added mon, aug. 18th, 2003 1.00
>Hotlap Benchmarks
Hi hotlappers!
The South City benchmarks have now been set, so check out your new handicaps. Fern Bay benchmarks will most likely be set next sunday night as many people already uploaded their replays for it.
Have fun!
added fri, aug. 15th, 2003 4.15
>Website updates
Hello everyone!
Some new features have been added to the site lately. You can now view yours and other racers online racing history in LFS World and as of today a private message system is available.
This system allows you to send and receive messages via this site. You'll receive a notification of it in your normal mailbox.
If you rather have noone sending you messages, you can turn it off in Your Profile (Racercheckpoint, this is where the Message Center is as well).
Greets!
added tue, jul. 29th, 2003 22.20
>LFS World!
Hello Racers!
LFS World for S1 is up and running, continually gathering race statistics while you are online
Please note : Only S1 and S1 demo hotlaps are now accepted, and this meant that the old tables had to be cleared. If you had already uploaded S1 hotlaps between Friday and Sunday, please re-upload them.
Also new benchmarks have to be set. And yes, for 168 laps!
There will be 3 stages for setting benches. First stage will be South City, then Fern Bay and last Blackwood. Each stage will last for two weeks. After every period, the benchmarks for a track will be set.
So in two weeks from now, South City benchmarks will be set. Two weeks later Fern Bay and last Blackwood, again two weeks later.
added wed, jun. 25th, 2003 23.45
>Release date and new car announcement!
Hello Racers!
This time we have a very nice update for you - we are now able to give you a release date with reasonable accuracy! And on top of that, we will also announce the long awaited "6th car", the LX6!
Concerning the release, we have decided on a three week plan :
This week -
finalising to a first full version ---> Alpha
Next week -
testing / bug fixing / minor improvements ---> Beta
Final week -
thorough testing - no development allowed ---> Release
Live for Speed S1 should then be released during the week starting Mon 14 July.
The LX6 : We've added some new screenshots on our site, including some of the new LX6 - the quickest car in the S1 release. Being a lightweight car with a powerful engine, the LX6 has great acceleration and quick steering, resulting in having superior laptimes compared with all the other cars available. We must point out that although we originally said that a more powerful rwd car would be included, at that time we weren't exactly sure which kind of car it would be. When we had decided on the LX6, we changed that text to "a quicker rwd car", because in fact the LX6 has less absolute power than the turbo car, but is faster in all situations on the the track.
It's really fun to drive, and takes some concentration to handle! :)
Make sure you visit the screenshots section for many new screenshots! We look forward to getting S1 finished very soon! :)
LFS Devs.
added wed, jun. 25th, 2003 14.30
>Patch F
Hello racers - our master server's ISP has confirmed that the new IP address is now FIXED. Here's a new patch with the primary master server IP correctly entered.
Hello Racers, it's again time to let you know how we're doing!
The success and lack of major bugs in the E4 patch has allowed me to avoid bug-fixing and so I've been working with Victor all week on the new unlocking system. It's going well and I'm now onto the parts which are inside LFS and will store the cars and tracks in a secure way. It's quite hard to design but I'm making progress, and now the methods to use and how it fits together are quite clear.
Here is a screen shot of five of the cars from the S1 release including the demo test cars. There's one car model we aren't showing just yet although it is in final testing stage.
Eric has been updating the South City track and found some areas that he decided needed more or better scenery and he's added a new pit lane as well. He's nearly finished with that so it's looking better and more polished, which allows him to move onto finishing the Drag Strip, which is his biggest task left.
So... all in all we are getting closer! We're still not able to give a release date - polishing and finishing is a strange thing where there's always a bit more to do than you expected. Anyway, it's not long until we enter a final testing stage, which will be very thorough, because S1 must go out as a high quality product.
Some new screenshots can be seen in the screenshots section.
Thanks for your support and being patient with us as you wait for S1!
A new "game option" allows 4 ways to restart races - (fixed / race finishing order / reverse finishing order / random). Default is "race finishing order". "Fixed" is just like the old versions.
Importantly compared with E1 there is one guest crash fix (joining a host with wrong map selected) and one host crash fix (crashing usually after a few days).
This patch is not compatible with E1 on multiplayer, but replays are compatible.
Here is the full list of changes :
restart option : fixed / finish order / reverse / random
disabled joining race with same name as another driver
default number of laps in a race changed from 3 to 5
command line startup - host name truncated to 31 chars
motion simulator support with UDP packet - see readme.txt
non-HLVC SPR now includes real driver's best lap time
FIX : host crash that usually appeared after a few days
FIX : crash when entering host with different track
FIX : brake objects vanishing when selecting a colour
FIX : now impossible to change brake help during a replay
FIX : illegal characters now excluded from filenames
FIX : MPR file spec error [total / best times swapped]
FIX : SHIFT+U mode now disabled during intro replay
FIX : RAF output - config name includes REV if reversed
Have fun! Good luck!
added sun, jun. 1st, 2003 22.00
>Test Patch E1
Hello Racers!
Announcing patch E1. (was test version, has become official patch)
There are various improvements including a new single player replay file known as SPR. Check the list below for fixes and improvements. The new automated hotlap tables are now open and you can submit your hotlaps on the website www.liveforspeed.net in the Top Performances section! Victor has already set up a handicap and rank system. This has been excluded from the site at this moment, because we would like YOU to set the benchmark times for that system. In seven days from now, the fastest lap from each table will be taken and used as the benchmark.
chat disabled during replays and F2 / F3 don't need SHIFT
engine rotation directions set to normal for a road car
view option : central view Y and Z offset [forward / down]
pits / garage : suspension motion range is displayed
pits / garage : user can set individual gear ratios
FIX : join at same time - one racer getting another's car
FIX : untextured surfaces too dark when using 2X textures
FIX : text vanishing when backspace key is pressed
FIX : SHIFT / CTRL / ALT keys lift when window loses focus
FIX : controller inputs hold value when window loses focus
FIX : list of games now displays correct "can join" number
FIX : widescreen effect extra pixels at top of screen
FIX : faster host reconnect after unusual master error
Have fun!
LFS Devs.
added fri, may. 30th, 2003 6:30
>Progress Report
Hello Racers!
Just a little info about how things are going - patch 0.2E is very nearly ready with the new replay files and some fixes and improvements. We plan to release a test patch E1 in the next couple of days. With this patch, the new automated Blackwood hotlap tables will be opened!
As usual, things have taken a little longer than we hoped, but the results are good. :) We are arranging the new fixed ip connection for the master server which will hopefully be installed very soon. Eric has finished all cars except some texturing on the last car. Then he has a few holes to fill on South City, because Fern Bay is finished now. With the release of this patch I am free to do the final code needed for S1 - the authentication and unlocking systems.
We have put up some more screenshots of the new RB4 which is of course part of the S1 release - see them in the screenshots section on our site.
Thanks for being patient with us with the S1 release, it's getting closer! :)
added mon, may. 19th, 2003 3:30
>Thanks to the community + announcing group payments
The LFS team would like to say thank you very much to the community for all your support ever since the start, all the testing, feedback, spreading the word and more.
And special thanks right now to those people who have already pre-ordered the S1 release and some who have even donated more than that! :) We received a good lot of pre-order payments in the first weekend and week, considering there is nothing to get for your money just yet. It has been a really great test for the payment system and has kept Victor busy!
He has now completed a group payment system which allows people to form payment groups, so that one person can pay for a number of people in his or her country, with a single payment. This may be helpful for some people who don't have a credit card but can arrange to pay via a person ("initiator") in their own country. If you want to start or join a group payment, please visit the buy online section at www.liveforspeed.net where there is more information.
We are sure you will like the S1 release a lot. We want to say a little more about it to satisfy some curiosity. The South City track contains 4 reversible road configurations and the Fern Bay track contains 4 reversible road configurations and 2 reversible rallycross configurations, so a total of 20 new courses in all. There's a new faster front wheel drive car and a new 4 wheel drive car and a quicker rear wheel drive as well to raise your pulse a little... :)
We'll keep you informed on what we're doing but as you know we can't give actual time estimates!
Monday 19th May : I'm nearly finished with some needed improvements to the single player replays so that they are of unlimited length and now allow me to improve the AI drivers at any time without invalidating old videos, they are a new replay type called SPR and replace the old GST replays, extra-important now for the two long track configurations that will be in the S1 release. There are some minor improvements to make to the car files as well then this week I'll be doing the licensed racer authentication system. This will be followed by the coding of the track and car unlocking system. Eric is finishing a car interior and has some texturing left to do on another car, some other car adjustments and filling a few remaining holes in the tracks. Finally we will give it some thorough testing and making sure the default setups are quite driveable and fixing some final bugs before release. We ask you to be patient with us on that as we mustn't rush anything, remember we probably want it out even more than you do!! :) We will let you know what's left to do as we get closer to the release. Allow extra time for difficulties that emerge on the way and our inevitable temptation to add a few new features. There will be an E patch released during these final stages.
Thanks again for all your support.
LFS Team
added sat, may. 10th, 2003 6:30
>LFS Release Plan - S1 / PRE ordering
Hello Live for Speed Racers!
We now have a new and updated release plan for the first release called: Live for Speed S1 which is coming soon.
It is now possible to pay for S1 in advance of its release (PRE order)
Information is available on Buy Online section and read all about it!
LFS Team
added sat, may. 10th, 2003 6:30
>Patch 0.2D4 TEST Patch
An improved D4 patch is available. It has been tested quite thoroughly today by forum members and has proven to be much better than the original D1/2/3 patches.
However, this patch may still contain certain bugs. It is therefore still not an official one, but a test-patch.
The official patch C is still on the download page.
added thu, may. 8th, 2003 8:30
>Added GST and MPR header formats
You can find them in 'Tools and add-ons -> For coders'. Useful for leagues and charts to obtain all information and results from replays.
added wed, may. 7th, 2003 0:00
>Patch 0.2D3 TEST Patch
An improved D3 patch is available. It has been tested quite thoroughly today by forum members and has proven to be much better than the original D and D2 patches.
However, this patch may still contain certain bugs. It is therefore still not an official one, but a test-patch.
Patch C is now available. It uses UDP packets for the car position updates which should hopefully reduce the lag due to less uploading and hopefully reduces in-game ping as well.
For hosts, on the Start New Game screen there is an upload bandwidth calculation system which should help avoid lag as well. Hosts must also open the UDP port as well as TCP. Dedicated hosts will need to update their command lines.
Changes in patch C :
UDP instead of TCP for multiplayer car position update packets
Lag and host overload reduced by UDP and packet rate limitation
More host options, number of guests separate from number of cars in race
Upload bandwidth calculation system - warns if host settings too high
Command line parameters for new host options + maxconns is now maxguests
Small change to renamed host output file, now has "guests" not "conns"
List of Games : stays in memory until refreshed
List of Games : shows track, e.g. BW-2R is Blackwood Rallycross reversed
List of Games : Host improvement to reduce "no reply" results
FIX : Simple car reflected mesh for left hand side drivers
FIX : wheelspin smoke increased
FIX : dedicated host crash when guests changed weather
FIX : "vote" command line parameter + added "select" parameter
(0.2B has had a very short lifespan as a bug was encountered which required a quick fix)
added sat, Mar. 22nd, 2003 02:30
> Live for Speed v0.2 is now available
Announcing the long awaited Demo Test 0.2 !!!
Download page at www.liveforspeed.net
We hope you like it! :)
It has a lot of changes since 0.1, including:
improved tyre physics
car skin support
clutch and shifter support
skid pad
multiple hosts on one pc (specify port)
more... see inside :)
We didn't finish everything that we hoped to get in for this version but we think we did most of it and more things that came up along the way...
Thank you for your patience with our inability to meet release date estimates!
Have fun!
LFS Team
News
:: News
LFS S1 is out!
added mon, aug. 18th, 2003 1.00
>Hotlap Benchmarks
Hi hotlappers!
The South City benchmarks have now been set, so check out your new handicaps. Fern Bay benchmarks will most likely be set next sunday night as many people already uploaded their replays for it.
Have fun!
added fri, aug. 15th, 2003 4.15
>Website updates
Hello everyone!
Some new features have been added to the site lately. You can now view yours and other racers online racing history in LFS World and as of today a private message system is available.
This system allows you to send and receive messages via this site. You'll receive a notification of it in your normal mailbox.
If you rather have noone sending you messages, you can turn it off in Your Profile (Racercheckpoint, this is where the Message Center is as well).
Greets!
added tue, jul. 29th, 2003 22.20
>LFS World!
Hello Racers!
LFS World for S1 is up and running, continually gathering race statistics while you are online
Please note : Only S1 and S1 demo hotlaps are now accepted, and this meant that the old tables had to be cleared. If you had already uploaded S1 hotlaps between Friday and Sunday, please re-upload them.
Also new benchmarks have to be set. And yes, for 168 laps!
There will be 3 stages for setting benches. First stage will be South City, then Fern Bay and last Blackwood. Each stage will last for two weeks. After every period, the benchmarks for a track will be set.
So in two weeks from now, South City benchmarks will be set. Two weeks later Fern Bay and last Blackwood, again two weeks later.
added wed, jun. 25th, 2003 23.45
>Release date and new car announcement!
Hello Racers!
This time we have a very nice update for you - we are now able to give you a release date with reasonable accuracy! And on top of that, we will also announce the long awaited "6th car", the LX6!
Concerning the release, we have decided on a three week plan :
This week -
finalising to a first full version ---> Alpha
Next week -
testing / bug fixing / minor improvements ---> Beta
Final week -
thorough testing - no development allowed ---> Release
Live for Speed S1 should then be released during the week starting Mon 14 July.
The LX6 : We've added some new screenshots on our site, including some of the new LX6 - the quickest car in the S1 release. Being a lightweight car with a powerful engine, the LX6 has great acceleration and quick steering, resulting in having superior laptimes compared with all the other cars available. We must point out that although we originally said that a more powerful rwd car would be included, at that time we weren't exactly sure which kind of car it would be. When we had decided on the LX6, we changed that text to "a quicker rwd car", because in fact the LX6 has less absolute power than the turbo car, but is faster in all situations on the the track.
It's really fun to drive, and takes some concentration to handle! :)
Make sure you visit the screenshots section for many new screenshots! We look forward to getting S1 finished very soon! :)
LFS Devs.
added wed, jun. 25th, 2003 14.30
>Patch F
Hello racers - our master server's ISP has confirmed that the new IP address is now FIXED. Here's a new patch with the primary master server IP correctly entered.
Hello Racers, it's again time to let you know how we're doing!
The success and lack of major bugs in the E4 patch has allowed me to avoid bug-fixing and so I've been working with Victor all week on the new unlocking system. It's going well and I'm now onto the parts which are inside LFS and will store the cars and tracks in a secure way. It's quite hard to design but I'm making progress, and now the methods to use and how it fits together are quite clear.
Here is a screen shot of five of the cars from the S1 release including the demo test cars. There's one car model we aren't showing just yet although it is in final testing stage.
Eric has been updating the South City track and found some areas that he decided needed more or better scenery and he's added a new pit lane as well. He's nearly finished with that so it's looking better and more polished, which allows him to move onto finishing the Drag Strip, which is his biggest task left.
So... all in all we are getting closer! We're still not able to give a release date - polishing and finishing is a strange thing where there's always a bit more to do than you expected. Anyway, it's not long until we enter a final testing stage, which will be very thorough, because S1 must go out as a high quality product.
Some new screenshots can be seen in the screenshots section.
Thanks for your support and being patient with us as you wait for S1!
A new "game option" allows 4 ways to restart races - (fixed / race finishing order / reverse finishing order / random). Default is "race finishing order". "Fixed" is just like the old versions.
Importantly compared with E1 there is one guest crash fix (joining a host with wrong map selected) and one host crash fix (crashing usually after a few days).
This patch is not compatible with E1 on multiplayer, but replays are compatible.
Here is the full list of changes :
restart option : fixed / finish order / reverse / random
disabled joining race with same name as another driver
default number of laps in a race changed from 3 to 5
command line startup - host name truncated to 31 chars
motion simulator support with UDP packet - see readme.txt
non-HLVC SPR now includes real driver's best lap time
FIX : host crash that usually appeared after a few days
FIX : crash when entering host with different track
FIX : brake objects vanishing when selecting a colour
FIX : now impossible to change brake help during a replay
FIX : illegal characters now excluded from filenames
FIX : MPR file spec error [total / best times swapped]
FIX : SHIFT+U mode now disabled during intro replay
FIX : RAF output - config name includes REV if reversed
Have fun! Good luck!
added sun, jun. 1st, 2003 22.00
>Test Patch E1
Hello Racers!
Announcing patch E1. (was test version, has become official patch)
There are various improvements including a new single player replay file known as SPR. Check the list below for fixes and improvements. The new automated hotlap tables are now open and you can submit your hotlaps on the website www.liveforspeed.net in the Top Performances section! Victor has already set up a handicap and rank system. This has been excluded from the site at this moment, because we would like YOU to set the benchmark times for that system. In seven days from now, the fastest lap from each table will be taken and used as the benchmark.
chat disabled during replays and F2 / F3 don't need SHIFT
engine rotation directions set to normal for a road car
view option : central view Y and Z offset [forward / down]
pits / garage : suspension motion range is displayed
pits / garage : user can set individual gear ratios
FIX : join at same time - one racer getting another's car
FIX : untextured surfaces too dark when using 2X textures
FIX : text vanishing when backspace key is pressed
FIX : SHIFT / CTRL / ALT keys lift when window loses focus
FIX : controller inputs hold value when window loses focus
FIX : list of games now displays correct "can join" number
FIX : widescreen effect extra pixels at top of screen
FIX : faster host reconnect after unusual master error
Have fun!
LFS Devs.
added fri, may. 30th, 2003 6:30
>Progress Report
Hello Racers!
Just a little info about how things are going - patch 0.2E is very nearly ready with the new replay files and some fixes and improvements. We plan to release a test patch E1 in the next couple of days. With this patch, the new automated Blackwood hotlap tables will be opened!
As usual, things have taken a little longer than we hoped, but the results are good. :) We are arranging the new fixed ip connection for the master server which will hopefully be installed very soon. Eric has finished all cars except some texturing on the last car. Then he has a few holes to fill on South City, because Fern Bay is finished now. With the release of this patch I am free to do the final code needed for S1 - the authentication and unlocking systems.
We have put up some more screenshots of the new RB4 which is of course part of the S1 release - see them in the screenshots section on our site.
Thanks for being patient with us with the S1 release, it's getting closer! :)
added mon, may. 19th, 2003 3:30
>Thanks to the community + announcing group payments
The LFS team would like to say thank you very much to the community for all your support ever since the start, all the testing, feedback, spreading the word and more.
And special thanks right now to those people who have already pre-ordered the S1 release and some who have even donated more than that! :) We received a good lot of pre-order payments in the first weekend and week, considering there is nothing to get for your money just yet. It has been a really great test for the payment system and has kept Victor busy!
He has now completed a group payment system which allows people to form payment groups, so that one person can pay for a number of people in his or her country, with a single payment. This may be helpful for some people who don't have a credit card but can arrange to pay via a person ("initiator") in their own country. If you want to start or join a group payment, please visit the buy online section at www.liveforspeed.net where there is more information.
We are sure you will like the S1 release a lot. We want to say a little more about it to satisfy some curiosity. The South City track contains 4 reversible road configurations and the Fern Bay track contains 4 reversible road configurations and 2 reversible rallycross configurations, so a total of 20 new courses in all. There's a new faster front wheel drive car and a new 4 wheel drive car and a quicker rear wheel drive as well to raise your pulse a little... :)
We'll keep you informed on what we're doing but as you know we can't give actual time estimates!
Monday 19th May : I'm nearly finished with some needed improvements to the single player replays so that they are of unlimited length and now allow me to improve the AI drivers at any time without invalidating old videos, they are a new replay type called SPR and replace the old GST replays, extra-important now for the two long track configurations that will be in the S1 release. There are some minor improvements to make to the car files as well then this week I'll be doing the licensed racer authentication system. This will be followed by the coding of the track and car unlocking system. Eric is finishing a car interior and has some texturing left to do on another car, some other car adjustments and filling a few remaining holes in the tracks. Finally we will give it some thorough testing and making sure the default setups are quite driveable and fixing some final bugs before release. We ask you to be patient with us on that as we mustn't rush anything, remember we probably want it out even more than you do!! :) We will let you know what's left to do as we get closer to the release. Allow extra time for difficulties that emerge on the way and our inevitable temptation to add a few new features. There will be an E patch released during these final stages.
Thanks again for all your support.
LFS Team
added sat, may. 10th, 2003 6:30
>LFS Release Plan - S1 / PRE ordering
Hello Live for Speed Racers!
We now have a new and updated release plan for the first release called: Live for Speed S1 which is coming soon.
It is now possible to pay for S1 in advance of its release (PRE order)
Information is available on Buy Online section and read all about it!
LFS Team
added sat, may. 10th, 2003 6:30
>Patch 0.2D4 TEST Patch
An improved D4 patch is available. It has been tested quite thoroughly today by forum members and has proven to be much better than the original D1/2/3 patches.
However, this patch may still contain certain bugs. It is therefore still not an official one, but a test-patch.
The official patch C is still on the download page.
added thu, may. 8th, 2003 8:30
>Added GST and MPR header formats
You can find them in 'Tools and add-ons -> For coders'. Useful for leagues and charts to obtain all information and results from replays.
added wed, may. 7th, 2003 0:00
>Patch 0.2D3 TEST Patch
An improved D3 patch is available. It has been tested quite thoroughly today by forum members and has proven to be much better than the original D and D2 patches.
However, this patch may still contain certain bugs. It is therefore still not an official one, but a test-patch.
Patch C is now available. It uses UDP packets for the car position updates which should hopefully reduce the lag due to less uploading and hopefully reduces in-game ping as well.
For hosts, on the Start New Game screen there is an upload bandwidth calculation system which should help avoid lag as well. Hosts must also open the UDP port as well as TCP. Dedicated hosts will need to update their command lines.
Changes in patch C :
UDP instead of TCP for multiplayer car position update packets
Lag and host overload reduced by UDP and packet rate limitation
More host options, number of guests separate from number of cars in race
Upload bandwidth calculation system - warns if host settings too high
Command line parameters for new host options + maxconns is now maxguests
Small change to renamed host output file, now has "guests" not "conns"
List of Games : stays in memory until refreshed
List of Games : shows track, e.g. BW-2R is Blackwood Rallycross reversed
List of Games : Host improvement to reduce "no reply" results
FIX : Simple car reflected mesh for left hand side drivers
FIX : wheelspin smoke increased
FIX : dedicated host crash when guests changed weather
FIX : "vote" command line parameter + added "select" parameter
