Written By: Jumper
VHR players have suddenly become distressed at the recurring message “Too many matches (3355), please narrow search down. Back”. You cannot search for a stud of some of the more popular breeds, such as Thoroughbreds and Arabians, without getting this message. You can’t even search for a horse for sale without getting that message.
Some players would like to have more advanced search options, such as the ability to search for a horse with certain stats, or a price range option, to help prevent this.
“I agree totally - we need more advanced search criteria.”- Wind Walker
“Yes, I think more advanced search options would be great. No only would it stop the "To Many Message" but it would also cut out all the low quality studs that you would also have to go through” - MustangLover
Some think the message should be gotten rid of. If we want to search through all of them we should be able to.
“I think Nef should just get rid of the "too many" thing. Who cares if there's a lot? It's our choice if we want to weed through them all. No skin off anyone else's back.” KzooCowgirl
Moderator Kesquivalerian explains why this message is shown to us: “The reason the 'too many horses' thing comes up is because listing all 780000000 horses with X traits chews up a massive amount of database energy, and those search requests can bog down the entire server for everyone else.” And also tells us what would be easiest for Nef to possibly do. “I think a price range would be possibly the easiest thing to code (having worked on Access databases myself - a numeric range is fairly simple) ... particularly if the ranges were selected using a couple of dropdown boxes instead of being user-input (Say $0-$5000, $5001-$15,000, $15,000-$50,000, and so forth. However, these are completely arbitrary, and not necessarily the best amounts to range)”
Written By: Shade
Wind Walker of Wind Walker Enterprises/Wind Walker Farm, has founded a program, called the Newbie Horse Program, to help new/novice VHR players out. It provides fully trained horses of all kinds to players that cannot afford to buy a good, quality horse.
"I just believe it is a very worthwhile effort," says founder, Wind Walker. When asked why she started the program, Wind Walker said, "I started my program because there seemed to be a lot of complaining about the number of low statted horses and newbies breeding untrained horses, so I started paying attention to horse prices and realized that most newbies can not afford to buy a decent quality horse and also have it trained by a sponsor. Then I looked at prices on the market and saw how ridiculously high it was to buy shoes and vaccinations. I figured it would cost 150,000 to 200,000 for a newbie to have one good horse. As you know, I buy sponsorships for novices for VHR cash - so I have a lot of money and decided that trying to help newbies get started the right way was a worthwhile effort to invest my funds in."
Will the Novice Horse Program be around and accessible for novices and newbies in the future? "The Newbie/ Novice Horse Program will continue indefinitely", says Wind Walker.
Written By: Roze
Developed after Virtual Horse Ranch, Virtual Pups continues to gain popularity each day. Because of this fact, Nefertete has decided to combine the two, formerly separate games, into one super-game called Virtual Horse-Pups.
Modeled after Horse Land, this decision will combine “the best of both worlds,” long time player of both, Falsie Joe, said. Many of the players on VHR are ecstatic that they won't have to divide their time between both games.
One of the new features of Virtual Horse-Pups will be the ability to breed horses and dogs together; a dream of player, Peterson, now made into a miraculous reality by Nefertete. “I cannot wait to breed a half Greyhound, half Pegasus,” he said, “Dogs and horses are actually pretty similar…they both have four legs.”
Water Hound, who only plays Virtual Pups, is sure that the new infusion of Virtual Horse Ranch to Virtual Pups will bring new blood, and great ideas. “I believe it can only go up from here. Adding Virtual Pups and Virtual Horse Ranch together is pure genius!”
Also, another benefit to VHR, Horse Landers are talking about abandoning ship and starting off anew at Virtual Horse-Pups. Horse Land player, HorzezRoc2539543, said she plans to suggest the breeding of inanimate objects, like tables, and making events simpler, like her beloved Horse Land.
Many players of Virtual Horse Ranch are enthusiastic about the changes and have even volunteered to give up their horses and money, as will be required for the new game.
“I can't wait to start over,” Beaver Cleaver, said. “So what if I have 55 million dollars? I'd toss it out the window in a second to play Virtual Horse-Pups.”
Editor’s Note: All of this information is false, purely for entertainment, and not to be taken seriously.
Written By: Becky
Player X wrote: "Help! My horse is rubbing the hair on the top of his tailbone out!"
First of all, before you can treat this problem you are going to have to find out what's causing it. Answer the following questions honestly . . .
1. Has your horse been dewormed lately?
Sometimes if a horse is not wormed as often as he needs to be Pinworms will cause the horse's hind quarters, including his tail to itch very badly. Every horse is different but here are a few good rules of thumb for a deworming schedual. However, if you are still unsure of the right schedual for your horse, contact your vet.
* The mature horse with access to grass - about every 8 weeks * The stabled, mature horse with no access to grass - about every 12 weeks. This schedual is recommended by Zimecterin, a very well known horse dewormer. We usually will deworm my horse earlier, Roughly every 6 weeks.
2. Does your horse's tail and/or hindquarters seem to be draining a pus-like fluid?
Pyoderma is a bacterial skin infection that drains pus. When a horse rubs or bites a persistant irritant to his skin, the skin becomes infected. The pyoderma starts only because some other itchy skin disorder was there first. You should always look for another skin problem or disease before you conclude that Pyoderma is the only problem. This can occur after severe tail rubbing.
If I had to guess, I would say that your horse just needs to be dewormed. This a very common problem in horses and can be cleared up quickly. Simply buy a dewormer from your local tack shop. It is a good idea to alternate wormers so that the horse does not become immune. When my horse rubs his tail it is usually a sign that he needs to be dewormed. But, I also wash the top of his tail with a medicated shampoo. Afterwards I massage MTG into the top of his tail. I have never had to wrap his tail to keep him from rubbing, but in a severe case, you may have to.
If the problem doesn't seem to be getting any better within a few days or if it worsens, you should contact your vet immediately.
Meet The Staff!
Editor: Broken
Reporter: Roze
Researcher: Jumper
Advice Columnist: Shade
RL Advice Columnist: RufusPony
Games Organizer: Shai
Reporter/Researcher: Becky
Written By: Becky/Broken
Rumours...suggestions...we here at the VHRWN have heard it all in the past week. We've seen the posts in the forums about VHR2 and we noticed it's causing quite a stir around the game. So what did we do? We gathered together all the questions we, as players, wanted answered. We went straight to Nef for them....and here they are. You'll find great, full answers to most of the questions being asked now about VHRGP and whether it will be ignored...VHR2's special features...screenshots....re-purchasing sponsor accounts...customization...the future of Orbis Games....you name it, it's here. We've covered it all, remember to credit the VHRWN for gathering the answers you need, and Nefertete for so graciously answering them.
VHRWN: Hello Shannon, thank you for taking the time for an interview with the VHR World Newsletter.
Nef: Always a pleasure, It's really exciting to see this newsletter happening and you and the rest of the crew are doing an excellent job.
VHRWN: What inspired you to create VHR 2? Was it the success of VHR Grand Prix? Or constant suggestions from the players for more graphics?
Nef: Well, here is the story. I had partnered last year with Dave Rickey whom is a veteren in the game industry in hopes of building another 3D massive multi-player game. Dave has worked on projects such as Everquest, a developer on Dark Age of Camelot, and also a lead developer on other projects. Well our funding sources did not come through in getting a start on that. He took a serious look in to VHR and saw what a great community this was and the potential to turn it in to a exciting game with graphics. At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco earlier this year he convinced me that building a 3D version of VHR could open up a lot of doors for us. John was already on board and just finished up teaching and studying at University of Maryland. So he moved to Austin with what he could fit in his car to set out for our 'hollywood for nerds' dream (Dave's quote on the gaming business). So we dove head first in to this project and figured out how we could do it.
VHRWN: Will Novice players be able to play VHR 2 as well? Or, will VHR 2 be strictly for Sponsors like VHRO?
Nef: So far as planned but not in cement, everyone will be able to play for the first month for free, with most options available but selling/transfering horses. If it were my world and we could all afford to, I would not do it this way, but there is incurring expenses such as bandwidth, human resources, and customer service that comes along with having a free game. We could not afford to do it otherwise :( The reason for not being able to move a horse out of your stable on a free account, is the abuse we have had on new ranches. Something I have learned from managing VHR :) Probably the rest of the answer is answered above.
VHRWN: What will be see graphics of? Horses? Stables? Competing? Will we see the graphics all the time?
Nef: A lot of it will be like VHR is now, with more text than the average game, the horse stats, the options, etc... You will get to see an overview of your ranch with your horses in it in appropriate color. Oooh, but the fun part of this is you will be able to physically build your ranch, like place fence here and flowers there and barn there :) When you train you will see an animation, this is how its planned, like I said again, untill I see it all its not in cement. Training will be much easier with out having to click 'back' and such, and also faster (better gains etc..). The competition,in the longer run yes, I am assuming most people dont want to see this a hand-eye coordination game, heck I dont because then I would suck even worse :P For competition I would like a way to just view the race, the dressage test, or what ever it is, but this can't happen innitially, unless we want to wait a while longer. What we will need if faith from the players, we are all working on this from faith, if not everything is added innitially, the more support- the more easier it will be to add in more fancy stuff.
VHRWN: Will we be able to purchase colors, foundation horses, and money from the "Goodies" page on VHR 2?
Nef: Foundation horses we can probably do. On colors, what we have in mind is a program to customize any horse color. Basically you will sit there with a swatch display of colors, customize the 'skin' color of the horse as you wish (this will be easily usable), and from there you can customize the name of the color you wish. The horse can be displayed in its unique color to anyone else, almost tangible and real :)
VHRWN: When do you plan on releasing VHR 2?
Nef: Well, got some good news today, but it doesn't answer the question really. Funny thing is I will have more details tommorow, but optimistically we say October. If things dont go as planned, December.
VHRWN: When do you plan on opening the game for Beta Testing?
Nef: Beta testing should happen a few weeks before we are ready.
VHRWN: [We] saw on Orbis Games that VHR 2 will be available as a download. Will this download be compatible with all computer types? (Apples, Windows, Macintosh, et cetra)
Nef: Yes it shouldn't be too complex to make it compatible with Macintosh as well as windows. There will be a downloadable version for each operating system, including linux.
VHRWN: Will training be similar? Will we be able to roll stats?
Nef: Training will be there but easier and more enjoyable. I am still debating on whether stats should roll, I would like to hear what players think on this.
VHRWN: Will there be breed caps in VHR 2?
Nef: Yes, much the same as on VHR now.
VHRWN: "..Customizing a horse's appearance in 3D." What do you mean by that?
Nef: The plan I have is we will make an optional tool for you to change the RGB (red green blue) values on so far what we have planned, about 6 different skins on several different models. This will allow you to be able to create thousands of different color types. The different skins will include a color rule set for: bays, chestnuts, paints, appaloosas, zebras, duns and more. I have just recieved word today that this can actually happen, so details are still bit sketchy and hate to promise things that might not be initially there.
VHRWN: Will we be able to have multiple accounts on VHR 2?
Nef: There will not be much need to, this was one of my primary concerns. The 'pasture' space will preserve horses over turns, So unless you put your horse in a stable it will not age. Before adding a reason to add more accounts, I would rather allow an account more ranches in VHR2.
VHRWN: We can build a barn? How so?
Nef: You bet. You will be able to select an initial barn/stable style, fences, flowers, trees, grasses, and you name it, and place it where you wish. This will be done in a click and drag style. When other people come and view your ranch, they will see the masterpiece you built.
VHRWN: Will VHR 2 have a chat room and forum?
Nef: Yes.
VHRWN: Will you be hiring more Game Ops? Or, will the VHR Grand Prix game Ops also be the VHR 2 Game Ops?
Nef: We will certainly need help as always, especially for the forum and chatroom. I wish to expand the help services and build a way for game ops to do their jobs in VHR2. I am always recruiting more game ops and everyone over 18 is welcome to apply at http://www.orbisgames.com/gameops.php .
VHRWN: A lot of players want to know if they will have to purchase new sponsors for VHR2. What's the verdict on this if there is one?
Nef: Unfortionately sponsors will probably have to purchase a subscription after a free months trial. I will be working on something for our faithful veteren players. but I can not promise anything yet. It will probably be charged on a monthly subscription basis, details are undetermined as of now....
(IN ANOTHER ANSWER TO THE SAME QUESTION...) I have not figured out the details on this one exactly. But most likely it will go like this: the first month will be free, and then a monthly subscription cost. There will be little need to have more than one account since the 'pasture' area will be able to not age horses.
VHRWN: Will VHRGP be fixed up even with VHR2 around? As in NPC riders, tack, and various other little bugs.
Nef: Yes, infact these various little bugs and such I plan on fixing before VHR2 is around. Hopefully we will be able to even enhance the web based game even more, with the funds from the 3D version. First of all, I shouldl be able to hire people to help with the tasks I see absorbing most of my time to prevent these updates from happening as they should.
VHRWN: There was talk awhile back of new sponsor skills and evidence of them coming in to play. Will these ever become a reality or are they in the works?
Nef: Breeding skill and ranch management are the 2 I would love to add. After I do a Virtualpups update this week thats next on my agenda, as well as fixing the above mentioned bugs (thanks for the reminder!).
VHRWN: When will new screenshots of VHR2 be coming out?
Nef: I can't wait to post new screenshots! If I posted something now it may be all changed. The 3D horses and most of the graphics are currently being built. Hopefully I can post a screenshot up this month,I would love to show the part where you actually build your ranch (select items, fencing, flowers etc.. to be placed).
VHRWN: Do you find your workload to be overwhelming with the running of VHRGP, Olympian, VP, and soon-to-be VHR2?
Nef: With VHR2 I am not doing the programming, I am just feeding the information to the 'builders' so thats not been a huge workload. I wouldn't say its overwhelming, I love the work so its my fun too. My fiance may complain at the hours I spend on my computer. What may get overwhelming is that I am balancing all ends of running a business and a game, I sometimes loose attention to focusing on programming and such :) VHR2 should be the blessing, in helping us expand so I can do my job properly in meeting promises and expectations.
VHRWN: Where do you want to go with Orbis Games? (ie. where do you see it >ten...fifteen years down the road?) Nef: I want to build 3d massive multi-player games, have the office out of my apartment, and provide good entertainment. Our plans five years and ten million dollars from now is to be releasing a historically themed MMORPG - details I cant explain too much on. We want to build more and more great games. From there we plan on being there to help young gaming companies grow, to be the angel company with strong ethics and a fun place to work at. Thats all, I never leave my dreams on the pillow when I wake up :)
VHRWN: Are you starting to make financial gain off of any of the games or are they generating enough to support themselves?
Nef: It has become my day job. Same old Honda Civic and no real horse yet :( Any money that has been profited after overhead is paid, is spent right back in to the company. VHR2 is being built on faith, and some wonderful help from companies, family, and people that were once in our shoes.
VHRWN: Thank you for taking the time for this interview Nef! I'm sure the players will really appreciate this special sneak peek into VHR 2.
There you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak! You asked for a more graphic VHR? You got it! You asked for more features? You got it! VHR 2 proves to be even better than what game developer, Nefertete, let on. Special thanks to Nefertete for this exclusive sneak peak into VHR 2!
Written/Researched By: Becky
The issue of Novice players wanting more perks seems to come up almost weekly. This topic has been found as far back as "The Great Reset" and as recently as yesterday. Everyone has their own opinion on the matter. However, in a recent poll, 41 players were surveyed, 21% said Yes, Novices should get more perks, while 78% said No, Novices should not get more perks. The vast majority of VHR Players seem to think that Novices should not get more perks. Why?
“I am a novice and TOTALY understand the reasons! Sponsors are awesome to pay that money and novices should always understand that sponsors pay about $30 of their real life money for that! That’s not really cheap. So, no, I think we are fine and this is more than we deserve for free.”
- Celtic_Myst
Are the VHR Sponsors spoiled? There can always be too much of a good thing. Are the perks that sponsors have unfair? Everyone needs to be able to train their horses properly to be able to better the next generation. Is it fair that one of the few perks sponsors have is better training? Shouldn't everyone be able to train their horses equally? This would make VHR an even more competitive game and better almost every horse.
“I'm a novice, and I must say I'm really happy. Sponsors do deserve more, like being able to train quicker, craft things, etc. Because they pay, and I understand why the game is that way. Nef has to use her own money to keep the site running, to keep us happy.”
- Chels *CRR*
Are the VHR Novices spoiled? VHR is said to be nearly unrivaled as a massive multi-player equine web-game. Shouldn't the Novices be grateful that they get to play forever for free on such an amazing game? Sponsors pay $30.00 U.S. Dollars for their accounts. This amount of money varies in different countries. If all the Novice players were suddenly on the same level, would Sponsors suddenly lose the vast majority of their income? Would the value of horses decrease?
“I don't think novices deserve any perks either. Believe me, I was a novice once, and I know how it was. I started a huge fight between novices and sponsors. But now that I'm a sponsor, I realize that novices really do have it good. They don't need anything extra, because they already get to play this amazing game for free. I know at least a couple novices that have made millions by working hard, and having good friends. It's the people who don't want to work hard at it, and are lazy, that want all those perks. If you want a sponsor, you're going to have to work for it, simple as that.”
- Bobbysgirl37
Would it be fair for the two parties to be equals? Who is really getting the better deal here? Is it the Novice players who get to play for free? Sure, they cannot train as well, but their horses can be sent out for training. Let's face it, some sponsors, for whatever reason, send their horses to another sponsor for training. Novices cannot catch wild horses, but, they can buy them from the goodies page. Or, do the Sponsors get the better deal? Sponsors are able to create events, create clubs, and are never at the mercy of another player. They can create events and clubs whenever they want to, they never have to worry about if and when they'll get their horses back from the trainer, and they have a better chance at earning more income. Thus, they can afford to have the best. So, who is really getting the better deal here? Are the two parties already too close to equals? Do Novices deserve more perks? You be the judge!
Researched/Written By: Becky
Lately, VHR has been buzzing with excitement! This week, the topic on everyone’s lips happens to be confirmation horses. What can we attribute the new interest in this discipline too? Perhaps it was VHR’s first ever ten million play cash winning stallion, §DL The Clincher, owned and shown by Shimmer. Or perhaps it was the challenge. No matter how much training you put into a confirmation horse, you cannot improve the horse’s performance. This really gets the pressure on for breeding absolute perfection.
“I specialize in confirmation horses, basically because there's a lot of pretty good stock out there to start out with. They're pretty easy to find too, I don’t have to go searching through the marketplace for hours trying to find one with a decent score. And that's why I think a lot of players specialize in them. There are a lot of good lines to buy from as well, like Kesquivalerian of Contrasts. That's where I bought most of my current stock, as well as a few others.”
- Shade
So, how do you know if your horse is going to be the next big thing? As with most cases, the Trial Events prove to be a great help. Although you can never receive a perfect zero penalty score, the closer you are to zero, the better. All confirmation horses are judged against their breed standards. You can find your breed’s standards by going to your horse’s page, and clicking on their breed pop-up link at the top of the page.
“Money. Money. Money. Money. Money. Money. Money. Money. Money. That's what makes ‘em HOT. Clincher got Shimmer 10 million, wouldn't you love that too?”
- Paula**
As with all disciplines, Confirmation is difficult. Not every horse has the ability to be a winner. The best advice I can give any player is to ask around and find the expert in your division and check out the event results section to find out what the average winning score is.
Written/Researched By: Roze
Unbeknownst to regular VHR players, SheWolfGeo has turned in an application to become one of the few, the proud, the Ops. Well known about the forums, chat, and VHR in general, SheWolfGeo granted an interview so other VHR players could see how she felt about the position, why she applied, etc. So here’s your chance to get the know the real SheWolfGeo.
Roze: Why do you want to become an op?
SheWolfGeo: I have a lot of time on my hands. It can be put to better use than just sitting and training horses... I always try my best to help others. I always try to be honest; I don't try to take sides in anything that I read. I'm very open-minded, and I listen to everyone and everything.
Roze: Why did you turn in an application to become an op?
SheWolfGeo: One reason is a lot of players have requested me too. It never dawned on me that players wanted me too, until I was asked. Before anyone came to me, I had thought about it, mostly due to the rumors of some power hungry Ops. Rather that is true or not, I don't know. I do see a lot of things that go un-noticed in the forum, unless someone brings it to an Ops attention.
Roze: What are some qualities that you have that would make you a good op?
SheWolfGeo: I'm well liked, but I don't think that should affect anything about being or becoming an Op. I'm a student/housewife, so I'm always on. I feel that I'm a fair person and player. I can take just about anything someone can throw at me.
Roze: Do you have any additional comments or suggestions?
SheWolfGeo: I'd like to suggest an idea for Nef. Since we've all heard of these rumors, I think that maybe Ops, should be replaced every 6 months or so. There should be two days set aside every 6 months, one day for looking over applications, and other to "hire". Any pass Ops are welcome to reapply for the position. I feel that it can help with any rumors, and this so call favoritism that some players feel is a problem...
Think about it: If you were an Op for over 2 years on a game, and sure when you first became one, you cracked down on every little thing.. But after a while, you let things slip, more and more... Its just human nature... Just like a child would annoy his/her parents to get what it wants. After a while, the parents are going to let things slide by.
Written By: Shade
Need to make some quick playcash? Betting is a good way to do just that.
When looking for a good betting horse, one thing to look for is consistency.
Does the horse place first or second in almost every event it's in? If the
horse doesn't, don't bet on it.
Also, if you're quickly going through
events, and you happen to see a horse that has been shown 100 times, and
placed first once, and second 3 times, it's not a very good horse to bet on.
If that horse was only shown in 4 or 5 events, it would have been great. But
you should always remember to compare the wins/places/shows, to how many
events the horse has been shown in.
If you purchase a new horse, and are
wondering how it will do in events, try out Trial Events. This will give you
an idea about how well the horse will do when shown. It will also give you a
few hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on how your horse does.
Good events to bet on are, Western, Racing, and Endurance. Also, check out
the Good Horses to Bet On thread on the forum. Happy betting!
Don’t forget to check Training Contracts $ Connect, and Tips and Tricks for more information on training VHR horses.
By: Shai
This week's game...Reveal-A-Breed!
Send in your guess (one guess only!) to Roze on the forums! More of the horse will be revealed each week...winner gets free ad space for a month!
This week's...
Featured Mare: Frozen Rose
Featured Stallion: Bloodied Bonnet
MuteAppeal
See an example of Mute's work here!
Go to Mute's ranch here!
Written By: Broken
In light of all the negative attention focused on the moderators, such as favoritism, I managed to track down a few well respected and feared Ops who've been around since the beginning and get their views on the issue, their jobs, and life in VHR in general.
1. How long have you been a moderator?
Tote: I've been a mod since I think July of 03'
Ashley: um I was an on and off again one the first couple months the game started, then perma after that.
Dixie: since the end of July 2003
2. Why do you like this job?
Tote: Originally I took it to help out Nef as the game was just taking off and I really enjoyed playing plus I wanted to make sure it succeeded so I could keep playing :-P purely selfish
Ashley: I like it cause I like to help out other members, and I like helping and watchin the game grow.
Dixie: To help players in the game and in chat, and to keep peace and order...attempt i should say
3. What is the most difficult thing you have to do?
Tote: ban people. In all honesty it's not really fun and I don't like being a big meany. I prefer to joke around and have fun but order must be maintained.
Ashley: Um keeping personal issues aside. Ex. having to treat friends the same way as anyone else and hope they don't hold it against me.
Dixie: Things are only as difficult as one makes them... I have done this for so long, nothing is difficult
4. What is your take on the favoritism theory?
Tote: eh I don't really care. I enforce the rules on anyone and have banned plenty of friends. Doesn't matter who it is to me the rules still apply. Of course people that get into trouble want to make a scapegoat and blame someone, but that's why you have to be able to be the bad guy to be an Op
Ashley: I think half and half on there. I believe theres some that goes on, but I also think that most jump to that as an excuse as soon as they are to be punished for something they did... I myself try to not play favors.
Dixie: favortism...Well in my eyes I do not favor anyone. I don't get close enough to the chatters, players or other Ops to favor them... I would kick and ban my mom if she screwed up in chat
5. What kind of stress do you experience doing this job?
Tote: not much stress. Occasionally lack of help and non Ops egging on situations and provoking players annoys but that's the most of it. Mainly I find it amusing when people start rumors and play the blame game.
Ashley: I really don't get much stress from this job. More like I come here to deal with stress from my real life job. Mybe a little worked up if its a frantic night but really thats about it.
Dixie: None, if it gets too tough, I know when to step back, take a deep breath and go back in to chat or support to deal with the issue
6. Do you enjoy being a moderator?
Tote: for the most part yes. I enjoy helping people :-)
Ashley: Yep. Very much so....WHen I'm away for acouple days I miss it.
Dixie: If i didn't enjoy it i wouldn't do it
7. Have you ever thought about quitting? (moderator job or VHR as a whole)
Tote: I actually did quit once very badly but after a month and I had back surgery I came back and saw that there was need for me to return I did and Nef ReOped me I think that Ops do need to take breaks because when you come back you're refreshed.
Ashley: Hmm yeah couple times. 'But then I sit down and think about it and realized that quitting will not help out... that I can do more good by tryin to change things and not jus tleavin and I'd miss yall to much
Dixie: no reason to, if it gets bad, i vent, rage and do my thing in another place other than in main chat. or if its a problem I can't handle I speak to nef..I"m not saying being an OP is the easiest thing in the world to do. It has its moments of bad and good. Cause it can be very stressfull at times but you always have the Disconnect button on MIRC, lol
8. Do you have a lot of time inbetween moderating and RL to play VHR itself?
Tote: Unfortunately modding eats into most of my playtime so in reality I don't get to play much. Occassionally working on a project or training challenge will drag me in and force me to make time ;-)
Ashley: Not alot. But I think I've gotten more into the workin for the game then playin it... I still find time to play... but Its not like I have to play either. I mean I did what I sat out to do...Established myself as a good player with my horses. I'm known for my standies aside of bein an Op.
Dixie: not really i've been playing a bit here and there, but I have a daughter and priorities come first.. i lsot my dad and lost interest in a lot of stuff both online and offline
9. Any suggestions for future mods?
Tote: yes Patience is a must along with wide shoulders to carry lots of blame and accusation. Must be thick skinned and provide certificate of sanity (except that last one definitely wouldn't apply to me )
Ashley: Keep your head up, Don't let friends effect your judgement. Use your head and have fun.
Dixie: If it gets to deep back up and don't be ashamed to let another Mod take over the situation... Keep all info discussed in the OPs chat in the OPs chat... Let the kids have fun but within the rules
10. And lastly, I'm sure the thing everyone wants to know...do you get anything special for being a moderator? (ie. sponsor account, etc.)
Tote: eh it's no big secret that we get a free account, a few colors here and there, and occasionally get to pick new breeds. That's about it not that glamorous and we don't ahve as much access as people assume X-D
Ashley: Yeah I got a sponsor account from it, shes let us help choose breeds to add to the game, Lets us pick out a dye or somethin, But I'd be an Op if we did'nt receive anything. Don't do it for the perks.
Dixie: yes a sponsor account and dyes but only on RARE occasions. Also much love from the "fan club!!!" is it worth gettin a sponsor or dyes to deal with chat and put all the time in? no lol...but its for the love of the game
Thanks to Tote, Ashley, and Dixie for their quotes...hopefully this gives players a little more insight into the world of the VHR Moderators...and perhaps we can all learn to give them the real respect they deserve.