[Discussion][Economy] Plans about economy changes and tax
under review
S
Stephanie Peters
Jus saw the post on live and I have a few misgivings, similar to thos posted in reply to the News Post https://v2.horsereality.com/news/235/development-update-july-2025
- I would definitely not tax the sales market, it's already very hard to sell even top horses!
- Reduced chances of winning DP overall AND a tax on DP stud fees seems an overcompensation. I'd do maybe 30%-40% chance at 100DP one time and 5 for the rest of the day
Discussion?
Sparrowhawk
Hey folks! You most likely seen the statement from the team that was shared yesterday, but just to clarify more: The economy update will not come into the game as was outlined in the dev update.
I will keep this thread open until we have a new plan and have shared said new plan with you, so the team can have a look at this discussion while making a new plan.
Thank you for being constructive and sharing what you think doesn't work, what perhaps can work and how you feel. Please always feel free to contact any of the team or make these discussion threads, because I think it's important to keep in contact with the community.
SyndicatePhoenix
Taxes are bad. Period. They don't solve any issues whatsoever, and punish new players more than those who sit with millions on their accounts. This will only make players switch their payment methods (using one currency more than other) to avoid paying these taxes.
Difference between HRC and DP:
HRC
* conformation/competition entry: the entry fee vanishes only if the confo/comp runs,with requires people to enter 10 horses in confo shows (may be hard if the breed is unpopular and there are very few breeders within that breed) and 5 horses to run the competition. If the competition runs, you get back the fee. So....if you lose the HRC or not, depends if the comp runs or not.
Problem?
Not everyone enters comps (pain in the A training discourages people from train for competitions), or confo shows (simply not interested in competing horses)
* buying tack removes HRC. It's a one-way thing. But unless you compete,you will never buy those things so tack is useless to everyone unless you compete
* Foundie market - HRC disappears. Mostly used when new genes/breeds release. Having parentless foundies is a win,but once the breed developes a bit (confo, GP,stat and colour wise) it becomes useless until next time we have new release
* exchange - switches one currency into another. Not really disappears,just moves accounts
Meanwhile DP
*aging up horses - one way ticket. Once you age up the horse,the DP goes poof.
* Premium - once bought,DP goes poof
* buying stalls (if not at max capacity) - once you buy a stable, DP goes poof
* exchange - you exchange currencies.But once you get the DP you may end up using it for either stalls, aging up or premium with removes it from the system.
* buying backgrounds also removes DP
Taxing premium currency is shady in so many ways I cannot put into words why. it's basically a "we know you bought it,now let us delete more of it than necessary so you have to buy more at a faster rate" move. Not sure if it's even legal,and even if it is, it's still disgusting way to handle economic issues in game enviorment.
SyndicatePhoenix
(more incoming)
As for HRC,I rather see mechanics that remove HRC than being taxed. Something that wouldn't reuire too much coding (at least in theory):
*allowing players buy premium for HRC
*aging up with HRC (75k/6 month)
I know premium currency is supposed to give something that basic ingame currency can't, but only way to effictivly remove a currency from the game is to put in things people want to use and will use. Not shove penatly for buying vials (that many people use to pay for art and other services made by other players for them).
Yes I get it,SOME players gain 1000DP from confo shows. Guess what: they are very,very rare. Instead of limiting how much DP a player wins from confo shows, how about checking what leads to some players gaining 1000DP from confo shows and others don't. Are they a top player/established player/old player? With shows do they enter? Is it established breed or a new one? Do they breed one or several breeds? Are all of their horses top of the line horses that always win or only one of them does it? Do they win this DP from several different confo shows directed at dufferent breeds or 1 confo show directed at a specific breed they specialize in?
Maybe put in limit that you can win DP only from one breeds confo shows. For example, a player with 10 breeds can win DP only from breedX confo shows, and the other remaining breed confo shows they enter will hand out only FT,WT and HRC. With confo shows would be the ones that hand out DP to the player would be decided by the player by choosing their main breed (we would need a main breed choice to be added to sign-up forms, settings and profile page).Main breed could be changed once per 6 months in case someone changes their mind and wants to switch their breed to another one.This change should not cost DP, but a HRC fee of 50K would work fine.If the player chose Arabians as their main breed,only Arabian confo shows will hand out DP when their horse win.
Note: choosing main breed would not limit players to having only one breed in their stable or prevent them from buying other breeds. This feature would be only to make sure the player wins DP from 1 kind of confo show rather than 5 different ones.
SyndicatePhoenix
It would be much better if you guys posted a "we heard there are issues with economy in game. With currencies cause this issue and what kind of things do you think we could do to fix them?", let people discuss it,and then try to figure out a fix for it with the feedback gathered beforehand. Gather info before you throw this kind of "fixes" into players faces and then tell them to suck it up when they tell you it's a bad idea. Put in mechanics that actually remove HRC (feeding, horse shoeing, maybe allow skipping waiting time for horse to be trained by paying XX HRC /training bar, necessary vet checks for all horses every 2 weeks or they can't compete) rather than adding an insulting penalty.Because that's what these taxes are, an insult.Nothing more,nothing less.
(posting it like this because well...2500 chars is just not enough if you want to have proper discussion X) )
S
Stephanie Peters
This was linked on the news post, but I thought I'd repost it here, because it is already getting buried. Some very good points made there
dubowell
All around this is an extremely poor idea.
Reducing DP winnings = Will harm people. This is reading ad a p2w feature. youre restricting DP winnings naturally so people have to buy them. AND then taxing them on top of that. There's a lot of people who can't spend IRL money to get DP so you're shooting them in the foot here. I won't stop showing my top NDH just to give somebody else a chance at winning. so im not getting DP and they won't either... it seems counter intuitive here.
The implementing taxes will serve no purpose other than to shut down the market even more. most players would rather inbreed than reduce prices of their horses or spend more money on coverings.
I have more to add but i have a phonecall so will continue typing later lol
Sparrowhawk
under review
Hi everyone! Just chiming in that we'll be reading along, although I can't comment something concrete as yet.
Thanks for creating this discussion here, Stephanie Peters, it's much appreciated!
j
jennaduncan
Adding another comment based off of what I saw TheBadgerLady post in the beta game chat on discord, I think a wonderful sink for both HRC and DP would be tack that is visible on the horses. I would happily pay tonnnsss of money if I could see vanity items on my horses, and I believe others would as well. This could change the economy, take away tons of excess, and make players happy.
j
jennaduncan
I feel like taxing anything in the game is a bad move. I understand lowering DP win chances to prevent top players from hogging rewards, but taxing studs and semen vials just doesn’t sit right.
First, is it even legal to tax DP in-game since DP is purchased with real money, which is already taxed? If it is legal, it still feels ethically wrong; you're essentially taking money from players who already paid real cash.
Second, if a tax system must be added, then there should be some kind of return, like in real life. We pay taxes and often get a refund. If we’re comparing this to real-world systems, then implement all aspects. Having DP or HRC disappear into a void only reinforces the idea that you're taking from the player without giving anything back.
Third, why not bring back the university or a similar feature that helped stabilize the economy? From what I’ve heard, it was popular and would make more sense than taxing.
Lastly, there really should be a voting system on Live for major game changes. The players keep this game running, so they deserve a voice. This would reduce the shock factor, help players feel heard, and show that the devs care about community feedback.
DP is already hard to get unless you spend real money. The anniversary rewards being removed also made no sense. These changes are making the game feel more pay-to-win, which is frustrating when it’s advertised as free-to-play. I get that the team needs income, but pushing players to spend real money isn’t the answer. It feels unfair.
It’s also been said that new players will replace the old ones. That mindset is toxic. Long-term players are leaving because of recent changes, and I can see this trend continuing. If the attitude is “we don’t care if players leave,” then why build a game at all? I don’t mean to sound harsh, but it’s upsetting.
I was a loyal Howrse player for over a decade, and I left because devs didn’t listen; that game is now a ghost town. I’d hate to see this one go the same way.
S
Stephanie Peters
Regarding, again, the conformation show changes. The only way other players also have a chance at winning is if the person being day champion does NOT own most of the high-scoring horses and does NOT enter them in all the shows. You only have a shot at DP if you're day champion. In most cases that's going to boil down to a handful of players per breed, winning DC again and again. I for onw ALWAYS enter, all of mine, even when they're older. For the XP and the occsaional small confo win.
It does not increase the chances of the poorer players to win DP because they aren't going to win DC.
S
Stephanie Peters
Edited, removed original idea because it was bad
Reading through all the comments, one thing I suppose makes taxing DP a really bad idea is that a LOT of those DP have been bought with real money. So, essentially, you are removing currency from the game that has been bought with real money. I'm not sure if there are legal ramifications here, but it definitely doesn't seem entirel ethical. Also with the currency exchange, there is no way to tell how many HRC, WT or FT have in effect been paid for with real currency, so it would exctend there.S
Stephanie Peters
Another good point raised: It would be nice for competition breeders to also have a chance at winning DP (I know there's the Exchange, but it would be nice nonetheless)
Load More
→