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Buddy Workouts, Training, Awards, Group Train |
| Issa (#1) | |
| 04/19/20 10:06 pm | |
| Buddy Workouts The minimum energy required to perform a Buddy Workout (BW) has been reduced from 60-80% (depending upon Athleticism) down to just 10% for all horses. Buddy Workouts are still Energy-free! However, as Buddy Workouts are quite strenuous and almost like a mini race, they should be approached with a little more caution. Horses performing BWs with less than 100% Energy will now gain Risk. The severity of this increases as their Energy decreases. Although 100% Energy is best, the penalties for performing a BW at reasonable Energy levels are insignificant in the scheme of things so there’s usually no need to avoid doing a BW just because your horse isn’t at 100%. Training Changes Horses tend to suffer consequences, often long-term, when pushed too hard in training. A horse cannot maintain their best form, physically or mentally, when constantly being taxed to the point of breaking. Thus, you’ll need to be a little more mindful of Energy when training your horses here on FFH. Training a horse with low Energy may result in exhaustion, which can cause a horse to suffer a variety of consequences. Stats and traits negatively impacted are: Morale, Condition, Soundness, Prime, and Athleticism. (Note: Athleticism is usually only impacted in more extreme circumstances and has the lowest chances of being penalized.) Additionally, the chances of refusing training have been greatly reduced. The level of Energy considered ‘safe’ varies by age. Horses who are 2 or 3 years old may experience exhaustion if they perform training with 60% or less Energy, with the impacts of low Energy more severe for 2 than 3 year olds. Horses 4 and older will not experience exhaustion unless they begin training with 50% or less Energy and will see reduced consequences overall. Although this may seem like a rather significant overhaul, the impacts are not detrimental unless you’re consistently training your horses at critically low Energy. On the flip side, we expect this to bring about many positive outcomes. For starters, this alleviates a great deal of the mindless stress that many players have felt when it comes to training 2 year olds. Rather than click a button 5+ times until it tells you that you can’t click it anymore, you’ll be able to analyze the unique characteristics about each horse and decide what kind of training routine feels best for them. Instead of one very strongly overarching strategy for training 2 year olds, there are now at least 3 avenues you can pursue - each with subtle nuances within. You can continue to push your young horses as hard as possible, prepping them to go big or go home in the juvenile races. You might opt to take a middle-of-the-road approach and take a few chances to ensure your horse has a reasonably successful juvenile career. Lastly, you might rather play it safe and train your young horses lightly, setting them up to have a longer career. This, along with other changes, brings more weight back to the choices made within breeding. There are 5 Performance genes, each with significantly different impacts. Which gene(s) you focus on will shape your training strategy and help set your horses up for success at whatever sort of racing career you pursue. Last, but certainly not least, we’ll take a walk back to the past - when 2 year olds could be successful even if their destiny (birth potential) wasn’t to be a star. It goes without saying that horses have been training extremely quickly in the past few years. We have many 2 year olds already approaching, or beyond, 50 potential. This is not only unrealistic, but has created a lot of stress for many players who feel like they’re stuck on that hamster wheel of 2 year old training. With these changes, you can slow down and savor the process. Horses will once again max their stats at a more appropriate pace, giving low-maxers a chance to earn a few points as juveniles while other horses won’t see their best days until they are a little older. Year End Awards Guess what, y’all?! Year End Awards are finally back! We have retroactively assigned awards for Y38 and Y39. Unfortunately we cannot assign awards to any earlier years because PRs got extremely jumbled at some point during Y37. However, now that they’re in they will be awarded each year going forward. Awards are divided into several categories: Horse of the Year, Aged Male/Female, 3yo Male/Female, 2yo Male/Female, Marathon Male/Female, Steeplechase Male/Female, and Driving Trial Male/Female. Additionally, each category is awarded to the top horse of each breed (where relevant) - horses of different breeds do not compete against each other. Champions receive a Crystal Chalice, which is a fancy little “loot box” that will open up to reveal some prizes. Reserve Champions (2nd place) receive a box of chocolates (otherwise known as Radiant Truffles). Eligibility for awards is quite simple! 2 year olds must complete at least 4 races, 3 year olds 5 races, and 4 year olds and older 6 races to be eligible. Additionally, a horse must finish races on both surface to be in the running for Horse of the Year. Awards, as you guessed, are automated. They are based upon a formula that calculates what we call a Difficulty Score (DS) for each race a horse runs. To ensure your horse has the best chances of success in awards, you want them to earn the highest Difficulty Scores possible throughout the year - as the winner will be the horse with the highest average at the end of the year. There are a few factors that increase difficulty score, from least to most important: racing against males (for females only), winning (especially AQs and series races), and running high PRs. Although PR contributes the largest component of the DS, the deciding factor will more likely come down to winning series races and/or AQs. Additionally, we’ve added one extra-special award known as the Perseverent Snail! This award compares horses of all breeds and division and is given to the horse with the lowest average DS. That’s right, it goes to the worst horse of the year. The only catch for this is that only horses who have raced at least 10 times are eligible. Be persistent about entering your very worst horses and they, too, might achieve the ultimate honor of snaildom someday. Group Training A new feature has been added to Auto Train for racers. Known as Group Training, this will allow you to select a Group for your horses when locking in their Auto Train preferences. As of now, the options you can choose from are A or B. Although this will most likely be used by players who wish to split their horses’ training based upon the meet they normally race, you’re welcome to use it in any way that benefits you. Train All buttons for racing horses have also been split into A and B. When you click a button, it will train any horses set to the selected group. (It does not matter what meet you click the button!) All horses have automatically been set to Group A, so you’ll want to go through and adjust your horses accordingly. Questions, Concerns? As always, if you have any questions or concerns, you’re welcome to post on the forums or Discord. The #help_and_advice and #community_forum channels are always open! Please refrain from excessive chatter about changes in main chat, as this tends to both be chaotic and make it harder for anyone coming in later to see if their question has already been answered. |
| Replies |
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| Kaddie (#6874) | |
| 04/19/20 10:10 pm | |
| Thank you so much for the update! Excited to learn more about all this, as I just joined yesterday! |
| Charlie (#6108) | |
| 04/19/20 10:16 pm | |
| Awesome, Enhancements sound great! Look forward to trying out and learning the new features |
| Anjan (#5822) | |
| 04/19/20 10:17 pm | |
| That is quite q but if new information, but I am looking forward to seeing how the training changes impacts next year's 2yo series races. |
| A. (#1380) | |
| 04/19/20 10:35 pm | |
| I love the year-end awards change! It was fun logging in to see I had a few messages from the last couple years. My STBs are doing swell! :D That said, on to more serious matters. My main concern with the claim that there are multiple, equal tracks with the new training, is this: the old way, you could train your horses competitively, or you could choose not to. Now, you have the same choice...except that if you choose to train competitively, you're risking actual harm to your horse. I see two possible scenarios going forward: 1. everyone ends up training their horses lightly/moderately, because not many people like to feel like they're actually abusing their pixel ponies (which is how I would feel, training horses so harshly with the new changes); 2. almost everyone trains lightly/moderately, and the few people who don't automatically win most series races for young horses. The first scenario would mean there is actually far less flexibility than there was before, and that the heavy training option for young horses may as well not exist; the second would mean there is basically a huge imbalance in who even has a chance to win in these young horse races. I realize part of the reason this change is going in is to give people who aren't currently competitive a better chance, and to slow down how quickly most 2yos gain stats...but I really don't think this is the way to go about it. If limited 2yo trainings is not an option, as said in the discord, then maybe 2yos could take more energy per training. Or maybe they could be coded to not be able to go above 5-6 in any stat during their 2yo year. Something. Anything but this. I very much think it's possible to go too far when it comes to realism in what is meant to be a fun game. Having the "option" to ruin young horses in pursuit of a trophy just doesn't sit right with me, and is never going to. On the other hand, knowing that there's a chance I won't be able to be competitive in young horse races if I don't is very demoralizing. So that's where I'm coming from. Thanks for being open to concerns, and for hearing me out. As always, it's appreciated. |
| Wolf (#4154) | |
| 04/19/20 10:42 pm | |
| I dont know how I feel about the changes I do love that year end awards are back I guess Im just going to play out the changes and see how it goes |
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Maylutka (#859) |
| 04/19/20 10:51 pm | |
| Thanks for the update! I am looking forward to the year eend awards! These are so exciting :D I will read more info about the new training updates once I get home and don't have to read them on my phone :P |
| Isabella (#1563) | |
| 04/19/20 10:57 pm | |
| Fantastic updates, I am already really liking the 2yr training differences, I LOVE the a/b buttons set for training. my poor b horses are already trained but i'll have them set next meet. and i also LOVE the year end awards. just wonderful. thanks so much... |
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Firestorm (#2063) |
| 04/19/20 11:09 pm | |
| I can’t wait to see how the training changes develop horses in the future. I think it’ll work out great. I also love the Year End Awards - especially the Perseverant Snail. |
| Jarvis (#2080) | |
| 04/19/20 11:14 pm | |
| I love the year end awards and the a/b training options. Cautiously optimistic about the 2 year old changes but I'm also a player who hasn't mastered 2 year old training anyway so there will be minimal change for me in terms of 2 year old performance. Anyway thanks for always working so hard on keeping the game dynamic! |
| Jack Colton (#4064) | |
| 04/20/20 12:01 am | |
| Wow, that is a big update. I like the changes going forward. Having options to train horses differently is a big plus. As is the year end awards. Thanks! |
| Jaxx (#6754) | |
| 04/20/20 12:48 am | |
| Thank you for the updates! |
| Jaxx (#0) | |
| 04/20/20 1:08 am | |
| i know a few horses in my barns that would have a shot at that snail award xD |
| Dea Invidia (#3750) | |
| 04/20/20 1:09 am | |
| i know a few horses in my barns that would have a shot at that snail award xD |
| Karu (#2397) | |
| 04/20/20 1:55 am | |
| I can't wait for next racing season to see the affect on fresh 2yos! I like that we can again have more variety and "surprise factor" in 2yo racing - there likely won't be nearly as many "beasts" running as there have been the past couple years, so even low maxing ones have an actual shot now. And yay for the year end awards! |
| smakie (#2889) | |
| 04/20/20 3:01 am | |
| Love the year end awards! Not sure about the training changes. I know i'll be playing it safe for sure |
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Katie (#494) |
| 04/20/20 3:35 am | |
| I love all of these changes! It's going to add so much more dynamic to 2 yos training. I'm also very excited about awards <3 |
| Esmee (#3538) | |
| 04/20/20 4:06 am | |
| Wow! That are a lot of changes! Very curious how this will affect the racing! |
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Wyvern (#1439) |
| 04/20/20 4:37 am | |
| oohhh intereisting changes! Lets see how it goes! |
| Vieelz (#5274) | |
| 04/20/20 5:39 am | |
| I like the changes, thank you! |
| Ursula (#6380) | |
| 04/20/20 8:05 am | |
| Thank you for the huge update! I'm on the fence about two year old training, but I'm interested to see how it goes. On the other hand, I'm really happy to see that year-end awards are back! |
| Keiser (#6346) | |
| 04/20/20 8:19 am | |
| Wow! Such a huge update! I currently have a batch of two year olds that I am training, so we will see how it goes x |
| Xanid (#5474) | |
| 04/20/20 8:36 am | |
| Thanks for the update. I love the year end awards. I fear that I will miss the challenge of prepping two year olds. We'll see. |
| Ace (#5745) | |
| 04/20/20 9:41 am | |
| I am so stoked about the A/B training groups, yaaaaaas. My day is made. |
| Electra (#2789) | |
| 04/20/20 9:57 am | |
| Love the new training! Thank you for the update! |
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Luna (#2980) |
| 04/20/20 10:37 am | |
| Excited for year end awards! |
| Lumos (#2316) | |
| 04/20/20 11:22 am | |
| I'm just getting back into the game and I hope with the updates I can handle my two year olds next year and give them a good chance. |
| Celestine (#6183) | |
| 04/20/20 12:02 pm | |
| How exciting! |
| Kitty (#3367) | |
| 04/20/20 12:23 pm | |
| I’m not sure how I feel about this yet, since I’ve always struggled a bit training 2yr olds, and I don’t think this is going to help much. I’ll have to see how it plays out |
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dragonfyre (#6286) |
| 04/20/20 1:48 pm | |
| End of Year awards seems fun! What a cool idea. My concern with 2yo training is that those of us who can't see the full range of genetic traits will be limited to one avenue only. 2yo training is already kind of a guessing game! I appreciate this is incentive to upgrade my account to a Forever Pro, but it's frustrating to be so limited in not having a FP account (plus all the other upgrade extras). :( |
| Necromancer (#5072) | |
| 04/20/20 2:34 pm | |
| I'm still not completely sold on the new training update to be honest but, will give it the benefit of the doubt and try it out. |
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Issa (#1) |
| 04/20/20 2:56 pm | |
| @dragonfyre - I shot you a PM, but wanted to drop a quick comment here as well to avoid any confusion. None of these changes are incentives to buy Forever Pro - in fact, they could be viewed as quite the opposite because they further even the playing field between those with Forever Pro and those without. Forever Pro is 100% not necessary to be successful on FFH and has very little that would even help with 2yo training. None of that has been changed by these updates. |
| Cat (#3931) | |
| 04/20/20 3:46 pm | |
| I was so surprised to get on this morning and find that I had assume awards waiting for me, including a horse of the year! I'm still feeling out the changes to training, but I'm hopeful this will indeed help the balance. Thank you for the updates! |
| KayleighB (#757) | |
| 04/20/20 5:30 pm | |
| I love these changes! The year end awards are awesome. |
| Erin B (#6174) | |
| 04/20/20 8:12 pm | |
| Very cool! These new changes sound exciting. |
| Snow (#6865) | |
| 04/21/20 2:09 pm | |
| The year end awards are so cool! I personally don't mind the training changes that much, since they're simply realistic and I always enjoy realistic things in games |
| AtticaRose (#717) | |
| 04/23/20 3:28 am | |
| This is incredible! Thank you for so many wonderful things. |
| Candy ONeil (#4938) | |
| 04/25/20 2:04 am | |
| Type your reply herei know it's been said but honestly I feel like the people who spend money are getting more things added that benefit them and those who dont targetting things taken away....I'll try it out though I'm ver thg nuch on the fence |
| Fitzgerald (#2419) | |
| 5/9/2020 04:02 PM | |
| I'm still noticing the same number of training refusals - did this change go into effect already? |
| CC O'Brien (#4299) | |
| 05/20/20 10:15 am | |
| I'm noticing training refusals in my barn as well. |
| (#7551) | |
| 09/02/20 3:18 pm | |
| Type your reply here |
| Kenzie Kat (#320) | |
| 10/14/2020 03:05 PM | |
| THis is great! |
| Ainsley Lawson (#8530) | |
| 8/28/2021 08:41 PM | |
| I love that these new posts have been a thing for a long time and how involved the community gets in on saying hi and hello |
HORSE WON
FFH Time
Monday, 09:47am
December
Year 56
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Initiate’s Quest
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Wednesday @ 12:00pm
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FFH Time
Monday, 09:47am
December
Year 56
Open Series
World Championship Festival
International Stock Horse Championship
Zodiac Zenith
Initiate’s Quest
Series Entries Close
Meet Rollover Begins
Thursday @ 1:00am
Making Magic