Syndicate

Daryl Dennis · Post by **Daryl Dennis** » 16 years ago

Any evil genius worth his salt needs some minions.

I have punted this idea around with a few of you before, but wanted to throw it out there to those I may not know. I plan on starting a syndicate where the bulk of my stable can benefit more owners of my ilk. Obviously, other veterans (you know who you are) are welcome to join me in my quest to spread the domination around.

The basics will include periodic distribution of horses (for training and eventual racing), strategic bidding during auctions, and group planning and shared race pointing for high-level stakes horses. There will be bonuses (Game Point, SIM $ and horses) for those in the syndicate for various achievements.

The details will be emailed to those who I approve as worthy minions or sidekicks. That said, all stables are welcome to apply. Please send me an in-game message or PM for details. Include the following information in your inquiry:

-SIM name
-email adress (if you prefer in game messages only, let me know)
-current stable stars (if any)
-current stallions (if any)
-amount of broodmares
-current bankroll
-current farms (if any)
-sim friends (or those that have helped you the most)
-sim rivals (if any)
-favorite villain quote
-skills you can offer the syndicate
-why you want to be involved in a syndicate with me

Time to take this to another level.

-Daryl

Post by **The Steward** » 16 years ago

After removing 10 posts.....I am not going to remove this. Other games have these kind of offshoot clubs and sometimes it works for them, sometimes not. Daryl is entitled to do as he wishes.

It is up to you, the SIM player, to decide if having something like this is against the spirit of the game or not. I'm sure you can go both ways on it, as I see people already have. Enjoy!

Daryl Dennis · Post by **Daryl Dennis** » 16 years ago

Thank you!

Please PM or in-game message me any applications. I am aiming for a 20 person team, with 10 spots locked in already.

Any questions can also be directed to me via PM or in-game message.

-Daryl

Jon Xett · Post by **Jon Xett** » 16 years ago

Uh oh. I just read in this forum that Daryll is entitled to do as he wishes. That is not what I wanted to hear. No one in any aspect of life is entitled to do as he/she pleases. Civilized society mandates rules of behavior. It was further stated that it was up to the SIM players to decide if we thought something like this was against the spirt of the game. I vote NO on the negative syndicate; simply on it's stated distructive intent. My NO vote, however, carries no weight since it appears that the only voice positive players have is to not join a large conglomeration or to try to ignore it's distructive behavior. If the syndicate is allowed to run amok, many positive S.I.M. players will tire of the bashing and mean spirited targeting.

What a fun forcast; seeing the negative syndicate enter 90% of the races with mass produced, two dimentional simulated animals in an effort to kill the spirt of the game. The only alternative may be for the positive players to form their own syndicate to counter the negative syndicate. That would lead S.I.M. to become a "two player" system.

Are syndicates ultimately for the good of the game? I vote no.

Sadly yours, Jon Xett

Carolyn Eaton · Post by **Carolyn Eaton** » 16 years ago

Jon Xett wrote: Uh oh. I just read in this forum that Daryll is entitled to do as he wishes. That is not what I wanted to hear. No one in any aspect of life is entitled to do as he/she pleases. Civilized society mandates rules of behavior. It was further stated that it was up to the SIM players to decide if we thought something like this was against the spirt of the game. I vote NO on the negative syndicate; simply on it's stated distructive intent. My NO vote, however, carries no weight since it appears that the only voice positive players have is to not join a large conglomeration or to try to ignore it's distructive behavior. If the syndicate is allowed to run amok, many positive S.I.M. players will tire of the bashing and mean spirited targeting.

What a fun forcast; seeing the negative syndicate enter 90% of the races with mass produced, two dimentional simulated animals in an effort to kill the spirt of the game. The only alternative may be for the positive players to form their own syndicate to counter the negative syndicate. That would lead S.I.M. to become a "two player" system.

Are syndicates ultimately for the good of the game? I vote no.

Sadly yours, Jon Xett

Hear - Hear! (and here - here!)

Keith Maidlow · Post by **Keith Maidlow** » 16 years ago

This may seem odd since I might have sparked some of what took place the last couple of days, but I'm not in favor of this or any other syndicate here in the SIM. I like to succeed or fail on my own merit. I'm having enough problems competing with the veterans, very successful junior and newbie players for sales horses, auctions, breeding and racing. Making something bigger and more calculating than what already exists will only make it tougher for the non-"syndicate" player.

Many players have their friends in the SIM and others have made friends. Dealing among friends or players one likes is fine and a fact of life. Dealing within a 10 or 20 person mega group of players won't work for the little guy especially if another group merges to combat the first group. Non-group players might as well pack up and go home.

If a syndicate is formed I think we need to know who is in the group so we can determine if we are dealing with a group or individual.

Baddayinthesim.

Martin Pennington · Post by **Martin Pennington** » 16 years ago

I'm not in favour of the syndicate idea either. I thought if we played as more than one person we got banned?

Surely this is near enough the same thing, obviously nobody can stop Daryl (or anyone else) only dealing with certain people in terms of foal swaps, mare trades etc. but I don't think a syndicate such as this would be in the spirit of the SIM.

Best Wishes

Martin

Daryl Dennis · Post by **Daryl Dennis** » 16 years ago

What happened to D.I.M.? I have never had an issue with you Jon, and never will. I like to think of you as a positive owner that has brought the SIM many great horses.

Just because my way of playing isn't your way doesn't make it negative. I also didn't realize that syndication was up for a vote or that I needed permission from anyone else provided that I play within the rules of the game. I am pretty sure the Steward was saying that if the Syndicate is not for you, don't join.

The details of the syndicate are too substantial to simply post here, but be assured that each individual stable will go on as before. Some individual horses will be syndicated or otherwise distributed to members of the Syndicate. Those horses could see shared management, race-pointing, even purse sharing for the Syndicate members. All of these things are currently done in the SIM. Auction strategy will be shared (but that has been going on forever) so we don't overlap bids. We can give tips on claims, breeding, race pointing etc. All of these things could and happen in these forums or the SIM Chat, so why not have a group that can do it off site, if they choose? And don't worry about me running multiple stables...the one I have is too much for my liking already

Besides, Em knows when people start multiple stables, so I don't forsee that as a problem. I doubt we will be too shadowy or mysterious, and provided they are ok with it, I would be happy to announce the charter members of the Syndicate to Em when they are determined.

Besides, SIM domination is not a negative goal, rather I hope to spread the domination around for those not in the in-crowd. I seem to recall a certain owner who races some of his best stock in an allowance race for similar domination. That is within the rules (and personally, I think it is cool that you decided to carry on a legacy like that), and so is this.

Indicating that those who don't join are "positive" and that anyone who joins my syndicate is therefore a negative force will certainly surprise many of them. Applications are well over the 20 I was aiming for, and the list is littered with upstanding members of SIM society. I am pretty sure most of them respect you and the game. They just seem to want to try something new. But if you want to call them negative forces, I guess I can't vote that you don't.

As for a "two player" system, the cliquey stuff going on in the chat last night definitely seemed to indicate that it already exists. I didn't include a "Bashing" section in the Syndicate charter, but I can assure you that I will try to keep my on-site posts, or in the SIM Chat productive and in the "all in fun" spirit of the game. Hopefully, other members of the Syndicate will do the same.

I hope that addressed all of your concerns. Applications are still being accepted if you reconsider.

-Daryl

John Slotmon · Post by **John Slotmon** » 16 years ago

I don't think this is my cup of tea; however, I certainly don't have a problem with what Darryl is proposing.

Lauren Haggerty · Post by **Lauren Haggerty** » 16 years ago

I have to agree with J Slotman. It's not something I'm interested in, but I don't see any problem with it. I like building up my stable by myself and knowing that the reason I'm getting better is because I've put a lot of time and work into it. And there are times when I feel like I'm up against a whole slew of people so this really doesn't change anything for me. This game is still a lot of fun, knowing that some owners joined up doesn't make it any less fun for me or fair, it just makes me work harder.

Paul Heinrich · Post by **Paul Heinrich** » 16 years ago

For what it's worth, I think prohibiting the sort of thing Daryl is proposing is opening up a can of worms, and I'm glad The Steward recognizes this. This is probably one of those "good for the goose, good for the gander" situations. As Keith said, friends sharing horses with one another is a fact of life, and part of the game. The "syndicate" appears to be that sort of operation, with a fascist name attached to it to maximize scariness.

My $.02

Sara Kendall · Post by **Sara Kendall** » 16 years ago

I am not in favor of this....I totally agree with Jon....but who am I to say I guess. I was hoping this would not be able to go through because I feel it could destroy the spirit of the game. Oh well. I do not like and will never like this idea.

Jolene Danner · Post by **Jolene Danner** » 16 years ago

I think that it sounds interesting. But hey I love new things and toys and aspects. I'm eager to see how it plays out.

Chuck Whittingham · Post by **Chuck Whittingham** » 16 years ago

As a Junior player in the SIM world, I have noticed from the start there are strong ties within this community. Often times buying horses from one another for crazy amounts of dollars or none at all. I feel that this is a type of syndicate, but just not recognized as such. If Daryl wants to openly form a syndicate good for him. That is his choice. In the real racing world there are many syndicates involved so why not here! However it goes I am a simster!

Let the games begin!

Chuck

Ali Weasley · Post by **Ali Weasley** » 16 years ago

I actually don't have a problem with the syndicate in itself. Heck, Susie and I currently share a horse, which I suppose is just a step away from syndication. Personally, I understand the benefits of it, I just don't understand why it has to be about "domination."

To me, domination implies a hostile take over. I think of the game Risk and lots of armies and attacks. And what fun would the game be if you were the only ones left? You'd be running against yourselves, wouldn't you?

I also feel like what he's offering would be a wonderful thing for new players that need help getting their foot in the door of success... I don't know where he fits into that, though.