I always enjoy seeing your posts on HN; I'm honored that you played the early versions of SA (and admittedly a little embarrassed at how rough & unpolished it was back then).
Really appreciate the kind words, means a lot coming from you -- thank you!
I don't remember if we actually shipped it or not, maybe it was only on a beta branch (or maybe it's sitting on a git branch still), but I actually implemented an "infectious disease" concept at one point. I think the idea at the time was for it to be a holiday "easter egg" maybe, but I don't recall for sure. I do vividly recall testing it one morning, though, and I had the "contagion" values (way) too high. I'm pretty sure the concept was wholly taken from Theme Park, where I recall one post-coaster puking agent could yield a rapid mess. The day I was testing my copy, I ended up making a video of the hilarity that ensued when a single infected passenger deplaned and suddenly there were hundreds (maybe thousands) of agents (passengers) all "stumbling around" spreading the ultra-contagious disease like wildfire, making a disgusting sound & leaving the floors covered with ick. I'll have to search the repo history -- maybe it's worth revisiting!
A disease tycoon, eh? Like SimAnt, but on a wholly different scale? =D
Would love to connect if you're ever in Vegas! Thanks again for the kind words, makes my day & sincerely means a lot to me. :)
You could modulate the emergent vomit waves moving through huge crowds of people with a short refractory period before being able to throw up again, and tune it to produce the beautiful spiraling patterns of Belousov–Zhabotinsky reactions:
>Margolus and Toffoli make a interesting simile between the Zhabotinsky reaction and a reef of tubeworms. When a tubeworm feels safe, it sticks a plume out of its shell to seine the water for food. If a feeding tubeworm senses any disturbance nearby (e.g. the presence of several other feeding tubeworms), it retracts its plume and waits for a few cycles before feeding again.
I always thought SimAnt should be an MMPORG!
Then the ants could catch Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis Sensu Lato fungal infections, and turn into infectious zombies!
Three-dimensional visualization and a deep-learning model reveal complex fungal parasite networks in behaviorally manipulated ants:
One of the first downloadable objects for The Sims was a guinea pig (which was later included with Livin' Large), which included a communicable disease that could spread between characters, and even kill them:
>Guinea Pig Disease is introduced in Livin' Large. Sims can catch it if they are bitten by a guinea pig that has a dirty cage, or from other Sims who have been infected with the disease. Objects cloned from the guinea pig can also cause this disease. Sims infected with Guinea Pig Disease will sneeze and cough frequently, and their Comfort and Energy motives will rapidly decline. An infected Sim will die if not treated within time.
>Due to a glitch, a Sim who dies from Guinea Pig Disease cannot be successfully resurrected by the Grim Reaper. Once they are restored to life they will immediately die again.[1]
>Each instance of Guinea Pig Disease is restricted to the lot the Sim was infected on, so an infected Sim will not display symptoms, be infectious, or die outside of the lot on which they caught the disease. Therefore, a Sim with the disease can safely go to a community lot or be invited to another Sim's house as a visitor. It is possible for a Sim to be infected on multiple lots, however.
>Treatment
>Keep the infected Sim home from work or school and try to keep their Comfort and Energy motives up.
Purchasing The Forgotten Guinea Pig painting will clear the disease from the household after 16 Sim hours.
A Sim who drinks a white potion created with The "Concoctanation Station" chemistry set will be immediately cured of the disease. Additionally drinking a blue potion will restore three random motives which, while not directly curing the disease, can help them to recover from it.
Really appreciate the kind words, means a lot coming from you -- thank you!
I don't remember if we actually shipped it or not, maybe it was only on a beta branch (or maybe it's sitting on a git branch still), but I actually implemented an "infectious disease" concept at one point. I think the idea at the time was for it to be a holiday "easter egg" maybe, but I don't recall for sure. I do vividly recall testing it one morning, though, and I had the "contagion" values (way) too high. I'm pretty sure the concept was wholly taken from Theme Park, where I recall one post-coaster puking agent could yield a rapid mess. The day I was testing my copy, I ended up making a video of the hilarity that ensued when a single infected passenger deplaned and suddenly there were hundreds (maybe thousands) of agents (passengers) all "stumbling around" spreading the ultra-contagious disease like wildfire, making a disgusting sound & leaving the floors covered with ick. I'll have to search the repo history -- maybe it's worth revisiting!
A disease tycoon, eh? Like SimAnt, but on a wholly different scale? =D
Would love to connect if you're ever in Vegas! Thanks again for the kind words, makes my day & sincerely means a lot to me. :)