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 Proposal - lower Mare Barn Cost for balance/realism 
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Handicapper

Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2016 3:57 pm
Posts: 481
Post Proposal - lower Mare Barn Cost for balance/realism
Now that the stallion facility and the breeding barn are separate, I'd like to propose that you lower the cost of the mare barn significantly. Keep the stud barn high priced. Reasons:

* Balance New Players: breeding is both integral to the game and very fun. New players are trapped with no breeding if they don't "know they have to sell the starter horses". You help them learn the game by allowing this early.
* Balance Experienced Players: they're all going to beeline for it no matter what you price it at. ;) Probably many force-quitting the game more often for bets, and risking more bugs.
* Balance: New players will be breeding crappy mares anyway. It isn't a huge advantage. Experienced ones again will find a way and probably have make a ttf hoard to both sell and breed so you aren't really slowing them down.
* Options: Now you can keep the starter horses if one is good, and not have ttf filing it the best option. Interesting choices are good things for games.
* Realism1: Breeding five or less mares is super cheap, it doesn't cost what you price to do it, I know, I have done it.
* Realism2: The big stud barns have your mare most of the critical times often anyway, as TBs are live cover, and 11 months gestation. So mares get rebred on the foal heat right after foaling, or the one after. Also since they all have the birthday on the set date, so you avoid late foals. This is also why that facility should cost more.

Price: I can set up for five mares for what you price as a field, since a field with some shelters, and a fenced isolation corner will do for a start. Two fields if you have a your own stud, and put a sturdy piece of plywood up next to the gate for his turnout for teasing. Under $50K is quite reasonable to start. Under $100K if you want fancier sheds/stalls. I'd make it buyable with the starter money, but then you'll need to get money to claim mares and buy other things anyway, since it should take a big chunk of the starter money.

Things you can raise to offset:

* Your stud fees are TOO LOW. Sure that is close to the listed fee, but if you send your mare to an outside stud you have the vet tests for diseases, the boarding while she is there, and all the other charges. You are going to have to pay them to foal if she is expecting and you are breeding on the foal heat (about 10 days after foaling, and standard practice for racing breeding). So she usually has to foal there with the stud to be ready for live cover. Then you need to keep her there, paying board for her and the foal, until you know she is settled. IMHO, The fees need to be 30-50% higher. And the higher end stud barns charge an arm and a leg for that stuff. Of course its the difference between one junior stable staff person sleeping in the barn nights during foaling season, and full staff, closed circuit TVs, alarms and a vet on site for the big guys. It would be like saying the cost of your vacation is the price of the airline ticket only.
* Raise the stable expansion cost which is main/breeding barn combined and already tied to area cost. Land is the big thing in pricier places, whether buying it or paying to rent space in facilities.
* Split training barn and breeding barn expansion fees. Would need a check that the mare barn can't get bigger than the training barn, but then you could have say be renting 26 training stalls but still only one field with five mares at home.

This list brings up a side point. If you had a way to mark yearlings for consignment then they shouldn't count against your training barn slots, unless they fail to sell.


Tue Jan 15, 2019 5:35 am
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