Hi, just an odd one - I got my S2 licence yesterday (thanks guys, everything worked perfectly), unlocked LFS (S2 Alpha 0.5P2) and when I went in to have a look all the cars were unlocked. I'd only managed to amass a whopping 88 credits in the demo - lol - and I would imagine this is nowhere near enough for all the cars.

Just thought someone should know

Chris

Though I am still a Demo player (counting days till paycheck) I think that you do not need the credits anymore. You should be able to play with all cars.
At least in the Demo you don't have to earn credits to drive with all three cars.

Currently, at least in the alpha version, credits are not used.

Quote from Gunn :

Currently, at least in the alpha version, credits are not used.

Since its an alpha all the cars need to be publicly tested, and they were unlocked.

99% Sure the full proper version with have them locked

Quote from Pabs(Sco) :

Since its an alpha all the cars need to be publicly tested, and they were unlocked.

99% Sure the full proper version with have them locked

Yep my gut feel is you will need to pass the test for a car to unlock

Thanks guys now to tame some of those bests......

Chris

I just want to say that I sincerely hope the devs don't plan to use the "earn credits to unlock cars" way of playing the game. When I buy a game I expect to be able to play all of the content. "Unlocking" doesn't extend the enjoyment of a game, it simply frustrates. Not to mention that there are a few cars that I like to drive and the rest sit unused. I'd hate to be forced to drive and "unlock" all the cars that I couldn't care less about.

Devs, please just drop the credits system and leave everything unlocked from the get-go.

Quote from Cue-Ball :

When I buy a game I expect to be able to play all of the content. "Unlocking" doesn't extend the enjoyment of a game, it simply frustrates.

and the rest of us expect other racers to be able to control the cars there driving...

i wouldn't have a big problem with the cars being locked again and you'd have to earn credits to unlock them (at least for online play - for offline, all cars should be available)

but i would have a huge problem if i had to take the driving tests - i hate them and i would have never bought my S1 license or upgraded to S2 if i had to pass them. i made the first 2 or 3 because i was curious but they are boring and (at least for me) no fun at all

the credits system has been discussed before and is easy to avoid by using certain settings (length, number of cars, setups..) because the credits can be earned faster than it looks at first - even without any driving skill...

if you want to lock the cars again, lock them only online - and use only onlien points to unlock them there. like unlocking 1 car every 500 miles or whatever

i think a lot of sim-focussed drivers will be put off by forced GT like driving lessons and also a lot of curious testers will not like the idea to pass tests to get cars - even if these tests are easy to pass

Part of me (the part that has to bother earning credits, or doing tests) wants all the cars unlocked.

But part of me (the big part that likes close racing, and dislikes idiots who can't drive the GTi from trying to control an FO8/FOX into T1 at 140mph after 200yards experience) hopes they remain locked for multiplayer use. By all means leave the unlocked for single player, so that these noobs can practice somewhere safe.

No-one complains you can't get all the cars in GT4, but to all intents and purposes they are locked (unless you cheat).

Scawen - keep them locked so that people that can drive can enjoy the fast cars. Those that cannot, regardless of how much they pay, should not be allowed to ruin our races. Let them crash over and over and over (x 1000) again offline

The best solution to keep everyone happy would be to have a server setting that when enabled will only let you use a car if you have passed the test. When disabled you can use any car.

This means if you want clean races you enable and all the idiots that can't control the car will not be able to use it on the server.

The main problem with the old credits system is you don't even have to drive cars once you unlock them. I know I just used the GTI with a dodgy AI setup to unlock all the S1 cars, I'm sure many others did a similar thing.

I have another suggestion for a credit based unlock system... An Unlock Credits Tree. Check out my crappy tree attached for what I mean. Basically it suggest that in order to get the XF GTR you need to earn 100 credits in the XF GTi. To unlock the UF1000 you need to earn 50 credits in the GTi first and to get the UF GTR you need to earn 100 credits in the UF1000 after unlocking etc. I wasn't sure about MRT, FOX and FO8 but since they are all single seaters I classed them together with the MRT being unlocked with an LFS license.... just a rough idea and those credit numbers are probably a bit to low for the cars - maybe 80 and 200

I'm not keen on the idea of the license tests to unlock cars as I find them boring and frustrating (well the AI is frustrating). What I really prefer is having all content unlocked from the word go... I'm tired of games that have all the good content hidden until you play the game to much... more and more I'm finding less time and I just love how in LFS S2 (and GTR) you can jump in any car at any track whenever you have time.

I agree that it's annoying when newbies drive cars online for the first time causing death and destruction, although some don't...

Anywho, that's my 2 cents for now.

Edit: This is turning into an improvements thread

Quote from Rotary :

I have another suggestion for a credit based unlock system... An Unlock Credits Tree. Check out my crappy tree attached for what I mean.

thats a pretty crappy tree...

Glad you agree...

The only way to gain credits is to win or place in races. I'm not a fast racer, but I can and do drive the cars. Since I'm not fast, I don't win or place, therefore I don't gain credits, so I won't ever have access to the cars I want (GTR cars) if it goes that route. I don't have time to be bothered with the stupid lessons, especially since I can't change the setup. Even the braking lesson, I set my brakes up very light so I don't lock em up. With default setup they are 500+ n/m (or whatever) heavier than I use, therefore I lock em up every time and can fail simply by poor braking. Therefore I can't unlock the cars with this system. So after driving the FZR (not fast, but clean) for a year, when full version comes out, I will be locked out of my favorite car even though I've paid my $44 USD and have been driving it for the past year. An unlocking system using distance driven or laps driven would be the way to go if they get locked back up. I'm working on 9,000 miles now since S2 came out. That's more than I've put on my motorcycle riding it at least 4 times a week this summer (mostly work commuting).

edit: BTW, I can't drive the F08, therefore I don't. Even if it is currently unlocked for me.

Locking the cars won't prevent idiots from joining a race. Look how many people have million dollar cars in GT3/4 and can't even stay on the track! The cars should all be unlocked from the start. The lessons are still there for people who need a little tutoring.

From http://www.simhq.com/_motorsports2/motorsports_056b.html

"By providing the purest of approaches for drivers who have experience from other simulators and thus do not need to go through unlocking cars and tracks, as well as a separate driving tests module, either for new drivers, or for drivers who wish to do these tests, Live for Speed hits the Bullseye and scores 11 out of 10 for showing every developer how it should be done. By doing it this way, you, yes you decide how you wish to enjoy your purchase. No more forced paths through silly 3 lap races to place better than this or that car, or this or that position."

My sentiments exactly.

I dislike the point based unlocking system also. It's just annoying. You have to win (or be in the top3) too many times to unlock all the cars. It won't also help learn the cars anyway, because you can unlock all cars with just one car. I actually like the current system. The newbies driving fast cars online for the first time is a bit of a problem, but point system is not probably going to stop all of them anyway, because they can 'cheat' themselves all the cars by making a dodgy AI setup and winning them easy.
If the cars are unlocked by the training lessons it's a little bit better than point system, but it's not perfect either. The biggest downside about the tests now is that you have to use the default setups and they only make the tests harder.
A good way to unlock cars would be in my opinion a car specific test on a track. A test where you could use any setup you want and when you made a hotlap under a certain time (a predetermined time or a certain percentage from WR) you would unlock the car for online play. That would ensure that the driver has atleast the basic knowledge of the car he is driving.

But I still think that all cars unlocked from the beginning is the best choice. A smart person will practice the cars offline anyway before going online or if not he will atleast know his limits online and try to avoid harming other peoples races.

Having to "earn credits" or "pass a test" would prevent people from other RacingSims to play LFS I believe, as this sounds like kindergarten to me
I know some GPL people that do an incredible job in the Formula cars, but I doubt any of them would want to do any of those things. They`d rather play something else or stick to their current games.

I also firmly believe the LFS-training lessons are utterly useless when it comes to being able to control your car in a race.

Having people learn some basic CRC rules would be much better, if you want people to drive safer.

If somebody wants to do those tests and such, why not, but it should be an option at the most, and not a thing you have to do in any case.

Quote from gloom :

I also firmly believe the LFS-training lessons are utterly useless when it comes to being able to control your car in a race.

Having people learn some basic CRC rules would be much better, if you want people to drive safer.

If somebody wants to do those tests and such, why not, but it should be an option at the most, and not a thing you have to do in any case.

What is worng with the tests and one is to pass cars WITHOUT contact. Being able to pass this test means you have an understanding on how to overtake. So it is a good test.

What is wrong with the idea I had on being able to set up a server so it allows anyone or only people that have passed the tests on a given car.

This is the best of both world as far as I can see.

Quote from Woz :

What is worng with the tests and one is to pass cars WITHOUT contact.

Actually, the "DO NOT HIT AN OTHER CAR"-part is quite easy. Still, the AI will have contact with you, when you are too close, which is very annoying in the first corner.

I'd rather had the Test like "DO NOT LEAVE THE RACETRACK" in an actual race situation, which takes longer than one lap. And gives you acces to the garage before the race (allthough you can set your car up in SP before going to school...)