Yes, free roam is. LFS engine renders what you see, and nothing more. But because you 'see' 2 paths... you get my meaning? Besides, it would likely be a single track in its own right, like.. it'd be "Splittrack1 and 1r", there would not be "splittrack2", "splittrack3r", etc, so it'd exist as its own entity.
So it simply renders 2 paths, it's exactly the same, as driving around Blackwood
Unless of course, I'm a moron. Which wouldn't suprise me.
As slow as the development is I feel it's the best way to accommodate what we don't yet know(in a technological/hardware/software sense). Granted such technologies such a laser scanning real life tracks is being used but here with LFS this is irrelevant as content is the result of Scawen's imagination.
LFS is a project that grows with the thoughts and ideas of it's customers under it's wings and at a pace such not to 'jump the gun' on technology, it's a cute way to go as the transition from old sofware methods to new(if needed)will be gradual and less of a pain in the arse.
I see there's a lot of people who just want state of the art software and just can't understand that you can't rush art.
Not to sound like a prick or anything, cause I'm not, I really like LFS, and often plays.
BUT, in my opinion it has taken to long for the developers to finish this Scirocco thing.
Two news on the main site since July is too sleazy. Telling us what they are working on at the moment, or just giving us a hint on how long it will take for the next patch to be released, would make more players stick with the game. Showing us this new VW car and telling us, it will be released in Live for Speed at a later date, really made me happy, but now 3 month after we saw the car being driven at Leipzig, and still not a single comment on the progress, IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH! The same thing applies to the new interior, so perhaps they have to many things going on.
But then again, it doesn't sound like much work... Sorry for sounding negativ, but this is just the way I feel !
I still voted for "LFS will get content/major update within the next year" though !
Adding the Scirocco is smart move though. As boring as the car choice is looking at the already available type of cars, it will bring lotsa new players. After all existing license owners won't bring money until another payment is required (S3, eh).
I think improved physics / new features would gain more than a new track. Tyres plz and something mechanical damage related changes the experience on the old tracks too. Anything that makes the driving move a step away from this abusive wr hotlap style. E.g. imagine chicanes if you actually had to slow down for them.
I have been very optimistic until lately but Scirocco patch needs to have something else too. Since there likely won't be incompatible patch after that for another 6+ months and 'short' beta->final stage can't be too far after all. I think many peope have unrealistic expectations what S2 final will be.
I'd say LFS isn't healthy, at best. The 'one patch per six months' thing can only get LFS so far. Many well known and brilliant people who were old timers and participated a lot in these forums left, and it's no wonder.
I think LFS only 'survives' because nobody has yet tried to specifically make something better than it. If a corp. or a good team of 20 people or so decided to look at LFS, and say: "Okay boys, this is what we're up against, let's beat it", it would be quite easy for them.
The reason why LFS is still doing so well is because it's in a branch of the gaming market which doesn't attract so many people in the first place, which is why big and well known game makers don't try to best it: it wouldn't be financially good.
I've known for a long time now that Scavier will not budge of their three-man team philosophy, but honestly, I don't understand it. Eventually, at this rythm, I think people will get bored of the old and crappy graphics, and bored of the lack of evolution. When that time comes, Scavier will either have to wake up or let LFS go.
/rant on
And frankly, what pisses me off the most is that Scavier don't seem to give a SHIT about their game anymore. I know they've never liked to give out info, or that they're never been that much involved on the forums, but seriously, I think Scawen posts like once a week nowadays. For a lot of people, me included, involvment from the developers is very important, and while they may be working without our knowledge, the kind of project LFS is cannot be viable without some kind of connection between the community and the very small team of devs. I've always been pissed that Eric never posts on the forums, I've always been pissed that inbetween patches we have no clue what the hell is going on, that we can only guess what's happening. How do we know they're even working? How hard can it be to post some regular updated about who's working on what, and how the progress is going? Probably not that hard.
And if they can't do it themselves, why not give the job to a trusted moderator, or a friend of them, that could create a weekly, or even daily, link between the devs and the community?
Grr...
It is time that S2 goes final. Scawen has said mostly revealed what needs to be done for it to become a reality, well, let it be so. I hope the next patch is full of these changes toward S2 final, and not only a feeble patch adding the Sirocco and a few little features to hide the emptiness. However, most of all, I would like more coommuunniicattion! Scavier don't work fast, well, so be it. It can't be easy to fundamentally change your working methods. However, the current lack of communication cannot be excused by any degree of laziness.
/rant off
I just always try to remember that S2 is probably the most boring stage, this is the time for sorting out bugs and getting the game to a stage where it will be ready for bigger updates in S3.
We may have paid our money but that doesnt mean Scavier should do anything more than deliver the product we paid for although i do totally agree some info every now and then would stop a hell of a lot of threads.
I own a small Pc shop and i would love to have the predicament that Scavier have, alot of people desperate to buy there product. A group of people that have a passion for there product it would be a shame to let that slip by..
My theory on the delayed release of the VW is that it will make the fictional cars in LFS look like they are from a game 10 years ago. Look at the RB4, compared to the other cars it looks half finished now... compared to the VW... nasty.
Anyway, the game has been more successful in its development than Racing Legends by West Racing.. lol, now that was an epic failure. LFS in its prime gave many of us a number of enjoyable and unforgetable races.
I agree those who says more improvements on tire physics, engine modeling etc. are better than new cars or tracks.
Physics engine improvements is definitely change the way we feel while driving. So if physics change in more realistic way, so does everything.
After that, maybe new model of old cars make some additional change and attract attention.
For me, the current state of LFS is already very very good.
Its look like devs wanted to make it better and better to make their dream come true.
I think this hope is keep some of us here.
Posting as an EQUAL of every S2 racer here, so no you're-a-demo-racer bullshit.
I think (OK, this is what I hear from S2ers) that people are getting tired of the same config of the tracks (e.g. BL1+FBM). Maybe add a few bits to an existing area, and definitely a fresh new area would be a way to go. Personally, I like BL a lot (Is there anything to like other than BL for me, really? :P) but it seems a little... Bland. 7 corners and a really long straight just doesn't cut it for me. Maybe modify it a bit?
For the cars, from the car selection screen I think that is enough already. Although the odd object of the Scirocco would be nice
Maybe a suggestion though. In the latest patches, I've observed that a brand new thing isn't always the complete thing (e.g. interiors; only for the XF/XR series). I believe that when a feature is added, it has to be complete at release. Ok, maybe segmental like, have new-car-smell interiors for all road cars. I know it can't be applied to every feature in LFS (Tire physics, clutch heat) but I think a 'finish what you started' policy should be applied to new tidbits.
what this game desperately needs is someone to swing by erics place and tell him that corners can have varying camber through and across the width of the road
I don't this lfs is dead by any mean just resting. Ive been here a fair few years now and with everyone playing less over the summer and coming back now people want something new and there isn't so these threads start. I didn't play at all really over the summer down to personal reasons but playing again recently I am enjoying it again and enjoying trying to be as quick as I once was. Sure new content (whether car/track/physics etc) would be good but I am still happily playing it as it is now.
I hardly ever play LFS any more. I am waiting for the new VW car before I play again. I wont abandon LFS any time soon and I will pay for an S3 licence when it is possible to do so. This game has come a long way with only 3 developers. The only big thing I would like to be changed in S3 is the engine sounds. Other than that LFS is the best racing sim available.
What I think we badly need is the points system that was in LFS S1 where you needed so many points to unlock certain cars. This should also increase the interest in LFS again
I don't think the existing circuits have enough resolution in the corners to make that work very well. I'm thinking about that one corner in South City Town/Long/Sprint 2 where it goes from uphill to relatively flat, and you can feel every change.
Having said that, there are some corners (FE in particular) where it feels like there's a groove at the apex that pulls you round the corner, and if you miss it you slip to the outside.
Another problem is that people actually stop playing between patches. You hear a lot of: "I'm waiting for the next patch to play again". That problem would mostly be avoided if patches were closer to each other, and be soothed even more if we knew how the progress was going. Scavier kind of fails at creating expectation.
Look at other online games with patched content. There are quite a lot of them on the market (most of them mmorpgs). Do people actually stop playing waiting for the next patch? No, they don't, because have enough content to be kept busy, and they know mostly what will be in the next patch, whether it be via patch notes, or communication with admins.
Regarding the discussion over improved physics vs. improved content - I have to ask the obvious question. Why not both? Most of us here know that Eric develops the models and textures, Scawen codes things. Obviously anything Eric makes needs to be coded in by Scawen, but I'm assuming that coding in a new car or track is an established procedure, and not something that requires many, many hours of painstaking research before a single thing is coded such as improving tyre physics or introducing new features such as engine or brake heat.
I play LFS occasionally, but currently the lure isn't there. When I get on track, it's because I've nothing better to do, not because there's some burning urge to play LFS. The things that put me off are the silly setups that you need to be competitive (i.e. locked diff), the slidey nature of the tyres, the lack of more advanced features like more comprehensive damage model, engine temperature with damageable radiators, and the lack of new content.
Some of the current content is evidently new, and some of it clearly much older and doesn't compare. The issue is just how long we've been driving with the current content. Improved simulation features are of course needed, but to give LFS a real shot in the arm, they need to come with a new track also.
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