The Volcano in Albia

Posting-frequency: every 14 days
Last-modified: Mon Mar 15 1999
Copyright: See Section 8

The Volcano in Albia
Denise Voskuil
grendenise@hotmail.com

[The latest version of this FAQ can be obtained via the web at <http://www.enteract.com/~dvoskuil/faqs/volcano.html>. Versions posted to other websites might not necessarily be up-to-date. For links to this and other FAQs for Creatures and Creatures 2, visit the alt.games.creatures FAQ collection at <http://welcome.to/creatures.newbies/>.]

Changes: Changes about the location of the a.g.c FAQs.

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Subject: 0. What is this document?

The purpose of this FAQ is to provide information to players of the game Creatures 2 about the volcano and what it can do. None of this will be applicable to the original Creatures game (also called "Creatures 1"), as there is no volcano in that game.

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CONTENTS

1) Eruption/Activity
1.1) Will the volcano erupt?
1.2) CyberLife said it would!

2) Heat
2.1) How hot is it in the volcano?
2.2) Is that bad for my creatures?

3) Radiation
3.1) I heard the volcano is radioactive - is that true?
3.2) What will that do to my creatures?
3.3) Is it true that the radioactivity gets worse?

4) Habitation
4.1) Do any species live in the volcano?
4.2) What can I do to improve it as a habitat?

5) Flooding
5.1) Some people said they flooded their volcano - how and why?
5.2) Won't it still be bad to live in?

6) Name

7) Acknowledgments

8) Copyright/Disclaimers

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Subject: 1. Eruption/Activity

1.1) Will the volcano erupt?

Not as far as anyone can tell. Searches of the Images folder have shown no sprites that would correspond to flowing lava.

1.2) CyberLife said it would!

I haven't been able to track down a source for this. The first likely possibility comes from the promotional material for the game, where the change from the Albia of Creatures to the one of Creatures 2 is described as being caused by the eruption of a volcano, which tears the land apart and uncovers new areas.

The second is their mention of the volcano being active. In real life, the bubbling pool of magma in the bottom of the volcano would be enough to qualify it as active; it does not have to have any seismic activity, smoke, or actual eruptions to be considered to be an active volcano.

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Subject: 2. Heat

2.1) How hot is it in the volcano?

The temperature reaches about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 37 degrees Celsius.

By the way, that's terribly unrealistic; real volcanoes have magma with temperatures ranging from 1292-2282 degrees Fahrenheit (700-1250 degrees Celsius), which would make the surrounding air temperature extremely hot and unbearable to be in. Little research has been done on this, but intense heat from flowing lava has been felt inside a helicopter 200-400 meters away.

2.2) Is this bad for my creatures?

The heat itself is probably not bad in the short term, but your creature may complain of hotness, and will probably begin to require something to drink after not too long. Other long-term effects might occur due to dehydration or heat.

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Subject: 3. Radiation

3.1) I heard the volcano is radioactive - is that true?

Indeed it is. If you use the Ecology Kit, you will find an option that lets you check the level of radioactivity in the world. Probably the only area that will show any radiation is the volcano.

It's worth noting that in real life, volcanoes aren't generally radioactive. Eruptions are caused by reactions of radioactive elements deep in the earth (which produce heat and force), but the levels of radioactivity within volcanoes aren't significant. You've got far more to worry about from any magma or heat that might be present.

3.2) What will that do to my creatures?

It has been reported to increase mutation rates in offspring whose parents were in the volcano, and also seems to cause direct damage to creatures who are in it for too long. The most noticeable effect is that the "bones" of a creature will die; it's actually the bone marrow that dies - your creature won't fall over suddenly because it has no skeleton! This prevents it from being able to fight off poisoning by heavy metals.

3.3) Is it true that the radioactivity gets worse?

Some people have reported that it does seem to increase over game years, but no one has yet mentioned it reaching high levels.

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Subject: 4. Habitation

4.1) Do any species live in the volcano?

You might think that grendels are intended to live in the volcano, since that's where you find them, but that's just a side effect of where their hatchery is located. They tend to hatch, walk along the platform, and fall off into the volcano. They have no special adaptations to living in the volcano that I've been able to see, and in fact do suffer from radiation poisoning.

4.2) What can I do to improve it as a habitat?

There's not a lot you could do. I have not been able to find any plants - even desert ones - that will grow there; the seeds wither and die. There is no water to counteract the effects of the heat. You could add food and drink vendors, but your creatures would still be affected by the radiation, and would still be uncomfortable from the heat.

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Subject: 5. Flooding

5.1) Some people said they flooded their volcano - how and why?

There is a COB that can be found at Jimbo's Creatures Page that will flood the volcano. It was created by JayD to provide another habitat for the various aquatic or semi-aquatic creatures, like Amphibicreatures, Gill Norns, and MerNorns, to live in - the oceans are rather narrow and cramped. The water stops just inside the door to the base of the volcano, and will not flow out if you open the door.
Volcano flooding COB - Jimbo's Creatures Page:
<http://surf.to/jimbo123/>
Amphibicreatures - Frimlin's Kiwi Creatures:
<http://www.frimlin.co.nz/>
Gill Norns - The Palace of the Evil Shee:
<http://www.shee.demon.co.uk/>
MerNorns:
<http://www.shee.demon.co.uk/>
<http://www.telesouth1.com/~ryouko/creatures/norn.html>

5.2) Won't it still be bad to live in?

No, the COB reduces the temperature to warm but bearable, and removes the radioactivity. You will still need to provide aquatic food sources for the creatures who will live in it, as well as giving them toys to amuse themselves.

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Subject: 6. Name

As far as we can tell, there is no official name for the volcano. Some people from alt.games.creatures have called it various names taken from the Creatures game, from real volcanoes, from mythology, and so forth.

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Subject: 7. Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the following individuals/sites who have helped and contributed to this document:

Gene Marre', who patiently answered my questions about a volcano in a computer game (as well as listening to me babble on about the other aspects of the game); he received his bachelor's degree in geology and geophysics.

The Volcano World site on the University of North Dakota server, for being an excellent resource about volcanoes, and providing answers to visitors' questions from volcanologists from around the world.
Volcano World:
<http://volcano.und.edu/>

Those alt.games.creatures members who took on the task of looking through all the sprite files to see if there were any for an eruption.

JayD (Jay Dino) <jayd@ix.netcom.com> for creating the Volcano-flooding COB.

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Subject: 8. Copyright/Disclaimers

Copyright (C) 1998, 1999 by Denise Voskuil, all rights reserved.

This FAQ may be posted to alt.games.creatures, or to any on-line service or BBS as long as it is posted in its entirety and includes this copyright statement. It may be posted to webpages as well, but the page maintainer should try very hard to keep up with any revisions/changes, so that an outdated FAQ will not be archived. If this is too difficult, a link may be made directly to it at the location specified in the first paragraph of this FAQ.

This FAQ may not be distributed for financial gain.

This FAQ may not be included in commercial collections or compilations without express permission from the author.

The author of this FAQ has merely compiled this information for use by others, and is not responsible for any harm to your creatures, game, or computer through usage of any of the above-referenced information, addons, or programs. If you are having problems with any of the COBs, norns, or programs, please contact the item's creator and not myself. Corrections/additions graciously accepted.