[E] Training Statistics Study

[EclipticEnd]

I'd appreciate no outside posts here just to keep it tidy for the study's sake. Feel free to try any of these proposed methods out yourself and let me know the results via a ping in General.

Quick note: I'm pausing this until future notice so that I can max out my training skills; things will move much faster once that's done and results will have a constant via my skills.

I've been thinking about what BlackOak2 said in their Training Maxes post, about how the Admins say it's possible to train to 100% in each stat. I personally haven't been able to find any messages confirming nor denying the possibility, but I don't doubt that they might exist where I haven't looked. Anyway, I've had it stuck in my mind that maybe there's more to be done. (If an admin happens across this, I'd love a small confirmation as to if it's bugged or not, just for my peace of mind so that I'm not running around in circles for this study).

I'd thought there was a glitch with the Stamina max coding, as I've always only been able to get it to 99.8% despite having maxed out Stamina training and others have the same issue. This makes me wonder if there's a special way to train horses in order to increase this. Perhaps there's a mixture of training methods that, if done correctly, will allow that number to go higher.

As such, I'm starting this side project in an attempt to check for such a thing. It's also possible that it has to do with Player Attributes, which will be a bit harder to test for.

Additionally, there's a possibility that some horses have a genetic proclivity to different stats, meaning that there may be a genetic reason for the horses not reaching that 100% in their attributes. I have no clue if this is true, nor how to test for this. In my time training I haven't had a horse do better in one stat than another, and I haven't noticed one training a lot faster than any others. I haven't been trying to 100% them though, so I can't say with all certainty that this doesn't exist.

Regardless, I'm going to give this a shot and see if different methods might produce different results. Unfortunately I don't have my training skills completely done and will be continuing to improve them, and so that may impact the results of this study. Because of this, I cannot confirm with all confidence that my methods don't work, and so I'll be waiting to max out my skills for the stats which I'm testing. This means that this is going to be a long wait for parts of the study.

I'm going to be using market horses for these tests, preferably of AC origin. I'm going to aim for 1:1 with Mare vs. Stallion for each method in case there's a difference there. All horses will be the same breed. I'll go through one breed, record the results of each training, and once all methods I can think of are done I'll move on to another.

I'm primarily aiming just to increase Stamina at the moment. I very well may fail, but I'll give it my best shot.

I haven't decided if these horses will be rehomed or not. I will in the future.

If you'd like to help out, please visit this sales ad. I'm always looking for more AC horses specifically for this study, so if you have any you're willing to sell then I'd happily buy them. If you have any information to share, you can ping me in general, or else let me know here.

========================================================================

My current player / training stats:

Intelligence [6/20]
Charisma [6/20]
Patience [9/20]
Dexterity [8/20]
Determination [17/20]
Perception [6/20]

Basic Training Bonus: 10% MAX
Training Intensity Reduction: -40% MAX
Speed Bonus: 40% MAX
Strength Bonus: 32%
Stamina Bonus: 40% MAX
Intelligence Bonus: 40% MAX
Movement Bonus: 40% MAX
Tempo Bonus: 40% MAX
Agility Bonus: 40% MAX
Balance Bonus: 40% MAX

[EclipticEnd]

Beginning Age: 4 Years (all horses)
Lineage: Adoption Centre
HGP: Between 30k and 35k
1:1 Ratio of Mares to Stallions per Breed
====================================================================
What we know from other posts:
larissar's Training Your First Horse post:
"[...] reduce the fatigue. For example I've found that when I'm working a how very hard it helps to lunge them at a walk in the arena for 5 minutes before beginning the days work."

"You have to first raise his stamina level by lunging at a walk for increasing durations."
Is that a hint that lunging is the best first step?

"Summary
- Increase stamina first
- don't let fatigue get too high by giving a rest day periodically
- train to increase the stats for your particular discipline
- avoid red outlines or red shaded and outlined activities until your stamina is high enough"
Stamina first, which is per usual for me. larissar recommends discipline-specific training, but also says "you can spread your training across all stats" which is necessary for this study; it's a good hint that this is doable outside of BlackOak2's remark. Also recommended is a rest day between training days. I'll give that a shot.

Peeking at their horses shows Stamina, Tempo, and Balance to be the highest of the training. The other stats aren't touched. This is consistent with Lunge ---> Arena ---> Walk. Some horses also have Strength and Agility (Jumping Obstacles?), and some Movement (Transitions // Trot?).

I'm considering feed as well, in case that's something that causes any changes.

"Feeding your horses keeps them healthy and regains their energy every turn. Energy is needed for training and breeding."

"Protein: High protein is required for very fit horses to maintaing their fitness, but protein is expensive.
Sugar: Sugar can make horses hyper (increase their Temperament), which is benefitial for some competitions (like racing), but bad for others (like dressage). Sugar is cheap though so its an easy way to get a lot of energy while training."

I'm going to try out a high protein diet to encourage fitness as well as sugar for energy; this is very similar to my normal training feed (65% Performance Mix + 35% Weight Gain) so I'm not sure that I'll offer any impact on training. The side information for stabling also notes barns to be better for training. Again, I do this anyway, but I'll be keeping the horses in barns.

There doesn't seem to be a correlation between training and temperament, so while I'll note the horses' temperaments, I won't be focusing on them in particular.

Not all horses qualify to complete the following quest:

Buy an old untrained horse
Buy a horse over 20 years old with less than 8% total training from another player.

This indicates that even if all horses say that they start with 1% in each stat for a total of 8% training, not all horses actually equal that 8% total training. I've completed the above quest and therefore know that it's possible for a horse to have less than 8% total training even if it says 8%. Therefore, we know that the system rounds percentages to the nearest tenth of a percent. As such, anything from 0.5-1.5 could be rounded to 1%.
====================================================================
Stats that normally reach 100%: Speed, Strength, Intelligence, Agility
Stats that normally reach 99.9%: Movement, Tempo, Balance
Stats that normally reach 99.8%: Stamina
====================================================================
Looking to improve Movement, Tempo, Balance, Stamina
====================================================================
Things that improve Movement: Terrain N/A, Gait Trot, Duration N/A
I normally do Ground Poles.
Loose Rein
+Balance, +Movement, +Intelligence, 3 Difficulty
Transitions
+++Balance, +Movement, 4 Difficulty
Collection and Impulsion
+Strength, +Stamina, ++Intelligence, +Movement, 5 Difficulty
Lunge over Cavaletti
+Agility, ++Balance, +Intelligence, ++Movement, 6 Difficulty
Ground Poles
+Intelligence, +++Tempo, ++Movement, 6 Difficulty
Raised Cavaletti
++Movement, ++Balance, +++Agility, 7 Difficulty
====================================================================
Things that improve Tempo: Terrain Arena, Gait Trot, Duration N/A
I normally do Ground Poles.
Around Obstacles
++Tempo, +Intelligence, ++Agility, 5 Difficulty
Ground Poles
+Intelligence, +++Tempo, ++Movement, 6 Difficulty
Lunge over Jumps
+Tempo, +Balance, ++Strength, ++++Intelligence, 8 Difficulty
Pull a Cart
++++++++Strength, +Balance, +Tempo, 10 Difficulty
====================================================================
Things that improve Balance: Terrain N/A, Gait Walk, Duration N/A
This is normally filled on its own via the Walk gait while I train
Loose Rein
+Balance, +Movement, +Intelligence, 3 Difficulty
Bending and Serpentines
+++Agility, +Balance, 4 Difficulty
Transitions
+++Balance, +Movement, 4 Difficulty
Lunge over Cavaletti
+Agility, ++Balance, +Intelligence, ++Movement, 6 Difficulty
Drag a Tire
+Stamina, +++Strength, ++Balance, 6 Difficulty
Raised Cavaletti
++Movement, ++Balance, +++Agility, 7 Difficulty
Lunge over Jumps
+Tempo, +Balance, ++Strength, ++++Intelligence, 8 Difficulty
Jumping Obstacles
++Balance, ++++Agility, ++Strength, +Speed, 9 Difficulty
Pull a Cart
++++++++Strength, +Balance, +Tempo, 10 Difficulty
====================================================================
Things that improve Stamina: Terrain N/A, Gait N/A, Duration All
I normally do Collection and Impulsion for the bonus to other stats.
Lunge on the Flat
+Stamina, 1 Difficulty
Collection and Impulsion
+Strength, +Stamina, ++Intelligence, +Movement, 5 Difficulty

[EclipticEnd]

Arabians:
A1.1 - SS Sunshadow || 34,044 HGP || 0% COI || 100% Performance Mix
Assigned to Stamina Method 1, Rest Method 0
SPE 35 | STR 24 | STA 29 | INT N/A | BAL 12 | MOV 38 | AGI 28 | TEM 31
Start: 4Y || Even || Thin 754 lbs || 12 kg Max Feed || 8% Training Total
End: Age || High Strung || Weight || Max Feed || Training Total
A1.2 - SS Moonglow
Assigned to Stamina Method 1, Rest Method 1
Start: 4Y || Even || Thin 815 lbs || 12.9 kg Max Feed || 8% Training Total
End: Age || Temperament || Weight || Max Feed || Training Total
A1.3 - SS Daydreams
Assigned to Stamina Method 1, Rest Method 2
Start: 4Y || Bombproof || Thin 777 lbs || 12.3 kg Max Feed || 8% Training Total
End: Age || Temperament || Weight || Max Feed || Training Total
A1.4 - SS Nighthawk
Assigned to Stamina Method 1, Rest Method 3
Start: 4Y || Even || Thin 964 lbs || 15.3 kg Max Feed || 8% Training Total
End: Age || Temperament || Weight || Max Feed || Training Total
A1.5 - Missing
Assigned to Stamina Method 1, Rest Method 4
Start: 4Y || Temperament || Weight || Max Feed || Training Total
End: Age || Temperament || Weight || Max Feed || Training Total
A1.6 - Missing
Assigned to Stamina Method 1, Rest Method 5
Start: 4Y || Temperament || Weight || Max Feed || Training Total
End: Age || Temperament || Weight || Max Feed || Training Total

[EclipticEnd]

TBD || Currently looking into what information we have about 100% training.

I can't imagine that it would be something with random chance; I'm thinking that it'll be something repeatable that possibly hasn't been done in the right combination, or else it's something outside of the actual training function that's causing limitations.

It's also possible that this is a late-game quest to complete and has something to do with filling all of the player attributes (Patience, etc.), but I find that unlikely as well as even a level 70 player hasn't gotten 20/20 for all of those. Theoretically, if it's true that we already have the ability to do it, then this is not the way. As such, I won't have a method devoted to this.

Stamina Method 1: (Tentatively) Assigned To A1.1-A1.6
-Lunge, Walk, Arena, (20+5) minutes until (30) minutes
-Rest (do nothing for the rest of the turn) If fatigue passes 10%

Stamina Method 2: (Tentatively) Assigned To A2.1-A2.6
-Collection and Impulsion, Walk, Arena, (20+5) minutes until (30) minutes
-Rest (do nothing for the rest of the turn) If fatigue passes 10%

Stamina Method 3: (Tentatively) Assigned To A3.1-A3.6
-Lunge, Walk, Arena, (20+5) minutes until (30) minutes
-Swap to Collection and Impulsion, Walk, Arena, (30) minutes @50%?
-Rest (do nothing for the rest of the turn) If fatigue passes 10%

Theory: Fatigue for a certain stat is influenced by the difficulty of the activity. The higher the difficulty, the longer it takes for the fatigue to reduce to continue stat improvement. We've seen this in normal training; however, this may suggest that fatigue may just be getting too high for a horse to regain trainability for a very long duration, especially if fatigue is increased exponentially. Perhaps a rest day between each training day as well as the lowest difficulty activities possible is the way to go to combat exponential fatigue.

Rest Method 0: Add NO turn's rest (do nothing with the horse) between training days Assigned To A1.1
Rest Method 1: Add one turn's rest (do nothing with the horse) between training days Assigned To A1.2
Rest Method 2: Add two turns' rest (do nothing with the horse) between training days Assigned To A1.3
Rest Method 3: Add three turns' rest (do nothing with the horse) between training days Assigned To A1.4
Rest Method 4: Add four turns' rest (do nothing with the horse) between training days Assigned To A1.5 (Missing)
Rest Method 5: Add five turns' rest (do nothing with the horse) between training days Assigned To A1.6 (Missing)

If no improvement by Method 5, it's possible that this is not the way to go.

Theory: It's been confirmed that each stat has a maximum fatigue, after which it's impossible to train any further while still getting benefits. Could it be that you have to train a very specific combination a number of times so that the stat's fatigue is juuuust low enough for the stat to be trained 0.01% more than usual? This might not apply to Stamina, which is 0.02% off, but it could be a possibility for Movement, Tempo, and Balance.

Ergo:
Movement Method 1:
-Lunge, Trot, Arena
Movement Method 2:
-Loose Rein, Walk, Arena

This might be slower than normal, but the lower difficulty might mean less fatigue added to the stat, which may allow for that last bit of a percentage to be trained. Good in theory, but I have to wait until I max out my skill for this. This will also be a good test as to the difference in difficulty via gait and activity.

Theory: Another theory I've seen is that we're dealing with invisible thousandths of a percentage; the training HUD only shows up to 0.01% improvement. It's possible that the improvement of a stat is simply so low that it cannot round up to that 0.01%, and as such doesn't show up. If this is the case, then it's possible that training despite no visible increase may be a solution. 0.001% theoretically means 0.01% increase every ten sessions (clicks of the training button).

Thousandths Method 1:
Keep training a horse even when no improvement number is shown to test for 0.001% increases
Thousandths Method 2:
Keep training a horse even when no improvement number is shown to test for 0.001% increases. Add a periodic rest of three turns between sessions in case of invisible stat fatigue.

Theory: There's some combination of training that allows for a stat that isn't listed to increase. This is inferred by BlackOak2's post. Perhaps the hidden 0.02% for Stamina and 0.01% for the other stats is lurking in some odd combination of Activity, Location, Gait, and Duration? Hopefully fatigue isn't at play in this complex equation as well. This is a... large choice pool and may take some time to do. However, they also noted that it just suddenly popped up... So is it possible that a number of sessions is required in one setup for something to appear? Are these randomly hidden increases? They note that they're positive it happened with Trail and Canter, but aren't sure about the activity. I'm guessing at 30 min duration. They also note that it was either Speed or Agility, neither of which I have maxed out. This feels like it's too random to be the solution; insofar everything in the game has been somewhat calculable.

Random Checks Method:
Go through all the possible combinations of Activity/Terrain/Gait/Duration and see if anything comes up. For me, this'll be a search for Stamina as I don't have anything else maxed at the moment.

Theory: Could seasons have any sort of influence on this? Is it possible that it's better to train in Summer versus Winter, for instance? This will take four horses to check, one for each season.

Season Method:
Train during one season only, take a break from that horse until that season rolls by again.

[EclipticEnd]

Horse: A1.1
Method: Stamina 1, Rest 0
Season(s): 2x Winter, 2x Spring, 1x Summer, 1x Autumn
Feed: 100% Performance Mix (High Protein, Sugar)

Stamina Skill = MAX, so this is something I can currently do. This test is to see about increasing the max Stamina threshold from 99.8% to even 99.9%.

Stamina Method 1:
-Lunge, Walk, Arena, (20+5) minutes until (30) minutes
-Rest (do nothing for the rest of the turn) If fatigue passes 10%

Rest Method 0:
-Add NO turn's rest (do nothing with the horse) between training days
====================================================================
Current stats:
Note: These are rounded by the game and are not completely accurate.
Additional Note: These percentages start at an unknown number, default "1%" which may be between 0.5%-1.5%. Cannot confirm what percentage they actually start at due to the automatic rounding. It looks like there might be a 0.04% margin of error.

Speed = 1%
Strength = 1%
Stamina = 83.9%
Intelligence = 1%
Movement = 1%
Tempo = 56%
Agility = 1%
Balance = 56%

Total = 200.8%

Current confirmed training:
Stamina: 82.93%
Tempo: 54.95%
Balance: 54.95%

Total: 192.83%

[EclipticEnd]

Note:

Taking a break from this to do some training as a favor to another player as well as to give myself a break from math and record keeping.