I wanted better auctions. I wanted a jockey only mode. However I'm not bemoaning the game for a lack of this, and I've actually bought the game. PJ also admitted that the graphics were very good. He has later noted that the game does send emails to alert you of horses going to auction. PJ has not been saying that the whole of SO6 is not an advancement, without even purchasing the game. He has just got on with playing the game, testing for bugs and generally looking to help advance it, rather than sit on here all day whinging like KB has when he hasn't even bought the game. Paul appreciates the positives as well, rather than just moaning because the game isn't exactly how he wanted it.

I actually find that 3d games look a bit tacky and I think the current graphics look a lot better- the horses move realistically and from what I have seen 3d horse racing games the race doesn't happen realistically. What most people would like, however is if possible, more distinguish meant between running in a straight line and running round a bend.

I typed this reply months ago but forgot to post it! This is a perennial topic but things can change:

Ever since SO1 I have argued against a 3D race sequence for the series. From what I recall the reasons were roughly:

1. The side on 2D view is just about the best perspective giving the player both a view of the whole (or most of) the field while also giving an accurate view of each horses relative position.

2. 2D is much cheaper both in terms of the creation of visual assets and development time.

3. 2D race sequences will always run on a wider range of hardware that 3D not alienating players with older hardware.

4. Flaky 3D. I honestly have never played a 3D horse racing game that works well. Partly it's because the camera position means the horses tend to take up more screen space revealing issues with the animations that get missed with smaller 2D sprites. It would be easy to spend a long time creating a 3D race sequence that is inferior to the old 2D one.

This is not to say there are not major issues with a 2D race sequence:

1. No simulation of bends or limited placement of other racecourse items leading to a generic feeling for each racecourse. Bends just can't be done well in 2D and having realistic courses existing in a 3D space would be very nice.

2. Difficulty adding animations. Right now the 2D sprite sheets make this a very long and tedious process and the potential for adding extra animations is strictly limited.

3. Problems with silks variations. Due to the way the sprite sheets works it is not possible to give the player much in way of silks customization options. Adding variations is also a big pain and very limited.

4. Jockey control modes don't work well side on.

Costs have clearly been a factor in the past. Also I have always had improvements in mind for the 2D race sequence (for the next version). I have to be honest in that the current 2D race sequence is pretty much at the end of the road now. I don't see an awful lot that can be done with it.

A 3D race sequence in Starters Orders would have to be a good one and that means a lot of time. The rendering engine would need a rewrite. The race sequence module would have to be rewritten from scratch. A decent course editor would have to be created and an artist would have to remodel all the jockeys and horses from scratch. This is before all the stands and other items on the courses are tackled. And then there are other game features I want to add.

So the upshot of all this is it probably will happen.

Mark.

We are all allowed our opinions on games. Unfortunately here, if you voice your opinions and try and give feedback you're wrong and someone wants to make an argument about it. I saw it mentioned somewhere that all a few people have done is moan. Beta is for testing, that's what we've done and we have come here to say what we dislike/bugs we've found. If the majority say they don't like one thing then you'd like to think (if possible) Mark would change it. And whatever hasn't been mentioned means that we like it. Just because we are saying what we dislike doesn't mean we hate the game. EVERY single game you play there will be parts which you hate.

For what it's worth as soon as I saw Mark mention he was hoping for a patch around Tuesday(ish) I bought the game.

We are all allowed our opinions on games. Unfortunately here, if you voice your opinions and try and give feedback you're wrong and someone wants to make an argument about it. I saw it mentioned somewhere that all a few people have done is moan. Beta is for testing, that's what we've done and we have come here to say what we dislike/bugs we've found. If the majority say they don't like one thing then you'd like to think (if possible) Mark would change it. And whatever hasn't been mentioned means that we like it. Just because we are saying what we dislike doesn't mean we hate the game. EVERY single game you play there will be parts which you hate.

For what it's worth as soon as I saw Mark mention he was hoping for a patch around Tuesday(ish) I bought the game.

The only thing I had a problem with was the fact that you were picking up on what was really just a minor error, not a bug, and something that I was able to fix for everyone in about 20 minutes. Constructive feedback is great, I've lost count of the number of bugs I've reported, but I'm fairly confident they will all be fixed fairly soon because of this.

We are all allowed our opinions on games. Unfortunately here, if you voice your opinions and try and give feedback you're wrong and someone wants to make an argument about it. I saw it mentioned somewhere that all a few people have done is moan. Beta is for testing, that's what we've done and we have come here to say what we dislike/bugs we've found. If the majority say they don't like one thing then you'd like to think (if possible) Mark would change it. And whatever hasn't been mentioned means that we like it. Just because we are saying what we dislike doesn't mean we hate the game. EVERY single game you play there will be parts which you hate.

For what it's worth as soon as I saw Mark mention he was hoping for a patch around Tuesday(ish) I bought the game.

You were counting how many bugs you've reported? You really need to get a life.