LFS newbie looking for directions

Acerlyte · Post by **Acerlyte** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 4:23 pm

Just wondering if there is anything I should or could be doing while I am getting to grips with LFS. I am getting on local servers when I can and just practicing and racing others (often getting my ass handed to me

) but I was wondering if there would be any good reading about LFS and also if there would be any 'newbie' leagues/meets. As always with racing one can get better by racing similarly experienced people, so I figure there might be something like that out there!

Cheers!

CLP · Post by **CLP** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 5:01 pm

Welcome to LFS

Getting your ass handed to you online is all part of the learning experience .. so don't worry about it too much

you don't really specify what part of LFS you're having issues getting to grips with, so i'll be quite general.

If you're having issues with general speed, or even consistency then there's not much else to do than get a lot of track time in. For me, hotlapping is ideal for this. Grab a few good setups and work from there.. Improving your hotlap rank is pretty good motivation to get faster

If you're having issues with racing against others, then there's two ways to go. Either jump online and race against others (trying not to run into them and make them angry!) or go into single player mode and race against the AI... the trick here being to drive as close as possible without getting tangled up. The idea being to sharpen up your reflexes in preparation for the close racing you'll find in the AAL when you sign up

To improve your general competitiveness in races, you'll need to be able to do things like defend your line etc.. ie racecraft.. so when you're training, make a point of taking non-ideal lines through corners... eg, tight inside lines, wide outside lines. if you can do this then it'll frustrate your opponents

hope some of that helps!!

CLP

breakneck · Post by **breakneck** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 5:07 pm

There is an unofficial manual that explains a lot of the options available in the game, as well as having quite a good explanation of the car set-up options.

http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?t=130638

Also you can learn a lot by watching some of the more established racers in the spectate mode when online, or by downloading the hotlap world records on LFS world, and have a look at where they gain the extra time.

Probably the biggest thing is practice though

With a far bit of that, you'll start becoming competitive

pixelboy · Post by **pixelboy** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 8:37 pm

Just to explain the "AAL" that clp mentioned.

Its an Australian League that runs on the back of the European Endurance League ( http://lfsendu.com/ ). We have regular series and one off events. Its open to ALL CLEAN S1/S2 licensed racers in Australasia. When I say CLEAN I mean race hard but fair. Protect your line but dont zig-zag, watch out if your being lapped and never run up anyones back-end. Our rules are here ( http://lfsendu.com/rules.php ) but will be updated soon in anticipation of S2.

We run in divisions based on submitted hotlaps so no mater how fast you are youll be up against other racers of similar skill.

So get practising, get S1/S2 and keep your eyes on the AAL's official forum at RSC --> http://forum.rscnet.org/forumdisplay.php?f=503

Welcome to LFS.

Acerlyte · Post by **Acerlyte** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 9:53 pm

Heh thanks CLP, I was more so just after a general target to get me started. Hotlapping sounds good as at the moment I am not fast enough to be competitive for racing some of you quicker fellas

, though I do get out and race on the servers to get experience dealing with race pace traffic and such.

That manual is great stuff Breakneck, has just about everything in it that I think I will ever need to know! Also awesome you can download WR replays to see where I am going slower, always found in other sims that watching others is good be it online too!

And thanks to Pixelboy for the links and heads up on the AAL! Sounds like a fair target to gun for when I can get a bit more competitive and it's good to see a bit of value in clean racing, that can be hard to find nowadays though I admit the LFS servers I have been on people are very good. Thanks heaps guys for the directions, now I can make some targets and start meeting them. I hope I can catch you guys online sometime, cheers!

Takumi · Post by **Takumi** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:24 pm

if you need some tips on driving the xrgt i can follow you around a while and grill your technique and give tips if you'd like

Post by **J_luo88** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:26 pm

Maybe join onto this league just to start you off with some competative racing:

http://gplmovies.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=672

Acerlyte · Post by **Acerlyte** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 11:40 pm

Thanks for the setup and the help tonight Takumi, I ended up pushing into a 1:34 after you left once I got more to grips with that setup but you were right, it definately was more stable than the other I had. Reduced my understeer a heap and I know I can get more out of it... just a bit of jump up over the buzz box

That league race sounds pretty good J_luo, if I can get a bit better at one of the cars they list then I will give it a shot ^_^. Mind you though I shudder to think of the carnage I would cause behind a GTR car if S2 gets here first

Post by **Shonky** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 5:23 pm

Hi folks,

My first post and most of everything I wanted to know has already been answered, I'm part of the newb school as well and its the same story with me as most everyone else I would guess, downloaded the demo and became hooked and since bought S1.

Hope to see you all on the servers and I will enjoy having my ass handed to me time and time again (hopefully for not too long), and Acerlyte if you are looking for someone to practice with maybe we can organise a time to meet on a server.

P.S If I bump someone off it is not intentional at all and I aplogise to anyone I've punted already. I like a clean race as much as the next person.

Acerlyte · Post by **Acerlyte** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 7:30 pm

Heya Shonky, I am pretty sure I have seen you on the local servers a bit actually! Good to know another ass-receiver is learning the ropes

I am trying to get on and have a bit of a run every night after about 8 (probably 9 your time I think...) and I just generally head to a server with a few people on already but I would be up for some 'noob' practice though! Even though I still like my GTi and GT cars, I am working on the RB4 at the moment so at least if everyone is running in GT turbos/RB4s/FXOs I can hopefully join 'em for a race.

And I am sure most guys know if you are deliberately punting or just struggling with the wheel mate so I wouldn't stress too much. Just do like I do and if you are getting lapped make sure you give some room, and let the faster guys by when they are hotlapping! Seems to have kept me out of trouble so far

Threeps · Post by **Threeps** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 7:59 pm

welcome to LFS guys, watch out it takes over your life.

Post by **Shonky** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 10:26 pm

Hey Acerlyte, yes you've seen me about getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter no doubt, I've seen you about as well.

Those times work for me, I can squeeze in a couple of hours most nights, once daylight savings finish it'll be better still. I didn't make it on the servers tonight, I've been wrestling with the FXO and trying to find a setup that works for me.

If you want to get technical grab the LFS Suspension Analyser as it helps with understanding the plethora of setup options available and optimising said settings. It helped with my setups immensly and I managed to shave off 2-3 secs per lap so far in the FXO, currently my best is around 1:30 but this is still in ass handing territory.

Threeps. thanks for the welcome.

Post by **Cutter** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 10:51 pm

Hang in there guys.
It will come.

CLP · Post by **CLP** » Tue Mar 08, 2005 12:01 pm

SHoNKY wrote: If you want to get technical grab the LFS Suspension Analyser as it helps with understanding the plethora of setup options available and optimising said settings. It helped with my setups immensly and I managed to shave off 2-3 secs per lap so far in the FXO, currently my best is around 1:30 but this is still in ass handing territory.

i'd also suggest getting a replay analyser... (eg F1perfview) this will let you see what your car is doing under load in corners etc. and hopefully give you a reason for it's handling. Then you can apply the knowledge gained from the Suspension Analyser to fix it

CLP