Essential Agents and Additions for Creatures DS
As promised, I went through my list of agents to document those from C3/DS which I find to be extremely useful. Everyone plays the games differently, so what seems useful to me might not be the most exciting to others. Still, I always enjoy learning what agents and additions players use: Hopefully these will help out others looking to get a bit more out of Creatures 3 and Docking Station!
Creatures Remastered Patch from Don (C3/DS)
If there is one download that everyone with Creatures Exodus needs, it is this one! It allows all new downloads to install and work properly. An absolute must have: If a new install of Creatures Exodus seems to have some trouble with installing new files, this could easily be the solution.
C1toDS Metaroom from a Team of Many (C3/DS)
Need I mention how much I love Creatures 1 again? Ha ha! Having the ability to experience C1 in C3/DS is absolutely amazing. Not only has everything been ported over beautifully, but there are also some nice extras hidden throughout the metaroom! The only slightly obvious difference from the original Albia of Creatures 1 is the speed: C1toDS runs slightly faster, but only to a point that is marginally noticeable. Beautiful work!
C2toDS Metaroom from Moe and Liam (C3/DS)
Despite its current development status, the latest release of C2toDS is quite stunning! All of the hard work thus far has paid off with an excellent recreation of Creatures 2 in Creatures 3 and Docking Station. As with C1toDS, there are also a couple of extra elements that make it wonderful to explore and enjoy. Hopefully we will hear more news about it soon!
Creatures Full of Edits from Vampess (C3/DS)
Arguably one of the best updates to the C3/DS creature genomes are the Creatures Full of Edits (CFE). There are many updates and changes, which can be read about more in detail on the site. After I found these updated genomes, I switched over completely to CFE Norns. Granted, non-CFE creatures are not necessarily the worst thing in the world. Still, it’s always nice to have an improvement!
Creatures 3 and Docking Station Fixes from Vampess (C3/DS)
Nearly everything listed at Creatures Heaven is absolutely amazing! Again, .cos files play more of a hidden role than agent files, yet they often have an enormous impact. I utilize everything listed on this page, and recommend these downloads to everyone. The Woodland Fix Pack is probably the most useful, as it actually allows the plants and critters in the Norn terrarium thrive. Note that the cacbana.cos and balloon bug.cos files are updated in the next download I use. Clearly, anyone is welcome to use whatever! I just wanted to mention that these two overlap with one another.
Desert Terrarium Fixes from Vampess and Moe (C3)
As mentioned above, the desert terrarium fixes overlap with the minor fixes available at Creatures Heaven. Anything to help with the ecology and keep the plants in the desert terrarium in the right place!
No Seasonal Gender Bias from Amaikokonut (C3/DS)
Creatures 3 and Docking Station actually have seasons, even though it seems like nothing changes aboard the spaceship. The gender of a newborn Norn, Grendel, or Ettin is determined at the moment of birth, and is dependent on the seasons. Thanks to this updated .cos file, the seasonal gender bias can become a thing of the past. It is quite useful for evening out the male and female populations!
Creature Nametags from Amaikokonut (C3/DS)
Keeping track of Norns is difficult enough: It often requires tabbing through the population, and guessing at who is who. Amaikokonut created a genius addition with these nametags. The Creature’s name is placed underneath him or her in either blue or pink, and a second line is available to record any other information onscreen. I have found this immensely useful when trying to figure out which Norns are in an area.
Magic Words Core and Modules from Amaikokonut (C3/DS)
They’re magic! The magic words core and various modules really can enhance the playability of Creatures 3 and Docking Station. Perhaps they do not appear to be anything amazing from a glance, but these have been absolutely amazing for me! Players are also able to use just one module, a combination, or all of them. Magic!
Additional Downloads from Amaikokonut (C3/DS)
Pretty much everything on this page can be seen as essential. Personally, I enjoy using the advanced Muco, Creature crossbreeding, elevines, and peaceful death. I also sometimes use the critical hit and interactive egg scripts. Those I have not listed have not been used simply because I’ve gotten used to my current setup: I’m sure the rest of the downloads are just as awesome!
Fungi Update from Pirate Rob (C3)
Simple .cos file updates might go overlooked, but this is one not to skip over. In most worlds, the fungi in the jungle terrarium quickly dies out when creatures begin to snack on the delicious food. Pirate Rob created an updated version of the fungi in Creatures 3 which spits out five seeds from each piece of fungi: Genius! Although some areas of fungi still can be eaten up by hungry Norns, Grendels, and Ettins, I have never completely run out of fungi. Just be sure to install this file in the Creatures 3 bootstrap folder: The fungi is not a Creatures Docking Station element.
Tuba Seeder from Moe (DS)
The tuba fruit is one of my favorite foods in Creatures Docking Station: It spreads like wildfire, and is packed with nutrition! With the tuba seeder, growing this food in virtually every environment is easily possible. And when those hungry creatures gobble up everything, as they often do, reseeding is simple!
Edible Snotrocks from Grendel Man (DS) Currently Unavailable
Besides Norns, snotrocks often devour every tuba fruit in sight. I often simply remove the snotrocks from my worlds with a CAOS command, but making them edible allows them to be part of the food chain. They might not look that appetizing, but they must make an interesting meal!
Door and Button/Lift Hiders from Hausmouse (C3/DS)
For quite some time, I tried to find a solution for keeping my Norns in certain areas. I experimented with a couple of different force field agents, and although they each had their advantages, nothing really met my needs until I found the door and button/lift hiders. These are invisible to creatures, and also make either a door, button, or lift invisible to creatures. Although I have not used this agent extensively, it has worked wonders!
New Signpost System from Bobingabout (C3/DS)
The favorite places system in C3/DS is quite useful, yet it can be very cumbersome when there are many different metarooms. The new signpost system from Bobingabout is simply awesome: The icons can be stacked! No more having to worry about navigating from smaller metarooms!
Miscellaneous Downloads (C3/DS)
There are many different downloads on this page. In particular, I recommend the Grazer Sound Fix and Heat in Water Transfer. I suspect that everything else is quite useful: I guess it boils down to getting around to trying them out! Thanks to Grendel Man for pointing out an updated version of the New Swimming Agent.
Creatures History Update from Zzzzoot (C3/DS)
Perhaps one of the most maddening aspects of Creatures 3 and Docking Station is the limited information in the Creatures history section. It often requires multiple clicks to know who the mother or father is, and tracing relatives is even more difficult than it should. With this download, a Creature’s history is so much easier to understand and navigate through!
Updated Creatures Menu Scripts from Apollo (DS)
This set of updated scripts is quite essential in keeping track of creatures in the pull out menu and figuring out if there are any pigment mutations. Not only do these scripts properly show a creature’s true coloring, but they also generate an image when exporting a creature, and show more information about imported creatures.
Portal Object Pack from Ghosthande (C3/DS)
I love using these agents, particularly the Blue Intelligence Core. It’s like a portable learning machine that creatures can never get enough of! This pack was made available during the CCSF 2011 last November, which just goes to show that awesome new agents are still being developed and released.
New Volcano Rocks from AquaShee (C3)
A minor fix? Perhaps. Yet this allows Norns, Grendels, and Ettins to play with the volcano rocks in the desert terrarium. Now the gnarlers have some competition for those delicious rocks!
There are other agents, particularly metarooms and object packs, that I occasionally use. However, this seemed like a pretty long list of the additions and updates I use in almost every single world! Feel free to share any thoughts about these agents and additions, or make a suggestion or two. Thanks!
Oh my, that is a seriously detailed list. I applaud your efforts and the time you take to do this! The updated creature menu scripts was one I hadn’t heard of, and I thought I’d seen everything!
I have to ask, have you done a list of essentials for C1 that I’ve missed, or do you plan to do one? I occasionally consider picking it up, but it feels so foreign to me that I get intimidated sometimes, heh.
I considered just throwing up a list of links, but most of these deserve a bit of commentary! I’m glad there was something in there that was new: It took me absolutely forever to remember where I had downloaded the scripts from. I was about to give up, when it came to me: Tribble Norns! Ha ha!
I’ve hinted at some C1 COBs and additions, but no exhaustive list has been posted as of yet. As luck would have it, that’s the next thing on my to-do list! I figure I might get a little playing time in beforehand… If memory serves me correctly, that list could be even longer than this one! It would be amazing if you got into C1 again: It’s a lot different from C3/DS, but it’s worth the crazy moments because the Norns and Grendel create a bond. At least, that’s what I tell myself and believe. Ha!
I should have that list up in the next week!
i have a few of these myself :3 they are incredibly useful i must say though a meta room i found very useful is the Biodome that was released in last years CCSF especially everything that came with it in the separate biodome pack.
ooh i read in an earlier post that you are thinking of giving brenlee’s daughters up for adoption? i’d be interested in taking one if you have no objections and if at any stage you’d like a norn from my stock then i have plenty xD
The Biodome: Of course! I might have a separate post for additional metarooms, but the Biodome is extremely awesome. I love playing around with it and customizing it! Which reminds me that I found a minor bug the other day that I should report to Liam.
Thanks for mentioning Brenlee’s daughters: Among other things, I’ve been thinking about what to do with them and the rest of the adult males. I’m not too keen on throwing them up for download, since there’s no guarantee that they’ll do much of anything. Maybe some sort of adopt-a-thon? I’ll be sure to make it fun, and I’ll save the first pick for you, Magpie!
Just another thing to have done soon! I can’t promise that will be completed within the week, but I imagine I should have it ready by the beginning of March. By that time, I should also have an enormous number of Creatures 1 Norns looking for new homes!
A small note about the Improved Swimmeragent: Don’t use the one at CCaves, as it’s old, outdated, and conflicts with the Aquanorn Swimmeragent (which it was based on). Use this one instead.
Other than that, I really don’t have much to say that hasn’t already been said. I’ll be looking forwards to the C1 version of this list. :D
Thanks for the information and tip, Grendel Man! I updated the main post yesterday to reflect this. I’ll get to work on my C1 list very soon. Thank you again!
ah and of course as a breed i really love the apple norns as well their genes make a good addition to weaker norns
The Apple Norns are amazing: I have a feeling I’ll have a separate post just for breeds, since there are so many. I tend to stick with the official breeds most of the time, although I do adore many other breeds!
It’s interesting to compare this article with KnyteTrypper’s article on the same topic in 2006:
http://www.creatures.org.uk/ccsf2006/articles.php?id=1
There’s been a lot of cool stuff released in the last 5 years or so! :D
Very interesting, Malkin! I had not seen that article until now, and I might want to try out some of the suggestions. I know that my world is still relatively unpopulated with agents, when it comes right down to it. Maybe I’ll find some more useful things to add: Thanks for the link!
Thank-you so much for posting this information! I’m not lazy about finding out new ways to enjoy my game, but I’ve been poking around the internet for months and have only seen a few of these downloads. I’m pretty sure I downloaded all of them, and I’m very excited to try them out. Thanks!
Is it at all possible to provide a different ink for the Creaturetopia downloads or possible a direct download? The website wants me to register for an account, which I’m happy to do, except it says that it’s not possible to begin an account at this time. =/ I really want that signpost system!
Defectiveminx: Sorry about the delay in getting your comments approved! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed these downloads. Unfortunately, Creaturetopia has been closed to new registrations for quite some time, and an account is required to access the downloads. Feel free to send me an e-mail, though, and I’ll be happy to help you out with the signpost system! You should find my address in the sidebar. Thanks!
Thank you for this list as well. I skimmed over it and decided that I may just give those nametags a try after all.
Thanks a lot for this list. Some links are broken, at least the ones to Creatures Caves. It should point to downloads.php and not cobs.php
For instance the direct link to Creatures History Update is this: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=95
No problem! Note that this list was compiled long before the current Creatures Caves layout change, which ended up reformatting the links. I may update this post in the future, or create a new list to incorporate a few newer downloads. Hope this still is useful, though!
Has anyone found an agent like the science kit from C1, but for DS stand alone. Something portable? I would just use the medibay from C3 but I can’t seem to get water breathers in and out quick enough to not kill them.
Have you tried out the X-Ray agent? I believe it can work in C3/DS or DS standalone. It graphs various chemicals, and also shows the damage to various organs. Hope it will help you out!