I have bought every edition of Starters Orders since SO2.
Every time I have hoped that the basic gameplay problems have been sorted out inI have bought every edition of Starters Orders since SO2.
Every time I have hoped that the basic gameplay problems have been sorted out in the next edition. For the most part, I have been disappointed.
Several new features, such as the faux-3d environment and the new breeding game, have been great.
Others, such as the commentary, not so much.
The lack of consistency, the rigid horse parameters, horses passing sideways through each other, etc. have been a problem since the earliest versions and never seem to have been addressed.
Whether through tedium or exhaustion, the developer seems more concerned with relatively superficial 'improvements' rather than addressing the underlying problems which have always made this game ultimately frustrating.
Horses with no temperament problems suddenly develop temperament problems.
Horses with sufficient speed to win 6f races as two year olds suddenly turn into plodders.
80 rated foreign handicappers hammer proven G1 horses.
G1 winners suddenly become incapable of keeping up with modest horses at level weights.
Perhaps I am hoping too much for this to be the horse -racing equivalent of FM (with the immense budget and development team that that game has) but I once believed that it had that much potential.
You would be forgiven for thinking that the developer was deliberately introducing new bugs to compensate for the effects of pre-existent bugs.
The net result is that it more resembles a random numbers game - reminiscent of the arcade horse-racing games you used to see at beachfront amusement arcades.
That said, it is still a good game. Great for a drunken Sunday afternoon with a few friends. But a realistic horse training simulation it is not.
Even the comparatively simplistic Raceclubs does it better (another game with much potential unfortunately ruined by rent-seekers and con-artists).
My personal opinion is that the game needs to return to the basics and get that right.
Throw away the commentary, the South African super-handicappers, etc, and it will be a game with real longevity once again.
Perhaps I will even buy SO8. If there is a SO8.
Otherwise, I fully recommend SO5.… Expand
