What is new to show? I didn't think the posting of test patches was usual practice for the LFS website. Most of the updates come with the release of a new S2 Patch.
Exactly...no updates for 6 months...I wouldn't count test patches, as, well, they're only test patches...Does that mean we could be waiting another year for S2 Beta? I appreciate that it's a 2 man team + Eric ( jokes...), but maybe it's time to hire another couple of staff?
IMO, LFS is starting to go downhill...people are starting to get bored of the same 'ol game. Even throwing in another track or another couple of cars in the next patch would keep interest for another while...That's the conclusions I've drawn anyway
They're not going to hire anyone else because the forum thinks they should, they're not going to finish S2 until it's finished, get over it. Bear in mind Scawen's got two small children to wear him out now, I imagine that will impact his coding time quite considerably, and I doubt he's all that keen to ignore the kids in favour of doing more work.
Also, Do they not make another game? If they do that will also need updated regularly too? So that will take away there Developing from LFS also. But it would be a good idea to put a new track in the next patch or maybe a car but i doubt it will happen any time soon
You expect everyone to complain about their personal problems instead or what? Of course people will complain, make suggestions and ask questions about LFS on lfsforum.net
Unless his life is actually pretty full, but at the rare times he goes to the computer what he likes most is playing LFS. Who cares?
On topic, some update of the website probably would be good to show people who are discovering the game, that it is going forward and not stoped as the website makes it look like.
It's a bit forgotten... ti's not like we had no progress since Y patch...
Letting the current testpatches out (as thats nothing to have on the side) there some things that I think are worth mentioning on the new customer main page...
- LFS Remote
- LFS Instant Hotlap analyzer...
I still hoping that this gets added as "news" at some point
I think for some people it can feel like longer if they, like myself and countelss others use the test patches, there is progress and sometimes even though it feels like things have stopped , just look a little closer.
I have always thought the main site has lacked a little with relation to updates regarding LFS developement, but thats not what its for. (although i would of thought that regualr updates, news of test patches etc, would breath a little life into it)
A quick hop from the main site and the forum/LFSworld is all you need for the Info regarding LFS, but do all visitiors have the time and energy for all that ? (and i still think LFSworld needs more promotion)
Same old gloom and doom that's been going on for years. If you're not having fun, go set a WR. Once you've done that, set another. Join a league or two. In either case, you get away from the popular combos that people run all the time on public servers, effectively breathing new life into the game.
I've never really understood why there is so much flak over the language development. Scawen has obviously decided that it would be in the best interests of LFS to attract a larger customer base, and making it accessible in terms of language translations seems like a sensible way of achieving that.
As always, LFS is being developed in it's own way, and if you don't like it or think it's too slow then don't play it anymore. Moaning about it will never change that.
Yes, more content would be nice. Yes, a few graphical upgrades would be well recieved. Yes, physics development is generally considered more important. But those things will come when Scawen decides it's time. Be patient and enjoy the journey. If there isn't an official patch for a year, and you get bored of the current one after two months then play something else for the remaining 10 months. You'll get an email when something exciting happens.
i think you have summed it up perfectly there tristan, lfs is unique in many was and one of thise is how it is developed, scawen knows what hes up to, have faith in him
But the point is, it would be nice to see some tangible updates every now and then, no matter how trivial they are. I don't speak 99% of the languages in LFS, so to me, it looks like progress has halted.
But even if we got a small new update, just 1 thing picked from the suggestion log every couple of weeks or whatever, no matter how small, maybe it wouldn't feel so slow? And where are these GTR interiors we've been promised for years
I'm not complaining, I'm just commenting how progress seems to be slow. Even though I know that the team is still going behind the scenes
He says that it's time to change the stuff on the Homepage, as it currently still wishes "merry christmas", which looks to someone who is not reading the forum (for example: new possible customers) like there is no progress at all (at least that's how I understand his post).
There clearly is some (small {depends on the personal view}) progress (see my post above) that should worth being mentioned on the website (as it's kind of a unique feature).
Are language updates not tangible then? Or do you want updates that YOU want? Let's say you only race single seaters, and LFS gets three new road cars - would you consider that as halted progress too?
They are about, but for various reasons mostly known only to Scawen and Eric, we haven't had them. Do you really want Scavier to waste their time with little bi-weekly updates, because all they would do is take programming time away from proper implementation of other stuff. Scawen would still have to compile public versions, and perform bug-fixing on those updates, instead of getting on with things in his own way.
It sounds like a complaint. If you get bored play something else until LFS does something you really like, or change how you play LFS in the first place - hotlapping is a whole new world that many people never touch. Just think how much fun you could have and time you could waste by attempting to drive the perfect lap?
No, language updates aren't tangible IMO. Only a tiny minority of LFS users want those languages, while pretty much everyone would like updates that they can actually see. I couldn't care less what kind of new cars or tracks are brought in, it shows that work is being done. Think if that time had been spent on graphics or physics or whatever. More users aren't going to flock to LFS because it supports 50,000+ languages. In the finished game, yes, I agree languages are important. But maybe the game should be finished first?
By doing regular updates (maybe not bi-weekly, perhaps once a month), LFS would be finished a lot quicker. I'd be very surprised if currently one new update is not completed once a month, but just not released. I'm not however, trying to suggest that the devs should change their style, I'm just saying that that would be a nice way of showing that something is actually happening. And it wouldn't take away time from programming, as the updates need to be done either way. This way we'd get a steady trickle of new things, rather than one patch with everything in it once a year...
It's not a complaint. Either way, I'm still going to stick with LFS. But to see some changes every now and again, rather than the same LFS for 6 months, would be nice. And hotlapping won't make things better, that's just even more repetitive
The thing is, you say you want all this content and don't want the wait...
It isn't going to happen. There's always going to be a time when some people get bored of LFS...
What I'm trying to say is that the devs can't develop at lightning pace. Because of this, they have to try and find a balance between the content of patches and the time between patches.
They could have the whole of S3 released in one lot in X years time, but between then and now everyone would get bored to tears, and after that, people would soon start to think that 'It's all over'. Similarly, they could release mini-patches every month, but they'd have so little in them that the *period of boredom* would soon start again.
So really, they have to find a 'healthy balance' to suit everyone.
And Devs, if you do read threads like this, if we have another car added soon, no more 2 door coupes for christs sake!!111onetwothree... More variety!
You say that as someone who's language is already catered for. Would you mind having LFS in your language if you didn't speak any of the current ones?
The game won't be finished for years. I actually doubt it'll ever be fully finished no matter how 'complete' it becomes over the years - it'll keep on being refined.
The languages need to be added (as you admit), so why not do that now rather than later, if that's what Scawen thinks is best?
I'd be very surprised if something worth adding is done once a month. Have you seen how long the test patch stuff can go on for? And why would it be finished more quickly. If they are done in a month and not released then we'd get them all at once... What would happen is that aspects of the sim would be done less thoroughly, and the game would actually take LONGER to finish.
Yes you are. That's exactly what you are asking for. Something is happening - read Scawen's posts and watch the test patch forums. Things are happening at essentially the same pace it always has, just everything takes longer these days because the base is already quite complex. A steady trickle is a lot harder to keep control of too.
Have you looked at other sims that are developed in vaguely the same way? nKP for example - same BUGGY game for how many years? Other 'sims' are developed in a couple of years by big teams, and then not supported (except by third party modders, mostly badly). I don't see how a steady trickle of unfinished, buggy stuff would be better than carefully researched and developed, bug-free updates every six months - we all knew how LFS was developed when we paid, didn't we?
jokes...), but maybe it's time to hire another couple of staff?
