MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Many thanks to Daryl Burley who has sent us this tip. One useful thing that I have worked out is how to make the lifts get stuck. If you use the lift button on the level that it is approaching a second or two after the lift reaches the level, the call button pings and the lift closes. This can be great for getting Norns to rest as there is little else for them to do, though sometimes if they try to use the lift buttons the effect is cancelled out – you just have to remember to let them out when they are fully rested. I’ve used this on the Grendel and for the last 5 hours of gameplay he has been stuck in one of the island lifts, which thankfully my Norns do not visit very often. Please send any hints and tips to creatures_support@cyberlife.co.uk and add the words 'Hints and Tips' somewhere in the body of your message. Thank you! Where do Norns go when they die? We have had several enquiries asking where Norns go when they die. At CyberLife, we like to think that Norns go to Silicon Heaven when they pass away. That sounds much nicer than "they just go to the big recycle bin in the sky". In Silicon Heaven, Norns live in a world without disease or Grendels. They can eat as much as they like without having to worry about which plants are safe to eat, and the Still is always overflowing. They can never grow old and can kiss and breed as much as they like. Silicon Heaven is run on a Cray Super Computer, with 2.7GB of RAM. This is a far cry from Silicon Hell (which is where the Grendels go). In Silicon Hell, poor unfortunate creatures are made to suffer by being run on a 386 with 1MB of RAM. The moral of this is that you need to look after your Norns if you want them to have a good afterlife. One of the most common questions we get is "How do I keep my Norns apart?" Well, help is at hand. Here is an excerpt from the forthcoming book on Creatures: Keeping Friends and Lovers Apart (C) Copyright 1997, CyberLife Technology Ltd. All rights reserved. The following text may not be reprinted or further distributed without written permission. The most interesting object in Albia to Norns are other Norns. They all look different and they act unpredictably when interacted with. For this reason, young Norns particularly enjoy the company of other Norns. Unfortunately, this can sometimes be at the expense of everything else – including eating! It is therefore very important to teach your Norns about important tasks, such as getting rest, eating and breeding, early on. Despite efforts, it can sometimes be very frustrating if a young Norn encounters other Creatures shortly after birth—as it can seem almost impossible to separate them. However, help is at hand as there are many ways of keeping your Norns apart. Of course, the best way to keep Norns apart is to teach them well, in which case, they should be able to figure it out themselves. As you'll discover, though, this is not always possible! Just one chance encounter with a Grendel and communications can become garbled as Norns pick up bad habits from their more vicious cousins. There are several ways around this problem: Birth
in isolation Whilst it may
initially sound cruel, it can be a useful aid to Norn
care to keep new-born Creatures away from other Norns.
This way, they can learn the most important concepts in
life, such as eating, sleeping, and interacting with
objects, in relative safety without the distraction of
other Norns. Before a new egg hatches, or you hatch a
Norn in the hatchery, make an effort to call other
Creatures away from the area to give you a chance to
"be a parent" before the other guys and girls
muscle in! Calling
a Norns name Simply typing a given Norns name into a speech bubble and then waving your hand around can usually attract a Norns attention. The first thing you should do when a new Norn hatches is to give it a name by using the Owners Kit applet. When you register a Norns name, the Creatures program will automatically teach the Norn their name. This works in a similar way to the learning machine, so remember, Norns can forget their name! (Although, should this happen, simply re-run the Owners Kit and re-register the Norn in question.) If you type a Norns name into a speech bubble, then other Creatures will not recognise the word. This is a helpful way of attracting attention, and is useful for separating Norns when they are getting too close to each other! Issue
specific commands If calling a Norns name does not work, try issuing more complex commands, like "Alice push teleporter", or "Bob get food". This can be a useful way of pushing a Norn into doing something. Remember to reward the Norn if she obeys the command, and that way, she'll be more co-operative in future. We hope this helps. More information can be found in the Complete Guide to Creatures, which is available from the Downloads section.
|
First
Page