Stewardbreds and Taxes

[Lucas Davenport]

Big stables are bad. People that run a lot of horses are bad. People who have money in the game are bad. Why don't we all just give all the Stewardbreds to Dave. Yes Dave, that is sarcasm!

[Burgundy Hill Farms]

If I could state the obvious for just a sec...taxes are a part of life. I pay sales tax, income tax, Medicare tax, Social Security tax, and the list goes on. Like many of you have expressed, I play here with fantasy horses and get as excited as I would if they were real Over the years, EM and the SIM development team have tried to find ways to help make the game more like RL while still maintaining the fantasy element. Some I love and others I don't (cuz I always get screwed on Post position draws), but if we want more RL feel, and taxes are part of RL, then if it comes to it, I'll pay them and keep playing the game. I may grumble like I do about taxes in RL, but I'll budget and life will go on. I don't think that the answer is to significantly tax or penalize the great players for being great. By only targeting the large bank barns in a high tax plan, to me, sounds like proletariat envy rather than doing what is best for the game. At least here in America, a higher tax on the super rich will, in theory, be returned to the middle and lower classes in some form or fashion.

As for the TBS...I run a small operation but not once have or will I ever begrudge the Fergusons, Derbys, Vellas, Zones or the like for getting high priced Stewbreds in these auctions. They have built up their stables through time and effort and will inevitably spend more on a bid than I've earned in like forever. I know my lane and I stay in it. Besides, I've seen players win freaks in the TBS auctions at a low bid and turn them into keystones of their barns. So, it can happen. Just like in RL...certain owners and/or farms will be able to acquire better yearlings at Keeneland, Ocala or Fasig-Tipton than me when I used to own a few.

I'd like to suggest patience...let the new system work for a bit so we can collect data and analyze a few years worth of it before concluding we know the answers. Personally, I love the TBS auctions...and the random TBS sales that have popped up over the years. So, I obviously don't want to see them go by the wayside. I've seen some great ideas offered that would help bleed money from the game, such as minor hike in daily horse fees and perhaps an annual fee to stand a stallion at stud.

The one area I'd love to see tweaked, further limited or abolished are the partnerships. I know they exist in RL, but since the inception of partnerships here in the SIM, they seem to have caused more frustration and division than they have brought benefit.

[Danny Derby]

I paid taxes enough when I bought this filly.

https://www.simhorseracing.com/horse.php?HorseID=992511

[Dave Trainer]

Big stables are bad. People that run a lot of horses are bad. People who have money in the game are bad. Why don't we all just give all the Stewardbreds to Dave. Yes Dave, that is sarcasm!

Really Lucas, I wouldn't have guessed.

THAT is sarcasm.

[Ronnie Dee]

I paid taxes enough when I bought this filly.

https://www.simhorseracing.com/horse.php?HorseID=992511

Given the current field for her next start, she will very likely earn back $7500. So you will be well on your way to earning back her purchase price.

[Tim Matthews]

Big stables are bad. People that run a lot of horses are bad. People who have money in the game are bad. Why don't we all just give all the Stewardbreds to Dave. Yes Dave, that is sarcasm!

Boomers are so weird!

I paid taxes enough when I bought this filly.

https://www.simhorseracing.com/horse.php?HorseID=992511

The tax rate for the purchase of that filly was 0%, but I see your point.

Taxes could be introduced in many different ways none of which would affect newer players.

This was a good post, Dave.

[Mr. Lord Rich]

I’m sure this was the thread the steward was looking for when she said new players are coming.

Only 2 more days until races start. We can make it

[Brad Searcy]

What if there was only one stewardbred auction per year that happened over break, and instead of bidding X dollar amount, you were bidding a certain percentage of the upcoming year's earnings. I don't know or care what "earnings" would mean. Just on the track? Racing and stud fees? Some other combination? I'll leave that alone...

I think this would ultimately take more money out of the game, increase the chances of newer players getting a stewardbred, and likely diminish the benefits of stockpiling stewardbreds. On that last point, if people/partnerships insisted on stockpiling, it would take that much more money out of the game. Also, it would sort of combine the idea of a "tax" into solving the stewardbred issue. If you want to play the stewardbred game, you pay the "tax." If you don't, you don't.

There would have to be some sort of minimum threshold. Let's say $1mil... So if a player bids 8%, from each purse or qualified source of income, 8% gets chopped of the top. If they fail to reach their bid, in the case of a $1mil earner, 80k, then at years end anything they haven't paid get deducted from their current balance.

I understand that this idea would make it much easier for newer players/smaller barns to acquire stewardbreds. This would probably have the terrible effect of leveling the playing field a bit, GASP! I suspect there are more than a few players in the game rich enough to overcome this anyway...

It might appear I'm suggesting this for my own benefit, and I'll stop you right there. I have no interest in stewardbreds, and on a related note, in the name of all that is good and holy, please don't start breeding STBs Em lol.

Note: All specific numbers in this post are purely hypothetical. I'm just trying to float a concept, and don't actually care if the fake math makes sense in the context of the fake economy of the fake horse game.

[Rebecca Rose Hepburn]

I’m sure this was the thread the steward was looking for when she said new players are coming.

Only 2 more days until races start. We can make it

Gotta get them introduced to the drama am I right?

I see no point in talking about taking out money, changing stewardbreds etc until we try out the new rule system and see its actual effect on the game. We can go back to arguing if it doesn't work: until then I'm just focusing on getting my horses entered and clearing junk from my barn.

[Lee Tuttle]

"Taking money out of the game"
Taking money out of the game is just a way to make players deposit more money into the game to replace those previous funds. Which is perfectly reasonable. The game owner/ designer should profit from their creation. But enough of the delusional for the good of the game stuff.


Stewy ownership restrictions.
When that first came out, I was thinking wow the Stew really decided to spread the talent around. Then it became clear of a limit of 3 of the same age. Really? What did this accomplish besides stopping one or two players from owning tons of stewys of one age. Two per age and the two cant be the same gender would of been a bit better imo. Why even add imo, when all of this babble is my opinion? Duh, right.


Partnerships:
I was clicking through a few partnerships earlier and noticed 2 with the exact same 2 owners. What in the world would be the point of that? Oh yeah, access to more stewybreds. So with their personal accounts, those 2 players could have 6 stewys in the partnership stables of the same age plus 3 more in each of the their personal stables. What was even the point? Oh, creating a partnership costs money so it's another source of income for game upkeep.
Mid point of last season I came across an old rules page which bans monopolizing studs between a limited few. Which is another benefit of partnerships...

As said in previous posts the success of stewys v everyone elses bred ponies is rediculously disproportionate. Making one wonder why do people even try to build up quality broodmare bands and generally invest in their own breeding program when something racing a horse with magical stewy dust is going to beat it 75+% of the time?
And the stud situation in non-thoros? Why even try to develop one when a new stud is going to pop up out of thin air making lines that have been developed over generations junk? Why do these studs pop up? "To take money out of the game".

The buddy/ suck up system:
There are certain people here that have free access to stewy breds while most others that pay the same simperior fees don't. Perhaps the majority of players aren't chat besties or maybe the even have some scruples and refuse to suck up. Perhaps the majority just wants to enjoy the game on an even playing field? But then the buddys and suck ups probably wouldn't stick around if it were an even playing field.


A suggestion as to how some funds could salt the owner/ developers pockets while ending steward breds and stopping the magical creation of racing and breeding monsters...

-Lease stewy broodmares through an auction each season with high min bids.
-Offer a suggested stud for those leased broodmares at a really high price.(An extra mill ish)
-Increase the fee for Simperior as necessary
-Add a band of sim fund stewy studs(all have raced previously)... So these end up being players studs that the stewy purchases from them. And adding to this same line of thinking, future stewy broodmares are mares that the stewy purchases from players so they can be added to the stewy broodmare band.


This was just some babble. Nonsense even. Coming from a really tired and grumpy person that has been working 70+ hours a week for the last couple months. So ignore it.

[Tammy Stawicki]

"Taking money out of the game"
Taking money out of the game is just a way to make players deposit more money into the game to replace those previous funds. Which is perfectly reasonable. The game owner/ designer should profit from their creation. But enough of the delusional for the good of the game stuff.

The money we are talking about here is Sim money so while yes the Steward does probably have an obscene amount of it at this point I'm not sure that is really her goal. Though it is fun to picture her going up to some fancy hotel and saying I have billions of Sim dollars give me your nicest room, money is no issue and have the clerk respond with what the #$#$% are sim dollars. Now yes one could argue that due to to the exchange there is some correlation of sim money to real money, but the taking money out of the game concern has been around long before the exchange was a thing. Also the exchange profits will always be limited by demand for game points so there isn't a direct coorelation to removing sim money to getting real money.


Also I would like to remind everyone again that my 75% number was only looking at turf milers. As mentioned in my original post other divisions didn't look as skewed. As an example in the dirt route Steward's Cup races stewardbreds have only won 3 of the last 20. Also for another purpose I looked at Simmy's awhile back and there Stewardbreds were accounting for around 50% of winners. I wonder if the turf mile skewing has something to do with the fact that turf milers in general aren't as fast as other divisions. While stake/freak gallopers amongst playerbred horses seem somewhat common in dirt route world they seem rarer in turf mile world (maybe its just my dud mares but a quick breeze through the gallop thread and I don't see anyone talking about a freak turf miler and only a couple talking about stakes). So if the steward is usually breeding stake/freak gallopers regardless of division playerbreds can compete in something like dirt routers where some players are also regularly breeding stake/freak gallopers but not so much in a division like turf milers where those higher gallopers are rarer amongst player bred horses.

[The Steward]

"Taking money out of the game"
Taking money out of the game is just a way to make players deposit more money into the game to replace those previous funds. Which is perfectly reasonable. The game owner/ designer should profit from their creation. But enough of the delusional for the good of the game stuff.

I know Tammy already said it, but we're talking about SIM money, not real money. Just to make sure!

[Rochelle Bos]

"Taking money out of the game"
Taking money out of the game is just a way to make players deposit more money into the game to replace those previous funds. Which is perfectly reasonable. The game owner/ designer should profit from their creation. But enough of the delusional for the good of the game stuff.

I know Tammy already said it, but we're talking about SIM money, not real money. Just to make sure!

I think Lee is saying that if S$ gets “taxed”/taken out people will just buy GP and use them in the exchange (or directly player to player) to get more S$ to replace the “taxed” amount?

I could be wrong though, I had to read it a bunch of times!

[Fern Thompson]

The buddy/ suck up system:
There are certain people here that have free access to stewy breds while most others that pay the same simperior fees don't. Perhaps the majority of players aren't chat besties or maybe the even have some scruples and refuse to suck up. Perhaps the majority just wants to enjoy the game on an even playing field? But then the buddys and suck ups probably wouldn't stick around if it were an even playing field.

I agree.

[Tammy Stawicki]

"Taking money out of the game"
Taking money out of the game is just a way to make players deposit more money into the game to replace those previous funds. Which is perfectly reasonable. The game owner/ designer should profit from their creation. But enough of the delusional for the good of the game stuff.

I know Tammy already said it, but we're talking about SIM money, not real money. Just to make sure!

I think Lee is saying that if S$ gets “taxed”/taken out people will just buy GP and use them in the exchange (or directly player to player) to get more S$ to replace the “taxed” amount?

I could be wrong though, I had to read it a bunch of times!

But the exchange is a closed loop system. It's not like you can get sim money from the game itself by trading in game points you can only get it from other players. Those other players are also going to be taxed and have less sim money to spend on game points. If the goal was to raise more real life money coming up with more cool things to make people spend game points on would seem a far more efficient mechanism than taking away sim money.