Purchasing credits for DerbyFever.com
First off, thank you for your interest in supporting DerbyFever.com! As you may or may not know, running and improving the game is not cheap, and the majority of our operating revenue comes directly from our players. Each dollar we receive for these purposes is appreciated. Please click here if you are unfamiliar with how credits for DerbyFever.com work and how they can improve your gaming experience.
There are 3 ways to purchase credits for DerbyFever.com :
Method 1 : Pay directly with a a credit card.
This is probably the easiest method. Moreover, in most cases, credits can be used immediately! Click here for information on purchasing credits with a credit card.
Method 2 : PayPal.com
To purchase credits using PayPal.com, send a PayPal.com payment to the following e-mail address :
The name of our parent company accepting these PayPal.com payments is SwarmLogic, LLC. Be sure to include which stable the credits are for. If credits are for a new credit account (an account that has never purchased credits before), your game password will be used unless you specify otherwise. Credits should appear in your account within 24-48 hours.
Method 3 : Regular Mail
You can send a payment (check or money order; no cash please) to us directly at the following address :
Swarmlogic, LLC c/o Mike Wallace
PO Box 991064
Louisville, KY 40269
Be sure to include which stable the credits are for. If credits are for a new credit account (an account that has never purchased credits before), your game password will be used unless you specify otherwise. After sending the payment, please send us an e-mail at the e-mail address listed in the PayPal.com section and inform us a payment is on the way. As soon as we receive your payment, we will credit your account.
How credits work :
You will receive 100 credits for every $1 you spend.
Benefits of purchasing credits :
- The ability to purchase horses
- The ability to buy and bid on races
Purchasing Horses:
One perk of supporting the game through purchasing credits is the ability to purchase horses. Once breeding begins for the week, each sire in the game can be purchased using credits only once for that week. For example, if you purchase Storm Cat for the week to breed to one of your retired mares, no one else can purchase him using credits for the remainder of the week (he can, however, continue to be purchased using points earned within the game). This would hold true for “scratch breedings” as well. Say, for instance, you purchased a horse with the pedigree Gulch x Naskra x Dr. Fager horse from scratch and pay using credits. Again, no one else during the week can use credits to purchase a horse sired by Gulch. Moreover, no one could use credits to purchase a horse created from scratch with Gulch, Naskra, or Dr. Fager in it’s lineage (again, however, breeding points could still be used). If you purchase a horse using credits and it is not created for some reason, your credits will be refunded.
Bidding/Buying Races With Credits :
In short, this will give players more control over the races run in the game. This seemed like a necessary step, as the computer doesn’t always make the best decisions on what races to card. Another goal is to bring more non-advertising revenue to the game, since Internet advertising alone cannot support the game.
Until you buy credits (or win them), you cannot modify the upcoming races. The method for purchasing credits is explained above. After you are credited, you can begin buying or bidding on races.
The first screen you see will ask you the track and the week of the races you are interested in seeing. You do not need a password to go to this screen. Simply choose the track and the week you are interested in seeing and hit Submit.
The next screen will show you the races currently slated for the week you selected, as well as the stables that the races were created for. If you selected a week less than or greater than 3 weeks from the current week, you will only see the special carded races as well as races people have purchased. You can purchase a race for the week you are viewing by simply filling out the race restrictions at the bottom of the page as well as entering your name, password (not your user ID and password, but the one assigned to you when you wither bought or won credits), and the stable you are carding the race for. The following screen will ask you for a race name, a banner (if you would like), the maximum number of entries you want to accept, and a link. It will also list the number of credits it costs in credits to buy this race. If everything is ok, hit the accept button, and your race is locked in!
If you select the week 3 weeks from now, you will see all 16 races that are scheduled, including computer races. You can still buy races using the method listed above, and guarantee that your race will run. You can, however, bid on races for this week as well. If you would rather bid on a race instead of buying it outright, you can click the BID box listed at the top of the race restrictions you can enter. This allows you to potentially buy races as inexpensively as 15 credits apiece. After selecting the restrictions you want, etc., you will be taken to the following screen, which will allow you to enter how many credits you would like to bid on this race. Bidding for races closes on Sunday before new races are posted, and the time that bidding closes may vary from week to week. After the new races for a week are posted, bidding begins on a new set of races. Once bidding ends for a particular week, only races purchased outright can potentially bump these races (and player bid races are give precedence over non-stakes, non-Locked CPU races even if the CPU had higher bids listed).
Hopefully, that’s a decent overview. I have added several other FAQ’s that may be helpful.
Which races can I buy or bid on?
You can buy races outright for any week other than the current week. You can only bid on the races that will be run in 3 weeks(the computer will not let you bid on races for any other week).
What is the minimum I can bid on a race?
It depends on the track and the races that are already Locked in, as well as what the current bids are. Bidding can start as low as 10 credits. If the CPU has the lowest current bid, you can match the CPU’s bid or go higher. If the lowest current bid is by another player, you must bid at least one credit higher.
What is the difference between Active Credits and Live Credits?
Active Credits are credits that you can use to bid on or buy races. If you buy a race outright, the cost of the races is completely removed from your Active Credits. If you bid on a race, the credits are moved from your Active Credits and placed in your Live Credits. If someone comes along and outbids you for that race or buys a race outright and forces your race off the card, the credits will be moved back from your Live Credits into your Active Credits. If the race you bid on is carded, those credits are completely removed from your Live Credits.
What are Locked races?
Locked races are races that have either been purchased outright, or were carded as Special Races (ie : the Bluegrass Derby). Pay/Locked races always take precedence over CPU and "bid" races, and cannot be outbid.
I looked at the high bids last week for this week’s races and my race was listed, but it wasn’t carded this week! There’s no way anyone could have bid on those races, so how did this happen?
It is possible that someone purchased a race at the track and knocked your "bid" race off. You should have been recredited your credits. Remember : Pay/Locked races always take precedence over CPU and "bid" races. Your bid race does, however, take precedence over other non-stake CPU carded races after bidding has concluded for the week even if the CPU races originally had higher bids.
When will I be assured that the race I bid on will be carded?
Not until it is actually carded. If you REALLY want to make sure the race will run, you can buy it.
How much does Buying a race outright cost and what are the benefits?
First off, you cannot bid on owner restricted or stakes races. Secondly, it guarantees that your race will actually run. You also get to name races you buy outright, and can link add your own banner and link it to another, non-competitor website.
|
Non Stakes Races |
Cost in Credits |
|---|
|
Non-Stakes Races -- $50,000 Purse |
300 |
|
Password Protected |
+ 500 |
|
$75,000 purse (+1 increment) |
+ 300 |
|
$100,000 purse (+2 increment) |
+ 600 |
|
$250,000 purse (+3 increment) |
+ 1200 |
|
Stakes Races |
Cost in Credits |
|---|
|
Stakes Races -- $75,000 Purse |
500 |
|
Stakes Races After 8/31/2001-- $75,000 Purse |
1000 |
|
Password Protected |
+ 500 |
|
$125,000 purse (+1 increment) |
+ 500 |
|
$250,000 purse (+2 increment) |
+ 1000 |
|
$500,000 purse (+3 increment) |
+ 1500 |
|
Graded Stakes |
Cost in Credits |
|---|
|
Grade 3 |
1500 |
|
Grade 2 |
2000 |
|
Grade 1 |
2500 |
I bid 15 credits on a race, someone came along and bid 20, and my race was knocked off of the bottom even though the other races are all CPU races! Why does the CPU have bids registered for higher than 10 credits, and even some listed at 500 credits anyway!?! Why aren’t they all listed at 15 credits?
The 500 credit races are always CPU stakes races. The other races are carded differently at different tracks to add a variety to the bidding process.
I was wanting to buy a stakes race, but all of the races at a particular track are locked. I know my stakes race costs more credits than another race on the list. Why can’t I bump that race?
It’s first come, first serve. If another player is willing to spend the effort to buy a race outright, he/she should be guaranteed that it will be run.
Why can I buy stakes races or owner restricted races, but not bid on them?
The idea behind letting people bid on races is to "fill the remnants." It should also make the mix of races more appropriate for the actual horse population of the game. Too many stakes races is unrealistic, and allowing people to bid on owner restricted races would significantly hamper the potential number of races other players can enter.
Why should I even bid on or buy races?
First and foremost: it helps the sim out! Internet advertising is drying up all around us, and we are trying to come up with other ways to make enough money to keep our sim alive without severely hampering those that can’t afford to pay. Also, if you are a higher bidder or buy a non-stakes race, all horses from the stable you select will be guaranteed entry. Also, your stable will get preference on jockeys for that race as well.
It doesn’t seem fair that the person that buys a race gets precedence over my horses! He entered a maiden in a NW3L race, and my horse fit the restrictions better! Also, why does he get his choice of jockeys? It just doesn’t seem fair!
It's a way to give a little back to those that help financially support the sim. You can bid for your own race if you feel that strongly about it.
This makes it a LOT harder to try and figure out where I want to place my horse in several weeks!
The only races that can be bid on are nearly a month away to begin with. That's why I don't have auctions for the most current weeks. Buying a race outright on-line for a more recent week is no different than someone sending me a sponsored race and having me card it.
|
