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A.I. Pets: Your Guide to the World of Breedables
Second Culture
Pet Owner’s guide to the virtual pet world by River Stromfield
L
indens make the world go round and so do the ways we find to spend them. It seems that for some of us no matter what life we are in, having something to take care of other than ourselves is a natural thing to want. With that in mind there are many entrepreneurial spirits that have created some fantastic and interesting “pets” that we can freely spend our lindens on to our nurturing heart’s content. The pet world of SL contains two major types: breedables and non-breedables. For those of you who simply want an aesthetically pleasing and non-maintenance pet, non-breedables are the way to go, but for those of us that want a little adventure, the world of breedables await. Breedables are vast and extremely diverse, cultivating an appeal to the masses. A first time buyer is faced with many options just as they would if taking on a real life pet. The one thing a potential buyer of any breedable should understand is that it requires work and responsibility since breedables are based off of their real life counter parts. The first thing any potential buyer should do is look around, see what’s out there and find the pet that fits best. To help you sort through and maybe even cut down on your own research, here is a quick look at some of the most popular pets SL has to offer.
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Petable Turtle Petable turtles were thought up and created by Matthew Anthony and Grim Hathor. They are only 5 prims, can go free range with no caging needed, grow from an egg to a full adult in 7 days, eat, sleep and can even die from starvation. Anyone can receive a free HUD which shows general info, appearance, family linage and breeder information at your convenience. Family linage plays a big part in determining many things about these turtles hence the breedable aspect, however the breeds that you can create do not relate to real life turtles. The genetics of each turtle is based off of a card system of probability which can produce rare genetic qualities of glow, shine or glow and shine combos. The percentages of glow and shine of each turtle can be seen with the HUD. The Petable turtle team releases “rare” or special turtles frequently and as a breeder you can even create your very own breeds through calculated breeding. So if you are a reptile lover these widely diverse creatures may be for you.
Ozimals Bunny The Ozimals Bunny is the brainchild of Candy Cerveau and Malkavyn Eldritch. The bunnies, unlike the Petable turtles, come in several real life breeds that contain many ear types, eye colors and coat types. These bunnies have no HUD; instead, a list of statistics is provided above each bunny’s head supplying you with a heap of useful information at your fingertips. The statistics list includes bunny version, owner, gender, age, generations, happiness, hunger, thirst, love and energy. Knowing and understanding the basic needs of your bunny will prevent any accidental “hibernations” or in other words deaths. These bunnies require sleep, food, water, can hop freely with little to no caging, and you are even given the option to hold your lovely rabbit. The genetics of each bunny is passed on through generations which can bring about the expression of recessive traits that your bunny carries. These recessive genes play a large part in determining your chance of breeding an “elite” or rare bunny that is only possible in the 13th, 14th, and 15th generations. The Ozimals Bunny is by far the most realistic advanced A.I. pet that is on the SL grid at the moment.
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sionChicken The sionChicken was created by Sion Zaius and unlike any other breedable, they require a region which has a natural daytime/night time setting which will allow the chickens to sleep at night time. These chickens reach full maturity in 14 days, can go free range with no need to be cooped, reach a natural death in 1 year, require space to mate and should be kept in low numbers due to lag concerns. Just like all other breedables, the sionChickens have many different races and colors; making them very different in their looks compared to their real life counterparts. The chickens can be originals, new waves, scarces or ancients with the latter two being rare breeds. One very interesting fact about the sionChicken is that deaths can occur by other sionChickens. Roosters are designed to be angry by nature and because of this killings of other chickens located in the same coop can and may happen. Toys can be placed in coops to alleviate the deaths of other chickens due to fighting. The sionChickens have been around the SL grid for a while and are probably one of the best well known breedables.
PinkyPigs PinkyPigs were created by Raymond Algoma and Lexxure Lock. The pigs live for 3 months, are 11 prims each, make cute piggy noises, require a HUD, food, a healing kit and like any pig; a mud pit for happiness. Maturity of each pig is reached in 14 days and can be bred for their colored spots that are a mix of both parents; the pigs themselves are pink. One major difference that the PinkyPigs bring to the world of breedables is their unique HUD. The HUD shows the following statistics; stats, trade/sell, vendor check, teleport to pig, rerez pig, delete pig and a button to close the HUD. Due to the uniqueness of the HUD your pigs should never be taken into your inventory at any time simply because there is no need to. Your pigs are registered directly to your HUD as you buy them or as they are born; storing all of your PinkyPigs info quickly and efficiently. For those of you who want a lower maintenance pet with a shorter life span than most others, the PinkyPig would be a perfect match for you.
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XS Cactus and XS Quail Both of these breedables are spawned from the imagination of Xundra Snowpaw. So far all of the breedables mentioned have been for pet lovers; this one however is for those of you with a virtual green thumb. The XS Cactus is a breedable plant which takes 2 days to reach maturity and will flower every few days producing a cactus seed. The cacti themselves are 2 prims each, do not have to be potted as they can grow anywhere, can be taken directly into your inventory without causing harm and can stay in your inventory indefinitely without the need for watering. The seeds that are produced are 1 prim each, must be placed in bags before being moved or taken into your inventory, can be stored indefinitely and with the purchase of a cactus seed processor can be turned into food for the XS Quails. The cacti have various levels of rare breeds; with a total of 5 levels, where level 5 cacti are the rarest breed possible and specials are also released seasonally. The XS Quail is a breedable bird that is 10 prims each and like any other breedable can be bred for color. They take 7 days to reach maturity, make cute chirp like sounds, can be made non-physical to reduce lag, can have glow or shine qualities like the Petable turtles mentioned above and when clicked display floating stats. Unlike the cacti, the quails should never be taken directly into your inventory as they should be boxed first to prevent harm. However once safely boxed they can be stored in your inventory indefinitely just like the cacti, which is one fact that I love about these two breedables. The quails require food that you can either buy or process yourself and have no need to be caged as they can roam freely. These two XS breedables are definitely worth a look as Xundra has created a unique idea that optimizes your cactus seed overflowl if any and cut down on food cost for anyone looking to create a self sustaining breedable cactus or quail farm.
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Breedable Markets Now that you have gained a little knowledge on a few of the top breedables out there, the next step for any potential buyer would be to see these items up close and personal. Breedable markets are everywhere and pretty easy to find once you start looking. These markets can be breedable specific or contain a little of everything, prices are always competitive, so always check more than one seller to get the best bang for your buck. With that in mind here are a few markets that you might want to check out. Forest Friends Market A place for you to buy and sell all breedables.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Serenity%20Lake/129/128/21
Turtle XChange Market & Orphanage Provides all breedables, but only live turtles can be out in pens.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Seyfert/29/189/33
Bunny Wonderland Market Provides all breedables, but primarily has Ozimals bunnies.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Zeta/192/205/22
The Farm Contains all breedables with a live barn.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Farm/128/128/21
Turtle & Bunny Bay Market Contains all breedables and provides competitively priced stalls for breedables and breedable product vendors.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rebels%20Haven/75/196/22
As you’ll to see some breedables have reached success overnight; quickly covering the SL grid while others are still slowly on the rise. Either way one thing is certain, the A.I. pets of SL have reached a whole new level.
Article by River Stromfield | Page design by Aceius Hax