Bsimracing Sim Racing Resources and News for the racing enthousiast.
I have said it before, and I will say it again. The Live for Speed racing simulator might be old, but it is still going strong.
LFS is widely recognized as one of the “original” PC racing simulators that helped establish the genre’s popularity in the early 2000s, often praised for its driving feel and advanced systems.
The small 3-person development team just posted an announcement video promoting the latest update for LFS, adding a new graphics system with dynamic lighting (day/night), revamped tracks, 1000 Hz physics and timing, multithreading, and much more.
Public testing of the updated version starts this week.
History:
Back in 2001, Scawen Roberts (programmer/game engine), Eric Bailey (artist/tracks and cars), and Victor van Vlaardingen (music/website/sales) started work on the Live for Speed racing simulator. From day one, LFS was designed to be an online racing simulator focused on a realistic driving experience. The racing game uses a unique licensing model where users can download and play a free, content-limited demo indefinitely. Purchasing licenses (S1, S2, or S3) unlocks more cars, tracks, and features.
In August 2002, the team released the first Public Version, followed by the Stage 1 (S1) commercial release in July 2003. In June 2005, the dev team released the Stage 2 (S2) Alpha Release, which was a major update with new content and significant improvements to the physics engine. In December 2015, the Stage 3 (S3) License became available, including a laser-scanned Rockingham Motor Speedway and a new tire physics engine. In December 2021, Vehicle Mods Support was introduced, injecting new life into the simulator.
Early on, LFS gained a reputation for its highly accurate and realistic physics, particularly its sophisticated tire model, which was considered groundbreaking at the time. In my humble opinion, it’s still one of the best tire models to date.
Official Webpages – www.lfs.net
