Quote from The Moose :

I'm not going to start a "my sims better than yours" argument, but i cant believe you just said what you did. rFactor is just bad. Exciting to drive? in what way?

I haven't touched LFS since I bought rFactor. Whenever I go back to it after netkar or rFactor it feels numb and lifeless. Plus, pretty much all my old GPL mates now play rFactor or iRacing and that suggests I'm not alone. Anyway, it's personal preference so there isn't much point going on about this really

Quote from The Moose :

And what are all the fabulous new ideas iRacing has brought to sim racing?

1. Safety rating
2. Subscription model
3. Social networking thingy
4. Centrally controlled race network
5. Auto-matching system
6. Laser scanned tracks
7. No usernames - nowhere to hide

Can you give me any sim in the last 20 years that has had more new ideas in it than iRacing, implemented so coherently?

Quote :

I know I Know what Iracing does over other sims. It's cuts your leg off and says you have any other body parts you wish to sell? Cause thats how much it's going to cost you to play.

It isn't cheap compared to other sims of course, but it's no more expensive than any other hobby. I used to race R/C cars which cost far more than iRacing.

When you consider how much LFS has given you for its price tag, it seems foolish of developers to continue a pay-once system. What's in it for them? It's just business at the end of the day, and like any product, if it's priced too high it will fail. If it doesn't fail, then they've got it right.

Quote from durbster :

1. Safety rating great in theory, stinks in practice
2. Subscription model license to print money
3. Social networking thingy who gives a monkeys really?
4. Centrally controlled race network not entirely original, but certainly the first to be implemented in the way it is. CTRA and Race2Play both do things along a similar line. (and both have HUMAN stewards for their services, not an automatic system that punishes drivers that do nothing wrong )
5. Auto-matching system doesn't prevent races turning into processions , and doesn't stop terrible drivers from racing with good ones
6. Laser scanned tracks How did i miss that off my list. Now that is a really top notch new idea, and will hopefully influence future sims. The one big win imo
7. No usernames - nowhere to hide Not completely true though is it. It's completely possible to get your name changed when you sign up. You can remain completely anonymous if you so desire.

Not really a huge amount of great new innovation is it? Certainly some new stuff in there, but a most of it doesn't live up to the hype.

I must reiterate, i like a lot about it. The simulation side is fantastic. I can just see all the negatives as well as the positives, unlike some of the extremely blinded by the hype fanboys. (and i'm not directing that at you btw )

iRacing isn't really expensive when you look at the work that's gone in to it to create the most real feeling tracks. You pay for what you get and as said in many other threads, you pick iRacing if it tiocks the boxes that you look for in what you want to play. If it's more the community feel and pickup races and the ability to skin your owhn car then you can't get better thahn LFS. If its real tracks, real cars and the best feeling of those then it's iRacing. If you want the choices of real cars and real tracks and not the best feeling you go for a Simbin game or rFactor!

It's a lot more expensive than any other sim out there, given..... but when you say it's expensive compared to other hobbies, it's actually not a bad price.

If I take LFS as a comparison, to pay for a server and website and LFS costs in the region of same price for me!

Hardly an arm and leg off!

Quote from StableX :

iRacing isn't really expensive when you look at the work that's gone in to it to create the most real feeling tracks.

I have no objection whatsoever in paying for the extra tracks. (or the cars tbh) They are worth every penny.


As my only hobby is sim racing though, the service is comparatively expensive (especially when the service provided doesn't appeal in any way)

Maybe i should get another really expensive hobby, so then i can say iRacing is cheap

Quote from The Moose :

I have no objection whatsoever in paying for the extra tracks. (or the cars tbh) They are worth every penny.


As my only hobby is sim racing though, the service is comparatively expensive (especially when the service provided doesn't appeal in any way)

that's what I am saying though mate, if it doesn't appeal, it's not right for you... why you like LFS Something for everyone...

Quote from StableX :

that's what I am saying though mate, if it doesn't appeal, it's not right for you... why you like LFS Something for everyone...

Aye, i just find it such a shame that such a great sim has no alternative to a system that many people just don't like. I still hold out hope that things will change in the future though. I love the cars and tracks ,and am desperate to race them.

Horses for courses.

I reckon $156 a year is fine considering the average retail price for games in Australia is pushing $100. I've played a few 'big' games recently and I don't think I could get much more than 3 months or so out of each of them. Sim-racing is a bit different though in that there's never anything to finish- once you've reached one goal you can just move the goal posts again and keep on going. These holidays I'm planning to read a few books on racing and try to understand cars a little better, in preperation for knuckling down with iRacing. I find mechanical concepts difficult to absorb so should be a fun challenge.

PS, here's a book I found online- anyone recommend any others? Simracing tonight also recommended Tune to Win, which I'll hunt around for.

Quote from Electrik Kar :

I reckon $156 a year is fine considering the average retail price for games in Australia is pushing $100.

Well, one is American Dollars, the other is Australian Dollars, no? If so, there is quite a difference in price (one and a half times more expensive)...

Crackerjack! I totally forgot about that. Haha, yeah- it's $232 AUS or so. Might have to reconsider that

Quote from The Moose :

Aye, i just find it such a shame that such a great sim has no alternative to a system that many people just don't like. I still hold out hope that things will change in the future though. I love the cars and tracks ,and am desperate to race them.

Horses for courses.

You have really highlighted the issue with iRacing in a previous post. You can do nothing wrong and yet lose all your SR based on others actions that "can" have the affect of making you not able to race the higher licensed cars.

I still feel that the system overall is excellent. I really like it for what it is. Hated it the first three weeks then understood what it was trying to do and tried to use it as is. Once I'd realised that I thought, and still think, it's excellent!

Well, you can't say LFS is really very active these days. Nor is it or has it been very influential. The total number of subscriptions doesn't mean much, considering that a lot (most?) of these people don't play LFS anymore, or play it once per six months.

The fact is that at the moment of writing this post, there's 1454 racers online, only 901 of which are licensed. And that's at 2:21 PM EST, which is close to peak hour, if not peak hour itself. That's not really a lot of people.

In my opinion, a game that can be considered influencial is a game that is not only at some point the best of its time, but also almost flawless. Therefore, even if at some point LFS probably was the best sim, it was never completed, or even near completion, and always had things that were simply not up to date (i.e. graphics).

However, there might some elements of LFS that could be deemed influential. For instance, the physics are probably still the best (I don't know how they compare to iRacing's) and overall the multiplayer experience is pretty much flawless compared to other online games I've played in which lag and other issues were much more present.

All of that is, however, besides the point for Scavier. It's a known fact that they don't really care what others might think of their product, and just want to keep working on it the way they currently do. This is quite arguable, as I personally believe that a completed LFS S3 updated to 2008/9 standards graphics and other points that are lacking could very well be a better game than iRacing.

^ very true, i have seen 5000 people all next to eachother, 1000 isnt very much at all..

Quote from boosterfire :

The fact is that at the moment of writing this post, there's 1454 racers online, only 901 of which are licensed. And that's at 2:21 PM EST, which is close to peak hour, if not peak hour itself. That's not really a lot of people.

well how many are online in either iracing or rfactor?