Final Newsletter - Issue 20!

[Kiralynn]

The twentieth and final Windy Acres Ranch newsletter has been published on the web site! Stop by and have a look. You will find recent race news, survey results, and most impressive of all - a compilation of every racing tip collected in 20 issues!

http://windyacres.mymiddleearth.com/?page_id=3042

[Andeon]

final? for the year? forever? are they being replaced by something else, or simply being entrusted into the hands of posterity?

[Kiralynn]

The... final... newsletter... ever! Read it to learn more!

[Andeon]

Eureka! I have found it! well, blog, newsletter, whatever works best for you - I think I still have a blog account on mymiddleearth - haven't looked at in in probably a year - but it's a relief to know that the news will go on, in whatever format

Oh, Andeon has his Rohirrim (Rohirric?) steed! Sadly, it's a very plain steed, with a placeholder name (until I can get it cosmetically geared properly) and I'm still sorting out how it gets leveled and how it uses LI's, but I've got it!

[Andeon]

Oh, Kira - I had a general question/comment for your website, but while I can leave comments on individual articles, can't seem to find an option for leaving comments on the front page, or just some general area for horse questions/suggestions/comments - it's entirely possible you never included such an option, and I can understand why (can't have any random schmo just start cluttering up your front page with their self-important blather after all), but I did have a question, although you may have answered it in a previous topic

Having just gotten my first rohirric (rohirrim?) horse, I'm intrigued by the possibilities of more detailed horse racing - with the maneuverability issues, skill usages - now, I know as people level up, and as the classes (light, med, heavy) may have significant racing advantages over others, there could be issues, but I'm curious to know if you're looking for (or have found) a way to incorporate the more complicated mechanics of horse handling with the high-end stuff?

anyway, I'm curious to see how that develops

[Kiralynn]

I try to keep all of the major Windy Acres chat in the LMB forums. Other people are welcome to discuss particular topics at the bottom of each page/post.

I have had several requests for warsteed racing. I have promised to put together such an event next year. There are still some issues that need to be resolved before I can make these a regular event...

* I don't have one. It's hard to think about how the races will work without any practical experience. I'm up to level 66, though. I could use some skirmish partners, even a nice raid partner. The last time I went on a raid, I gained XP fast!

* Getting TP for prizes is becoming extremely difficult. I don't have enough time to play to grind gold for prizes, at least not the sort of gold that most people are interested in. For whatever reason, I have had two loot boxes and one key drop for me, EVER. Obviously that's not a prize option, either. I could use some ideas.

* We'll need a really large area in which to race and all new course maps.

* We may need some rules additions or changes for warsteed racing. If so, I'll rely on suggestions from Banders. After all, we put together a heck of a rules set for normal horse races. There will be some trial and error, I'm sure, but that's okay.

I'm not worried about the fact that different horses are spec'ed differently. Most courses have sharp turns, jumps, and open areas to run. This means that horses with more speed will excel in some areas, more agile horses in other area. Plus, I have heard that it's free and easy to change your horse's spec. I think somebody said you can even swap between two or three. Folks can just "train" their horse as they see fit before a race. Some horses may just be better racers than others, but isn't that true in real life? Maybe somebody will come up with the spec for a Triple Crown winner!

I have had people ask about allowing warsteeds into horse shows. So far, the ability to customize tack has had minimal impact (if any) on the outcome of mounted fashion contests. People don't seem very thrilled with the new tack. They also don't seem to favor horses that look more like mooses. I'll be continuing to allow people to ride whatever steed they wish in horse shows.

[Caiyyd]

Warsteed specs are very important with regards to speed. My heavy can actually outpace some lights when she is just cantering - all due to the traits and bridle I have on her. It would be interesting to see how a race would work - would be quite happy to help test out anything!

[Andeon]

Interesting series of points, and all well thought out - I barely have more experience than you, Kiralynn, but just judging from what people have said, I think you're going to need an overall decision about "fairness" if you choose to engage in top-tier horse racing

#1 - level limited (to an extent) only people who've played far enough along to get the rohirrim horses will be able to compete at all at that level (assuming you make it ONLY rohirrim horses) - so that's going to exclude a decent fraction of the racing community in general

#2 - "balance" - current races are all mostly predicated on no skills used, and no mechanical differences between horses (all same speed, all same maneuverability) - this is nice and simple, as virtually all variations in winners is predicated on skill and choice of route (although lag and other computer issues can have some effect, these are effectively impossible for you as race coordinator to guard against, so no one holds it against you)

based on what I've heard, there will be ways to gear your horse for different performance, leveling up your horse for different performance, possibly even the use of active skills for temporary performance - now, there are WAYS in which this can make horse racing a lot more fun, and variable - but it can also severely limit some people's ability to compete well (people with more time can afford to level up their mounts faster, get better gear with better performance stats, etc)

once you reach a point to where you're familiar with how the new horses work, you'll have to decide which (if any) elements of skill/time investment/power variability to you want to allow/limit to encourage "fair" horse racing

also, I have no idea, but is it possible that standard mounts can match speed with higher speed rohirrim mounts, making standard mounts possibly competitive? could we make mixed standard/rohirric horse races?

also, I've been thinking about expanding some of the race ideas, although again, you might be limited depending on your available judges and courses

are we still considering multi-lap races? I still don't think we've had one - not one that I can remember, at least

Suddenly wondered...if you got enough captains together to help out, could you run a slolom horse course? Slalam? Slalom?...*checks a dictionary* - Slalom it is - anyway, I was considering, what with the rather fun maneuverability mechanic for new horses, and captains to lay down banners, it might be possible to run a slalom course.

anyway - those are some of my idle questions - they're not pressing questions - don't feel any pressure to answer them currently - and odds are you've already considered them to one degree or another - just...stuff that passes through my mind

[Kiralynn]

Andeon wrote:

#1 - level limited (to an extent) only people who've played far enough along to get the rohirrim horses will be able to compete at all at that level (assuming you make it ONLY rohirrim horses) - so that's going to exclude a decent fraction of the racing community in general

I'm alright with this. We will still have our standard races (+62%) and our fast races (+68%), so there will be plenty of chances to race for lower level people. I'm hoping for one warsteed race per season, or four per year, but we'll see how it goes. My thinking is to move racing to a more popular night, and away from the riding team's night. That way, the riding team can always meet, regardless of the number of races, and we'll have better turn out at the races (making more worthwhile for me to spend $25 or more on prizes).

Andeon wrote:

#2 - "balance" - current races are all mostly predicated on no skills used, and no mechanical differences between horses (all same speed, all same maneuverability) - this is nice and simple, as virtually all variations in winners is predicated on skill and choice of route (although lag and other computer issues can have some effect, these are effectively impossible for you as race coordinator to guard against, so no one holds it against you)

I do like these races. I also think a lot of people would like to race where skill (not just route) is a factor. I think that if we make the courses contain a sufficient number of obstacles, it won't be all about speed.

Personally, I hate to make a rule for a race that cannot be enforced. That is why +68% horses are allowed on cross-country races. (You can't see if someone switches to a fast horse and back again, so just let them use fast horses in the first place.) We can disallow speed boosts and such because they create an icon under the player's name that we can see in the raid panel. Any skills and gear that don't show an icon will have to be allowed, otherwise the cheaters will always be at a huge advantage.

Andeon wrote:

also, I have no idea, but is it possible that standard mounts can match speed with higher speed rohirrim mounts, making standard mounts possibly competitive? could we make mixed standard/rohirric horse races?

I'm told that a warsteed can move up to 300% (+200%) speed. A fast horse with a speed boost moves at +68% with a bonus of up to +50% and sometimes a class bonus of +15%. That's +133% total. I don't see how we could ever allow warsteeds and normal horses in the same races. (Well, if somebody wants to bring a slow horse, they're welcome to ride it, they just won't win.) Correct me here if my math is wrong.

Andeon wrote:

I've been thinking about expanding some of the race ideas, although again, you might be limited depending on your available judges and courses

I'd love to hear some new ideas. I also want to move races to a better night.

We have had one multi-lap race so far, the Wraith Race. It had two laps. I have been told by volunteers that it is too difficult to fairly judge checkpoints on more than two laps. They can accurately keep track of someone going by twice.

A slalom course would be fun. Since this is an equestrian event, we might just want to call this Barrel Racing. A person could ride THROUGH a banner. To avoid the possibility of misjudging due to lag, we have always used solid objects that cannot be moved through. That way, you don't end up with a rider who went around the checkpoint on their own screen, but through it on a judges due to differences in rendering caused by lag. I'm sure we can find many places for people to ride that have low stone obstacles.