The Racing Breed

[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]

Originally Posted by TCY Junkie

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]

Originally Posted by 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)

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]

Originally Posted by path12

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]

Originally Posted by TCY Junkie

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]

Originally Posted by path12

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

[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]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

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]

Originally Posted by Arles

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]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

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.