Creatures 1: Gen2

Time to introduce the next two Norns to the group. Techie and Trillo are our next two. Both brothers and children of Tabby and Heartly.

Techie:

Techie has been fortunate in that he hasn't received any mutations beyond what his parents had. I'd go as far to say he's been a little dull to raise, as he takes good care of himself and has low drives all the time, not unlike his mother.
It actually got to the point that I introduce him to Redrum, our local Grendel just to liven things up a little. Redrum seems to get along well with Norns, so the two had a good time together.

Mutations:

As I said, Techie doesn't have any mutations we haven't seen already. That said he inherited a good portion from his mother Tabby, so there's quite a bit to cover still.Considering the shear number here I'm going to break them down section by section.


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

122: 7   0 Emb   B Mut, Lobe #= 8  at X=11 Y=5 is 42 neurons wide and 18 neurons high.  Perflags=0. Dendrite Type 0: Input Lobe=0, Min#=1, Max#=5, Spread=1, Fanout=2
122: 7   0 Emb   B Mut, Lobe #= 8  at X=12 Y=6 is 40 neurons wide and 16 neurons high.  Perflags=0. Dendrite Type 0: Input Lobe=0, Min#=1, Max#=3, Spread=3, Fanout=2

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From the reading I've been doing over at the 'Creatures Developer Resource'  gene 121 normally takes the stored value in a neuron and adds the type 0 dendrites to it. In Tabby and Techie's case, the stored value not only has the type 0 dendrites added to it, but the type 1 dendrites as well.
As for what all that means...I haven't the foggiest :S

Gene 122 refers to some changes in the concept lobe. About all I can tell you about this change is that Tabby and her children has additional neurons in this lobe. They can make additional connections between the concept lobe and the perception lobe. Spread gets even more confusing, but it describes how the dendrites connect between the two lobes.
Seriously though, I've got almost no idea what these two genes do!


***** RECEPTORS *****
274: 40 0 Emb B MutDupCut Creature, Sensorimotor, stagger, chem=Dancing, thresh=86, nom=0, gain=173, features=Analogue
274: 40 0 Emb B MutDupCut Creature, Sensorimotor, stagger, chem=Alcohol, thresh=106, nom=0, gain=255, features=Analogue

324: 44 0 Emb B, Creature, Circulatory, floating chem 2, chem=Glycogen, thresh=0, nom=0, gain=255, features=Analogue

326: 45 0 Sen B, Creature, Somatic, die of old age, chem=Ageing, thresh=5, nom=117, gain=255, features=Inverted Digital

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Gene 274 is kind of interesting, and I'm not entirely sure if it's one I like. Although I don't think it does anything harmful, I think it upsets the aesthetics of the game.
From what I understand ordinary Norns will stagger about when their alcohol content reaches above the threshold of 106 (maximum value of 255). Techie will stagger about when his Dancing chemical goes above 86. Unless there are other genes that replace these, this means Techie won't stumble about when drunk. At least he'll look cool at parties.

There's a rather good explanation of how gene 324 works on CDR, but in essence it's for a calculation that prevents hunger from increasing while Glycogen (energy) is above 100. Hopefully this helps with the problem I thought I encountered in others Norns whereby their hunger would continue increasing even if their energy levels were high, leading to 'obese' Norns.
A proper understanding of this gene makes me think it's a significant improvement as it should stop Norns from being hungry all the time. It's one I'll try and breed into the population.

And as we already know gene 326 allows a Norn to die from old age.

 
***** EMITTERS *****
325: 28 0 Emb B MutDup, Creature, Circulatory, floating chem 2, chem=Hunger, thresh=0, samp=5, gain=2, features=Inverted Analogue

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I believe the purpose of the 'floating chem 2' is to store values for later use. I'm not sure but I'd suggest this gene may have something to do with the Glycogen/Hunger cycle.

***** REACTIONS *****
142: 27   0 Emb   B MutDup      1*Starch + 1* => 2*Glucose + 1*Hunger--; half-life = 64.
142: 27   0 Emb   B MutDup      1*Starch + 1* => 2*Glucose + 1*; half-life = 64.

144: 28   0 Emb   B MutDup      3*Glucose + 1* => 1*Glycogen + 1*; half-life = 56.
144: 28   0 Emb   B MutDup      3*Glucose + 1* => 1*Glycogen + 1*Hunger--; half-life = 56.

145: 29   0 Emb   B MutDup      1*Glycogen + 1* => 3*Glucose + 1*; half-life = 64.
145: 29   0 Emb   B MutDup      1*Glycogen + 1* => 3*Glucose + 1*Hunger; half-life = 64.

146: 30   0 Emb   B MutDup      1*Glucose + 2*Hexokinase => 4*CO2 + 8*Activase; half-life = 24.
146: 30   0 Emb   B MutDup      1*Glucose + 2*Hexokinase => 4*CO2 + 1*; half-life = 24.

292: 50   0 Ado   B MutDupCut   4*Adrenaline + 1*Ageing => 1* + 1*; half-life = 128.
292: 50   0 Ado   B MutDupCut   1*Adrenaline + 1* => 1* + 1*; half-life = 88.

308: 51   0 Emb   B Mut         1* + 1* => 1* + 1*; half-life = 248.
308: 51   0 Emb   B Mut         1*Hunger-- + 1*Hunger => 1* + 1*; half-life = 32.

320: 60   0 Emb   B MutDupCut   5*Geddonase + 5*Glucose => 5*Geddonase + 1*; half-life = 72.

321: 61   0 Emb   B MutDupCut   2*Geddonase + 3*Glycogen => 1*Geddonase + 1*; half-life = 88.

322: 62   0 Emb   B MutDupCut   1*Dancing + 1*NFP => 3*Dancing + 1*; half-life = 128.

323: 63   0 Emb   B MutDupCut   1*Dancing + 2*Boredom => 1*Boredom + 1*; half-life = 112.

331: 64   0 Emb   B MutDupCut   8*Adrenaline + 1*Activase => 1*Fear-- + 1*Anger--; half-life = 32.

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Wow, so many REACTION genes to cover!
Starch turns into Glucose, and Glucose and Glycogen can turn into each other depending on the circumstances the Norn finds itself in. I believe Glucose is energy ready to be use, while Glycogen is stored energy (think of it as fat).
In ordinary Norns Glucose and Glycogen would switch between the two and add HungerIncrease to a Norns system. This really didn't make much sense as the energy isn't going anywhere at this point. This how now been corrected to simply allow the two chemicals to interchange.
As for turning Starch into Glucose, this now adds HungerIncrease as one would expect, whereas before it didn't. If you're turning food (Starch) into burnable energy (Glucose) you'll end up hungry again.

The rest of the genes are still a bit of a mystery to me.


***** STIMULI *****
92: 'Creature pats me' => 48*NFP-- + 16*Loneliness-- + 31*Crowdedness++ + 8*
92: 'Creature pats me' => 48*NFP-- + 16*Loneliness-- + 16*Crowdedness++ + 8*SexDrive++

95: 6 0   8      B Mut, 'It is approaching'  => 0* + 0* + 0* + 0*
95: 6 0 Emb B Mut, 'It is approaching' => 0* + 0* + 0* + 0*

97: 8 0 Emb B Mut, 'I bump into wall' => 25*Pain++ + 127*Turnase + 0* + 0*
97: 8 0 Emb B Mut, 'I bump into wall' => 25*Pain++ + 0* + 0* + 0*

98: 'Object comes into view' => 12*NFP-- + 12*Boredom-- + 12*Loneliness-- + 3*SexDrive--
98: 'Object comes into view' => 0* + 0* + 0* + 0*

99: 'Unrecognized word' => 12*NFP-- + 12*Boredom-- + 12*Loneliness-- + 3*SexDrive--
99: 'Unrecognized word' => 0* + 0* + 0* + 0*

332: 27 0 Emb B Mut, 'I have retreated' causes sig=0 GS neu=255 int=0, , ,  => 127*Collapsase + 0* + 0* + 0*

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Gene 92 ups the amount of CrowdednessIncrease Techie receives when being pushed by other Norns. It also does give him a hit of SexDrive like it would in most Norns.

Gene 95 is an interesting one. Usually the Emb refers to the age at which a gene is turned on (Emb=embryo, Adu=Adult etc.). Having an '8' in there really confuses me, as technically speaking this shouldn't be possible. If Emb=0, Chd=1, Adu=2...it may be that 8 is a stage of life that hasn't been defined. Perhaps this is a gene that will never turn on for Techie. Considering it doesn't inject him with any chemicals though I'm not too worried about it, although I'm really interested what this 8 actually means.

Gene 97 introduces a new chemical that wasn't seen in the original Norns. Turnase is a chemical that was created to try and get Norns to move in the opposite direction. I can't help but feel this is cheating a little, but it should be beneficial to the Norn and help prevent wall bonking.

Gene 98 decreases Need For Pleasure (NFP), Boredom, Loneliness and SexDrive when objects come in to view. In previous Norns this gene didn't do anything.

I believe Collapsase was another new chemical introduced in the Ron and Forest Norns. Sadly I'm not sure what this one does.

***** INSTINCTS *****
327: Stim source i/ps Herb + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Come => 127*Reward
328:  Stim source i/ps Weed + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Come => 127*Punishment
329:  Stim source i/ps Food + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Come => 255*Reward
330:  Drive i/ps Sleepiness + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Rest => 255*Reward
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And finally we reach the INSTINCTS and the last of Techie's mutations.

Basically these instincts reward the Norn for approaching herbs and food and resting when sleepy while punishing Norns that approach weeds.

Trillo:

 Wow, that was a massive breakdown. I'm almost tempted to push Trillo over to a new post, but fortunately being brothers with the same parents they have almost exactly the same genes. Trillo does have the one actual mutation, rather than just the inherited ones so I'll give a description of that.

I'll include his genetics below for completeness, however I won't bother doing a complete breakdown like I did for Techie as the genes are mostly the same.

Mutations:

***** REACTIONS *****
 59: 3 0 Ado B MutDupCut,   1*Hunger++ + 1* => 1*Hunger + 1*Punishment; half-life = 8.
 59: 3 0 Emb B MutDupCut,   1*Hunger++ + 1* => 1*Hunger + 1*Punishment; half-life = 8.

Strangely enough I've seen this exact gene before, but not in a genetic relative. Maelstrom inherited this gene from his father Justin. The odds of two unrelated Norns mutating the same gene in the same place must be extremely low, but there you go.

This geen prevents HungerIncrease being turned into Hunger & Punishment until Trillo reaches adulthood. This same gene is present in Tabby and her children, however it's been changed so that HungerIncrease only turns into Hunger, not Punishment.

Consider this change has been deliberately implemented in the Forest Norns I assume this mutation may be beneficial to Trillo, although it might give him a bit of a shock come adulthood.

For completeness, here are all the mutations in Trillo's genome:

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

122: 7 0 Emb B Mut, Lobe #= 8  at X=11 Y=5 is 42 neurons wide and 18 neurons high.  Perflags=0. Dendrite Type 0: Input Lobe=0, Min#=1, Max#=5, Spread=1, Fanout=2
122: 7 0 Emb B Mut, Lobe #= 8  at X=12 Y=6 is 40 neurons wide and 16 neurons high.  Perflags=0. Dendrite Type 0: Input Lobe=0, Min#=1, Max#=3, Spread=3, Fanout=2

***** RECEPTORS *****
274: 40 0 Emb B MutDupCut, Creature, Sensorimotor, stagger, chem=Dancing, thresh=86, nom=0, gain=173, features=Analogue
274: 40 0 Emb B MutDupCut, Creature, Sensorimotor, stagger, chem=Alcohol, thresh=106, nom=0, gain=255, features=Analogue

320: 44 0 Sen B, Creature, Somatic, die of old age, chem=Ageing, thresh=5, nom=102, gain=255, features=Inverted Digital

***** REACTIONS *****
 59: 3 0 Ado B MutDupCut,   1*Hunger++ + 1* => 1*Hunger + 1*Punishment; half-life = 8.
 59: 3 0 Emb B MutDupCut,   1*Hunger++ + 1* => 1*Hunger + 1*Punishment; half-life = 8.

***** HALF-LIVES *****
1: 1 0 Emb   B MutDup,N FP 248 Hunger 248 Sleepiness 248 Glucose 248 Glycogen 248 Hexokinase 248 <073> 248 <074> 248 <077> 248 Dancing 48 <081> 248 <090> 248 Activase 48 Turnase 56 Collapsase 56 <223> 248
1: 1 0 Emb B MutDup, NFP 88 Hunger 144 Sleepiness 255 Glucose 128 Glycogen 176 Hexokinase 56 <073> 255 <074> 255 <077> 255 Dancing 255 <081> 255 <090> 255 Activase 255 Turnase 255 Collapsase 255 <223> 255

***** STIMULI *****
92: 3 0 Emb B Mut, 'Creature pats me' causes sig=80 GS neu=0(I've been patted) int=255, , , Sensed Even When Asleep => 48*NFP-- + 16*Loneliness-- + 31*Crowdedness++ + 8*
92: 3 0 Emb B Mut, 'Creature pats me' causes sig=80 GS neu=0(I've been patted) int=255, , , Sensed Even When Asleep => 48*NFP-- + 16*Loneliness-- + 16*Crowdedness++ + 8*SexDrive++

95: 6 0 8 B Mut, 'It is approaching' causes sig=82 GS neu=10(IT is approaching) int=255, , ,  => 0* + 0* + 0* + 0*
95: 6 0 Emb B Mut, 'It is approaching' causes sig=82 GS neu=10(IT is approaching) int=255, , ,  => 0* + 0* + 0* + 0*

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* + 0*
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* + 0* + 0*

98: 9 0 Emb B Mut, 'Object comes into view' causes sig=255 GS neu=255 int=0, Modulate Using Sensory Signal, ,  => 12*NFP-- + 12*Boredom-- + 12*Loneliness-- + 3*SexDrive--
98: 9 0 Emb B Mut, 'Object comes into view' causes sig=255 GS neu=255 int=0, Modulate Using Sensory Signal, ,  => 0* + 0* + 0* + 0*

99: 10 0 Emb B Mut, 'Unrecognized word' causes sig=16 GS neu=8(Audible event) int=128, , , Sensed Even When Asleep => 12*NFP-- + 12*Boredom-- + 12*Loneliness-- + 3*SexDrive--
99: 10 0 Emb B Mut, 'Unrecognized word' causes sig=16 GS neu=8(Audible event) int=128, , , Sensed Even When Asleep => 0* + 0* + 0* + 0*