View unanswered posts | View active topics It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 2:33 pm



Reply to topic  [ 60 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4  Next
 My current save - manual training. 
Author Message
Handicapper

Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:03 am
Posts: 110
Post Re: My current save - manual training.
Apologies for spamming the thread, but I'm curious if anyone else develops an affection for a horse other than their own? I view most of the major stakes races whether I have a horse running or not, particularly the Kentucky Derby preps, and while doing so I fell for a front running monster who ran off winning streaks of nine and seven respectively, captured two jewels of the Triple Crown (the length of the Belmont was his undoing), and earned Horse of the Year honors. I never miss a race and usually bet the house on him to my great fortune. Can't wait until he's sent to stud!


Thu Sep 24, 2020 9:18 pm
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2016 3:57 pm
Posts: 481
Post Re: My current save - manual training.
Yep!

I'm a fan of race mares, long before the Winx/Zenyatta/Black Caviar days. Found one off a blue hen line I was watching in one save. Same thing, watched all her races and bet on her.


Fri Sep 25, 2020 11:26 pm
Profile
Group 3 winner
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 5:41 pm
Posts: 679
Location: Newburgh, Scotland
Post Re: My current save - manual training.
Did mention that I play slowly, have just had Cheltenham in the next season from the one reported at the beginning of the thread.

Again, had high hopes, some overly inflated as you do, and had 21 runners. Unfortunately my Gold Cup horse was injured a few weeks before the festival and couldn't run.

Slight improvement on the previous season, results:-

The Merry Giant WON[b][/b] Supreme Novices Hurdle
Kildare Sun 3rd Supreme Novices Hurdle
Derryclare 7th Champion Hurdle
Democretes 9th Champion Hurdle
Sajjhaa 12th Champion Hurdle
Strawberry Sands 4th David Nicholson Mares Hurdle
Ballet Shoes 6th David Nicholson Mares Hurdle
Isle of Inishmore 2nd Baring Bingham Novice Hurdle
Sachet 19th Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle
Cherry In A Hurry Fell National Hunt Chase
Gifted Leader WON[b][/b] Golden Millar Novice Chase
Fahris 15th Pertemps Handicap Hurdle Final
Kidibleue 12th Byrne Grade Plate Handicap Chase
Haath Sovereign 2nd Byrne Grade Plate Handicap Chase
Perez 12th Kim Muir handicap Chase
Gentlemans Deal Fell Kim Muir Handicap Chase
Al Amaan 5th County Handicap Hurdle
Italian Tom 9th County Handicap Hurdle
Queens Wild 3rd Spa Novice Hurdle
Creek Dancer 10th Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle
Encore View 6th Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle

And so the saga continues.................


Fri Jan 08, 2021 10:17 am
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2020 1:42 pm
Posts: 111
Location: Lincolnshire, England
Post Re: My current save - manual training.
Good to see you keeping this thread going neves_rats and persevering with the same game save. And on a new machine if I am not mistaken?

I have now progressed to November 2043. I have over 1200 career NH winners in total, and have won some good races. Not so many on the flat, but again, I am breeding horses that can do well towards the higher levels. The really top races still elude me however in both codes - which I am cool with as it gives me targets to keep this 15 month save going. Presently putting many hours into SO7 - partly because of lockdown.

My breeding levels are at an all time high - 189 yearlings will move into the race yard shortly, with 215 new arrivals lined up for April 2044. I am trying lots of things in the hope of striking new successful bloodlines - using lots of stallions (mainly retired homebreds, but also a few purchased) and my high numbers also allow me to send some mares away to put with game stallions. I have seen a sharp improvement in hidden horse stats over the past few seasons, which has translated into very small improvements in race yard performance. I am tending to read more into hidden stats at the moment than the other stats.

Despite breeding more, I have tried to keep race yard levels to a workable number (I target around 140 NH and 70 flat in total, so many of the horses I breed are taken out of the game) - theory being overall standards should therefore increase each year. I continue to keep a few horses that hopelessly fail, especially on the NH where you simply have to give horses time to develop, but I guess that after 2300 playing hours I have gained some kind of knack in realising which ones will never ever make it. I have wasted plenty of time pursuing bloodlines that I hoped would turn out really good but then didn't. Best racers often do not turn out the best offspring - hence lots of experimenting in that breeding barn to identify the one or two (or maybe three) in a hundred that can consistently produce decent winners.

I continue to play one season in three weeks so by Easter in real time, I should be in a better position to measure these breeding changes. I am relaxed about my winning levels and my only ambition is to have a few more horses that can compete in the best races. The important thing is that I can see gradual improvement with each season and it is this that has kept me going.


Fri Jan 08, 2021 11:11 am
Profile
Group 3 winner
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 5:41 pm
Posts: 679
Location: Newburgh, Scotland
Post Re: My current save - manual training.
Hi Harry

yep, same save, the only one I've had so far. I am in March 2024 so shows how slowly I play. I maybe do 4 or 5 games days a day and then get bored or fed up of the shortcomings of the schedule and move on to MSFS 2020 or Golf Club 2K21

I currently have 136 horses spread between NH and flat. Also 33 mares at stud. I don't go crazy on the breeding side as that would be unrealistic and I prefer to find the odd diamond amongst a box of shiny stones rather than breed and breed to get monsters

I have had in total 130 career wins over jumps from 649 runners with group wins of 0/2/2 so not easy to win big over the sticks, but enjoyable all the same.

On the flat 253 winners lifetime from 1035 runs and a group record of 7/12/13 so a better group win performance.

I think this is realisticish, there are still the same niggles about the schedule which I have given up on Mark resolving, but 7 times bitten next time very shy, and the other problems that were said to be on a list but never got done, even smallish things like the commentary which was promised to be dealt with, but hasn't been. A lot of potential wasted, but it is what it is, and it's still enjoyable.

You're right about my new machine, purchased to enable Microsoft Flight Sim 2020 at full everything. It is an Acer Predator desktop with Intel I7 2.9Ghz 8 core processor, 16GB Ram, two SSD drives and a nVidia RTX2070 Super with 8GB Ram. Stunning machine and all my games have vastly improved, though bank balance took a serious hit :shock:


Fri Jan 08, 2021 3:23 pm
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2020 1:42 pm
Posts: 111
Location: Lincolnshire, England
Post Re: My current save - manual training.
That sounds some machine, money well spent though if gaming is a hobby. I paid £900 for a new laptop last April and was very pleased. Given the games I play do not have particularly demanding graphics, it has been more than enough for me, and I am on it even more than usual during lockdown.

Like you I am disappointed with the development/mending of SO7. But it is a difficult world at present so I don't know what the circumstances behind that might be. Last thing I read was that the developer was working on improvements to SO7 on other platforms, but I really don't know.

I also find the game enjoyable and have managed to forget or at least get around my grievances. The lack of opportunities in the race schedule mainly affect 4 to 6 year olds in NH, and in particular their development. Not sure how much I lose out by this - it simply means they each get fewer outings. But I suspect some horses are coded to develop and others are not, so I am not sure it is really an issue. I have become used to having all features being turned off to avoid crashes, but as I've said before I can take or leave the features anyway as they are nowhere near as good as they are cracked up to be. My other annoyance is how the AI turns a really poor horse that you sell it, into a moneymaker on the racecourse. I now make sure I don't follow the fortunes of any horse I sell as I know it will wind me up !!! When I am looking at breeding and see a mare that has only produced two good offspring out of eight, and they were the two with awful stats that I sold, I do question the whole point of SO7 and wonder if the thing is in fact entirely random. I guess in truth AI horses are limited in number and race ten times a month (I exaggerate) so it shouldn't be a surprise that they rack up good prize money.

Though I am throwing a lot more at breeding, I am not sure finding a monster ever really happens. I think at the moment I am experimenting as much as anything in an attempt to satisfy myself that I understand a little of how it works. I will peg it back again after a while I expect. I think long term I would like to get through seasons a bit quicker and can only do that with fewer numbers, but we will see. But hey, the game is what it is, and still good fun and value.


Fri Jan 08, 2021 5:24 pm
Profile
Group 3 winner
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 5:41 pm
Posts: 679
Location: Newburgh, Scotland
Post Re: My current save - manual training.
It is excellent value when you take price divided by the number of hours spent playing.

I am with you on the annoyance of AI trainers turning your discarded donkey into a sudden winning machine. It also works the other way, you'll find a horse in the sales with really good group/listed class form, spend a small fortune on them (not much of a concern when I've got £190mil in the bank) and they suddenly start performing worse than a donkey on Blackpool beach. I realise there has to be some variance, but, a group winner struggling to win a claimer is not one of them.

Also, now we've got me going, the handicapping is all over the place. A horse can be unplaced and then win a listed or group race and get an unrealistically low handicap rating. I realise that the PC knows what hidden stats and abilities each runner actually has, and it probably handicaps the horse accordingly, but, it's a bit deflating to win a decent race with a 2 or 3 year old and it gets the rating of a mediocre handicapper. If the horse is really that bad then I would prefer that it didn't win the pattern race in the first place. It's best not to think too much about the shortcomings as you get on a roll and remember all the reasons why you leave a game each day and find something else to pass the time.

Sorry for the rant


Sat Jan 09, 2021 3:52 pm
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2020 1:42 pm
Posts: 111
Location: Lincolnshire, England
Post Re: My current save - manual training.
I had another example just half an hour ago of what we are talking about here. I won't relate the details for fear people start thinking I have a real problem with it. I don't. I would rather the game was more realistic in certain aspects, but I have adapted my own way of playing and that keeps me going. I know I am improving my yard year on year, and I now try to ignore most other events in the game. I will keep this one and only save going for as long as I can - in fact I have decided today I am going to get a billion in the bank ! I can't control AI horses being treated differently to mine, but I can control my bank balance. I no longer expect SO7 will be improved/mended and I am not sure I am even bothered any more. But I enjoy every minute I spend playing it, my way. As Eric Morecambe might have related...........I am playing the right notes, though not necessarily in the right order.


Sat Jan 09, 2021 7:38 pm
Profile
Group 3 winner
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 5:41 pm
Posts: 679
Location: Newburgh, Scotland
Post Re: My current save - manual training.
Have to agree with you Harry, think we've quite possibly seen SO7 as far as it could go, for free that is, DLC was mentioned in a post by Mark a while back. Also agree that I've given up caring, if not entirely given up on moaning. Shame really because it clouds future judgements.


Mon Jan 11, 2021 11:11 pm
Profile
Group 3 winner
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 5:41 pm
Posts: 679
Location: Newburgh, Scotland
Post Re: My current save - manual training.
Have just done end of season, on a combined schedule this happens at 10th April, and am busy pruning the stable, checking the quality of the 2 and 3 year olds I bought at the start of new season sale, mixed bunch, get rid of the poor ones, and, entering horses for the start of the turf flat season. Have saved the game and quit again after not being able to find a single suitable race over 5 furlongs for a 85 rated 3 year old filly. There are 2 races in South Africa, obviously as much use as a chocolate fireguard, and a Group 3 race and that is it for my entire stable of runners who need 5 furlongs. No handicaps or condition races or novice races, nothing. This is the schedule that comes stock with the game, it's been muted before, how many new players have found the schedule is so unfit for purpose and have left to play something else and never come back? I stay because I'm kind of addicted to the game, but it's so infuriating with its total lack of a fit for purpose schedule once you have a decent sized stable.

Rant over, I'm off to fly a plane.


Sat Jan 16, 2021 12:24 pm
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2020 1:42 pm
Posts: 111
Location: Lincolnshire, England
Post Re: My current save - manual training.
My thoughts on this game, and the best way to play it, continually change. But the thing that never alters is my opinion of the default schedule. In its current form, there are many things you cannot do easily if you want to slowly develop individual horses and your overall racing yard. And it takes away one of the primary playing skills in SO7 - choosing which race to enter your horse into. Ninety per cent of the time I am just happy to find a race, let alone have a choice of two or three. The issue dogs me continually.

In my own game I have moved on another 5/6 months in the last week - fast for me but I have plenty of time on my hands right now. For a while I have been playing a strategy of breed more and more - not to keep more necessarily but with the idea that this will surely produce more good horses. But three Aprils later, no, still nothing special, and an additional hundred or more foals saw only a handful of horses of the same standard as before, despite their stats being better. The clumsy nature of the various screens on SO7 has made sorting and choosing horses a nightmare. So it is a return to the drawing board I guess. And I did keep a few more horses than I should have done, so the schedule will be even less adequate for me going forward. I was right to give this a go, and I post this outcome on the remote chance that anyone else was maybe thinking the numbers game would produce better results (though maybe its only me and neves_rats who still play the vanilla version so it could be irrelevant).

A week ago I said tongue in cheek that I was going for a billion in the bank, and raised about 50 million since last Saturday through selling old horses and unraced 2yo. Already I have witnessed real duds spank my half decent horses on the track. This 'feature' of SO7 winds me up almost as much as the lack of race opportunities, so I won't be mass selling again in a hurry. A few days ago I clocked one of the said duds winning a race and a closer look showed he had run 98 times by 10yo on the NH (so eight seasons really) and won over £200k !

So I don't really know where I go with this. At the races I have had another excellent season in both codes - winning a few good 'uns, and plenty of near misses. And I still enjoy the game despite the faults. But handling the extra numbers has been a slog, and the volume of disappointments naturally increases. Rather than being a busy fool I intend to cut things right back to where I was half a dozen seasons ago - to a level where I can try to develop horses more. If I believe that is something you can actually do, and that it is not just a random game that simply deals out a set percentage of good horses to the player irrespective of playing methods. When you see dud horses winning good races, and when you see AI stud stallions regularly producing big money winners but never to you - it does make you wonder. I am quite happy for the game to be less than scientific but it does need to be more even handed.

Anyway, onwards and upwards. Things will not change with the schedule, of that I am certain neves_rats. On the flat I will return to 20/25 2yo's each season, half a dozen of which will do well and two or three of those might actually improve as three and four year olds. The rest may as well be taken out of the game as there are very few winnable races available to 3yo and 4yo in handicaps, and the whole exercise becomes disappointing. In NH I am going to retain fewer bred horses, and give those I keep more time to develop (like I used to). I know one thing, if trying to get a dynasty of bred flat racers is dead difficult, breeding families of good chasers and hurdlers is nigh on impossible.

Let us know how your next season unfolds neves_rats.


Sat Jan 16, 2021 10:12 pm
Profile
Group 3 winner
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 5:41 pm
Posts: 679
Location: Newburgh, Scotland
Post Re: My current save - manual training.
I have managed to trim my stable down to 115 horses from 154, kind of just clipped away the horses that might win a mediocre handicap every once in a blue moon, and I know they'll suddenly start appearing in the winners circle now, but that's just how it goes.

I have a decent crop of horses, very disappointed in this year's 2 year olds, but you can't strike gold every year, which I like.

I have a decent prospect in the 2 guineas races in the UK and a nice crop of potentials for the Derby and the Oaks. Will keep the thread posted on how that progresses.


Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:55 am
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:03 am
Posts: 110
Post Re: My current save - manual training.
Just finished the third season of my first save, and by all measures I consider it to have been a very successful year. Maybe too successful at this early juncture, but more on that later. In just its third season of racing, Black Doodle Farm produced 58 group victories and 168 winners in total, claiming nearly 23 million dollars in prize money to earn the number two ranking in North American racing. The stable showcased the highest rated 3 year old colt of the year, 11th rated 3 year old filly, 6th best 2 year old colt, 9th best 2 year old filly, and two 4 year old mares that finished in the top ten for their respective category. The farm’s major victories included the Arlington Million, Cigar Mile, Metropolitan Handicap, Shadwell Turf Mile, Wood Memorial, Jim Dandy Stakes, Carter Handicap, and Forego Stakes. The stable also saddled its first Triple Crown entry, finishing 4th in the Run for the Roses, and made its first foray into the Breeders Cup series, placing 2nd in the Juvenile Turf.

The report card for my first crop of race eligible homebreds was less than spectacular, but far from disappointing given the quality of my broodmare stock and my somewhat haphazard pairings, owing to inexperience. Of the original 20 foals, 13 were sold off before hitting the track or shortly following disappointing maidens. Of the remaining seven, one acquitted herself quite well and four others show promise heading into their sophomore campaigns. As my second crop of homebreds gear up for the start of their racing careers, I have moderate to high hopes for at least 7 and will likely purge 10 to 14 others by sending them to auction. Despite upgrading my broodmare stock and adding two Group I winning sires from my own racing team, I suspect my third group of homebred yearlings will feature approximately the same proportion of successful runners as the previous two generations.

Returning to my previous comment on early success, I have some concerns regarding the long-term challenge this game poses. To hold my interest, sims must be realistic insofar as artificial intelligence permits, and provide more than a cursory challenge. I have no desire to dominate and quickly lose interest when this occurs. Just three seasons in, I’m worried the rate at which my stable is improving will put it in a position of dominance within the next two to three seasons. I’m considering putting some house rules in place to act as handicaps, something I’ve previously done with the tactical war and baseball sims I also play. Another option is to create a new save with multiple trainer/owner stables to promote greater competition….even if it’s just between me, myself, and I.


Sat Jan 30, 2021 8:01 pm
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2020 1:42 pm
Posts: 111
Location: Lincolnshire, England
Post Re: My current save - manual training.
Should you get bored, a long term challenge would be a UK combined game with no money cheat, no importing from parallel games, and keeping your original horses and racing them. It will take five seasons minimum to get the breeding barn. Almost as long again to buy good graded mares, and almost as long again to see the results of your breeding, especially on the NH. Prize winnings are lower (again especially on the NH), and you certainly will not dominate SO7 any time soon. In fact, many aspects of this type of save are exactly as it is for many real life trainers here - twenty or thirty years trekking the length and breadth of our relatively small nation (with just the occasional excursion abroad), losing four races out of every five, and being extremely pleased at picking up graded wins wherever they can be found.


Sat Jan 30, 2021 9:54 pm
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:03 am
Posts: 110
Post Re: My current save - manual training.
Long Haul Harry wrote:
Should you get bored, a long term challenge would be a UK combined game with no money cheat, no importing from parallel games, and keeping your original horses and racing them. It will take five seasons minimum to get the breeding barn. Almost as long again to buy good graded mares, and almost as long again to see the results of your breeding, especially on the NH. Prize winnings are lower (again especially on the NH), and you certainly will not dominate SO7 any time soon. In fact, many aspects of this type of save are exactly as it is for many real life trainers here - twenty or thirty years trekking the length and breadth of our relatively small nation (with just the occasional excursion abroad), losing four races out of every five, and being extremely pleased at picking up graded wins wherever they can be found.


I appreciate the tip and I can see where that would be quite challenging, but at least for the present, my interest is restricted to US flat racing. No offense intended.


Sun Jan 31, 2021 1:18 am
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Reply to topic   [ 60 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4  Next

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group.
Designed by STSoftware for PTF.