DEBATE: Lethal genes on Equiverse

The latest poll is asking us whether we should allow lethal genes on Equiverse, i.e. OO or WW. Currently it's impossible to breed these, even if both parents have O or W. I expect if this changed, then that would mean any foals born with either of these genes would die at birth. I'm assuming just the fact that they're being called lethal genes means we won't end up with impossibly healthy OO or WW horses under the proposed system.

I was just wondering, how does everyone else feel about this? Let's hear your thoughts on the pros and cons of each system.

Personally I love the idea.  I think it adds an extra level of challenge and reality to the game.  I was sort of surprised that they weren't included in the first place.

I agree with you. My Tio lost an adorable foal to that. I wouldn't like these new genes as it would kill off the foal. I would not like losing a foal to those genes. Instead of adding that why don't they add something like were a mare can give birth to twins, at least you won't have to worry about those genes killing a foal. Even though twins can be dangerous, it is about how healthy the stallion and mare are. And anyway one foal lives the other doesn't, one will be cared for by the mother, but she will abandon the other.

Last edited on 2017-05-03 at 14:00:56 by Secretariat's Seabiscuit

Twins can be extremely dangerous to a horse though.  It's not something a breeder tends to want to breed towards.  A lot of the time you can lose both foals in those situations.  Lethal white would generally mean you just have to be careful of who you're breeding your horses to.  This would make genetics a bigger part of the game.  If you have a mare that's Oo and you're wanting to breed to a Oo stallion, you really have to consider if that 25% chance of OO is worth it.

Just to confirm, I know there was no actual description of what I meant by lethal genes, but essentially yes - the foal would be born, it would live for one day so you could see its stats etc, but the next day it would die from its lethal gene.

I'm not sure I support this. Some people will breed their horses only once or twice, and it would really stink if a horses only foal would die. Also, if you had a carefully planned project where each horse was to be breed a specific number of times, I think that the possibility of one of the foals dying would really mess that up.

Totally support!
I love the idea of genetics playing more of a key in breeding. It makes the game more realistic, and it means more thought needs to be placed into breeding projects.
Sure, it would suck to have a foal die from the lethal genes, but it forces more users to reveal the genotype more often.

Support! Makes for more realistic, more challenging breeding.

I don't think this would be a good feature to add, some players (myself included) don't like to reveal genotypes because of the cost, so they wouldn't know the horse's foal had a good chance of having a lethal gene, and others don't understand genetics well enough to know not to breed horses with genotypes that would result in a lethal gene. I agree with everything DJ Hoofbeats said as well. CheshireKttty is right, it would add reality to the game, but it likely would make members less encouraged to breed.

Ugh, I'd have been all for it if I was a breeder that bred more than once or twice. With a slow horse market I don't really want to have to breed extra foals just in case my last pairing happens to be a lethal foal and then be stuck with those for however long. 

However, in terms of education I think it'd be valuable as long as there's a clear description/warning about lethal genes, maybe a mark in the genotype with the info to explain it. Unless you exclusively breed overo/white horses, I think the chances of having many lethal foals are pretty low. 

Though I think having the foal live for a day then die would cause continuous confusion and be a constant q/a, so personally I would have it stillborn on the day of birth but still have it listed in the mare's foal list with a link to it and show up in former horses with a stillborn note.

I like this idea because it added a challenge. maple make a good point. The foals being born and then dying the next day would cause some confusion. Maybe a message should be added that says something about the genes being lethal. Also since these genes will be implicate, would it be possible to get a horse with these lethal genes from the EC?

Love love love this. Would bring into consideration not breeding overos together now, instead of not caring because it doesn't matter. I like realism in games and this is perfect. People that are saying it would mess things up for breeding purposes, wouldn't you strategically plan to avoid these genes? 

Also Abbey, would it be a 100% thing that would happen or would it be a chance? I know in real life it's said its about 25% chance of getting a LWO.

I didn't vote on the poll because I didn't know and there wasn't an explanation, but seeing this, I personally think yes. Because of that education value. ( Homeschooled child/person who was taught early on the value of education) and the challenge it would bring to this game for those that play it the right way unlike myself. ( pony collector yay!) But there would need to be a note because I don't think a lot of people would know that. OR make like an option thing? I don't know.. but long story short, I vote yes and should actually go vote on the poll now...

In case anyone's curious (I know I was), these are the breeds that would not be impacted should lethal WW and OO be added in, as they cannot carry white or overo genes:

• Akhal-Tekes


• Andalusians


• Arabians


• Clydesdales


• Dutch Warmbloods


• Friesians


• Lipizanners


• Morgans


• Trakehners