Wallbonk


 * v. wall*bonked, wall*bonk*ing, wall*bonks


 * v. intr. To collide against a wall or similar object: The Norn wallbonked as he tried to get the toy two rooms away.


 * n. A hollow thud made when a Norn makes contact with a wall or similar object.

Wallbonking is a frustrating occurance in every Creatures game, where a creature (usually a Norn) will repeatedly attempt to walk into a wall, despite their initial failure to pass through to the other side. This is especially common behavior in Creatures 1 and Creatures 2. In C2, it may be an indicator that the creature in question suffers from OHSS.

The problem is mainly caused by incorrect values in the turning response to collision with a wall. The chemical (one of two responsible for the turning response) was released in a large quantity with too long a half life, leading to the Norn turning 360 degrees to face the wall it had just walked into.

For Creatures 2, JayD made a version of the Canny Norns with some tweaks to fix wallbonking. Venithil theorizes that JayD's anti-wallbonking instincts are processed differently when transplanted to Nova Subterra or Kannova Norn brains, leading to those creatures seeking out wallbonking.Source. A fix for wallbonking in Creatures 2 finally came in the form of GimmeCat's Stop Wallbonking! COB, which focuses on scripts rather than genetics. An additional fix is the Friendly Walls COB also by GimmeCat which gently moves certain objects away from walls.

Wallbonking is mostly harmless to Norns, but if they do it excessively they may injure themselves. Also, constant wallbonking within C3/DS may indicate a brain defect, such as being a right walker.