Inspiration in a Failed Creatures 2 World
The last update regarding Colony Twelve, my Creatures 2 world, was several months ago. I was torn between intervening to keep the population going, or to allow it to die out completely. In a way, the game made up my mind for me! We all know how unstable Creatures 2 is, unfortunately, and I discovered that each time I opened a copy of the main world, it threw an error. Perhaps I made a mistake while clearing out some directories, but the image folder was eerily empty. I tried to find a way to open up a game file more than once, yet it was no use.
Some might think that I gave up too easily. However, my Albian Ant Norns had been in a rather desperate spot. Out of a remaining twelve or so, there was only a chance that a pair would actually be able to keep the population going. All of the males had either passed away or found themselves alone, save for one. Luckily, sometimes the end of a world like this one signifies the opportunity for a much better world concept! This breed is a unique one, and has requirements that are not fully controllable. That’s as it should be, but I did learn a few things!
These Norns were keen to explore, which was part of the reason why they became separated. Typical Creatures 2 Norns usually stray only when absolutely necessary. Giving such a wide open space to the Albian Ant Norns was actually detrimental to their population. For lack of a better term, I was in need of an Albian Ant Norn Farm! There are a number of ways to achieve this, either with gates or some other sort of barrier. I hope to restart this sort of world with better parameters. Even well planned worlds can fail, which pushes me to improve and have a sustainable population. Failure can be devastating, but it can also be inspirational.
I was rather sad to lose the last remaining Norns in the world. However, I did not want to risk causing any other errors in case the problem was with them. Most had lived full or nearly full lives, and their existence would be instrumental in ensuring that a future population could sustain itself. There is the option of simply using C2toDS, yet Creatures 2 holds a special place in my heart. Although I never fell in love with it like I did with the original Creatures game, the music is something I vividly remember. Hopefully the next Creatures 2 update will include good news about the next group!
well do you have fun with ant norns? i think creatures 2 is more compex then creatures 1
Albian Ant Norns are a lot of fun! It’s just a shame that I ran into these problems, but I’m slowly putting together a plan to improve the next world. I figure I might fail a few more times before getting things right, yet I don’t plan on giving up until these guys have a sustainable population! Creatures 2 is a lot more complex than Creatures 1, which can both be good and bad. For instance, the working ecology really makes the whole world seem alive, but it can also seem like there are too many things going on. I would also say that making the Norn brain so complex didn’t exactly help in the intelligence department, although the players who made better brains helped to solve that issue over the years!
Have you thought of using the Hive Mind Ettins?
That is a great suggestion! I actually tested them out when I uploaded them to Creatures Caves, and have been considering giving the little Ettins some coverage here. Might be an interesting world to utilize. I have so many ideas for worlds at this point, yet I will certainly add this breed to the top of the list. Now, to just find the time! Thanks for bringing them up!