Judging by the post over at Fishing Cactus patience will be rewarded in the next few weeks as we'll hopefully be getting some further insights into the game as we get closer to release.
As for my little C1 world of Albia, it's been given a reboot and is ready to receive the next generation of Norns.
You'll probably notice a few new additions to the world over the next couple of posts. I've started reading a relatively new Creatures blog called Jessi's Creatures Documentations which you should check out if you haven't already. It's an interesting read, but most importantly there's some lovely new COBs available. They not only function well but they look really cool too!
On the topic of blogs, I've added Grendelmans My little hole to my watch list too. Far from being a new blog, but one I didn't realise existed until recently. Also very much worth a watch and with an overhaul to the website layout the new downloads sections would be well worth a visit.
Okay, that's enough pimping others blogs, time to get back to my own!
As you know I've hatched all the Gen3 Norns and placed them into their respective family trees. As of yet though I haven't done a genetics breakdown on anyone, so this post we'll take a look at Clowen, the daughter of Stephanie and Totem.
She has also inherited her grandfather's (Heartly's) eating habits. Her hunger drive rarely if ever rises, but thankfully she still has a drive to eat periodically and doesn't seem to starve as a result.
Looking at her genetics more closely I'm starting to think I may have misinterpreted Heartly's eating genes. I'll be doing a closer look into these genes in this generation and will get back to you all on what exactly it all means.
Although she hasn't travelled from the garden yet, Clowen seems quite at home with her new environment.
You'll also notice the pink flowers in the background. Also from Jessi, this is a new plant added to the world. They grow randomly when injected and drop the flower head when clicked on, which can then be eaten.
I've added a few new food COBs to this world as I've recently discovered some of the old ones I was using were a little buggy. Hopefully you've already seen this news via Jessi's blog, or at Discover Albia, but the random starch injection bug has finally been tracked down to its source.
Unfortunately that source was the extra carrot COBs I had installed, including the Muddy Carrots near the incubator and the Parsnips on the Island. These have now been removed, so hopefully this bug will no longer be present.
GENETICS:
Since we're now getting deeper into the generations I'll be skipping over some of the old mutations we've seen but I'll still make sure to mention any new or interesting mutations.
I'll also be taking a leaf out of Jessica's book at Discover Albia and colour coding the mutations, with underlines being the changes in the gene. I'll keep the colours consistent to reduce confusion. Hey, genetics are confusing enough!
Mutations from Parents:
These mutations are completely new.
RECEPTORS:
45: Creature, Drive Levels NFP, chem=NFP, thresh=0, nom=0, gain=255, features = Digital
45: Creature, Drive Levels NFP, chem=NFP, thresh=0, nom=0, gain=255, features = Analogue
From memory I think the difference between Digital and Analogue is that they're reverses of each other. In other words Analogue increases the chemical while Digital reduces it. Keep in mind though that you could reduce a decrease chemical such as hungerDecrease, just to add another layer of complexity.
I think this gene should reduce Clowen's Need for Pleasure (NFP) chemical when her NFP drive reaches a certain level, but I have noticed she seems to have a frown on her face even when all her usual drives are met, so I could be wrong on this one.
STIMULI:
103: 'I've activated1' causes sig=0 GS neu=255, int=0 => 3*TirednessIncrease + 16*BoromDecrease + 0*None + 1*None
103: 'I've activated1' causes sig=0 GS neu=255, int=0 => 3*TirednessIncrease + 16*BoromDecrease + 0*None + 0*None
This gene adds tirednessIncrease and boredomDecrease when the creature successfully pushes an object. The mutation here changes the 'None' chemical from 0 to 1, essentially making this a completely irrelevant mutation. Should the 'None' chemical mutation in the future though, this could change things up significantly.
That sums up all Clowen's new mutation. Here's a couple of interesting ones that she inherited.
Inherited Mutations:
REACTIONS:
146: 1*Glucose + 2*Hexokinase => 4*CO2 + 8*Activase
146: 1*Glucose + 2*Hexokinase => 4*CO2 + 1*None
I'm pretty sure this was a new gene that came with the Forest Norns. I've only included it because I'm not entirely sure what it does.
320: Antioxidants will no longer reduce aging.
68: Doesn't receive punishment for being bored.145: Does not receive hunger when changing glycogen into glucose
I'll be returning to gene 145 in a later post as I think there will be some interesting things to discuss about it. What I think has happened is that the Forest Norn genes related to glycogen/glucose conversion have mixed with the original Norn genes in such a way that the Norn no longer feels hunger. Technically you'd think this would be amazingly detrimental to the Norn as it should stop them eating, but judging by Heartly and Totem's success in life it seems to have actually been beneficial. We'll try and figure out why this is true another time.
I've always wondered what analogue and digital do.. is that really what they do?
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Jessica's post I have to admit I definitely got that one wrong. I'll be doing an update to the post at some point to correct it and go over what these genes actually do.
DeleteAww, Clowen is an adorable little one, especially surrounded with Jessi's COBs! I'll be letting my next generation of Norns enjoy everything from the get go, although I keep thinking I should add some of them sooner, rather than later.
ReplyDeleteHer mutations look pretty simple on the surface, but I know all too well how something minor can seem so complicated! The NFP receptor is interesting. I believe you're thinking of the inverted function when you mention that analogue and digital are opposite of one another. There is a pretty good description under the chemical information and formula sections of This Page. Basically, the difference is in how the value will be calculated. I still need to wrap my head around it a little more... I think some actual numerical examples would be helpful! It's definitely on my list to go over with some upcoming genetics lessons.
Lastly, I also have a Norn with mixed genes who never feels hunger. I think it also has to do with the new floating receptor and emitter: One of those is missing. I can't remember exactly what's going on off the top of my head, but if you run a comparison, you should notice that something like this is missing. Or maybe there's another reason why! So much to go through with genetics, but it's definitely rewarding when you figure something out!
Yup, you're right about my being confused with the 'inverted' function. I'll have to write an amendment!
DeleteI'll try punching Clowen's values into the equations and see what comes out.
I remember you having a Norn who seemed to have the same issues. It was where I first got the idea that Heartly's mutation may not have been what I thought. With observation I've become more convinced I misunderstood this mutation.
I'm not certain our Norns have the same mutations, but something very similar is going on.
Ooh, those are some interesting mutations, especially the one that stops the norn from feeling hunger. I'll be interested in seeing the later posts about it!
ReplyDeleteIt shouldn't be too detrimental either, as norns (at least in C1) will "eat" for other reasons than hunger as well. Many foods also decrease Need For Pleasure, so that should also reinforce that eating is good!
Also Muggy will only look for food if a creature "pulls" on him. If he starts wandering around then he won't be interested in looking for anything. Some creatures will need a bit of prompting, as "pull critter" isn't always a natural thing for them to learn to do ;)
I'm not 100% sure yet, but I think you're right with the NFP idea. My hunch is that these Norns don't specifically feel hunger, which leaves them free to persue other needs like breeding. As you pointed out though, their NFP still encourages them to eat periodically and they tend to have enough fat stored up to last them through these times anyhow.
DeleteThat's my hunch anyway...:P