Hello All,
I don't want to cause any flames or ill will this early in my LFS career, but I have something I just have to ask.

I found LFS and have been playing the demo for a couple of months now and even running a demo server off and on. I've been spreading the word to my friends at how great of a simulator it it and just how much fun it is. I've met many people who are willing to help noobs (like myself) with tips, instructions, and even some sets. Of course I've also met some that are... um... not as nice. This is all on the demo servers.

I expected the anything goes attitude from the demo hosts largely from the big disclaimer that comes up when you try to join one.

On Friday I bought the S1 license (with plans to get S2 a little later). I had high hopes for some really competitive and fun races. Between then and now I have enjoyed the racing not nearly as much and actually become very frustrated with it. The only S1 servers I have seen running, with drivers, are the CRTA servers. Maybe I'm just way out of my league... okay, I'm definanly out of my leage on those servers, but I am amazed and shocked at how unsportsmanlike "most" of the people I've met on there actually are. I will in all honest say I've seen better (not meaning faster) racers in the demo hosts.

The CRTA servers have this long list of rules dealing with code of conduct and it sounds great to me; I'm all for it. What I found on the track was much less than I was lead to belive it was.

For one single example, yes, I still get blue flags as I'm driving the stock cars on there and are getting dusted. When I get a blue flag, I do everything possible to make it easy for them to pass me including not switching lanes out of the true line, slowing down or maintaining a slower speed depending on the situation, all the way to getting off the dang road. Still, I have had more people literally drive me off the road as the pass or lay on the horn the entire pass.

I admit I'm out of my league and need more practice and a better set to go along with it, but after all my ramblings here's the questions. Do the friendly racers who abide by the rules outnumber the others and I'm just getting onto the wrong servers or was my impression of the LFS world just wrong?

I'm hoping I just picked bad days to get on those servers. Yes, I realize I may just be looking at it bad because I need more practice (and set) to race against those guys from a skill point of view, but just the whole code of conduct seems to be a bunch of hot air based on my initial impression. I hope I just picked bad times to be on those servers.

Any words of encouragement out there?

Sincerly,
Michael

Once you get S2 you can enjoy a broader spectrum of servers and find ones that are much nicer to race in with friendly and helpful people. The servers that are always packed to the brim and popular seem to attract some of the worst drivers but that will naturally happen since there are so many racers that go there.

Don't take Live for Speed so seriously, it's a game (I wish more people would consider this).

There are virtually no S1 servers, that's true because virtually everyone is running S2. On S2 you'll see dozens (sometimes over a hundred) of servers to choose from, each with their own flavor. The CTRA servers usually offer some very 'serious' racing, so emotions often run high there. The quality of driving is iffy at times because it's all amateur racing on Race 1 (which I assume you were on).

My advice? Find someone you can cleanly race with and stick with him/her. Don't worry about your overall position unless you're prepared to deal with many different drivers.

Well TBH 12 races isn't really enough to get a good impression, you may have had a rough selection of people on the servers but that's rare on the CTRA servers. With 145% yellow flags though I'd suggest you probably need to get some more experience under your belt and you'll soon find you get a different experience. In all seriousness though the S1 license doesn't really get you much online racing if you went to S2 you'd have a lot more selection and could find servers that you prefer.

i would say you just had a bad first day there, generally i got some of the best racing i ever had on the ctra servers. if you feel like you where wrecked or there are people online who behave not sportsmanlike i would make use of the report feature they provide, just type $rep and click yourself through. i would also not recommend to buy s1 to anyone, there are almost no servers you got not to much variation in tracks and cars and (wild guess there) 80% of the people go for S2 straight and stay there.

to get to the point of this post: if you like the demo you will love S2! go for the whole package and try again, i'm sure you will find a lot of helpful and very fair drivers. i see lots of almost every day and its every time again a big adrenaline blast to race against them

S1 alone shouldn't even be offered by itself IMO. It only leads people to conclude things like the OP has. S2 is where it's at.

My tip would be to program the servlist showing S1 on the basis of content running and not on the setting in the config (S1/S2/demo).

That was what it was meant to do. Only change of content not of physics etc.

This would mean allow more people racing (S1 limits racers still i think).

It also would give S1 licenses a fuller serverlists. The cars and tracks of the S1 are run by more servers then the CTRA.

Quote from SpikeyMarcoD :

My tip would be to program the servlist showing S1 on the basis of content running and not on the setting in the config (S1/S2/demo).

But then it creates issues with S1 users being kicked if the combo changes to include S2 content.

Yep as it does in BF2 if it switches to custom content.

Nothing to do about it. You could program a nice message window around it.

Just seems unfair to sell S1 with 1 server on..

Quote from Lateralus :

S1 alone shouldn't even be offered by itself IMO. It only leads people to conclude things like the OP has. S2 is where it's at.

I don't know about that. I bought S1 first a couple of months ago and really enjoyed racing on the CTRA server. If they hadn't gone down after patch X I probably would still be S1 until I was Silver or Gold licensed

To the OP, I see you're from the US. I have no idea what kind of people are on the CTRA server at the times you are racing, but I can assure you that the quality of racing on that server and the behaviour of the people there is very good most of the time. You'll always have people with a bad attitude, you get them on all servers, but the friendly and clean drivers way outnumber the bad apples IMO. This is due to the Report feature mentioned earlier. If a driver isn't behaving properly you can be sure someone will report him and he will be penalized. Most people on the server know this and they behave accordingly.

But it probably wouldn't be a bad idea for you to upgrade to S2 and see what else LFS has to offer, if you can afford it of course. Also, get some more practise in offline (maybe ask/find a good setup first) so you are more competitive and don't have to worry about being lapped as much.

I'd certainly advise you to get S2 as soon as you are able, it opens up a lot more choice to you.

Regarding the CTRA servers, the server you are on is the 'beginner' server so the racing may not always be of the highest standard, but as said above, that's no excuse for bad, unsportsmanlike driving. The CTRA admins are determined to rid these servers of those kind of drivers and welcome the use of the unique reporting feature they use ($rep) Don't be afraid to use it.

Once you find a bit more speed and start running nearer the front on that server you should soon move up to the next licence level and you will find the standard of racing(and racer) improves on the next server. (though of course you will need S2 to participate on it)

Don't let a few bad races cloud your perception of the CTRA. I race almost exclusively on their servers as in my experience they provide the best racing in LFS.

If you were racing last night around 2am eastern (I'm in NYC), I know exactly what you mean.
Something happened last night that really made me recheck what server I had joined as there were about 14+ people on yet about half were crashers.
I was pushed off the road intentionally while passing them, brakechecked for following close, used as a brake, etc.

Thankfully, that happens very rarely but I guess it was one of those nights.
Us US players have to deal with things a bit more often as most of the admins are sleeping during the time we play, but I expected that from day one.

If you just started playing, join servers that are not packed. You are going to have a much easier time racing there and learning the tracks and tricks.
If you run into me, feel free to ask for a set or advice (I only race the XFG on CTRA) and I'll be more the willing to help, as I'm sure would most of the forum-ers here. My ingame name is Phreak23.

Hope your experience improves very soon. However, If you can, spend another $25 in the future as S2 will give you much more options in terms of racing variety.

i havnt bothered readin the replies but from my experience of online racin(s2 tho) its all been good, i went on a ctra server to enter some races for the first time and had no problems, i made sure they knew i was new to this from the start and on all 6(i think) races i entered i had no problems, some ppl seemed a little hot headed but u gotta remember they are drivin hard to win the race, i was mearly racin myself so u have to understand their situation aswell, i got blue flagged a few times and everytime i moved over like i should, only had one situation where i was on the racin line and he was clearly faster but there was nothin i could do, i was already on my limit so to avoid me crashin or slowin him down further i stuck to my line and then moved over, im sure the guy understood, after the corner he passed with ease and carried on, good racers will kno how to handle situations like these so just do what u do, i race with the map so i can see exactly where the cars are if one is close then i keep checkin my mirrors and adjust my line accordingly, if i lose 3 seconds on a lap thats fine but if the guy whos winnin loses 3 seconds because i didnt have enough respect then i deserve the slander i get, u have to see it from the winners point of view, to be in first hes goin to be close to his limit so he needs that space and he needs it more than u do regardless of if he seems like hes bein an ass, hes in a state of mind where he needs full concentration if he gets angry and gives u shit its just cos he was drivin hard and unfortunatly a slower racer got in his way, sorry for lack of grammar and punctuation but i really cba today

Quote from p5srono :

if he gets angry and gives u shit its just cos he was drivin hard and unfortunatly a slower racer got in his way,

They should take the horn out of every car in LFS, so if someone wants to make angry noises they'll have to resort to text. Might give people a chance to take a deep breath before they bite someone's head off.

I had a guy come out of the pits into me the other day when I was about to start a qualifying lap. The main reason I was angry about it was because on that circuit it's over a three minute lap and I didn't feel like doing another "out" lap to start again. He said sorry straight away and I pitted to repair the damage. Then I realised on my way out of the pit lane that it's a really high-speed start/finish straight and when you exit the pits the cars crossing the line are out of sight, but they catch you very quickly.

It wasn't this guy's fault really - he just misjudged the gap a bit and it's easy to do on that circuit. So I sent "No problem ", but if I'd responded the moment he took me out I probably would've said "Watch your mirrors in future" or something equally patronising.

Quote from p5srono :

sorry for lack of grammar and punctuation but i really cba today

Grrr! I can't really complain about the poor formatting of your post when I've just picked on people who are grumpy in race servers can I?

Well the horn is useful if you know how to use it.
I always beep it once when I'm side by side with someone as I might be in a dead spot.
So it's just to let them know where I am. However, people sitting on it are getting more annoying every day.

i got beeped at loads today on a cruise server, came in handy sometimes cos i just didnt kno they were there, bein a cruise server i wernt checkin my mirrors that often so when a faster racer approaches and dosnt give the blue flag its quite nice to hear a wee toot so i can give him room

No, it's not as bad as it may seem to you. But be aware, that if you're getting lapped within such short races, the speed difference might be such that simply sticking to your line is not such a good idea if the leaders are steaming up behind on the last lap. Regardless of whether you are entitled to or not, I'm sure you aren't intent on getting the way if you can avoid it.

Pick up races tend to be rather rough, mainly because of the drivers' different level of skill. If a higher racing standard is what you're looking for you should join a well organized league.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

They should take the horn out of every car in LFS, so if someone wants to make angry noises they'll have to resort to text. Might give people a chance to take a deep breath before they bite someone's head off.

I hate the horn in LFS and really wish it was removed.

As for the annoying horns, replace the HORN*-files in /data/sound/ with the contents of this file:

On topic: The CTRA servers I have found offer some good racing while also offering some terrible racing. The terrible racing isn't down to any delibrate wrecking or similar but some big taps which make you run wide or spin etc. Other times I have had wheel to wheel racing for the whole race. You will always get the more impolite people racing LFS and it is best to ignore them.

On the topic of horns: They serve some purpose at times if used correctly. I generally use them if people are moving over and they aren't clear of my bonnet for example.

Straightline, I feel your pain. I've experienced the same sort of thing. I was expecting slow racers on ctra1 but in stead it was just people who didn't know how to race. Mostly of course, some people were getting the same treatment as me. You're far from wrong, but it's not all racers, they're just more competitive on a server with stats.

Quote from PRMLSCRM :

Yes, the ctra servers are a jungle run by blind autoritharians.
Democratic normal lfs servers usually produce a lot better racing.

how would you know demo boy?

Quote from PRMLSCRM :

Yes, the ctra servers are a jungle run by blind autoritharians.
Democratic normal lfs servers usually produce a lot better racing.

Can you please stop trolling? I'm willing to bet if you posted under your proper S2 name there'd be a nice replay of you wrecking someone and getting banned by the "blind authoritharians" [sic]

Quote from Jakg :

Can you please stop trolling? I'm willing to bet if you posted under your proper S2 name there'd be a nice replay of you wrecking someone and getting banned by the "blind authoritharians" [sic]

he aint got s2, if he did have it why would he want a free copy?

http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?p=533834#post533834

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