Hey guys, I've only been playing this game (The alpha version) for a day or so, and so far I've been really enjoying it. I don't drive, but my Dad and Brother do, and I got them to have a go on it to see whether it was realistic, I let them have a go on all 3 cars in the demo, and they both commented on one thing.

Why do the cars corner like they're driving on ice?!?!

I thought this was possibly quite realistic but I also wondered why a car would veer off the road like it was a car with worn down tyres on ice when I was only going about 40 or 50 kmh.

I also tryed all the tyre types, but no joy, the offroad ones were worse (understandibly, because I was on concrete) but you would've thought the hard ground ones would hold you on the concrete whilst going relatively slow.

So is this game that realistic?????

quite simply "YES"

the idea i believe is that its very difficult to get a good balance with simulated physics. If you turn a car sharply in real life. or just slam on the brakes. you should find exactly the same effect as you have experienced on LFS. The secret is. Try to be smooth. Instant steering is something found in Need for speed and not Live For Speed.

Glad you are enjoying it. Dont forget to get the latest patch when it is released tomorrow and you should enjoy it even more.

Welcome to LFS.

Give to your father/brother G25 with same setting like his car and some G-force to fill the speed

The game is the most realistic from other sims...

You may be steering too fast or too much for the corner, or your setup might just suck. Its about as realistic as you can get at the moment in a computer game, theres still bugs and physics issues but it should be ok.

Give us more details, like what your using for controls (wheel, Keyboard, Gamepad...) What car/combo your using, and what setup you use.

I never experienced that at 50 km/h. Maybe you push too hard on the accelerator while turning with the RWD! By the way have your dad and bro ever driven a RWD irl ? I never did

Quote from Yordanov :

Give to your father/brother G25 with same setting like his car and some G-force to fill the speed

The game is the most realistic from other sims...

I'd second this comment. When comparing LFS driving to real life driving, you have to take into consideration the car setup. Basically, you have a car set up from the factory with induced understeer and soft suspension for mass transportation. In LFS, you have the car set up for laptimes in a "controlled environment", ie, on the track. Try some of Bob Smith's "road going" setups, then let your dad and brother try it out. Bob's sets will have much greater suspension height, much softer suspension, and gearing more like a normal road car.

Quote from ramsy66 :

I thought this was possibly quite realistic but I also wondered why a car would veer off the road like it was a car with worn down tyres on ice when I was only going about 40 or 50 kmh.

I really dont experience this behaviour, I guess the problem isnt the game´s physics but your setup and your steer-/throttle-input

Quote from ramsy66 :

I don't drive, but my Dad and Brother do, and I got them to have a go on it to see whether it was realistic, I let them have a go on all 3 cars in the demo, and they both commented on one thing.

The question is do they drive their real life cars, or do they race them? You can't really compare racing in LFS with driving in real life. I'm sure when they would really race their own cars it will be more similar, depending on the car type of course.

Is LFS 100% realistic? No, that's simply impossible. Is it pretty close? Yes.

It's hard for anyone who isnt used to Sims or Racing Games to just sit down and drive like they do in any real car.
The Speed, the weight transfer, the braking, everything can only be seen and heard, but not felt. If you drive in a real car you feel where the car wants to go, you feel how much the G-forces push you to a side, in a Sim you have to learn to only rely on seeing and hearing. You have to get used to it. That can take hours even for real Racing drivers who are tryieng Sim Racing.

What Wheel do you have and how is it configured? What Track, car and Setup?

Thanks for the responses guys.

I'm using the Logitech G25 steering wheel. I have the settings for the wheel in the game controllers options set to 720 degrees and in game set to 540 degrees.

I'm only playing the demo so the car setups are default, and I'm using that first car out of the 3 in the demo (the one that isn't RWD)

I did have the settings in game set to 720 degrees, which followed the animation on screen perfectly, but now I have set it to 540 the cornering seems better...

If there are any people here that use the G25, any chance you could tell me the exact settings you have in the steering wheel settings and the game settings? It would be really appreciated.

Again, thanks for all the responses people.

Oh and P.S. My Dad has driven on race course before but I dunno what car he drove. He basically says a car wouldn't spin out of control so much at such low speeds. And my Brother has only been driving a few years but he has driven fast around sharp corners before and they haven't slid around so much.

Either way I am really enjoying the game.

The thing is, you really dont drive in a sim like you do in real life. If you chuck a car into a corner with the speed and anger that you do in the sim, you would wake up about a month later in a coma. You are a lot smoother and frightened kinda in real life. and also, while force feedback is good, it isnt perfect. you have a lot more clues as to what the car is doing in real life, which helps to control it better.

People approach racing-sims with preconceptions of what a simulation of a car should look like on a screen, but you just have to get used to it. Press F9 or F10 and you'll see just how much G-force these icelike tyres actually create. Well in excess of 1g is easily possible in the GTi, and that's at least the max of what a car like that could produce IRL.
Without realising it you push much harder than you would in a real car.

Which car are you driving in the game?

Is it the UF 1000 by any chance?

(Sorry, can't remember exactly which cars are in the demo - it's been a while )



EDIT: OK, sorry. Just checked - it's not :doh:

The reason I asked is that the UF 1000 can be a bit of a so-and-so 'round bends until you get used to it and I was gonna suggest trying another car ... oh well

Sounds like it's prolly your wheel settings plus a bit of 'no G Force-itis'

Quote from ramsy66 :

Why do the cars corner like they're driving on ice?!?!

To put it as simple as possible, you're not getting the same 'feel' as you would in a road car. You're not feeling the car's g-forces, so you don't have the same sensation of speed and centrifical force. This is definately the most realistic sim I've ever played (even beating Grand Prix Legends , in my opinion).

Quote from ramsy66 :

If there are any people here that use the G25, any chance you could tell me the exact settings you have in the steering wheel settings and the game settings? It would be really appreciated.

First this.
And second, this.

Quote from ramsy66 :

but I also wondered why a car would veer off the road like it was a car with worn down tyres on ice when I was only going about 40 or 50 kmh.

Well, this is a main problem in sims, are you sure you were going 50 kmh? You can be fooled that you are going slow but you are actually going 100+, look at the tachometer and be gentle with the steering wheel like you would be in real life and go with similiar speeds you/your dad/brother go in real life, and tell me if the car veer off the road again...
Like everyone said, you don't feel the g forces in LFS, you don't have the speed sensation like you have in real life, so you have to compensate for that.... you guys were probably hiting the pedals more violently than in real life too...

IRL you realise how fast your going and how hard your turning - in real life you are usually on your OWN limits of how hard the car can turn - in LFS the speed your going at is just a number, and you lack the fear that stops you sliding

Well, if you don't trust our opinion, just look at the official LFS website and see how many awards they received (Top right of news section)

None of this really matters!

The only thing that matters is, do you like this game?

Quote from garph :

None of this really matters!

The only thing that matters is, do you like this game?

Y'know that's how I've ended up feeling about it too. I'm sure the tyres go a bit weird around the limit of grip, especially the slicks, but I'm past caring, the racing is good and I'm here for the racing.

I'm also sure the tyres will be improved.

Quote from joen :

The question is do they drive their real life cars, or do they race them? You can't really compare racing in LFS with driving in real life. I'm sure when they would really race their own cars it will be more similar, depending on the car type of course.

Is LFS 100% realistic? No, that's simply impossible. Is it pretty close? Yes.

Exactly, you really can't compare city or even country driving to track driving. It is also hard to compare LFS to track driving for normal people because you will drive LFS so much harder.

From some limited experience, I can say that LFS does a very good job of modeling car behavior on the track.

If you are driving the GTT, then the turbo lag will get you in the corners. It is actually a pretty powerful car for the tires it uses.

Turn 1 at Blackwood would be a 25mph corner in the real world, maybe less. But in the LFS racing world, it is taken at nearly 50mph in the demo cars. If you slam on the brakes and try to turn in especially if you turn the wheel a lot, you will understeer. If you still have massive steering input in and mash the loud pedal, you will spin out in the rwd cars. This is very true to life.

If you get the chance, why not try a little experiment.

Next time you're out in the car with your dad, and you need to go 'round a roundabout (we're lucky - we got those in the UK ) make a note of the speed you actually go 'round at.

Best of all, try and find a large A road/motorway junction roundabout where the radius is similar to the Turn 1 bend on the Blackwood circuit, then you can compare.

You might be surprised at just how slow (in terms of actual mph) you go round bends in real life before the tyres start to scuff and the car starts to drift out towards the curb.

I appreciate all the replies I'm getting the impression though that you think I'm slagging the game off for this, I'm not! I really do enjoy the game, and I think I'm getting quite good at it now.

I wish there was a chair to simulate the G-Force, because like you guys say you don't experience the fear/effects you would in a real car.

Going to be a while untill I can get an S2 license though! Don't get paid untill the end of June! :sadbanana

Most likely the feeling of "driving on ice" is caused by two things: 1) You're playing on a dinky little monitor and have no peripheral vision, which makes it seem like you're going slower than you really are. 2) You've got no G-forces and no risk of injury. It's very easy to come into a corner WAY too hot in LFS, because there's no real sense of danger like you would have in a real car. Also, once you're in a corner you can only use your eyes and ears to judge (and hands, if you use FF). The lack of G-force is something that every sim driver must compensate for to some degree.

Since upgrading to a projector I've not once had anyone say that the game didn't feel realistic. Because everything is life size, it's much easier to judge your speed and realize that you're going too fast. Also, when racing somewhere like South City, you really pay close attention to the walls. The image is so big that they actually feel menacing. I find myself flinching sometimes.