Introduction [ edit ]

Hello there, I'm Mad_Doodles, and welcome to the world of Creatures 3 & Docking Station (abbreviated to C3DS), a weird and wonderful world where you are charged with looking after the titular creatures that inhabit it.

This year, Creatures 3 is 20 years old. 20! I myself was a mere 6 years old when this game came out and let me tell you, the game has only managed to grow in that time. Over the years the community has pushed this venerable title to new limits and continues to do so to this day.

Now we here in the Creatures Community (CC) love this series, but I'm sure I can speak for all of us when I say it definitely has a few bugs and oversights. This guide is here to help! Many of the advancements the community has made have fixed bugs, gotten broken mechanics working again, and even added more depth with just a few key changes to the original code (never mind the brand new add-ons that have been created)!

Another important thing to note about this guide is that it should be considered a “living” document, and as such it will be continually updated with new information, different add-ons, all that lovely jazz.

Getting Started [ edit ]

This guide will be assuming you're running Creatures Exodus on Windows 10, which you can buy from GoG here. The process of installing the game and add-ons is much the same regardless of the version you are playing.

When installing Creatures Exodus, it is very important that you install the game to (Drive Letter):\Documents\Creatures. This is not the default setting, which is unfortunate as not doing this will cause some strange behaviour, largely the game being unable to find the files it requires to run certain add-ons! For this reason, if you intend to use GoG Galaxy, I would highly recommend installing the game through the standalone .exe file. This is what the installer should look like before hitting install:

After you have done this, you can point GoG Galaxy to the correct folder. It is also recommended you install the Creatures Remastered Patch if you intend to run 3rd party programs in the future, such as the Genetics Kit.

IMPORTANT NOTE: At the time of writing there appears to be an issue with the GoG Standalone version of the installer. This will point almost all registries to /documents/creatures / instead of the correct location. The only way to fix this appears to be editing the registry.

We’re nearly done with the bare minimum setup. At this point Creatures 3 will be playable, but not Docking Station? Why’s this? Sadly the official servers were shut down a long time ago, and originally DS required an account to even get into the game world! Sounds like we’re in more trouble than a Norn in the Jungle Terrarium, right? As you have probably seen a mile away, absolutely not! The industrious folks in the CC have created a workaround, called DS Offline Option (funnily enough). Whilst we are doing this, we will also install Catalogue Tester (available for download here). This add-on will help us make sure everything is installed correctly. Our first add-ons, exciting!

So how do we install these? This process may seem a little daunting at first, but it’s actually super easy. We’ll install Catalogue Tester first as this consists of only one file, Catalogue Test.agents.

First, open up the install location for DS, which should be Documents\Creatures\Docking Station. Then, open up the .zip folder for Catalogue Tester Copy the .agents file over to the “My Agents” folder.

And that’s it, we’ve just installed our first add-on! Normally I would suggest testing it out, but we still cannot get into Docking Station. To fix this we will now install DS Offline Option.

Open up DS OfflineOption.zip You will see the files offlinelogin.c16 and zzz_gamestart_login.cos. Neither of these, as I’m sure you’ve very cleverly worked out, are .agents files! The .c16 file is an image file, and the .cos file contains code. The .c16 file needs to be placed in “Images”. The .cos file, however, must be placed in “Bootstrap\010 Docking Station”. For the above to work, you need to create a new world! And that’s it, we’re all done! The game is now playable. If you are using GoG Galaxy, you will need to select Docking Station from the drop-down menu on the game’s page. If you are launching the game directly, you need to ensure that any shortcuts link to “engine.exe”.

At this point, you will want to boot the game up. You will be prompted to create a new world. After doing so, the game will load and you will start in Docking Station’s Hub, with a window asking you to log in. Obviously, you can’t do this, however, we have added a new button in this window, in between the tick and the cross. This is our “start in offline mode” button!

Once you have clicked that button, you’ll be taken to the Norn Meso, and another window will be presented to you. Select whatever option you want here, although if you’re brand new and intend to play around a while first I would suggest the starter norns. Once you’ve done this navigate back to the Hub, either by clicking on the door on the far right of the middle level or by scrolling with the mouse wheel. In the Hub, click the middle door, and you will be taken to the Comms Room.

Click on the Agent List button, the cube looking icon fourth down in the list, and you will be presented with a list of your current injectable agents. Click on “Catalogue Tester”, and click the big green tick. Soon a window should pop up confirming the game is unpacking Catalogue files in the correct place. If it says it is not, then something has gone wrong with the install, please refer to Common Issues[1] at the end of this guide. Assuming everything has proceeded correctly, congratulations! You’ve just injected your first agent. Give yourself a cookie!

At this point, you can go ahead and play the game for a while if you like. There is one last thing I like to do before playing, however, which will make the experience much more pleasant at modern resolutions. You will want to download an application called Windowed Borderless Gaming. Extract and run the application, then in your toolbar, right click on the application and then “Add Window” whilst running Docking Station (alternatively F3 should work). The game window should lose its borders, at which point you will need to right click on the application again and this time click “Settings>Game Settings”. You should then have a window that looks like this:

Set the resolution to your screen resolution, and I recommend ticking “Manage mouse”. Your game should now automatically run in borderless windowed mode whilst this application is running! If it doesn’t, you will simply need to hit apply again in these settings.

Recommended Fixes and Addons [ edit ]

This part of the guide will list out some recommended mods and agents to improve your play experience. These are split into three categories; Essential, Recommended and Advanced.

Essential add-ons are mods that are considered to fix critical issues and make important improvements within the game, and so this guide will be assuming that you are installing these. You don’t have to of course, but I would highly recommend it.

Recommended add-ons are add-ons that I found interesting and that have been recommended by the wider community. These might be extra tools to make life easier or fun toys for your creatures to play with. Everything here should be considered optional for this guide.

Advanced add-ons are additions that are useful, and even recommended, but are complex to use, very powerful, or require a bit of in-depth setup, or all three! Everything here is also considered optional.

To save space later on, here is a quick rundown of where to install any files you may encounter:

.agents files, the most common, go in “My Agents”

.c16 and .s16 files go in “Images”

.cos files go in “Bootstrap/010 Docking Station” (For Docking Station) or “Bootstrap/ 001 World” (For Creatures 3)

.catalogue files go in “Catalogue”

.wav and .mng files so in “Sounds”

In addition, it is important to install agents to their correct game. If it is marked as C3, the agent must be installed in the Creatures 3 folders. If it is marked DS, it must be installed in the Docking Station folders. If it is marked C3/DS, I would personally install them in Docking Station folders, just to make sure everything is working correctly in a docked world. If for whatever reason you wish to play Creatures 3 standalone, these can be installed to the Creatures 3 folders, as long as they don’t rely on any Docking Station files themselves (and if they do, they should be marked DS anyway!)

If in doubt, the agent’s readme file will likely contain install instructions or a member of the community will more than likely be available to help!

Patches [ edit ]

Breeds [ edit ]

This section of the guide focuses on improved or extra Creatures Breeds you can take care of in your games. Essential Mall Breeds: These are all of the official breeds released for sale by Creature Labs/Gameware, and as of now the community has had multiple blessings to host and release these for free, as they have long since been impossible to buy, or even download officially. - Download: https://eemfoo.org/c3-ds-breed-list/ True Warmblood Creatures 3:

These breeds really are the meat of the game, and essential to this guide’s vision of what this game can be. The vast number of changes and improvements made with these breeds is staggering, building on years of gengineers fixing and tweaking the genetics of Creatures. I would thoroughly recommend reading the list of changes here if you’re curious.

The essential parts of this pack are the official breed replacements. The others are considered recommended for being TWB/TCB. Most of the creatures in this pack will require the originals to have been installed in order to utilise the correct sprites. - Download: https://ccsf2019.home.blog/2019/11/07/ccsf-day-y-twb-and-tcb-update/ Recommended C12DS TWB\TCB Conversions:

If you are a fan of the Creatures 1 Creatures, then these would fit in smashingly with your other TWB\TCB Creatures. You will need to install C12DS in order for the correct sprites to appear. There may also be interbreeding issues between C1 and C3DS Creatures due to body data. - Download: https://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=Breeds&view=548 Advanced TCB Draconian Norns:

These are TCB versions of the Draconian Norns, and they are advanced because Draconian Norns are very fragile as babies. An interesting breed for sure, but definitely more work!

The originals are needed for sprites, but these come with an option for winged Draconians! - Download: https://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=Breeds&view=549

Flora & Fauna [ edit ]

Food [ edit ]

Metarooms [ edit ]

This section of the guide focuses on extra rooms to raise their Creatures in. Recommended C3DS Norngarden 1:

Norngarden is a very popular jungle-like metaroom, and part of the Norngarden series. This room is plenty warm enough for TWB/TCB Creatures and has a lot of food and toys included. - Download: http://norngarden.albia2000.com/downloadng.html DS Terra Pluvialis:

A jungle themed metaroom with a day/night cycle, ecology and original music! - Download: http://www.creatures.org.uk/ccsf2006/news.php?id=1 Advanced C3DS Aquagarden:

Another part of Norngarden, this room is aimed at aquatic Creatures. This room is quite cold in places, and not just the water, so it would need some set up for TWB/TCB Creatures. - Download: http://norngarden.albia2000.com/ng4.html C3DS Artemia Sea:

This is a huge aquatic room with a wide variety of critters. This is a very cold room, however, largely because it is mostly water. Dragoler has currently not made any aquatic TWB breeds but says that they will be made resilient to cold water when she does make them, so this may end up moving to recommended! - Download: https://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=Metarooms&view=137 C3DS Deep Abyss:

This is a deep, dark ocean floor metaroom, once again for aquatic creatures. This room will probably require more food and critters set up in it, hence the advanced tag. - Download: https://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=Metarooms&view=125 DS Chione:

This is an arctic room, complete with freezing temperatures! As well as the temperatures, this room will need considerable set up to get started. - Download: https://grendelman.blogspot.com/p/c3ds-metarooms.html DS Primordia Redux:

This is a metaroom designed as a home for Banshee Grendels. Unfortunately, it is also freezing, so take care with TCB Banshee Grendels. - Download: http://www.ghostfishe.net/bbw/meta_primordia.php DS Random's Room:

Almost a tool more than a metaroom, Random’s Room is a blank, barren room that can be used for all sorts, from agent testing to plain ol’ extra storage. - Download: https://sites.google.com/site/c3dsarchives/archives DS Veridia:

Veridia is a large and friendly metaroom with a large number of plants to be found. It is however lacking food, critters and toys, and many players kill the provided lifts and use Elevines instead due to issues with the lifts. - Download: http://www.creatures.org.uk/ccsf2011/addons.php?id=60

Toys [ edit ]

This section of the guide focuses on additional toys for their Creatures to play with. Recommended C3DS Art Easel:

This agent lets your Creatures express their creative sides! - Download: http://www.creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1420 C3DS Norndolls:

Some cuddly norndolls for Creatures to play with. - Download: Bondi,Harlequin, Purple Mountain C3DS Camera:

A fun camera that produces actual photos! - Download: https://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=466 C3DS Cupid's Lyre:

Having trouble getting your Creatures to breed? Have them play with this toy and they’ll be in the mood and fertile in no time! - Download: https://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1491 C3DS Dummy Portal:

Creates a fake portal for Creatures to push and get their need to explore out of their systems. - Download: https://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=658 C3DS Headball:

A somewhat macabre toy, this ball is made from the head of a Chi-Chi Norn! Touted as good for Grendels, or those nastier norns. - Download: https://web.archive.org/web/20130514205019/http://www.popuptoaster.com/GO/go_objects.shtml C3DS Shee Clock:

A nice little clock your Creatures can interact with, possibly by smashing it! - Download: http://www.creatures.org.uk/ccsf2015/addons.php?id=80 C3DS Substitute Doll:

A nice stuffed toy that provides angry Creatures with a way to redirect their ire. - Download: https://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1769 C3DS Survivor Dolly:

A fun looking toy created as a prize for the 2012 Survivor Game. - Download: https://ccsf2012.blogspot.com/2012/11/ccsf-2012-day-2-survivor-coconut-dolly.html C3DS Tiki-Lantern:

Provides some atmospheric lighting to an area, complete with CAs. - Download: https://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=686 DS Vocab-bot:

This robot toy will teach a random non-noun word to nearby Creatures. They also inject in random colours! - Download: https://naturingnurturing.blogspot.com/2009/11/ccsf-09-releases.html

Common Issues [ edit ]

In this section, you can find a list of common issues that crop up during installation or play. Much like the rest of the guide, this section will be continually updated as new information crops up or new fixes are found, so if you have an issue and can’t see a solution here, please feel free to reach out to the community and we can help, and get this guide updated.

Installation Issues [ edit ]

“When I try to run the game, I get an error box telling me the directory doesn’t exist.” [ edit ]

This is a problem that seems to occur for some people, but not others, and at the time of writing I have no idea what actually causes the issue, unfortunately.

What has happened is that for one reason or another, the registries for the game have pointed to the incorrect directory, usually by adding a space in front of “Creatures”, so it appears as \documents\creatures \ instead of \documents\creatures\. If you have attempted to run the game before fixing this, which is quite likely, the game’s machine.cfg file will also be looking for the incorrect directory.

How to fix:

The registry fix is the most daunting, but it is super easy. However, care should still be taken as the registry is super important to the computer system. You will need to use a registry editor such as the built-in regedit.exe (Windows Key+R, and search for regedit.exe), or another program like O&O RegEditor (which has a much better search function). You then need to search for every instance of creatures and change the incorrect directories. If you need to edit the machine.cfg file, you can open it up in Notepad (I prefer Notepad++), and fix the incorrect directories.

“When I run the Catalogue Tester, it says it cannot extract the catalogue files.” [ edit ]

The game has been installed to the wrong place, please ensure that the game has installed to \documents\creatures\ and not \documents\creatures exodus\ or anywhere else.

Suggestions [ edit ]

As this is a living document, and more mods will come, and more fixes will be found (I'm pretty sure!), I encourage the community to keep giving suggestions for things to add to the guide, and ways to help improve the experience of players new and old!

If you have a suggestion, please drop it here, and let me know!

Thank Yous [ edit ]

Whew! We made it! I want to give a big thank you to everyone who helped me with the guide (with suggestions or poking me to keep at it!), and to all those that have and will contribute to it.

And of course I want to give a huge thank you to the creators of each and every one of these mods, there literally wouldn't be a guide without you and the game would not be in any way the same. You peeps rock!