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Docking Station

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Docking Station

Docking Station Logo

Developer(s) Creature Labs
Publisher(s) Gameware Europe (Original)

Critter Consortium (Steam)

Composer(s) Peter Chilvers
Platform(s) Linux, Windows
Release March 27, 2001 (Original)

December 7, 2021 (Steam)

Docking Station (DS) is a game in the Creatures series, set on the Lone Shee's spaceship named the Capillata. The game is recognised for its online networking capability, which was a first for the Creatures series (see DS Server). Docking Station was launched in March 2001.

Docking Station can be be downloaded for free on Windows and Linux, or purchased as part of Creatures Exodus for Mac OS X. To play the game online, registration for a free Docking Station ID is required, but this is not currently possible due to the server being offline. However, the online features of Docking Station can be reactivated by using a third-party server, such as Natsue Warp. To play the game offline, you will need a login disabler such as the DS Offline Option.

Creatures Docking Station gets its name from the fact it can be docked with the retail Creatures 3 to make the world even larger. In addition, third-party metarooms are available for download, along with many new breeds, both officially and fan designed. Each of the official breeds has an entry in the Docking Station Story.

Docking Station features an improved version of the Creatures Evolution Engine including the NetBabel protocol, which is responsible for internet-based things such as the warp. Some agents are specifically designed to work only with DS, while others require Creatures 3 to be installed if they use scripts or sprites from it.

Want to know who was involved in making Docking Station? Read the credits!












Gameplay[edit]

Players, represented by the Hand, can either create a new world or select one from previously saved worlds. Creating a new world prompts a login to the servers. Although the official servers are down, the Natsue Warp replaces the original warp servers, re-enabling online features within Docking Station (An instructional tutorial is available here). Creating an offline world requires a login disabler. After logging in, the Hand will appear in the Norn Meso region, next to the muco egg layer. Subsequently, another dialogue box will emerge, offering choices such as receiving a pre-trained adult Chichi norn couple, laying two random eggs through Muco, or directly proceeding into the game.

After making a selection, the player and their creatures are free to explore the Capillata, which comprises of four metarooms. The creatures must learn to cater to their fundamental needs. The Hand can communicate with the creatures, teaching them new vocabulary and striving to interact with them. In addition, vocabulary can be taught by using the Holistic Learning Machine. The Hand has the ability to reward or punish a creature by either petting or slapping it. The Hand can lead a creature around by using the right-click, while shift-right-click picks the creature up. The creatures can be left entirely on their own, and the process of finding out which creatures are smart enough to survive by themselves is known as a 'wolfling run'. The creatures have the capacity to mate with each other, resulting in offspring that inherit a combination of their parents' genomes.

Players can watch and interact with their creatures in the base game, or they can opt to download additional metarooms, agents, and breeds developed by the Creatures Community. Through the Docking Station server, players can chat with other players and warp creatures out to them.

Rooms[edit]

The Norn Meso

The game is quite small, and docking with Creatures 3 or adding third-party metarooms is a must in order to create a reasonably large world to play in. Included Metarooms are:

  • Norn Meso - The main area of Docking Station, where you can play with and care for your norns. Contains Muco (the egg layer) and the Holistic learning machine, along with many food sources.
  • Comms Room - A metaroom where it is possible to communicate with other online players, add new agents and tweak various aspects of the current world.
  • Workshop - The entry point for the warp via the Containment Chamber, and where Warp Portals can be created and/or configured. The lower level also contains a teleporter, allowing easy access to other areas of the ship.
  • Hub - A central room that connects the other three, allowing travel between them. This room also houses the Electro-Lift to the Creatures 3 ship in docked worlds.

To see third-party metarooms, check out Category:Unofficial_Metarooms!

Agents[edit]

Agents of note include:

To see more, including free addon agents made by fans, check out Category:DS Agents!

Breeds[edit]

The Chichi Norn is included in Docking Station.

The original version of Docking Station included only the ChiChi Norn Norn Breed. The installation of Creatures 3 provides the player access to three additional norn breeds, as well as Ettins and Grendels. Except for those listed under 'Free DLC' and 'Creatures 3 breeds', all breeds are included with the release of Docking Station on Steam. You can download the DLC breeds from here.

Free Breeds[edit]

Free DLC[edit]

Creatures 3 Breeds[edit]

There are also many third-party breeds available for free download.
See Category:C3/DS Breeds for a listing of breeds for DS!

Key characters in the DS storyline[edit]

Game information[edit]

Related links[edit]

External links[edit]