July 21, 2014

Monday Musings: To Name a Norn

One of the big aspects of pre-planning one of my personal Creatures worlds, no matter what game, is plotting a naming scheme for my creatures. I generally hate not having a theme because the names I come up with on my own are frankly pretty horrible. When I create a character for my personal stories, it's different because I can plot out their personality and history in advance, and then come up with a name that suits it, or vice versa. When a norn egg hatches -- even if it's a purebred with a certain genome -- you're never quite sure what you're going to get. I'd rather not call a norn "Deathinator" unless I know it's going to be a grendel killer, you know?

This question always feels like a big one, and my answer typically lies in what I plan to do with that world. In a feral run of limited breeding (one of which I plan to finalize rules for once they're as I like them), I like making a two-part naming scheme a la "Protective Tub", with one adjective followed by a noun. However, I like to make it manual and follow a set scheme so I can always figure out who's related to who. Take, for example, we have two norns: a female named Shiny Tomato, and a male named Sad Frost. Should they have a child, its name would depend on the gender. Males will take after the adjective of the father and the noun of the mother, and females would take on the adjective of the mother and the noun of the father. In other words, a baby girl would be "Shiny Frost" and a baby boy would be "Sad Tomato." This scheme has the one major flaw, however, of "what happens if we get two children of the same gender from the same pair of norns?" I like to use synonyms for the adjective and the noun (if applicable) if that's the case, but that definitely gets quite a bit messy when it happens.

Sometimes I decide to pick a naming scheme based on a certain language or a mythology. In my opinion, consistency is nice when it comes to naming norns, so having a set tongue or mythos to go by really helps me. In fact, in one of my worlds where I'm breeding tinted norns, I'm using a language of my own design as a basis -- "Gremlish," the language of the color gremlins in my novel-in-progress. Because said gremlins are personified colors, I thought a world of tinted norns would benefit from a set of names from my novel's language. Plus, it's a great way to work on expanding that language's vocabulary for my own writing. A win-win, in this case!

On occasion, but especially when I do Random Event Feral Runs, I'll use this random name generator set to the appropriate gender of each norn. I find it adds to the experience of the randomness, at least in my humble opinion. This is where a lack of consistency can be fun and it's one of the few scenarios where it doesn't grind on my nerves. In my current Random Event Feral Run, I found it hysterical that we ended up with a wild blend of names even in our very first set of norns, with such exotic ones like "Liudvikas" blending with such common ones like "Brandy." I find that it makes each norn feel like an individual spice on a spicerack as opposed to individual leaves in an Italian blend. Unfortunately, I'm a bit finicky when it comes to having a naming scheme otherwise, so I like to always have a REF Run up somewhere.

On the rare occasion where I have a feral run that's simply that -- a feral run I walk away from and come back to later just to see what happened -- I may not have a naming scheme at all. Again, I consider myself pretty terrible at naming norns because they aren't characters that I can plot a personality for in advance. Sure, I can invent a broody fallen angel named Nikolai or a psychotic earth demon chief named Hrothga, but... what do I name a teeny shivering cute baby female norn? Chihuahua? Okay.

Meet Chihuahua, everybody. Yes, she exists.
...Yeah. I'm pretty awful when it comes to naming them on my own.

This leaves me to ask -- how do you name your norns? Do you have any special naming schemes you follow in some of your Creatures worlds? If so, feel free to share.

July 19, 2014

Egg Olympiad P3 - Twin Day Shenanigans

There are no duplicate norn breeds, I swear.

My prayers for at least one female in Albia has been answered by not one, but by two little girls!


Introducing Rhea, a little Pixie Norn whose name is Greek for the wife of Cronus and the titaness of fertility, motherhood, and the wild mountains. Here's hoping that she fulfills this prophecy just as much as she fulfilled my hopes. She limped a little when she first escaped her eggy shell, but she seems better now. There will be no "dwopping" today!


Joining her in our new duet is Styx, a Spike Norn whose name is Greek for the titaness of the underworld's river of souls. I couldn't help but pick that name for her because a) it's such an interesting name for a female norn and b) Spike Norns always looked like the cutest, fuzziest little demons and remind me of my own personal spin on said creature in the novel series I'm writing. It looks like little Styx is hungry and is following Rhea in search of something to eat!


These two pictures I'm putting together because I find it delightfully cute that our little girls are trying to do the same thing at the same time! Both Rhea and Styx are going after the purple doozers in search of a treat. Err, sorry ladies. I hate to break it to you, but they're not as edible as their brown cousins... it doesn't look like Rhea believes me, though. Oh well; hard to argue with such optimistic faces. Hopefully they'll notice the tomato plants and cheese soon!


After a moment of chuckling to myself over the silliness of norns, I figured I would go and check on Cronus, but instead I found dear little Oettinus all by himself. He leans forward as if about to fall on his hands and knees, eyeing the weather nostalgically. Cronus really isn't that far away from him and they still seem to get along well, so I doubt it's loneliness that's eating at this ettin's heart. Perhaps Oettinus is just missing his old pal Ophion the grendel, who had been tragically left behind after the ettin's abduction, or maybe he's reminiscing over the memory of the volcano garden he once called home. Whatever the case, Oettinus looks very picturesque gazing at this cloud with such a wistful expression and such muted colors in the sky and background....


Cut to about three minutes later, where we have yet another incident where two creatures are doing almost exactly the same thing at the same time. Both of them are "running" from the ants, although it looks like Oettinus is conquering his fear by picking it up and Cronus looks like he's about to squash the little twit. I mean, I'm glad Oettinus doesn't look so sad anymore, but honestly the first thing I thought of when I saw this was "it must be twin day!"


Meanwhile, the two ladies seem to be getting along just fine. They're both avid learners, hanging out by the learning machine almost constantly and now discovering just how edible tomatoes are. But kids will be kids, and Rhea and Styx both seem to adore the red bouncy ball. An Albian staple!

I've also noticed a few personality differences between the two of them: while Rhea is quiet and shows an angry expression more readily than Styx, Styx is vocal and curious, constantly asking "what dis?" and "why?" The two also seem to like roughhousing all the time, slapping each other about over the silliest disputes. I was worried they'd start hating each other, but neither of them lost the happy smiles on their faces! They make an extremely cute duet... although they haven't had an adorable nap together, so I can't say that they're my friendship OTP in this run yet. Hopefully nothing can separate the two!

Or...

What the...?
How. How. How did that happen? One minute, the two girls are riding the elevator into the desert, and the next Rhea's abducted the thir seed dispenser and is chilling with ol' Ophion down in the swamp. I think the only logical explanation are those silly teleporting crystal balls. I left one in the desert, and one down here, since these two areas seem to be the most concentrated with norns in any of my C2 runs... it looks like poor Rhea's lonely without dear Styx around.


Styx looks even more upset! Unlike her friend Rhea, she isn't brave enough at the moment to make the plunge off the ledge and into the desert or onto the ocean bridge. I can't imagine how upset she must be feeling. This can't be her day.

...It looks like it's about to get worse, too.


Oh dear. As someone monitoring a feral run, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for little Styxie. She has to suffer through the sickness and recover all on her own if she's to survive. I can only sit back and watch now...

Will Rhea and Styx be reunited? Will Styx recover from her sudden illness? Will Cronus and Oettinus ever win a bug-catching contest? Find out next time on the Egg Olympiad Run!

[First] / [Previous] / [Next... coming soon!]

July 16, 2014

Random Run P2 - Missing Valentines

Talk About a Pre-Emptive Strike...

We start our day off with another story about loneliness, starring a norn with a Greek name, who also grew up really fast...


After a lot of shenanigans with the lift and with half of the run's current norns running loose on the upper Albian shelf, poor Themis has wandered and has become hopelessly lost. Much like darling Cronus of our concurrent Egg Olympiad run, this heroine found herself a near-identical spot to proclaim just how "gaa" she is in the absence of other norns. But where Cronus's story ends happily (at the time of this writing, at least), Themis's becomes something of a Greek tragedy...

***

Wulfin can tell just by looking at this woman how many children she will have. Like, a lot. Valentine Norns are nothing to sneeze at when it comes to breeding, and the women especially can get pregnant almost immediately after laying an egg when a normal female norn takes some time to recover from the last one.

That almost makes things too easy in a feral run, now, doesn't it?

Random Event ID: Fatal Accident (-)

***


...And with a fall of the dice, Themis vanished from Albia's surface. Not dead, I promise -- merely... banished to my export folder. For all the Valentine Norn fans out there, don't worry: we may not have seen the last of her yet. There's always a chance she can be returned from beyond the bin to see her friends and conquer a changed Albia.

So far, though, the other norns don't seem to notice the absence.


It looks like little Liudvikas has big plans on pulling babs! Our teeny green warrior has been eager lately, as he rose to the upper shelf with a kindly Vladimer who showed him a patch of mushrooms. Luddy clearly ate his full and is now off to pursue his dream! But where does that leave Vladdy?


Luddy, you scoundrel! How could you leave poor Vladimer without his popping mushroom patch? Silly norns... no wonder our poor wolfy looks so down. He must be absolutely miserable without his nice bowl of mushroom surprise. Aww, cheer up, Vlad. At least you can console yourself with wondrous tunes from the mediabox.


What you're seeing right here is Brandy kicking Dorian (presumably for making some dumb boyish comment about her claws), and young Dorian's response is "mmm good." Err... you alright there, Dorian? I mean, I know that S&M Norns exist and all that jazz, but I'm pretty sure I didn't add those genes to my C2 yet. Maybe these two would make a cute couple, what with Brandy's excitable temper and Dorian's willingness to... uhh... "take it like a man."


It looks like our two fiery-coated norns, meanwhile, have begun to totally hang out! With Vladimer away from his constant strains of affection, Damiaan has instead realized his adoration for Kristine and has begun courting her with his manly charms. Pulling those big learning machines can't be easy work... though I must admit, Kristine doesn't look like she's the most impressed.

The following picture, in spite of the delighted norn smile, gives me a pang of woe:


Darling little Chryseis, innocent and happy, has no idea that just moments ago on the other side of the garden, her peer Themis was forcefully removed from the world she called home. It breaks my heart, knowing that she could have had a friend to fill her loneliness just like Cronus did... now I get another norn to fill the loner-of-the-run spot instead. It makes me just want to just yank them out of the computer screen and give them all a big, snuggly hug. I don't know. Do you guys ever get that feeling, or is it just me?

Will Kristine cave into Damiaan's macho advances? Will Vladimer ever forgive Liudvikas for demolishing his patch of mushrooms? Will Brandy and Dorian sort out their troubles and become a... ehh... "prosperous" couple? Find out on the next installment of the Random Event Feral Run!

[Previous] / [Next... coming soon!]


EDIT: Okay, it looks like one of those questions just got an early answer...


Playful norns make me so happy. Don't you agree?

Egg Olympiad P2 - The Quest for Friends

One is the loneliest number...

I had to admit, I was pumped to see that Cronus was making a long journey across the great shelf of upper Albia. It gave me proof that he wasn't stuck always thinking that "right" was the right way to go, which I have always worried about in norns ever since C3 came out. I'm not certain if C2 and C1 norns can be at birth the "directionless wanderers" that I so fear... but it makes me nervous anyway.

But somehow, at the end of his journey, Cronus just stopped, looked me right in the eye, and kept repeatedly proclaiming the following:


And when I say repeatedly, I mean nonstop. Unblinking, adamant, not caring for the shifting waves or buzzing bees or crawling ants nearby. This norn is desperate to communicate something. I can't say I know for certain, but I get the feeling that Cronus knows just how lonely he is... and perhaps he's looking to me, his creator, pleading for a friend. This is killing me inside, especially considering how I'm not allowed to do anything until the half-hour mark. I'm sorry, buddy! As the lord of time, maybe you can make it feel like time is passing by more quickly?


With a despondent, almost resigned frown, Cronus drops to his knees and quickly falls asleep right afterwards. Not even that could wipe the unhappiness off his face, though. It was almost painful to watch him, looking around afterwards, trying to push everything in sight, asking "what dis?" to no one.

It gets even more depressing.


The poor boy was trying to summon another creature to him, and he got nothing out of the alien abductor! It just grabbed him, picked him up for a second, and then spit him out as if little Cronus didn't matter. It's really painful, seeing how lonely this boy is: and he still has five minutes to go! Perhaps I should take a break from him before I get too depressed...

So, I went down to the volcano to take a cute picture of Oettinus and Ophion playing together. But then...


It looks like Cronus really is too determined for a friend to quit. Oettinus was minding his own business, eating a colorful red pepper, when the saucer swooped in and claimed him as its next victim. Poor Ophion just looked up sadly, watching on as his only companion was swept away to the wild blue yonder...


Aww! Cronus (sort of) bent down to Oettinus's eye-level as soon as our lovely little ettin was dropped. Poor Oettinus doesn't seem to have any idea what just happened, as he sends me this look of "...seriously?"


Fortunately, it looks like Cronus and Oettinus will become fast friends! Here you can witness them choreographing a dance move after two or three minutes of hectic wandering around the bridge and asking each other questions such as "what dat?" and "why?" It was very cute, and the boys tickled each other frequently. It seems as if our dear little Oettinus understands how lonely Cronus must have been all by himself in the great big world, and he's trying to make our dark blue Butterfly Norn feel welcome!

Okay. I promised myself I wouldn't take another photo of these two until next round, but then this happened:


They're napping together.

They're napping together.
  • They're
  • Napping
  • Together
I am legitimately at a loss for words for how cute this is. I seriously am. It's just... the picture says it all. I'm so excited that I managed to take a photo of this precious moment of interspecies friendship!

***

As Ferral watchs this from afar, she can't help but feel for Cronus and his plight. She, too, is the last Albian god -- or so she believes -- that has survived these centuries without norns to give them the recognition that would keep them alive. "Fear not much longer, little one," she murmurs, walking slowly to her refilled submarine. "I will make sure that you can have friends that extend to your own kind...."

Having made the necessary repairs to her compartment where she could keep the clutches, Ferral enters the submarine and dives down once again, this time intentionally searching for eggs. As she approaches the clutch again, the beautiful gray-white Mist Kiss eggs catch her eye. "I think I can grab up to three of them. I made sure to make extra room," she muses, extending the submarine claw. It carefully plucks two eggs, but crashes a moment later, leaving Ferral to grumble in annoyance. At least I got two. Now Albia won't be so empty...

***


Had I one more Mist Kiss egg, I would be able to hatch that one, too, but it would appear as though I don't. Oh well. Two more norns are better than none!

Will the next two norns include a female that could propagate more children in the future? Will Oettinus's and Cronus's new friendship hold after the invasion of two new rugrats? Will Ophion be left alone for the rest of his days? Find out next time on the Egg Olympiad Run!

July 15, 2014

Random Run P1 - Norny Hodgepodge

Like a cluster of grapes...



Wulfin pants, laying down all eight eggs he found in his search in a big pile by the incubator. The god of shadows had retrieved them from far below the surface of Albia, where he long thought all the eggs had been destroyed by the eruption. Centuries ago, he would lurk in norns' shadows, watching their every move, and his mood would determine how he would treat them and the world upon which they walked.

The norn god's ear twitches as he looks upon the round, candy-colored objects. They just look so ridiculous, all bunched up in a pile, so close to the incubator and yet so far away. He wonders, if he took a deep breath and blew, could he send them rolling to the warm nest and rekindling the nornish race?

It looks like one of the eggs is already trying to escape via doozer-feet

As he moves in to touch the clutch, there's a cracking sound. Wulfin yelps, ducking into the nearest shadow, becoming invisible to the eyes of the creatures. He peers at the shaking eggs, now rolling around, looking even sillier than before with the outlines of norns just itching to come out. In spite of himself, Wulfin lets out a wry smile. Perhaps the time has come for him to resume the role he held long ago to spite Ferral and his Shee creators.

Faded in the darkness, Wulfin lurks, preparing to become the first norns' shadow...

***

Like my concurrent Egg Olympiad, this run will have a "victory" and "defeat" condition. If this run ends in a victory, a pack of all the norns alive at the time of the achieved goal will be made and posted on Creatures Caves. If it ends in defeat, then all that will remain of it is a visual and verbal legacy...

VICTORY: The norns survive 35 random events, spaced at 15-30 minute intervals.

DEFEAT: The norns go extinct before all 35 events can be completed.

Because this is C2, there is also an "incomplete" condition, in which the game crashes irreparably before either condition can be met. This has happened to me only once before, but it is safe to warn you guys that it's always possible.

***

Because this is a Random Event Feral Run, I decided that the naming scheme should be one that's completely random. All of the names will come from this random name generator set to the appropriate gender of the baby norn and encompassing all the categories listed on the page. I will include the name meanings to all new babies, of course, so as to give even the most exotic sounding names a shred of light! And, of course, the breeds were completely randomized as well out of my roster of 27.


Bam! In the span of about three seconds, Albia exploded into life with eight little baby norns divided evenly by gender. Within this picture, it's near impossible to differentiate who's who, so I'm going to give a little list below, from oldest to youngest:
  1. Chryseis, the female Desert Norn. Her name, from Greek mythology, means "daughter of the priestess." Kind of fitting, considering there's some kind of temple up in the desert!
  2. Liudvikas, the male Emerald Norn. His name, the Lithuanian form of Ludwig, means "famous warrior." Not bad at all.
  3. Dorian, the male Pixie Norn. His name is shared with the titular character of Oscar Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Though I must say, he looks a lot cuter than his namesake!
  4. Vladimer, the male Wolfling Norn. His name, the Georgian form of Vladimir, means "to rule with greatness." Not too shabby for the alpha wolf of this run.
  5. Kristine, the female Midsummer Norn. Her name, the Scandinavian and German form of Christine, comes from an early female saint who, legend has it, was tortured by her pagan father. Maybe her fiery coat represents where her father went in the afterlife, according to myth?
  6. Brandy, the female Scorpio Norn. Her name comes from a type of alcoholic beverage described as "burnt wine." I suppose I would be frustrated, too, if my wine were burnt.
  7. Themis, the female Valentine Norn. Her name is Greek for "law of nature, divine law." I find this very amusing, because Valentine Norns are prolific breeders. The laws of nature, indeed!
  8. Damiaan, the male Vulcana Norn. His name, the Dutch form of Damian, means "to tame." Perhaps he can tame Brandy's rage over her burnt wine?
I still find it funny that I somehow managed to randomly roll all three of the original C2 breeds into the beginning of this run. Anyhow, I gave the little buggers a quarter of an hour to run around and cause havoc. This is where they are now, and what they're up to.


To the far right, we have our first moment of drama! As Dorian heads back from whence he came, Chryseis confesses that she has committed a dire "bibble." Distraught, Themis looks to Liudvikas for some kind of guidance, but he can only bow his head in light of the tragedy that has been described. Can their close-knit friendship of 15 minutes ever be rekindled?


Things are happier by the teleporter, where Brandy leans in to tell a little secret to her friend Kristine. It's impossible to see in this picture, but Kristine has just the biggest norny smile on her face! I guess her secret is a lot nicer than Chryseis's, ehh?


Meanwhile, Damiaan is expressing his bubbling, bored-looking desire to "push" Vladimer. He's been following our alpha wolf cub around like a bright red duckling for the past ten minutes. I think that bored look is just a cover; this boy's clearly got it mad for Vlad! It's like he just knows that this little white-gray ball of fuzz is going to turn into a fearsome predator one day. I'm sure that Damiaan can't wait for the day he can witness it with his own eyes.

Will Chryseis ever be re-accepted into her group? Will Brandy's and Kristine's friendship withstand the test of time? Will Damiaan ever get to push that Vlad? Find out next time on the Random Event Run!

[Next]

Egg Olympiad P1 - The Dawn of Time

In the beginning, there was one...


Deep within the beautiful ocean of Albia, about two dozen eggs are lined up, all in a row. It is said that they were placed there, frozen by the ancient Shee long ago, in an effort to preserve their species and await the day they can resurface once more. Nine of the twelve varieties are present; the ones that are missing are the Swirled World, the Blessed Chess, and the Wow Cow. From the remainder, there are plenty of norns to choose from, but only a select few will be allowed the breath of life.

Oh, the choices!
It is in her submarine that Ferral, goddess of the wild, ponders, wondering which eggs she should bring back first. She knew that her choice would have a profound impact on the entire future of her world. There could be no mistakes, now. The fate of Albia literally rests in her paws.

Using the time-tested method of eenie-meenie-miney-mo, Ferral utilizes her submarine claw to pick up a Fave Wave egg, hauling it back with some difficulty. She grimaces at the sound her machine makes, giving herself a mental note to repair the claw for future expeditions. Not that she was in any hurry; with a limited amount of natural resources by which to make gas to work the sub, she could only make such a journey every half an hour by earth time. Naturally, as a wilderness goddess, she knew how important ecological conservation was!

Ferral quickly resurfaces and run to the ancient incubator, somehow still intact after centuries of lack of use. She places the beautiful blue and white egg inside and the door automatically closes. After that, she steps back, waiting to see who -- or what -- comes out...

***

Like my concurrent Random Event Runthis run will have a "victory" and "defeat" condition. If this run ends in a victory, a pack of all the norns alive at the time of the achieved goal will be made and posted on Creatures Caves. If it ends in defeat, then all that will remain of it is a visual and verbal legacy...

VICTORY: The norns survive up until the first fifth-generation norn is hatched.

DEFEAT: The norns go extinct before the first fifth-generation norn is hatched.

Of course, I'll be keeping track of what generation each norn is to ensure the greatest possible accuracy for this run.

Because this is C2, there is also an "incomplete" condition, in which the game crashes irreparably before either condition can be met. This has happened to me only once before, but it is safe to warn you guys that it's always possible.

***


In an Egg Olympiad run, it only seems fitting to give everyone Greek names. This here is Cronus the Butterfly Norn, named after one of the most ancient of the gods and the master of time. Even though he's the only norn in the run so far, he's constantly asking questions and trying to push, pull, and eat everything in sight! Nothing is better than a happy norn.


Wait, did I say nothing is better than a happy norn? What about a happy norn that likes to learn? That's right. Cronus is completely in awe of the computer and is admiring it with a lot of interest. He kept an eye on it for quite some time, fascinated by the moving pictures in combination with the words. Though he didn't learn every word 100% accurately, it was nice to see him make progress in obtaining a full Albian vocabulary. A good quality in a god!


...Sadly, he seems to have succumbed to wallbonking syndrome a bit early in life. The young Cronus seems to think he can eat (himself?) by running into the stone wall enough times. Could this be potential foreshadowing to him swallowing a rock instead of his son? Only time will tell...


Hello, what's this? Due to a graphical glitch, Cronus seems to have been miraculously transported upstairs. Not only has he begun eating some mushrooms, but he caught the enchanted butterfly, triumphantly proclaiming "get Cronus." I can't help but find this extremely amusing, especially given just how happy he looks. Is he aware that this is butterflyception? That vacantly happy smile is throwing me for a loop, here. Either this norn is very good at playing dumb or he is, indeed, quite clueless as to the comical nature of this situation.


Meanwhile, deep underground, Oettinus Rex the Ettin and Ophion the Grendel -- named (punnily) after the king and the titan of before time respectively -- are hanging out as buddies in the volcano garden. Oettinus seems aware that there's some higher power at being here. Little does he know that said higher power is looking right at him from behind!

Will Ophion realize Oettinus isn't looking at him? Will Oettinus comprehend the meaning of the universe with his all-seeing eyes? Will Cronus learn to let go of the mini-him? Find out next time on the Egg Olympiad Run!

Egg Olympiad Feral Run

Egg Olympiad "Feral" Run

Sometimes feral runs explode into population growth that's near-impossible to comprehend. Sure, sometimes one might have a norn breed that's extra virile to spurn a big bang of second-gens, but this can be more desirable in some runs than others. While making a feral run more dangerous is one fix, I had to wonder if there was a way to better control the population than this. Amaikokonut's ingenious cos files make for excellent support in a C3DS world, but even then, population booms are (very) occasionally an issue, and sadly, those agents do not work for C2.

So why not make a run where only certain eggs are allowed to hatch?


THE CONCEPT:


Whether someone considers this a feral run or not is up for debate, as it does require some creature interaction. For the most part, once a norn is born, they are left to their own devices as with a regular feral run -- they go where they want, breed where they want, and die in a way I'm pretty sure they don't want. However, this run requires someone to stay alert for any new eggs to catch and put underwater the moment they're laid.

In an Egg Olympiad Run (which I comically call an "E-OR," pronounced "Eeyore"), every so often, the hand hatches a few eggs of the same color pattern. This will determine what babies are born to conquer Albia or the Shee Starship. After a lot of testing, I found it an odd and effective method to select random norns to continue a run. And with a proper range of times and norn breeds, it could really turn into survival of the fittest.

If you want to try it for yourself, skip to the section labeled "Recommendations" before reading "How to Play." If you want to read about trials and testing, check out the section directly below!


THE TRIAL RUNS:


My first trial runs for both C3DS and C2 failed intensely. At that time in testing, instead of hatching only a small range of numbers for the eggs, I would hatch all that were in a certain color. In both cases, populations exploded just as much as before. It was disappointing, to say the least.

Once I added a cap to the number of eggs you could add at a TIME, however, the run became much more interesting and a lot tighter in numbers. Only the strong could belong, or so the saying goes, and that made for a more intense feral run overall -- and that's considering that I'm normally a little generous in my feral run worlds in terms of food and toy resources. This kind of run, combined with a more "hard core" world for norns to live in, could be like a gripping drama of possibilities.

This run may be grendel/ettin friendly, if you're inclined, although that has so far not been tested.


RECOMMENDATIONS:


In order to make a run like this work, there are some things that are more recommended than others.

  • For C2, the 40 norns cheat is recommended. Even though population explosions are meant to be more controlled in this run, it's better safe than sorry... plus it can be applied to your more personal runs in C2, which is always a nice plus!
  • For C2, the COB Neptune's Womb by Jay Dino is recommended because it will continue to hatch eggs even when the normal incubator cannot. This is good, because any egg moved in C2 will freeze.
  • For C3DS, the EggLimit cos file is strongly recommended and the Infertility cos file is recommended. Both are available for download in the link at the very top of this page. C3DS is more prone to massive population booms than C2, and these agents will make for much less of a hassle when it comes to excessive egg laying.
  • Playing C1 is not recommended for this run. The population limit is too small. If you use a different world like Terra Nornia, however, then this may be plausible with C1... you would just need to find some form of incubator to use when it decides to automatically close.
  • Playing undocked C3 is not recommended for this run for the same reason as C1.
  • Using aquatic creatures is not recommended.

HOW TO PLAY:


Pre-Game:

  1. Set yourself a time interval. Every time the time interval ends, a particular number of eggs of a certain color pattern will be hatched. The intervals could be anywhere from every five minutes, to every hour, to even every day, if you're so inclined. I personally recommend 20-45 minute intervals for maximum entertainment.
  2. Set up your world as you see fit. This will be a feral run, after all, and unless you're hatching a few eggs, you aren't allowed to do anything!
  3. The next depends on what game you're playing...
    • If you're playing C2: Make a list of all your norn breeds, including the ones that come with the game. Assuming you're playing the GOG.com version of the game, go into the advanced editor for the hatchery. Flip a coin to determine whether each breed should get a male or female egg (heads = male, tails = female) and add it to the hatchery. Keep going until you have one egg of each breed. Then, add them to the world and arrange them by color pattern / style in the light blue ocean to the right of the hatchery area. All C1-style eggs must be grouped together, if applicable.
    • If you're playing C3DS: Go to the egglayer. Every time you see a norn breed, flip a coin to determine whether each breed should get a male or a female egg (heads = male, tails = female) and lay it. Grab the eggs and arrange them in your inventory by color pattern. Be careful if you're using Muco, as the eggs will hatch VERY quickly after being laid! Keep going until you have one egg of each breed in your inventory. If you have C1toDS, ignore the norns in the main egglayer and use the hatchery kit that comes with C1toDS to add a bunch of C1-style eggs into the world. All C1-style eggs must be grouped together.
In-Game:
  1. Start the game. Name all the norns if you wish, or let an autonamer tend to that for you.
  2. Set a timer for the chosen time interval. It's highly recommended you stay and monitor the game.
  3. Any time a norn lays an egg, grab it. In C2, place it with eggs of a similar color pattern/style in the light blue ocean to the right of the hatchery. In C3DS, place it in the inventory with eggs of a similar color pattern/style.
  4. When the timer rings, go to the table below. It will have a list of all twelve default varieties of eggsprites to use. Go to a random number generator from 1-12 or roll a 12-sided die to determine which egg variety will be hatched. Then, reset the random number generator from 1-4 or roll a 4-sided die to determine how many of each egg will be hatched. If you have fewer than that number (ex: you roll 3 but you only have 1), then just hatch as many of that pattern as you can.
    • If you're playing C2: Hatch them in the normal incubator if possible. If not, then hatch the eggs in Neptune's Womb or wait for a norn to die before hatching the eggs one at a time. If you have Neptune's Womb and want to ensure randomness of hatching location, move it towards a randomly-tabbed norn each time you hatch one or more eggs after the interval.
    • If you're playing C3DS: Place the appropriate number of the certain pattern of eggs outside of the inventory. To ensure randomness of hatching location, it's recommended to tab through norns and place an egg in each location until all of the ones rolled are placed.
  5. Reset the timer. Lather, rinse, repeat!

EGG PATTERN GENERATOR:


So the time has come for you to hatch one to four new little eggs, eh? You've come to the right place! Below is a list of all the standard egg sprites that can be rolled in the run.

First, roll 1-4 on a random generator or a 4-sided die. That will be the number of whatever pattern you hatch.

Then, roll 1-12 on a random generator or a 12-sided die. Depending on what number, you'll have to hatch eggs of the following style...

  1.  The Cream Dream
  2.  The Speckle Freckle
  3.  The Blessed Chess
  4.  The Wow Cow
  5.  The Proud Cloud
  6.  The Old Gold
  7.  The Lava Java
  8.  The Fave Wave
  9.  The Swirled World
  10.  The True Blue
  11.  The Mist Kiss
  12.  The Past Blast (This roll includes other C1-style eggs not pictured; if you roll this and there are no C1 eggs to speak of in your game, then reroll).

If you roll a color that does not have any eggs that have been laid yet, then you do not get to hatch any eggs for that half-hour term.

If you roll a color twice in a row, reroll.

In C2 especially, be sure to export any born children so that you are aware of any “game crashers.” Re-import them if they're all safe. If one of the eggs is buggy, well, now you now... and you can put it in some other body of water where it will never hurt anyone again.

OPTIONAL RULES:


  • Instead of setting a set time interval, just do it whenever you feel like it.
  • If you want to make it more extreme, hold a "death lottery" by exporting one of your norns at random every time you make to hatch a set of eggs.

COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS?


Feel free to comment below! I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial on E-ORs, and have an awesome rest of the year!