After a few delays over the weekend, including a thunderstorm, the next video documenting the third generation alpha couple has been completed! This one is a bit longer in length, but hopefully my ridiculous comments make the waiting fly by. This group of C3/DS Norns took a whole lot of time! Technically, the pregnant female at the end of the video must lay at least one egg before being crowned the alpha female: Time was of the essence, though, and I'll be able to report on that situation in the future. For now, enjoy the newest Creatures video!
Creatures Docking Station: The Third Generation Alpha Couple
Junkerdal danced among the bees for quite some time before the incessant stinging stopped for a moment. The annoyed bees found a newcomer, Inndyr, and decided to welcome him with a barrage of stings! Luckily, Junkerdal left the little critters alone so she could spend some time with an actual Norn. What happened was probably quite expected... Another egg! The couple stayed together much longer than I had anticipated, which was nice in terms of socialization, but it kept Junkerdal from eating very much in front of Inndyr. The state of easy distractions struck again!
Korgen and Alfhild were glued together, and they had a sort of obsessive relationship between them. Although Korgen appeared happy, I constantly had to intervene to get him to eat. I'm also very fond of my C1 Grendels, yet Alfhild has turned out to be a very grumpy one! She constantly slapped Korgen, then turned around and kisspopped with him. Oh dear! With all of the stress, Korgen was completely infertile at a young age of about five hours old. My next main goal would be centered around separating Korgen and rehabilitating him. He would require lots of extra care.
Hopen and Junkerdal were very excited to journey back to the Albian island. The first was carrying an egg with her, courtesy of Inndyr! He certainly seemed to be taking after his father. There was little to worry about with Hopen: She was excellent at taking care of herself, and the only real intervention she needed was a way to escape from others. Norns need a balance of spending time alone and with others, in order to prosper. Often, the hardest task of all is convincing one that the group can live without him or her for a little while!
Inndyr was able to explore the settlement on his own, and he made it down to the shower area before turning back for more familiar surroundings. He finally fell asleep, not entirely from natural means... Notice anything suspicious? That can of hootch certainly was not untouched! He was actually very admirable for enjoying it in moderation, though. Many Norns and Grendels from Creatures 1 gulp all the hootch as quickly as possible! Inndyr was slightly more refined than all that, and he rested calmly among the steady buzzing.
As the young males from Creatures Docking Station frolicked in the Norn Terrarium, I noticed one in particular who seemed to be suffering: Wesid. He had fallen into a deep slumber long ago, and seemed unable to wake up. Most of the males had a bit of histamine A in their systems, yet Wesid had a nasty bacteria attached to him. He also was infected with an antigen: No wonder he looked so terribly miserable! This bacteria appeared to be a mild one, although I had sudden memories of Norns dying from bacterial infections.
I continued to monitor Wesid with the Hover Doc: His antibodies fought off the antigen, and the bacteria was soon banished from his body. Yet he still would not wake up. Even after sleeping for so long, his tiredness drive was very high. Even though his hunger drives seemed low, poor Wesid had not eaten in a long time. According to the C1toDS toolbar, his life force was at a deathly 2%. So entered the question of whether or not to step in and help Wesid. I decided to take a look at his genes to get a better idea of what was going on. EMITTERS
103 Emb B MutDupCut Organ # = 5, Brain, 04: Unknown, Cell 0 - state 0, chem=Sleepiness, thresh=0, samp=35, gain=4, features=Digital I knew I was looking for something that had to do with sleepiness, and I found a pretty major mutation right off the bat. In a standard C3/DS Norn, this chemical emitter is tied to a permanently active sensorimotor that is tied in with sleepiness. The underlined section should read "Creature, Sensorimotor, Permanently active." The second portion is associated with "Tissue 4: ffsc" according to the Genetics Kit. I have absolutely no idea what it stands for, although the names of the surrounding tissues look very familiar, such as noun, verb, stim (stimulus), and driv (drive). This gene probably made Wesid's body notice sleepiness in an odd or wrong way. STIMULI
401 Emb B MutDupCut I am sleeping (periodic) (22) causes sig=26 GS neu=0 int=0, , , , 160 => -2*Boredom + 2*Tiredness + -1*Coldness + 1*Hunger for carbohydrate This gene is supposed to be associated with the stimulus "I am travelling," yet this mutation causes the resulting chemicals to be associated with sleep. The chemicals make sense for a Norn who is traveling about: A slight decrease in boredom, increase in tiredness, decrease in coldness, and increase in hunger. Yet for Wesid, he experiences this reaction whenever he sleeps. The major problem is with the fact that sleeping actually makes him more tired! Fortunately, tiredness can be alleviated by sleeping or laying still. My best guess is that Wesid fell asleep due to his illness, which may have contained sleep toxin at one point. Since his body does not properly recognize sleepiness, he probably fell into a slumber that was impossible to come out of. I was most confused by his coldness, though, since sleeping should have reduced this: Notice how it was very high in the above image. Wesid had a few other genetic mutations, but these seemed the most relevant, and were already stumping me! Could I leave him there to fall asleep and die?
Feel free to call me a terrible Norn observer, for I woke Wesid up with two gentle slaps! He gobbled up many apples and seeds, and was soon running away from the hands of death. I knew that if I had wanted to let nature take its course, Wesid would have died. Was there really a "right" choice in this instance? Many of us have been playing for years, and the question of nature vs. nurture often comes up in instances like this. I did not interfere purely for the sake of keeping Wesid around for the alpha male succession test: I intervened to give him life. At this point, I know there will be times when I'll want to save a life, but simply can't. There are other Norns who will die because nothing can save them. Wesid lived.
Wesid definitely suffered from a sleeping disorder: He often fell asleep for a few seconds at a time before jumping back up again! I had to catch him in an unflattering position to show some proof that he slept. Better yet, though, and randomly, I snapped the perfect shot of a little Hoppity crawling out of the dirt near the right side of the picture. Its cute factor certainly made up for Wesid's pose! Silly, silly Norn.
Hopen's eyes danced with joy as soon as she realized I was checking in on her. Inndyr stood nearby, proudly poised with a honeypot. They had the exciting announcement of another baby Norn on the way! Even though Korgen was nearby, his attention was almost always turned to the underwater realm. Hopen wanted to keep up with Junkerdal: There was some sort of unspoken egg laying competition going on. I was certain of it! At least these two females had the courtesy of giving me a break between eggs most of the time. I was not prepared to constantly keep an eye on them all!
Feeling a sense of adventure, the pregnant Hopen took a journey to the settlement of Albia. It was interesting that she was following in Junkerdal's footsteps, even though the two had not seen one another for some time. Hopen laid a purple spotted egg and stood guard over it for a long time. I have always thought that Norn eggs themselves are alive: They grow an enormous amount from the time they are laid and have an unmistakable presence. From a fictional standpoint, perhaps this was another aspect meant to ward off predators. A seemingly harmless egg might look a little more scary once it started growing on its own! All the same, Hopen kept a watchful eye.
Not one to succumb to boredom, Junkerdal decided to try her luck with the bees. She truly enjoyed watching them, but it was a world of chaos when she thought they might make excellent snuggling buddies! Needless to say, she was stung countless times. Her attention soon turned to the hives: I hoped she would discover an unlimited food supply, but I was sorely mistaken. Junkerdal figured that if no bees wanted to play with her, the best course of action would be to shake their home. Again, she experienced the wrath of the bees! Junkerdal may not have learned anything, but she was never bored!
I started to worry about Korgen when he stopped eating and devoted most of his time to staring at a seahorse. As mesmerizing as it was, I figured this lifestyle could not be very healthy for this Norn. I coaxed him above ground for the first time in at least an hour. Although the light blinded him momentarily, Korgen realized that he had been missing out on a lot of fun! He was finally able to wolf down a meal on the breezy dock, and the bouncy ball became his favorite toy. He still had an affinity for water, though: If only he could swim! Perhaps this was for the best: That seahorse probably would have made a tasty meal for a hungry Norn like Korgen!
A little journey beneath the Albian ocean rekindled a romance between Inndyr and Junkerdal. Although they were more interested in their new surroundings most of the time, they were rewarded with a little egg! I was forced to separate them for a bit, simply because they both had developed a dislike for food in general... Not exactly a useful habit in the survival game! Junkerdal found that the pregnancy took a heavy toll on her body, yet like most Norns, she bounced back fairly quickly. Inndyr, too, decided to enjoy his meals again.
Back on the desert island, Korgen and Alfhild were left behind. Fortunately, they were very comfortable in their makeshift lair! The Grendel dozed off, while Korgen cuddled up with his favorite honeypot. He might have considered a nap, had he not gulped down the delicious caffeinated beverage nearby! A diet of coffee and honey sounds pretty awful, but many Norns enjoy the odd combination.
Junkerdal decided to celebrate her latest egg by announcing her news from the highest point in Albia! She traveled to the top floor of the settlement all on her own, and it was an exclusive place that creatures tended not to visit. The silly Horse Norn took up star gazing, during the daytime. Actually, there is a hidden day and night cycle in Creatures 1, at least according to the manual and some game information. If only the capability to at least dim the lighting existed: Junkerdal let me know that she would most appreciate it. In the end, she gave up her astronomy career for something more important: Cheese!
The other female Norn was not to be left out: Hopen began journeying back and forth via the submarine and boat. I assumed that she would grow tired of the monotonous pace, but I should have known better! This was the same Norn who had sampled the herbs and weeds over and over again not too long ago. It was satisfying to know that Hopen was enjoying her life, and taking care of herself much better than I thought she would. I prodded her to eat a few times, yet she often looked at me as if to roll her eyes. Intelligence comes in many forms in Creatures 1. Apparently, only the intelligent Norns made adventurous journeys!
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