View unanswered posts | View active topics It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 7:28 pm



Reply to topic  [ 25 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
 Game difficulty 
Author Message
Selling plater

Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2015 8:43 am
Posts: 30
Post Game difficulty
I have been playing SO7 since it came out just over 3years ago.My hoses have bred many foals,with high stats,stamina,speed etc.Yet I still have a very low win or even place statistic I am lucky if I have a win in every 10 horses I race.The stallions and mates are mostly group winners.I have still not won an English ckassic.Can someone please advise?I keep going back to SO6 as the game is much easier.I just feel frustrated that SO7 seems nearly impossible to win a race.


Tue Feb 22, 2022 9:33 pm
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2022 5:13 pm
Posts: 124
Post Re: Game difficulty
dignitaries wrote:
I have been playing SO7 since it came out just over 3years ago.My hoses have bred many foals,with high stats,stamina,speed etc.Yet I still have a very low win or even place statistic I am lucky if I have a win in every 10 horses I race.The stallions and mates are mostly group winners.I have still not won an English ckassic.Can someone please advise?I keep going back to SO6 as the game is much easier.I just feel frustrated that SO7 seems nearly impossible to win a race.


hard to say. I am playing US schedule. Have not won any of the Triple crown races yet, but my breeding program is coming along nicely and it will be sooner rather than later that it happens, imo.

My win % the last 3 seasons: 22%, 23% 29%.

Do you have a good jockey?
Here is mine. I value Skill and honesty, and being light the most. I will sacrifice on obedience, because I don't really understand setting the jockey tactics anyway.

Image

Notice he is only 8 stones. High skill and honesty (which should be called feedback).

Also try to enter horses into races they are rated for, and not where it is a hail Mary.

Good luck.


Tue Feb 22, 2022 10:10 pm
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:03 am
Posts: 110
Post Re: Game difficulty
dignitaries wrote:
I have been playing SO7 since it came out just over 3years ago.My hoses have bred many foals,with high stats,stamina,speed etc.Yet I still have a very low win or even place statistic I am lucky if I have a win in every 10 horses I race.The stallions and mates are mostly group winners.I have still not won an English ckassic.Can someone please advise?I keep going back to SO6 as the game is much easier.I just feel frustrated that SO7 seems nearly impossible to win a race.


Do you play with the stock schedule? I only ask because my experience has been the opposite of yours and others who've previously posted. I've only played with the START IT mod, which I believe provides an expanded number of races, allowing me to cherry pick spots that might provide better chances for success. My concern is the game may actually become too easy and my interest will flag so I've put a few house rules in place to delay this from happening, though I fear it may be inevitable.


Wed Feb 23, 2022 4:36 am
Profile
Selling plater
User avatar

Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 12:45 pm
Posts: 79
Location: Leicester
Post Re: Game difficulty
I have the same problem as you. I have Horses with reasonable stats but they are Donkeys in races. I posted previously about this problem. Where I entered my horse in several sellers & purchased the winner and comparing the stats, The winners stats were ALWAYS alot lower than my horse which mostly finished down the field. It doesn't matter that there are some that seem to do better I have tried multiple ways to over come this but to no avail. In my opinion the program has gone big time backwards since SO6.


Wed Feb 23, 2022 1:17 pm
Profile
Group 1 winner

Joined: Wed May 14, 2008 2:50 pm
Posts: 2446
Post Re: Game difficulty
Why compare this to previous versions of SO when after about 8 seasons you won every single group 1 and the ai was no competition at all. I suppose if you want to play without competition you can stick to old versions. You not going tpo win every group 1 every season in SO7 but it makes it more enjoyable when good ones come along


To get group 1 winners or classic winners the easiest way is to buy group winning mares ( or group placed ( these will be cheaper) ) and breed them to the group winners in the ai barn. If you lacking money buy old mares ( 18 or 19 etc ). They much cheaper and still produce good horses. Go to every auction especially the breeding mares auctions. Get the breeding barn up and running as quickly as possible and stock it with mares unless you get lucky and buy a good stallion

When breeding go on times and look at the foreign stallions as sometimes these will produce better results. If you want a Derby winner breed your mares with Derby winners as they more likely to produce Derby winners etc


Wed Feb 23, 2022 2:51 pm
Profile
Selling plater

Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2015 8:43 am
Posts: 30
Post Re: Game difficulty
I am comparing previous versions of SO to make a point.Even in SO6 it is not possible to win every race the player enters an horse in.Part of the fun of the game is after winning group races,to create a breeding empire,then see the offspring go on to become classic winners.Perhaps there could have been an option for the player to play the SO7 game in the current difficult version,if they want more of a challenge,or an option to play the game on SO6 easier mode.
Another bugbear is when a 2 year old finishes first of second in a maiden race,they rarely carry that form into the next 2 year old race,they more often than not finish way down the field.


Wed Feb 23, 2022 6:46 pm
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2022 5:13 pm
Posts: 124
Post Re: Game difficulty
Well lets examine the claim about winning the maiden race and then not carrying that forward and finishing down the standings on their first 2 YO race.
Well, if you win on your 4th or 5th run as a maiden, you probably will finish down the list with the 2 yo's who won much earlier. Your horse is probably not as good as them, which is why it took so long to win your maiden etc.

I have had horses that won their first maiden run, handily, and then go on and win their first 2 yo race. Because they were good horses.
The ones that take quite a few maidens to win, I often then run them in handicap races to try to get them up to par before I put them in a 2 YO field where their rating is like 20-30 below everyone else.
And honestly, I am at the point now with my breeding program where unless it is a filly who I can use to breed later, my patience runs thin with them. I don't try to make chicken salad out of chicken sh** these days, and I save myself a lot of time, effort and mostly disappointment.
Those horses are what auctions are for. $.02
Yes, there are late bloomer, but in my experience I kind of know if a horse is good at this point, just in their first 2 races, 90% of the time.
I think that tracks with real life racing as well. Winners show themselves early.

I don't think the generalities you are making are true, and you seem to want to see things negatively instead of solving an issue.


Wed Feb 23, 2022 8:20 pm
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2016 3:57 pm
Posts: 481
Post Re: Game difficulty
I'm the odd American running a mostly stock combined (flat & fences) UK schedule. "Mostly" just adds a few more races in and ups the pool for more runner options with combined.

I do ok. I have won UK & Irish classic races w/in my first five game years. No triple crown yet.

There is a difference in what I'll keep US vs UK schedule. Late bloomers and esp. late blooming mid to long distance horses are just not good for US schedule. But for the UK combined schedule they may have plenty of things to win once they mature. Also the speed stat vs cruising burs: Not enough speed stat won't do well in the US schedule, period. But horses with good or better cruising burst and average speed can find races to win in the UK combined schedule.

Image

She is the current favorite in the Yorkshire Cup, and I think has a good chance to be a multi G2 mare before she retires. Her maturity bar though is ~95%! Very late bloomer, average speed. That going preference is not a plus in the UK though. She'd have been an immediate sell in US schedule.


Thu Feb 24, 2022 12:36 am
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2022 5:13 pm
Posts: 124
Post Re: Game difficulty
@Hechicera
That is a valid point. I don't play the UK races. I wish I did at this point, but I play the US version. So I don't know much about the UK horses and the differences you might look for etc.

I know when I first started out I nursed losers that looked good, and not a single one of them panned out. Now I auction them off once I see they can't perform. I make sure I try several of the proven jockey tactics first to make sure it isn't just they are not being raced correctly.
And I do take unrealized potential into account, but it has to be a significant amount, and they have to have a decent maturity rate to get the late bloomer exception.

Shoot I remember I had a horse that looked great and was still racing maidens halfway through the season as a 3YO. I think he finally got lucky when only 3 other nags showed up and he got his win.

Anyway, I wish everyone good luck and enjoyment with this game!


Thu Feb 24, 2022 6:14 am
Profile
Selling plater

Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:25 pm
Posts: 26
Post Re: Game difficulty
I thought the maturity bar being almost full meant the horse matured really fast vs the bar being low/barely full?

Image
Image

I know this boy took years to mature/peak, he's finally in the 100's now.

vs my best current 2yo

Image

Image

The maturity bar does throw me off a bit because I've read on this forum say that its not really a factor in the game. My real question is with maturity factor: Is it age based or is it first race going forward based? The 1st horse I posted I left alone for the first 2-3 racing years because he was running 30's and his maturity bar was low, but in the same breath the 2yo I posted her bar isn't much different and she's cracking a 110? I do enjoy the game difficulty in S07, it is much harder to win consistently and it does make it more special to get a good one that comes along. I'm in season 10 and now closing in on a 120 bred horse, but I went the cheapo option of breeding what I had starting with and collecting slowly better mares (but buying Graded winning/placing mares could get you there quicker as suggested). I also try to operate only on what I earn vs betting a lot on a high odd winning horse and getting tons of money from there.


Mon Mar 07, 2022 6:47 pm
Profile
Group 1 winner
User avatar

Joined: Tue May 01, 2012 6:57 am
Posts: 2867
Post Re: Game difficulty
Interesting. The first horse has no juvenile constitution and the second has 27 JC.

Juvenile Constitution - "The higher this bar the higher the potential for the horse to take more racing as a youngster."

Maybe a good JC bar also indicates a horse who will run well in early 2yo races?

_________________
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClB2FZ7Qvwq0Ons_6jN1lAQ - Watch The Cats! 24-7 Webcam Of Non-Profit Cat Rescue


Mon Mar 07, 2022 7:54 pm
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:03 am
Posts: 110
Post Re: Game difficulty
It stands to reason that an extremely low juvenile constitution bar will be an impediment to a horse's development irrespective of the maturity bar. The best of my current 2 year old crop has a juvenile constitution of only 5. He looks to be a solid Kentucky Derby candidate, but I've only managed to get two races in as September approaches and will be hard pressed to get him to the gates again before the year expires.


Wed Mar 09, 2022 12:32 am
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2016 3:57 pm
Posts: 481
Post Re: Game difficulty
Again with a difference in schedules.

If running a US schedule, yep low JC bars are also near instant sells.

If running a European (any) combined, I just label them as NH horses and make sure they get a couple NH flat races at 3 and are ready to go at four. I can max their potential over fences usually just fine.

But that brings up a different issue.

Maturity bar vs unrealized potential. Maturity just seems to factor what year of the career is likely to be the peak.

Unrealized potential (where the dark green bar is only a small portion of the light green bar) is just a bear. You really need JC or knowing they will be late bloomers since the amount of potential you can realize in any given year is capped. If a horse has low JC and a lot of unrealized potential I often consider insta selling those too. That is one of my biggest category of "nice stats won't run" horses. There also seems to be a penalty for it not being full.

In other words:
A horse with 60% potential and all 60% realize will often out perform a horse with 90% potential and 60% realized. I suspect it is math as the first horse has no penalty to the performance other than the 60%. Whereas the other horse has one third taken off of calculations. And still only runs like it is 60%. Can't prove this, but it sure feels that way.

The only way potential goes up is running the horse as close to preferred condition and it only gets 4 bumps a year. So when the bar is really lacking there may be nothing you can do on flat only schedules to ever get the horse to run. So looking at the state of the potential bar is a bigger consideration than maturity. And a fast maturing, low realized potential, low JC horse in the US schedule is then another insta-sell no matter how nice the stats. Maybe, maybe I'd broodmare it to see if by breeding to something with more JC, later maturity works. But usually those mares pass on the tendency to low realized potential strongly. So I usually regret that.

That and I love race mares. Mine were off Levee line through Nalee not Shuvee. Mares who's daughters raced and won. Lines pretty much all gone now days though.


Wed Mar 23, 2022 11:28 am
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2022 5:13 pm
Posts: 124
Post Re: Game difficulty
marklaker wrote:
It stands to reason that an extremely low juvenile constitution bar will be an impediment to a horse's development irrespective of the maturity bar. The best of my current 2 year old crop has a juvenile constitution of only 5. He looks to be a solid Kentucky Derby candidate, but I've only managed to get two races in as September approaches and will be hard pressed to get him to the gates again before the year expires.


That is a good point.
I used to have horses who sat out almost their entire first season with that dreaded "danger of over racing" lad comment.
I have found if I sit my 2 yo's out until February (us schedule) and then race them with at least a 30-40 day gap in between races (I wait until they are 20 - 30 days out from their last race before going into the schedule to set their next race), I rarely get that now, and if so it doesn't pop up until August or September. SO I can get at least 4 in for all of them, and usually get 6-7 races in.


Wed Mar 23, 2022 8:14 pm
Profile
Handicapper

Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:03 am
Posts: 110
Post Re: Game difficulty
Hechicera wrote:

That and I love race mares. Mine were off Levee line through Nalee not Shuvee. Mares who's daughters raced and won. Lines pretty much all gone now days though.


The great race mares are my favorites, and Shuvee a personal favorite. From the same foal crop that produced Ta Wee and Gallant Bloom....all Hall of Fame inductees.


Thu Mar 24, 2022 3:07 am
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Reply to topic   [ 25 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 18 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.