Age and the Not-So-Inevitable
Onessa reached an old age a bit sooner than was expected, although it’s quite possible that the plague took a lot out of her. She tends to wander off alone, staring off into space and waiting for food to be brought to her. I think she’s become worn down, and perhaps even a little depressed by the fact that she probably won’t live to meet her children. Fortunately, she will pass on her legacy, even if that legacy doesn’t enter Albia for some time.
In terms of the inevitable aging, Evria and her two daughters, Evrietta and Izria, have shown no signs of it! Evria, shown here holding onto her treasured honey, is well over 13 hours old and still showing off her youth. Izria is the spitting image of her, and she, too, looks exactly the same. Part of this most likely stems from the original hatchery genetics, which produce immortal Norns. I plan on exporting only when necessary, since the amount of unhatched eggs is a little over-the-top. After the plague, though, I still want to be very careful.
Speaking of Onessa in her somewhat depressed state, she flipped a switch and actually started running about and playing! She still holds a very special place in my heart, since I was able to nurse her back to health before she passed on. I do wish there was a more equal male-to-female ratio in the world, and that the natural aging process would take its course. Not that I want any Creatures to die: It’s just a part of life, though, and paves the way for new Norns to experience the world. It’s the course of life, or so I tell myself.
After some time, I discovered that no one was about to succumb to the natural way of life. Several Norns have their aging chemical at zero, which I believe is the trigger for a natural death. Correct me if I’m wrong, though. Rafin is one such Norn, and I think he sensed that it was about time for him to be exported. He calmly traveled away from the garden and the group, where he rested comfortably in the still darkness. In the interest of improving the male-to-female ratio and diversity, a male Norn from the hatchery was just hatched to take Rafin’s place in the population. He is not at all what I expected! More about him soon!
That was so mean to leave a cliff-hanger like that at the end! (I guess you know how to keep us coming!)
I did know about GoG and have been thinking about buy the Albian years. However with no credit care I’ll need to get a “gift card” from the store first.
I also really like how you put in your signatures that you’ve updated the blog. It’s easier to keep up-to-date!
Ha ha! I try to steer clear of cliff-hangers, but I do plan on throwing those in every now and then to keep everyone coming back! It also keeps me on my toes and allows me to stay on track, rather than letting work take over. Huge presentation to do? Wait: I promised an update on my Norns, so that definitely comes first! Ha!
Ah, I see what you mean about GOG. Funny how credit cards are almost required these days for a lot of things. I’m not sure how the gift card works, but I hope that you’ll eventually get your hands on C1/C2!
I’m glad you like the signatures! Speaking of which, I realized that I had forgotten all about Creaturetopia, so now my signature over there reflects when I’ve last updated the blog. I’m also trying to utilize Facebook and Twitter updates, as well as the RSS feed.
It’s really just a single use credit card you can buy as a gift to someone. Visa, Masterard, ect. And they work just like a credit card but with no strings!
How are you going to overcome the “immortal” norn problem? Are you going to just export them when they get to 0 life chem?
Are you only going to use offical breeds? If yes, why? (I don’t have a problem with this, just curious.)
I’m fairly certain that I’m going to start exporting more than I would like to, but there’s really no alternative with immortal Norns. These aren’t naturally immortal, either: They simply live forever due to the errors in the original genomes. Tarlia created a fix for C1 Norns, which have benefited both Brennis and Windren. I believe there are three other Norns with 0 aging: They’ll be next to go, although I might simply create a new world to house the elders. There won’t be any new babies, since all of the males will be old and infertile, so it could just be a nice place to live peacefully. Every now and then, they could come on over for a “visit” to the main world to meet their descendants. That could get kind of weird way down the line… “You’re my great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother?!” Ha ha!
I chose to only use the original three breeds in this main world because I wanted to capture the original game that I remember best. However, I do plan on having a few other worlds at some point, where I’ll be using various COBs and third-party breeds. I’ll get there eventually, I hope! I also have a very finicky laptop that died a few years ago… My dad helped to bring it back to life, but I wanted to make sure I could play C1 for a bit before experimenting with any add-ons.
Any suggestions for COBs or breeds for C1 would be most appreciated! I’d love to do some reviews and enjoy the many amazing creations that the community has come up with over the years.
Actually, Evira and her daughter have elder sprites in that picture. :) It’s just that female white pixie norns change very subtly when they become elders, compared with the other breeds. If you look closely, you’ll notice some wrinkles above their eyes and around their mouth.
And also, 0 ageing is indeed what should trigger the ‘die of old age’ gene – it’s just that your norns don’t have one!
Thanks for pointing that out, Tarlia! White Haired Pixie Norns really do age quite subtly: I’d love to end up with only a few tiny wrinkles to indicate my ancientness! In that case, I’m quite happy with how they’re progressing. I was worried that I was dealing with permanent adults, on top of the immortality issue.
I appreciate you validating the aging chemical as the trigger for natural death! I wish I had heard about your updated genomes prior to starting: I’m assuming that the immortality is hereditary. Exporting will be the option for the time being, which isn’t too bad. At least it is an option, after all!
So, Rafin had decided on a “But Now I Must Go” scenario? Wow, this game is very deep on so many levels…