you still have only a slight grasp of the handling of those cars... Racing them, in a packed field, that is something completely different... THAT is the reason for those negative replies...

Quote from bbman :

Most of us have done all the lessons at least once and just lost it because of reinstalling LfS

Are you sure about that?

I would have said that only very few people have actually completed all the lessons.

I only did maybe 5 or 6 lessons and had enough of them after that and went to race online and have fun. I would imagine, many peope do the same.

I'm pretty sure that people who have actually taken all the lessons are the exception. I mean, I think it's great when people new to LFS actually go through that trouble, but I sure wouldn't hold it against anyone if he didn't take the lessons. I'm not sure what I would have done if the tests had been there when I started to play LFS - I might have taken them, but it's also possible that I would have been very bored very quickly.

Quote from BurnOut69 :

Its like wearing a Tool t-shirt. No one forces you to do so, but when you see someone wearing it, you know for sure he's got good music taste.

I agree with this guy.

Quote from Linsen :

I might have taken them, but it's also possible that I would have been very bored very quickly.

They're very tedious and repetitive - I guarantee you'd have done what I did: "oh... that looks interesting, let's have a go... oh, that's three cars done and it's not been in the least bit interesting... I hope it gets better than this..."

It doesn't and you never open that part of the program again.

BTW, @whoeveritwas.... PBs for single laps mean nothing... I'm as slow as drying oil paint, but still finish ok, because I can stay on the track for more than four laps in a row. I do most of my overtaking of faster drivers as they go searching for a quiet spot in the countryside for the nth time....

The main reason I play LFS now is that it lay dormant for a year, then I picked it up and went 'hey, a game where I can just race without unlocking anything, without download 3000 interdependant mods and where I don
t have to read 10 howtos to get Nordschleife to work with my graphics car so I can start driving'.

So mandatory tests would have put me off.

That being said, doing the tests could unlock little easter eggs that people would want but which doesn't do anything other than being specific (say a set of wheel-skins, rims, helmet-skins etc. as you go along).

Also some more interesting tests could be made to make it a little more fun.

Quote from Peptis :

Instead of trying to keep the new players off the servers perhaps we could try and help them get better. We'll build a much better community working together than trying to create some sort of tiered elitist structure.

Right on.

Many years ago I flew an online flightsim alot (Aces High). They had a training area where experienced volunteers were appointed as instructors.
The instructors joined the game when they had time/wanted to and found someone to help. As a student you simply joined and waited for an instructor to offer help, then they'd take you for a ride, diagnosed what your problem was and helped you fix it.

Best and most efficient training I ever had in any online game, works for all experience levels. 15 minutes of personal, practical instruction is easily worth 15 hours of training lessons by yourself. Only problem is you have to find enough instructors, but people usually like to teach.

Then again you could argue this is how it works anyway if one joins a club or team. Of course, if the teams stop accepting newbies with restrictive licensing systems, then it doesn't.

Just a thought.

Quote from i30i3i3y :

... Although, I do support allowing restriction of servers by PB times solely because I've seen it work so well in leagues.

I think that sort of restriction gets rid of some of the wrong people while not keeping the right ones out.

It is entirely possible to be fast, reckless and disrespectful.
It is equally possible to be a responsible, careful driver who do not cause trouble for others but just isn't very fast.

As a matter of fact I would count myself into the latter category.