There are a ton of good suggestions in this subforum and I've made quite a few suggestions myself. But if anything is ever going to get done I think the devs need to concentrate on the improvements that would give the most benefit for the least amount of work. I'm not sure what they have planned for S2-full, but here are my suggestions about the most important improvements. Hopefully the devs will actually take a look.
The best way to make a good first impression: UI improvements and menu changes. Most people agree that the menu looks clean and nice, but the colors and layout need a little help. Some options are confusing and the colors are a bit cartoony. Clean this up a bit and rearrange some items to make it easier to navigate and understand and the sim would seem a lot more professional.
The most needed graphical improvements: I think LFS looks really good as it is, but there are a few small things missing that could make a huge difference. I think the biggest additions would be actual flaggers and corner workers instead of the generic "yellow flag" text. Even simple 2D animated sprites like GPL uses would add a lot of immersion. It would be really, really nice to see the marshal waving the white flag on the last lap and to see the checkered flag flying as you cross the finish line. And, obviously, a bit cleaner, higher res textures. Though it seems that the community is going to take care of that on it's own. Other than that, I think new GTR interiors would be the biggest improvement. But we already know those are coming so I won't dwell on it.
Most needed racing improvements: These are the things that I think would add the most variety to racing. Right now 90% of races are 5 lap sprints, cars rarely get damaged unless you plow into a wall, and once you get a setup that works you never need to change it to suit varying conditions. I think that adding proper clutch modeling (including stalling), adding variable track temperature, and adding overheating/blown engines would add a LOT to racing. No longer would people be able to run off the rev limiter for the whole race. No longer could you just default to S2 tires as a hotter/colder track would require a different compound. Spinning out or locking the brakes would be a lot more harsh if you had to take the time to restart the engine if you didn't clutch in time.
The best additions (and possibly best way to attract more racers and enlarge the community): LFS covers a lot of different racing types, but there are still many popular race series that LFS doesn't cover at all. I think that the single best addition to LFS would be a V8, RWD, four door sedan. This would fill a gaping hole in the car lineup and would allow people to recreate some of their favorite race series like NASCAR, Aussie V8 Supercars, DTM, etc (though, we'd still have to settle for fantasy tracks, but i can live with that ). Similarly, the addition of a banked oval (think: Indianapolis), a quarter mile dirt track, and a better rally stage or two would be great additions since all of the current tracks are road race or "hybrid" rally stages. LFS probably won't tear anyone away from GPL or RBR until we have real tracks, but it would at least allow us to approximate other types of racing.'
I think the above suggestions are the ones that seem to appear over and over again and which would have the biggest positive effect on the game as a whole, hopefully attracting new racers and allowing those of us who already love the game to enjoy it even more.
The best way to make a good first impression: UI improvements and menu changes. Most people agree that the menu looks clean and nice, but the colors and layout need a little help. Some options are confusing and the colors are a bit cartoony. Clean this up a bit and rearrange some items to make it easier to navigate and understand and the sim would seem a lot more professional.
The most needed graphical improvements: I think LFS looks really good as it is, but there are a few small things missing that could make a huge difference. I think the biggest additions would be actual flaggers and corner workers instead of the generic "yellow flag" text. Even simple 2D animated sprites like GPL uses would add a lot of immersion. It would be really, really nice to see the marshal waving the white flag on the last lap and to see the checkered flag flying as you cross the finish line. And, obviously, a bit cleaner, higher res textures. Though it seems that the community is going to take care of that on it's own. Other than that, I think new GTR interiors would be the biggest improvement. But we already know those are coming so I won't dwell on it.
Most needed racing improvements: These are the things that I think would add the most variety to racing. Right now 90% of races are 5 lap sprints, cars rarely get damaged unless you plow into a wall, and once you get a setup that works you never need to change it to suit varying conditions. I think that adding proper clutch modeling (including stalling), adding variable track temperature, and adding overheating/blown engines would add a LOT to racing. No longer would people be able to run off the rev limiter for the whole race. No longer could you just default to S2 tires as a hotter/colder track would require a different compound. Spinning out or locking the brakes would be a lot more harsh if you had to take the time to restart the engine if you didn't clutch in time.
The best additions (and possibly best way to attract more racers and enlarge the community): LFS covers a lot of different racing types, but there are still many popular race series that LFS doesn't cover at all. I think that the single best addition to LFS would be a V8, RWD, four door sedan. This would fill a gaping hole in the car lineup and would allow people to recreate some of their favorite race series like NASCAR, Aussie V8 Supercars, DTM, etc (though, we'd still have to settle for fantasy tracks, but i can live with that ). Similarly, the addition of a banked oval (think: Indianapolis), a quarter mile dirt track, and a better rally stage or two would be great additions since all of the current tracks are road race or "hybrid" rally stages. LFS probably won't tear anyone away from GPL or RBR until we have real tracks, but it would at least allow us to approximate other types of racing.'
I think the above suggestions are the ones that seem to appear over and over again and which would have the biggest positive effect on the game as a whole, hopefully attracting new racers and allowing those of us who already love the game to enjoy it even more.