Game Point Money Drain Ideas

[Brandon Schultz]

In my opinion, the best money/GP drain ideas are things that make sim life easier for a player without giving too big an advantage. I've seen most of these ideas pitched before but I really like the following:

1. Training "school" - (There's some overlap here with EquiArmor but that's maybe ok). Basically, you pay a large sum of money/GP to send a yearling horse off to get trained by the AI/computer. The horse leaves your barn and returns fully fit, with the correct equipment, but not necessarily full experience, etc... This would be a large enough amount that it would be fairly cost-prohibitive (not right for every player and definitely not right for every horse). The horse leaves your barn for some amount of time (I'm thinking 12 weeks) during its yearling year and comes back fully fit with the right equipment. Since it's 12 weeks long you can decide to send a horse off at any point between week 1-4 but the school enrollment stops week 4 since the horse would have to complete the entire 12-week program. Although the horse would be fully it, it would only gain a small amount of experience (so a barrier trial, when it comes back, would still be a good idea and would continue pulling out GP). Trainers would still have to figure out how to maximize experience and keep the horse fit before its first race.

2. Frozen Sperm - Em holds an annual auction to sell off slots to stallions that are pensioned. You win the auction, you get a slot. You get to add old blood back into your breeding operation. There are no promises that the foal will be any good but it's a fun way for players that have been here a long time, and who have a ton of money, to breed to stallions they used to love but that are no longer with us. Or, a fun way for newer players to save up and try to add a bloodline to their stable that they never had access to. Previous stallion owners wouldn't profit off of their stallions being used (but they could opt out... maybe?), it would be about the fun of their stallion having another foal long after he was gone.

3. More injuries or adding short-term random injuries - Basically, more random injuries would mean more people buying insurance for more horses. It's not fun but it could work. But let's be honest, 2 random injuries max for stables of thousands of horses is basically nothing. Random injuries could also be permanent as they are now (forcing a horse to retire) or could just be short-term (forcing a horse to take a 2-8 week break). For short-term random injuries on uninsured horses, trainers could pay the vet to speed up healing (e.g. 50% faster).

4. More pay for "cute" options - Add flowers to winners of big races, pet headshots, conformation shots for stallions, foal pictures for your favorite ungalloped foals etc. These things tend to make people happy and people would pay for them. Plus it would employ artists on the sim who could make all this stuff.

5. Buy an extra stakes race slot - You should only be able to enter 2 horses into all races. But, create an option to enter a third horse into a stakes race for a fee. Fee is a % (5% ish?) of the purse so higher purse stakes races cost more than the lower purse stakes races. Slot is not guaranteed so if the race fills and you purchased the 3rd slot but your horse gets bumped, bummer.

6. Taxes.... I'm slowly warming up to the idea.

[Art K Stables]

I think penalties like injuries and the like are not the way to go, those only serve the idea of making it easier to leave the game, the better ideas are to pay more for enhancements.. more info on racing ability, more info on when a horse will peak in ability, having said that the effect these extra things are having is people will only pay for these things for horses of higher ability, that means allowance and under gallops get further left behind because it becomes too costly, I already only get companions mostly for stakes and up and possibly allowance late bloomers.. training school I guess would help larger operations.. none of the others have any attraction at all

[Mr. Lord Rich]

Training School AKA pay the sim to play the game for you =)

[Brandon Schultz]

I think penalties like injuries and the like are not the way to go, those only serve the idea of making it easier to leave the game, the better ideas are to pay more for enhancements.. more info on racing ability, more info on when a horse will peak in ability, having said that the effect these extra things are having is people will only pay for these things for horses of higher ability, that means allowance and under gallops get further left behind because it becomes too costly, I already only get companions mostly for stakes and up and possibly allowance late bloomers.. training school I guess would help larger operations.. none of the others have any attraction at all

I'm going to push back on the injury thing. Nobody is going to quit over one injury. Besides, if your horse gets injured by a random injury it's your own fault for not insuring them. That's why insurance is there now. We just need a way to encourage people to use it more often. The point is to take money out of the game and that's an easy one that will drive money out of the game using something that's already built-in. The players that will use it the most are players with the best galloping horses (stakes, freaks, etc.) who also have the most money and can afford it.

I love the idea of enhancements but I had a hard time thinking of too many good ones that will actually be used enough to make a difference. Enhancements are tricky, IMO. I'm all for certain types of enhancements, especially enhancements that make the game more fun or that help with time management. My worry with enhancements is that they will be only affordable for the rich and the rich will just get richer. I want enhancements that make the game more fun or help with time management but not necessarily enhancements that give the spender an upper hand over those that can't spend the money - if that makes sense. Basically, if the enhancement is telling you something about the horse, I want to make sure there's a grinding way to find out that same information. Equipment is a great example. I can pay to find out equipment faster which is awesome and a good feature. But I also can figure out equipment by grinding it out myself and working a horse out every week. The player that pays has a slight confidence boost that their equipment is correct, and a lot more time on their hands, but as a more frugal and newer player I can get to the same exact spot without any issues if I put in the time/energy.

[Brandon Schultz]

Training School AKA pay the sim to play the game for you =)

I forgot, you are poor and can't afford that sort of stuff...

In all seriousness, the great thing about it is you wouldn't have to use it if you didn't want to. I think some trainers would pay a ton for it and others would completely ignore it, which is great. If you have the time, you can train all your own horses. If people are short on time, or lazy, they can pay to forget about their yearlings. Let's face it, yearlings are boring. Racing is what is fun. It's not hard to train yearlings and figure out equipment but I'm also guessing it's not most people's favorite part of the game. This just lets people decide for themselves how much their time costs in sim $ without giving anyone an upper hand or an uneven playing field.

[Gigi Gofaster]

So, I was pretty new when I paid attention to CAH/CAM, but here are some successful horses in observations from what I remember in the context of this conversation.

- Over and Up was a chaser sire that I think was only available in CAH, so not directly in the breeding stock. He was good enough to be worth a shot to get a fun (and occasionally pretty good) chaser. So, he really didn't throw breeding into disarray. Sure he produced some blue hen chaser mares, but he was more an option to get a fun runner. This I think could be resurrected in some divisions. I mean, I probably wouldn't pay GPS to get a likely mediocre and at best allowance LB type in TB dirt route divisions, but I would probably take a shot in something like AW milers or Arabians where there are plenty of chances for a fair to middling horse to make some money, and decent one to get on the board in stakes. And of course, dangle the rare shot at something pretty speedy, and I'm definitely in. Oh and Over and Up also produced some hidden gems in broodmares in I think miler/route divisions, so that could be fun too, but by no means the main lure. Synthetic Speed was a similar (even better) CAH sire in AWS with a hidden chasing perk - produced several great racers and some nice broodmares but hardly stirred up the home bred market; something like that could be tons of fun.
- I think there was a Rubiano/Dr * dirt sprint CAM cross - or something similar - that had a pretty good chance of making blue hens. Now, these hens could get you good runners, but they aren't going to have the back pedigree to produce really top class breeding stock. Still, they were a great way for newer players to get some hens and breed fun racers, and again not throw a spanner in the works of the industry. That cross may still be 'live' but I confess I haven't paid attention to CAMs for a while. If I thought I could get some fun outcross broodies in some of the divisions more saturated with a few good stallions, I would dabble in this more. Again though, most likely in the smaller divisions. Honestly, there may be gem crosses lurking in the CAM roster but I don't know. I think somebody did a CAM 'map' of divisions once too; that would be really helpful. Would save clicking through every CAM sire/dam sire's stud book pages to figure out what horses to use for a given division. Or maybe add them to the stud book.

So I think there could be an attractive overhaul of CAHs/CAMs that would make them worth some GPs, but wouldn't create troubles in the divisions by undermining home bred horses. Probably wouldn't be a huge GP draw, but maybe fewer choices and more fair to middling (and occasionally pretty good) runners/broodies and less 3K and 5K junk would certainly attract some of my GPs.

https://www.simhorseracing.com/horse.ph ... ID=1266934

Youll see this was the exception to the rule, Annie Freeze is the CAM after first set of runners not much

Ah yes, I think there are a few good runners out there with that CAM cross a few generations back. I know I had a bundle of stars and hens from that, they gave me a decent start and I think a couple have some down the line quality. If we could bring that back a bit in the CAM, it could draw some money.

I have no idea why Dr. F***r got blocked out. Is there some street slang I'm missing?

[Carole Hanson]

Gigi, I believe it gets blocked automatically because it’s very similar to a very derogatory term some people use to describe somebody who is homosexual.

[Lucas Davenport]

Pay substantial game points to allow a stallion to postpone pensioning not just for three days but for 3 mos (almost a full Sim year). Probably should be a one off, but maybe could be used twice?

[Xander Zone]

Lucas that is a great idea IMO but it would have to be a big amount like you said like 200k game points

[Gwayne's World]

Training School AKA pay the sim to play the game for you =)

I forgot, you are poor and can't afford that sort of stuff...

In all seriousness, the great thing about it is you wouldn't have to use it if you didn't want to. I think some trainers would pay a ton for it and others would completely ignore it, which is great. If you have the time, you can train all your own horses. If people are short on time, or lazy, they can pay to forget about their yearlings. Let's face it, yearlings are boring. Racing is what is fun. It's not hard to train yearlings and figure out equipment but I'm also guessing it's not most people's favorite part of the game. This just lets people decide for themselves how much their time costs in sim $ without giving anyone an upper hand or an uneven playing field.

Brandon, if someone doesn't have the time to personally manage their own operation, then they have too many horses. Hands on control is a big part of the game and in many cases defines success or failure.

[Rold Gold]

Brandon, if someone doesn't have the time to personally manage their own operation, then they have too many horses. Hands on control is a big part of the game and in many cases defines success or failure.

It sure I completely agree here. There isn’t any real skill to working out a horse over and over and basing equipment choices on the fastest times. It’s just more a measure of how an individual can handle the mind-numbing tedium of pressing buttons over and over. Mostly, finding equipment and “getting horses ready” or whatever it’s just a tedious, boring mess that was introduced however many sim seasons ago I’m guessing for realism but mostly just because Julie complained a lot.

It’s not like trainers were somehow less skilled before that side of the SIM existed.

I’d gladly pay to avoid that part of the game. It’s awful.

[Xander Zone]

When it comes to working them I would pay some game points to be able to set up 10 weeks worth of works. It just 3 as I get my time in bunches I would sit down one day and spend the hours it would take to do it all at once

[Carole Hanson]

Brandon, if someone doesn't have the time to personally manage their own operation, then they have too many horses. Hands on control is a big part of the game and in many cases defines success or failure.

It sure I completely agree here. There isn’t any real skill to working out a horse over and over and basing equipment choices on the fastest times. It’s just more a measure of how an individual can handle the mind-numbing tedium of pressing buttons over and over. Mostly, finding equipment and “getting horses ready” or whatever it’s just a tedious, boring mess that was introduced however many sim seasons ago I’m guessing for realism but mostly just because Julie complained a lot.

It’s not like trainers were somehow less skilled before that side of the SIM existed.

I’d gladly pay to avoid that part of the game. It’s awful.

I strongly disagree. There’s skill in utilising ‘experience’ exercises such as ponying and schooling properly, and exercises like swimming are underused but are potentially very beneficial. It was only recent in sim terms that we have been able to see fitness, and when that came out Emily said that only select few players had fit horses and everyone else was actually slacking. I bet you there are other hidden traits that can be trained and that play a part, but that we can’t see or measure. And I also bet there are players who are great at bringing out those traits and again, the rest of us are slackers.

[Rold Gold]

Brandon, if someone doesn't have the time to personally manage their own operation, then they have too many horses. Hands on control is a big part of the game and in many cases defines success or failure.

It sure I completely agree here. There isn’t any real skill to working out a horse over and over and basing equipment choices on the fastest times. It’s just more a measure of how an individual can handle the mind-numbing tedium of pressing buttons over and over. Mostly, finding equipment and “getting horses ready” or whatever it’s just a tedious, boring mess that was introduced however many sim seasons ago I’m guessing for realism but mostly just because Julie complained a lot.

It’s not like trainers were somehow less skilled before that side of the SIM existed.

I’d gladly pay to avoid that part of the game. It’s awful.

I strongly disagree. There’s skill in utilising ‘experience’ exercises such as ponying and schooling properly, and exercises like swimming are underused but are potentially very beneficial. It was only recent in sim terms that we have been able to see fitness, and when that came out Emily said that only select few players had fit horses and everyone else was actually slacking. I bet you there are other hidden traits that can be trained and that play a part, but that we can’t see or measure. And I also bet there are players who are great at bringing out those traits and again, the rest of us are slackers.

Good points, Carole. My only objection is what I stated before. If the boundary is to be slacker vs non-slacker I’m not so willing to put that difference down to “skill,” specifically. I’m sure it could be argued that the ability to repeatedly click swim/back button/jog/back button/gallop/back button/workout/select distance and surface of workout/click to confirm that you actually want to complete the workout/back button/school in whatever, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. without going insane is in fact a skill.

I was just saying that for me it’s far and away the least fun part of the sim and if there was a way to avoid all that stuff I’d gladly get in line to pay for it, for every single one of my horses...just like I pay to avoid the utter soul-crushing h$ll that is figuring out equipment.

For me that change would be a MASSIVE upgrade in the overall user experience. Just my pair of pennies...

[Nena Olson]

I really enjoy doing gallops / timed workouts individually on my horses as it gives me a sense of accomplishment when I see I bred something nice instead of seeing a wall of text with one or two lines hidden with the other not so nice lines. That being said, I don't jog/swim/etc. my horses and they are all fit by the time W1 of the next year rolls around so I feel those are more for 'button clicking' and wouldn't waste money on paying the game to get my horses fit for me.

I would pay money to find that 2nd piece of gallop equipment faster though. Gallop pieces are a pain. Vet pieces are just fine but gallop pieces can jump off of a very high cliff for all I care LOL