Creatures Caves

Welcome to the Creatures community! Hopefully I can provide some information to help you and your daughter out, although it looks like some very helpful responses have already been posted!

1.) It sometimes is difficult to tickle/slap at the right moment 100% of the time. I generally aim for the head when I want to give a tickle, and expect that any contact close to the ground will result in a slap. Once learned, the verbal commands "yes" and "no" are much more accurate.

2.) I'm not sure of the exact time frame for rewarding or punishing certain behaviors, but the closer to the behavior, the more learning will occur. I generally think that a tickle, slap, or verbal reinforcement should take place within 2-4 seconds of the action to have the most effect. Repeated reinforcement can also be effective.

3.) As Malkin pointed out, this behavior could be the result of OHSS. I believe one of the official C2 downloads solves this issue... It may be the first Life Kit, or the genome update. Some Norns also do random things that make little sense: I have a Norn who loves to walk into walls even though it causes her some pain. I guess they all have their own personalities!

4.) Walking or staying still are some behaviors that really can not be reinforced. However, you can try to encourage these behaviors by saying "stop" or "come." I haven't played Creatures 2 in a bit, so there may be other vocabulary words that make more sense, but hopefully these will help! Saying "stop" followed by a tickle or "yes" should hopefully yield the result that you're looking for!

5.) I own this book, although I haven't taken a look at it in a long time. It does go into a lot of detail about the game, and has a lot of useful information. If you don't already have access to the main manual, it can be found here as a PDF. There aren't too many sites devoted to basic information, although the Creatures Wiki is a great place to go!

6.) As with the previous question, I think your best bet would be the Creatures Wiki. The manual and in-game help may also offer you tips geared more towards beginners.

7.) It usually takes some time for a Norn to starve to death. You should, however, always make sure that there is a nearby food source and encourage him or her to eat at an early age. Norns who have been rewarded for eating usually end up eating on their own as they grow up.

8.) In Creatures 2, the only Grendel who exists lives on the other side of the world. It is possible for him to traverse Albia to encounter any Norns living near the incubator, but this would be a rarity. The hand itself can not really push Grendels away, but you might be able to guide your Norn using verbal cues like "come" or "get hand" while moving away from a Grendel.

9.) Lifts stop at each level where there is a stop: You'll notice that there are call buttons nearby. A lift must stop completely on one of these levels for a Norn to enter or exit the lift. You can then either click the green buttons to go up or down, or click the call button on the level you would like to go to. The trick is then to get a Norn to follow you, rather than traveling up and down in the lift again!

I never played Creatures Village, but it will probably be more enjoyable for your daughter. Judging by the reviews, it's a lot more maneuverable and easier to understand for younger gamers, but still provides similar fun that is in the rest of the Creatures games. It looks like the only drawback is that there is no print manual and no tutorial, so you might want to print something out before playing it for the first time to avoid any frustration.

I personally wouldn't recommend Creatures 3 for your daughter, since it's a pretty complex game. I found it to the most difficult, simply because there is so much going on. I'd actually recommend the original Creatures game, known as either Creatures or Creatures 1. It's tricky to get the original disc to work on newer computers, but you can look into getting a digital download at GOG. Creatures 1 is bundled with Creatures 2 as The Albian Years.

In any case, hopefully this helps you out! I hope you and your daughter enjoy playing Creatures!