The Racing Breed

[path12]

Back in an indie game thread a few weeks ago, Billethius and Honolulu Blue both mentioned a horse racing game called The Racing Breed.

Having not seen it before, and waiting for a good racing game, I gave the demo a shot and then bought the game. I've been playing this exclusively ever since. This is a really good game.

Cons:
It is friggin' UGLY. Homemade genuine 1993 graphics ugly. And the interface is clunkier than it needs to be, you generally need an extra click or two to get to most of the places you'd want.

You are the owner of the horses, not the trainer. You hire a trainer who in turn has a favorite jockey he/she tries to use. I thought this would be a drawback because I wanted to specify the training, but in actuality it isn't, because you do get to enter the horses into the races you want -- and really, when you've got 25 horses in your stable scheduling individual workouts would be a giant fun-suck.

You can't breed your horses. This too I thought would be a problem, and it is an issue the devs are planning on getting into the next version (that's a ways out). What happens is that as horses retire, they do enter the breeding pool, so while the game starts out with real sires horses from your game eventually start showing up as sires and dams. I'd still like to be able to breed my own horses, but it isn't a game-killer by any stretch.

Sometimes it's a bit easy to find a superior claiming horse. You might need a house rule on when to claim horses.

Being wide is heavily penalized. If you're four wide in a turn, might as well write off the race. This is another issue that is on the list for improvement in future.

Pros:
I've never seen a horse racing game so formful. I can find longshots occasionally in the form. Horses really have their own personality as far as which class, distances and surfaces they prefer.

Auctions are well done, with four separate ones during the year: Horses of Racing Age, 2 year olds in Training, and both Yearling and Select Yearling sales. Prices can range from 1,000 to over a million bucks. The catalogs give the stud fee, the record of the dam and of the dam's best three foals for the 2YO and Yearling auctions, and the form for the Racing Age horses.

While the penalty for running wide might be slightly harsh, the traffic issues during a race I find to be pretty realistic for the most part.

I could go on, but just wanted to encourage anyone interested in the subject to give the demo a shot. I'm having a blast with the game.

www.theracingbreed.com

[MrBug708]

Is it better then the other horse racing game? The name is totally escaping me?

[TCY Junkie]

I really like the game but might be influenced because there is no other decent U.S. horse racing game.

I like starters orders but there are not different levels of claimers like in the U.S.

I am currently playing Winning Post 7 2007. They need to release another English version.

I definitely got my moneys worth on The Racing Breed and would also recommoned trying the demo if you can over look the graphics.

[billethius]

Sometimes it's a bit easy to find a superior claiming horse. You might need a house rule on when to claim horses.

Yeah, once I started winning making good money, I pretty much stopped claiming entirely. I allow myself just one per year. My stable is usually the maximum size (40), so the only time I'll look is if it's late in the year and I lost a horse to a claim or retired one.

Being wide is heavily penalized. If you're four wide in a turn, might as well write off the race. This is another issue that is on the list for improvement in future.

This one is really frustrating to me, and I think I posted about it on their forum. There are a lot times where a real jockey would either a) push their horses a little harder so as to not get caught so wide or b) hold their horse back a bit to not get caught so wide. The game doesn't handle that situation too well.

I could go on, but just wanted to encourage anyone interested in the subject to give the demo a shot. I'm having a blast with the game.

Agreed - for fans of US racing, I haven't found anything better.

[path12]

This one is really frustrating to me, and I think I posted about it on their forum. There are a lot times where a real jockey would either a) push their horses a little harder so as to not get caught so wide or b) hold their horse back a bit to not get caught so wide. The game doesn't handle that situation too well.

That's exactly what needs to happen. It sucks to have a horse you've placed perfectly at a decent price end up just short of being able to take into the rail (whether by pushing up or pulling back) and stay 6 wide in the first turn.

I'm not sure how you'd program that, I guess by tweaking track position to be a slightly bigger priority then pace position.....

[PineTar]

no digital distribution for this game?

[billethius]

no digital distribution for this game?


Nope, but they're extremely fast with delivery once it's been ordered.

[path12]

It's almost embarrassing how much I've been playing this game. I haven't touched FM in like 3 weeks. If I ever decide to do a dynasty, it's going to be with this.

After a few hundred more races than the last time I mentioned it, I think I'm revising my opinion on being wide/blocked. I think it actually abstracts the myriad of racing luck factors nicely, as frustrating as it can be. If I have a horse that is well placed and healthy, it can overcome racing wide. Getting boxed in will screw you no matter what.

That said, I do still think the jockey positioning logic could be improved. There is no reason for your jockey to hang your horse five wide on the turn when he could rate him slightly and drop into nicer position.

[billethius]

It's almost embarrassing how much I've been playing this game. I haven't touched FM in like 3 weeks. If I ever decide to do a dynasty, it's going to be with this.

After a few hundred more races than the last time I mentioned it, I think I'm revising my opinion on being wide/blocked. I think it actually abstracts the myriad of racing luck factors nicely, as frustrating as it can be. If I have a horse that is well placed and healthy, it can overcome racing wide. Getting boxed in will screw you no matter what.

That said, I do still think the jockey positioning logic could be improved. There is no reason for your jockey to hang your horse five wide on the turn when he could rate him slightly and drop into nicer position.

Yeah, I play it a ton too. I'm still looking for a derby winner after 16 seasons, but I have had some nice horses. I had a filly who was a multiple G1 winner sprinting - even beating the boys repeatedly despite carrying 125lbs or more in those races.

It's also nice to see that not all aging curves are the same. I've had horses who were very fast as 2yos never develop beyond that point and I've had horses that took until their 4yo or 5yo season to really develop into anything beyond being competitive in allowance races and high claimers.

[path12]

You're farther along than I am, I'm in fall of my third year. Haven't had a G1 winner yet, but have had a couple of G3's. It took me until about halfway through my second year to start putting my better horses in graded events, especially the younger ones -- for some reason I wasn't putting together how much the speed ratings mirror real life and that 2YO's that are putting up high 80's and low 90's speed ratings can compete at pretty much any level. I tend to baby the younger horses though and never race them unless their condition is 100.

One thing I love is my older horses dropping into the mid-low claiming ranks. 6 and 7 year olds rarely get claimed and when you get one that can just rule at $20-25K it's a wonderful thing for the bank account until they're finally claimed or retired.

I want to bombard the developers about what a friendly user interface should look like though......

[QuikSand]

Hmmm... I gave the demo a quick look, and wasn't all that hooked. But it's close enough to the game I want, I guess I'll take the plunge.

[Capital]

So, is this thread telling me that I can play the game as a stable owner and not have to bet? In other words, can one survive on purse money instead of having to bet?

[billethius]

So, is this thread telling me that I can play the game as a stable owner and not have to bet? In other words, can one survive on purse money instead of having to bet?

I've never placed a bet and have plenty of money in the bank thanks to a nice stable of stakes horses.

[path12]

So, is this thread telling me that I can play the game as a stable owner and not have to bet? In other words, can one survive on purse money instead of having to bet?

Yes, you can survive on purse money rather than having to bet. I usually just put a token bet down on my horses as a good luck measure.

However, if you want to dig into a race, you can find betting opportunities and I've scored on some nice exotics, but I usually want to keep things moving along faster than it would be by betting more often.

[path12]

You can also choose to get a small monthly income depending on how much money you start yourself with.

I might play as a small stable one of these days, but it's more fun to have a full roster of 40 and try to score some nice horses at auction.

[PurdueBrad]

You guys are getting me really close to putting in an order for this (don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing!).

[path12]

You guys are getting me really close to putting in an order for this (don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing!).

Did you try the demo? I could really understand someone hating this because of the graphics/interface.

[PurdueBrad]

Did you try the demo? I could really understand someone hating this because of the graphics/interface.

I have not tried the download, might this weekend when I have a bit more time.

[path12]

I have not tried the download, might this weekend when I have a bit more time.

I'd recommend that. I think it gives you through the March 2YO in training auction. If you have any questions with it hit me up.

[st.cronin]

The interface is brutally bad.

[path12]

The interface is brutally bad.

Yep. Reminds me of Dominions in some ways -- a solid engine underneath and a user interface that does everything to make things harder than they need to be.

[st.cronin]

I still have not figured out how to enter one of my horses in a race.

[path12]

I still have not figured out how to enter one of my horses in a race.

First, there needs to be a condition book posted. I believe that in the demo that doesn't happen until around Jan 10th or 11th (it'll be a Monday in any case which is the day that you can assign your horses to races).

Once you get to that date, go into your stable from the owners screen. You'll see your horses in the top box, and the condition book with races in the bottom box. Click on a horse in the top box, scroll down to the race you want in the bottom box and double click it. Now that race should show up to the right of your horse in the top box.

I know that sounds way more complicated than it really is in practice. I assume you're either trying to assign to a race on a day other than Monday, or that you haven't gone far enough to get the condition book to post.

[path12]

I was playing this again last night and thinking about cronin's comment.

It struck me that this is one of those games where a partnership with one of the more experienced sim publishers could really be a wonderful thing. I believe this engine is really solid and well designed and having a partner with expertise in user interfaces and presenting data/history to players could make this a game that could reach a much wider audience than they'll ever get as is.

Ah, wishful thinking.........

[st.cronin]

Path, to me the game feels like its been designed by somebody who has never used a computer before. I'm intrigued enough to keep working with the demo, though, since the meat of the game is honestly pretty good, and may end up purchasing it.

[QuikSand]

Okay, I'm in.

[path12]

Path, to me the game feels like its been designed by somebody who has never used a computer before. I'm intrigued enough to keep working with the demo, though, since the meat of the game is honestly pretty good, and may end up purchasing it.

I agree, I don't know how experienced these guys are as programmers, but they have put together a very good game design. All they need is someone who can make that design more accessible and intuitive IMO.

[path12]

Okay, I'm in.


Did the demo finally hook you?

[QuikSand]

Did the demo finally hook you?

No, you guys did.

[path12]

No, you guys did.

Sounds like me with OOTP every other year.

[PurdueBrad]

Downloaded the demo...hopefully can give my impressions later tonight or tomorrow.

[billethius]

I was playing this again last night and thinking about cronin's comment.

It struck me that this is one of those games where a partnership with one of the more experienced sim publishers could really be a wonderful thing. I believe this engine is really solid and well designed and having a partner with expertise in user interfaces and presenting data/history to players could make this a game that could reach a much wider audience than they'll ever get as is.

Ah, wishful thinking.........

I've played it enough at this point and enjoy the underlying game enough that the interface no longer bothers me at all. But I really would love to see more in depth stat/history tracking (even full access to PPs for any horse I want to look at). It'd be great to be looking at a horse in the auction and to be able to do a search on how the sire crosses with the dam-sire. I'd also love to be able to see if I'm purchasing bloodlines that tend to be great as 2yos and then fade or if they're the type that take a few years to develop - and this is definitely something that's affected by bloodlines in the game. Smoke Glacken has been one of the leading 2yo sires in my game every year.

I think the problem - as far as partnering up with someone with UI experience goes - is that horse racing is a very niche sport. And then you take that group and further slim it down to people who like horse racing and enjoy simulation games. It's just not a big enough market to pay someone to do a lot of UI work.

However, it wouldn't hurt for people to go over to their message board and request stat/history tracking as a feature for the next version.

[path12]

I've played it enough at this point and enjoy the underlying game enough that the interface no longer bothers me at all. But I really would love to see more in depth stat/history tracking (even full access to PPs for any horse I want to look at). It'd be great to be looking at a horse in the auction and to be able to do a search on how the sire crosses with the dam-sire. I'd also love to be able to see if I'm purchasing bloodlines that tend to be great as 2yos and then fade or if they're the type that take a few years to develop - and this is definitely something that's affected by bloodlines in the game. Smoke Glacken has been one of the leading 2yo sires in my game every year.

I think the problem - as far as partnering up with someone with UI experience goes - is that horse racing is a very niche sport. And then you take that group and further slim it down to people who like horse racing and enjoy simulation games. It's just not a big enough market to pay someone to do a lot of UI work.

However, it wouldn't hurt for people to go over to their message board and request stat/history tracking as a feature for the next version.

If you play almost any game enough you are getting enough enjoyment to overlook the interface -- it mostly doesn't bother me that much either at this point except when I forget to switch tracks to see my promising 2yo run his first race in Florida for example -- or especially during auctions.

I absolutely agree about stat/history tracking and your suggestions there, I believe I mentioned that on their forum also. Even just carrying stats over year to year especially on sire info -- it's just odd to have that reset every January.

I would disagree on your point about the potential audience though. Horse Racing is not the biggest sport in the world, but there is a substantial fan base both in America and Europe. But the main thing is that I believe that a text sim fan is a text sim fan, and a fun and engrossing experience trumps in many ways one's feelings about a sport in real life. Take Football Manager for example -- how many folks have you seen just on this forum that have had little interest in soccer but have gained appreciation for the sport from that game?

If you can put a solid game engine together with a user-friendly interface, the fun factor will override the niche sport factor in my opinion. Now whether that is financially viable from a publisher/developer standpoint is another question, but SI, Grey Dog, Wolverine and Solecismic have proved that there is at least enough of an audience for them to survive so far.

[QuikSand]

Prior to this game, I think I would have said that I was essentially immune to user interface issues. If the underlying game is sound, I can put up with almost any degree of clunky graphics and counterintuitive labeling. This game really, really puts that to a test, though. Wow, it's just horribly designed.

I may post some notes in a dynasty thread. I'm nearly broke at the moment, which makes for pretty uninteresting reading, all told. (yeah, yeah -- and this would be different than the typical dynasty thread how?)

[gkb]

Prior to this game, I think I would have said that I was essentially immune to user interface issues. If the underlying game is sound, I can put up with almost any degree of clunky graphics and counterintuitive labeling. This game really, really puts that to a test, though. Wow, it's just horribly designed.

I may post some notes in a dynasty thread. I'm nearly broke at the moment, which makes for pretty uninteresting reading, all told. (yeah, yeah -- and this would be different than the typical dynasty thread how?)

I've been holding off on buying this, hoping that you would chime in with your thoughts on the game and/or a dynasty. I almost pulled the trigger based on what everyone else had posted, but instead of trying the demo I went back to FOF2007 for awhile.

[path12]

Prior to this game, I think I would have said that I was essentially immune to user interface issues. If the underlying game is sound, I can put up with almost any degree of clunky graphics and counterintuitive labeling. This game really, really puts that to a test, though. Wow, it's just horribly designed.

I may post some notes in a dynasty thread. I'm nearly broke at the moment, which makes for pretty uninteresting reading, all told. (yeah, yeah -- and this would be different than the typical dynasty thread how?)

I started my first game planning to work my way up, but find it's far more entertaining to start with money and horses, so Lucky Bastard Farms got both.

[Yellow5]

Noticed that Starters Orders 3 was released this week. Downloading the demo to take a look.

Anyone ttried Roogames Sport of Kings - National Hunt? http://www.roogames.co.uk/sok.htm

Played Racing Breed this past weekend and enjoyed it but man... it's dog ugly. I'm tempted to buy it but am probably going to hold off a bit.

[weegeebored]

I tried the demo hoping to really like the game but I need a lot more in the graphics/interface department before I plunk down $35. I also had a couple of issues with realism. There was a race that came down to a couple of horses. No problem. The catch is that the rest of the field was beaten by 25+ lengths -- all seven of them. I saw a similar discrepancy in a couple of other races as well.

The hiring of a trainer seems like it's not implemented very well. While I'm not sure of the trainer's effect in the game, it seems like you can spend $2500 and hire the trainer you want at any time. If the trainer has an effect on a horse immediately then essentially you could hire the best trainer for your horse that races that day. I'm not sure if that's how it works but it would be a major flaw IMO.

I also tried the game at trainergame.com, and while the interface is arguably better, the race graphics don't impress me too much. Plus you can tell that it is designed for European gamers even though I demo'd the US version.

I know that this kind of game fits a small niche but if someone took some of the ideas from the Racing Breed and improved on them, plus added a 3D graphics engine (think DirectX 7-ish not DX10) I think that it would sell enough copies to make the programmer happy.

[billethius]

I tried the demo hoping to really like the game but I need a lot more in the graphics/interface department before I plunk down $35. I also had a couple of issues with realism. There was a race that came down to a couple of horses. No problem. The catch is that the rest of the field was beaten by 25+ lengths -- all seven of them. I saw a similar discrepancy in a couple of other races as well.

I don't see this too often - though my horses tend to be allowance or stakes quality, and the AI tends to do a pretty good job placing nicer horses in the right spots. I have seen it when I've dropped horses to the bottom of the claiming ranks. I'd imagine the problem is one associated with the algorithm for creating horses. There's also an issue where there are certain horses who can run a bit on turf but not at all on dirt. Since there are very few low-level turf claimers (realistic), they're stuck running on dirt where they're absolutely terrible. The solution would either be to give pretty much every horse a lower-bound on their dirt ability - or to force their retirement.

The hiring of a trainer seems like it's not implemented very well. While I'm not sure of the trainer's effect in the game, it seems like you can spend $2500 and hire the trainer you want at any time. If the trainer has an effect on a horse immediately then essentially you could hire the best trainer for your horse that races that day. I'm not sure if that's how it works but it would be a major flaw IMO.
That's not terribly unrealistic. I could take my actual colt, and move him to a different training right now if I wanted to and it wouldn't cost me a dime. I'd probably have to pay a different amount of day-money at the end of the month, but that's something that's reflected in the game as well. And if my horse was in a race today, the new trainer might have a different idea of equipment, race tactics, etc... that basically amounts to what you're talking about. Afterall, in real life, almost every trainer does the exact same things when it comes to the actual training. The differences will be in equipment used and race tactics - though those are usually determined by the individual horses. In my experience with the real thing, the talent of the horse matters far more than the trainer.

I also tried the game at trainergame.com, and while the interface is arguably better, the race graphics don't impress me too much. Plus you can tell that it is designed for European gamers even though I demo'd the US version.
I'll have to take a look at that one when I get home. The problem I have with games that are tailored towards the european sport is that the way the races play out is vastly different and that hurts the immersion factor for me far more than graphics or anything else.

I know that this kind of game fits a small niche but if someone took some of the ideas from the Racing Breed and improved on them, plus added a 3D graphics engine (think DirectX 7-ish not DX10) I think that it would sell enough copies to make the programmer happy.
Decent looking 3D graphics are hard to program. It takes quite a bit of knowledge of the API itself (DirectX or OpenGL - I wouldn't consider either of them to be programmer-friendly APIs), as well as plently of math and similar skills that many programmers just don't have. And the ones who do aren't likely to be interested in horse racing - they'd rather be creating the next great FPS. I think the best chance for a good horse racing game is a text-based game. Rather than the races playing out graphically, they'd play out with minimal graphics and a text call of the race like you'd hear at the track.

[path12]

I don't think 3D is needed either. Hell, FM is dots moving around the field, and that is by far the most immersive sim I've ever played. What you need is a nicer and/or customizable 2D race screen, maybe with a better visual representation of the turns.

[path12]

Dola, one other addition to my suggestion list will be a prompt at end of year/auction dates. I missed both the deadline to name my yearlings and the 2YO in training auction because I was too focused on upcoming races.

[Buccaneer]

I am intrigued, mainly because QS (who has the same taste in thoroughbred sims as I do) is intrigued.

[Blade6119]

Noticed that Starters Orders 3 was released this week. Downloading the demo to take a look.
This could interest me looking over the feature list, and despite the demo being way too short(7 days), i saw some intriguing possibilities.

[PurdueBrad]

Downloaded, fiddled for one game day, and have actually purchased. Just waiting for my 'key' now.

[Blade6119]

Downloaded, fiddled for one game day, and have actually purchased. Just waiting for my 'key' now.

Starters Orders 3 or Racing Breed? If the former, id love to hear some impressions when you start playing. Im pretty close to a purchase off the demo, but would love to hear some impressions first.

[Blade6119]

A link to SO3's features:

http://www.startersorders.com/features.htm

This one is particular caught my eye:

Players now have the option of breeding their horses with the top performing retired horses from the previous season. A stud fee is paid to the horses owner.

[billethius]

The problem I've always had with Starters Orders, even the "US Pack", has been seeing a 6f race run in times like 1:16. That's just terribly unrealistic for US racing and completely takes me out of the game.

[PurdueBrad]

Starters Orders 3 or Racing Breed? If the former, id love to hear some impressions when you start playing. Im pretty close to a purchase off the demo, but would love to hear some impressions first.

Starters Orders 3. The one difficulty has been that they don't have an automated system for sending out the key so I had to wait until they opened this morning. I probably won't be able to dig into the game until middle of the day today but will post some thoughts pretty shortly thereafter. From the demo, I was fairly impressed compared to most of the stuff we've been stuck with for the last few years (really, in my opinion, since Omni Play). This seems to be the best and closest thing to that with much, much more depth added. But, we'll see.

[QuikSand]

The problem I've always had with Starters Orders, even the "US Pack", has been seeing a 6f race run in times like 1:16. That's just terribly unrealistic for US racing and completely takes me out of the game.

I think this is a conceptual hurdle that not everyone shares, but I agree it's significant. In pure concept, I guess I really don't care is a sim game models the real world perfectly -- as long as the game is understandable and the decisions and rewards are connected properly, I can roll with anything. But I also agree if the game is clerly trying to represent a real-life framework, it's just not "fair" to people who know something about the real-life sport being modeled to feel like they need to discard or override that information to properly play the sim. I think it's tough to do that.

[PurdueBrad]

The problem I've always had with Starters Orders, even the "US Pack", has been seeing a 6f race run in times like 1:16. That's just terribly unrealistic for US racing and completely takes me out of the game.

Sorry, these were for 5 furlong races, not 6
I'm thinking this has been fixed as what I've been seeing are some track records down in the 1:05/1:06's and the average being around 1:10/1:11. The worst I've seen is a 1:13:12 time for a winning horse.

My 6f races have been in the 1:19-1:25 range.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I'm at work, so I can't check the demo right now, but does Starters Orders allow you to play using dollars instead of pounds? Just curious. It wouldn't affect my buying decision one way or the other.

[PurdueBrad]

I'm at work, so I can't check the demo right now, but does Starters Orders allow you to play using dollars instead of pounds? Just curious. It wouldn't affect my buying decision one way or the other.

Yes it does and this was a selling point for me. It also allows you to list horse's weights as lbs. and odds as fractions, also selling points.

Overall EARLY impressions, it is a deep horse-racing game. I feel like it really is a new version of Omni Play as it even has handicapper tips that you can request. I haven't gotten deep in it yet, but I'm started on hard, sold off my horses cheap, and am starting with a one horse stable. I'm impressed at the ways you can upgrade your stables, pick your trainers, jockeys, etc. So far, I couldn't be more happy. There is a bit of screen-clicking that goes on but it is not overly annoying, that's probably the worst thing I can say about the game.

I'm actually starting a dynasty with it I believe. It has been a while since I've written one (last big one was The Rudy Cox Diary over at OOTP) but this looks perfect for it, particularly given the ability to stud your horses.

[weegeebored]

I don't think 3D is needed either. Hell, FM is dots moving around the field, and that is by far the most immersive sim I've ever played. What you need is a nicer and/or customizable 2D race screen, maybe with a better visual representation of the turns.Having never played FM I don't know excatly what you mean by "dots" but how does it compare with Racing Breed's graphics? The reason that I ask is that I could probably design a horse racing game and write the code for a good interface/sim engine with plenty of features/options (especially if this thread keeps going with pros/cons of existing games :)), but could never code the 3D graphics. I mean this would be a year long project (or more) but I think that I could pull it off.

Well...maybe.

[QuikSand]

One comment for those who are interested in the game play.

By way of background, the standard for me right now is Quarterpole Plus (http://www.odds-onchoice.com/webdemo/games-1cartmgr.htmi). It is a deeply flawed game, but it does play pretty well in many respects. The mechanics of the races work fairly well, and with some house rules, I have been able to play a few entertaining careers, some documented here to varying degrees.

But the fatal flaw for QPP is the completely absurd management of horses in the background. The thousand plus horses that are under AI management are not managed with any sort of realism at all -- some will be raced literally 8 or more times in one month... horses will go out and win a $40K allowance race, and will next be entered into a $15K claiming race... an obvious sprinter who has done well at 5 or 6f will next be sent out to hopelessly run in a 14f (?) marathon... it's just embarrassing.

I am glad to report that I see very little of this in The Racing Breed. By and large, the management of AI-owned horses seems pretty logical and rational. I haven't looked all that closely (I'm mostly just betting races right now) but I'm not seeing crazy anomalies like are widespread in QPP. It might not seem like it's that big a deal, but I assure you, it's terribly frustrating with QPP (a game that does many other things awfully well).

So, that's one specific thumbs-up from me on the new game. The racing universe seems to have some overall sense to it. When I was racing my one horse in a certain level of race, I got to where I was seeing certain similar-level horses for a second and third time -- that's encouraging, to me.

[bbor]

Any more reviews of starters orders3?

[Blade6119]

Any more reviews of starters orders3?

We havent had one yet, though purdue seemed to indicate he would give some impressions whenever he gets around to playing. Hes the only one that purchased so far if im not mistaken.

[moriarty]

Bump

The failed triple crown bid piqued my interest. Any more feedback on racing breed or starters orders 3?

[path12]

I'm still playing the hell out of Racing Breed. Finally got my first grade 1 winner. Sort of embarrassing how cool that was.

[PurdueBrad]

Bump

The failed triple crown bid piqued my interest. Any more feedback on racing breed or starters orders 3?

Starters Orders is very solid. I'm 13 years into a career and actually bred a horse that has put together an amazing run (2 grade 1's, 1 grade 2, and 4 grade 3 wins). He's on the verge of being put out to stud. The game is, IMHO, about 95% stable and they continue to work on the bugs that are out there. I've played it a ton and find it to be well worth the money.

[billethius]

Bump

The failed triple crown bid piqued my interest. Any more feedback on racing breed or starters orders 3?

I played around a bit with the demo for SO3 and I had the same problems with it that I've had with all versions - they just don't handle US based racing well enough for me. Seeing the first 1/4 of a 7f allowance race go in :26 just kills me (final time of 1:25). The first 5f of a 1 1/4 graded race went in 1:11. That kind of stuff completely takes me out of the game, which is unfortunate because the game has so much other good stuff in it.

I'm still loving The Racing Breed, though. I started a new game with the intention of focusing mostly on colts and trying to get a Derby winner. Still hasn't happened. I had a 2yo by A.P. Indy that I spent way too much money on get hurt in his first stakes attempt, which was disappointing. On the other hand, I had a different 2yo by Forest Wildcat (no hope for the Derby there - I knew he'd never get the distance) have a Favorite Trick type season. He won his first 7 starts going into the game's version of the Breeder's Cup. And he won them all in wire-to-wire fashion in very fast times. Unfortunately, he shin bucked in that race and finished next to last. Still, he was 2yo of the year thanks to his other races.

[cartman]

I wonder if what happened in the Belmont yesterday happened in a computer game, how many people would point to the game being hopelessly flawed.

[TCY Junkie]

Probably, one announcer said it shouldn't even be a betting event. I bet there are many that feel that way now.

[billethius]

I wonder if what happened in the Belmont yesterday happened in a computer game, how many people would point to the game being hopelessly flawed.

Not many. Even great horses run bad races occasionally - especially the ones who attempt all 3 races of the triple crown.

[Capital]

Top athletes in other sports can have a bad day - and it's accepted by the media. Why can't a horse?

I have seen a lot of horse races where the favorite just didn't fire that day. It happens...it's just that there's a lot of people watching the Triple Crown that do not follow actual horse racing.

[cartman]

Top athletes in other sports can have a bad day - and it's accepted by the media. Why can't a horse?

I have seen a lot of horse races where the favorite just didn't fire that day. It happens...it's just that there's a lot of people watching the Triple Crown that do not follow actual horse racing.

There's probably a very, very short list of horses that were undefeated after 5 or more races that ended the winning streak finishing last.

[Axxon]

There's probably a very, very short list of horses that were undefeated after 5 or more races that ended the winning streak finishing last.

But still, there's a list right?

[cartman]

But still, there's a list right?

Off the top of my head, I couldn't think of any. But if there wasn't a list before, one got started yesterday. :)

[Axxon]

Off the top of my head, I couldn't think of any. But if there wasn't a list before, one got started yesterday. :)

Don't worry. I believe there's a list. I have no clue who's on it but there has to be a list. :)

To inappropriately steal one of my favorite lines "Of course there's a van."

[RPI-Fan]

So I downloaded Racing Breed demo and was actually pleasantly surprised. I see what others were getting at with regard to the interface, but I seemed to get enough used to it. It does seem the game is rather "solid" and sensible underneath, especially based on some of the things posted over on their (inactive) forums.

So those of you that bought the game about a month ago... are you still playing and enjoying? For $35, if I get a good month out of the game it'd be worth it for me.

[billethius]

So I downloaded Racing Breed demo and was actually pleasantly surprised. I see what others were getting at with regard to the interface, but I seemed to get enough used to it. It does seem the game is rather "solid" and sensible underneath, especially based on some of the things posted over on their (inactive) forums.

So those of you that bought the game about a month ago... are you still playing and enjoying? For $35, if I get a good month out of the game it'd be worth it for me.

My dad and I have both been playing it pretty consistently since I found it last October or November.

[Blade6119]

Off the top of my head, I couldn't think of any. But if there wasn't a list before, one got started yesterday. :)

Im sure the injury played a part, irregardless of what they may say. It clearly affected him, if only to remove that extra gear from his arsenal.

[Blade6119]

I played around a bit with the demo for SO3 and I had the same problems with it that I've had with all versions - they just don't handle US based racing well enough for me. Seeing the first 1/4 of a 7f allowance race go in :26 just kills me (final time of 1:25). The first 5f of a 1 1/4 graded race went in 1:11. That kind of stuff completely takes me out of the game, which is unfortunate because the game has so much other good stuff in it.

As someone who doesnt follow racing in real life beyond the triple crown, and as such dont know that those #s are apparently way off, it doesnt bother me at all. Since that appears to be the big complaint i hear about SO3 in comparison to Racing Breed, im strongly leaning to purchasing SO3. If someone can tell me other areas RB is better, id love to hear. But so far all i have heared is that SO3's times are a bit off, which i can live with as long as its universal for all horses and not just races i watch.

[path12]

So I downloaded Racing Breed demo and was actually pleasantly surprised. I see what others were getting at with regard to the interface, but I seemed to get enough used to it. It does seem the game is rather "solid" and sensible underneath, especially based on some of the things posted over on their (inactive) forums.

So those of you that bought the game about a month ago... are you still playing and enjoying? For $35, if I get a good month out of the game it'd be worth it for me.

I've been playing it almost exclusively since I got it. It is totally a "one more turn" game for me....

[weegeebored]

They should give you some kind of commission path12. I'm on the fence with this game because of the graphics, but getting that G1 winner must have been pretty exciting (from a gamer's PoV).

Plus, lately I've been playing a lot of DDS:PB and I don't know if I want to spend the $$$ on a new game.

[path12]

They should give you some kind of commission path12. I'm on the fence with this game because of the graphics, but getting that G1 winner must have been pretty exciting (from a gamer's PoV).

Plus, lately I've been playing a lot of DDS:PB and I don't know if I want to spend the $$$ on a new game.

Heh. I try to not be too much of a fanboy because I can absolutely understand not liking the game because of the interface and graphics, but the engine is solid enough to really make me want to tell people about it. :)

The G1 news got better: my 4 year old colt Full Force Eyes was the 2009 Horse of the Year and Sprinter of the Year. Woo!

[dxtrfn1980]

I got the game and I cannot install the game and like to now how do I install the game? I use Vista.

[path12]

I got the game and I cannot install the game and like to now how do I install the game? I use Vista.

I don't use Vista so I have no idea. You might want to ask on the website forum?

[path12]

Just checked their website and saw this:

We have received many requests for a version of the game that runs on
the Vista operating system. It is now complete and available for sale.

If you have purchased the XP version of the game, and would like a
Vista compatible version, please Email: [email protected]
or call (702) 617-7899 with your name and address and we will send it to you free of charge.

Thank You
_________________
Post Time Software

Hopefully that will get you started.

[TCY Junkie]

I played this game way too much for a couple moths when I got it last year.

I posted on here that my horses kept getting trapped inside. Since I posted that, I haven't seen it more than handful of times. I feel like things happen just to make me look bad, kinda like when my parents got together.

[Schmidty]

Is this game going to be fun/understandable for someone that knows nothing about horse racing?

[TCY Junkie]

I really enjoyed it, but probably liked it more because I tried all the other crappy horse racing games. The demo gives you a very good idea of what to expect and would definitely try it before you buy it.. If you like a challenge then I would recommend it, that probably is the be best selling point of the game.

[Blade6119]

Bought Starters Orders 3 and have been having a blast. Havent had a single bug or issue pop up, and its been a blast. Had one horse who had all the talent in the world, but would only bring it half of the races he ran in. It was maddening watch him go from taking the huge win in dubai as a 3 yo to finishing dead last as a 4 year old. Or winning the Kentucky derby to finishing mid back in the preakness to dead last at the belmont. Maddening, but fun ;)

And also, retiring him to stud only to watch him fail too many times to count as i drained away the money he won trying to breed him. That was fun, my little impotent pony.

[DaddyTorgo]

omg! a blade-sighting!

[Blade6119]

Have i been away?

[DaddyTorgo]

idk *shrugs*

[Blade6119]

Well its good to see you to either way!

[RPI-Fan]

Been playing the hell (well, by my standards, which means a few hours a week...) out of The Racing Breed since I got it a few weeks ago. So for me, even if I never play it again, it was $40 well-spent. I'm 4 seasons in... have only had 1 stakes winner so far... currently a 4yo filly (about to turn 5yo). She's getting really inconsistent though and probably won't do much to finish off her career.

I have been building a decent bankroll and will start to be able to take multiple gambles at the auction which should be nice. Although in my newest 2yo crop I went 0-for-4 as far as stakes horses go (which was refreshing given I was relatively successful with my first auction).

I made a big betting score on my 4yo who I'd been moving around to different types of races and she couldn't find her spot. Then, I returned her to a low-stakes race in her conditions but because of her recent struggles (with the wrong distance, surfaces, class, etc.) she was a 14-1 shot. There was another horse that had raced competitively with her in higher stakes races also at 3-1 so I put a big bet on a boxed exact and it hit which bumped my bankroll nicely. I guess the cool thing is that's one of the few times my horse has been a longshot and actually hit. But it really made perfect sense -- any normal bettor would have had trouble seeing past her recent difficulties and it looked like she was over the hill... but of course I knew that she probably had something in her at this distance, surface, and class. I don't think that I've ever otherwise had one of my horses be a 10+-to-1 shot and win...

I imagine that if you start getting a barn with quality horses in it (like I hopefully will!) and follow the major races from 2yo to 3yo to 4yo the game will get really interesting.

Overall I'm very pleasantly surprised. If the developers make a new version I'll be on it instantaneously. There are very few flaws in the game... its features are limited (no searching, no homebreeding, limited stats, etc.) but what it does it does VERY well (kind of the opposite of all other horse racing games). If they clean the game up, including the interface, it could be awesome... it's already very close to the online SimulatedSports horse-racing game in terms of features and if it adds homebreeding and a decent interface it will be amazing. I really hope these guys put something new out soon.

[TCY Junkie]

Overall I'm very pleasantly surprised. If the developers make a new version I'll be on it instantaneously. There are very few flaws in the game... its features are limited (no searching, no homebreeding, limited stats, etc.) but what it does it does VERY well (kind of the opposite of all other horse racing games). If they clean the game up, including the interface, it could be awesome... it's already very close to the online SimulatedSports horse-racing game in terms of features and if it adds homebreeding and a decent interface it will be amazing. I really hope these guys put something new out soon.

Yeah, I think this game has great potential. I feel the same way about their next release.

[path12]

Massive milestone -- won the 2010 Derby. Woo! Funny thing was that I spent a ton of money on a horse that is turning out to be just average, while the winner was almost an afterthought picked up at the 2YO in training sale.

[path12]

Dola, the Winstrol injections really helped.



Take THAT, 14ers! :D

[billethius]

Massive milestone -- won the 2010 Derby. Woo! Funny thing was that I spent a ton of money on a horse that is turning out to be just average, while the winner was almost an afterthought picked up at the 2YO in training sale.

What was the breeding? I'm starting to think I tend to go after bloodlines that develop late. So I end up with a lot of horses having great 4yo and 5yo seasons, but the only time I have a good 2yo is when he is a pure sprinter.

As an aside, I have a fantastic 3yo filly right now. Like you, I picked her up in the 2yo in training auction for a fraction of what I spent on some of the others in my stable. As a 3yo (through May so far) she's 5 for 5, with 3 straight grade 1 wins, all by 5+ lengths.

[path12]

He's by Cherokee Run out of a Chimes Band mare. $140K. My $750K AP Indy colt is having problems getting past seven furlongs.

[QuikSand]

I have my first promising 3yo colt as well, in 2010. I claimed him for $50K after seeing him run into terrible traffic and finishing 4th in an allowance race that he probably should have won. Since then, he has won an allowance race and the Grade 3 Hickory Stakes in Kentucky. Best speed figure is a 95 so far, and I'm aiming him for the classics -- why the heck not?

I have only been running a very short stable (usually only one or two horses) to get a feel for things, and this is my first meaningful success. It has gotten me out of the poor house, though - with $300K in cash, I can probably make some thing happen for down the road now, even if this guy never earns another buck.

I had to put this game down for a while, but it's proven worth coming back to -- decent praise, coming from me, as most games don't get that far.

[QuikSand]

Well, it looks like my colt isn't really a classic contender after all - two 1 1/8 mi races seem to have confirmed that. His great moment will probably be sitting in the garden spot behind the eventual winner of the Seattle Slew Stakes at the quarterpole, from which he promptly faded to 5th. Looks like a nice middle distance colt who can make me some money, but not millions.

[RPI-Fan]

What kind of pace are you guys playing at? I started with the $300k and am in 2010 right now, which seems pretty far given that I don't play THAT much and have had the game for much less time than you guys. I basically just sim up until it's my horses' turns to run. By the time they've all run (usually takes 2-3 weeks) they're rested enough to start scheduling another "cycle" of races (I've only had one horse to this point where I really planned out her schedule around the various stakes races... and to be honest I didn't do enough of that with her).

The majority of my horses, I get via the 2yo yearling auctions. I've been picking up a few lately in claimers, but I'm just dabbling with that for now. I really have to echo what Quik commented about this game at first, though... they AI is almost amazingly sensible. I ran in a $50k 3yo(F) claimer and claimed a horse in there I liked. My horse ended up getting claimed too. So, the one I like had a bad outing and I had no worries about entering her in a similar race 2.5-3 weeks later. Who do I see in that race? Yep, the horse I'd had claimed before. On top of that, at least 2-3 OTHER competitors from that prior race were also in there.

[path12]

I'm in 2010, but I started at the top with a million because I wanted a big stable and have had 40 horses since the end of my first year. I also tend to be kind of neurotic and have to watch every race my horses run in -- it's so hard at times to find what a particular horses preference is that it helps me quite a bit to actually watch them run to get clues as to what they want/can compete with. That is also kind of a testament to the AI, I guess.

[QuikSand]

I started with $10,000, and had to bet my way to have enough to even make a single claim. I'm playing with a very sparse stable of only one or two horses most of the time, though after a good run from last year's colt I had enough around to claim a 3yo for this year's prep season and several yearlings from last year's December sale. But I'm basically running the stripped-down game, and with a little time to kill, flew though about two years of play in a few hours yesterday.

[QuikSand]

I'm still playing this intermittently. I'm still running a small barn, but I got good runs out of two high-dollar claimers and put each of them past the $1m earnings mark, including a 2nd in the CC Sprint, and a 3rd in the CC Turf, giving me around $1.5m in the bank now, even after doing some reckless spending in the yearling auctions.

In 2014, it looks like I have my first Derby horse. Purchased him as a 2yo in training last spring, he was by an excellent in-game horse turned stallion, and was fairly cheap (like $50k). He only has one win in his 9 career races but since then he has finished in the top four in five straight graded stakes races, including a hard-charging 2nd place in the G1 Seattle Slew. He's got $230K in earnings, andd seems to want distance - so his ticket is definitely punched.

[path12]

I'm still playing this intermittently. I'm still running a small barn, but I got good runs out of two high-dollar claimers and put each of them past the $1m earnings mark, including a 2nd in the CC Sprint, and a 3rd in the CC Turf, giving me around $1.5m in the bank now, even after doing some reckless spending in the yearling auctions.

In 2014, it looks like I have my first Derby horse. Purchased him as a 2yo in training last spring, he was by an excellent in-game horse turned stallion, and was fairly cheap (like $50k). He only has one win in his 9 career races but since then he has finished in the top four in five straight graded stakes races, including a hard-charging 2nd place in the G1 Seattle Slew. He's got $230K in earnings, andd seems to want distance - so his ticket is definitely punched.

I'm really trying hard to get into OOTP but I do keep coming back to this. I'm in 2012 now I think. I've never done a dynasty before, but I've set up a couple of new games just in case I decide to try one. I just hate feeling like I've got to really take notes.......though it would be fun to have an interactive thing where yearlings can represent people and see how they progress.

BTW, I saw your message on their board about the end of race dynamics. I had never really thought about that before but have taken a closer look the past couple of nights. I don't really have a problem with the way it comes out -- I think of it more as just representing the strength of finish down the stretch -- if you're passing tired horses I'm not going to think much of it -- if you're battling with other ralliers the horse will get more credit.

I think my only quibble after all this time with the actual race engine is that there seem to be an awful lot of horses that have trouble getting past five furlongs -- I don't know if in real life that happens and I just don't notice it. Also I do have to have a house rule about claiming horses -- only through April when one of mine get claimed, and then I roll a die to tell me which day/days I have to claim one back.

The real issues in my mind are almost all interface/ease of info related:

Need a race finder.
Par time range for classes would be good to know.
Lifetime records of horses, sires and dams.
A NOTE SCREEN FOR EACH HORSE TO COMMENT ON THE RACE!!
Skip to next race tag -- very good suggestion by you.
Easier access back and forth between catalogs and auctions.
Flag a horse (lost in claim, want to get back, for example).
Listing of race conditions both during race replay and in betting/race screen. (I hate having to go to PP's to find that out).
Moddability of track backgrounds/graphics.
Ability to rename stakes or make a customized schedule of a stakes series.

I know there are a ton of other ones that I can't think of right now, but man, if we could get even some of these that would be awesome.

[TCY Junkie]

The real issues in my mind are almost all interface/ease of info related:

Need a race finder.
Par time range for classes would be good to know.
Lifetime records of horses, sires and dams.
A NOTE SCREEN FOR EACH HORSE TO COMMENT ON THE RACE!!
Skip to next race tag -- very good suggestion by you.
Easier access back and forth between catalogs and auctions.
Flag a horse (lost in claim, want to get back, for example).
Listing of race conditions both during race replay and in betting/race screen. (I hate having to go to PP's to find that out).
Moddability of track backgrounds/graphics.
Ability to rename stakes or make a customized schedule of a stakes series.

I know there are a ton of other ones that I can't think of right now, but man, if we could get even some of these that would be awesome.

I can thnk of so many improvements for this game, its only because it held my attention far more than any other horse racing game. All the great horses I owned where front runners.

I'm having problems with my browser once I log on helpfully it will all be fixed soon.

[QuikSand]

By the way, path, I have posted at the developer's site, mostly reinforcing your issues... last I checked, nothing but crickets there, though. Race finder is essential, and a "skip to my next race" button/option is, too.

I wonder if a multi-player game might be worth trying. How many FOFCers do we have with the game? We tried this once with Hoover of Thunder, and I think it was okay - might have been better with a stronger structure. I'm game for tossing the idea around. (Multi player = one person runs the sims, enters stuff on other people's behalf... I think the game enables as many as 4 different active stables)

[path12]

I can thnk of so many improvements for this game, its only because it held my attention far more than any other horse racing game. All the great horses I owned where front runners.

I'm having problems with my browser once I log on helpfully it will all be fixed soon.

Closers will always have traffic problems to deal with just as in real life. I've had a few good ones, but my best are either stalkers or front runners also.

If you find you have a closer who just falls too far back and can only rally to mid-pack that's a clear sign that horse needs to be dropped in class.

[path12]

By the way, path, I have posted at the developer's site, mostly reinforcing your issues... last I checked, nothing but crickets there, though. Race finder is essential, and a "skip to my next race" button/option is, too.

I wonder if a multi-player game might be worth trying. How many FOFCers do we have with the game? We tried this once with Hoover of Thunder, and I think it was okay - might have been better with a stronger structure. I'm game for tossing the idea around. (Multi player = one person runs the sims, enters stuff on other people's behalf... I think the game enables as many as 4 different active stables)

That's where I saw your post about the stretch runs. I want to post there more given my minor obsession with the game and wish to see it improved, but at times they seem rather sensitive about feedback -- a question I asked that was geared towards trying to understand the race logic about positioning was replied to by saying how real jockeys think the race runs fine.

Do you remember the old 3M Win Place Show game? I think that the race engine has some of those same elements to it -- a horse has a base ability that is modified by a random factor/condition/shape of race.

I'd be up for trying to put together a FOFC multiplayer game on this. That could be a lot of fun.

[TCY Junkie]

Closers will always have traffic problems to deal with just as in real life. I've had a few good ones, but my best are either stalkers or front runners also.

If you find you have a closer who just falls too far back and can only rally to mid-pack that's a clear sign that horse needs to be dropped in class.

They are either on the lead or neck to neck with another horse. If they don't get the lead around 80 percent of the time they don't win. I feel they don't rate the horses good enough. The most important jockey rating to me is the rating ability. Maybe its just my small sample of really good horses.
Before I got a good jockey with a high rating ability it seemed I would lose every race if the horse that likes the lead didn't get it.

[path12]

They are either on the lead or neck to neck with another horse. If they don't get the lead around 80 percent of the time they don't win. I feel they don't rate the horses good enough. The most important jockey rating to me is the rating ability. Maybe its just my small sample of really good horses.
Before I got a good jockey with a high rating ability it seemed I would lose every race if the horse that likes the lead didn't get it.

That's one thing I really like -- the fact that if your trainer has a bad fave jockey, you're going to get some bad rides. It took me awhile to realize that the jocks had that much influence.

When you say you got a good jockey does that mean you switched to a trainer who had a better one listed as his favorite?

[Fighter of Foo]

Unrelated, but is there any way to start off with more cash in SO3? I have absolutely no desire to gamble on fake horses just to scrape together enough cash to buy a few decent horses.

This is far and away my biggest problem with the game.

[TCY Junkie]

That's one thing I really like -- the fact that if your trainer has a bad fave jockey, you're going to get some bad rides. It took me awhile to realize that the jocks had that much influence.

When you say you got a good jockey does that mean you switched to a trainer who had a better one listed as his favorite?
I compared them as much as one person could because trainers have hidden abilities too. I compared when they got different jockeys than the fav. I use good trainers with jockeys with a b+ rating at rating. In the universe I use there is one jockey with an A for rating and the success you have with this guy was too significant I felt. I wouldn't even gripe about it if the game wasn't really good. And yes thats the only way to change preferred jockeys that I know of.

Oh I had to hit refresh like for 10 minutes to post this. All the other websites are fine and I only have trouble when I try to log in. I'm open minded so I must be having the worst luck. So I will put the SO3 in here too.

SO3, Cheat. Watch a race, see which one wins clear, canter, or not hard pressed in the results. Then close the program through task manager and open it again and bet.

[QuikSand]

I still have backups of all my game files, but cannot locate the actual physical CD, nor a copy available vie ebay or the like.

Is there any way to get this game to work with some sort of a -nocd crack?

Sadly, it's the best game of its variety that has been made, which is an awful indictment of the genre.

[path12]

I still have my cd but just upgraded my folks computer and am going to use their old XP one just to run this again. I haven't been able to get it to behave well with Win7 even using emulators.

My wife cannot believe I am going to set up an entire computer for one game.

[QuikSand]

...i still miss this game

[weegeebored]

I wish I had played it. When I was ready to buy the game it was not available. I have been tempted to buy Starters Orders 7 during the Steam sale (I have SO6) but there's always been something off about the U.S. racing.

[QuikSand]

hmmmm...

Horse Racing Manager on Steam (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2740170/Horse_Racing_Manager/)

[weegeebored]

I did see that, QS. It might be vaporware though.

[QuikSand]

he's posted two developer updates in December '23, so it seems he's still plugging away...

[TCY Junkie]

he's posted two developer updates in December '23, so it seems he's still plugging away...

Been following that game also. Mentioned the racing breed and the developer wanted to know more about it so shared list of features and this thread. He has posted a few updates on the game a few times recently.

[QuikSand]

thanks for the bump

[Arles]

I've played Starters Orders up to 6, has anyone tried 7? I'm still on the hunt for a great horse racing sim, SO has been the best to this point.

I'm interested in 7 because it now appears the AI breeders to get sired horses from other top former racers (and not just random generated ones). The old method in 6 made your well-bred horses end up being significantly better over time. If the AI can keep up with top level horses you own, the challenge will be there longer. I mostly did "sprint" careers before as once you hit a certain level the challenge was gone.

[thesloppy]

I've never played 7 but had the same issue with every other version that it didn't seem worth testing: Rather quickly the AI ability to schedule races falls apart and there are large-stakes races running with literally 2 or 3 horses, and you can guarantee a significant finish for any horse you want to field. I think I had heard this is even worse for the US schedule, and that there really hasn't been any effort to fix it.


I liked just about every other part of the game, but the scheduling bit is crucial and broken (at least on the US side).

[Arles]

SO 7 is on a 40% sale on steam ($21)

[GrantDawg]

SO 7 is on a 40% sale on steam ($21)
I said "hmmmm...maybe I should check out it out." Go to the sales page an get "Write a review...". Seems I had owned it in the past, but must have returned it.

[thesloppy]

I said "hmmmm...maybe I should check out it out." Go to the sales page an get "Write a review...". Seems I had owned it in the past, but must have returned it.

Ha. I have had that happen to many times.

[Ajaxab]

he's posted two developer updates in December '23, so it seems he's still plugging away...

Plugging away indeed...Horse Racing Manager just got released via Early Access. I have no idea how good it might be at this stage but it's playable and might be worth a look.

[Arles]

Ha, I just got the email about the early access. I'm an absolute sucker for a good horse racing game so I will probably preorder.

[Lathum]

I was obsessed with hooves of thunder. May checkout the early access.

[GrantDawg]

I'm interested once someone on here plays ot awhile and tells me it is decent. I'm tired of burning money on EA releases. Someone else be the guinea pig please.

[weegeebored]

I'll be watching for feedback/reviews. Based on what I saw the graphics seem pretty weak for a $30 game. I'm not expecting AAA level but I would think they should be somewhere near the quality of Starters Orders. Still, I'd be interested if the gameplay is good.

[GrantDawg]

I'll be watching for feedback/reviews. Based on what I saw the graphics seem pretty weak for a $30 game. I'm not expecting AAA level but I would think they should be somewhere near the quality of Starters Orders. Still, I'd be interested if the gameplay is good.
Nicer graphics would be nice. I have sort of tired of the nostalgic pixelated thing many games are using now, but it is the least important thing here. It will be more about the depth of the game. I mean, I would rather these graphics thin like little dots in a circle.

[Lathum]

anyone dipped their toe in yet?

I am thinking about picking it up today and toying with it. OOTP is starting to get stale for me

[sovereignstar v2]

Throw down already. We know you like to gamble ;)

[GrantDawg]

I worry about the lack of YT videos on the game. Hopefully it will pick up. I need those expert guides to help me. I hate going into games feeling lost.

[QuikSand]

downloading... optimistic on this, a lot of the "feel" early on was really promising

[Lathum]

Kid home sick from school so I downloaded and been tinkering.

I basically buked my first try. Kept losing badly and realized my jockey wasn't actually a jockey.

[Arles]

I'm eagerly awaiting some of your guys' thoughts. Starting tomorrow night, I have some gaming time and I will be going between FM and picking this up.

[Lathum]

Been playing steadily for a few days. I’ll post some thoughts later. I’m currently at the ER getting screened for a blood clot.

[Thomkal]

Been playing steadily for a few days. I’ll post some thoughts later. I’m currently at the ER getting screened for a blood clot.


I don't know if that should take priority Lathum :) Seriously hope everything is OK

[Arles]

Yeah, come on - priorities!

In all seriousness, I hope everything is going well.

[Lathum]

OK. I am alive. Turns out it was a severe muscle strain

The game. I am just toughing the surface but it is pretty easy to learn the menus and mechanics to get started. Menus easy to navigate through. Be careful auto hiring staff. I started with 50 mil so I haven't been challenged. The breeding feature is fun and that is where the money is.

The races themselves are fun to watch, but they need to make it more realistic. The winner usually wins by 1-2 furlongs. Decent amount of races and distances, and it doesnt suffer the same fate as Hooves where every race has 4 horses.

Buying and selling is fun and pretty easy. Right now I'm pretty much managing 5 horses, which is the max for one trainer, and entering races.

All in all I am enjoying it.

[QuikSand]

I'm having user interface problems with the game, just not intuitive where I'm supposed to look or click at various points. Also shaking my fist at clouds.

[Lathum]

I'm having user interface problems with the game, just not intuitive where I'm supposed to look or click at various points. Also shaking my fist at clouds.

It took me a bit to get used to it. Especially the auction stuff.

[Flasch186]

Where is the game located?

[Lathum]

Where is the game located?

Steam early access.