With the 3 month long Random Event Nurture Follow Up Run (This thing’s name just keeps on changing) finally, finally, finally over, I can move on to new and interesting projects. I asked for input at Creatures Caves, and I got some interesting feedback. Perhaps the most appealing idea to me though was revisiting the Matriarch Mermaids concept.
The more I thought about it, the more complicated the world concept got so rather than sit around and speculate while I knitted, I decided to put my thoughts to paper (metaphorically) and finally get this bad boy outlined. It might even change before I finally get the run started.
Besides, the better organized I can get this thing, the easier it will be for me to follow when I finally get around to starting it and running it. Because I lack the patience and time, I won’t be closely investigating the (male) mermaid’s genetics unless something unusual crops up. All the new queens will have their genetics investigated, however.
Anyway, that’s enough of that. Let’s get some details down.
Matriarch Society
– At all times, there will only be one female in the world. All of her daughters will be exported and tested before being reintroduced.
– Daughters will have to pass the classic IQ test (no added hazards) and have their genetics looked over. Of the girls that pass, the queen will be the first to breed. In the event of a tie, the girl with the first (leftmost) pregnancy notification will be queen. Once she has become pregnant, all other girls will be exported for a separate run, splicing or testing; deleted; or saved for future upload.
– The male population will not be closely monitored at all and generations might get mixed up. All of the queen’s “surviving” male offspring will be allowed to stay in the world and will only be removed if problems crop up. Problems include sliding and other gait issues, failing to pass the IQ test, fast agers, immortals, etc. Fast agers and immortals should be impossible with the genome I plan to use.
– To prevent breeding outside of the aquatic area, males and females will be kept separate until adult hood.
Amphibious Species
– There is an added challenge related to egg laying. Only eggs that are laid on land in the “brooding areas” will be considered viable, “surviving” eggs. In Artemia Seas, the two areas on the sides of the map are considered the brooding areas. Eggs that were laid underwater will be considered “drowned” outside this space will be considered un-incubated due to cold and will be deleted with the Mini-Recycler. Artemia Seas is too large to accommodate this. Instead, I’ve set the egg limit to 30+ the max population to allow for many eggs.
– Mermaids will not be allowed to enter the aquatic area of the world until they have reached breeding age. In the genome I will use, this is when they’ve grown their tail. Once they’ve reached adulthood, they will not be allowed back “on land”.
Colorful Creatures
– I plan to use CFF, Colortrue Pearlmaids. This in mind, I will start the world with a rainbow of colors. Each time a new queen is introduced, a new, Generation 1 male will be added. His color will be chosen based on the world’s dominant colors.
– I will make the appearance, pigment and blending genes highly mutatable as well.
Fierce Competition (?)
– I had an idea to introduce a “predatory” species, namely Artemia Grendels. I would love to see these as colortrue and do a run similar to this with the Grendels but here, in this setting, I think I’d like to keep their role subdued.
– Ideally, the grendels here would take on Grendel Man’s Flesheater Grendel concept and be a survival pressure on the Pearlmaids rather than a natural disaster.
Eventful World
– I enjoyed playing with the Random Event concept so much during last year’s CCSF that I think it could make a fun addition to this world.
This sounds very interesting, Kezune! My current underwater world kind of has a flexible set of rules as I go through the first few generations and tweak a few things. The Artemia Grendels are really nice in terms of getting along with other Norns: I’ve never seen them act violently, aside from a few usual punches/slaps. If you’re looking for a much more dangerous breed, Grendel Man’s Banshee Hydrolisks fit the bill! In my test worlds, they proved to live up to their description. I actually had one who could live side-by-side with Norns, but she would occasionally go on violent killing sprees that claimed a few lives. The breed isn’t Colortrue, although I’ve seen them change colors a bit through the generations. Hope everything works out for you! Underwater worlds are really fun nowadays, especially since they’re often so colorful and cheery!
Ainarda might be a metaroom worth looking into. It has an underwater part to it, and plenty of land above it. Put a few doors to the underwater areas, and you have a nice, large underwater area.