Live for Speed - Special, Rennspiel, PC

Immediately after the first start of S2 you notice the completely reworked menus. Instead of the old dos-like graphics a new menu interface with semi-transparent buttons and background pictures has been included. The colours of the menu can be customized as well as changing the background pictures. With this new system you have the possibility to create your own team menu design with your logos and cars. Despite the new look the fast navigation and loading time of the menus has been maintained.

Deutsche Version

The menus

The ingame graphics have also been massively improved. The cars now feature transparent windows which make the drivers and interiors visible from the outside. The cockpit and external views now use exactly the same 3D model which leads to a higher degree of realism and makes new onboard camera positions possible. Furthermore the new cars and tracks use a higher polygon count and high-res textures which makes them look much better than the old ones. Even tiny details like the doorknob or bodywork clips are modelled in 3D!

The graphics

The existing S1 cars and tracks have not been modified yet, but they will very likely be changed until the S2 release. The car reflections have also been improved, you can now see the clouds reflecting on the car and windows. In the new FZ 50 you even see nice reflections on the wooden interior which looks just great. The rear-view mirrors are now also visible from the outside views which looks nice if you want to create your own onboard cameras.

As LFS generates it’s own engine sound depending on the engine datas, changing some wave files is not enoug. The developers had to rewrite the sound algorithms and did a good job in improving the sound. Beside the pure engine sound the exhaust sounds are now also simulated what results in a much better and deeper sound. Although it’s still not as good as the superb GTR sounds, it’s a major step forward for LFS. Accelerating through the gears in the new FZ 50 car now gives a really great sound-feeling. Thanks to the new echo effects you can really hear how close you are to the armco, the effects are being calculated on a fully dynamic base. You can also hear how close you are to other cars or buildings, for example the Blackwood bridge gives a great echo. Furthermore the tyre, wind and road sounds have been improved and help to generate a realistic immersion sound.

The sound

The already great car physics of the current LFS version have been improved for another time. Thanks to the new suspension model and the improved tyre physics it’s now easier to control the car – it just feels more real. Until the release there will still be a lot of changes to the new tyre physics which have not yet been included in the pre-alpha. For example there will also be tyre heat and wear in the final S2 version. LFS now also simulates the fuel consumption, calculated depending on the way you drive your care. Driving an economic style can now give you a benefit in endurance races. Before each race you can select your fuel load and amount of pit stops – yes pit stops have also been introduced to LFS. At the moment you can only refuel your car but later on it will also be possible to change tyres and repair parts of your car you have damaged in the race. The length of the pit stop depends on the car type you use and the amount of fuel. A pit stop with a formula car will be much faster then with a normal road car, like the GTI. Another improvement of the physics engine is, that it now simulates the aerodynamics of the car in a realistically way. You can set the wing level of the new formula car as well as the undertray of the MRT6. A higher wing level results in more downforce but slower top speed. The different setup options have also been refined so it’s no longer possible to change the track width, as this is also not possible in most real life racing series.     

The physics

That was obviously the biggest surprise for us and all the people who tested the game at the Games Convention: The working damage model! Beside the visible (and quite noticeable) suspension damage (which we already knew about) you can now totally bend and crash your car. LFS calculates the body damage on-the-fly and does not, like most games, use 3d models to show the damage. The so-called "Vertex Damage” works like a charm in single player as well as in the new multiplayer mode. Just imagine a mass crash of a whole 20 cars field, like Spa 98!

Damage model

Thanks to the vertex damage every crash looks different depending on how, where and how fast you crashed. The new suspension damage becomes immediately noticeable on the way the car behaves and reacts. If your drive over the curbs too hard or crash into barriers, tyres and other cars you will notice the changes immediately. The new system forces you to drive much more carefully than you did in S1 and it will change online racing a lot. The damage model will be further refined until the S2 release so it will also be possible to loose parts of the car like wings or tyres. There will also be improved engine damage so it shuts down if you crash too hard. Let’s wait and see what other surprises we’ll get by the LFS team!

Beside the already well-known cars from the S1 release, which will also be in S2, there are 6 new cars. The old S1 cars have also been modified, for example you can now open the top of the LX4 and LX6 cars. Until the release of S2 there will be even more cars, the LFS developers have promised a "much faster” formula car, maybe a F3 or F3000.

The cars

The smallest car in LFS, reminds very much of a Mini. Normally you wouldn’t drive such cars on a racetrack, but after the test we made at the Games Convention we can say that it is really fun to drive! Especially with races in the multiplayer mode this car is just superb. It’s easy to handle which leads to close and exciting races. The car is available in an open and a hardtop version, up to three additional persons can take place in the car.

So now here is a list of the cars included in the current pre-alpha.

UF 1000

A fast sports car which looks very similar to a Ferrari or Porsche. With it’s 360 PS the car has the strongest engine of all S2 cars and has a high top speed. Unfortunately the car also has a high weight and is quite difficult to handle due to the missing wings. Nevertheless it’s fun to slide around and feel the raw power of it’s engine. Let’s see how popular this car will become in the community.  

MRT6

The successor of the MRT5 has a stronger engine (5 PS more) as well as an aerodynamic undertray which leads to faster cornering speeds. Especially at the Autocross track and on the slow S1 tracks this is the ideal car for close "cart-like” races.

FZ 50

The race version of the popular GTI from the S1 and demo days. The car has been heavily tuned and now features a stronger engine, broad slick tyres and an improved bodywork. The whole suspension is a bit lower which results in a lower center of gravity and higher cornering speeds. Due to these features this is the ideal car for the new fast S2 tracks. Despite the strong performance it’s easy to handle and will become without a doubt one of the most popular cars in S2. It’s predestined for fast and exciting multiplayer races!

XF GTR

This car has the highest top speed of all S2 cars. On the Oval it’s easy to reach over 260 km/h, on some straights of Aston and Westhill you can drive even faster! Although the car has not the strongest engine, the weight-to-power ratio is the best of all cars – insane 390 watts per kilo! The very broad slick tyres help to bring the power down to the track so it’s easier to drive then a LX6. On fast tracks the LX8 will without a doubt be the fastest car, but on slower corners the Formula XR will be faster thanks to it’s downforce.

LX8 GTR

The first real formula car in Live for Speed! The car reminds very much of a Formula Renault and will be thouroughly tested by real life racers until the S2 release. Thanks to the low weight and high downforce the Formula XR has by far the fastest cornering speed. The sense of speed is just incredible if you drive through the very low cockpit view. It gives you really the feeling of driving in a Formula car and reminds of F1 simulations like GP4 or F1 Challenge. With the right downforce settings the XR will be the fastest car in S2, only the LX 8 has more power on long straights.

Formula XR

There are three new tracks with 9 new configurations in S2. Like in S1 all tracks can be driven in both directions which results in 18 new configurations. Of course the S1 tracks are also still there and will be improved till the S2 release.

The tracks

Looking around in the new LFS S2 menus we have found one curiosity: An option to use a "FF stick” – yes, a force feedback shifter. Unfortunately we could not test it due to missing hardware, but let’s see what this options is use for…

Kyoto Ring

The Kyoto Ring is located in Japan an features a 3km oval track as well as an infield course and a grand prix track.

Westhill

Westhill is a very fast racing track in England with a lot of ups and downs. The track somehow reminds me of Spa because of the elevation changes. Fun to drive, especially with the fast S2 cars.

Aston

Another English racetrack with different configurations. You can choose from a short 2km club track up to the nearly 9 km long grand prix circuit. Aston also has a lot of elevation changes and some very fast corners and straights.

 

 

 

Misc

Until the release of S2 in late autumn or winter there will be a lot of developing going on. The pre-alpha looked already very good and promising, it will be interesting to see what the LFS team can achieve. The internet multiplayer will be improved to 20+ players, as well as tyre wear and temperature. With the release of S2 we will get another classic racing game, probably one of the bests so far!    

More to come