So is the joke that the crazy masked acupuncturist and the crazy masked fashion designer with the same name who looks just like her are in fact the same crazy masked person? I don't quite grasp the humor there. It must be something that gets lost in translation.

--G.
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Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>So is the joke that the crazy masked acupuncturist and the crazy
>masked fashion designer with the same name who looks just like her are
>in fact the same crazy masked person? I don't quite grasp the humor
>there. It must be something that gets lost in translation.

They're sisters who are both voiced by the same voice actress, IOW she's talking to herself any time they're both on-screen.

To add to the fun, one of the future girls to be added named Aston Machan is voiced by the daughter of said voice actress.

And because these things always come in threes, the RL horse Aston Machan was owned by a doctor, the in-game character's mother is a doctor, and thus the mother of the woman voicing an uma is herself voicing a doctor.

"Additional data needs to be downloaded (14.6 GB)."

?????

--G.
I mean I guess I'll find out in an hour or so, but...
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>I mean I guess I'll find out in an hour or so, but...

... Or not! Nothing seems to have changed, apart from an anniversary event that can't possibly involve that much data. Did it just go ahead and re-download the whole game for no obvious reason? I'm confused.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

LAST EDITED ON Jul-02-26 AT 04:19 PM (EDT)
 
>... Or not! Nothing seems to have changed, apart from an anniversary
>event that can't possibly involve that much data. Did it just go
>ahead and re-download the whole game for no obvious reason? I'm
>confused.

Besides some QoL updates that we got a year ahead of schedule, the big reason for the size of the download was that the URA and Unity scenarios got massive overhauls such that Unity is now actually more useful than Trackblazer was. And I know this because I'm regularly getting A+/S results with Inari One and she's only a three-star.

>Unity is now actually more
>useful than Trackblazer was.

That's one of those "depends on the user" things, but at worst, Unity Cup is much closer to Trackblazer than it was.

Most of the Umamusume people on YouTube predict that Grand Live will eclipse both of them.

Peter Eng
--
It doesn't matter how much they change things if I'm still terrible at the game.

>That's one of those "depends on the user" things, but at worst, Unity
>Cup is much closer to Trackblazer than it was.

Trackblazer's biggest flaw (IMHO) is umas that are specialized (ex: Haru) suffer unless you have a decent deck and have the time to grind decent sparks. The other issue is that hidden events don't trigger, so you can't (for example) build a Runaway Suzuka because the event doesn't show up in Trackblazer.

Overall, I think the overhaul's biggest benefit to me is I can grind scenes without feeling like I'm just wasting TP.

>Most of the Umamusume people on YouTube predict that Grand Live will
>eclipse both of them.

I've heard that Grand Live has its advantages, but it's also a bit confusing if you're not willing to invest time into learning the mechanics well enough to exploit them.

>It doesn't matter how much they change things if I'm still terrible at
>the game.

So say we all.

>It doesn't matter how much they change things if I'm still terrible at
>the game.

Of course, after I write this, I get a 9* Speed Super Creek at SS rank.

Sometimes, I think that RNGesus only listens to me in order to mock me.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

I've been producing mediocre Daiwa Scarlet veterans for the past few weeks, by following the advice on a website.

Finally, I thought, "Look, the problem here isn't Power, it's Stamina. Let's throw out the Power cards, pick out some Stamina cards that'll work, and see what happens."

S-rank, and a 3* Wit spark to boot.

I think I'm getting better at this.

Peter Eng
--
Next up, putting Daiwa and the previously mentioned Super Creek in as parents.

Almond Eye noodle stopper

Daiwa Scarlet 1/7

Pull for Bamboo Memory, get... swimsuit Golshi.

Well, at least it wasn't Maruzensky again.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
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zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

A week ago: "Huh, I've got several girls I've never taken the time to train, perhaps I should spend a few days at least grinding their info cards."

Today: "Gold City, why did you not tell me you were a rocket with legs?"

LAST EDITED ON Jul-12-26 AT 05:13 PM (EDT)
 
>A week ago: "Huh, I've got several girls I've never taken the time to
>train, perhaps I should spend a few days at least grinding their info
>cards."
>
>Today: "Gold City, why did you not tell me you were a rocket with
>legs?"

Because nobody listens. They're too stuck on her being a model, she's kind of given up on telling in favor of showing. :)

More seriously, had you already collected all the carats for "Get x Umamusume to Bond Level 6," or whatever it is? I went after those with a will, and I can't remember if there's another one or not. Doesn't matter to me, I need a new uma first, but you had some girls in your stable just waiting around.

Peter Eng
--
"Look, pal, I dunno about you? But where I come from, 20,000 carats is 20,000 carats." - Sirius Symboli, playing Priss Asagiri in the TraCen adaptation of The Iron Age

Ye gods, we actually got through to Group A. Open League, admittedly, but still, I'm not sure that's ever happened to one of my squads before.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>Ye gods, we actually got through to Group A. Open League, admittedly,
>but still, I'm not sure that's ever happened to one of my squads
>before.
>

Sprock. I forgot all about this.

Peter Eng
--
I blame the fever.

LAST EDITED ON Jul-17-26 AT 09:11 PM (EDT)
 
Is it just me, or did they totally streamline the whole experience here?

Peter Eng
--
I can watch my umas lose faster than I did before!

>Is it just me, or did they totally streamline the whole experience
>here?
>
>I can watch my umas lose faster than I did before!

Not your imagination, they totally did. Much as with the team trials and daily races, they've cut down on a lot of the time-sinkage. Most welcomely, the "matching" animation now plays ONCE per attempt, not FIVE TIMES.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>Ye gods, we actually got through to Group A. Open League, admittedly,
>but still, I'm not sure that's ever happened to one of my squads
>before.

Meanwhile, I did my usual of only managing 2 wins per set in Group A, then getting a 3-win stretch in the very first Group B set.

Perhaps if I make the proper offerings of burgers and BBQ, Taiki can at least win first place in the Group B finals.

Unveiling the Latest Details on Umamusume – 7th EVENT WORLD TOUR: THE STAGE in LOS ANGELES

> Cygames has revealed the details for 7th Event: THE STAGE in LOS ANGELES, the
> North American leg of Umamusume: Pretty Derby's world tour. The two-day
> concert is to be held in LA's Peacock Theater starting at 8:00 p.m., Oct 22
> and 7:00 p.m., Oct 23, 2026 (PT). The key art and lineup are now live on the
> official website, and ticket sales will begin at 10:00 a.m., Jul 23, 2026
> (PT).

I had to fight AXS's awful website and the queues but I was actually able to get a ticket. The pre-sale sold out like instantly aside from VIP tickets (which uh no I'm not paying a $300 upper only over a normal ticket just for some merch) but the next day General Admission went juuuust slow enough I succeeded.

>I had to fight AXS's awful website and the queues but I was actually
>able to get a ticket. The pre-sale sold out like instantly aside from
>VIP tickets (which uh no I'm not paying a $300 upper only over a
>normal ticket just for some merch) but the next day General Admission
>went juuuust slow enough I succeeded.

Congrats! Have a nice time!

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Yes, apparently so.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

(I think this is just the same announcement I posted immediately above?)

>(I think this is just the same announcement I posted immediately
>above?)

It had been more than 12 hours! You can't expect me to remember something for that long!

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

I don't know whether it's a commentary on me as a trainer or not when the "independent training" option is turning out better results than I do on my own.

Gonna show up to the office one day and find Hal 9000 has taken my parking spot.

>I don't know whether it's a commentary on me as a trainer or not when
>the "independent training" option is turning out better results than I
>do on my own.
>
>Gonna show up to the office one day and find Hal 9000 has taken my
>parking spot.

Or Agnes Tachyon.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>I don't know whether it's a commentary on me as a trainer or not when
>the "independent training" option is turning out better results than I
>do on my own.
>

Maybe it's a commentary on your cards. People are still spading the mechanics out, but Independent Training seems to be a system that has its own rules.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

>Maybe it's a commentary on your cards. People are still spading the
>mechanics out, but Independent Training seems to be a system that has
>its own rules.

Probably doesn't help that I also have a luck stat that would make Arthur Dent feel sorry for me.

Decided to throw caution to the wind and have Lady-Trips-A-Lot* go through the new scenario on IT, and she's now my first SS-ranked uma. I feel like I was on the receiving end of a Goldshi kick.

*Mejiro Bright

My suggestion is to experiment. Some things they've found:

• Stamina mode seems to be the most balanced stat results.
  
• 2 speed, 2 wit, 1 power, 1 Pal is a good combination. Stamina mode seems to stop training stamina just short of 600, but the power card fixes that for some reason.
  
• Gutsmaxxing also seems to work - 4 guts, 1 stamina, 1 pal.
  
• As always, good parents can fix holes in your training.
  

As far as I can tell, Independent Training actually flattens luck out a bit. I could be wrong, though.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

>As always, good parents can fix holes in your training.

Oddly enough, most advice I'm seeing seems to suggest that, aside from knocking out the dailies while you're otherwise occupied, the best use for IT is farming parents.

Of course, I also learned today that one of the better cards for Grand...is locked behind Suzuka's chapter in the main story. Oh, and so is a second variant of Agemasen.

*sigh* My greatest nemesis: READING!

>>As always, good parents can fix holes in your training.
>
>Oddly enough, most advice I'm seeing seems to suggest that, aside from
>knocking out the dailies while you're otherwise occupied, the best use
>for IT is farming parents.
>

Well, yes. It is. But building parents sometimes means finding the grandparents. I have a lot of two-star stat spark umas that are the base of getting one with a three-star stat spark. And a lot of work went into producing the Stamina spark parents that are hopefully going to be the grandparents fixing the Stamina shortage in Independent Training.

>
>Of course, I also learned today that one of the better cards for
>Grand...is locked behind Suzuka's chapter in the main story. Oh, and
>so is a second variant of Agemasen.
>
>*sigh* My greatest nemesis: READING!

Well, you don't have to read it. Just put the story on auto-advance, do whatever you need to ignore it for fifteen minutes, then go to the next story segment.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

>I don't know whether it's a commentary on me as a trainer or not when
>the "independent training" option is turning out better results than I
>do on my own.

Yeah, it does kind of annoy me that the game is better at playing itself than I am at playing it. OTOH, it finally seems to have gotten me out of Class 4.5 in team trials. :)

In other news, Vodka and I are slowly closing in on getting Eishin Flash the hard way. So that's nice!

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>Yeah, it does kind of annoy me that the game is better at playing
>itself than I am at playing it. OTOH, it finally seems to have gotten
>me out of Class 4.5 in team trials. :)

I can't even blame it on my deck anymore because I use the exact same cards when playing the scenarios myself as I set up the algorithm with and it still turns out better results than I can manage.

Though, to be fair, that might be up to most of my results so far being the fevered work of a late-night grind session to pick up the cards and (unsuccessfully) the carrots rewarded for the GL scenario.

>In other news, Vodka and I are slowly closing in on getting Eishin
>Flash the hard way. So that's nice!

Meanwhile, El Santo...er, El Condor is working on the bits necessary to get Oguri's fifth star. Sadly, they still haven't added the Irish princess to the daily legend roster.

1/7 Mejiro Ardan

1/7 Baseball cheering Mejiro Mcqueen

Lucky Lilac Noodle Stopper

I love that in the setup for the Grand Concert mode, Silence Suzuka comes right out and says she thinks the concerts are unnecessary. Finally, a racer who understands that making them race AND BE IDOLS is just WEIRD. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

1/7 Valentine Aston Machan

"Agnes Tachyon. Umamusume. Scientist. Searching for a way to tap into the hidden potential that all Umamusume have. Then, an accidental overdose of gamma radiation alters her body chemistry..."

Peter Eng
--
"That's my secret, Rudolf. I'm always angry."

1/7 Christmas Admire Vega
POP UP Parade Daiwa Scarlet

I've discovered another downside of independent training.

I can produce more Umas now, partly because it doesn't take work to send somebody off to clanker training, and partly because it's just faster to use independent training.

I take roughly sixty to seventy minutes to run Grand Live, compared to fifty minutes for independent training. And they're better quality veterans, to the point that I've thrown out most of my Open League veterans.

So now I'm going to almost certainly lose in Graded League instead maybe losing in Open League.

On the other hand, umas pretty, numbers go up, hurr hurr.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

>I've discovered another downside of independent training.
>
>I can produce more Umas now, partly because it doesn't take work to
>send somebody off to clanker training, and partly because it's just
>faster to use independent training.
>
>I take roughly sixty to seventy minutes to run Grand Live, compared to
>fifty minutes for independent training. And they're better quality
>veterans, to the point that I've thrown out most of my Open League
>veterans.

Yeah, confession time, I have not run Grand Live except through indie training because I've been a lazy slug and thus haven't taken the time to make myself familiar with the scenario. So I have dozens of graduates of the scenario, but all were trained by the algorithm and not by myself...yet.

>So now I'm going to almost certainly lose in Graded League instead
>maybe losing in Open League.

As is tradition. Seriously, I've grown rather used to the curse put upon me, that my best runners wait until the B League try-outs to decide to suddenly do a 3-win card. Though I'm not entirely blameless, as I only realized my mistake in the second round of the recent CM that I had a certain roving muncher set to Late Surger rather than Pace Chaser. I'd submit myself to 40 lashes with a wet noodle...but she ate it.

>On the other hand, umas pretty, numbers go up, hurr hurr.

Am I weird for bypassing Yujin and Pearl to save all my carrots for Machan later this week?

>
>Yeah, confession time, I have not run Grand Live except through indie
>training because I've been a lazy slug and thus haven't taken the time
>to make myself familiar with the scenario. So I have dozens of
>graduates of the scenario, but all were trained by the algorithm and
>not by myself...yet.
>

In terms of gameplay, you aren't missing much, unless you count the achievements that can only be gained by actually running Grand Live. (Get so many "Great Success," "Buy 4 songs in Junior Year," and "Buy 18 songs before you get 'Girls Legend U'" are the ones I remember offhand.)

I do think that the video of Girls Legend U in the round is pretty neat, though.

>
>Am I weird for bypassing Yujin and Pearl to save all my carrots for
>Machan later this week?
>

Whatever makes you happy. I'm going to drop a set on the rerun of Summer Maruzensky's card, and go back to saving for other cards and the eventual arrival of Marvelous Sunday as a trainee.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

Mihono Bourbon POP UP PARADE