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 Improvements to schedule and AI 
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Post Re: Improvements to schedule and AI
Theres definitely a problem with the preps. The AI only seems to take notice of prep races that are within the declaration period for the target race. As a consequence races from the previous season don't seem to work as preps for races like the 1000 and 2000 guineas, and the Derby doesn't work as a prep for the Arc, seemingly because it is too long previous to the Arc, whereas races like the St Leger and Irish Champion Stakes do work as preps because they are only a few weeks before.


Sun Sep 08, 2019 4:52 pm
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Post Re: Improvements to schedule and AI
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I've noticed that many of the extras you can add to a race in the showcase files don't actually work. This was also the case in SO6.


Some improvements have been made here. Lookout for a patch tommorow.


Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:12 pm
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Post Re: Improvements to schedule and AI
Great! Thanks Mark!


Mon Sep 09, 2019 10:01 pm
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Post Re: Improvements to schedule and AI
Mark, before I invest a lot of my time trying to make a schedule, having never done this before, that contains a significant increase in opportunities, especially for lower rated horses, could you please advise what progress is being made by yourself on the schedule front, and what, if any, improvements we can expect to the stock schedule.


Tue Sep 10, 2019 3:14 pm
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Post Re: Improvements to schedule and AI
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Mark, before I invest a lot of my time trying to make a schedule, having never done this before, that contains a significant increase in opportunities, especially for lower rated horses, could you please advise what progress is being made by yourself on the schedule front, and what, if any, improvements we can expect to the stock schedule.


There was an update a few months ago. A handfull of new races were added and all prize money updated. The default schedule now works fine for most. For those who want specific download mods or use the editor.

To suggest a missing race that you feel should be included post it in the BETA forum.


Wed Sep 11, 2019 10:40 am
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Post Re: Improvements to schedule and AI
Mark wrote:
Quote:
Mark, before I invest a lot of my time trying to make a schedule, having never done this before, that contains a significant increase in opportunities, especially for lower rated horses, could you please advise what progress is being made by yourself on the schedule front, and what, if any, improvements we can expect to the stock schedule.


There was an update a few months ago. A handfull of new races were added and all prize money updated. The default schedule now works fine for most. For those who want specific download mods or use the editor.

To suggest a missing race that you feel should be included post it in the BETA forum.


Thanks for the reply, but I think the point has been missed. The current schedule is wholly inadequate for this version of the game. It contains too few opportunities for the number of horses that are in the game, especially at the lower end of the spectrum. As stables can now be up to 512 horses, where are these horses going to run? I am currently having do decide, with a stable of about 180, which runner out of 3 or 4 can run in a 0-80 or 0-60 handicap, there being quite often only one available in a month, if that some months. You've added a handful of new races and updated prize money, this is a drop in the ocean of what is required to make the schedule anywhere near applicable to SO7, it might have been suffice for SO3 or 4, but we are well down the road from this place in time, but the schedule has not followed suit. Could you not tinker with the coding, the schedule code that is randomly applied at the beginning of a new game, so that it generates a much increased volume of races at the beginning of a game at all levels of ability?


Wed Sep 11, 2019 11:12 am
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Post Re: Improvements to schedule and AI
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The current schedule is wholly inadequate for this version of the game. It contains too few opportunities for the number of horses that are in the game, especially at the lower end of the spectrum.


You are getting the schedule mixed up with the game generated non feature races. These are seperate.

The scedule is for feature races only and as mentioned is done. The other points are related to the race generation and these points need to be made seperately.

The lack of lower handicaps can be looked at. It could be that the spread of lower rated horses is too small so these races are not getting created.


Wed Sep 11, 2019 12:22 pm
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Post Re: Improvements to schedule and AI
I do agree there arent many opportunities for lower rated horses. I think more meetings could help, this way there would be more races so more chance for lower rated races without removing other races.

I'm making a schedule that is going well, the updates Mark's made from the suggestions in this thread are really great and are helping a lot! I've made some more lower class races throughout the year, I can send you some screenshots neves_rats to see if its what you're after, as its very much catered to how I play the game, with races having conditions that encourage realistic fields, such as the Futurity trophy only being open to horses with a maximum of 4 runs, although this isnt a real condition the race has, generally the field in real life for this race has horses with no more than 4 runs, so this helps create a realistic field and stop horses running too often too.


Wed Sep 11, 2019 12:49 pm
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Post Re: Improvements to schedule and AI
qwsa wrote:
I do agree there arent many opportunities for lower rated horses. I think more meetings could help, this way there would be more races so more chance for lower rated races without removing other races.

I'm making a schedule that is going well, the updates Mark's made from the suggestions in this thread are really great and are helping a lot! I've made some more lower class races throughout the year, I can send you some screenshots neves_rats to see if its what you're after, as its very much catered to how I play the game, with races having conditions that encourage realistic fields, such as the Futurity trophy only being open to horses with a maximum of 4 runs, although this isnt a real condition the race has, generally the field in real life for this race has horses with no more than 4 runs, so this helps create a realistic field and stop horses running too often too.


I am more than happy to take a look qwsa and really appreciate the offer. My email is my name on here at Hotmail dot com, include the underscore.

Mark, I may have confused the two things that make up the entire race schedule, and it is indeed a significant increase in non feature races that are needed. I think qwsa makes a valid suggestion of increasing the number of meetings rather than changing the make up of the current ones so as to create more opportunities across the board.


Wed Sep 11, 2019 1:23 pm
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Post Re: Improvements to schedule and AI
Give me a week neves_rats and I'll send you some, I'm still working on it, its only got the UK, Ireland and France at the moment, but its by far the most realistic I've ever had it. So I might post some screenshots here too.


Sat Sep 14, 2019 2:35 pm
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Post Re: Improvements to schedule and AI
Ive noticed a couple of other things; there are a lot of 2 year old handicaps and condition races in November and December, and this leads to horses running a lot throughout these months, including group winners running in these races, which of course a group 2 winner for instance would never run in a handicap at the end of the season like this. This also leads to early season 3 year old races on the all weather, which are often 0-100's and many 3 year olds who were group winners at 2 seem to run in these races. Perhaps this is to do with 2 year olds getting too lower ratings which makes them still eligible for handicaps. But if there could be something that stops horses with this level of form, i.e black type winners and placed from running in handicaps and condition races at the end of the season and start of the next season.

I also think it would be great if the horse pool could be skewed towards male horses, to reflect real life, as there are more male horses in training in real life, and this is reflected in the race schedule, with more races for male horses or open races, which tend to be filled mostly with male horses in real life. Perhaps a 70-30 split would be realistic in the game?

Thanks


Sat Sep 14, 2019 10:17 pm
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Post Re: Improvements to schedule and AI
The race preps have definitely improved after the latest patches but there is still some problems. The AI is still favouring races within the declaration range over races earlier in the season. Making it difficult to get horses such as Derby winners into the Arc for example. As well as this, even with the <EXTFIELDSPEC>international tag added to the race, races still tend to be favouring home horses.

Something else I've noticed that may be related is that horses that win group one races such as the classics, often don't run keep running throoughout the year, they don't seem to have a full campaign. The amount of horses I've seen run in the guineas and then the St James Palace, and win or place in these races and then never run again, despite these races being preps for later season races, is a lot of horses! Likewise, the Derby.

I'm not sure how this can be fixed, but the preps I think need some more tweaking, perhaps adding as much weight to prep races from other countries as much as the home country of the race being prepped.

Thanks


Sun Sep 15, 2019 9:03 pm
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Post Re: Improvements to schedule and AI
The horses running in feature races on consecutive days has been an unrealistic annoying bug in every version of the game. Can you not implement a command that forbids horses from doing this? Like a mandatory at least 7 days since last race rule.

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Mon Sep 16, 2019 12:12 am
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Post Re: Improvements to schedule and AI
Yes, it's very annoying when horses run in races like the queen Anne and then the prince of Wales the next day.

I think the idea of a condition that can be added to races to stipulate a minimum number of days since last running would be best, this way for some it could be less than 7 days, like the diamond jubilee and the kings stand for example. And also for some races to have more than 7 days, in the US game it's always quite annoying when horses win the Louisiana derby for example and then run in the Arkansas derby, something no horse would ever do in real life.
So I think something like that would be best if its possible, although I would take the 7 days over nothing done about this.

Mark, is adding extra conditions and tags that can be added to a race something that is relatively simple to do? Because I think with a few more options it could solve a lot of the issues being raised regarding AI race entries. It may not be a perfect way, but I really think it's the best way.


Another condition that I think would be great would be something like 'notwon=(name of race)' to stop horses that have won a certain race from running in another race, for example on the st james palace stakes you could add to not have won the derby, that way the 2000 guineas could be a prep for the st james palace stakes, but if a horse has placed in the guineas and then won the derby, they wouldnt drop back to a mile for the st james palace, which they wouldn't do in real life. There are lots of times when these conditions would be very useful.

I realise these may only be useful for me and some others who play the game in a similar way, and not for all players, which is why I ask if its something that can be done quite easily to add such options.

Thank you


Mon Sep 16, 2019 11:12 am
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Post Re: Improvements to schedule and AI
I have been thinking about adding some basic options so the user can influence the creation on certain non feature races. I will look at this but am not sure how well it would work out.

There are some issues. Firstly some of the problems you mention are probably down to small pool sizes. That is trainers are polled for entries for a certain race. If there are not enough entries the trainers are polled again but they then slacken some of their entry criteria. This can happen a final time if there are no/few entries.

The result of this process is you may occasionally get horses that have only run a few days ago or may not be completely suited to the race.

It also starts to become a problem with a schedule that is heavy on feature races and sometime the game has problems filling the races.

Also in the event of the pool sizes being still being too small (even after the process above) then the game can change the race category to something else. This could be why there are very few lower handicap races. I know this has always been a problem (with lower grade handicap) but need to look at it again.


Mon Sep 16, 2019 2:02 pm
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