Dynamic manes, feathers etc.

[Macabo]

So i noticed that you have been mentioning this lately, and it got me curious. To what extent will that work?

I'm mostly thinking about one of my favorite breeds, Norwegian Fjord Horse, thinking of their typical mane type, or that Akhal-teke quite often have shaved manes, and if it will be available or not. I'm guessing there will be genetics for feathers and mane type, thickness and so on, but what about a certain look? Will we be able to "cut" their manes, or will everything be automatic?

[larissar]

There will be genetics for potential mane length, some horses will never get a very long mane, others will. There will be various styles (like Akhal-Tekes and Fjord! ) but I haven't decided yet if I want to allow players to cut manes to these styles, or if the horse just naturally has these styles. It depends on what happens in real life I suppose. Some breeds, like the Przewalskis Horse, have naturally short manes and no one trims those, but I suspect that many Fjords have their manes trimmed to the length commonly seen.

Any suggestions or preferences?

[Macabo]

Sounds good with the genetics to me.

At least the fjord horse don't look like that naturally, they have to be cut, so maybe they should have their natural looking mane as a base, with length and everything, and depending on genetics and the type of mane, then maybe some mane-cut options would be available for the horses. I think I would prefer that. So the the fjord horse, and other breeds/mixes with similar genetics of thicker hair would be able to have that style. Then the styles available would be connected to the genetics of the horse, somehow.

A really neat thing, that I think would b highly appreciated, would be the ability to choose a braided mane for our warmblooded horses. Would be a nice bonus style a least. Maybe each mane type/style would have one neat "cutted" version? Maybe the draft horses could have those short tails as an option?

But I guess with a feature like this, it can't be too many different styles. Just to keep those characteristic looks with breeds that people would like to breed for. I think it would ad to the feelings that we seem to gain with our pixels details like that, and would make each horse even more unique.

That would be my preferences at least. I feel like an annoying child in a candy store, pointing at everything that I want.

Would love to hear other ideas and suggestions on this.

[larissar]

I've actually been thinking about braided manes and such too. It wouldn't be too much extra work to do I think. I'll probably start with only a few different genetic options, then later on add in the ability to cut manes, then after that add in the ability to style manes.

The more I think about this the more I really like the idea, and it will be fairly easy to program in too

[Nate]

I also like the idea of being able to cut/style manes and tails, just because we do so often in reality. It would really add something to the game if we can make our horses of a certain breed/discipline look the part.

[Macabo]

I agree with Nate, I think a lot of people would be excited for this feature. I have never found his feature on any game that I have played, so if it's not even That hard to program, then go for it I would say. It would really be worth it I think.