HWO Game Development

[PeacefulOreo]

What I like about the current game: all of the things that we can do with our horses, it's more realistic, we can interact with many different players

What I would hope to see in a new game: a way to brand our horses (something similar to how horses are branded in the real world), a way to have certain studs can only be used by certain players (or have the mare approval button to use if we want to), a way to actually be able to create a competition (Example of what I'm trying to say: Changing the length of a race course for racing horses), to be able to buy Pony Tokens with game money (if possible), make getting premium a little less expensive on the Pony Tokens, and a way to maybe let others be able to edit a forum post (we choose who we allow to have access to edit a forum post).

What I would NOT want to see in a new game: anything that isn't something found in real life horse caring. I like this game because of it's more realistic

Those are just some of my ideas. I might edit this with new ideas and/or to remove a few of my ideas.

What I would hope to see in a new game (1 more idea): to be able to make our human avatar (the one who is standing beside the horse when you're on a horse's page).

[Silverine]

Personally I prefer a web/browser game over the other formats, though I wouldn't be entirely against a PC game. I would, however, be against a phone app. From my perspective HWO is much too in-depth to do well as a phone game, and stripping it down for the mobile experience would take away too much of what makes it special.

Things I like:
-The genetic basis for colors and their display. It's been so much fun trying to figure out exactly how different genes work on HWO - lp, tobiano, sooty, plume, etc - and then breeding to get exactly the colors we want. I also have a lot of fun teaching others about the genetics behind their horses' colors.
-The independent play system - each player can advance the game at their own pace. You don't have to worry about your horses dying if you go on vacation or take a long hiatus. Everything you'd done is right there waiting for you when you get back.
-FTP - Each player can play the game without any issues without having to spend a dime. This is in part due to our wonderful community who are always willing to help new players, be it by training a horse them or evaluating their horse's conformation. It is also due in part to being able to earn PT through the game itself. I personally prefer to support HWO by contributing for my subscription, but for those that aren't able to do that there is still a perfectly attainable way of upgrading without spending money.
-There are no good or bad horses. Even horses that don't measure up on HGP (what other games might consider their 'stats') still excel at certain things. HGP isn't the be-all end-all, you have to take the horse as a whole.

Things I don't like:
-The lack of a 'roster' of our horses. Honestly this is the only thing that bugs me about this game. I would LOVE to have a page where I can just quickly look through my current horses without having to go through pasture after pasture.

What I would like to see in a new game:
-Said roster page. PLEASE don't make me search through tens of pastures to find one specific horse. It would also be great if said roster page would tell you who is for sale, for stud, etc.
-Genetic testing. I would love to know what genes my ponies are hiding.
-A new training system. The one we have works fine, but gets stale after a while. I'd like to see something a bit more dynamic and engaging.
-Mare approval for studs. This seems to have been in the works already, but would make it so much easier to put a horse up for stud without having to worry that others are going to deplete his energy before the desired players have had a chance to use him.
-Vet and farrier system, including the possibility for horses to be sick or injured. Not vital, but would be a cool mechanic.
-Ability to lease horses. A player leases a horse to another player for a specific amount of game time, based on that particular horse. For example, player one leases a horse to player two for a period of two game years in order for that person to breed that horse (or whatever they want to do with it). The horse is returned to player one after it has aged two years from the time that it arrived at player two. (This is not in any way vital, but it might be a cool feature to have.)

What I DON'T want to see in a new game:
-Unrealistic coat colors, markings, etc. They're great as costumes in the tack shop, but I don't want them breed-able.
-"Exclusive" horses that must be purchased. This goes against one of the things I like - the FTP nature of HWO.
-Bonuses to competition scores that must be purchased. See above. (Things like the unicorn horn that adds to certain stats are fine, as long as they are gifts or free to everyone, not something that needs to be paid for.)
-Basically anything that makes HWO less true-to-life or adds a pay-to-win element to the game.



All of that said, I love what you guys do. You have made a wonderful game that, in my experience, has fostered a friendly, well-meaning community. Thank you for all that you have done and all of the effort that you continue to put into this game.

[Nazarach]

Personally I prefer a web/browser game over the other formats, though I wouldn't be entirely against a PC game. I would, however, be against a phone app. From my perspective HWO is much too in-depth to do well as a phone game, and stripping it down for the mobile experience would take away too much of what makes it special.

Things I like:
-The genetic basis for colors and their display. It's been so much fun trying to figure out exactly how different genes work on HWO - lp, tobiano, sooty, plume, etc - and then breeding to get exactly the colors we want. I also have a lot of fun teaching others about the genetics behind their horses' colors.
-The independent play system - each player can advance the game at their own pace. You don't have to worry about your horses dying if you go on vacation or take a long hiatus. Everything you'd done is right there waiting for you when you get back.
-FTP - Each player can play the game without any issues without having to spend a dime. This is in part due to our wonderful community who are always willing to help new players, be it by training a horse them or evaluating their horse's conformation. It is also due in part to being able to earn PT through the game itself. I personally prefer to support HWO by contributing for my subscription, but for those that aren't able to do that there is still a perfectly attainable way of upgrading without spending money.
-There are no good or bad horses. Even horses that don't measure up on HGP (what other games might consider their 'stats') still excel at certain things. HGP isn't the be-all end-all, you have to take the horse as a whole.

Things I don't like:
-The lack of a 'roster' of our horses. Honestly this is the only thing that bugs me about this game. I would LOVE to have a page where I can just quickly look through my current horses without having to go through pasture after pasture.

What I would like to see in a new game:
-Said roster page. PLEASE don't make me search through tens of pastures to find one specific horse. It would also be great if said roster page would tell you who is for sale, for stud, etc.
-Genetic testing. I would love to know what genes my ponies are hiding.
-A new training system. The one we have works fine, but gets stale after a while. I'd like to see something a bit more dynamic and engaging.
-Mare approval for studs. This seems to have been in the works already, but would make it so much easier to put a horse up for stud without having to worry that others are going to deplete his energy before the desired players have had a chance to use him.
-Vet and farrier system, including the possibility for horses to be sick or injured. Not vital, but would be a cool mechanic.
-Ability to lease horses. A player leases a horse to another player for a specific amount of game time, based on that particular horse. For example, player one leases a horse to player two for a period of two game years in order for that person to breed that horse (or whatever they want to do with it). The horse is returned to player one after it has aged two years from the time that it arrived at player two. (This is not in any way vital, but it might be a cool feature to have.)

What I DON'T want to see in a new game:
-Unrealistic coat colors, markings, etc. They're great as costumes in the tack shop, but I don't want them breed-able.
-"Exclusive" horses that must be purchased. This goes against one of the things I like - the FTP nature of HWO.
-Bonuses to competition scores that must be purchased. See above. (Things like the unicorn horn that adds to certain stats are fine, as long as they are gifts or free to everyone, not something that needs to be paid for.)
-Basically anything that makes HWO less true-to-life or adds a pay-to-win element to the game.



All of that said, I love what you guys do. You have made a wonderful game that, in my experience, has fostered a friendly, well-meaning community. Thank you for all that you have done and all of the effort that you continue to put into this game.

wow, you have perfectly summed up all things I'd have mentioned ^^' and I fully agree with all of them - monitarizing destroys so many good games so please, please don't do such options (as silverine said, for normal gameplay).

Also, the realistic horse coats and looks of the horses all around were what attracted me to this game in the first place, so implementing custom/unrealistic coats would actually distract much of this games unique and lovable make-up - for me personally; costumes, as was already said, would be something I can agree to.

A rooster would be a great addition, filters or a simple search for the farm (if possible) would also be really nice
the option how to arrange the windows in the 'my farm' page would also be something especially the bigger farms could use - for example if you could pin the pasture- or horse information table above the farm / pasture instead of having to scoll down or having to go through the whole length of your farm.


This game always managed to make me come back, so I hope even with new content the game itself will stay true to its design...

[Tom]

Well it looks like enough people are happy with HWO being a website so we'll just keep building the current game for now.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!

[Thundering Horses]

Well it looks like enough people are happy with HWO being a website so we'll just keep building the current game for now.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!

Your welcome tom!

[MerrySmile]

What you like about the current game
So many breeds are available and breeding is easy...as long as it's purebred.
What you don't like about the current game
I don't like how hard it is to find horses that meet criteria for breeds. I'd like it to be more simple.
What you would hope to see in a new game
1. I'd like to see a better way to be able to organize the farm. Move the pastures where the names are, not up in the picture of what your farm looks like. It's very confusing.
2. I'd really like to see a way to filter your horses to search for Mares, stallions, colts, fillies, and pregnant mares. When you have 20 pastures and don't remember which horses are pregnant, it's very hard to find them.
3. I'd like to see more search options in the Market.
What you would NOT want to see in a new game
Just keep it simple.
Any other thoughts you may have

[Rocs Little Dee]

I would love a better messaging platform and an easier and quicker way to train horses ie not having to reload the page heaps and swap between horses to train and show

[Tjigra]

I agree with most things already said - would want to add the farm roster for easier overlook of your horses, more detailed market search, etc, would not want to add unrealistic things.

My two cents - I can't wait for the illnesses and injuries to be implemented to add to the challenge.
I can't wait for actual training to be implemented (what we have now is just exercising to get horses fit), so that we have to actually teach horses certain things to be able to do well in certain types of events - to get rid of (completely unrealistic) 3 year olds that are SMGChs in like 10 disciplines.
And what I haven't seen mentioned for a long time - I would like to see some incentive added for showing your horses in player made events. Like a small bonus for reaching titles, maybe a PT, maybe some game money? I feel like there are too many empty shows, and too many people don't even bother training and showing.

[Skraythrax]

I am just waiting on a training overhaul. It takes so much time grinding through training that I just don't play much right now. I want to enter my horses in competitions, so I don't want to age them without training. Often I just don't have the mental energy for it, so I don't play!

Otherwise I am a big fan of everything else. The genetics behind this game are awesome. I love how realistic it is and that it is not Pay to Win. You guys are awesome for creating this! Like someone else said, I haven't enjoyed a horse game as much since Gallop Racer.

[BlackOak2]

... I haven't enjoyed a horse game as much since Gallop Racer.

Gallop Racer fan.
Right here. ------>