[UPDATED] Devs' Corner: April 2024

Our developers have something to tell you! Every three (3) weeks, our devs will provide you with information about their work in the “Dev’s Corner.”

This publication is a way of keeping everyone updated on what’s happening with the game. We invite you to discuss and leave your feedback for each of the publications.

Note: All posts must adhere to the forum guidelines and be constructively made.

Take a look at our very first Devs' Corner publication!

Warm wishes,

The Howrse Team
 
Ow
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I am also not one to comment on the changes made by admins since I truly dont believe they really listen to or care about what players actually have to say but surely the amount of backlash this update is having (before and after release) will maybe start to make them listen? default smiley (o)

This new page looks so childish and yes the positive to it is we get prizes but a Tarpan? Seriously? default smiley :k
1 - I already have this so call "Divine" and so would a number of the trophy collectors.
2 - Pretty sure the only reason it is a prize is because the admins are aware of how useless it is as well. Its "perk" is actually more of a hindrance then it is a help and I would quite happily sell mine if it wasnt for the fact that you needed it towards trophies.
I would rather be able to pick fragments to any divine then get given a divine I already have or dont want.

I understand that children play this game but lets not forget original players that have now grown up with the game and that the adult players are actually the ones that will be spending the money? Surely you would want to keep a balance to keep your invested players? default smiley (o)
This silly metals design is just a cheap cop out to not have to design an individual trophy for any new ones created.
I hate that so much of my progress has just been wiped and im expected to start from 0 in so many areas plus the fact that you can no longer drill down into each different trophy.

The ONLY thing I do like is how easy it is to see what retired GA coats I do and dont have but the fact that all of those coats have been moved to "Collections" rather then being Trophies is incredibly disappointing and an insult to the players that spend their money on collecting all of these coats. default smiley :@

I agree with all the player comments above and really hope the mods will push our opinions with the admins.
Stop fixing things that arent broke! Players are sick of feeling like they dont have a voice on this game especially when you keep asking for our opinion and not listening... default smiley (o)
Smacking my head on a brick wall sounds like more fun then trying to have an input on more of your updates! default smiley :s
Outback
  • Posted messages: 329
  • Karma: 10 points
I am also not one to comment on the changes made by admins since I truly dont believe they really listen to or care about what players actually have to say but surely the amount of backlash this update is having (before and after release) will maybe start to make them listen?

This new page looks so childish and yes the positive to it is we get prizes but a Tarpan? Seriously?
1 - I already have this so call "Divine" and so would a number of the trophy collectors.
2 - Pretty sure the only reason it is a prize is because the admins are aware of how useless it is as well. Its "perk" is actually more of a hindrance then it is a help and I would quite happily sell mine if it wasnt for the fact that you needed it towards trophies.
I would rather be able to pick fragments to any divine then get given a divine I already have or dont want.

I understand that children play this game but lets not forget original players that have now grown up with the game and that the adult players are actually the ones that will be spending the money? Surely you would want to keep a balance to keep your invested players?
This silly metals design is just a cheap cop out to not have to design an individual trophy for any new ones created.
I hate that so much of my progress has just been wiped and im expected to start from 0 in so many areas plus the fact that you can no longer drill down into each different trophy.

The ONLY thing I do like is how easy it is to see what retired GA coats I do and dont have but the fact that all of those coats have been moved to "Collections" rather then being Trophies is incredibly disappointing and an insult to the players that spend their money on collecting all of these coats.

I agree with all the player comments above and really hope the mods will push our opinions with the admins.
Stop fixing things that arent broke! Players are sick of feeling like they dont have a voice on this game especially when you keep asking for our opinion and not listening... Smacking my head on a brick wall sounds like more fun then trying to have an input on more of your updates!
Outback
  • Posted messages: 329
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Didnt mean to post that twice..
Outback
  • Posted messages: 329
  • Karma: 10 points
- Etrian is the fourth divine reward, yet another blow to collectors since he was supposed to be elusive for working hard in another game. His own page even says:

“Etrian is a divine horse that appeared as a reward for Horse Adventure players.”

This entire new system is like ordering a game from Wish. default smiley xd
default smiley :-x
Frozen In Time
  • Posted messages: 938
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I am another one who doesn't comment a lot , BUT oh my, im gunna today!! default smiley xd

Wow woke up to a whole new trophy thing. default smiley xd What an insult. Bring the old trophy page back.. Ow!!

Our presentation pages look absolutely pathetic. I won't be showing that on my page default smiley :o
This is a joke, what are you doing to this game?, Yes this game.. Like someone mentioned about the graphics, some of these graphics are unbelievable.. Some are horrible to even look at.. I am an adult and some aint that nice.. Some look like they have come from a horror movie!!.. I thought this was a family orientated, {with younger players} gamedefault smiley :o

Anyway I think a lot of us can write till out fingers fall off typing on wat we really think about this trophy page, NO ONE will listen nor bring back our original trophy page.. But Admin have to realise who keeps things game rolling!!
Tilley
  • Posted messages: 113
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Well, this only solidifies my choice to quit this game. I thought I was only taking a break but with this update I am completely done. Trophies were the thing I most cared about on this game. I STRONGLY agree with everything that has been commented so far.

I have spent 9 years on this game trophy collecting, and now that the individual trophy icons are gone I actually had to do math for that one. Looking at the trophy ranking, I can see a large number have disappeared. I might be remembering wrong the numbers wrong but did I seriously go from 180 something trophies to 90 something??? And I can't even tell all that has disappeared.

Not to mention the trophy page is way harder to look at. The new images look so ugly, there is a lot of empty space on the presentation page, and the lack of images for each trophy makes them seem way way less special.

I play a lot of different games, and I've spent a lot of time on them, and while there are of course many I have disliked, especially in this game, they were somewhat tolerable for me. I have never, never, been so disappointed in an update as I have this one. I am honestly heartbroken.
Azarath
  • Posted messages: 2,588
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I'm sad the old trophy page is gone. I used it nearly everyday. I particularly liked that you could open the breed coat colour and then click on the sale icon to check the sales for a coat colour you were missing. I don't think that facility is featured in the new layout.

As for the Tarpan what an unwanted horse that one is. I thought that's alright I'll just send it to safe heaven and be done with it, but I was disappointed to see no sell button. I now find myself planning a murder!!!

How do they get it so wrong. Some of the new developments have been very good and of great benefit to the game but this an abysmal step backwards, what were they thinking.

I agree with what's been said previously why revamp something that was working so well when they could be putting energy into fixing the time lag problem. Day to day the time lag problem is the most annoying part of playing and the one thing that makes me want to give up.
huey
  • Posted messages: 182
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Im agreeing with everyone here would so rather get shards so I can pick my divine As The only good divine so far was a fabella I already got Etrain when he first came out he doesnt do a thing but is a pretty lawn mower pretty much lol I would like to know how many "divines" you can get from this in order I know you can get tarpan and the Fabella whats the 3rd divine you can get?
Tara224
  • Posted messages: 747
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Or even if you wont let us get shards (I mean like first time ever us people be asking for the shards normally we asking for them to go) give us three horses to choose from as there would be a good pile of us that would rather choose who we could get just dont have the same horses in the list every time thats all I would ask
Tara224
  • Posted messages: 747
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Oh yer that's another thing just at hand, I would like Admin to explain why the General Ranking for the so called Trophies have dropped from over 300 old trophies , with a massive drop down to now just over 100 new so called trophies.. Where the heck are my other 200 .
Other people on the top have lost a fair amount of there's too!!
Explain ,Be nice to have them all back again, where they belong!!
Just like all who have worked dam hard to get were they are today,
So yer this has gone to the packers this game.. default smiley (6), Cruel Act indeed
Tilley
  • Posted messages: 113
  • Karma: 10 points
Big slap in the face by removing a lot of the trophies, I worked really hard to get higher in my trophy ranking, and I've lost most of them and dropped so many spots default smiley (n) seems so small, but the trophies were one of the fun parts of the game, and it is disappointing to see all that hard work destroyed and many trophies that have been added that are more money focused (needing divines to achieve them). default smiley (n)

Completly agree with @Tilley default smiley (n)
Maddi
  • Posted messages: 660
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The arrogance of this particular update, that you've inflicted upon us with no consideration
to our sensibilities, integrity & certainly no respect for the work we've put in collecting our trophies is abhorrent.
As Dev's you demand respect from the players, sanction us if we don't give what you think you're due.
Where is the reciprocation of respect? there is none. This game is now full of double standards, on many levels, more so now than ever before.

Why should the senior players who've worked hard have to suffer from starting again to assuage new players?
Like us they have to start at the bottom & work their way up by putting in effort. This is as insulting as when those of us who purchased passes lost ranking % to 'make it a fairer playing field' for those who didn't!
To have a ranking of 5 on the trophy board & then be forced to drop down to rank 17 is an insult to the time, years & money I've personally put in & I'm sure others may be feeling as disgusted as I am. Although those who've jumped up the trophy rankings, those players who weren't really that interested or preferred to focus their game on other levels & or rankings might be feeling really pleased with themselves it leaves the rest of us feeling very demoralised & insulted.

I already had the UFO trophy, (among many others now lost forever, thank you so much), why do I now have to catch another 3 to have it re-credited?
I refuse to catch Equus, carrots, mash, saddles or bridles! the only UFO any of us are really interested in are the aging points...anything else you care to offer is a waste of our time!!
Not to mention offering these useless items with so many of the Divines now.
We can make these pitiful offerings in our workshops if we want or need them.

Just put it back the way it was, give us back our trophy's. You've significantly destroyed a core part of the game in one fell swoop, taken away our pride & sense of achievement & even more so taken from us our enjoyment on a very personal level.

Fair enough you've added a trophy for animated Helios Rays, all from what I can see are Ow creations, for pities sake at least improve the graphics & give us something worthwhile to choose from! The players who use the Black Pearl offer many exquisite & lovely backgrounds that far surpass in quality what you'd have us choose & use. The same can be said for many of the Golden apple coats, where is the quality?
Kate Kelly
  • Posted messages: 45
  • Karma: 10 points
WOW! I'm actually shocked by the complete idiocy of these changes. There are so many things wrong with it, I don't know where to start lol. Everyone else has stated the many issues very well, so I won't bother repeating them, but, again, WOW.
luinlote
  • Posted messages: 747
  • Karma: 10 points
Truly sad and demoralizing to see the total imbalance in todays Trophy Ranking since this change last night.
Players who were right up in the top (10-20) have dropped significantly and others have made a sudden rise of insane proportions, 50 + and in some cases over 100+ rungs up the ladder, what an absolute debacle default smiley :$
Josey jojo
  • Posted messages: 1,411
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Apparently I jumped 90 spots in the trophy ranking to land at 30th place which is wrong on so many levels! I wasn't even near the top 100 when I checked before the trophy rankings got changed. I actually feel so disgusted because I know full well that there are players out there that worked hard to sit in those higher rankings, I had no issues with gradually working on my trophy collections to one day rank up there with the best, now I just feel ick default smiley :s

Pacifying players with "gifts" won't work for long. We get free BMI's in events, there are events where winning a divine is possible for anyone. So why is Howrse trying the old carrot on a stick method to run these new horrendous medals? The players on this game that invest time and money are NOT sheep. I'm not spending another dime on this game, nor am I touching that "reward" button.

I'm super happy to see that essentially the player base on this server are in mutual agreement about what we think of these changes. I'm praying to the Shetland gods that this gross update is reversed.
Knyphain
  • Posted messages: 192
  • Karma: 10 points
Trophy hunting has never been a priority for my game but I can appreciate the effort put in and the pride felt by those who have worked hard for a long time. Why oh why can't Howrse concentrate on what needs fixing. In particular, the lag which has been occurring to various degrees for years. Nowadays I can tell the time by when it happens - invariably between 5 and 7 minutes past the hour. I would love an explanationdefault smiley :-x
Rommy
  • Posted messages: 726
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Urgh, I can't tell you how much I hate these new changes. Why did it even need changing!!?!
The old trophy page was so easy to look at,now it feels a mess.
Now it's like a whole part of the game is now less interesting to me. I don't care about your stupid prizes, they mean nothing. And I have deleted those stupid looking medals from my homepage too, what an embarrassment.
legz
  • Posted messages: 333
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I have to post again. I'm trying to make sense of the new trophy system, but can't. Can someone please explain if I am right in assuming the following or if I am just missing something.
1. Companion trophy - is it just the amount we have that makes the numbers up, not the collections of individual companion categories, which many of us spent a small fortune to collect?
2. Is there anywhere to search the sales for missing horses/coats/companions ect? Like the sale button that used to be there.
3. Why do I have to do math? For example, to work out how many coats I need it gives a percentage, I am no good at mathematics. Is there another way to find out how many I need.

Not that I am really going to be bothered with trophies anymore but would like to know if I'm just not understanding the new horrible system.
luinlote
  • Posted messages: 747
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Why did they have to change the trophy page?! default smiley :k Loads of players would have gone down places. ! It was way better before. Besides what is the point changing it? That’s what I’d like to know. I’m Very very Disappointed . I hope they change it back pretty soon. default smiley :@default smiley :k
boxbumbrumbys
  • Posted messages: 26
  • Karma: 10 points
The new trophy page is definitely horrid. Absolutely. And the white colour is blinding!
boxbumbrumbys
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luinlote wrote:

I have to post again. I'm trying to make sense of the new trophy system, but can't. Can someone please explain if I am right in assuming the following or if I am just missing something.
1. Companion trophy - is it just the amount we have that makes the numbers up, not the collections of individual companion categories, which many of us spent a small fortune to collect?
2. Is there anywhere to search the sales for missing horses/coats/companions ect? Like the sale button that used to be there.
3. Why do I have to do math? For example, to work out how many coats I need it gives a percentage, I am no good at mathematics. Is there another way to find out how many I need.

Not that I am really going to be bothered with trophies anymore but would like to know if I'm just not understanding the new horrible system.


For the horse coats go to collections then go classic coats then find the breed you need and click on the coat you still need (It wont have a green tick and will be kinda faded) and at the bottom of the screen it comes up with direct sale and you click that and you are taken to the sale page and I believe with the companion one from how it sounds to me you can put 15 say dogs on different horses and it would count
Tara224
  • Posted messages: 747
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not me going down 160 rankings in trophies because they removed so many I had focussed on.... default smiley :'(default smiley :'(

whats sad is the gifts idea could have been fun for the trophy page if they hadn't implemented it in such an absurd way. Like a little special reward related to the trophy completed. but nooo. I miss when howrse used to be about anything other than sucking every last dollar out of its player base
gijjjer
  • Posted messages: 323
  • Karma: 10 points
Sigh....I'm not even going to comment other than say I may consider suing for repetitive strain injury with all the extra clicks and scrolls the devs have introduced recently. default smiley (o)default smiley (o)

Instead I'm thinking of starting a list of what needs changing/fixing as it appears obvious they need assistance with this aspect of the game. Let's keep it simple and in point form. Copy the previous suggestions (if you like) before adding your own - who knows, the repetition may find its way into the subconscious, and, hopefully, they'll start to listen to (and be made aware of) what their players (and customers) actually need changing. (One can only hope!!)

I'll start with the following:

* Fix the lagging - this is a priority.
* a VIP perk is multiple boarding - add reserved boxes to the choice, including reserved boxes in our own EC.
* add an "edit selected Workshop" (like the greenhouses).
Minnow
  • Posted messages: 217
  • Karma: 10 points
Shame shame shame, you were warned, begged, pleaded with not to go ahead with this change, and like normal, you stick your middle finger right up in our face.

You could of easily made changes to this, , without destroying the fun and enjoyment so many players got out of their trophies, which is the most integral part of the game, collecting anything and everything, the LAST really good thing about the game, you just took away from us.default smiley :$

I'd like to know WHY you ask our opinion AFTER you make these unwanted changes?
If you wanted to please and keep your loyal players and in turn create NEW loyal players, l would have thought you'd put forward your idea for updates and changes before you add them, let us decide how we want OUR GAME THAT WE PAY FOR (although, probably, not for much longer) to look like.

It's been very clear since the very beginning that those Ambassadors that you promised would be OUR voice and protect the players from this exact sort of change, has been another EPIC FAIL. Put it back in our hands.

Oh one last point, if this whole update of making all our beautiful trophy icons into 4 sickly medallions to fix the lag problem that's been going on for the last 4 months, then, l can tell you, that's another EPIC FAIL.!

There's so much more l'd like to say, but l'm well aware that it goes straight in one ear and right out the other.

Listen to the backlash all players from all servers are saying. PUT IT BACK HOW IT WAS!!!

FIX the lag!!!!
Josey jojo
  • Posted messages: 1,411
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I love how the Trophies are now displayed automatically on players presentation pages with no way of taking them off.
Displaying your Trophies was one of the VIP perks wasn't it?
We had the choice of displaying or not, might l remind you, WE PAY FOR THAT!!!
Now non VIP players are getting it for free default smiley (o). I just shake my head in disbelief default smiley (8)

My Official complaint to admin about this change received the usual 'cookie cutter' response everyone will receive if they send a complaint to 'contact us' but least they'll know how ticked off we all are about it.default smiley :@

Hello Josey jojo,

Thank you for your feedback about the trophies.

Howrse changes and develops from time to time and changes are also made based on the ideas we get from players.

Your feedback will be shared with the team. We use player suggestions for further development of the game. However, we cannot guarantee that changes will be made or that possible changes will be exactly what you would like.

Don't hesitate to contact us again if you have further suggestions or questions.

Kind regards,
The Howrse Team


I just gotta add, if this sickly change to our Trophies is really based on the ideas Admin Get from players, then we have too many space cadets on here default smiley :p
Don't believe that line for a minute default smiley (o)

Funny though, how they haven't made changes to how our BMI's that we put on our horses hasn't been altered so the default doesn't automatically use our passes when we have more than enough of that item in our inventorydefault smiley (o) and the constant lag affects that too, l click on the item from my inventory, and just as l click on use, it'll jump back to the pass default and use my passes instead, been asking for that change for years.
Or as Minnow said, allow us * a VIP perk is multiple boarding - add reserved boxes to the choice, including reserved boxes in our own EC.

When are you going to actually make changes that benefit our ease and enjoyment of the game, the changes/improvements, we are asking for, instead of always taking away the things we actually like about the game.
Josey jojo
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