Begin at the Beginning, Again

I haven't been playing Creatures much lately. School has started back up, for one thing, but I've also been reluctant to play because I know that some of the older first generation Norns will probably pass away soon. I know that nature must take its course, as always, but perhaps taking a break from C1 will soften the blow when the inevitable arrives.

Creatures 2 is sort of the black sheep of the franchise. Graphically, it's a definite improvement, although honestly I have to say I prefer the old-timey look of the C1 world to the more sterile machinery that dominates large portions of C2. The C2 world is also much bigger and more varied, with rougher terrain and actua physics. C2 expanded on the concept of lifecycles for non-Creature objects, as introduced in the add-on Beelecanth Flower and Cloud Layer Butterfly for C1. A good portion of the plants and animals in the world grow, reproduce, and die, although many are also stationary to avoid catastrophic extinctions. There are seasons and a day/night cycle, but, unfortunately, the visual changes associated with those cycles are limited due to the technology of the time.

Gameplay-wise, there were also a few improvements. For one, "push" and "eat" are separate verbs. The vocabulary in C2 borders on being too large for my tastes, as I never get around to teaching any individual Creature all the words, but it's much smaller and more intuitive than in C3. Also, there's now a computer to teach Creatures emotion words without resorting to cheats. Creature genomes are more complicated and code for actual organs, which have their own life forces and can suffer damage individually. Also, the digestive system is much more complex and realistic. A Norn's life no longer depends almost solely on its glycogen level.

However, there was one enormous problem with C2 as it was shipped: the Norns were horribly broken. Due to a number of genetic bugs, the Norns would suffer from "One Hour Stupidity Syndrome," which caused them to suddenly become, well, stupid as they aged. By default, they also live shorter lives than in C2 -- about five hours as opposed to nine or ten. Even after an official update became available, most C2 players prefer to use a third-party genome. The two most commonly used genomes are the Canny Norns and the Nova Subterras.

Even with a new genome, C2 is the hardest of the three games. I've never been able to get into it quite like the first game, but it's never too late to try again! I'll be using the 10-Hour Nova Subterra genome by JayD and the Creatures Albian Years version of the game available from GOG.com. C2 is notorious for being the only Creatures game that won't run on Vista or Windows 7 in its original form, but I have been able to run the GOG version under Windows 7 with no problems by switching to 16-bit color before launching the game. By the way, when I run C1, I must run it as an administrator for it to work properly, but if I do that with C2, it just crashes, so make sure you try different combinations of settings when you're trying to get it to work.

Genetics Discussion: Wood Norns

The Wood Norns are a third party breed created years ago by legendary community member Frimlin. They can still  be found at Treesprite's Creatures Grove if you'd like to have them in your game. In addition to their cute new appearance, these Norns have some genetic changes as well. Below is a comparison of Wood Norn genetics (top) and default hatchery Norn genetics (bottom).

Brain Lobes

121 6 0 Emb B MutDup Lobe #= 7 State Rule: state PLUS type0 <end> <end> <end> <end> <end>, WTA= 1
121 6 0 Emb B MutDup Lobe #= 7 State Rule: state PLUS type0 PLUS type1 <end> <end> <end>, WTA= 1

This is the same error present in the attention lobe of the Purple Mountain Norns. This should mean that the attention lobe fails to take into account information from the noun lobe, making the Norn incapable of making a connection between nouns spoken by the hand and objects they should look at in response. However, this error is corrected by the game executable itself and has no actual effect on the Creature. The Wood Norns were probably based on the hatchery Norns that shipped with the original UK version of the game, where this error originated.

Receptors

321 44 0 Sen B Creature, Somatic, die of old age, chem=Ageing, thresh=5, nom=117, gain=255, features=Inverted Digital
326 45 0 Emb B Creature, Circulatory, floating chem 2, chem=Glycogen, thresh=0, nom=0, gain=255, features=Analogue

These two new receptors are also present in the Life Kit breeds. The first is the die of old age gene, and the second is part of the updated hunger system in those Norns.

Emitters

327 28 0 Emb B MutDup Creature, Circulatory, floating chem 2, chem=Hunger, thresh=0, samp=5, gain=2, features=Inverted Analogue

Like the receptor genes, this new emitter is also a Life Kit gene. It goes with the glycogen receptor above and causes Norns to become hungry when their glycogen is low.

Reactions

71 13 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Pain-- + 1*Pain => 2*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.
71 13 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Pain-- + 1*Pain => 1*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.

72 14 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*NFP-- + 2*NFP => 2*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.
72 14 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*NFP-- + 1*NFP => 1*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.

73 15 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Hunger-- + 1*Hunger => 2*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.
73 15 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Hunger-- + 1*Hunger => 1*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.

74 16 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Coldness-- + 1*Coldness => 2*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.
74 16 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Coldness-- + 1*Coldness => 1*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.

75 17 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Hotness-- + 1*Hotness => 2*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.
75 17 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Hotness-- + 1*Hotness => 1*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.

76 18 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Tiredness-- + 1*Tiredness => 2*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.
76 18 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Tiredness-- + 1*Tiredness => 1*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.

78 19 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Sleepiness-- + 1*Sleepiness => 2*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.
78 19 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Sleepiness-- + 1*Sleepiness => 1*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.

79 20 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Loneliness-- + 1*Loneliness => 2*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.
79 20 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Loneliness-- + 1*Loneliness => 1*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.

80 21 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Crowdedness-- + 1*Crowdedness => 2*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.
80 21 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Crowdedness-- + 1*Crowdedness => 1*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.

82 22 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Fear-- + 1*Fear => 2*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.
82 22 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Fear-- + 1*Fear => 1*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.

84 23 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Boredom-- + 1*Boredom => 2*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.
84 23 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Boredom-- + 1*Boredom => 1*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.

85 24 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Anger-- + 1*Anger => 2*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.
85 24 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Anger-- + 1*Anger => 1*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.

86 33 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*SexDrive-- + 1*SexDrive => 2*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.
86 33 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*SexDrive-- + 1*SexDrive => 1*Reward + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.

All of these genes say basically the same thing: Wood Norns receive twice as much reward as regular Norns for reducing their drives. My two Wood Norns, Zelos and Seles, are both very cheerful as well as good eaters and sleepers. Zelos in particular tends to have an abnormally high life force. These genes may explain their behavior.

308 51 0 Emb B Mut 1*Hunger-- + 1*Hunger => 1*<NONE> + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 32.

This is a Purple Mountain gene. Like in the PMNs, this reaction is present in addition to the regular hunger reduction reaction. Their combination should mean that hunger decrease reduces the hunger drive more efficiently overall, but this gene doesn't produce any reward.

Stimuli

91 2 0 Emb B Mut 'Pointer pats me' causes sig=32 GS neu=0(I've been patted) int=255, , , Sensed Even When Asleep => 64*NFP-- + 16*Pain-- + 16*Loneliness-- + 30*Reward
91 2 0 Emb B Mut 'Pointer pats me' causes sig=32 GS neu=0(I've been patted) int=255, , , Sensed Even When Asleep => 64*NFP-- + 16*Pain-- + 16*Loneliness-- + 16*Reward

This is similar to the above reaction genes. When patted, Wood Norns gain almost twice as much reward as regular Norns. All of this together means that Wood Norns should learn good behaviors more quickly, although their punishment genes have been left unaltered.

Instincts

163 8 0 Ado B MutDupCut Drive i/ps SexDrive + General Sensory i/ps IT is opposite sex + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Push => 207*Reward
163 8 0 Ado M MutDupCut Drive i/ps SexDrive + General Sensory i/ps IT is opposite sex + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Push => 207*Reward

164 9 0 Ado B MutDupCut Drive i/ps SexDrive + General Sensory i/ps IT is opposite sex + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Pull => 112*Reward
164 9 0 Ado M MutDupCut Drive i/ps SexDrive + General Sensory i/ps IT is opposite sex + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Pull => 112*Reward

This is a very interesting change. This portion of the gene dictates whether it is sex-linked. In the standard Norn genome, only the males have the "courting" instinct to initiate mating. Wood Norns, however, are equal-opportunity kisspoppers, and either sex may court the other.

307 19 0 Emb B Attention seek o/ps Food + Drive i/ps Hunger + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Push => 255*Reward
307 19 0 Emb B Stim source i/ps Food + Drive i/ps Hunger + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Push => 255*Reward

This part of an instinct gene concerns the criteria that need to be met for the reward or punishment to be delivered. This gene normally relates to the stimulus source lobe. Cells in this lobe are fired by the presence of nearby objects. In the Wood Norn genome, however, this has been changed to the attention lobe, which is how Norns look at and recognize objects in their world. Wood Norns are rewarded if they look at food while hungry and then push (eat) it. Judging from the write-up on instinct genes at the Creatures Developer Resource, this is a more effective way to structure this instinct, as the stimulus source lobe is not a "perceptible" lobe and has no actual impact on the instinct gene. "Perceptible" lobes have their information copied to the perception lobe.

322 22 0 Emb B MutDupCut Drive i/ps Boredom + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Push => 129*Reward
323 23 0 Emb B MutDupCut Drive i/ps Boredom + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Pull => 156*Reward

These two new instinct genes reward the Norn for activating (pushing or pulling) when bored, encouraging them to do something instead of sitting around being bored.

324 24 0 Emb B MutDupCut Attention seek o/ps Food + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Push => 255*Reward
325 25 0 Emb B MutDupCut Attention seek o/ps Food + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Pull => 225*Reward

These final two instincts resemble gene 307 mentioned above, except without the condition of being hungry. Wood Norns are rewarded for pushing or pulling food even when they aren't hungry.

An Unexpected Egg and Other News

Although I've been forced to separate her from the others in the past, lately Seles has been doing very well socially! She still slaps more frequently and with more enthusiasm than is necessary, but she and Marta were able to pick and eat almost all the lemons on the lemon vine together in peace.

She was even present for the laying of Marta's egg, and seemed at least as surprised about the whole thing as the actual mother. I peeked at the genetics of the Norn inside, and, like all the second generation eggs aside from the first one, found no mutations that look worrying. Since most mutations are neutral at best, it's generally a relief to see that a Creature has no mutations that will affect its quality of life.

A short time later, I was surprised to see a new pregnancy listed in the Observation Kit, and even more surprised when I saw that the mother-to-be was Seles! I had almost given up on her, since her slapping has a tendency to kill the libido of any Norns in her company! I quick check with the D-DNA analyzer confirmed my suspicions that placid Emil was the male who was patient enough to withstand her attitude.

I missed the actual egg-laying, but later I found Seles's shiny blue egg in the garden! This brings the total number of second-generation eggs to twelve, with at least one egg by every first-generation Norn save one.

Meanwhile, Lloyd was out adventuring. Since he hasn't been hanging around the other Norns, he's missed out on playing a big role in the recent updates. With his tendency to travel when bored and hyperactive boredom emitter, he rarely spends an extended period of time in one place. He's spent quite some time playing with the mover below the garden and now is moving on to the area above the still.

Luckily, it looks like Lloyd's loner days are coming to a close, as he's met up with several of the female Norns near the wishing well. Elder females often retain some fertility, so there's always a chance some new eggs will come of this meeting! Also, as you can see, I've recently installed Freya's bridge cob. I'm hoping this will help my Norns travel around this area a little more efficiently.

Genis is the youngest first generation Norn and the only one who has yet to produce any eggs. The hatching of the first generation was quite widely spaced, and Genis is not quite three hours old, so there's still plenty of time. He has been hanging around in the same vicinity as Lloyd and the girls, but he seems to prefer amusing himself by playing with the lift in the lookout tower to playing with the others.

Genetics Discussion: Ron Norns

"Ron-Norns have not been seen in Albia since Earth Year 1995. Ron was the original Norn, and amazingly the genetic code has survived and mutated since the original Ron. As with the Forest Norns, the male and female are different:

"Male: Ron-Norns have been around for a while, and have developed advanced 'fight or flight' genetic codes, giving them the edge against Grendel attacks.

"Female: The female Ron-Norns have a tendency to get very angry when surprised or frightened."

The Ron Norns were the final genetically differentiated breed included with the C1 Life Kit. They are based on the original Norn design. As mentioned in their blurb, this is also supposedly where they got their name, after the first Norn. (Admittedly, it seems even more mundane than Adam.) As you may have noticed, none of my Norns have Ron sprites. They look perfectly fine in-game, but I simply prefer the other breeds' appearances. However, what really makes Rons unique is a suite of genes that give them a "fight-or-flight" (ForF) response to encounters with other Creatures. I find these especially interesting and have commented in previous posts on the variations present in my Norns and my observations of their effects.

Anyway, this post is organized slightly differently than the other breed discussions. Instead of dividing the changes by gene type, I've categorized them as "fight," "flight," or other genes. The Ron genes are listed above the equivalent gene from the standard hatchery genome. Genes listed singly are new to the Ron breed.

Non-Fight-or-Flight Genes

Like the other Life Kit Norns, the Ron genome includes reactions for the dancing chemical and the poison geddonase. Ron Norns also share their altered hunger production system (the hunger emitter/glycogen receptor pair) with the Forest Norns. They have the same new instinct (regarding weeds and herbs) and altered stimulus (regarding being patted, seeing objects, and hearing new words) genes as the Forest Norns. Again like other Life Kit Norns, they are rewarded for sleeping when sleepy, instead of only when they are tired.

In addition, there are two more altered genes I'd like to point out:

62 6 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Tiredness++ + 1*<NONE> => 1*Tiredness + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.
62 6 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Tiredness++ + 1*<NONE> => 1*Tiredness + 1*Punishment; half-life = 8.

64 7 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Sleepiness++ + 1*<NONE> => 1*Sleepiness + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 8.
64 7 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Sleepiness++ + 1*<NONE> => 1*Sleepiness + 1*Punishment; half-life = 8.

Do these genes look familiar? They should -- they were also present in the Forest Norn genome. These changes mean that Ron Norns are not punished for getting tired or sleepy, which is logical because, unlike drives like pain, they have little control over these. Why am I reprinting them? Because these are the only two drives altered in the Ron genome. In Forest Norns, the reactions for need for pleasure (NFP), boredom, and hunger increase have been altered similarly. I find it puzzling that Ron Norns lack those three changes, but not the two above.

The half-life gene of the Ron breed is slightly different from that of the Forest, but not meaningfully so: the chemical numbers concerned are all unused.

Fight Genes

336 65 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Fear + 1*Turnase => 1*Anger + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 32.

This is the reaction for one of the two new chemicals that govern the ForF response. Turnase is a catalyst that converts fear into anger. When Turnase is produced, the Norn becomes less frightened and more angry. Coupled with the below reactions, this turns fleeing into fighting.


95 6 0 Emb B Mut 'It is approaching' causes sig=82 GS neu=10(IT is approaching) int=255, , ,  => 31*Turnase + 0*<NONE> + 0*<NONE> + 0*<NONE>
95 6 0 Emb B Mut 'It is approaching' causes sig=82 GS neu=10(IT is approaching) int=255, , ,  => 0*<NONE> + 0*<NONE> + 0*<NONE> + 0*<NONE>

97 8 0 Emb B Mut 'I bump into wall' causes sig=0 GS neu=2(I've bumped a wall) int=255, , , Sensed Even When Asleep => 25*Pain++ + 127*Turnase + 0*<NONE> + 0*<NONE>
97 8 0 Emb B Mut 'I bump into wall' causes sig=0 GS neu=2(I've bumped a wall) int=255, , , Sensed Even When Asleep => 25*Pain++ + 0*<NONE> + 0*<NONE> + 0*<NONE>

These two altered stimulus reactions govern the production of Turnase. The first causes turnase to be produced when a Creature -- a potential threat -- approaches the Norn. The second actives when the Norn wallbonks, or walks into a wall. This is how the Norn determines it's been cornered and the reason that Norns with the ForF genes slap more frequently in closed spaces.

333 31 0 Emb B MutDupCut Drive i/ps Anger + General Sensory i/ps IT is a creature + General Sensory i/ps IT is approaching and I Stop => 255*Reward
334 32 0 Emb B MutDupCut Drive i/ps Anger + General Sensory i/ps IT is an object + General Sensory i/ps IT is approaching and I Push => 255*Reward


These two instinct genes are the actual "fight" genes. When the Norn is angry, it is rewarded for pushing objects and hitting other Creatures, which may be the source of its frustration.


96 7 0 Emb B Mut 'It is retreating' causes sig=36 GS neu=11(IT is retreating) int=255, , ,  => 3*Fear-- + 3*Anger-- + 0*<NONE> + 0*<NONE>
96 7 0 Emb B Mut 'It is retreating' causes sig=36 GS neu=11(IT is retreating) int=255, , ,  => 0*<NONE> + 0*<NONE> + 0*<NONE> + 0*<NONE>

This gene causes fear and anger to be reduced when the other Creature retreats, either because it was scared off or because it spotted something more interesting. This, coupled with the fact that moving around reduces stress, fear, and anger, causes the Norn to "cool off" after the ForF reaction is engaged.

Flight Genes

337 66 0 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Anger + 1*Collapsase => 1*Fear + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 32.

This is the reaction for the other new chemical, the especially-oddly-named Collapsase. Collapsase is exactly the inverse of Turnase, converting anger to fear. This provokes the flight response.

335 127 0 Emb B Mut 'I have retreated' causes sig=0 GS neu=255 int=0, , ,  => 127*Collapsase + 0*<NONE> + 0*<NONE> + 0*<NONE>

This is the novel stimulus gene that causes Collapsase to be produced. Interestingly, this only happens when the Norn itself is retreating, and not at other times one may expect -- like when it is slapped or injured.

332 30 0 Emb B MutDupCut Drive i/ps Fear + General Sensory i/ps IT is approaching + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Run => 255*Reward

As above, this is the actual "flight" gene. This instinct gene encourages the Norn to flee when frightened.


All Norns become frightened and angry when slapped. The ForF genes, taken together, form a system where a Norn may go from one to the other according to their circumstances. However, I suspect there is a flaw in this system, and that Rons are biased toward fighting, perhaps by design as that is a very conspicuous behavior. Notice that there are more genes concerned with fighting, and, most importantly, that there is only one stimulus that produces Collapsase, and that stimulus (retreating) is called by the Norn's actions, not an external source (like another Creature). Anecdotally, I will report that, while several of my Norns have these genes, and the only one in whom I have observed an obvious tendency to flee from others is Emil, who lacks all the genes listed above in the "fight" section.

The "I've been slapped" stimulus gene, by default, creates more fear than anger, which is one possible reason for this setup. Having the stimulus also produce Collapsase may be overkill, skewing the reactions in the other direction. As it stands, I think the production of Turnase may have a tendency to swamp out Collapsase. Something to investigate.

I suspect this system could be better balanced by the inclusion of the pain drive in the equation, possibly in a way similar to Zelos's novel emitter, which produces Turnase when pain levels increase above a certain level. With an emitter like this, it seems like the production of Collapsase in response to slapping may be more viable, because it would be balanced (and eventually overwhelmed) by the eventual production of Turnase when pain levels reach that threshold.

You know, in retrospect, I wish I'd been an adult when this game was first released! Discussing this at the height of the Creatures Community would have been great.

I have one more point to make: as in the Forest breed, none of the new or altered genes are sex-linked. Therefore, male and female Rons should not be any more systemically different from each other than males and females of other breeds.

Update on the Aged

Lately, Mithos has been spending a great deal of time with some of the Norns in the area near the cannon. I've found him to be, if anything, more obedient than my Norns, which is surprising as Grendels lack instincts to obey the hand. I'm trying to keep a closer eye on him using the Grendel Selector, as his age and the fact that he doesn't appear in the Observation Kit are cause for concern.

In my game, I've replaced the default Grendel genetics. Mithos and other Grendels born in my Albia are able to breed and have several genes from the Ron Norn breed, including the flight-or-fight genes and the new instincts. They also have the die-of-old-age gene. They are based on the many-colored Grendel genetics created by Slink.

Things have been peaceful for the elders of Albia recently. Kratos and Regal, the two firstborn of this generation, seem to have retired permanently to the island, specifically the middle level where it's easiest to watch the sealife. Regal makes occasional trips across the sea in the cart to visit the other Norns, but he always returns to the quiet of the island in the end.

Of course, Kratos has already spent most of his life on he island! At almost ten hours old, his health has started to worry me. Elder Norns often become stubborn eaters. This is made even more frustrating by Kratos's ever-present reluctance to listen my suggestions to eat and sleep. My paranoia is exacerbating my growing dread that the oldest first generation Norns will soon pass on.

But none of the elders are showing any sign of slowing down! Here are Raine and Presea in the latter's favorite spot between the outlook and cliff. Although they are both elders, notice how much Raine has shrunk! The Life Kit breeds become smaller in their old age, which can make mixed-breed elder Norns look a little odd. Raine seems to have been a good influence on Presea, who is finally eating on occasion before her life force drops into the 50s.

Norns with the die-of-old-age gene live about ten to twelve hours. Although I consider myself a generally logical and scientifically-minded person, I can't help but get attached to my little digital pets. Although they aren't literally alive,