Issues- update #2 (I’ll start a new post for this soon)

–We’re working on fixing the launcher for OSX

–If you are having trouble installing- please post in comments or send me an email

Hello Everyone!

Today we are launching the game in “LIVE” mode which means everyone starts with a clean slate/no horses- but anyone can join!  Unless things go very horribly- data will not be reset. Currently the game is only available for Mac/OSX and Windows.

Development/Patch Notes:  http://vhr3d.orbisgames.com/patchnotes.html
Download:  http://vhr3d.orbisgames.com/?page_id=1117

Everyone who signs up now (for at least this week) gets 7 days subscription time and 50 orbs to play with (for another subscription month, or spend how you wish.)

For new players:
– Welcome! I’ll be in chat as much as possible to assist with questions and I’ve got my notepad open to keep track of bugs/problems you find.
– Please keep in mind- that we are in Alpha Mode- this means things are not finished. We have big plans and have laid the ground work for big things…
– We are glad you are joining us in our journey!

For Early Access players:
– Welcome again!
-You can keep a copy of the “Dev” game that you have, and download the new game as well. The Dev game has the development data… your old horses and accounts. I may allow transfer of some horses to the Live game if there is a lot of whining etc.. and there are horses that you can not depart with 🙂
-You will need to install the new launcher (it’s prettier) to play the live game with everyone else.
-I will dispatch more Orbs and subscription time again… and you’ll probably get some more when we are officially 1.0 launched …  the amount will be equivalent to the package(s) you purchased.

I have a meeting on Sunday but if you guys keep me busy enough… I will cancel

EDIT: Wrapping up final things- will be ready for public test ~6pm CST 10/28

Hey everyone!
Finally the news you have been waiting for… when when when?! I plan on having a public Launch (Alpha Test II) ready before next weekend (weekend of October 28th, 29th).  Be sure to sign up for our mailing list to get word- I’m uncertain if I am prepared to have the link as a public download link- so it might be by invitation only (but you can share the link with friends).

Everyone should get some subscription time, free “Orbs” to get more goodies of your choice, and goodies! I would like to get some good testing on events done, and all the new features to be added next update. I also expect people to find some serious bugs … along with some very cool horses!

Goal store is being removed- all purchases from the update and on out should be instantly delivered via in-game. If you have already made purchases, and waiting for your second round of stuff (your gifts again)- that will happen when I am certain there will be no “reset.” I will make sure everyone gets subscription time.

Thank you everyone- your patience has been wonderful. This will hopefully be the beginning of a lot faster and serious progress!

I will do another post later on listing the updates for this next public test.

Alpha testers should have received an email today with instructions on how to download and install the launcher. The launcher will install the game and keep it up to date.

A list of new updates will be kept on this page for now: http://www.vhr3d.com/patchnotes.html

Alpha v61 Release Notes 10/18/2016

• The Launcher is in testing- If all goes well with this, you will not need to install the game again. Always start the game by running the launcher to ensure you have the most updated version of the game.
• Events are in testing! While we will improve the UI, auto-events are being ran daily. We encourage you to enter horses of all sorts in events so we can get good tests.
• Wild horse catching- You can now venture out in to the world (“Go Riding”) to spot and catch wild horses. All alpha testers have been granted 20 catches. Different regions spawn different types of horses.
• Multiplayer is active- you can see each other’s horses riding around in game. We are working on getting human avatar & tack done so you can see each other in another form. You can share wild horse spotting with each other, however if everyone leaves the zone it may reset (?)…
• Horses that you are riding are beginning to perform based on stats. This is a work in progress. Tap the forward key (W by default) to increase speed. S to slow down/stop.
• Chat client improvement- you can now see everyone who is online- coming and going (was showing 0 before) . Moderators will not have numbers by their name.
• Gift giving- we (Orbis) can now alot gifts for achievements, and for special events. Everyone should have a subscription.
• Several bug fixes & improvements throughout the game

Hello everyone

We should have a new client with a lot of new stuff (with in a week) so you can play again. Alpha testers/early access people will receive an email. If everything goes well we will enter an invitational Alpha test soon after (Sign up for our mailing list). We needed to test multiplayer aspects and have updated the server code- thus it no longer works with the old version of the game client that you are playing with. I am sorry that this has caused inconvenience- but it just means we are getting a lot of cool stuff done.
If you haven’t checked out our survey about wild horses- do so below in the next post. I’ll be using your feedback to make changes for this next release.

I’m getting excited- yes we haven’t had updates for you in a while, but that is due to our “in flux” state of the game right now. That flux has crossed over to interfere with the server code… it just means we are preparing for more fun stuff.

What’s this about multiplayer? Being able to see other people (well, as their current horse for now) in the world – and sharing wild horse spottings. You’ll be able to race against each other or check each other’s horses out. It will be more snazzy when you have a human avatar- for now, its all ponies…

Hello everyone-
So sorry about lack of communication here. I’m often bad at keeping any form of social media updated, I’ll get back on the ball here now. First off- there were some questions in the comments that I’d like to answer publicly as others might have the same questions.  I just discovered my spam filter was filtering out too much- very sorry about that. Your comments are now visible to the public and responding to them.

When will the game be released publicly?
I really hope August is the month for Beta. Both programmers on this game (myself and John) are working full time jobs right now. Our status should change soon! I have gotten event running to work and added more features/options- will likely distribute a new client to alpha testers pre-beta. 3D world is coming along, horses are starting to behave according to their stats. Going to do the 3d world for viewing and catching wild horses- yay!

Is the game available now on an ipad/tablet?
For early access, you can play on a mac computer or a PC computer- sorry, no tablet versions right now. We don’t have the resources to keep the app stores updated with every new release (While google play makes things simple and free, Apple does not). We will test locally on our devices and hope to have some sort of testing environment for Beta.

If I buy a package on the goal store, I can access the game now?
Yes, anything $15 and above gets you in. I send you an email with instructions, then once you create an account I will set it up with orbs (tokens/special purchases) and a subscription. You will get all this again on official launch.

Can we do a new video?
Yes! I plan on doing two videos very soon- for Steam Greenlight and for a general update. I won’t be able to do an entire scripted scene like the foal being born- we’ve exceeded our animation budget 😉 Don’t worry- there will be plenty of horses moving around doing cool things. Also will show more about the game and core game play.

We can’t wait to get the game out in to beta status. I often find myself playing when I should be developing! Thank you everyone for your enthusiasm. I will be posting more updates next week with pictures, and hope to have that new video update very soon.

Hello all, thanks again everyone for your support!
I’m providing a step by step guide to Early Access here:

1. Once you purchase a package that includes early access (any purchase $15 and up) you will get an email titled: “VHR3D Alpha Test-Early Access”. If you do not receive this email with in an hour after purchase, email me at [email protected] and include the email you purchased with. Included in this new email we send you are some more precise instructions below my personalized text.

• 2. Follow the instructions on the email and download the link provided- if you need a mac app- reply. I ask for this so I can track who is who and make sure things are working (so far, mac app has been working, yay!)
• 3. Once downloaded and unzipped, launch the .exe file that was named in the email‏
• 4. Configure the settings to your choosing- so far we just have resolution but keybindings will arrive soon.
• 5. The game will prompt you to sign up, sign up- with the email that you purchased your package with, if you pick a different email let me know.
• 6. Once logged in, you will be seen and if you are not contacted in chat- please wait up to 12 hours for your full package of orbs to “test with” and a subscription so you can breed horses.
• Meanwhile – you can generate up to 50 wild horses and have some fun exploring the game!

Hello all!

This week will be the last week the Goal Store offers the Early Access Package for $15 (includes 15 orbs to play with and a 3 month subscription). Any other package or purchase above $15 will include Early Access as well. You will get an email shortly after purchase and can immediately start playing…. just keep in mind it is under construction 😉 You will be able to sneak in before Beta if you purchase other packages after this week- we are just closing the Early Access Package. Why? So you get your full value and don’t purchase a day (for example) before Beta Release

Early Access [digital ] $15.00 USD

Shop Now!
Alpha Test our game! Access the game now while we are developing it. 124/200 Available

We will then be hunkering down on development for the few weeks (hopefully) to wrap up rough edges like event running and the 3D World. See our development plan here. Some of this is already underway- and a new client will soon needed to be downloaded. Hopefully we have the launcher up and running next update, and from then on the game will auto update when you start it up. I hope to have a public beta up with in a month.
Each $ right now helps us get the game out significantly faster and better! So not only do you get to play right away, but we get to continue working on it right away. Win Win Hurrah!

I play too! Here’s a horse I bred!

Thank you so much everyone! I appreciate all the support we can get whether it be telling your friends or joining us for Early Access.

Again, input has been amazing and we have been able to get more work done in the past few days. Alpha Testers/Early Access people should receive an email with further instructions.

Here’s a list of the newest fixes/additions:

• You can release horses, and they will now retire at age 30.
• Many UI fixes- Going between stables, pastures, and search etc.. should be smoother and bring you to the first panel. Closing a horse on search should no longer bring you back to start of list.
• You shouldn’t have to relog to see new horses purchased in your stable/pasture.
• Horse search for horses for sale has been fixed. Horse search now brings up 50 results. Still not much now- I suggest narrowing search down.  Forgot to remove studs that were too young, so if searching for studs, you can put age 3 as minimum.
• You can no longer see unborn foals by looking at offspring.
• New foal stats have been reworked. It will take many generations and hard training to get them with significant higher base stats. Foals will only receive bonus in stats if  one or both the parents were trained (the green #) to at least 25% of their base stat (the white#).
• Arab x Saddlebred, Arab X NSH, and Saddlebred x NSH should now result in a National Show Horse foal.

I hope this to be the last update for a few days- unless we need to put in some critical fixes. The next update will be working on Events, and the 3D world additions.

My To Do list for upcoming updates:

1. Event running, UI rework to big panel, event testing begins.
2. Music & sound underway
3. 3D world- horses not being have natural & idle behaviors. Horses perform based on stats, click to change horses/open panel. Change riding speed/spacebar to jump. Horses only load at ranch zone & wild horses found in world elsewhere. Horses get tired based on activity & endurance.
4. Ranch Panel updated w/ features like naming Ranch & lookin perty.
5. Ranch Zone- equipped with barn, fences, jumps etc.. (objects currently under construction)
6. Private Breeds/Colors
7. Clubs fully functional
8. Double the amount of markings & patterns for beta.
9. —Beta Begins—
10. Marketplace world – ride with other players & share/trade horses.
11. Get funding for Human Avatar & animations, tack, & implementation.

Added a number of fixes for this release for Alpha/Early Access Testers. You will need to check your email again and delete old game, and download new one to get the fixes. Sorry about the inconvenience- we will have a launcher soon that will do this for you automatically.

• Fixed Foalzillas (supersized foals)
• Taking turns should now work again- sorry about that, I broke it.
• Several marketplace fixes- results show up properly when no matches (well empty page shows up)
• You can now stud & buy/sell animals with each other.  Keep it cheap- not much of an economy yet and receiving money will not work until later this evening.
• Foals should no longer be born if mom is in pasture.
• New foals should be less strong a bit in base stats- this has yet to be really tested when parents are trained highly.
• Some genetic & color name fixes.
• Several other minor fixes & improvements.

New fixes for alpha testers- Instructions have been emailed to you:
Note- Foals are Gigantic/patternless in panel at moment- this has been fixed on our end and you can redownload game later to get this fix. I will post here when it has been updated.

New foals have bit of nerf (untested)