rec.autos.simulators

Preamble:

I played LFS a while back when it first burst onto the scene.  I was
***ed to it for quite a while there.  But then I started to get
heavily into GPL.  Then I started to get into modern F1 sims as well (F1
2002, now F1C).  When I saw that LFS S1 was released I decided to check
it out again and whoa - culture shock.  That front wheel drive GTI just
doesn't do it for me after driving the open wheelers.  Maybe I've been
ruined by open wheel cars because everytime I try to drive a road car in
a sim now I am like "turn you understeering piece of .... !! "  well you
get the idea. :-)

Now the question:

How are the new cars?  It seems all people want to talk about are the LX
cars, but I am sorry.. those things are just way too hideous looking.  
Yes, I am shallow -- for me, a car has to be fast AND look cool.  ;-)

I'd like to know how the RB4 and FX0 handle.  The FX0 looks the nicest to
me, but I've seen zero discussion on it.

Is the city track as cool as the screenies suggest?

I'll probably buy it anyway, but I'd like to see some discussion on those
other cars.

The FXO is front wheel drive like the little GTi, and handles well, the RB4
is 4WD and very easy to control, and breaks away really gently, so it's easy
to catch slides, but ultimately not that quick on tarmac.

However... both will understeer like anything if you try to apply RWD
driving techniques to them, so you may do well to get yourself re-aquainted
with the little XF. You can set the RB4's front/rear drive bias though, so
if you just want to drive in a tail-happy fashion, you can easily enough.

The two LX 'Caterham' type cars are very twitchy and quite hard to control,
but very responsive & quite a bit quicker than the other cars.

It looks good (although a bit of smog in the distance would make it look a
little more realistic imo) and there are several track layouts to choose
from. It has crash barriers most of the way round the track (like Monaco) so
it's easy enough to learn without wasting alot of time in sandtraps, and
it's very wide, making it an easy track to get round.
I wouldn't say it was the best set of tracks in lfs myself, but I suspect
your criteria are rather different from mine ;-)

Malc.

As Malc pointed out, by changing the RB4's power distribution it is quite
simple to create an over or understeer setup depending on your taste and the
track. Personally I like having about 30 ~ 35 % power on the front wheels to
make it quite simple to catch slides while not having too much push into
corners.

The sound for both of these vehicles are quite distinct as well. I've seen a
bit of discussion about people loving/hating one or the other, but to me,
they both sound pretty decent.

As for the LX vehicles, I don't think I'm qualified to comment on those yet
as I haven't developed a 1/2 decent setup for one and always end up over
correcting. (I'll learn one day, I'm sure of it)

Yeah, the city track is a pretty good. I'm still learning the layout but, it
seems to be designed quite well. Having multiple layouts of the same area is
nice because when you learn one corner, it most likely appears in a
variation of the track somewhere and speeds up the whole learning process.
Some people have noticed a bit of a performance hit due to all the
surrounding graphics though. I'm on a 1.53 GHz Athlon with 512 ram and an
older 64 meg GF II MX400 card and have quite tolerable performance. Once
there are quite a few cars in view, things start to slow down though.

Today I spend a bit of time on Fern Bay (the other new track) and am
enjoying it more and more. The more I drive this sim, the more I seem to
enjoy it. It's great to sit down for 1/2 hour or something and burn around
for a little while.

I'd say it's well worth the price of admission. The trio of coders have done
a very good job in my opinion. I sure hope they make enough to continue
further development of this sim.

--
Dan Klassen
--------
webmaster:
www.danklassen.com
www.southabbotsford.com

I'm not anything resembling a set-up expert, but I set the limited-slip
to a fairly high number, and add a lot of rear bar.

The RB4 is equally fun.  I haven't been as quick in it as the FXO, but
dropping the F-R power distribution to favor the rear really wakes it
up.  With that, it drives like a better behaved version of the XR Turbo.

Yes, although I prefer the Fern Bay circuits.  South City has
train/trolley tracks to cross, surface changes, and other bumps and such
to keep things interesting.

I haven't spent a lot of time in the LX's, but they're a real handful.
That's been the only negative to the online racing I've done.  Too many
people running LX's without being able to drive them.

All told, it's well worth the money to register.

-jde

I know you can't drive those cars like an open-wheeler, but with open-
wheeler's being all I've driven for months, I am too used to it.

Well this should be a fun change of pace.

Set up a 3 lap race with Pro AI on one of the short tracks like Fern Bay
Club.  Each win will get you 48 pts.  Lather, rinse, repeat...

It's similar to NR2003 in that you have to balance getting the most out of
the car without overdriving it.  The FWD cars a re easy to plow the front
end, and the LX's are easy to swap ends (over and over and over...lol)

Have fun!

-jde

Alternatively just drive as fast as possible and get the race finished
ASAP. That way you keep clear of the rather random skills of the AI.

But once you start to get a feel for them, their antics start to become
more predictable and realistic in both feel and consequences. It reminds
me of the learning curve for GPL in this respect, where the lessons are
hard, regular, but somehow satisfying. *Almost* catching a slide becomes
nearly as rewarding as managing to do it.

Andrew McP

In the end, it didn't take me long at all to unlock the FX0 and RB4,
which were the two I was interested in checking out the most.

Oh yes!  I was having a total blast on that South City Classic circuit
with the FX0.  In that tight chicane-like complex I started to lose it a
bit and get sideways on occassion, but I almost always managed to save
it.  That was really fun!

I don't know why Fern Bay is so popular.  In just my brief tests I found
the South City configurations more fun.  I guess I just hate those
contrived tire barriers on Fern Bay.  You know, like that section where
off the road is dirt and they put a bunch of tires to prevent you from
cutting.  But it just looks so ridiculous.  That wouldn't be there on a
real track...  if you blow the corner, then you blow the corner.  But I
guess they do it to prevent cheating online.

Err... I take it you didn't watch the European Grand Prix at Estoril before
it was taken off the F1 calender.

Neither have you been to Zolder or Spa, where, for non single seater/GT
races, tyre stacks line the Chicane and Bus Stop Chicane respectively to
prevent people from cutting the track. The good drivers in the Toyota Yaris
and Renault Clio Cup take both wing mirrors off on those. <g>

I would assume the same is true for every track where some sort of
favourable hp vs grip racing (as in LFS) takes place.

Jan.
=---

Then I stand corrected!  I still don't like it, though. ;-)