What are some "Hidden" mechanics? Hidden horse mechanics, in particular.

[cascadianhobo]

By "Hidden" I don't necessarily mean "poorly explained" like the weapon familiarity mechanic, since the information is there if you know where to look for it. The best example I can think of is horse courage - beyond what you might be able to infer from the copy in the catalog descriptions and derive subjectively and qualitatively from playtesting, there is no discreet, visible quantitative metric. For instance, I read somewhere that the Ardennes is the most steadfast/courageous in the sense that it will tolerate the most fear before bucking you, and that seems to have be borne out in my experience (especially compared to my Turkoman, from which I can kind of understand how such a healthy breed went extinct since it will turn tail and run at the drop of a feather). But unlike health, stamina, speed, acceleration and agility there's no explicit rating or ranking that's visible to players in- or out-of-game.

I bring up the question for two reasons: One, as a racing enthusiast, I have a blue roan Nokota ("Molly") and Nacogdoches saddle with Bell stirrups, which in theory should equal in speed the best Thoroughbreds and Fox Trotters. But I regularly find her struggling to match pace with those two horses in particular. Could it be character weight, maybe? Or some kind of rubberbanding? Because it's not just that other horses catch up to me, but actually pass me in a side-to-side contest.

On a similar note, the same horse really struggles on the Spider Gorge course. Whereas my black Arabian ("Lenny") seems to struggle a bit at first by then finds his stride and barring a duel with a Fox Trotter holds its own in top speed over the rest of the course. Maybe the Nokota, a relatively small breed, struggles in the deep snow?

And I'm also curious if horse size plays a role in the outcome of collisions. Would my Ardennes ("Karen") hold up better in a Saint Denis Streets brawl where a lower probability of eating cobbles with your face might more than make up for the lost speed?

[Harlock1796]

38 minutes ago, cascadianhobo said:

And I'm also curious if horse size plays a role in the outcome of collisions. Would my Ardennes ("Karen") hold up better in a Saint Denis Streets brawl where a lower probability of eating cobbles with your face might more than make up for the lost speed?

All good questions.  I think I can answer this one, to a certain extent.

My son's character has a shire horse, and that thing just ploughs through Morgans and Arabian's like they're not there at all.  I watch him play from time to time, and I don't think I've ever seen him come off worse from a horse collision.

Less statistically reliable, I often end up facedown on the floor when I crash my Nokota.

[dredd1961]

If you want speed, stamina and good handling then the Arabian is a good pick. Very jittery though freaks out at most things. Fox trotter is fast with good stamina. But dies easily. Jittery as well. Turkoman is a good all round horse for speed, health , stamina doesn't freak out. Shire horse is real tanky.  Saddles/stirrups count as well for perks. 
Best way to go is experiment. Find out what best suits your play style.  Asking other players can be good but most of the responses you will get are subjective. Is that helpful? 

[Ozy8753]

Black Arabian best horse in the game, I don't find it  jittery stomped on crocs with it & run down wolfs, got my fox trotter out it went straight back to the stable riding it felt like driving without power steering 😂

[dredd1961]

2 hours ago, cascadianhobo said:

@dredd1961 It's helpful in that it seems subjective to everyone else, too!

I enjoy that the horses all have distinctive personalities and playstyles, I really do.  For instance, I find my Arabian way less jittery than my Turkoman, for which I'm having a bit of buyer's remorse and kind of wish I'd joined the Cult of the Fox Trotter.

My Nokota got pushed into the rail ahead of the last turn in Saint Denis Plantations today in what to all appearances was a deliberate maneuver - and an effective one, with Molly going down and taking any hopes of a spot on the podium with her.  So I'm going to be taking my Ardennes in to the next Race event and see if I can get the rubberbanding and collision modelling to work for me instead of against me.

I hear the Shire is good in races specially with the right set up. 

[DNMNetTech]

3 hours ago, Ozy8753 said:

Black Arabian best horse in the game, I don't find it  jittery stomped on crocs with it & run down wolfs, got my fox trotter out it went straight back to the stable riding it felt like driving without power steering 😂

My Arabian with either the Nacogdoches or panter saddle seems to never run out of stam. My button mashing wears my hand out first. Not as skiddish IMO as people report. 

[N7Creed]

@dredd1961 

A fully bonded shire even with basic saddle and stirrups does surprisingly well in free roam, so there may be something to gearing one up for racing. Now you have me wanting to try my stable of very varied mounts. (Shire, American Standardbred, Hungarian Halfbred and SE Thoroughbred.)

I Just got my MFT last night and she is amazing. A little skittish but she has no bonding yet, and so responsive. 

Edited June 23, 2019 by Kean_1
combined consecutive posts

[cascadianhobo]

I'm mostly mystified as to how the mechanics of horse collisions play out, generally. I feel like I would crash less often if I understood which angles of attack were more dangerous than others. Not to cause collisions, mind you, but to avoid them.

There is a barrel on the Fort Wallace course that I'm nearly convinced is a trick barrel, because every time I go for it I faceplant, though no other obstacles are readily apparent. Every time I feel like I'm starting to get an intuitive sense of crash mechanics, something happens that throws my model out the window. Methinks server lag also occasionally plays a role.

And if there's catch up or rubberbanding, which many report there is and which I guess it's happening but it's done subtly? And, in the case of shotguns to the back, not so subtly, but in an indirect way if you catch my drift. .

I've never tested trying to slam onto the brakes to throw a horse behind you, partly because it's pretty unsporting, but also because I have no sense of how brute or delicate the collision mechanics are or what degree of randomness is injected as a substitute for nuanced physics and therefore what chances I'd have of surviving, much less finding the holy grail: a counter to the aforementioned shotgun to the back.

@dredd1961 It's helpful in that it seems subjective to everyone else, too!

I enjoy that the horses all have distinctive personalities and playstyles, I really do.  For instance, I find my Arabian way less jittery than my Turkoman, for which I'm having a bit of buyer's remorse and kind of wish I'd joined the Cult of the Fox Trotter.

My Nokota got pushed into the rail ahead of the last turn in Saint Denis Plantations today in what to all appearances was a deliberate maneuver - and an effective one, with Molly going down and taking any hopes of a spot on the podium with her.  So I'm going to be taking my Ardennes in to the next Race event and see if I can get the rubberbanding and collision modelling to work for me instead of against me.

I'm currently bringing Karen, my Ardennes, to races just for a change of pace and testing purposes.  Too early to draw any conclusions, but fun.  One difference is playing from behind seems to mean more shooting to catch up.  And the shooting is not my favorite part (though I'm becoming a better shot for having had to practice).

There's been maybe one collision where it seemed it might have made a difference, but another where I thought it might and didn't. *shrugs*

Edited June 23, 2019 by Kean_1
combined consecutive posts

[AnnieGetURGuns]

These are all such good questions and answers.  I really love trying out the different breeds of horses as well.  I wish we could own more.  I love them all but for sure have my favourites. 

I really enjoy my Belgian draft mare.  She is by far the most steadfast for free roam and what she lacks in speed she certainly makes up for in courage and sheer bulk.  I have had griefers slam full on into her and they go down like the titanic where she just grunts and stumbles a bit.  I love that. 

I also have really enjoyed the Hungarian Halfbred.  This mare is great for traveling across the map and back again.  Just a steady animal even in really obnoxious shoot out ambush scenarios.  Doesn't always WHOA immediately so watch out for the trees and cliff edges. 

I also really like the American Standardbred - really nice horse for missions where you need to get there and back quick.  Can out run the wolves, gives me plenty of snorts and whinny warnings for ambush gangs, cougars and bears.  Not so great in the swamp though.  I have been dumped amongst some alligators but that was my fault for not looking where we were going.  I am trying to level up so I can get the silver tail buckskin with pretty blue eyes and stockings. 

I am currently riding a Thoroughbred and  I just reached 4 bonding with her.  She is turning out to be wonderful.  The only thing I probably wont do is take her back up into the snow as she seems to struggle a bit. 

I also have to say that the Andalusion really surprised me.  I decided to try one out when they started offering a free perlino and at first I wasn't so sure but after you get to max bond and ride them for awhile, they are quite nice actually.  Very versatile.  

The Mustang and Nokota were tough little mounts in the story mode.  I really like them in the desert.  They can run pretty fast and dont seem to mind the rough terrain.  

Again, I wish we could own more.  Maybe the summer update will offer a way to own more or break / train some wild ones.  This might sound quite silly but sometimes I just like to have my character go for a nice long ride around the entire map and just take in all the scenary.  Stop and fish, take some pictures etc.  Helps clear the mind and soul after frantically trying to get XP to level up.  It would be nicer if you could set up camp where you are as I have found some beautiful tranquil spots that I just wanted to spend more time in with my horse.