Saturday, May 8, 2010

The Windy City.

C2toDS reintroduces wind into the C3/DS game. Using CA 19 as a diffusion system for pressure, “wind” is created. Clouds move in the opposite direction of high pressure areas, as do any other sockobjects from C2 that responded to wind, such as the spinnoseedSpinnomosa  cactus seeds, and wind sock.

While we’re on the topic of wind, here’s a special feature on one form of weather unique to C2toDS:

Water, Water, Everywhere

And Norn’s don’t drink a drop…

dailybibbles fountain Let me begin by expressing my greatest displeasure with Creature Labs for excluding this functionality in Creatures 3/DS. –_- If Norns are supposed to be the most advanced biological/artificial life simulation in the world, why on earth don’t they need to drink water? In fact, they completely removed potionthe “drink” classifier from Creatures 3/DS, it’s closest equivalent now being “potion”.

lemoncarrotcheeseapple Ok, sure, some animals get their water demands from eating fruits and such, but Norns eat cheese, carrots, and the occasional lemon or apple. They certainly shouldn’t get enough water from these!

So what am I to do with all these water pumps and fountains in pumpCreatures 2? Make them “potion”? Does C3/DS creature biochemistry even require water? What purpose will they serve if not? I guess I’ll decide when the time comes…

Daily Bibbles: Engine Speed, and other Velocities.

dailybibbles_thumb[2]

Creatures 2 and Docking Station are two very different games, and through the development, I find myself constantly discovering dissimilarities.

One of the first things I noticed is the speed of the engine! Ticks in Creatures 2, and the engine in general, run much slower. When I tried to match lifespans of plants from Creatures 2 to Docking Station, for instance, I found them growing too fast!

ballhand[1]Another thing that’s dissimilar are the physics. They are completely different, though much improved. The red and white stripped beach ball for example bounced to the ceiling with C2 physics settings in DS! But on the flipside, you’re actually able to throw the ball a substantial distance. Creatures 2 left something to be desired in this respect. Mind you, anything was an improvement on Creatures 1’s instant falling!

oceancheese[1] Another thing to note, is Creatures 2 gravity system is far superior to Docking Station in one respect: water. Objects in water actually fall slower in Creatures 2. It’s a shame this wasn’t carried over in Docking Station.

Welcome!


Hi, I’m Moe. Welcome to the Creatures 2 to Docking Station development blog. Through this blog you’re going to get a chance to follow the development of Creatures 2 to Docking Station- the largest 3rd party project ever undertaken.

I’ll take you behind the overlays and through the scripts, to show you how I’m bringing Albia to life in Docking Station.

To answer a few quick questions:

What is “Creatures”?

Creatures is an artificial life series. For more information, visit the Creatures Wiki, or Gameware Development.

Is this a derivation of other C2 to DS projects?

No. This project is entirely new, created from scratch.

Will it include breeds?

At the moment I do not plan to port the breeds. Many have already been converted however.

How faithful does it remain to the original game?

Very, but with enough added content to make it an entirely new experience.

When will it be released?

It’s just me developing for now (and to be honest, I rather prefer it that way), so it’ll take as long as it takes. I will say however, that I’m making good progress!

I will answer more questions as they are asked. Please, enjoy the blog.

tom2