New Gallop Changes Coming Year 62

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The Steward
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New Gallop Changes Coming Year 62

Post by The Steward »

Starting in Year 62, you will not be able to gallop or talent check yearlings to get deliberate answers of “Freak” “Stakes” “Allowance” etc.

WHY?!
We have been toying with removing the current format of gallops for about 20 SIM years. The constant need to adjust the threshold, which in turn leads to dissatisfied players (people have actually quit over adjustments), and the equally constant dissatisfaction with horses not running to their “promised potential” are just two of the reasons. This game was never meant to be about a numbers game hoping to play the odds, but has always been about working hard and spending time on each horse. That is how we want this game to be played, and understand that that might not be for everyone. That’s okay. About 9% of all horses are first or second race jumpers. Less than 1% ever see the track.

BUT WHAT ABOUT FESTIVUS?
“Festivus” is not a SIM-sanctioned event. It was first nicknamed as such by (I believe) Scott Eiland tongue in cheek about finding out that “you" did a bad job breeding, again, and took on a life of its own. Every single “Festivus” I get 40-50 messages from people furious because they believe their results aren’t what they “deserve.” People quit every Festivus because “it’s not fair." Then, so many of those horses never see the light of day. No one is ever going to be fully happy, but our own personal belief in this game is that it’s not about finding out 1 day after birth whether or not your horse is going to be a stakes winner. That’s not what we want in this game, so it’s a management decision to lead away from that.

WHAT ABOUT LATE BLOOMERS, ETC?
We finally revealed this information a few years ago hoping to spur people into sitting on horses who were going to blatantly jump up (MOST go up a full gallop condition) but it didn’t really work to encourage more game play.

WHY DID YOU DUMP THIS ON US SO MEANLY?
Cheeky comments about randomly springing it with no warning aside (that was a joke), I was looking forward to discussing this with everyone during Week 16 broadcasts, which is where historically ALL of our big announcements have come. But I decided to give more lead time despite a letter like this not being ready. Next time I will wait until the broadcasts again.

BUT WE DIDN'T VOTE FOR IT!
.... The SIM is not a democracy... but we DO try to listen to everyone's complaints and suggestions and things they want. A few Two Small Things will be in place for Week 1, including possibly the most asked for of all time...

ALSO, WORKOUTS SUCK:
I agree they are not the be-all and end-all but they are being adjusted for the new year to be more reliable. We wouldn’t tell you to go by them and then make them worse/harder.

ALRIGHT, I’M LISTENING. WHAT ARE WE GETTING?
SOO much! Stud book/mare pages are being updated with tons of workout information. “Gallops” will now give information on heart, who you should think about insuring, future breeding shed ability, preferred distance questions, preferred recovery time, and more! It’s going to be AWESOME.

WILL ALL OF THOSE THINGS BE ADDED TO THE TABLES/SORT FILTERS SO I DONT HAVE TO?
That’s the plan, although I suspect not all of them will be ready for July 1. Maybe a week or two later. There’s still a LOT to do.

I DONT WANT ANY OF THAT INFO, I WANT OLD GALLOPS!
Good news! It’s not currently planned to change it for older horses (2+) so you can just have “Festivus” on the first day of their juvenile year.

Happy Steward’s Cup!
"There's no secret to training a good horse. It's a matter of being fortunate enough to get one."
"Funny how you often regret the stuff you didn't do more than the stuff you did do" - GG
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