Starters Orders 7 Horse Racing
- December 1, 2019
- Strategic Designs Ltd.
- 100h median play time
"Starters Orders 7 Horse Racing" is a detailed horse racing simulation game where players can breed, train, and race their own horses. The game features a 3D graphical engine, realistic horse and jockey physics, and an in-depth betting system. Players can also manage their own stable, hiring staff and making business decisions to ensure success.
Reviews
- Starters Orders 7 is the most realistic and comprehensive horse racing management game available, offering deep gameplay that closely approximates actual horse management.
- The game provides a rewarding experience as players learn the capabilities of their horses over time, with a variety of racing and breeding options that keep players engaged for hundreds of hours.
- The modding community enhances the game significantly, allowing for improved race schedules and additional content that enriches the overall experience.
- The game suffers from frequent crashes and instability, which can lead to lost progress due to the lack of an autosave feature, making it frustrating to play.
- Many players find the user interface tedious and overwhelming, with a steep learning curve that can deter newcomers to the genre.
- Despite its depth, the game has several unresolved issues, such as broken breeding economics and underdeveloped betting mechanics, which detract from the overall experience.
- graphics22 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 77 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have been widely criticized for being outdated, resembling those from the mid-2000s rather than a modern title, which many players find unacceptable for the price point. While some users appreciate the simplicity of the graphics in relation to the game's mechanics, others report significant issues, including crashes and poor UI. Overall, the visuals are deemed adequate for gameplay but lack the polish expected from a contemporary release.
“The graphics aren't anything special, but considering the type of game it is, it actually doesn't look too bad.”
“There is a large number of settings including full screen and windowed, various graphic and measurement unit options.”
“However, paying $35 for a game with extremely outdated UI and graphics seems ridiculous.”
“Multiple issues after install, horrendous commentary, seemingly zero in the way of an update to the graphics, and then crashed within 10 minutes of starting.”
“Once you get to a race, the graphics are probably that of a mid-2000s rather than a 2019 game, but they do well enough to convey the action.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay offers impressive longevity, exceeding 100 hours, but is criticized for its simplistic mechanics that allow players to easily exploit the system for profit. While some users appreciate the core gameplay, they express frustration over the lack of improvements and the persistence of previous issues, such as ineffective jockey feedback. Overall, the game could benefit from a greater focus on enhancing core gameplay elements rather than secondary features.
“The longevity in this game is amazing, easily over 100 hours of gameplay.”
“No worries... besides, gameplay is far more important to me, and I'm loving it so far.”
“It is too easy to make millions exploiting this mechanic, and I hope in the next iteration (if there is one) the sales are more dynamic with some risk included that you may lose money if you sell the next season.”
“This would be a stronger game if the attention given to these tertiary components were diverted to core gameplay.”
“Whereas this helps planning my horses on what races to plan for, it is also a frustration as some of the game mechanics are too simplistic.”
“The issues with so6 such as the useless jockey feedback are still present (although now with a picture of said happy/sad/disgruntled jockey!) and there have been no improvements that I can find to the gameplay.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with users reporting frequent crashes, glitches, and an inability to launch the application. Many have attempted troubleshooting without success, leading to frustration over the game's overall performance.
“I've researched troubleshooting issues online and tried a few things, but the application won't even open.”
“Glitches, crashes, and AI jockeys that are about as dumb as it gets.”
“So very buggy; it's a huge shame.”
- story2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The story revolves around the player's role as a trainer and owner, where they strategize race campaigns and manage a private stud, providing a hands-on experience in the world of horse racing.
“You act as a trainer and/or owner, plot out race campaigns, and manage a private stud.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating due to a cumbersome user interface that requires excessive navigation between multiple screens, making it difficult to look up and compare information efficiently. The lack of a search bar further exacerbates this issue, contributing to a tedious experience.
“The tedious UI makes it very hard to play this game, forcing players to jump through multiple screens back and forth to look up and compare information, and there's no search bar function.”
“Grinding feels excessively repetitive and lacks meaningful rewards, making it a chore rather than an engaging experience.”
“The grind is so monotonous that it detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game, leaving players feeling more frustrated than fulfilled.”
- music2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music aspect of the game has received negative feedback, with users noting a lack of any musical accompaniment, particularly at the opening screen, which contributes to an overall bland experience.
“From the get-go, you are greeted by a very bland opening screen, with no music.”