I took a quick poll in the demo server that I was in before making this post and out of 14 people no one liked the idea of this handicap... I very rarely see TBO class races on S2 servers which is why I race in demo. I have the feeling these changes have been the result of bitching forum warriors such as yourself. And thats a shame.
and to you Mr. Breakin it down : The connection issue was something stupid that should have been gone a while ago, they did good to fix it! the other improvements done so far during S2 have been great, I like the new sounds and the rest of the interface stuff. Thats all great. This handicap to me is as stupid as it could possibly be. An unchangeable added weight thats only there during multiplayer, even in demo races where the XRT is the only TBO car. Doesnt make a whole lot of sense to me...
whatever, I make games too on a completely amateur level and even I know "if its in doubt, make it an option". And I know hes got the right to change his software, I've got my right to not buy the next version.
Its not my job to be part of the damn devolopment team! I didn't think there'd be stupid crap like this coming down the pipeline. What has happened here, is that the drivers have been driving, and the forum-junkies have been discussing the changes! why fix something that isnt broken? I get used to driving the XRT with my setups around tracks, and now theres a completely pointless 20kg stacked on it, which throws it off completely. thats just great that there planning on screwing around with EVERYTHING again, go on and see if I buy S3... Theres no point in getting good at something if the skill is useless again in a few months!! I happily bought S1, and when S2 came out I was a little pissed but I bought it anyway assuming that the physics and cars were going to stay mostly the same. I'm NOT buying S3 if theres going to be another one of these epic changeovers. I'd have stuck a fork in S2 and called it done after the connecting issues were fixed and maybe a few other small interface things. Because, the old S2 is what I bought, and not X!
Dont get me wrong though the global handicap system is the only problem I've got with the new version, other than that they've done a great job fixing up the game.
I really think this should be a server option and not a requirement!!! You could post up online the official handicaps for servers to use if they wanted to be official, but having this handicap in a race of all XRT drivers is completely stupid. I usually use between 7-10 percent fuel to control how slippery the rear of the XRT is, thats a difference of less than 2 kg. 20kg makes a pretty big difference...