Live For Speed vs rFactor????

StevieP

StevieP

StevieP

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I want a new racing sim to have a blast at and I've narrowed it down to Live for Speed or rFactor... (I've got GT Legends but wanted to try something else)

I've played demo's of them both and both seem really good but I remember LFS being very difficult to control when you get past the initial few cars?!?

So I think I'm leaning towards rFactor but there isnt an up to date demo out there!?!?

Any opinions on this???

StevieP
 
There both really good, get them both if you can :)

If you have to choose I guess it depends if you really want loads of extra tracks and cars, there are loads of track and car addons for Rfactor now so if mods are for you then Rfactor maybe the better one to go for.

I still really like Live for Speed though, it just plays so good online.
 
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Hmm a toughie this. I've got both and there are good points to each and bad point to each.

rFactor - Good - easier to get going I think. Simpler user interface. Designed to be modded so loads of potential. BMW F1 car to be released.

rFactor - Bad - Needs mods to make it more complete. No training for new drivers.

LFS - Good - Training for new drivers. Not modded so more complete. BMW F1 car released

LFS - Bad - Game still WIP. This current release is S2 of 3. Not as easily modded as rFactor. Tracks and cars are all designed by LFS crew.

I prefer rFactor more. I spend more time on this than I do LFS. I find the cars easier to drive in rFactor than in LFS but I probably need to learn how to set my cars up etc.

I don't know if you've heard of netKar Pro? You may have done and excluded it but it might be worth trying the demo if you haven't. Just to make it harder for you, having 3 to choose from not 2.:p

I don't want to make any assumptions about your finances but why not buy both games? As for rFactor demos, you are right, the demo is quite old and doesn't reflect the game in its current state. You could buy rFactor and get a refund if you don't like it.
 
LFS has recently had a big update with regards to tyres and physics, and makes a lot of the cars much more forgiving and enjoyable to drive. You'll need a steering wheel to get the best from both games.

Look at it this way: rFactor has the moddability and better visuals and sound, but as far as I'm concerned the online experience, community and simple charm that Live For Speed has is unbeatable. Racing with a good bunch of drivers is essential to get the best out of both games, really.

Problem is you'll need to spend the £24 to get to try the faster cars in LFS, but you'll enjoy it if you keep at it.
 
Since the recent patch, the tyre and aero physics of LFS have been upadated. This has eliminated the old problem where you had virtually no grip at lower speeds. The fast RWD cars are an absolute joy to drive now.

Also, the developers acknowledge that it isn't complete yet, it still is classed as an Alpha release of S2.

Can't really comment on rFactor, I tried the demo ages ago and didn't really like it.
 
Well all the high power cars are harder to control but this is true of all cars(and sims)
Lfs does not offer abs at all but with the new patch you have traction control on the f1 car and the fz5.
It all comes with practice anyway, no sim will be easy.

dont bother with netkar just yet.
 
StevieP said:
How does this work??

Do they just deactivate your serial key or something??

StevieP
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Not sure how they do it. I haven't had to find out.;) They probably do block the serial key so that it can't be used again meaning you'd have to buy another one if you wanted to play rFactor again.

I wasn't sure about the refund details so I checked out the email my licence key was sent in and it appears you'd have 48 hours from buying the licence to ask for a refund. The refund would then take about 18-21 days.

See here for the details.
 
LFS, no question.

Ive only tried the RFactor demo, but i always found that once the car had lost grip that was it, your gone, no or very little chance of recovery. Also, i find the GFX on LFS not the best, but i prefer them to RFactor, simply because RF has tried to add too many shiny bits into the game, amking it look stupid, whereas with LFS your concetrating on driving, not wondering why you can do your hair in your tyre treads.

I love the LFS tracks, you have everything from tight twisty tracks that makes your brain overheat in the F1 car its that intense, all the way through to Aston, which is pretty much 95% full throttle and a huge stress on the tyres.

One thing i will give RF, is the force feedback on a wheel, no need for a gym memebership, the FF on RF is all you need as its that strong, but it just lacks the feel that LFS gives.

Also, theres an OcUK server for LFS, which is pretty good if you ever fancy getting owned by other members.
 
This is well tuff to answer so all i can do is be honest and let you decide.

Rfactor with mods/tracks and a full server is unbelievably good.
The mods being released at the mo are superb. The MMMV8's round Bathurst or Philip island are a dream come true. The McClaren mod round Laguna, Superb. The F3 Euros anywhere, superb. The Lienz festival mod again is superb. These mods especially the MMMV8's if anything have to much grip. You can chuck them about all over the place catching the back end and fishtailing up the road. :D Great fun.
There are to many good things to say about Rfactor to write them here.
Now the bad.
Downloading the game and installing is a breeze but finding the right mod with the right track with people on can be a nightmare.
There are resource sites such as RSC and many others so if you decide to buy shout me and i will give you my list of sites etc.
You should be aware that as one mod may handle great the next may handle crap or you just might take to one more than the other. The variety on Rfactor is endless as mods are literally released weekly.
The cars handle brilliantly though the feel you get back through the wheel the noise the tracks the whole game is a true sim experience.

LFS.
I got this just after the 1.5 patch. I had tried the demo before but felt it lacking in feel. This is Not the case now. After trying the demo for an hour i decided to buy and i must say i haven't looked back since.
The cars feel excellent and are very instinctive which makes for lots of fun.
Servers have plenty of peeps on and there are no mismatch problems.
The LFS desktop feature is brilliant giving you immediate access to your own PB's and an upload feature for skins and many more excellent features.
Even when racing alone your PB's are logged which just adds to those lonely times on the track.
The new Saubers are unreal and skins are out so most F1 liverys are available.
I set a 56.03 at Blackwood today which i am pretty damn chuffed with seeings i've only had the game 2 weeks.
The initial interface is a bit dodgey and needs someone to point out the odd thing or two but apart from that it's a brilliant game.

So all i can say is i own both and race a lot, here is my simrace team site. I am [TSR]Wolf
http://www.topsimracers.net/Joomla/index.php
There is no one game that is better than the other in this case. I play both regularly. Today for instance i have played both going from one game to the next finding a full server with cars and tracks i want to race.
I would say buy both as i have.
 
I like both of them but trying to get a decent race online with rF can be a lesson in frustration. LFS is the exact opposite, you are guaranteed a good online race night or day. That wins it for me. Get both though if moneys not an issue as rF really is good for things like the nordschleife and there's some very nice mods out for it.

LFS = Multiplayer heaven
rF = Single player heaven
 
Must admit, I like the feel of the original multiplayer demo of rFactor....

Do both of these games have single player modes?? (ie. championships etc)
Otherwise, do the on-line games have championships, it must get a bit boring just having one-off races with no real outcome!!

StevieP
 
rFactor has a pretty good single-player mode AFAIK. I didn't play it for long.

LFS has a single player mode, but you're racing against the AI which isn't the best, and it is only just single custom races. Certain Pit options that are available in multiplayer are disabled in single-player (although maybe they were enabled in the latest patch?) and there's no championship mode as such. The AI in particular isn't fast, although they learn things such as the best line and how to overtake, but they won't pit for fuel; they'll just run out. It's on the list of things to do I think, but tbh I never play the SP mode. There is a training mode however.

As far as championships, the majority of teams for LFS run internal cups and there are quite a few that you can join. We're going to be starting a championship shortly on our server which I anticipate being open to everybody, not just team members. Best thing to do is keep an eye on the LFS forums; if there's a cup starting it'll probably be posted in the team leagues forum.

Edit: I must add, and this probably goes for rFactor aswell, but the single races are never boring if you're racing with behaved racers in well matched cars. Championships just add the bigger picture and adds motivation to have regular meets.
 
Get both if you can. I bought both about 2-3 weeks ago and have found myself playing rFactor a bit more, mainly because the w.i.p sound engine in LFS gets on my nerves after a while, and you have a bigger selection of tracks in rFactor due to the modding community ( good if you want to race on real life tracks ). Although, even though LFS doesn't support modded tracks yet, the ones it comes with are superb, esp considering they are fictional.

Handling is great in both with a wheel, although rFactor can be a bit tedious when trying to get the right force feedback settings for your wheel ( too many options in the config - thankfully there's a thread dedicated to this on the RSC forums ).

For whatever reasons, be it better physics or just better setup cars, I find it's much easier to predict and recover from ' losing it' in LFS than it is in rFactor. Counter-steering seems to work as you expect it to in LFS. In rFactor, once the backend starts to go, you'd need Spidersense and the reaction times of Superman to catch and correct it in almost all cars.

When racing online, I've found rFactor to be slightly smoother / cars less likely to warp than in LFS, esp when on busy servers. This could be down to my pc, as I know many don't have this problem. For offline racing, rFactor atm is better ( not suprising as LFS's focus is for online racing ). Most mods come with a Championship for single player and the AI is better than LFS, although not perfect.

( BTW if you love Renault Meganes, then get rFactor. There's a current obsession with the Megane Trophy Mod ( which is very good ), so most populated servers seem to be running it constantly )
 
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Thanks for all the info guys.....I'm leaning towards rFactor at the moment....

Would be nice to get a proper F1 mod though, is there a finished one around????

StevieP
 
StevieP said:
Thanks for all the info guys.....I'm leaning towards rFactor at the moment....

Would be nice to get a proper F1 mod though, is there a finished one around????

StevieP
Click to expand...
Not as yet. http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?t=238198 this thread on RSC is about the CTDP F1 mod for 2005. It WILL be amazing, they've already released a version of the Bahrain track which is simply stunning.

I've no idea when it will be released but it'll be worth the wait.
 
Modding *should* be avaiable when the game is released, whether this means when S2 is complete or when S3 is complete i dont know.
 
I got LFS first, but haven't played it since getting rFactor.

rF just feels so much better to me. I recently went back to LFS to try the recent patch and I still dont like the feel compared to rF. Also, the graphics looked flat and grainy. And the sound is still hilariously bad, sounding like an old C64 game. Yes, I know it produces the sound in a better way, but it still sounds crap.

Yes, rF is a little thin on content as standard, but the mods more than make up for that. And there is something for everybody, even Karts and V8 offroad buggies. Something new comes out daily. Check out some of the mods/tracks HERE.

Graphically rF is streets ahead for me. Ok, it's a little 'cartoony' at first, but dowload some texture updates and it's stunning, the realistic day/night transitions, the specular mapping on the roads, the real-time dynamic shadows. It's stunning, and very immersive.

Oh, and as for those judging it on the demo, well that is based on an old build and not really representative of the game in it's current state.

Yes, LFS is taking 'the long way round' and doing everything in a better way, and I am sure it will evolve into the best sim out there, but right now, today, rF is the better game for me.

I don't care what goes on under the bonnet of the sim, it's the end result that matters. For me it doesn't matter that everything is 'canned' in rF, it just has a better 'feel'.
 
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