I have read many threads about people who want additional features in LFS especially new tracks such as Nuerburgring. The big problem seems to be that some people are happy to pay for the extra features/tracks but the LFS developers will have to fork out a huge licensing + development cost before it can appear, so we are in a chicken and egg situation. As a business owner myself I know that the rate of development normally comes down to time and money, if you have more money you can develop faster.

So my suggestion is that we setup a donation fund to help boost the resources of LFS. It is already a proven method and works well for SETI (http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/donation_history.php) and many other distributed computing projects, they have raised huge amounts of money for hardware and the end user doesn’t really get anything better for themselves. It would be great if the devs could setup a target fund saying for £x we can deliver this new feature. Maybe the people that donate get a t-shirt or advanced preview. I am not promoting a two tier game but a way to help the developers out for a game I love.

I know everybody out there won’t be able to give but some will be able to. Plenty of people are happy to spend £200 on a G25 so a few extra pounds to LFS should be possible.

Tim

Quote from thebutcher :

if you have more money you can develop faster

Wrong assumption, at least in the case of LFS' development.

I seriously doubt that, even the most well funded companies want more money.

Tim

Yes, and what are the devs going to do with more money? Magically convert it into code and content in a way that is somehow faster than working fulltime on LFS development? Hiring new people is NOT an option, by the way.

I belive the DEV`S have all the money they need to further develop the game. Problem isn`t the money, it`s the time What they work on is time consuming, and will take a lot of time, it`s not something that is based on how much money they got. Of course if they had none money it probally would be a problem, but with 3 DEV`s and 20 000 + lisenced drivers... well I think they are not short on money at the moment And when we talk money, the get some founds in from the shop and services from LFSWorld.

Applying a little basic maths and business knowledge means that there is no way they are rolling in cash. Having been a developer myself for 15 years I know that extra developers doesn't always mean more development and I didn't suggest that the money should be spent on more people. I am sure the developers have a wish list of things they would love to have and I am happy to help them if I can.

Tim

Don`t misunderstand me, of course I want the best for the DEV`S, and I apreciate that you are willing to try to get in some donation to them. But as far as I know, they have said some place before that they don`t need more money, since the lisence sale is going good, aswell as the different services they offer are going good too.

With more money that maybe could affort to try having a real track in the game, but I think there is two problems with that. The first is that it would needed a lot of money, and secondly is that the dev`s don`t make something just to please us. If we say " MAKE ME A DRIFT CAR!" they would not do so, because their working on their own things. Maybe are they adding a car to the game as we are speaking, who knows? If they got financial problems they probally would tell us.

But again, it`s nice to see that some people are willing to make an effort to help the dev`s

The thing is that the developers like the way they are creating the game, they chose to do it this way for their own reasons and I'm sure if they wanted to do things differently they would. I know from experience that aside from our occasional testing and our contributions to the community, they don't really want or need our help.

I appreciate that the devs play their cards pretty close to their chest but I am sure saying we need £x to license a track wouldn't cause much effort. Currently there are only 247 licensed racers online surely that number can be a lot higher. A little promotion push could also be a way of raising more funds.

Tim

if it came to it i would donate, i cant offer much but i can offer some wich is some help, however im not to keen on real tracks or cars, i love the fact that its all fantasy, sure it would be cool to race a skyline on the ring or a touring car on silverstone etc but i really like the fact that the car im driving and the track im on has no real meaning to it so i just race, i dont get caught up in the whole, if its based on a porche it should have so and so, or the track resembles so and so track and t3 should be tighter etc, i just drive wich is amazin cos the only thing that comes into play is can i get a better split or is it possibly to outbrake here etc, not knowing the tracks or cars makes it more playable for me cos theres nothin to take my mind of the real reason i play, to just drive

Great, I have no doubt that eveybody has something to offer. I believe strongly in the fact that people can do great things as long as they are all pointing in the same direction. I guess the big question is does anybody know the direction?

Tim

I kno its time for breakfast and the only direction im goin is to aim to my door and shout at my mom till she cooks for me...

back on topic tho, if money isnt an issue and its just the devs need more time to work on it then could there be a possibility of draftin in more devs to tie up the smaller pieces for them?

obviously the game is the heart and soul of the original devs but smaller stuff could be designated to other ppl, i havnt got a clue about programming so i dont want to suggest things incase they are to much but u see me point
for instance, if implementing weather and lighting ie morning noon dusk night etc isnt to much of a handfull for someone then why not pass it onto someone who has more time, say this person does it well and the devs are happy then they could release a small patch along with w/e else they had to offer at the time and leave the bigger things for s3

the smaller things could then just be testers for s3, guess this way they can see what works and if it dosnt work then they have a better idea of how to sort it for s3, again im no programmer and clueless on game making but draftin in more devs to help out cant be to bad of an idea

I bet even the devs have got the money to buy the license to make Nurburgring in LFS they'll not have time and we'll be in the 'developement blues' again, which means that lots of updates and players won't be able to enjoy that much time in games.

I go back to my original point, that this is the way the developers have chosen to make the game. Remember that both Eric and Scawen left good jobs at a AAA development studio to create and work on LFS on their own terms.

I know you guys mean well, but truth be told this subject has been discussed many times before, and the developers have made their views on the matter very clear.

If you want to help out the devs, then buy your license and encourage your friends to buy one too!

you can always put some extra money in when you buy your license, development will be just as fast with or without donations imo.

You may be the owner of a business and have 15 years experience as a developer, but by assuming that by giving the devs more money they will finish more quickly shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of LFS development. In this case, more money doesn't mean more speed.

Quote from thebutcher :

I appreciate that the devs play their cards pretty close to their chest but I am sure saying we need £x to license a track wouldn't cause much effort. Currently there are only 247 licensed racers online surely that number can be a lot higher. A little promotion push could also be a way of raising more funds.

Tim

More money will not really speed development. Scawen works his arse off already. No amount of money will buy him a second arse.

Well, the medical sciences are progressing in leaps and bounds...

Quote from Electrik Kar :

Well, the medical sciences are progressing in leaps and bounds...

Sure, but what would one wear?

Quote from thebutcher :

As a business owner myself I know that the rate of development normally comes down to time and money, if you have more money you can develop faster.

In software development you have to take Brooks' law into account:

Quote from Fred Brooks :

Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.

and

Quote :

The bearing of a child takes nine months, no matter how many women are assigned.

do what rfactor do just rename the track or somin (nurburgring to newberg

Quote from jwardy :

do what rfactor do just rename the track or somin (nurburgring to newberg

For the gazillionth time: The likeness of the track is also trademarked.

Quote from Gunn :

Sure, but what would one wear?

A brarse?


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We get these threads regularly. The general replies are that the LFS devs have done better than it may appear through the S1 and S2 phase. If they really wanted money to "speed up development" they wouldn't need a donation from us. S3 is a cash cow waiting to be milked, they could hurry that along, release it within a couple of months and kerching. But they don't. It's all going according to plan, not quickly or slowly. You can't force someone to work more quickly by throwing money at them.