Thursday, January 13, 2011

Flash sales & snowball fight

This article is about Howrse.com. As always with flash sales, there are some bargains to be had. Mind you, there are some players who are willing to spend a lot of equus to get those Posiedon's Packs, Passes and Mist's. Our tip for getting a good price is to hit the sales when there are fewer players online. it's a good idea to have a look at the Howrse login page as it tells you how many players are online. Of course it depends where in the world you are, as to when is the quietest time on Howrse.

The prices in the auctions vary hugely. I've seen Passes sell for 50,000e and also 19,000e so it really is worth hanging around to see what sort of deal you can get. Mind you, the instant sales are great for buying things at reasonable prices but the sales are amazingly fast. If a really popular item like a HoP or Laurels comes up, the item is gone before you even have a chance to click on. Or maybe I'm just useless!

As for the snowball fight, I think it's a really nice idea to have this sort of thing again. It's great to be able to gift your friends, especially when you have nice friends who gift you a Piece of Cloud - like I did today. Oooh there are some lovely people on Howrse.

Good luck in the sales and let us know if you manage to get anything exciting.

Patsy

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

New Howrse versions opening now

As I write the new UK version of Howrse is open. Around the world players are eagerly waiting to try out the US, Canadian and Australian versions. It's strange being on a website on it's first day. It feels very empty and a little bit strange. However, they are sure to be popular. We shall see. One big new feature in these new versions, are the Quests. Essentially they are a walk-through, step-by-step guide to using the game. It's a good idea because Howrse lose so many players within the first few days, as people find the game difficult to get to grips with. This new feature is bound to ensure that they stick around long enough to learn the game and enjoy it. Oh, and buy passes too!

You can see the Quest bar at the top of the page. Once you start, it walks you through the process of looking after your first horse. There are rewards (apples, turnips etc) for achieving things such as ageing (spelt the English way now!) him and answering simple questions. It is all designed to teach new players how to look after their first foal and also about how to play the game. As I write, I'm still going through this process, so will let you know more, soon.

How are you finding the new versions? I know that many people are still waiting for the sites to open (especially the poor Australians who have been waiting the longest) but soon enough you'll all have a chance to get registered. So let us know what you think. What you like or don't like.

Good luck!

Patsy

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Ocean update

Well, the skills keep on gaining. My Ocean has just 'grown up' and is now 1 year and 6 months old. His skills have increased again and are now 1707.60. However, things are still a little bit weird. I spoke to another player today who told me that their Ocean who is still only 4 months old also has 1707.60 skills! I had to check to see if it were true. And indeed it was.

So just a few days ago, there were no Oceans as young as 4 months with 1707.60 skills. We've even checked the parents' BLUP and age and Oceans with identical parental skills, BLUP and age produced Oceans with different inborn skills.

Very strange. So if you have any ideas about the weird world of Oceans' skills - leave a comment. and maybe we'll work out what's going on!

Patsy

UPDATE: As of 12 Jan - skills are now 1711.60 .....