Live for Speed S2

Live for Speed S2
Information
Developer	Live for Speed
Publisher	Live for Speed
Platform	Oculus Rift (Platform), OpenVR
Device	DK1, DK2, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive
Operating System	Windows
Type	Full Game
Genre	Racing
Input Device	Keyboard, Mouse, Gamepad, steering wheel and pedals
Game Mode	Single Player, Multi-Player
Release Date	25 June 2005 (S2 alpha 0.5P)
Website	https://www.lfs.net/
Infobox Updated	2026-10-13

Live for Speed S2 is the S2 licence tier of the Windows racing simulator Live for Speed. It unlocks the Demo and S1 content together with additional cars and racing environments. S2 is a content entitlement within the shared simulator, whose display options include virtual reality; the licence level and the software version are separate. The official download starts in Demo mode and is unlocked with a licensed account.

The full S2 alpha release, 0.5P, dates to 25 June 2005 in the LFS Manual's version history. Rift support arrived in later updates, beginning with the official 0.6F release on 21 June 2014. These dates describe different stages of the simulator's development.

Features

Live for Speed supports solo driving, timed laps, races against AI drivers and online multiplayer racing. The developers describe a simulation that calculates forces at individual wheels, with steering-wheel force feedback derived from those forces. Car setup, fuel consumption, tyre wear and damage are part of the simulator's racing model.

Cars can be controlled with a keyboard, mouse, joystick or steering wheel and pedals. The developers recommend a wheel and pedals, while the controls menu provides axis and button assignments for other input devices. The 0.6P update improved automatic setup for game controllers and wheels, including multiple connected controllers.

S2 content and licensing

The licences are cumulative: S1 includes the Demo content, and S2 includes S1. The following breakdown was listed on 13 October 2026. It describes access by licence tier, rather than separate downloadable games.

Content available with S2	Racing environments	Cars
Demo content	Blackwood	XF GTI; XR GT; Formula BMW FB02
S1 additions	South City; Fern Bay; Autocross	XR GT Turbo; RB4 GT; FXO Turbo; LX4; LX6; MRT5
S2 additions	Kyoto Ring; Westhill; Aston	UF 1000; Raceabout 06; FZ50; Formula XR; XF GTR; UF GTR; Formula V8; FXO GTR; XR GTR; FZ50 GTR; BMW Sauber F1.06

Rockingham, Layout Square and vehicle mod usage are assigned to S3, so they are outside the S2 entitlement. The licence comparison also lists reversed track configurations and custom autocross layouts for S2. A purchased licence is attached to an LFS account and has no time limit; the developer describes it as a one-off fee with free updates and basic online services, while upgrades to higher content tiers require additional payment.

VR interface

The 0.6N update introduced a "look and click" interface, with a space-key or controller-button action, and a virtual keyboard for text entry. Talk and Escape functions could be assigned to wheel buttons. This reduced the need to find a physical mouse or keyboard while wearing a headset.

In 0.6Q, each mirror gained a separately rendered reflected viewpoint and a full stereoscopic image in VR. Version 0.6U added the "View lock" choices Car, Filter and Horizon. Filter delays the view's response to the car's pitch and roll; Horizon keeps the cockpit view aligned with the horizon. The developers presented these as view options for drivers who experience discomfort, without providing a measured guarantee of symptom reduction.

VR release history

VR support developed through updates to the shared client. The table records dated compatibility changes, rather than a current list of supported headsets and runtimes.

Release	Date	Documented change
0.6F	21 June 2014	Added stereoscopic display modes including Oculus Rift support and moved the graphics engine to DirectX 9.
0.6G	27 September 2014	Official release with Rift DK2 support. Its setup required extended-desktop mode and Oculus Runtime 0.4.2 or later.
0.6J	15 August 2015	Added Oculus Direct mode using runtime 0.6.0.1, allowing Rift mode to be entered or left without restarting LFS.
0.6K	19 December 2015	Added HTC Vive support through OpenVR. The same release introduced the S3 licence for Rockingham; this was a separate content restriction.
0.6P	16 April 2016	Supported Oculus Rift CV1 and DK2 with Oculus software 1.3, and updated OpenVR support to 0.9.19.
0.6Q	3 September 2016	Added stereoscopic mirrors and a walk option in Free view.
0.6U	13 March 2019	Added cockpit view-lock options and updated OpenVR to 1.2.10, including fixes for headset view geometry.

The developer's 0.6F test-patch notes also document DK1 support, including a yaw-reset correction. Those notes distinguish test patches from the subsequent full 0.6G release. During the early Rift period, Scawen wrote in the Oculus developer forum that an updated LFS build would be submitted to Oculus Share. The post records a submission plan.

System requirements

On 13 October 2026, the download page offered the old-graphics 0.7G client alongside the new-graphics 0.8C public test. Their published PC requirements differ. These are the developer's general software requirements; the page does not present them as measurements of VR performance for a particular headset.

Requirement	0.7G, old graphics	0.8C, new graphics public test
Windows versions listed	XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, 11	7, 8, 10, 11
Minimum CPU	2 GHz CPU	Dual core CPU
Minimum RAM	256 MB	4 GB
Minimum graphics	DirectX 9 graphics card	D3D10 graphics card
Recommended CPU	3 GHz CPU	Quad core CPU
Recommended RAM	1 GB	8 GB
Recommended graphics	Graphics card with 512 MB RAM	D3D11 graphics card

Setup instructions

Installation and licence activation

The official installer starts in Demo mode. An S2 account unlocks the corresponding content in that installation. Since the 0.7G security update, in-game activation uses an unlock code requested from the account details page and sent by email, replacing the former GAME password. The documented process is to enter that code on the "Unlock Live for Speed" screen and complete unlocking.

The Controls menu assigns the driving inputs. For a force-feedback wheel, the manual explains that the "Wheel turn" setting must match the controller's actual rotation; wheel turn compensation then determines how that input maps to cars with different steering ranges.

Historical Rift setup

The 0.6G instructions required the DK2 to use extended mode in the Oculus Configuration Utility and an extended Windows desktop with the headset's display orientation set correctly. In LFS, the driver selected 3D in View Options, chose Oculus Rift, and restarted when prompted. F8 was the default seating-position reset through the /rift reset command.

Version 0.6J changed this workflow to Direct mode and allowed 3D mode to be entered or left without restarting. Version 0.6P then documented Oculus software 1.3 for CV1 and DK2. These instructions belong to those releases and their historical runtimes; they should not be read as a supported 2026 headset configuration recipe.

Research use

Cao, Nandakumar, Babu and Thompson studied Live for Speed S2 0.6G with a Rift DK2, a Logitech G27 wheel and pedals, and an XF GTI on a 3.3 km racing circuit. Their first study recruited 47 adults aged 18-38. Participants drove while seated and could stop when uncomfortable, with a 120-minute maximum. There were 46 valid duration records, including five participants assigned zero minutes after withdrawing following practice. Mean play duration was 51 minutes, with substantial variation between participants.

A second study compared the DK2 with a 27-inch desktop LCD in 28 returning participants. Each display condition lasted 45 minutes, with order balanced across participants and sessions separated by several days. Simulator sickness scores were significantly higher with the headset. Differences between the displays in reported eye symptoms, engagement and best lap time were not statistically significant; these comparisons do not establish equivalence. The findings concern the tested build, hardware, driving task and adult sample. The mean duration is not a universal play-time limit.

Reviewed 13 October 2026. S2 licence content, dated VR release notes, listed PC requirements, activation and historical setup, and the cited driving-study methods and results. About review dates.