Live for Speed
Encyclopedia
Live for Speed is a racing simulator
developed by a three person team comprising Scawen Roberts, Eric Bailey, and Victor van Vlaardingen. The main focus is to provide a realistic racing experience for the online multiplayer game and to allow single player
races against AI
cars. Users can set personal bests which can then be uploaded to LFSWorld in hotlap mode, and take driving lessons in 'training' mode.
LFS is entirely distributed via the Internet
. It can be downloaded and installed for free from the official website, but unlocking all of the features requires purchasing a license. Without a license it functions as a feature-limited demo, with only one track and three cars available.
.
A fully working, commercial, alpha version of LFS S2 was released on June 24, 2005. The latest patch was released on June 17, 2011. Some backward compatibility
exists; an S2 license holder may also be able to access servers for S1 or demo servers.
simulates tyres, the suspension, aerodynamics
, the drivetrain, several gearbox types, clutch overheating, car body damage, and engine damage. The tyre model features dynamic wear, dynamic dirt, flat spots, hot spots and tyre wall deformation.
Races can either be set to end at a certain amount of laps, or be set to run for a certain length of time, as seen in endurance racing. There is support for refueling and tire changes in pit stop
s and mid-race adjustment of pit strategy. Pit lane speed limits of 80 km/h (50 mph) are enforced by penalties similar to those seen in real motorsport, including drive-through, stop and go, or time penalties. Starting grids can be determined at random, from the finishing positions in the previous race, or from the results in a qualifying period before the race.
A training mode is included to help drivers acquaint themselves with driving skills and the handling characteristics of each car. The lessons cover subjects such as cornering, throttle and brake control, and negotiating opponents. To pass each lesson, the lesson must be completed within a certain set of objectives. They are arranged as in sets, one for each car and ordered from slow to fast. Each lesson must be completed before advancing to the next, however, completing them is not necessary to unlock cars, as all are available in any other mode from the beginning.
The S2 release offers a total of 20 different vehicles. They range from beginner-friendly models to cars more suited for players with more experience. There is a broad power spectrum, ranging from under 100 hp
to over 700 hp. The cars range from fictional sports car
s, GT
DTM
-like race cars and former JGTC
series cars to road legal hatchbacks.
While LFS' car selection mainly includes fictional cars, it also has five real officially licensed cars:
, one based on Jamaica
n surroundings and one near Kyoto
, Japan. Each one of them has several different configurations and each of those can be also driven in reversed configuration. Altogether, there are 54 configurations including three rallycross
tracks. Additionally, users can create their own custom layouts using cones and other objects with the in-game autocross
editor; the two car park environments in the game are useful for creating such layouts.
LFS was used in Intel Racing Tour, a competition arranged in Germany
in 2007 with a brand new BMW Z4
car as the main prize for the winner. Thanks to Intel Racing Tour, BMW Sauber F1 was introduced in the game.
LFS is also related to V1 Championship which was launched in 2008 and shown on TV in the United Kingdom
. V1 Championship is a competition arranged by a company called V1 Championship Limited whose aim is to discover a new British
racing driver talent. LFS will be used as a part of the driver selection process in addition to physical and psychological tests before testing in real cars. If successful in V1 Championship, the contender acquires a seat in a racing team and must fully commit to have a career in motorsport.
Thanks to this co-operation with V1 Championship, LFS acquired a license to use the Formula BMW
car and to help at modelling it to the game. An opportunity to add Rockingham Motor Speedway
to LFS came through a contact from V1 Championship, and the track has been announced to be part of the S3 content.
to showcase the new Scirocco in Leipzig Games Convention
in 2008. A competition using LFS was held and the prize was a real Scirocco car. The Scirocco release for Live For Speed had been scheduled for December 19, 2008, however it has been delayed indefinitely due to unexpected bugs in the latest patch and with the Scirocco itself, forcing the LFS team to remake the suspension system.
website and database with a online skin
support. Each racer's online race statistics are collected including per-lap personal bests, lap counts, distances traveled, and the amount of fuel burnt. Users can view other racers' stats and download their hotlaps as well. Also included is a database of community formed teams. Additionally, there is an official world record
lap time chart, where racers can upload hotlaps, which exists per track and car. Users may also upload custom car skins to the website, from where the skins then are automatically downloaded as needed in-game to other players.
Justin Kranzl of APC
magazine called the S1 release "the best PC racing simulator ever."
Pelit
magazine's 2004 review of LFS' S1 release by Mika Äärilä scored 92/100 and said "Saloon cars and meticulous simulation. Absolute cream of the crop." (free translation
from Finnish)
Bytesector.com's 2005 review of S2 release said "Nothing short of going to a track actually compares to the experience. Live for Speed is, by far, the most intense and demanding game I've ever played."
In 2005, AutoSimSport magazine gave LFS their "Best simulation" award and Blackhole Motorsports website readers voted to give LFS the following awards:
Sim racing
Sim racing is the collective term for computer software that attempts to simulate accurately auto racing , complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear and grip, and suspension settings...
developed by a three person team comprising Scawen Roberts, Eric Bailey, and Victor van Vlaardingen. The main focus is to provide a realistic racing experience for the online multiplayer game and to allow single player
Single player
A Single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. "Single-player game" usually implies a game that can only be played by one person, while "single-player mode" usually refers to a game mode for a single player, where...
races against AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
cars. Users can set personal bests which can then be uploaded to LFSWorld in hotlap mode, and take driving lessons in 'training' mode.
LFS is entirely distributed via the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. It can be downloaded and installed for free from the official website, but unlocking all of the features requires purchasing a license. Without a license it functions as a feature-limited demo, with only one track and three cars available.
Releases
The game is intended to be released in three parts, S1 (Stage 1), S2, and S3. Each stage will feature improvements in many areas, such as physics model, graphics and sound. Technical improvements introduced in each new stage become available for previous stages as well, with the main difference between stages being additional cars and tracks, as well as the maximum number of players connected to a serverServer (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
.
A fully working, commercial, alpha version of LFS S2 was released on June 24, 2005. The latest patch was released on June 17, 2011. Some backward compatibility
Backward compatibility
In the context of telecommunications and computing, a device or technology is said to be backward or downward compatible if it can work with input generated by an older device...
exists; an S2 license holder may also be able to access servers for S1 or demo servers.
Simulation
Among other things, the physics enginePhysics engine
A physics engine is computer software that provides an approximate simulation of certain physical systems, such as rigid body dynamics , soft body dynamics, and fluid dynamics, of use in the domains of computer graphics, video games and film. Their main uses are in video games , in which case the...
simulates tyres, the suspension, aerodynamics
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
, the drivetrain, several gearbox types, clutch overheating, car body damage, and engine damage. The tyre model features dynamic wear, dynamic dirt, flat spots, hot spots and tyre wall deformation.
Gameplay
LFS features input support for steering wheels, mice, keyboards, joysticks, or gamepads.Races can either be set to end at a certain amount of laps, or be set to run for a certain length of time, as seen in endurance racing. There is support for refueling and tire changes in pit stop
Pit stop
In motorsports, a pit stop is where a racing vehicle stops in the pits during a race for refuelling, new tires, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, or any combination of the above...
s and mid-race adjustment of pit strategy. Pit lane speed limits of 80 km/h (50 mph) are enforced by penalties similar to those seen in real motorsport, including drive-through, stop and go, or time penalties. Starting grids can be determined at random, from the finishing positions in the previous race, or from the results in a qualifying period before the race.
A training mode is included to help drivers acquaint themselves with driving skills and the handling characteristics of each car. The lessons cover subjects such as cornering, throttle and brake control, and negotiating opponents. To pass each lesson, the lesson must be completed within a certain set of objectives. They are arranged as in sets, one for each car and ordered from slow to fast. Each lesson must be completed before advancing to the next, however, completing them is not necessary to unlock cars, as all are available in any other mode from the beginning.
Cars
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
to over 700 hp. The cars range from fictional sports car
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
s, GT
Grand tourer
A grand tourer is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement....
DTM
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is a touring car racing series based in Germany, but also with rounds elsewhere in Europe....
-like race cars and former JGTC
Super GT
The Super GT series, formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship or JGTC , is a grand touring car race series promoted by the GT-Association...
series cars to road legal hatchbacks.
While LFS' car selection mainly includes fictional cars, it also has five real officially licensed cars:
- BMW Sauber F1.06BMW Sauber F1.06The BMW Sauber F1.06 was the car with which the BMW Sauber team competed in the Formula One season. It was driven by Nick Heidfeld, who joined from BMW Williams, and Jacques Villeneuve, who had spent one season with the team before it was bought by BMW. However, the Canadian was replaced by...
- Formula BMWFormula BMWFormula BMW is a junior racing formula for single seater cars. It is positioned at the bottom of the motorsport career ladder alongside the longer established Formula Ford category...
- McGill UniversityMcGill UniversityMohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
's Formula SAEFormula SAEFormula SAE is a student design competition organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers . The competition was started back in 1978 and was originally called SAE Mini Indy.-Concept:...
(in conjunction with McGill Racing Team) - Valmet RaceAbout '2003 conceptConcept carA concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....
sports carSports carA sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
designed by Helsinki Polytechnic StadiaHelsinki Polytechnic StadiaHelsinki Polytechnic Stadia is a multidisciplinary institution of higher education, one of the biggest and the most attractive polytechnic in Finland in 2005. Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia offers students an international learning environment with a wide variety of higher education level studies... - Volkswagen Scirocco (announced, not yet released)
Tracks
LFS has seven different fictional track areas, including one loosely based on eastern central LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, one based on Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n surroundings and one near Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, Japan. Each one of them has several different configurations and each of those can be also driven in reversed configuration. Altogether, there are 54 configurations including three rallycross
Rallycross
Rallycross is a form of sprint style automobile racing, held on a closed mixed-surface racing circuit, with modified production or specially built road cars, similar to the World Rally Cars, although usually with about stronger engines, due to e.g. their 45 mm turbo restrictor plates. It is...
tracks. Additionally, users can create their own custom layouts using cones and other objects with the in-game autocross
Autocross
Autocross is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competition and active participation. An autocross is a timed competition where drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either sealed or unsealed surfaces...
editor; the two car park environments in the game are useful for creating such layouts.
Intel Racing Tour and V1 Championship
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 2007 with a brand new BMW Z4
BMW Z4
The BMW Z4 is a rear-wheel drive sports car by the German car maker BMW. It follows a line of past BMW roadsters such as the BMW Z1, BMW 507, BMW Z8, and the BMW Z3. The Z4 replaces the Z3. First generation production started in 2002 at BMW USA's Greer, South Carolina plant, with production of both...
car as the main prize for the winner. Thanks to Intel Racing Tour, BMW Sauber F1 was introduced in the game.
LFS is also related to V1 Championship which was launched in 2008 and shown on TV in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. V1 Championship is a competition arranged by a company called V1 Championship Limited whose aim is to discover a new British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
racing driver talent. LFS will be used as a part of the driver selection process in addition to physical and psychological tests before testing in real cars. If successful in V1 Championship, the contender acquires a seat in a racing team and must fully commit to have a career in motorsport.
Thanks to this co-operation with V1 Championship, LFS acquired a license to use the Formula BMW
Formula BMW
Formula BMW is a junior racing formula for single seater cars. It is positioned at the bottom of the motorsport career ladder alongside the longer established Formula Ford category...
car and to help at modelling it to the game. An opportunity to add Rockingham Motor Speedway
Rockingham Motor Speedway
Rockingham is the UK's most modern motorsport venue and Europe's fastest racing circuit, hosting corporate driving days, driver training, conferencing & exhibitions, vehicle manufacturing events, track days, testing, driving experiences and motorsport...
to LFS came through a contact from V1 Championship, and the track has been announced to be part of the S3 content.
Leipzig Games Convention 2008 and VW Scirocco
LFS was used by Turtle Entertainment and VolkswagenVolkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
to showcase the new Scirocco in Leipzig Games Convention
Games Convention
The Games Convention, sometimes called the Leipzig Games Convention and abbreviated as GC, was an annual video game event held in Leipzig, Germany, first held in 2002. Besides video games, the event also covers Infotainment, Hardware, and Edutainment...
in 2008. A competition using LFS was held and the prize was a real Scirocco car. The Scirocco release for Live For Speed had been scheduled for December 19, 2008, however it has been delayed indefinitely due to unexpected bugs in the latest patch and with the Scirocco itself, forcing the LFS team to remake the suspension system.
LFSWorld
LFS integrates with LFSWorld.net, a real-time comprehensive statisticsStatistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
website and database with a online skin
Skin (computing)
In computing, a skin is a custom graphical appearance achieved by the use of a graphical user interface that can be applied to specific software and websites to suit the purpose, topic, or tastes of different users....
support. Each racer's online race statistics are collected including per-lap personal bests, lap counts, distances traveled, and the amount of fuel burnt. Users can view other racers' stats and download their hotlaps as well. Also included is a database of community formed teams. Additionally, there is an official world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
lap time chart, where racers can upload hotlaps, which exists per track and car. Users may also upload custom car skins to the website, from where the skins then are automatically downloaded as needed in-game to other players.
Reviews and awards
PC Gameworld's 2003 review of Live for Speed S1 by Walter Hurdle scored 89% and said "A very strong simulation that offers fun and a high level of realism."Justin Kranzl of APC
Australian Personal Computer
APC is a computer magazine in Australia. It is published monthly and comes with a cover-mounted DVD of software...
magazine called the S1 release "the best PC racing simulator ever."
Pelit
Pelit
Pelit is a Finnish video games magazine published 11 times a year by Sanoma Magazines, a division of the Sanoma Group. Being by far the largest of its kind in Finland and covering both PCs and consoles, it has for a long time lacked serious competition and is thought by many to be the magazine of...
magazine's 2004 review of LFS' S1 release by Mika Äärilä scored 92/100 and said "Saloon cars and meticulous simulation. Absolute cream of the crop." (free translation
Untranslatability
Untranslatability is a property of a text, or of any utterance, in one language, for which no equivalent text or utterance can be found in another language when translated....
from Finnish)
Bytesector.com's 2005 review of S2 release said "Nothing short of going to a track actually compares to the experience. Live for Speed is, by far, the most intense and demanding game I've ever played."
In 2005, AutoSimSport magazine gave LFS their "Best simulation" award and Blackhole Motorsports website readers voted to give LFS the following awards:
- BHM "Game of the year" award
- BHM "Best multiplayer" award
- BHM "Best physics" award