Major new features on Howrse

OK, as promised we're bringing you some more details on the new features and changes that came to Howrse on 9th March 2011. Like anything new on Howrse, there are good and bad points. However, LucyLou and I feel that on the whole, the new features are really well thought out and useful. Some are obvious - like the whole new Sales pages, but others are less obvious. So let's have a look shall we? Starting with the layout and sales:

• The layout of the game has changed. Where there were previously two sections of drop-down menus, there is now just one section. All of the other drop-down menus can now be found in this new, single set. So for example, the 'My Friends' drop-down menu which was in the top section, is now located under the 'Community' drop-down menu. So if you can't find something - don't worry - it will be under one of the five new menus..

• The Sales pages. There used to be a separate page for Auctions and Direct Sales. Well now, they can both be found on one page, under different tabs. So the sales are still listed separately but it's now quicker to switch between the two. There's also a third tab for your Reserved sales.

• Sales listings. A big change here. There's more information on each horse, but at first glance, it's not as easy to get an idea of a horses' skills. This is because instead of a set of stars showing the skills, you now just get the skills written as a number. So visually, it's not as obvious how many skills a horse has. On the positive side though, you now get a visual guide to all the BM items a horse has as well as the horses' GP which really helps.

• Negotiable sales. A really nifty new feature is the ability to list your Direct sale as 'negotiable'. What this does is add a little link to the sale page of your horse. If someone clicks on the link, it automatically generates a private mail (PM), with the horses' name on it. All you do then is type in your offer and send the PM. This is great as it saves time copying the name of the horse, going to the players' page, choosing to send them a PM, pasting in the horses' name and then typing your offer. Also, it shows buyers that the price of the Direct sale is not fixed and that you are open to offers. One other little change that has happened since the new features were introduced - the 'Only my sales' tick-box is now located on the right-hand side of the page, above the 'price' column. Nice one Howrse.

• Sales searches. Some small but much-needed changes here. You can now search for retired coats (hooray) and Lyre's. Also, where you could previously only choose 'more' or 'less' in the price, skills, GP and passes boxes, you can now also select 'equals'. So this means you can specify exactly how many passes you are looking to pay for your horse. A nice touch that.

• The Auction sales. This page has the same layout as the Direct Sales page, but obviously has the 'time remaining' column in as well. Some important changes to auction sales. Now, once a single bid has been made, the auction cannot be cancelled. We think this is a great move by Howrse. It was so unfair for players to bid on an auction and then have it cancelled at the last minute. Also, Pegasus Account holders can now sell horses for Passes - in the auctions. This is another great idea. I've successfully bid on a horse this way and I really like it as a way of buying horses. And you can just use the search in the Auction sales to look for Pass sales.

• Auction debiting. As with the Flash Sales, with the new Auction system, the amount of money you bid is automatically taken from your account as soon as you bid. This is an excellent feature as it means players can no longer bid more equus than they have in their account. I think quite a few of us will be pleased about this!

• New maximum prices. This is a significant change in gameplay. Howrse now allows Direct Sales to have a maximum price of 1 million equus. The maximum number of passes you can ask for is still 20 - so you can sell a horse for 1 million equus and 20 passes instead of the previous limit of 200,000 equus and 20 passes.

• Divine sales. Another major change to the game. You can now sell Divine horses for up to 1 million equus and 200 passes in the Direct Sales. So sales of Divines are no longer restricted to the auctions. Now as a guide, Ultimate Howrse values a pass at 50,000e. This is because 'pass horses' generally sell for 50,000e. Obviously this price fluctuates, but it's a pretty good guide. So - if a Sleipnir is in the Direct Sales at 1 million equus and 200 passes, that equates to roughly 11 million equus (the 1 million equus added to the sum of 200 times 50,000e for each pass). So - for a Sleipnir that's a lot more than the cost in the auctions where they generally sell for 5-8 million equus. So beware of those Direct Sales!

Phew. We really hope you find this info useful. We'll be bringing you details on the other changes soon. In the meantime, if we've missed anything (other than the EC changes) just let us know. Also, if you've discovered and little tips and tricks, tell us and we'll share them with the Ultimate Howrse community.

Patsy