Okay, so this is an idea that started when I read the following on the Maltese news post:

"We’re adding a new, very rare base, called Maltese. This one is rare and thus only found in the custom tool, but has normal pass rates along with its own hidden genes."

The part in bold bothered me. How can a custom base be very rare, yet pass on at the same rate as, say, a wild coat color? Sure, it costs 3GB to be able to add to your lion, but from then on it's anyone's game.

I've been looking at this thread trying to figure out the pass rate for customized coats. The information I'm seeing is indicating that the coats all pass on at the same rate. If you ask me, this is severely decreasing the value of custom coats.

What I think needs to be done is this: lower the pass rate on the custom coats. They are custom for a reason and are supposed to be slightly rarer than the wild coats. Apart from people's preference to them which pushes out most wild coats, they seem to be quite common. If the pass rate was lowered and the chance to throw more common bases was increased, I feel this would give them more value. After all, they wouldn't be as common.

So, thoughts? I think I worded this correctly.

EDIT: Adding the idea that Storyteller had about genetics.

It might be interesting if it was like real genetics. That to produce the coat needs two recessive genes. I'll just use Maltese as an example.

Say in genetics, Maltese is represented as M.

If you have MM (one gene from each parent), you get a cub that has the Maltese color.

Mm doesn't show, but carries Maltese. If breed to another Mm, you have a 25% chance of an MM (Maltese cub). Bred MM x Mm, you get 50% chance of a Maltese (MM) cub.

mm x mm means no Maltese genes so no chance of Maltese cubs.

Mm x mm means no Maltese but a chance for carrier cubs that can produce if bred to another carrier.

MM x mm means you will have 100% carriers who can produce Maltese if bred to other carriers/Maltese.