Conformation and the Breeder's Report

[Argent II]

I have no idea what information Larissa gave Argent

Larissa doesn't "give" me information. I figure things out, she tells me yes or no. The only information she gives out is what she puts in the public posts, so she's actually given you all more than she gave me lol

[Amber]

Questhaven, according to Larissa's post you think of it like this:

Base gene (A) = horse's raw ability
Conformation (B) = modifier (there are other modifiers but let's keep this simple)
Overall Stat (C) = base gene + modifiers

Base Gene is essential for Horse's Talent. It is invisible.
Overall Stat = what you see when you see Greens. It is a combination of Base Gene + Modifiers.
Conformation = a modifier on the overall stat (not the base gene). We are just discussing its impacts: whether conformation on its own can make (C) green or not. Not about whether or not it has value, I don't think!

[Rapori]

Larissa does not whisper in my ear. She's much to busy for that. Occasionally, after spending countless hours working on trying to figure out how the game works, I present my theories to her when she's having some down time in chat, and she confirms or denies them. She literally invited me to test this game two years ago specifically because I was willing to spend hours breaking and reporting things to her, so I have the benefit of decent enough rapport with her that she tolerates my questioning.

I gave several pushes in the right direction with previous comments. I started shutting down and snapping at people when they wouldn't keep their questions to the appropriate places. I'm more than happy to confirm and correct theories, but sitting around waiting for answers annoys me.

Who is sitting around waiting for answers? I don't know if you're referring to me specifically but I do dedicate more time than I should to try and explore theories and uncover aspects of the game. I do what I can between juggling a full-time job, full-time school and full-time parenthood. That pesky life thing tends to get in the way.

My point is, some of us just don't have the time that you do to develop theories and experiment. So when we look for help, I don't think it's fair to assume we just want to be spoon fed, or that we're not willing to do the work ourselves. Sometimes we just can't.

Regardless, I appreciate the comments both you and Amber shared on this thread. it's given me a lot to chew on.

[Amber]

However, a low conformation horse with a green stat (that is secretly a score of base gene 100% + modifiers) will always do worse than a high conformation horse with a green stat (that is secretly a score of base gene 100% + modifiers).
That's not actually the case, but I'm tired of the topic for now.

I should be tired as it's 5.30am here in the UK. But strangely I seem to have oodles of energy for this topic.

I'll retract the "always" because there is training and some unknowns with the breeder's report itself, but from what I can tell from Larissa's post, a positive conformation score in the right combo of stats for an event (combined with a high base gene) is generally better than a negative conformation score in the right combo of stats for a horse with the *same* percentage high base gene - provided all other modifiers and training is the same. Obviously you can see conformation (if you're premium) but you can't see the secret base gene, so you need a way to figure it out.

Hope you guys have fun trying!

[Amber]

Regardless, I appreciate the comments both you and Amber shared on this thread. it's given me a lot to chew on.

Thanks Rapori. I appreciate your comments too!

[Argent II]

x

[Argent II]

Who is sitting around waiting for answers? I don't know if you're referring to me specifically but I do dedicate more time than I should to try and explore theories and uncover aspects of the game. I do what I can between juggling a full-time job, full-time school and full-time parenthood. That pesky life thing tends to get in the way.

My point is, some of us just don't have the time that you do to develop theories and experiment. So when we look for help, I don't think it's fair to assume we just want to be spoon fed, or that we're not willing to do the work ourselves. Sometimes we just can't.

Regardless, I appreciate the comments both you and Amber shared on this thread. it's given me a lot to chew on.

I don't pay enough attention to screen names of players who weren't around during testing to know you from Eve, so no, I'm not talking about you specifically. "Waiting around for answers" can come in various forms, but in this case, I think I recall something along the lines of a player quoting/linking to my personal progress tracker and saying "thanks in advance" after asking re-asking a question that I'd repeatedly ignored there because it was off topic. Essentially, lazy entitlement. Actually presenting a theory is completely different. That's saying, "I think this, am I on the right track?" When people have actually posted a theory, rather than expecting to be spoon fed, I've been fairly forthcoming with information, imo.

In simpler terms: just posting a link to a horse and asking what color it is (99.9% it's bay on here, I swear .___.) is usually asking to be spoon fed the answer. 9 times out of 10, the player obviously made no attempt to use any of the half dozen resources available to them, and that annoys me. But if they even go so far as to say "Well, the legs are a different color, so I think it's bay-based" or "The sire is champagne, so maybe he is too" then suddenly they've presented a theory and have actually attempted to figure things out on your own, and I'm happy to help you. Basically, try, and show me that you've tried, and I'll almost always be willing to help you in some degree. But just asking for information comes off as lazy.

Does that make sense?

I should be tired as it's 5.30am here in the UK. But strangely I seem to have oodles of energy for this topic.

Well, I've been discussing this off an on for four months now, publicly for maybe two, and just had to deal with a few nuisances on a personal, unrelated thread, on top of trying to figure out how to explain what feel like easy concepts in increasingly simplified ways, so yeah, I'm tired. Or annoyed, mostly. But it makes me feel slightly tired/disinterested.

[Amber]

I don't pay enough attention to screen names of players who weren't around during testing to know you from Eve, so no, I'm not talking about you specifically. "Waiting around for answers" can come in various forms, but in this case, I think I recall something along the lines of a player quoting/linking to my personal progress tracker and saying "thanks in advance" after asking re-asking a question that I'd repeatedly ignored there because it was off topic. Essentially, lazy entitlement. Actually presenting a theory is completely different. That's saying, "I think this, am I on the right track?" When people have actually posted a theory, rather than expecting to be spoon fed, I've been fairly forthcoming with information, imo.

You of course, mean me. I believe I linked from your tracker thread to this (older) thread which was the correct topic for the questions.
Which is why we are all here.

Well, I've been discussing this off an on for four months now, publicly for maybe two, and just had to deal with a few nuisances on a personal, unrelated thread, on top of trying to figure out how to explain what feel like easy concepts in increasingly simplified ways, so yeah, I'm tired. Or annoyed, mostly. But it makes me feel slightly tired/disinterested.

That's cool. I'm not annoyed or offended. Shall we just shake hands now and move onto enjoying the game?

[larissar]

Just to set the record straight

1) You want high numbers in conformation

2) Conformation modifiers never actually add to the base stat they only subtract from it. The numbers displayed on the conformation evaluation page are shifted to a different scale because nobody ever want to see negative numbers. People like positive numbers. So keep these numbers high in the stats related to your chosen competition

3) What Agrent is doing is a difficult way to single out certain elements, and it seems to work for her but I wouldn't recommend it to others. There are many different breeding techniques one can use to try and create great horses.

4) Anytime you find me online in chat I am more than happy to answer anyone's questions. Argent asks -a lot- of questions.

[Questhaven]

Amber, Argent and Larissa,
Thanks so much that really helps. For the last day or so when this came up, I questioned my breeding practice, working toward higher confirmation scores while selecting only positive traits in three of the dressage traits. I feel better now that I understand what you both were discussing. I appreciate your time and effort in explaining it to me. I have been (so far) happy with my progress (got my first double green this week). Even if my horses are not great they look way better than when I started.