Community Reminder - March 2022

[BlackOak2]

Yup! I'm back!
And it's about time for another one of these!

This time, I'll be tackling some pop-up questions I've been seeing as well as that notorious one that keeps coming up and a small handful of other hints and tips! So this release is dedicated to Interesting New Developments on HWO

As a very first note, a much requested and much anticipated (though I didn't tell anybody. ) guide has been published. The Hidden Competition Genes: All About Heart

Included In This Release:
About Competitions
The Miseries Of Private Studs
A Newbie's Triumphs & Tribulations
Contacting Me & Other Senior Members


About Competitions

In this section, I'll be talking mostly about how to win in competitions as well as what makes a competition horse. If the community has been keeping up with my regular Community Reminders, you may remember that I've covered, before, what to look for, when looking at a competition horse for purchase. So in this little tidbit, I'll be going over some hints and tips on getting a horse to compete successfully, rather than finding an already successful (or prospect to success) horse.

So... What's really the difference? They're essentially the same thing, aren't they? Well... yes. As the game currently is, any horse can be a success in player-made competitions, with enough diligence, as indicated by a number of still competing, rather poor horses, like this one:
https://www.horseworldonline.net/horse/profile/2250261
This horse, like a number of other ones, is still competing to continue to highlight an issue in our current competition system. That issue is, that any horse, any horse can become Supreme Master Grand Champion (the highest attainable titles) in literally every discipline with enough perseverance.

So... to answer the question, there is No real difference between a prospect competition horse and a rather ugly horse you might try to use in competitions. And also, there is also a vast difference between them. Just because a horse can earn such a title, does not necessarily or automatically make it a good breeder or a more valuable horse (with the exception of those certain collectors that like to hoard titled horses).

Okay, so big difference between... um... time needed, I guess, to title a horse? Well, yes. But that's not exactly what I'll be tackling.

Alright, then explain, please, I'm confused. I'll be tackling how to handle and enter those horses that have a much lower peak then others. In this game, we refer to these generally as the horses' HGP or their 'on-paper' stats.

Oh! That could be really helpful to me! I have a number of horses... Yeah... you don't have to finish that. We all face this issue with our horses, especially when we start developing a new bloodline. When is the appropriate time to start competition testing the horses? What should we expect during that time? And how do we interpret the results?

Okay. I may only touch on those last three questions. This is about how to win and how to interpret a competition horse and not 'developing a new competition bloodline'... which I think I might've already tackled in an earlier reminder... but maybe not the competition aspect.

Let's get into it.
So there are a number of elements that impact a horse's competition performance, to varying degrees. These same elements will also at least partially explain where your horse should be competing in player-made competitions.
Of these, HGP, conformation stats, BR, training, and certain hidden competition genes are arguably the ones that matter most.
That pretty much sounds like all of them.
Almost. Indirectly (and those I won't touch on here, because not all of the horses you may be trying to compete, may have these) responsible for competition success are confirmed competition pedigree, proven hidden competition genes (in that pedigree), proven competitive foals of related pedigree individuals and breeding for certain times in locals of pedigree ancestors.
Yeah, but how important are these indirect elements? These indirect elements give you a baseline on what you should be expecting from that horse. We're going to assume you have simply no idea what your horse is capable of and go from there.

I know you want some hard numbers to help guide you along, so let's get to them.
HGP is the most obvious, so I'll start there. Any horse can be competed in player-made's. First, however, it will benefit you greatly, to find which discipline [in locals] your horse excels at best. So give them a go (and this step can be done with a completely untrained horse! What luck. ). Whether trained or untrained, they'll still give you a semi-random sampling of placements. Find the discipline they pull the best placements in, most often. Use level 7 locals (for untrained) and level 10 locals (for fully or partially, above 50%, trained).

Once you've found the best discipline, fully train (or finish training) for at least that discipline.
That takes care of our element #4 in the above list, Training.

We actually don't need to tackle the conformation stat scores or the BR at all (that would be elements #2 and #3 of the 5), because giving these unknown horses a test in locals, will reveal what discipline these horses are best suited for almost regardless of the BR or the scores.

So now we return to player-made competitions. You now have what discipline your horse performs best in and your horse is trained to tackle it. Now we need to take a closer look at the HGP hard number.

Any horse that sits in the 26,000 to 39,999 area, you shouldn't really ever expect too much from them. Keep them in level 3 and lower player-mades. Take specific and close account of their competitions and try to never allow your horse to compete against horse's with HGP topping 45,000. This will be hard. Luckily, such competition will level-out of these lower levels quickly, leaving only your horse and those that are generally 45k and lower, to compete. Unluckily, there will always be more to take their places.
So when you're evaluating your horse's overall performance, you can feel free to write-off any horse's that pull those upper placements. For instance, if your horse was unlucky to compete in a field of 10 horses. Six of them take the first six placements and all are HGP 55,000 and up. Think of the field as a field of four, instead. Did your horse pull 'first' in that field of four? Are those other horses of HGP that's higher than your horse? Are they fully trained and of similar body structure and just for some unknown reason, just defeated completely by yours?

If many or all of these questions true, it means that your horse does, in fact, likely have some strong and viable competition genes and you should do your best to continue with him or her (or just turn them into breeding stock to strengthen those hidden genes throughout your herd)... and that does tackle #5 of that element list, certain hidden competition genes.

So what about other HGP numbers? Alright, using the formula I've offered above, here are the other areas of competition success.
HGP 40,000 to HGP 59,999 should be in the level 3 to level 5 area. Some of these horses on the higher end (50k to 59k) can compete successfully in the level 6 and even level 7 area... these would be those uber-successful hidden competition genes.
And then if the horse is HGP 60,000 and above, they should be able to hold their own in level 6 and up.

Okay, but I want to know what else I can look at. I want to see some hints on those conformation stats and the BR, since we can see them. Want it all, don't you? YES! Now... can you give it? Yup!
But you'll need to keep in mind, that some of these following hints may indicate a better competitor rather than a better breeder. It can be quite useful but at the same time, a bit disappointing.
IF you can see the conformation scores. A horse can be expected (or should be expected) to do better if you see the related stats to at least be in the 30's or above. The primary (first named) stat, should be above the other three related stats and you should be aiming for 40 and up.
Along with this is the corresponding color of the Breeder's Report (BR). In the four related stats, you need to hope for at least green. And in the primary one, a gold color.

But, of course, the HGP of the horse comes into play too.

So... here goes the complicated part.
HGP's at and under 45k, having a single gold in your primary is not unusual, it's also not unusual to have that single gold sporting a confo score of higher than 45. But it's also accompanied by rather mediocre or even bad comments for the other related stats. This doesn't mean your horse won't be able to compete, what it means is that you will need to take these things into consideration when evaluating your horse's results and the type of competition you allow your horse to go up against.
What could be more appropriate, is to find all related stats (in this 45k and under HGP area) to have positive [but not necessarily colored] BR comments with at least two confo scores in the 30's.

As you broach into the 45k to 55k area, your BR comments and colors should start to be in that green-color area. It'll be much more regular and expected to see these green comments paired with 30 and up confo scores. Try to stay away from any outright negative comment and any red comments. And... if you have a non-colored (but positive) comment with a 40 or up confo score, this horse will need to be reevaluated for possible culling from your overall project. Such horses may be lacking sorely in the related genes. But don't forget, if such a horse comes from confirmed competition stock, he or she may have displayed the absolute worst that those parents can throw. In which case, such a horse would prove an almost true baseline for what the future foals should at least maintain.

Anything in the 55k and above area, the more golds the better! Of course. And your primary stat should not only have the best color and comment (when evaluated against the other related stats), but also the strongest confo score.

These aren't mandatory, though, we have quite a few cases of horses where the primary stat may not trump every one of the other related stats and may show rather low confo scores.
So these guidelines are offered to allow you to begin an understanding of what you should be [expecting] from your competition horse and not necessarily a horse that looks far-flung from what the 'ideal' should be.
These far-flung horses may be revealing those hidden traits that we can, so far, only theorize may exist on the game.

I may not have covered everything you think I should've in this tidbit. If you still have some questions, feel free to reply and I'll tackle them below. If I feel them relevant, I'll even add them here in the main article.


The Miseries Of Private Studs

They are miseries, aren't they? No matter if you're on the offering end or the receiving end, if you get caught up in a Private Stud issue, it just sucks. You either risk losing a foal, or you're out stud-cover money at the very least.
And we're still going to fight this battle.

So what exactly is happening? If, say, you're the owner of the stud? Well, a lot of things could be happening. A precious horse that a player has worked... maybe real actual years to produce and that they're finding very difficult to replace with just the right son. He's getting older and none of the mares they currently have, are just making do.
And he's not getting any younger.
So beyond the fact that there can be actual years behind that horse, there could be the trouble of not finding an appropriate replacement for him. And then every time he's used, his energy goes down and he needs to be aged again. At 17 years, our horses gain the chance to move on to greener pastures. So at any turn used thereafter, that horse could be gone for good. So time goes short, with each mare that gets bred, that's 10% energy used. Only ten mares can be covered for each turn.
It still sounds like a lot of mares, but that can be eaten up really fast when the stallion is forgotten up on the market, or there is limited money on the broodmare account to be used... or some savvy or ignorant (not used in a negative connotation) player clicks to cover their mare.

Eventually, the turns will take their toll and the stallion will be gone.
This is the most obviously devastating incidence that a stud owner faces.

If that's so, then what of the steps an owner can take? Why don't all of them take these steps? Often times, it comes down to actual time and risk. Taking a horse and constantly sending it from one account to another is the most straightforward and appropriate way to avoid such accidental (or purposeful) coverings, but it isn't a streamlined process and it isn't without risk itself.
Assuming the owner remembers to ensure the horse goes up for private sale only. Assuming the owner switches to the correct account with the broods on it (otherwise the owner will be doing this process an additional time). Assuming the owner returns to the account and chooses the correct bid. These things are only an incorrect click away from sending the horse to the wrong account.

So there are risks in standing a stud and each of us that does so (for private studs) choose the best option for that scenario and we hope that the community is upstanding enough to avoid such studs (at least without asking first).

Well, that kind of makes me feel like an... oh, I can't say that. It makes me feel badly about using a private stud now. It should. That doesn't mean if you find yourself pining after a particular stallion, for whatever reason, you cannot have access to it. There are many of us that will offer these studs to whoever is interested, if they ask first. Or, even better, offer a direct son from a mare [we didn't even know! we wanted], directly for sale to us.

So what about the other side then? What can you tell me about the mare's owner and their problems? What they face? Some of the errant breeders happen to be newbies that simply don't understand that we don't have approved broodmare's yet. So they come to the obvious conclusion that 'It lets me breed, it must be available right now. I must get my breedings in immediately! Especially since he's so cheap!'
Yeah, for those of you that understand the approved broodmare isn't released yet, this is a really bad gap we have, isn't it? And no matter how often we post it, there's going to be newbies that will miss it.

And yet, there's still more to it.

Really? That's not the biggest issue? No, believe it or not, it's not the biggest issue.
Most of these accidental breedings from newbies that are just ignorant of the issue, they get fixed really very nicely.
The biggest issue are those that don't care or that also do it because they're up as 'private'. Of these two, those that target private studs because they're private are, in fact, dancing with admin disciplinary action. So, for another warning to the community... [IF IT IS FOUND THAT YOU'RE TARGETING PRIVATE STUDS BECAUSE THEY'RE MARKED PRIVATE, YOU CAN BE REPORTED AND ADMIN MAY REPRIMAND YOU. THIS MAY BE AS SIMPLE AS A WARNING, OR COULD BE AS HARSH AS AN ACCOUNT BANNING. DON'T DO IT.]

Wow. That's... harsh. Let's get away from that, though.
What are the other issues the mare owner might face? Well, the mare owner loses a year of that mare's life to the foal (estimated). If the mare is older, they might actually lose her permanently. The resulting foal may be just perfect for their project. The mare's owner may be out the stud money. And overall, there's a certain type of disappointment that the foal isn't agreed upon by the stud owner.

Eh, not every broodmare owner feels this way though.

And they may think they're getting away with a 'great heist'. But in reality, every (or nearly every) accidental breeding that isn't settled peaceably and amicably, is noted by the stud owner (and maybe even the mare's owner) and often times, such players are blacklisted from services, certain sales and any other offerings (including contests) that might be offered by either owner.

Yeah, but what's one blacklisting from one player really affect? And besides, isn't blacklisting against the law? Or HWO rules? It is against the law (at least in the U.S)... and if you're a worker that is trying to accomplish certain things during employment. There are a number of other possible uses that can fall under the same definition, but I'm not going to start quoting U.S. law and nor am I going to start quoting international or other national laws.

This is a game. Certain laws do rule these games. Such laws that one might think should be applied (like not blacklisting) simply don't cover a game's players. This doesn't necessarily extend to a game's workers though. And there's no real recourse in a court of law for it anyway, at least, not for the players. Our law on HWO is handed to us by admin.

So blacklisting can exist here and has already affected some players. And... to compound the effect, if a certain player puts another player under a blacklist (for whatever reason, even undisclosed), other players can and have, in the past, followed suit, even if those other players aren't friendly or working with them.

Why would they do this? Why would other players follow and blacklist one player from another player's blacklisting file? Because it is seen (and basically assumed) that the blacklisted player isn't one that plays nice or amicably with other players in general gameplay. They're a determent to our community and are seen as one.
Many of these blacklisting events don't hold for too long, though. Because once the influence of the community starts to affect the errant player, they begin to realize that our community isn't like other game communities. So they start playing nicely and interacting better. Or, the opposite happens. They're generally a pot-stirrer and they find they can't really create drama and trouble here, so they quit to go somewhere where they can.

That got a little off-topic, didn't it? Yeah, it did.
So both the broodmare owner and the stud owner have a bit to lose, don't they? Yeah. It's not beneficial on either part for accidental breedings to go through on 'Private' marked studs. It can create a lot of harsh feelings at the very least.
People lash out easily when these things happen and when somebody attacks another verbally, the response is quite often a defensive and aggressive retort in return.
And this doesn't even cover the problem of language barriers. They exist here on HWO, we do what we can to circumvent them. So... yeah, that can be an issue here as well.
To remind everybody, the language on HWO is English. Admin has allowed us to use other languages. Other games have restrictions to 'home language of the game', but here, we're allowed to expand if we have need to.

So, as a recap, what's HWO rules about Private Studs? HWO rules say that such a thing doesn't exist. If a horse is up on the market for stud, then it's available for anyone to use.
However, if a horse is targeted specifically because it's marked 'Private', admin will lay down the law for abusing a stud because it's marked 'Private'.
Admin has so far allowed our retaliatory use of blacklisting. Unless it becomes a problem, this may continue to be allowed.

How could blacklisting become a problem? Alright, this is the last answer on this topic. Off the top of my head... I'm not sure... bullying of a particular player comes to mind. But that might be quite hard to prove. It would have to be proven that it's more than just blacklisting (which equates to not talking to that player, not offering any services and generally ignoring that player).
That's the only thing that comes to mind currently.


A Newbie's Triumphs & Tribulations

So... you're a newbie. Brand, spanking new to the game and staring with deer-in-the-headlight eyes at everything this game is. Entirely overwhelmed with the possibilities, of which you're still in blissful ignorance of, and floundering with what to do next, where to go, and possibly... what to avoid.

Yeah... we've all been there. It's a high mountain to climb if you look at where you are now and compare it to the senior members around you.

But! Worry Not! Here's some hints and tips that may help you along the way.

First, if you haven't read it yet, my quick start guide covers many of the off-questions that aren't covered in the tutorial and aren't often spoken about in regular game-play. It's there to kind of indoctrinate you into the community without having to cover every little thing with every newbie every time. Very helpful.

It's most important to lay down a first goal. After you've gone through the tutorial and have your feet wet about how to navigate and what's immediately available to you, you'll need to figure out a very first goal. But you may have already made one, by going through the tutorial, or maybe you're a veteran at playing these types of games and you have a go-to.

So build around your goal. You'll also need to consider a long-term one as well. In this game, short-term goals will give you an understanding of what you can accomplish here, but in the long run, the greatest money-earnings come from a goal that takes time to perfect. If you can find yourself spending literally generations on a goal (like breeding a brand-new, from-scratch line of thoroughbreds), you will find that even though they may lack in competition or color or overall on-paper values, the fact that they've been developed and worked on for that time-span, itself can make each horse worth tens or hundreds-of-thousands of currency.

To begin with, Arabians and Thoroughbreds are the easiest to work with. Arabians are cheap on the market and there are a number of high-stat and cheap studs to breed to. They also make excellent grinders in level 10 endurance locals. So this breed has become the community go-to for a lot of basic needs.
They won't earn you much money, but if you invest in a line that proves successful as 'Grinders', then you can sell untrained foals for 'grinder-fodder' at a rate of 10k a pop (at least). You shouldn't rely on this to make you your regular monies, but it can be helpful in a pinch.
However, Arabians are a bit notorious for not being great breeding stock or actual competition stock. You'll need to tap into a private line or do your homework really well to find one of those.
Thoroughbreds, on the other hand, are a bit more expensive (but still cheap enough to break into) and are good in what you expect them to, racing disciplines. But, the racing disciplines are still extremely competitive and though you'll have acquired a good thoroughbred, it won't likely be able to compete in those top tiers immediately. You'll need to start a bit lower and work your way upward.
These are also usually good grinder stock. Although they're a bit more hit-and-miss for their grinder capacities (finding their local best discipline can change for each horse). So Thoroughbreds will take a little additional work to get somewhere and although you can sell grinder-fodder Tb's on the market, the Arabians will sell more regularly in this prospect than Tb's will (unless they come from confirmed grinder lines).

During your early breeding experiments, you'll want to avoid breeding for conformation scores. Sure, they're great! But they're secondary to your overall HGP and Breeder's Report and should be handled as a secondary factor.
Not that you'll be able to see them. They're an upgraded feature and not having access to it, might be a boon to you. After all, you don't need to have them in order to breed your first record breaker. It just makes it, perhaps, a little quicker.
What you'll want to focus on, instead, is your herd's overall BR (to a slightly lesser degree, HGP) and most specifically (if breeding for discipline) the competition scores. At first, don't worry too much about checking them against other horse's in player-made competitions. In the beginning, the local scores will lead you best. But once you see your horse's [trained] scores are starting to get into a competitive area with other player's horses in player-made competitions, then it's time to start figuring out which of your horses have those all-important hidden competition genes.

As a last note, the outstanding foal from a set of parents often ends up producing rather poorly. You'll want to aim for a filly that's just or a bit better than her mother and a colt that's just or a bit better than his father. In the end, when testing them in player-made competitions, regardless of how they may've turned out from their parents, your best-timed offspring will become your next generation breeders (with the possible exception of those super-born foals that just eclipse their parents, these would be your uber-competitors and not your breeding stock).


Contacting Me & Other Senior Members

So... you want to contact me. You want to contact another senior member. You want to talk to somebody on the game in private.

Well, this is rather straightforward, right? Once I know how to ping, that's as good as just doing that. Yeah... but don't forget to ping them correctly. Spelling, capitalization and spaces are all important. And don't forget to ping them in the correct forum. Above getting the ping itself correct, you will need to ensure you're in the right forum.
If you're unsure, the General Chit Chat is your default go-to.

In some cases, contacting that player through their farm log is also acceptable. Like in my case. If you want to talk to me directly, just reply to my Farm Log.

Not all of our senior members will reply back. Some are not as 'newbie-' or 'player-' friendly as others. Although, if you ask them a direct, game-related question (and they're on regularly), most of them will at least answer.

So what about talking directly to another member privately? You and they will need to be upgraded. If you both have that option already checked, some of our senior members that are tolerant enough of questions asked to them, you may find simply will not answer back at all when contacted unsolicited through PM.
So, in order for you to chat with some members, you may first need to talk with them on the forums or in the HWO chat.

Oh, the chat. I can't get into ours yet... and I hear there's a discord one? Yes. You will need to have Five Approved Posts first in the forums before chat opens for you. So just open your own farm log, read and reply to some other topics (try not to bump up old, closed or defunct topics) or ask some questions and you'll get your approved posts done quick.
So, you'll need to conquer that first.

As far as our discord chat, this is run by a senior member of our community. It is NOT AN OFFICIAL PART OF HWO, but it has been allowed by our HWO admins. You will still be under the same rules as you are on HWO (just under the HWO member authority instead). Along with this, you will need to have already gotten your five approved first posts to get approved for the discord chat as well.
You can find the discord chat link in this topic.

Is there anything else I might find useful that you can tell me? Yeah! My quicklinks. The link is found in my signature of every of my posts. It's a compilation of topics that are referenced regularly. They've been updated recently with a new format. Hopefully this makes it easier to use and navigate.
It was first developed because I found myself constantly looking for things. It expanded from there, many people ended up using it and now, I will regularly add guides and interesting projects that help all of us learn about the depth this game offers.


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