I'm frankly worried that you feel that way, i certaily don't mean to be elitist but there is a big problem with the standard of play online, and a FEW little trials just to make sure you understand some of the things needed to clean up the servers.
it would be foolish to base these trials too much on speed because we all drive/learn differently. it should not just be fair to noobs but actually usefull to them.
I think you are blowing the concept out of proportion - the tests we are discussing are ones that would not take a driver that can control the car on a basic level no more than 10 minutes per car. Basically, anyone who drives every day on the road will be able to do it, just not 13 year old kids that don't know what to do behind the wheel and are just pressing pedals randomly. The video I am so persistent with will ensure that they will use their knowledge of car control to remain within general racing rules. I'm pretty sure that F1 drivers sign their name somewhere saying they understand the rule book right? This is basically the same thing.
Someone suggested that the racer should be given a chance and if kicked/banned from a server then force to do the tests... perhaps this is a solution?
Yea, that was me.. I think it is a good idea.. If it is my decision, i would also implement some real life crashes, pictures, videos.. to show them what would happen if LFS is real life..
I think we all agree that wreckers are a problem, although I have yet to encounter them on S2 Servers.
But I do not agree, that there should be a "test" to unlock the faster cars, because it would just be annoying to the experienced players.+
I'd rather have a mileage system based on the LSFWorld. So people with lots of miles dirven can just hop in, and noobs, like I still am, have to drive to advance.But rather than unlocking cars with certain distances driven, I'd like to see a server option, where the admins may set a certain distance you have to have driven to join.
OK so maybe lack of education is an issue , whats the point in that?
Maybe other blindingly obvious things could be added like a cold tires board at the end of the pitlane and a note to remember downforce is lost in a draft.
Definatley the best way to go, strip down LFS, remove menu music, multicoloured text, maps, and set it so that blue and yellow flags can be displayed with ALL the other overlays off. And make the flags flag shaped (like in rFactor) and less in the way. I know doing this would detract a lot from LFSs current style of doing things but it would stop it being like an Arcade game. Maybe a hardcore mode (like N2003) with only auto clutch and cockpit view as well as keyboard filter. Maybe there could be a special version with flashing text and neon lights if thats what the noobs and drifters want.
It's not even the aids (though I dislike them) but the general arcadey feel and I think LFS even has an option to play music while driving, which is just ridiculous.
Arcadey feel? You mean driving wise, or the slighly cartoony front-end? I actually like LFS's no nonsense front-end. Plus you can change the pics and the colours to your liking.
The front end really, would like to see a more stylish version of NetKar, and have the ability to set the track and car for sp from one screen of drop down menus, that's just me others may want it differently, so let them be, there's nothing to say there couldn't be 2 front ends. Also an editor for the positioning/size/font of all the overlays would be good.
I quite like the front end... I have quite heavily modified it but its easy to use and has no stupid falshy colours and spinning things (except the car in the one screen, but I'm not refering to those spinning things)
I have to disagree on that. If you're obsessed getting the PRO-ratings it might take several hours, at least when you're tired. I'll even testify to that.
I'm not a fan of this idea at all. If I pay for the game I should have access to all of the cars. Also, there are plenty of people who have been playing racing games for years. Those people can jump into LFS and run good laps without the need to "train".
Including driving tests in the game is one thing, but forcing people to pass the tests in order to drive each particular car is a bad idea. And no amount of tests can MAKE someone drive clean. Once the green flag drops people's excitement gets the better of them, even if they're good drivers. I've seen plenty of T1 crashes even on servers like the endurance leagues where you have to qualify just to race. You can't stop the wrecking, but putting in mandatory driving tests can certainly turn people like myself away from this sim.
1) You should be able to take the test for any car you want and should not have to take tests for cars below it.
2) The test results should be stored on LFS world so when you reinstall etc you dont have to take tests again.
3) There should be a server side setting that allows you to force tests before people can use a car or not. This will allow open public servers and also more controlled servers where you at least know people have some skill in their chosen car.
My feeling is there neededs to be some driver education but there also needs to be driver standards.
The "Driving Test" in GT4 are good for learning the game but I think with LFS they should be made harder and there is none of this bronze, silver and gold rubbish. You either pass or failand perhaps some racing theory should be included aswell. This can give you a baseline for people to reach but its no subsititue for mile driven. I may not have done the most miles in LFS but most of my miles have been done racing.
The 2nd part of this is driver standards. ATM memebers of Screaming Donkey Racing are drawing up a Driver Code of Conduct for people who enter our server but maybe there should be a Driver code of Conduct that spans the whole community. That way there can be one set of rules to go by.
If anyone wants I can scrap together what we have thus far most of it is being taken from the Confederation of Australian Motorsport Handbook 2005 and being rewritten to make it suit LFS abit more.
What has any of this got to do with driving skill? Being able to drive the cars does not mean you know what a yellow flag means, or how to negotiate turn 1 without causing a pile-up, or how to brake in a draft, or hold your position and line through a corner with a car beside you, or when the safe time is to overtake, or how to leave the pits safely, or any other common courtesy or aspect of race craft.
People often blame any incident on unskilled driving. A visit to almost any public server will show these incidents occurring amongst drivers who are more than capable of handling their chosen car.
There are two issues here: Unskilled drivers & unskilled racers. Both of these issues need to be addressed and I believe a driving test does not in any way teach a person how to race cleanly. No amount of driving tests will give a rookie any idea how to contest a race properly. The driving tests teach driving and car handling skills and techniques, helpful yes, relevant yes, but don't expect all of those non skill-related incidents to go away just because people complete a driving test.
I think one way or another it'll decrease sales. I don't think less sales would be popular with the dev's and they do deserve good sales for their hard work.
Here's an alternative that would have it both ways. Create a set of pay "subscription only" servers. Voila, you got a playground for just those who are dedicated, and still plenty of sales for the dev's and normal servers.
But then again, that's basically what the CRC is for, but without the cost. I guess my follow up question would be, is the CRC not serving this need of having servers limited only to people who have proven themselves serious? Or is the problem that there are just not enough serious racers to have enough servers with enough people online all the time?
i still think we need something to really make the point about good driving, i'm suggesting that the test's be more like missions, with little stops to point out some flags 'n stuff on the way. to a motorsport nut, all this stuff is pretty obvios, but to a young noob it's just stuff that keeps flashing up in the middle of their game.
make 'em run a 'race' but with a scripted series of incidents and flags that HAVE to be understood and heeded in order to pass, not based on how fast you are, just that you understand what the flags mean, and can avoid trouble before it starts. the current tests are quite fun for a breif whille but soon get boring, I think something that would take about 10 mins to complete (less than one race worth!) and would give valuable emphasis on safety.
this might all sound a little off-putting but to be honest if it's organized properly we will only be putting off those who aren't prepared to take this at least a little seriously, (and besides, it's not quite as extreme as out pricing it - that'll only increase the level of crackers/cracks )
How about having a rating for the play in the connections list. This could be calculated based on completed tests in training that you do not necessarily have to have completed to race online, but this would show others that you may be inexperienced?
It would mean that pro's stick to the pro servers, and noobs would stick to the noob servers. and i suppose it would mean that you end up racing against those of you're own ability. we wouldn't want it to get in the way of a players progress in LFS, but i think something like that would be more than acceptable. hmm this might turn out to be a good idea after all
In S1 you needed a certain amount of credits to unlock the faster cars. That idea - in a way a driving test as is proposed here - was abandonned in S2. The question you need to ask is, are there now relatively more wreckers or people causing problems by irresponsable behaviour than in S1?
What were the reasons for leaving out the credit requirement in the first place?
Personally I don't like the idea of driving tests for several reasons.
I've been simracing now for 4 years and I would not be happy if I had to take a new driving test every time I want to unlock a car. It's almost as like you go and apply for a new job but to get accepted, you need to do all your high-school exams all over again.
Second of all, you cannot expect people who are new to simracing to learn everything, that took other people maybe years, in a simple driving test of 5 minutes. The AI model in LFS is just not sophisticated enough atm to actually replicate real human driving behaviour. Offline tests with AI are pretty useless imho.
We all were newbies once, we all made mistakes that probably pissed off other people at the time...
There isn't really that much you can do about it I'm afraid unless you join a serious league where people are screened before they can join the competition.
The only thing that can be used to eliminate wreckers from open servers, is a system of warnings and bans.
We aren't talking about a huge test - simply a test whereby it is apparent that you would porgress further than causing accidents - ie. a lot of people online that do not know how to drive at all are pissed off about their lack of skill and their inability to progress and therefore the go and wreck others. A 5min test would do the job.
Also we won't be trying to teach the whole theory of racing with these tests, just the basics. Like in mathematics for example you cannot multiply before you can add. You cannot progress and find your racing line before you know what the racing line is and you cannot avoid another car if you do not know how to control a car under braking etc etc. We are talking about such tests that will teach you the basics of car control if you don't know them and esentially ensure that you can progress to the level of professional drivers as quickly as possible.
I think it is a good idea.. If it is my decision, i would also implement some real life crashes, pictures, videos.. 
to show them what would happen if LFS is real life..