A Social Experiment in C3/DS
Written onIt took a bit more planning and thinking, but I was soon ready to put my C3/DS world concept to the test! I had originally planned on a very different writing style for these entries, as compared with my Creatures 1 world. However, something miraculous occurred: I began to get somewhat attached to the Norns! Although there will be a decidedly experimental overtone and I will not be following Norns throughout their lives, this world might not seem as terrible as I first pictured it. I also have a feeling that I will not kill any Norns on purpose: Perhaps they will instead find their way through the Warp, or as downloadable files!
The stage was finally set, and I chose four females to begin this world with. Although limited, recall that new first generation females will be introduced from time to time to keep the gene pool varied. These little eggs looked so peaceful in the Norn Meso, where they were surrounded by virtually everything they could possibly need. I planned on playing an invisible role, or the role of the watcher. These Norns would have to fend for themselves in order to survive. Yet in this environment, they had little to worry about early on in their lives! I waited patiently for the eggs to hatch and unleash the loveable chaos.
To my sheer surprise, one of the Norns decided that learning was of the utmost importance: She visited the Holistic Learning Machine directly after she popped out of her egg! All of the Norns introduced into this world will have CFE genomes. Norns are at a disadvantage at the best of times, and any helpful genetics can certainly be of the greatest help! I should also note that I use the Modified HLM created by Sgeo, which limits each Norn to using the machine once during their lifetime. In a few test runs, I have witnessed Norns use this over and over again, while the real benefit only occurs the very first time. Since all of the young females will spend their lives here, this patch should certainly come in handy! It prevents some Norns from hogging the Holistic Learning Machine from others.
Here are the very first Norns to hatch in my world, which I’ve named Remniova! On the left is a female Harlequin Norn named Lamna. Beside her is a female Magma Norn, whom I call Seyon. She was the one to use the Holistic Learning Machine, and ended up being the only one. Seyon showed an aptitude for a lot early in life: She was the first to use the lift, and the first to explore all the levels of the Norn Meso. Could this be the first Alpha Female? Lamna struggled at times, although she also ventured forth to the other levels of the room.
Notice the funny symbols above their heads? This is an agent in development by the amazing Amaikokonut of Naturing :: Nurturing. These are the marks, although there is also a series of auras. They basically help distinguish one Norn from another, and they also allow players to mark specific Norns with ease. My main use for these will be to clearly mark the Alpha Male and Female, as well as their offspring. I figured it would be rather nice to use the marks with the females, though, as it helps me remember who is who a little more easily! I assigned the bell to Seyon, and felt a little guilty afterwards. Being a Magma Norn, she often shivers since the Norn Meso is a little on the cold side for her. Each time she does so, her bell moves about like it’s ringing!
Is there another reason for the marks? Maybe so… It’s easy to distinguish each Norn in still photos, but what about in another media format? I might have a little surprise up my sleeve! Moving on…
The other two females were quite close at birth, and it was difficult to separate them enough to capture their images! The napping female Bengal Norn is Aurianna. Her partner in crime is a female Siamese Norn known as Nevorria. Note that these names have no meaning, and came from the recesses of my mind. As odd as it is, naming Norns can sometimes hold me back from jumping into a world. At least I was pleased with the ones I chose! Everyone seemed to agree, thankfully. Naming schemes can be as random as made-up words, or as ordered as a specific theme.
I allowed the females to live for about ten minutes before I hatched the Alpha Male. This will ensure that they are all fertile by the time they are introduced to him. In theory, this should give them all an equal chance at becoming the Alpha Female. In moments, I welcomed a male Zebra Norn in Remniova: This is Brenlee! He was an active creature from the moment he hatched, which was a good sign. He was an excellent eater, and an even better sleeper. Perhaps he had an inkling of what his role would be! I chose a male Zebra Norn because the males and females are quite different in appearance. And who doesn’t like striped Norns?! He was adorable from the moment he started looking around his new environment.
Brenlee became obsessed with the Blue Intelligence Core! This agent is part of the Portal Pack created by Ghosthande for the CCSF 2011. Suffice to say I have most of the items scattered about: They’re quite amazing! Clearly, Brenlee agreed. He learned his vocabulary very easily in this way, but still took the time to eat a balanced diet in the Norn Terrarium. Part of me feels like he might suffer from separation anxiety when he moves to the C1toDS meta room! Never fear: One of these is located in the region, and perhaps Brenlee will be able to find it. Yet again, it’s about time he left it alone. Get on with it, Brenlee!
Just for reference, here is a quick rundown of the starting Norns and their marks:
- Lamna: Female Harlequin Norn (Green Feather)
- Seyon: Female Magma Norn (Yellow Bell)
- Aurianna: Female Bengal Norn (Red Spiral)
- Nevorria: Female Siamese Norn (White Star)
- Brenlee: Male Zebra Norn (Blue Sword)
The females will be moved to the C1toDS meta room as they reach the youth life stage. Brenlee will be introduced to the room after he has become either a youth or an adult: Still need to decide! Recall that I have edited the chances of multiple births so that Norns have a very high chance of producing “litters.” The chance of twins is 80%, and each subsequent birth has a 60% chance of occurring. There is a maximum size of six Norns in each litter, but my test run revealed that two to three babies at one time is most typical. I also reduced the chances of identical sets to just 20%: The idea is to have genetic diversity amongst each litter, although identical Norns will still be possible. These parameters may change as I continue through this experiment: We shall see!
So cool to finally see this idea taking shape. I’m really looking forward to these entries.
Thanks for the link to the HLM patch. I hadn’t heard of that one before and I very much look forward to using it myself.
How exactly did you go about adjusting the ‘litter’ rates? Not that C3 Norns generally need to produce massive numbers of offspring, they do it quite well on their own most of the time!
And finally, I read in your last C3 post you don’t have access to the Mall breeds, like the Treehuggers. I’m not sure how you feel about it, but I’d be willing to share my copy (I have all those breeds). Fingers crossed C4 will result in the Creatures store openning up again and you’ll actually be able to buy the breeds again.
Can’t wait to see who will be the alpha female!
ArchDragon: Glad you like this series! Judging by the quick responses, I’ll probably devote some extra time to this. As much as I love C1, I feel like C3/DS is played by the majority of the community, and it also allows for many different additions and conditions. The HLM Patch is one of my favorite: I always say that simple additions or corrections can be the greatest, and this is one of them!
Great question about the litter rates! I should have included this information in my post. I’ll make sure to include it in my next entry, but you can find the CAOS commands posted at Creaturetopia by the user Bramboo. The variables listed are the standard ones each world begins with, I believe. You can use it to eliminate multiple births altogether, force large litters with 100% odds, or even make every female always have identical triplets!
It’s probably obvious, but 0.05 corresponds with 5% and 0.5 equals 50%. Genius me forgot my math skills originally, and tested it out with only an 8% chance of multiple births, when I meant 80%. Whoops!
On the last point, could you send me a PM or an e-mail? Thanks!
Pirate-Rob: I can’t wait, either! We should find out this weekend: My hope is with Seyon, since she’s been rather the intelligent lady, but being a Magma Norn, she could also produce perpetually cold and uncomfortable offspring. Or maybe they could eventually adapt… So many possibilities!
Hurrah! It finally unfolds! Really excited to see where this goes… and almost makes me miss my old little scenario/story worlds like this… /wistful sigh.
It’s always a mixed surprise when you find yourself getting attached to creatures you really didn’t plan on getting attached to. I think the CFE genome has a lot to do with that.
Also really wonderful to see the marks in action! I feel the need to reiterate that though I had a lot of fun coding them, all the sprites (with the exception of the star, that I just stole from the C3 sprites) were crafted by the talented Mea, of CAOS of the Creatures Realm fame. These marks simply wouldn’t exist without her artistic talent (or if they did, they would look much, much worse).
Thanks! It’s very interesting that I got somewhat interested in and attached to these Norns… I always found it difficult with the C3/DS breeds, for some reason. The environment also felt so artificial, which I think made me feel like the Norns themselves were artificial.
Special thanks definitely go to Mea for her work on the marks! They’re really helpful, and I think I might just continue to use them. Thanks again!
Let’s just hope they don’t listen to that core too much… They’ll go mad from the lies and false cake promises!
Good start. I’ll be interested to see how often you decide to introduce the “new blood” in so far as the Gen 1 females are concerned.
Also, thank you for pointing me to those marks (and for coding them, Amaaikokonut) as I think they may have their uses in my games as well!