geNorNics Fact Sheet (Frequently Asked Questions) Version 2.0

Outline

• Administrative Questions
  • Where did you get the name geNorNics?
  • And what's with the capitalization on that?
  • Can I send you my Norn?
  • Can you make me a Norn that does (fill in the blank)?
  • Will you add a link to my Creatures site?
  • Can I repost some of your files/information on my site?
• General Questions
  • Can you explain Creatures genetics to me?
  • Where do you get your information for figuring out the genes?
  • How do I actually use geNorNics?
  • What are these Variant Norns?
  • Where do I get the Life Kit?
  • Can you send me the sprites for the Forest/Ron Norns?
• Genetics Questions
  • What is a "moniker?"
  • What is "hex editing?"
  • Can you send me a hex editor?
  • What do you mean by "X" on subtype page "Y"?
  • What is the difference between diploid and haploid genomes?
  • How does that affect the risk of inbreeding?

Administrative Questions

Genornics is a combination of the words genetics, genome, and norn. I wanted a quick, snappy term to describe what I was going to concentrate on in my web site, and I liked the way this came out. Genornics, genornicist.... If I had decided to do grendel genes first, it probably would have been Grenetics (and there may someday be an offshoot site named that, if I get around to it!).

If you just type out genornics in regular letters, it can at first glance look like genomics. Believe it or not, while doing a web search for 'genornics' once, I came across a page on genomics that had a typo in it, replacing the 'm' with an 'rn'. They look pretty similar, neh? I wanted to be sure people would see the norn reference in there, so I capitalized the two Ns. And then, because I like symmetry, I made the initial 'g' a small letter, so that the entire word balanced well. Ta da! geNorNics - birth of a logo.

Sorry, but I don't accept unsolicited Norns, as they take too long to download and tend to clog up my mailbox. If you've got a Norn with a mutation that you think is interesting, however, you can send me an email describing it, and I'll let you know if I think it should be added to the Mutations page.

But please note that I very rarely have time to look at complete gene files. If you want someone to decipher your norn's genome, you would probably be better served posting a note to the newsgroup (do NOT post the file itself). There are a number of people there who enjoy looking over gene files and figuring out what's different.

Nope. Sorry. I'm not in the custom gene creation business. Actually, I have never edited a genome in order to make a Norn from it. My in vitro genetics work is completely separate from my in vivo breeding of my own creatures, which is strictly natural and only includes generation 1 (and variant) norns and their offspring.

If you've done your own genetic engineering and would like me to look over your work, I may occasionally have time to do so. Just ask first before you send me an entire gene file - I frequently get pretty busy with the rest of my life.

Only if it has a genetics section that I feel provides some unique information or other service to Creatures geneticists. I made a decision early on to concentrate my site on genetics, and thus I will not link to general Creatures sites. I just don't have the time to maintain that sort of link list. As a result, any links that do appear on my links page are ones that I think are particularly useful, well-designed sites about genetics in Creatures.

In general, no. Although Norn genetic information itself is public domain, the linking of the various gene characteristics to specific bytes in the *.GEN file is my own work, as is all of the HTML tables, text and graphics describing it. If you want to link to geNorNics, please link to the front page. If you wish to paraphrase the information that I have provided, please provide a note stating that the information originally came from geNorNics. Use your best judgment, and when in doubt, please ask.

General Questions

I get this one a lot. I wish I had an easy answer other than "no," but the topic is just too broad. I'm still trying to figure a lot of this out myself, as is the rest of the Creatures community, and I don't yet have the definitive guide to creatures genetics available to send to people. Check out this site, as well as the others on the Links page, and if you still have a specific question, I'll do my best to answer it.

The number one resource is the paper "Creatures: Artificial Life Autonomous Software Agents for Home Entertainment," © Cyberlife, 1996. I am still referring to it and using it to figure out new pieces of the puzzle. Early on, the Genetics Preview Kit Reference Guide was very helpful, and more recently I've had access to the actual Genetics Kit.

Other than that, I do a lot of cross-referencing between various public information (the chemicals and words lists, macro language description, etc.) and what I can see when I examine the specific byte sequences of known genes. Occasionally, I get very helpful hints from other people via the newsgroup or directly from email. Overall, there's a lot of intuitive reasoning involved, which is what makes it fun :-)

This depends on how much you want to get involved in genetics in Creatures. The site was not originally intended to be a beginner's site, and thus it has lacked sufficient introductory documentation to help new Creatures owners. I'm working on that, but in the meantime beginners may just want to skim through it to get a feel for creatures genetics, and what we know about it so far.

More advanced users may use the information in about three different ways. First, if they have the Genetics Kit (GK), they can use geNorNics as a supplement to the GK Help File. Second, if they don't have the GK and wish to delve into hex editing, they can use the information to decipher the various bytes in the gene file. And third, if they are really into genetics and coding, they can use the information to create utility programs that allow other users to decipher their norn's genomes. :-)

"Variant Norns" is the phrase I use to describe the norns released by Cyberlife outside the original game. They come with different sprites (graphics files) and altered genomes. Purple Mountain Norns are available free from the Cyberlife website. Forest and Ron Norns are only available in the Life Kit #1, which must be purchased separately.

The Life Kit #1 may be mail ordered from Mindscape, Inc. or may be purchased (in the U.S.) from your better software stores. Try places like CompUSA, Best Buy, Computer City, etc. As far as I know, the kit is not available at retail outlets in other countries. Bummer.

Definitely not. And don't ask on the newsgroup either, unless you like getting flamed. As stated above, the gene files for the Forest and Ron norns may be freely distributed, but the sprites that make them look different from the other norns are not free. I support this completely, so don't even ask.

Genetics Questions

A moniker is a four character name (usually a combination of three letters and a number) that uniquely identifies a particular norn or grendel. It is used to distinguish that creature's gene file from all the others - the program may crash if more than one creature with the same moniker is present in the world at the same time.

You can find out the moniker of your norn by selecting him/her, opening the Science Kit, clicking the Genetics tab, and reading it from the box at the top right. (A screen shot is available.) Once you have the moniker written down, you can go into the Genetics subfolder on your hard drive (using file manager or windows explorer or whatever) and find that norn's gene file. For example, if my norn Sally has moniker 6SVP, her file will be "6SVP.gen".

"Hex editing" is the art of directly editing binary files by using a 'hex editor' program that presents the binary file in hexadecimal format (usually with ASCII translation) for your viewing pleasure. If you are not comfortable with computers in general, you should probably not do this, as errors in the format of such edited files can causes crashes in the game.

Hex editing was originally the only way to look at a creature's gene file (or other game related files), and many players continue to use this method to pore over code and figure out how Creatures works. The byte sequences on each gene subtype page are the sorts of things you'd look at (and edit!) in a hex editor window.

When I get around to writing an actual tutorial, I'll include a section on hex editing gene files. In the meantime, BreakPoint Software has a brief "How to Hex Edit" page available. The examples are specific to their program, but it's a start.

Ok, there's a couple of reason why I can't do this. First, sending out large executable files over my mail program takes as long as downloading them. And second, it's generally a better idea to go get a program from a reputable source, or directly from the author/company. That way you can be sure you've got the most recent version, that you have all the necessary files, and that you're less likely to have someone tamper with the program and add a virus.

Four great places on the web to download shareware and demo programs:

• shareware.com (c|net)
• download.com (c|net)
• Stroud's Consummate Winsock Applications
• The Ultimate Collection of Winsock Software (TUCOWS)

All of these sites have search functions, so you should be able to find a hex editor you like at one or more of them.

Well, gosh. Isn't it obvious? But seriously, I know that there's a remarkable dearth of explanation for some of the notes on the individual subtype pages. The reason? That's all I currently know about it. In many cases, I have been able to link a Genetics Kit option to a specific byte (or sequence of bytes) in the genome, but I don't yet have a complete understanding of what it means. Everything I do know is up there, for the most part. When I figure new things out, I post a note on the News page.

Sandra Linkletter (slink) wrote a nice description of this topic on the newsgroup, which she has kindly allowed me to use:

"Diploid genetics (like in people and other mammals) involves two genes for everything, one from mom AND one from dad. For any one characteristic (speaking *very* simplistically) there can be several gene types, and if any two unlike types are paired together then one will have the dominate influence over the other. That is what is meant by dominant and recessive genes. A gene with a negative effect that is dominant hinders the creature carrying it and lowers the likelihood that the creature will breed or even perhaps live. Also, you can see the effect and weed out the carrier. If the gene is recessive it doesn't show up unless the offspring gets it from both mom and dad, which is more likely to happen if mom and dad are closely related. Part of the reason it is *so* bad for people to inbreed is because we have not been doing it regularly and we have built up a lot of recessive genes which would need weeding out (translated we'd have a lot of sickly and dead infants) if we ever started doing that.

A = brown eyes
a = blue eyes

A dominant to a and since two genes are always passed on:

AA = brown eyes
Aa = brown eyes
aa = blue eyes

This arrangement gives those tables that you may have seen in high school genetics classes.

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Haploid genetics involves one gene for everything, one from mom OR one from dad. Thus there is never a question of recessive and dominant genes, because there is only one carried and expressed. The only shortcoming with inbreeding norns therefore is that you limit the variety of your gene pool, and if you have a gene that is not-so-hot (as opposed to crippling or fatal) then it will be in all of the offspring. The advantage is that you can see it wherever it is.

A = brown eyes
a = blue eyes

Dominance is irrelevant because only one gene is passed on.

Note that eye color is only an example and that it is not possible to breed for eye color in norns."

[Also note that human eye color involves some mixed dominance, which Sandra wisely didn't go into here.]

It removes it entirely. In other words, although it makes it difficult to diagram nice, clean family trees, having a norn breed with one of its family members won't increase the risk of harmful mutations and other problems, as it might in most real life species. It may tend to reduce the variation in the overall gene pool over time, but that can be alleviated by occasionally introducing new norns into your Albia.