Niche Scruff carrying

[Deathpelt]

I think that like cats and dogs in real life, Nichelings should be able to hold their kits in their mouths. The baby could be carried as soon as it is born, and can be carried up until two gems. Maybe also big bodied or large bodied creatures could carry lean bodied creatures like how in the wild sometimes animals will carry the weaker members of their packs or family. It would really help out when you have this one baby that runs out of energy before making it to the port, and you can just pick them up and leave the island. It would also make it easier so that the blue birds couldn't reach the baby.  

- Niches can only carry their babies till 2 gems!

- Babies that are carried up until two gems will not grow, and the child may take slight damage due to not being able to grow. They will be dropped onto available tiles next to the mother, if none than baby will stop growing until put down. 

- You CANNOT do anything besides walking when holding a kit in its mouth.

- Rare chance that a bluebird may still attack a scruff carried nicheling, however parent can fight back. 

[Dr. Nearo]

Perhaps the act of picking up the pup/kit would not take an action, but the adult would drop them into an adjacent tile immediately after moving? I also like the idea of applying this to larger nechelings somehow, like being able to drag another a tile, or at reduced speed.

[Ancestor Nature]

On 5/12/2018 at 9:33 AM, AlphaBlox said:

@Philo I thought that  idea of it just not growing up if all spaces are occupied was a good idea. I think Deathpelt mentioned that in the original post.

I think this would be the best solution.

[Tayinky]

Cute idea, hope it gets implemented

[Mikeypolly]

Yessssssss

[Zixvir]

derp snout shouldn't be able to carry kids because it is deformed

[Lilytuft]

7 hours ago, Zixvir said:

derp snout shouldn't be able to carry kids because it is deformed

Interesting idea!

[Mulan the Cat]

What about this:

Some head types give the option of 'carrying'. Not all of them, but the ones that would make sense. For example, beak wouldn't but purr snout would. 

It costs one action point to pick up a baby/child. You can set them down on a free tile next to you for one action point. While carrying the child you have:

-2 speed (min 1)

-2 swimming (min 1)

-3 flying

And any strength, collecting, cracking, distasteful appearance and so on you get from your head and paw genes would be rendered useless. You'd still have purring or cold resistance.  

The child has:
Warmed up by pack

+1 defense

And can be carried around

Bluebirds won't attack but other predators can still kill the child. 

[Rainwater]

I think big-bodied teens should be able to carry lean-bodied or non big-bodied kids too.

[Sky]

3 hours ago, Rainwater said:

I think big-bodied teens should be able to carry lean-bodied or non big-bodied kids too.

To me, the size difference isn't quite big enough for that.

[Kira.APK]

YAS 

[Sky]

BUMP

[BasicDemon]

if only this existed when a random bearyena showed up beside my poor child, oh well, kewl idea

[Cloude]

On 5/2/2018 at 12:59 AM, Philo said:

I wonder though:
What happens if the baby in your mouth is supposed to grow up the next morning ^^?
Maybe the mom could drop it on a fields, somwhere around her. But what if all fields are already occupied?

 

 

On 5/2/2018 at 1:24 AM, Jojo said:

Death and Destruction!! No good questions mother dropping child is of course logical and either one creature moves out of the way automaticly, the child never grows up (same when you keep the mother on the nest) until you drop it and there is also space or you simply cannot move a creature a specific tile next to the mother (let's say her front) when the baby is supposed to grow up and be dropped.

I mean with the merging glitches we already have just having the creatures merge seems a good option

The child would take damage from not being able to grow, and the carrier would take damage from carrying such a heavy nicheling. They continue taking damage until you clear a tile for the child.

[BasicDemon]

On 5/2/2018 at 4:24 AM, Jojo said:

Death and Destruction!! No good questions mother dropping child is of course logical and either one creature moves out of the way automaticly, the child never grows up (same when you keep the mother on the nest) until you drop it and there is also space or you simply cannot move a creature a specific tile next to the mother (let's say her front) when the baby is supposed to grow up and be dropped.

I mean with the merging glitches we already have just having the creatures merge seems a good option

it seems someone was bored lol

[Sky]

bump

[FawnCat]

I really need this.

[MT26 - A Nicheling]

Yes, I hate when my babies or slow nichelings stay behind. I would like to carry them.

(Also bump because it is related to my new body genes thing)

[saphirascale]

On 5/2/2018 at 1:59 AM, Philo said:

I wonder though:
What happens if the baby in your mouth is supposed to grow up the next morning ^^?
Maybe the mom could drop it on a fields, somwhere around her. But what if all fields are already occupied?

 

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Are you talking about a situation like where she's surrounded by bushes and there's nichelings on the tiles surrounding the entrance to that clearing? I would say forcing the nichelings to move a space away. If she's on a tile surrounded by water, then the baby should just fall into the water. I feel like if she drops the baby into the water or next to a predator then it's just a factor of the game. The niches don't have that much artificial intelligence in the first place, and it's not like animal mothers don't sacrifice their children to save themselves. 

Alternatively, you could just allow a feature for "crowded" where she shares the same spot as her child, but they're uncomfortable. As others have said, make someone hurt by it. Maybe mom hurts her neck from the weight of her child, or the child is old enough that it fights its own mother to be let loose. It wouldn't be that different from having a baby nestled into its mother as you have when she gives birth, would it? Just make them share the same hexagon if it's that big of a deal and put a drawback to it if they share it overnight.

You might want have her drop the cub overnight anyways. It's not like mothers hold their child for the entire day, it's really only for spurts. She grabs her cub next to her, carries it a few hexagons away, then drops that cub on a hexagon next to her in the same turn. She has one gem left for action. She couldn't have gotten into that spot without their being a viable path in the first place, so there will always be an available place for her cub to land.

As far as bluebirds go, it should protect the child from predation. I also like the pouch idea, but I wonder if it will have a more realistic implementation (animal does not need to make a nest as it raises its baby in its pouch, and perhaps it wouldn't be allowed to swim with its baby) or if its just a special body that both males and females could have, as per the kangaroo fantasy on TV.

[MT26 - A Nicheling]

I’m bored so I did this

[Chiyanna]

This is a good suggestion! I think movement on land and water should eb reduced and other things along the line of @Mulan the Cat's post:
 

On 11/2/2019 at 12:49 PM, Mulan the Cat said:

What about this:

Some head types give the option of 'carrying'. Not all of them, but the ones that would make sense. For example, beak wouldn't but purr snout would. 

It costs one action point to pick up a baby/child. You can set them down on a free tile next to you for one action point. While carrying the child you have:

-2 speed (min 1)

-2 swimming (min 1)

-3 flying

And any strength, collecting, cracking, distasteful appearance and so on you get from your head and paw genes would be rendered useless. You'd still have purring or cold resistance.  

The child has:
Warmed up by pack

+1 defense

And can be carried around

Bluebirds won't attack but other predators can still kill the child. 

And you can't do other moves such as attack, pick berries ect like this person suggested:

 

On 4/29/2018 at 1:09 PM, wolfhowlmay said:

Yeah I like Jojo's idea of reducing speed so there's some type of negative to it, another idea could be that you can't do other actions while carrying the baby besides moving, so no attacking or picking from berry bushes, that way a player wouldn't just constantly carry pups until they reach the age where birds can attack them unless they were already planning on having the creature be idle and sit next to the baby. also the baby should still be able to be attacked when being held. I really really like the idea of being able to carry babies and I think all creatures should be able to do it, it would make gameplay more realistic since in the wild creatures do carry their young all the time. 

And finally, as regards to big body creatures being able to pick up lean-bodied ones. Maybe big-body (or any creature with an equivalent or bigger size body) creatures can pick up 2-gemed nichelings. Or mayeb just 2-gemed lean body/normal body nichelings. They would also have less movement when picking up a two-gemed nicheling than even babies, like -3 movement on land an inability to fly/swim. Two-gemed child picked up by big-body adult should still have +1 warmth or maybe 2 and maybe only 1 or even 0 defense.

Even if big-body nichelings get to pick up no extra nichelings, this idea is a good idea in it's own right. And yeah creatures with bird beak and maybe bat face shouldn't be able to pick up their offspring, only those with some sort of snout/mouth that could actually realistically do so.