A Study into a Family of Creatures 2 Norns: Part III

The wonderful world of Creatures 2 could not be held off for long! The death of Endar was still sad, but I had five siblings to hatch and look through. Luckily, their mutations were more minor than anything. Yet even the minor ones can be vital in understanding Norn genetics in more detail. I began with a little female, whom I named Sapphire. Thanks to JayD’s Neptune’s Womb, it was easy to hatch these babies in different areas of Albia. Genetics, keep an eye out and your mutations in check, because here I come!

Emitters

Chemical emitters define specific conditions within a Creature in order to affect chemicals. Some examples include experiencing stress from excessive drives, becoming cold due to environmental conditions, and more.

635 Ado F MutDupCut Organ#=16 Creature, Reproductive, I am fertile, chem=FSH, thresh=127, samp=0, gain=32, features=Inverted Analogue

Sapphire was lucky to have only one mutation, and it was not too serious. This gene affects the level of FSH in a female when she is fertile. Just what is FSH? I whipped out my Official Creatures 2 Strategies & Secrets, by Toby Simpson, for an explanation. I still have yet to dive into this book completely… Anyway, page 197 states: “The female system is considerably more complex and involves a number of emitters, receptors, and chemicals. When the cycle starts, a female Creature produces follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). This reacts with cholesterol to produce estrogen. When there is enough estrogen in the bloodstream, the Creature can become fertile.”

It goes on to explain the reproductive process in more depth, but the important takeaway is that FSH produces estrogen, and a typical female becomes fertile when her estrogen peaks and begins to fall. At this point, FSH also begins to fall, and is controlled by this chemical emitter. Since it is an inverted emitter, the gain value can be seen as more of a loss value. This is where Sapphire’s mutation is: A standard Norn has a gain value of 16, while hers is doubled to 32. This means that her FSH chemical will fall more quickly than usual. FSH usually decreases to zero long before the female needs to produce it again to begin the production of estrogen. There is a chance that this could affect her cycle, yet I imagine it would be minor.

Next up was a baby male named Pacific. He hatched near his sister, where they each could eat everything and never run out of food! One mutation in his genome was in a pigment bleed gene, but I could not tell the difference between him and the rest of his family members. Pacific took a long time to look at something other than himself, and I had a feeling that he had a mutation that affected one of his brain lobes. Indeed, this was the case! As I’ve found, though, many Norns are adaptable enough to live healthy lives.

Lobes

Brain lobes include important information about how the different parts of the brain work, from how concepts are learned to how a Norn goes through the decision process. These genes can greatly affect the learning process.

624 Emb B MutDup Lobe #=7 Dendrite Type 0: Input Lobe=2 Min#=1, Max#=1, Spread=0, Fanout=0

Brain lobe mutations are best understood by using the Creatures 2 Genetics Kit, as it offers much more information than the D-DNA Analyzer. This gene controls the attention lobe. Pacific’s mutation altered the input lobe from lobe 12 to lobe 2. I believe this is part of the updated Canny Norn genome, where lobe 12 is the search lobe associated with seeking out an interesting object. Lobe 2 is the stimulus source lobe, which has a cell for each particular object in the world, such as the hand, a plant, a toy, and so on. Brain lobe mutations often puzzle me, and I’m not entirely sure I understand what will happen. It seems as though Pacific will focus his attention on the most stimulating object, rather than using his ability to seek out an interesting object. To me, it seems that the end result will be the same: Pacific ended up moving along just fine after some time, and was able to interact with his sister without any issues. Either it was a minor mutation, or he found out how to fool me!

There was no stopping this family! Their beautiful blue and green dotted Albia, yet there was soon another who joined the mix. Twilight was born in a more secluded area of the world, yet he was fascinated with his surroundings from the very start. I found myself getting sidetracked from my project as I watched the world and admired the beautiful artwork. For a somewhat older game, the graphics still amaze me, and rival some newer games! Maybe I’m just biased, though. Twilight was impressed, though, and took in the scenery! Then I decided to dive into his genome and take in that different sort of scenery.

Receptors

Chemical receptors define parameters for a certain chemical. When these parameters are met, an element in the Creature is affected. These genes can increase drives, define life stages, control fertility, and more.

583 Emb B MutDupCut Organ#=12 chem=Water, thresh=48, nom=0, gain=56, features=Digital

In a nutshell, this gene is supposed to activate the clock rate in organ 12, which is the skin, based on the level of water. From my limited understanding, an activated organ can absorb energy, process biochemistry, and/or repair its injuries. This mutation actually removed the definitions for the organ clock rate: The genetics kit automatically replaced these missing fields with a locus in the brain that would not pertain to much of anything. Twilight would not be able to use his skin as intended, and its ability to repair itself would either be completely gone or greatly diminished. Skin is not an absolutely vital organ in a Norn, yet it does play its role.

Stimuli

Stimuli genes define the chemicals that a Creature expects to receive in response to an action. These actions can range from interactions with the hand to involuntary actions like coughing or sneezing.

545 Emb B Mut ‘I am quiescent’ causes sig=0 GS neu=255 int=0 => 8*Boredom++ + 9*Sleepiness + 8*Tiredness + 2*Stress-

A good mutation! I say that with a little bit of a chuckle… The only mutation is in the level of sleepiness, which was increased from eight to nine. I consider this a good mutation, though, because when a Norn is quiescent, he or she is doing nothing. This is often the prime time for getting some sleep, when there are not a thousand distractions in the region! This is extremely minor, though, and Twilight will probably never know the difference.

What an adorable little guy! Oceanic gave me a smile as he entered the world, and promptly decided to eat some caterpillars. They looked quite tasty, I guess! He had a mutation in one of his pigment bleed genes, but it was hard to tell if there was any difference. His eyes captivated me for a little while, though: So blue! Behind them, he had a couple of interesting mutations. Cute appearances can hide both good and bad mutations: It takes a little digging, but genetics make Norns unique!

Receptors

Chemical receptors define parameters for a certain chemical. When these parameters are met, an element in the Creature is affected. These genes can increase drives, define life stages, control fertility, and more.

499 Emb B MutDupCut Organ#=7 Organ, Repair Rate chem=Stress, thresh=0, nom=0, gain=12, features=Analogue

This gene normally states that stress reduces the repair rate in organ 7, which is the stomach. It makes sense: A stressed out Norn normally has a harder time repairing any organs, which can also be seen in the real world. When we become extremely stressed out, we can be more prone to illnesses and our bodies can heal much slower. Oceanic actually has a very good mutation that might not be obvious. At a glance, it still looks like this gene ties in stress with the repair rate in the stomach. The mutation actually exists in the features: This is normally an inverted analogue receptor, because it reduces the repair rate. For Oceanic, stress actually improves the repair rate of his stomach! This is good news for his stomach, but stress still has its negative effects for the rest of his organs. Still, it’s a bit of an improvement!

Stimuli

Stimuli genes define the chemicals that a Creature expects to receive in response to an action. These actions can range from interactions with the hand to involuntary actions like coughing or sneezing.

531 Emb B Mut ‘Creature slaps me’ causes sig=128 GS neu=10(IT is approaching) int=255, Modulate Using Sensory Signal => 32*Turnase

In a standard Norn, this stimulus gene is supposed to state that when something is approaching, it activates a neuron corresponding with the action and injects a fair amount of turnase. Oceanic associates a slap from another creature with the neuron for “IT is approaching” and also receives an injection of turnase. This actually seems somewhat helpful, since the turnase will entice him to turn in the opposite direction from the slap-happy creature. It does mean a bit of confusion between stimuli and neurons, though, so it could be detrimental to his learning process. In the end, the benefits and problems should balance each other out, or it will simply be minor.

Last, but not least, was the final member of this family of Creatures 2 Norns. Cerulean hatched on the island, and thoroughly enjoyed the warmth! Although his siblings had only a couple of mutations, he was packed with four interesting mutations! I hope that it’s become clear that a genetic mutation in a Norn is not necessarily a bad thing: Many can be fairly minor, while others can actually be quite helpful. Cerulean had a mixture of different mutations that would make his life a little different than other Norns. Still, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to adapt and live a long life.

Lobes

Brain lobes include important information about how the different parts of the brain work, from how concepts are learned to how a Norn goes through the decision process. These genes can greatly affect the learning process.

632 Emb B Mut Lobe #=8 at X=11 Y=5 is 40 neurons wide and 16 neurons high

Every brain lobe is given a position in X,Y coordinates, and a size based on a set width and height of its associated neurons. Essentially, a Norn’s brain can be pictured as a series of different sized rectangles that are completely separate, but are linked through dendrite connections. Lobe 8 is the concept lobe, and it normally sits at X=9 and Y=4. Additionally, it is usually set at 51 neurons wide and 17 neurons high. Not only could it overlap with another brain lobe, but it is also over 200 neurons smaller than normal. The concept lobe is essential to the learning process, and Cerulean could easily be faced with a learning disorder. However, brain lobe mutations such as these do not always spell the end for any Norn: The number of concepts he can learn may just be limited.

Receptors

Chemical receptors define parameters for a certain chemical. When these parameters are met, an element in the Creature is affected. These genes can increase drives, define life stages, control fertility, and more.

383 Emb B MutDupCut Organ#=3 Organ, Clock Rate chem=Dissolved CO2, thresh=64, nom=127, gain=64, features=Inverted Digital

The purpose of this gene is to activate organ 3, the lungs, based on the level of dissolved CO2 in a Norn’s system. Recall that when an organ is activated through its clock rate, it can absorb energy, process biochemistry, and/or repair injury. The standard Norn genome has this gene set as analogue, so that as more dissolved CO2 builds up, the lungs are activated more often. This is logical: One function of the lungs is to remove dissolved CO2 and expel it as carbon dioxide and water. Cerulean’s mutation defines this as an inverted digital receptor. The differences between analogue and digital receptors requires a longer discussion, but the inverted factor is the main problem. This means that as dissolved CO2 builds up in his system, Cerulean’s lungs will slow down, rather than speeding up. In extreme conditions, he might have serious problems breathing, and might be overcome by carbon dioxide. So long as he can keep his dissolved CO2 under control, he should be healthy!

Half-Lives

Chemical half-lives define the decay rate of each chemical. In the absence of any reactions, a half-life defines how long a chemical will remain. Half-lives can range from fractions of a second to an entire lifetime.

467 Emb B Mut Ageing 144

All half lives are defined in one enormous gene, so there can be multiple mutations within this one gene. Cerulean has a number of other half life mutations, but they were either minor or associated with undefined chemicals. This mutation is fairly interesting, though. In a standard Creatures 2 Norn, the half life of the ageing chemical is set at 120, which means that it will decay to zero in approximately two and a half hours. That seems like a short life span for a Norn, yet I’m used to the ten hour marathons of my Creatures 1 Norns! For Cerulean, his ageing chemical decays at a much slower rate of 144, which is equivalent to about twenty hours. This should greatly extend his natural life, barring any illnesses or injuries!

Stimuli

Stimuli genes define the chemicals that a Creature expects to receive in response to an action. These actions can range from interactions with the hand to involuntary actions like coughing or sneezing.

562 Emb B Mut ‘Invol 3=cough’ causes sig=0 GS neu-255, int=0 => 32*Pain + 8*Tiredness + 8*Boredom + 16*Hexokinase

The final mutation! This gene simple defines what chemicals are created as a result of coughing. In a standard Norn, there is a combination of pain, tiredness, fear, and hexokinase. For Cerulean, he experiences boredom, rather than fear. At such a low level, this is quite a minor thing. The only real downside is that if he coughs a lot while he is ill, he will eventually feel that he needs to satisfy his boredom, rather than eat and sleep to get well.

And so concludes the case study of this Creatures 2 family! I learned much more than I thought I would through this analysis, and I hope that it has been helpful to others. I still shy away from genetics from time to time, because the truth of the matter is that there is a ton of information packed into just one gene. By asking questions, researching, experimenting, and observing, genetics can be quite a fun journey! Never be afraid of the Creatures genes, no matter how complicated: There’s always something interesting!

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