A chemical receptor gene allows an Organ, Tissue or Locus within the norn to be changed based upon the level of a chemical within that norn.
The chemical associated with the receptor is constantly monitored to see if it surpasses a given threshold. When that threshold is reached a formula is calculated from the chemical amount and the result is applied to the Organ, Tissue or Locus selected.
The gene header is the same for all genes.
Defines the area of the norn that will have the result of the receptor formula applied to it. The result applied is a numeric value ranging from 0 through to 255 and its effect is different for each Locus. The following table describes what I believe to be the effects of each individual locus.
| Box 1 | Box 2 | Box 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Brain | Any Brain Lobe | Threshold |
| Still to be investigated. If it allows adjustment to the threshold value of the given brain cell then it opens up a number of possibilities in brain modifications. The threshold is usually statically defined in the brain lobe gene - allowing it to be updated dynamically in this manner could be interesting. | ||
| Leakage | ||
| Still to be investigated. See the threshold comment above. | ||
| Gain | ||
| Still to be investigated. | ||
| Den(x) relax susceptibility | ||
| Still to be investigated. The 'x' represents the dendrite type (0 or 1). See the brain lobe page for details on dendrite types. | ||
| Den(x) relax STW | ||
| Still to be investigated. | ||
| Den(x) relax LTW | ||
| Still to be investigated. | ||
| Den(x) strength gain rate | ||
| Still to be investigated. | ||
| Den(x) strength loss rate | ||
| Still to be investigated. I believe all these Den(x) parameters allow dynamic changing of the various options available in the dendrite sections of the brain lobes. This could allow some interesting modifications to learning and reinforcement based upon external factors to the norn. | ||
| Chemical n | ||
| Where 'n' is a value from 0 to 3. Still to be investigated but like the above I believe it will change the amount of the particular brain chemical for the given lobe. | ||
| Cell(n) State | ||
| Represents the state value of the given cell in the brain lobe. See the brain lobe page for details on brain cells. | ||
| Creature | Somatic |
Become a child |
| Changes the life stage of the norn to that of 'child'. The current norn genome sets this at a default value until aging chemical hits a certain level then it will drop to zero. From this I assume that a zero value indicates it has reached this particular life stage. To be investigated further. | ||
| Become adolescent | ||
| See above. | ||
| Become youth | ||
| See above. | ||
| Become adult | ||
| See above. | ||
| Become old | ||
| See above. | ||
| Become senile | ||
| See above. | ||
| Die of old age | ||
| See above. | ||
| Circulatory | Floating recip-emit n | |
| A floating recip-emit is a place that a receptor can use for storing a data value from 0-255 which an emitter can then use for any purpose. It's a means of linking a receptor directly to an emitter without going through a brain lobe. There are up to eight of these numbered from 0-7 (the 'n'). The life kit norns use this for the hunger/glycogen equation. See the notes section at the end of this page for a description of this mechanism. | ||
| Reproductive | Become fertile if high | |
| In the C1 genome this tracks the Oestrogen or Testosterone (Females and Males respectively) chemical exactly. To be investigated (but probably means the obvious). | ||
| Receptive to sperm if >0 | ||
| If greater than zero then the norn is receptive to sperm. In the C1 genome it is linked to sex drive for females. From what I understand this is always greater than zero as a result of the receptor in the C1 genome. To be investigated. | ||
| Immune | Die if non-zero | |
| If the value of this is ever non-zero the norn will die. In the various life kit genomes it is linked to the aging chemical. When the chemical is lower than a certain value the norn will die. | ||
| Sensorimotor | Involuntary Action n | |
| Where 'n' is a number from 0 through to 7. Activates the particular involuntary action. To be investigated. | ||
| <normal walk gait (do not use)> | ||
| To be investigated. | ||
| Special gait n | ||
| Where 'n' is a number from 1 through to 7. To be investigated. | ||
| Drive Levels | Drive Lobe | |
| Allows setting of the drive level for a norn. In the C1 genome this is set to match the particular drive chemical exactly. |
The formula for calculating the value that the locus will be set to for Analogue receptors is:
Nominal + (((ChemicalAmount - Threshold) * Gain/255) * R)
Where R is 1 if 'Output Reduces with increased stimulation' is not checked and -1 if it is checked. So the nominal will be reduced or increased based upon this flag.
The formula for calculating the value that the locus will be set to for Digital receptors is:
Nominal + ((ChemicalAmount > Threshold ? Gain : 0) * R)
So if the chemical amount is greater than the threshold then the locus setting will be the Nominal amount increased or decreased by the Gain depending on the setting of 'R'. If it is not greater than the threshold then the locus setting will be equivalent to Nominal.
I've found that the norn genome has become much clearer to me now that I understand exactly how the receptor is calculated. And the possibility of dynamically modifying the various settings of the brain lobes leads to some interesting areas as well.
Using the information above I examined how the new hunger/glycogen reaction works in the life kit norns. Using a receptor the glycogen chemical is attached to floating recep-emitter number 2 (FRE-2). The settings for this emitter make FRE-2 exactly equal to the amount of glycogen chemical. So a value of 100 glycogen will cause a value of 100 FRE-2.
The hunger emitter gets it's input from FRE-2. It is an analogue emitter with a sample rate of 5, a gain of 2, a threshold of zero and it is inverted.
This means that approximately every half second or so the hunger chemical is increased by an amount equal to:
(255 - GlycogenAmount) * 2/255
So high glycogen means that hunger will not be increased. Glycogen has to be lower than about 100 before hunger is adjusted to any great degree. So if you don't want your norns to be hungry, keep their glycogen levels high.