Reviewing Indomita Horse RPG

This is my second try at horse simulator, Indomita! Indomita is a browser-based virtual horse game.

"Indomita is a wild horse hybrid simulation/rp game. Unlike in a standard sim game where you would run a stable or train horses for competition, Indomita is much more open than that! Create or adopt a horse character and guide them on their journey through life. Choose roles to suit their goals and personality and develop relationship with other in game characters to unlock new interactions. We have a heavy focus on character at Indomita that comes both from play by post roleplaying that is available but not required and the general format of the game. There is no "best" build for an Indomita horse and the only limit is your own imagination! Come help shape the world of Paradisus and breathe life into your very own wild horses!"

Add me: Bonkish, #5447

[broadwayfreak]

When you mentioned Indomita in your last video, I actually went and gave it a shot since I'm always looking for new pet sites (so far only Tattered World's kept my interest for any length of time, though I went back to Lioden recently). I just could not grok what was going on. There were abbreviations I didn't understand, the gameplay made no sense, and it was just "here have all these things and no tips on how to use them. It feels like the devs are making a site for a *very* niche group honestly.

[thatoneweeb]

So I just want to say as a person that plays indomita every day the staff is now starting to develop a different interface altogether. Major things like art, the general interface, and overall gameplay are being overhauled. I would really like to see a video covering indo after the changes and see what you think when that happens.

[pypayapypaya]

personally, i think the one comment saying "giving up after 10 minutes is lazy" is really stupid. i understand some people take pride in their dedication to mastery, but honestly if a game has such poor interface that someone cannot figure out what to do on their own, then its bad interface. its a game. the player shouldnt have to read guides.



the reason i got into flight rising and stuck with it is that i never once found myself frustrated and having to look up explanations for certain features. sure, i have looked up flight rising guides, but only for completionist type stuff! like which stage every familiar obtainable through the coleseum can be found. or for things that dont matter to the core mechanics of the game, like the rarity of certain genes/breeds.



but my point is this: i agree with your point, julie. dont make a guide for your game. either make the mechanics obvious, or make an interactive tutorial. i dont log into my browser games to read paragraphs.

[alltheaphmultilanguages]

Quick Notes about the Game that were not mentioned/ were not correct/ or that Julie had questions on (I'm only mentioning these things to be helpful to others who might be attempting this game. I've played Indomita since April, 2015. I figured I could try to help out a bit :D)

1. There is no registration window. Players can register whenever they like - now at least. When this video came out, the registration window had been done away with about... Hm... A year or two? Maybe even three.

2. There *is* an index that covers what topics will be covered, but it isn't in the page embedded guides that are shown in the video. In the encyclopedia, there is every single topic that could possibly be covered in Indomita. Not only that, but there are indexes to accompany them, depending on which section you click. For example, if you click the "Action Points" section of the encyclopedia, at the top, it has a list that says "Jump to: Costs, Raising AP." This list is much more extensive if you click any one of the Gene tabs. Like for example, the "White Markings" section of the encyclopedia has 22 things listed in its overview index. (Note that I completely agree that the Encyclopedia needs to be updated and reworked. I'm just so used to the workings of Indomita that I just instinctively point these things out. I understand that it is far from perfect. I've reached out to the Devs about it, and they say that it's lower on their priority list, as they have lots on their plate as of now. But maybe one day it will be clear enough for most people to understand in 10 minutes.)


3. Action Points and moods are both explicitly covered in the encyclopedia. Again, it just isn't in the page embedded guides that you're showing. Those are page, location, and quest + interaction guides. Suffice to say, that's not all the reading Indo has. (but I feel like that's a given... Indo has, well, a ton of reading.)

4. The "Will age on day/month/year" pretty much just means that is the date your horse will age from a 0-year-old to a 1-year-old or a 4-year-old to a five-year-old. Each month is a year in Indo time, and each horse ages once per month, corresponding to the date they were born. It's like their birthday.

5. The unborn adopts is a page where you don't know what the foal looks like, but are still able to adopt them. It's like the giving tree section of Lioden. You're not really supposed to know what the foals look like prior to adopting them. It's supposed to be like, idk, a surprise or somethin'.

6. You yourself do not need to own a colt to breed. You can request a breeding from other horses on your square. On the map page, it will tell you which square you are on, and if a stallion (male) is on the same square as a mare (girl), then you can request a breeding from that stallion. The button is on the character page, and it's kinda small and out of the way. It's underneath the character menu, and looks a bit like this.

Basic Stats - Skills and Personality - Relationships - Lineage - Legacy - Control Pannel menu.
Request a Breeding

*Suggestions for people who decided they want to try Indomita anyway*
1. Take full advantage of your mentor. When you register, you are given a mentor to help you out. They are available often, and I believe the mentorship lasts about a week. Ask them any and every question you have. It will put you ahead.

2. PM me if you want help! My username is Prussia (#5508) and I'd love to help you with anything I can!

3. I'd recommend adopting a horse from the "adopts" page prior to creating a horse of your own. More specifically, I'd suggest adopting a colt (boy) or a filly (girl) from a prolific stallion (a stallion who has fathered many, many foals) There are a couple of reasons for this. A) Prolific stallions often have high stats, which are passed on to his children. This makes things like battling and sparring tons easier. B) Prolific stallions often have large herds with caretakers, which are horses that can further raise stats on a character.

4. Start slow. Only have one character until you fully understand how the game works. Until that point, don't bother with another character. I mean, what's the point of having many if you don't know what to do with them, yeah?

5. Give it more than one chance. Indomita is tough at first, but after you get through the basics, it's a pretty simple game... Minus the genetic system and the religions, at least.

6. Remember one thing: Indomita is extensively lore heavy. I know I said earlier that I hope that people could have a full understanding of the game in 10 minutes, but that, honestly, will likely never happen. Gameplay can definitely be streamlined, and I hope it will be as time goes on, but for a game like Indomita, a concrete understanding of all the game mechanics can't come to you in 10 minutes or less. Don't worry if this something that turns you away from the game. Not everyone likes stuff like this, and that's perfectly okay! You don't have to like it, and you shouldn't feel bad that it isn't the game for you.

[LuckyDuck]

Ive been through the desert on a horse with no name. i freaking love that song

[vxecho]

i do have vague memories of your distaste from the first video, and i was honestly expecting a change with the new video - surprised that you came to the same conclusion twice but with so many different points, haha. loved the tuneful commentary at the end of the video :)

[swiftfated]

Since I was a child I've loved horses and I found it so funny that you didn't know the names for the male and female horses. They've been in my vocabulary since first grade.

[UnlimitedMagic]

I have a very different experience with the game than most here, it seems! I actually joined there in 2017 after having seen your first video on Indomita (it was the first time I had ever heard of this game), and I've never gone inactive since. I rollover once or twice a week or so, and I've been really enjoying it over the years! I don't understand half of the site's features, but the half that I do understand I enjoy xD I really like horses, horse genetics and roleplaying, and I also enjoy Indomita more than the "well-designed" horse management browser games out there that I've tried. I'm probably part of the audience this game is targetting :'D
So despite you not recommending the game, thanks for making that first video anyway! I wouldn't have found this game without it.

[jackalteeth]

Excited to watch! You introduced me to Lioden through your videos a year ago so thanks for that! Hope you're staying well.

[legacera]

I've looked forward to this since you teased it awhile back! I tried Indomita a few years ago after watching your first video on it, came to similar conclusions about the interface, and haven't played it since. It doesn't look like it's changed enough to tempt me to try again. As for the art...why does the 3 year old look younger than the 2 year old? lol. Great video, and I really enjoyed your commentary during the last several minutes!

[KatSuricata]

Oof, that interface is very… rough. I am glad the developers decided to stick it through after a failed crowdfund, but it doesn't look like they've sent the last few years doing much to improve the parts that needed improving.

[TenApplesforTime]

Love the longer format of this video! Was very engaging and I like hearing the different critiques of the design of the site. Tbh I wouldn't get past 10 min on this site because of the layout so good on you for trying it again!!

(Btw if you plan on doing any other pet-sim reviews I have to recommend PokeFarm, Ive had a lot of fun with it in the past)

[SirXer]

I recently made an account, and as a horse person I was looking forward to it. You're spot on that it's like Lioden, but less intuitive than that. I wish it was a bit easier to play as a newbie.

[knucklesskinner]

I remember I used to play this horse game, I got these cards with codes to use online, then I unlocked those horses and my sister even had a Pegasus.

[Liuhuayue]

Thanks for the overview. There aren't that many screenshots of this game.

[JacksonsMainAcc]

Dear heavens above the UI in this game is _not_ kind to it. So many things overlapping? Pixelation? Multiple fonts with different button styles? It almost looks careless.
I'm just getting into HTML and java, and there are very simple videos on how to make appealing designs without knowledge of both of those things hdfgda. I think I would
have got into this site, but being made in 2016 and not having an appealing design / much progress (from what I can see), isn't very promising/intriguing 💔.

Thanks for the video, Julie! I actually knew I was going to be drawn to this game, but I was on your channel and I enjoy your content so i was like, eh, why not! It's Julie!
( Hope you have a nice christmas eve / christmas ! <3 )

[DaBayleef]

This is how I feel going into any browser based pet game/simulator/etc no matter how user friendly it is. I get frustrated so quickly, I can't imagine trying to play Indomita!

[Natalie_Toshino]

Hi, Julie!! It's deadninja6, from Neopets!:3

[mandymom]

The fact that the Kickstarter failed shoulda tipped them off this was a bad idea. There’s too many horse games out there, adding another one to the pile is just plain stupid.

[roul]

I'm not much of a horse person, but I think I might check it out. If I don't like it, then that's that.