Another Happy Day in Albia
I find that I really look forward to starting up Creatures 1 to check on my Norns. Even though the population is starting to grow, I still find it necessary to check in on everyone. In the theories of nature vs. nurture, I believe that I’m probably nurturing about 95% of the time! I’m going to see if, over time, this eventually makes way for nature to take a more prominent role. But with my nosiness and close attachment to each Norn, that might take some time!
One case in point is Evria, who is quite easily distracted by other Norns. She had neglected to seek out any nutrition for some time, but a wonderful gift of a full honey pot from me was enough to turn her mood around! She had best watch where she’s going, though… Running around can result in some nasty collisions! Thankfully, Creatures can’t fall, due to “invisible” boundaries. However, I have noticed that a Norn’s pain increases when he or she continuously walks into a wall. Very realistic, although they seem to take no notice at first! Not exactly attentive beings…
Avira has been quite adventurous and a little solitary after giving birth to Rafin. Luckily, she has her mother’s sense of taking a rest every now and again. After a little help, she even got the hang of cracking open a coconut to get at the delicious feast inside. For whatever reason, the island seems to be a place that many Norns enjoy visiting, even with its limited food supply. Perhaps it’s all about the views and sea air! It was also a very nice spot for living alone, so perhaps that played into the migration decision.
I had a good laugh when I saw Diren stopping in his tracks to stare at the scarecrow in the garden! I think it qualifies as the scariest thing in Albia, as far as appearances go. Perhaps a friendly looking Norn face would have been more appealing? I know for a fact that it doesn’t keep Grendels away… Xodin marched right past it earlier in his life! It’s perfect for Halloween, yet I hardly think it warrants keeping out all year round. Perhaps the Creatures 1 development team decided to have a little fun! There are plenty of background tidbits that can be found in the game. Just takes a keen eye and some time!
A much happier and heart-warming situation happened with Evria and Evrietta. They may have missed Mothers’ Day by a day or two, but mother and daughter ended up pregnant at just about the same time! Evrietta was so excited about laying her shiny egg that she picked up the trumpet to play a little tune! She couldn’t have chosen a better spot, either, since the lift travels directly up to the computer. Apparently she wanted her youngster to have a great education right from the start. Smart thinking on her part! It was likely just luck, though I liked to think she had a plan.
A short time later, Evria showed off her camouflage skills by hiding behind a ball and laying her egg nearby. This might not have been the best place… That egg could be confused for a toy! She and Evrietta seem very close: They were together when Evria laid her second egg, and often travel together. However, they are also capable of living their own lives. It’s almost as if they know to come together during important life events. I wonder if that bond will continue? I think the females have a pretty good idea of how crazy I get when new babies are ready to hatch: That must be why they’re conspiring to get pregnant at the same time!
How many norns is it that you have now, I’ve lost track? It must be over 8 if the incubator has stopped working…
The population is up to 9 Norns so far, not counting the two that will soon arrive. It gets hard to keep track of all of them now! One or two are usually off on their own in random places, and by the time I return to the main group, another egg or two have been laid!
I’m working on a page that lists past and present Norns, their basic statistics, and family lines. That should help everyone, including myself, keep count!
If you want the population up-ed a bit there is a COB which changes the limit to 24, including the incubator!
Thanks for the info, Scoota94! Do you know what the default limits are for the incubator and world population? Something tells me that the population cap, when no more eggs will hatch, is at 16 or 17 Norns, but I could be mistaken. I’ll definitely consider the COB for another world I plan on creating for tutorials and COB reviews. Thanks again!
The normal population cap is at 12 norns. No more eggs will hatch after that, and more annoyingly, norns will not get pregnant, either. If you want to keep getting eggs, you have to make sure #12 doesn’t hatch.
Also, I’ve had world crashes after using the 24 norn COB, so it’s best to take a backup of your world.sfc before you try it.
Thanks for clearing that up, Tarlia! That means I’m quickly approaching the population cap. I wasn’t aware that Norns won’t get pregnant when the 12th Norn hatches. It would have made more sense to just not allow eggs to hatch, rather than preventing pregnancy.
Any thoughts or suggestions on what to do? Thanks!
The pregnancy prevention thing exists in all three games, I believe, though I can’t remember if I ever encountered it in C2 or not.
I know that in DS (I haven’t played C3 standalone much), I know that the limit is relative to the egg hatching limit/population limit you set yourself and how many eggs you have in the world. In other words: in DS, norns will keep producing eggs after the limit has been reached, but only up to a certain point.
Anyway, beyond using the 24 norn COB, which may be a little risky, the only other ways to deal with it is to export norns, or keep the population at 11 and store the eggs until enough norns die… the incubator and import function will only work if you have less than 8 norns.
Another problem with C1 is that the default three breeds plus the purple mountain norn breed do not have the gene to die from old age. It does exist in the game, but simply isn’t present in their genome. That means they can technically live forever. I have modified versions of the genomes somewhere which include these genes… Maybe I should dig those out again, there’s another thing or two I’d like to do with them as well.
Thanks for all of the information, Tarlia!
I vaguely remember playing Creatures 2 years ago and having a ridiculous number of eggs stored away… I may have been using a COB, though, so this might not be an accurate occurrence in the base game.
I’m almost certain that I’m going to start saving up eggs to keep only 11 Norns in the world at once, and then hatch a new egg when the population falls below 8 Norns. I’m too attached to export anyone, although the fact that no one has the gene to die of old age is a little frightening. My updates might start to resemble an episode of “The Golden Girls!”
I would be very interested in the modified genomes for the three original breeds: I plan on having another C1 world at some point that is more focused on observing the scientific elements of the game. Thanks again!