recommendation for LFS alternative

Been having fun racing with my son on a LAN, just got totally sick of
starting up LFS and seeing the message "UNLOCK LIVE FOR SPEED".
Seems totally unpredictable, no idea what causes it to be locked again
sometimes. Random glitches!

I'm stuck on the older PC which is a PIII 550 with a Hercules 8500, so can't
run Netkar which needs DX9, GPL still a bit too advanced for him (only 7yrs)

Anyone like to recommend a good alternative?

"Lol" > wrote in message
news
> Been having fun racing with my son on a LAN, just got totally sick of
> starting up LFS and seeing the message "UNLOCK LIVE FOR SPEED".
> Seems totally unpredictable, no idea what causes it to be locked again
> sometimes. Random glitches!

It's only supposed to need unlocking again if you change hardware, although
I guess driver changes or firmware upgrades could trigger it. Do you have
any errant hardware in that PC (eg plug & play stuff keeps coming up at
startup etc)?


> I'm stuck on the older PC which is a PIII 550 with a Hercules 8500, so
can't
> run Netkar which needs DX9, GPL still a bit too advanced for him (only
7yrs)
>
> Anyone like to recommend a good alternative?

Best suggestion for something 'better than arcade but not too hardcore with
multiplayer' that'll run comfortably on that spec is Viper Racing (Sierra).
Great sim with arcade, int & pro physics options & a really cool damage
model that a 7YO can go nuts with. The Intermediate physics are much like
lfs, the pro physics are on a par with gpl etc in terms of difficulty so it
would give your son a learning curve.

Needs a patch for win2k/XP to work iirc, if you find that you'll also find
loads of add-on cars & a few tracks too.

Malc.

Malc wrote:

> Best suggestion for something 'better than arcade but not too hardcore with
> multiplayer' that'll run comfortably on that spec is Viper Racing (Sierra).
> Great sim with arcade, int & pro physics options & a really cool damage
> model that a 7YO can go nuts with. The Intermediate physics are much like
> lfs, the pro physics are on a par with gpl etc in terms of difficulty so it
> would give your son a learning curve.

Agree with that, I'd forgotten viper racing. That was a lot of fun way
back when. The advantage of these is that any decent PC can easily
manage them with all eye-candy etc.

SODA was also really fun, but was quite tempermental, and I can't
remember if there was an easier physics model that would be suitable for
someone younger. I remember it being quite challenging.

Another that might be good for LAN racing is monster truck madness. I
found that quite fun and easy to drive, and the monster truck bit might
appeal to kids.

John

Monster Truck Madness... Now that was good fun.

That and Screamer Rally we used to play on a Lan for hours..

What about NFS Porche? Didn't need to quick a pc and probably one of the
last good games in the NFS series..

Scott

"Lol" > schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news
> Been having fun racing with my son on a LAN, just got totally sick of
> starting up LFS and seeing the message "UNLOCK LIVE FOR SPEED".
> Seems totally unpredictable, no idea what causes it to be locked again
> sometimes. Random glitches!
>
> I'm stuck on the older PC which is a PIII 550 with a Hercules 8500, so
> can't
> run Netkar which needs DX9, GPL still a bit too advanced for him (only
> 7yrs)
>
> Anyone like to recommend a good alternative?

You could try Sports Car GT, but I don´t know if it supports LAN.
Mercedes-Benz Truck Racing is great for LAN-racing. Played it on a PIII ~800
with a Voodoo 5. Your GFX-card should suit the game better because auf T&L,
so the PIII 550 should be fast enough to run it.

Stephan

SCGT used to run across a LAN quite happily.

--
Andi.

Remove only one zero to reply


"Stephan Paskert" > wrote in message
...
> "Lol" > schrieb im Newsbeitrag
> news
>> Been having fun racing with my son on a LAN, just got totally sick of
>> starting up LFS and seeing the message "UNLOCK LIVE FOR SPEED".
>> Seems totally unpredictable, no idea what causes it to be locked again
>> sometimes. Random glitches!
>>
>> I'm stuck on the older PC which is a PIII 550 with a Hercules 8500, so
>> can't
>> run Netkar which needs DX9, GPL still a bit too advanced for him (only
>> 7yrs)
>>
>> Anyone like to recommend a good alternative?
>
> You could try Sports Car GT, but I don´t know if it supports LAN.
> Mercedes-Benz Truck Racing is great for LAN-racing. Played it on a PIII
> ~800 with a Voodoo 5. Your GFX-card should suit the game better because
> auf T&L, so the PIII 550 should be fast enough to run it.
>
> Stephan
>

Many thanks for all these replies (not showing on my feed!)

Viper Racing is definitely the best of the bunch.
The MMs are great fun but teach lessons in how to win races that I
don't want him to learn.

NFS series too arcade for my taste.

LFS was good lessons on handling characteristics RWD FWD off-road -
brilliant mix, Viper is good but limited.
Add-on cars and tracks I've never found tell me more!

"Lol" > wrote in message
oups.com...

> LFS was good lessons on handling characteristics RWD FWD off-road -
> brilliant mix, Viper is good but limited.
> Add-on cars and tracks I've never found tell me more!

I haven't used Viper Racing for some time & most of my links are dead but
RSC would be a good place to start. Here's a few that do still work:

http://mitglied.lycos.de/fpwolf/tracks.htm
http://come.to/3littlefonzies
http://www.troyandjessica.com/article/39/

PM me (watch out for the 'typo') if you can't find the patch & stuff & I'll
see what I've got on my HD.

Malc.

Thanks for those links.
Actually, I just added extra memory to the slower of the 2 PCs, and
would you believe it booted up with LFS unlocked! Has been locked on
the past dozen attempts with no hardware change at all.
Stupid system does not work at all in the way it is supposed to.

Bought GPL and Viper racing years ago and they're still working just
fine.
Lol