Bell Horse

Simple Jump 101

Simple Jump is the most popular out of all the competition arenas on HorseIsle, due in large part to being easy to learn and placed in a convenient location. Also, because Simple Jump does not depend as heavily on stats as other arenas do, it is perfect for horses that would not normally be able to excel in any of the other areas of competition. Yet, for all of the popularity and attention it receives, Simple Jump still remains largely misunderstood, even by many of its most frequent patrons.

Over the years, I have received my fair share of questions about Simple Jump, and have had to mediate many arguments regarding how it is scored, whether stats are relevant, and what type of horse is the best jumper. This page will serve the purpose of explaining the particulars of Simple Jump, and will hopefully dispel some of the myths that surround it.

Mechanics

Let's start with the very basics. The controls for this arena are simple (no pun intended). The right and left arrow keys will cause your horse to speed up or slow down, respectively. Pressing the down arrow will make your horse perform a little jump, while pressing the up arrow will make it perform a big jump. Little jumps are unlimited, but the number of big jumps that your horse can preform is dependent upon their Strength stat. In each round, you will run a course that consists of 20 jump standards. It is your job to guide your horse safely over each of these jumps, without knocking any of them down.

The scoring of this arena is also quite simple, but because a major element in determining it is hidden, it might not seem so straightforward. What is this hidden element? Although we do not see it, there is a timer that begins counting down as soon as a round of Simple Jump begins. There is no way to be absolutely certain what number the timer counts down from, but after a decent amount of experimentation, I have assumed it to be 10,000. The actual number could be more or less than this, but the basic principle remains the same, regardless. The important thing to know is that the quicker you can finish a round, the better your score will be.

So why do scores vary so much from round to round, even when you complete them at maximum speed every time? Here is where the element of luck plays a huge part in Simple Jump, and it is this which helps to keep the competition fair for all. Every Simple Jump course is different, because the order of jumps, and how far apart they are spaced is determined randomly, every single round, and for each individual competitor. This is why you will sometimes run a course where you barely have time to get in a jump between obstacles, and other times you will face an aggravating lapse of 2 or 3 seconds between them.

After your base score has been determined by your time, you will receive a 500 point deduction for each obstacle you knocked down. For example, let's say that there was 9,190 left on the timer when you finished your round. If you didn't hit any of the jumps that round, then 9190 is your final score. Let's imagine, however, that you knocked down two.

9190 - (2 x 500) = 8190

Quite a significant drop in points, so make sure you haul yourself over those jumps at all costs, even if it means slowing down momentarily to give your horse enough time to collect itself.

Myths of Simple Jump

There are many myths about Simple Jump flying around out there. Some of them are truer than others. Unfortunately, when fiction gets spread around with the facts, it causes a lot of confusion and, quite often, heated arguments. So let's do a little bit of mythbusting and dispel some of the mystery surrounding what was meant to be a very simple game.

Myth #1: A horse's stats and tack do not matter in Simple Jump.

This myth is completely false, and the confusion probably comes from the text displayed inside the Simple Jump arena which reads, "Be aware. Horse stats and special tack play very little to no part in the scoring of this arena." People tend to misinterpret this, because they aren't reading it literally enough. That's why I've highlighted the important part for you. Take a look at the image provided, and you'll see that the text inside the arena is referring to a horse's "blue" stats (its Health, Hunger, Thirst, etc.)- not it's "red" Advanced Stats, which are the ones that probably come more immediately to your mind. Certain other arenas, such as Advanced Jump, add a bonus onto your score if your horse's blue stats are high. Simple Jump does not.

Unlike any of the Horse Stats, two of the Advanced Stats are very important to Simple Jump. A horse's Strength is crucial in this arena, because it determines how many big jumps it can perform. Why are big jumps so important, when little jumps will get you over the obstacles just as well? It all comes down to speed.

Go play a round of Simple Jump, and observe what happens each time you perform a jump of either kind, big or small. Do you see the objects in the background? The trees, hay bales and clouds? Notice that they speed up each time your horse jumps. This is because your horse moves faster when propelling itself over a jump than it does when cantering on the ground. Big jumps eat up more ground than little jumps; they give you a longer burst of speed. Every moment your horse spends airborne shaves a little bit off your total time for the round, and therefore you want to make the biggest jumps possible, as often as possible.

A horse's Speed stat is also important in Simple Jump, but generally to a much lesser extent than Strength. Your horse's Speed will, obviously, determine how fast it can charge through the course. However, additional speed seems to cap out pretty early, so that even for two horses whose Speed stats are leaps and bounds apart, their in-game speed will differ very minutely. For this reason, most people do not pay as much attention to this stat when prepping for competition. Your time and effort will be much better spent if put toward improving your horse's Strength, but don't neglect its Speed completely.

Now that we've covered Horse Stats, Advanced Stats and the difference between the two, let's address the way tack plays a part. As the quote from the Simple Jump arena suggests, tack can play "very little" part in how well you score in Simple Jump. Although the right set will certainly boost your horse's Advanced Stats, it does not directly affect your score; you will not get a score bonus just because your horse has the right tack. Instead, you must make the stat increases from your tack work for you. This requires a little bit of knowledge and the application of skill, so if you don't take advantage of it, no, certainly all the fancy tack in the world isn't going to affect your Simple Jump scores. For example, let's say you put some very expensive Pegasus Tack on your horse. You will receive a massive boost to your horse's Speed and Strength, but unless you choose to make use of the extra big jumps that result, the tack is not helping you at all. This is all that the text inside the arena is suggesting. It is not saying that a horse's equipment is completely irrelevant. Still need more proof? Don't just take my word for it - read the instructions provided when you click on the '?' in the upper right corner of the competition window when a round of Simple Jump begins. It will tell you in fewer words what I just did:

"Object is to get to the end ahead of all the other horses while hitting the fewest jumps. To accomplish this, your horse's speed and strength stats are used to determine your max speed and how many big jumps you get."

So there you have it, straight from the horse's mouth, as they say.

Myth #2: Some breeds are better for Simple Jump than others, and certain individuals are "naturals."

These are two very common topics of discussion among Simple Jump patrons. Let's first address the question of whether certain breeds are better than others; the answer is, yes and no. Let me start by pointing out that the highest number of big jumps that you will ever possibly want to utilize in a round is 21; past that, additional big jumps are redundant and are mostly for show. Why 21? Obviously, you will need one for each of the obstacles you have to clear. That extra, 21st jump should be used right when the round begins to give you an initial burst of speed. If you have room at any point in the course to perform additional big jumps, you already know that your score is going to suffer for it. This is because it indicates that the round is "spaced out"; there is a disadvantageously large gap between jumps, ruining your time.

That being said, breeds with a higher max Strength stat will have an initial advantage, because of their higher number of "natural" big jumps. You will get more big jumps just by maxing them than you would from a weaker breed, which might require the purchase of special tack or a companion to reach the same number. However, with the use of the right equipment, any breed can reach the 21 big jump mark, even if their "naturally" achieved number is relatively low. How do we know this for sure? There is a formula that can be used to calculate the number of big jumps a horse will receive even before obtaining it, maxing it and tacking it up.

Let's use the Clydesdale as an example, since it is a very popular breed for Simple Jump due to its massive Strength stat. The example to the right shows a particular Clydesdale which is wearing a full set of Earth Tack (which gives the largest boost to Strength), and which is equipped with a +250 boost companion (such as a Gibroot, Fneen, etc.). Talk about overkill. To figure out how many big jumps the horse will receive, we will follow these steps:

First, look at its total Strength stat, including all of the bonuses it receives from its tack and companion. For this horse, our number is 2450.

At this point, if the number is not an even multiple of 100, round to the nearest hundred. In this case, 2450 rounds to 2500.

Now we can take this new number and divide it by 100.
2500 ÷ 100 = 25

To this, we add 1.
25 + 1 = 26

Therefore, our maxed Clydesdale wearing Earth Tack and a +250 boost companion will be capable of 26 big jumps. That is well past our ideal number of 21.

But what about a breed with a lower base Strength stat? Let's take a look at the lovely Akhal-Teke for our next example. To the right are the stats of a Teke that is wearing the same outfit as our Clydesdale from the last demonstration. This time, however, we will use a special trick which can be helpful for horses with lower Strength; we will dress ourselves in the following equipment:

   Equestrian Helmet (+20 Strength)
   Homemade Jumping Shirt (+50 Strength)
   Jumping Boots (+10 Strength)
   Jumping Breeches (+40 Strength)

   Although you will not see the bonuses that these clothes give listed anywhere on your horse's Advanced Stats chart, they are taken into account when its number of big jumps is calculated. Note that currently, it seems as though the clothing will only grant you a bonus if the entire set is complete. For example, if you only wore the helmet, shirt and breeches, you would not receive a stat bonus. Once you equip the boots and complete the set, the bonuses from all items will come into effect.

Now, we will use the same method as before:

Take the horse's total Strength stat (remember to add in the hidden bonus from clothing).
2000 (visible) + 120 (hidden, from clothing) = 2120

Now it's time to round. We end up with 2100.

Divide by 100 as before.
2100 ÷ 100 = 21

...and add 1.
21 + 1 = 22

So with a final total of 22, our Akhal-Teke exceeds the 21 big jump minimum.

   The highest base Strength stat of any breed is 950, while the lowest is 500. You may have noticed that these are the base Strength stats of the two example breeds that we used, the Clydesdale and the Akhal-Teke. What this means is that every single breed on HorseIsle can achieve between 22 and 27 big jumps (27 coming from a 950-Strength horse using the "clothing trick"- possible, but not necessary) with the proper preparation.

   In short, while all horses can achieve the desired minimum of 21 big jumps, some may require vast amounts of money and preparation to get there. These horses, therefore, might be considered by some to be "not as good," even though in reality they are more than capable of competing with naturally stronger breeds and achieving high scores. In the end, it comes down to personal preferences and opinions; how much money can be spent on preparing a horse before it isn't considered "worth it" is completely up to each individual Simple Jump participant.

   As for the theory that certain horses are "more talented" than others of the same breed... this is purely false. While it can be very fun to imagine that your horse is a Simple Jumping prodigy, the reality is that it is just an illusion cast by the random nature of the courses. Sometimes you will get lucky with course layouts and achieve amazing scores, perhaps for hours or whole days at a time. But eventually everyone has their bad days too, and it will all come out in the wash.

Myth #3: Lag can improve your Simple Jump scores.

Surprisingly enough, this myth is 100% true. How can that be? Certainly, it's perfectly natural to assume that because the rounds are timed, lag must have an adverse effect on your score. However, the truth is a little counter-intuitive. The timer that counts down from 10,000 is not independent of the game. What this means is that when the game lags, the timer lags too, and everything remains relative.

So how does this improve your scores? When the game moves slower because of lag, it makes it much easier for you to see the jumps the instant they appear and react to them much faster than if the game were running at normal speed. The faster you react to the jumps and clear them, the faster you complete the round, and the better your score will be in the end.

Myth #4: Landing as close as you can to a jump without knocking it down is worth more points.

This is another false one. It doesn't matter how close to a jump you land, as long as you make it over without hitting it and knocking it down. This myth was probably born because people instinctively react to the jumps the instant they appear on the screen, as discussed in the previous section, without actually realizing that the scoring of Simple Jump is time-based. Jumping as soon as possible will result in you landing very close to the jump, but it is because you are completing the course faster with this method that your scores will improve, and not because of your proximity to the obstacles.

Strategy

So, now you know all about how Simple Jump works, how it is scored and how to make sure you get the most big jumps possible- now you want to get out there and compete. Well, hold your horses. First, here is a condensed recap of the tips and tricks you just learned, as well as a little bit of strategy to make sure you get the most out of your Simple Jumping experience.

Make sure that you've boosted your horse's Strength as much as possible. Train it up, buy it the best tack and companion you can afford, and wear the right clothes. Even if you don't quite make it to 21 big jumps yet, don't worry about it too much. Remember that the random layout of Simple Jump courses keeps everything fair, and you can still achieve great scores with a less than "ideal" horse.
Make sure that your horse is rested, fed, shod and happy. You won't be able to enter the competition if any of these secondary Horse Stats are too low. And since space in the Simple Jumping arenas is snatched up fast, you don't want to have to rush to the livery or farrier at the last second and miss your chance to enter.
Before the round even begins, hold down the right arrow key. Try this at around :59 past the hour, right as the competition is about to start. This will cause your horse to begin the round at max speed, rather than having to gather it gradually over the course of the first few strides. Remember, every second is precious. Note that this technique only works at the Earton location; if you try it at the Witherton location, you'll walk straight out of the arena.
Perform a big jump right as the round begins. Yes, even before the first obstacle is visible, use a big jump. This will give you a helpful burst of speed right from the get-go. Then, as soon as your horse touches the ground, use another big jump. The first obstacle in any round of Simple Jump is a small, grey jump, so don't worry about crashing into it. You'll be able to clear it easily every time when using this method.
Use a big jump each time the 'JUMPS:' counter changes. This will have you reacting to the jumps sooner than if you had waited for them to appear on-screen, which would occur a fraction of a second later. If you run out of big jumps, do not rely on the counter any longer. You won't make it over with a little jump, and will crash straight into the obstacle. Just do your best to use little jumps as soon as you're sure you can make it over safely.
Lather, rinse, repeat. It takes a lot of time and a lot of practice to get the hang of Simple Jump, and to learn what the best thing to do in every situation is. You can't expect to win every time, nor can you expect that you will "never win." It is the nature of the competition that everyone will have good days and bad.

In Closing

When all is said and done, Simple Jump may not actually be as simple as its name suggests. Depending on how passionate you are about the "sport," an awful lot of time and money can be spent on preparing your horse for some serious jumping action. Nevertheless, it is considered by many to be well worth the time, money and effort spent; virtually all Top Horses have achieved their ranks through countless hours of Simple Jump. It is arguably the best way to gain experience for your horse, as well as yourself. So if you have the patience and a lot of time on your hands, it just might be the arena for you.