[Creatures] Mapping Out the Constellations

Cheesy title is cheesy.
But enough of cheese! I have figured out what I was doing wrong: using the Genetics Kit to try to decipher the genes. Instead, I used the Gene Compare tool, thus allowing me to not only read what was going on, but to also see how different a Norn is from their parents or how much they've deviated from their original breed!

Genetics Study: Constellation

What I have done for my first study is this: I took Constellation's genes and compared them to those of a basic Fimbul Norn. Aside from discovering that she becomes mildly bored when hit by a Norn and mildly cold when patted by a Norn, I have learned the cause of her Chronic Homesickness Disorder.

Reached peak of smell 15 (70) causes sig=0 GS neu=0 int=0, ,,,48 => -124*Comfort + 5*Boredom + 0*<NONE> + 0*<NONE>

Smell 15 is identified as "Norn home smell". When she identifies it, it makes her intensely uncomfortable, it seems. (and a little bored, too.) When a Norn is uncomfortable, that makes them homesick, but when she identifies her home, it makes her more uncomfortable, and the miserable cycle continues. I'm not sure if there's a way to help her with it. Maybe keeping her constantly distracted will help matters?

Back from the Dead

Updates on Creatures

My original Wolfing Run contains, according to its World file, 128 Norns, getting up to the 9th Generation. At least 58 of those Norns are in eggs. I estimate that it's got around 48 hours of playtime on there. (not all in one sitting, of course) It takes up 22 MB of space; 3 MB of this is purely Norn genetics.


It also crashes upon opening and could need to be deleted.
I am not sure why this is. It's certainly not the amount of Norns--Docking Station was made 12 years ago, and compared to how some runs can get, 70 Norns is a tidy little world.



I'm diving into the more complicated world of Creatures: genetics! With more knowledge of Creatures genetics, I can learn more about why they do the things they do. Norn mutations vary greatly, and pretty much everything about them can change--they can react in pain from hearing a certain word, develop allergies, become infertile, remain fertile for their entire life (coughcough Betty coughcough), feel rewarded when slapped and punished when tickled when normally it's the other way around, feel more lonely around other Norns, become angered by starch (maybe not but I wouldn't be surprised)--the list is supposedly endless.

I'm going to start with the case of a Norn who has baffled me for some time. You remember Constellation, right? Probably not. Anyway, she is a generation 3 ChiChi/Fimbul Norn. Her problem is this:

No, not the colors. That's just one heck of a pigment mutation.

 She stands around, unmoving, and complains of her intense homesickness. But why? And is there anything else amiss?

Keep in mind that I will likely be very, very off. This is the first time I've tried to pick at a Creature's brain.

--15 minutes later--

On Tootsie Rolls and their Proper Storage

That Tootsie Roll you've been keeping?
Yeah, it's wintertime and therefore the windowsill where you stored the candy is now ideal for freezing small bags of peas.
Do not eat immediately.

Merry Christmas (Eve)!

Stocking stuffer stuff! (and stocking.)

My Christmas Reindeer with Ben's Christmas Snow Yeti

The best eraser buddy ever. His name is Dapper. Along with some ginger candy.

Some sort of snack we believe to be rice crackers, Zephyr loves these.

Mittens, tea candy, fizzy color tablet things, twig pencils, Snowmen, and my Reindeer, Cosette.

...and some candy canes, Junior Mints, gummies, and one of those towels that grow in water.

I don't know what species he is, so I'm going with Fennec Fox with a top hat.

Wolfing Run

Heh, so after approx. 8 hours of gameplay, this is what my Wolfing Run looks like. Everyone decided to move back to the second floor of the Meso, leaving the previously well-populated top floor with a comfortable group of four. They're quite a chatty bunch--in fact, the babies learn English in the span of a few minutes, by hearing it from dozens of others who know the language.

Betty has reached the ripe old age of 5 hours and 30 minutes, and has had 28 children in her lifetime. Here, she's watching over some of the other eggs, ever maternal.

Another well known fellow amongst the Wolfing Run is Constantin, who is about 4 hours and 25 minutes old by now. With him is one of the most recently hatched, Elfgard, who seems to be taking a leisurely stroll with him around the Capillata, wisely choosing to move to less crowded rooms instead of sitting about the Meso and complaining about the high amount of company they have.

Among the many Norns with sunny red and icy blue furs, it's always interesting to find one with a truly unique color. For instance, Ellen has gathered the pigments needed to turn her fur pink, and one of the Fimbuls has mint green hair. However, my most interesting discovery is this little one by the name of Gianna: 

 As you can see, her legs have an interesting pattern. This is because she possesses the legs of a Harlequin Norn without the breed ever existing in the Wolfing Run. Perhaps a Kawari Norn mutation? I've exported her for the sake of SCIENCE! She will probably show up again in Chess Medley or Zoidberg.




Current population: 24 males, 45 females. And we're still in Generation 7. I've set the population cap at 70, so my computer won't explode.

So

November 28

Finished NaNoWriMo at 3 AM. *woot*

November 29-December 2

Stayed at Kei's house. Was taught how to knit. Watched Marley and Me, 13 Going On 30, The Christmas Bunny, Uptown Girls, and up to about episode 6 of Gilmore Girls (great show, by the way), and a little bit of a dog show where I learned of 5 breeds of dogs I previously didn't know existed.

December 3

Went to go visit Judy in the hospital and went out for lunch with Grandad for his birthday. Found myself with a bit of a sore throat. Checked on my Creatures--they're all doing very well except for Guppy and River, who have taught me that I am horrible at keeping Deep Norns happy.

December 4

Decided to raise the population capacity in the Zoidberg world, and now there are about 7 new Norns crawling around. I've been reduced to giving them names such as Moonbeam, Meteor, and Sunlight, as I have run out of astrology themed names. Heh...also, Constellation is still suffering from chronic homesickness. Which is really weird, since she's the only Norn to do this, and none of her immediate relatives complain of homesickness at all, much less this frequently.

December 5

So, the medicine I'm taking for my sore throat is working very effectively, but causes drowsiness, which causes me to have terrible agility/coordination. This has caused me to be completely horrible at DDR, and I failed on one of the slowest songs there is. XD

On the 6th, Jake and I are going to audition for the Wizard of Oz. I'm trying out for Dorothy...I'd be happy as an Emerald City citizen, too--heck, I'd love to be one.