I've been meaning to make something for the game. But after a 12 hour shift at work, I generally do not feel like doing much that requires a lot of brainpower.
However, I got to thinking about how there is another aspect to creatures that I enjoy just as much as fiddling with genetics and the like. This aspect is the ecology. The ecology present in most metarooms is fairly basic, and in the context of wolfling runs, often inefficient. Certain foods and such are localized to one area and sometimes norns are not adventurous enough to seek them out. I really like utilizing the garden box to create my own ecology in metarooms (often blank ones so I get the maximum customization) to curb this issue, but there is a profound lack of options so every room tends to feel... same-y. Or, my options have some built in bad aspects (having perma-drunk norns because that mushroom I planted has alcohol would get annoying-- or having several norns drop dead from cyanide poisoning 'cause I planted something that had traces of it in it...) I'm hoping to find a solution to this problem, because I had some ideas for things to add to the garden box! With the addition of more specialized norn breeds (True Warmbloods, as an example), while neat in concept, often lack the conditions necessary for survival. Maybe there is a room warm enough for them, but now there is not enough food. Also, just having the option to spice up a metaroom intended for more basic norn breeds is nice too! Picture this: A burnip. Whats a burnip? A turnip, but hot. In concept, this food would grow in the ground, appearing red at the top, transitioning to orange and then yellow at the tip (resembling a flame). They would have leaves protruding the ground level. Ideally, I would want to have some kind of semi transparent steam effect and for the plant itself to generate some kind of ambient heat (and perhaps light). Eating the burnip would provide protein and heat. The garden box could be used to plant them much like you can with carrots. They would be a one bite food item, as I want to minimize the workload of spriting. Additionally, we have some breeds suited to the cold. There is not a lot out there in terms of metarooms for chilly breeds. The Chione is one that comes to mind, though that metaroom is almost completely barren. Needleleaf carrots are nice, but they are located in only one specific spot and lack any means to plant them elsewhere to generate any kind of ecological system. I think the Ostrova is another icy room, but it is extremely old and locked behind a paywall. Again, picture this: A brrrnip. Similar in concept to the burnip, but cold. They would have an icy blue sheen and ideally would sparkle/glint as if they were reflective as ice. Blue on blue can get a bit stale, so future cold foods will probably not just be the default icy blue. I'd probably lean towards purples and greens, with hints of more warmer colors. Perhaps there can be hybrid variants, intended to bring cool to norns in the desert, and warmth to those in the arctic. As long as I have a base to work with, I imagine these permutations would not be too difficult to patch in as well. Final creative thought: A bleurghnip. A turnip, but i c k y. There is a distinct lack of toxic based breeds, but a decent amount of toxic based dispensers. As far as plants go, I do not recall there being much. I would really like to see a revival of interest in toxic breeds, and I think giving them more customization options would help. I think the bleurghnip would have a greenish steam effect to communicate a foul odor. I think I would like their design to be unsettling, maybe with some rotted looking colors (pale greens, reds, blues) and a pattern that would be semi-trypophobia inducing. Though perhaps I should not do that, I might get yelled at for it. But it certainly would fit the theme! These are simply some ideas I had for something to add for these more specialized climates. Of course, adding one species does not create an ecological system. I would love to make some critters, ambient plants, bugs, and more. But for now, I think a simple turnip-based food-form is what I am best equipped to make. If I can get spriting done, I'll likely reach out to some coders on the possibility of the aforementioned special effects of the plants. I'm fairly certain my ideas are possible, just by noting the existence of semitransparent images with the anti-bacterial sprayer in C3, and the glowing/chilly plants made by Mea. At least, I think it was Mea. I'm picturing very Mea-esque sprites here. I'll check on that later. Anyhow, I suppose spriting is my next step. I think I will draw them rather than model them. I've messed with Blender before, but it was mostly for editing animations and applying custom textures to already finished models. As far as making things from scratch, I think I made something that resembled a mailbox, but that is about it. Even a turnip is probably outside my skillset. No matter, I can manage something legible with Photoshop, I think. That is all I have to say for now. I'm writing all this down so I do not forget my ideas later. That tends to happen, unfortunately. If I do end up finishing them, I'll start thinking of some starch-based plants next, followed by something fat-based. Ideally each would have a cold/hot/toxic counterpart. Thanks for reading my rambling!
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Hello there, welcome to my website. Here, I will be hosting any things I happen to make for the Creatures series. I may also host some other files made by people in the community that are no longer active-- if you have a problem with anything of yours being available, please contact me and I can remove it.
I plan on mostly using this place to store concepts and the like. If you want to help me with anything you may see here, feel free to contact me as well! I am new to having my own website. You can also find me on Creatures Caves. That is all, thank you for visiting! ~Issy |