Greater Seal
Before you rez out or initialize Greater Seals, first rez the latest Seal Data Center, which is available for free in the "Cosmetics & Freebies" part of the Greater Seal vendor.
* The "Winter Season" includes December and January
* The increased price of the Greater Seal starters (L$99 individually) reflects the gross amount of effort and costs associated with the product. Whereas most of the other plants and pets contain a hundred or so mutations, the Greater Seals possess over five hundred (not including the usual v18 particle effects), including new lines of Traits and boatloads of gorgeous eye-candy =)
* The Greater Seals can accept snail and fairy magic, converting it into energy for your Summoning Circle. The Seal Data Center replaces the Dummy Portal and any need for Embers for people that were only using a Dummy Portal/Embers to absorb snail energy and prevent the spam associated with it. The Seal Data Center also provide the F+ bonus that the Greater Seals would usually be providing; one source providing the bonus is better than a hundred seals all spamming it for no reason.
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The Greater Seals have a v19 Data Center similar to the Drops, and download their texture UUIDs and particle effects from the Center. This means that, barring a serious system fault, you'll likely never need to update your Greater Seals. They will simply download seasonal mutations from a new Data Center as they are released. This Data Center is vital to a Seal's setup and reproduction and is 100% necessary to have rezzed out somewhere in your garden in order for Seals to initialize and make new Seals. Do NOT begin attempting to start/rez your Seals before putting out a Seal Data Center.
Annnnnnd, with the introduction of the Data Center, the Seals use only two scripts. They are incredibly lightweight, and do very little in the background. All of their UUIDs and particle effects are streamed directly to the Greater Seal from the Data Center. They have unique channels for reproduction and contact with the Data Center so that they don't slow down the rest of your garden.
Colors displayed on Greater Seals are slightly staggered in tint, creating a pretty layered effect when it comes to some colors. Some very pale colors, however, may appear slightly odd due to the staggering of hues and the limitation reached when the colors cap out at a white vector. It's all working as intended.
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If it isn't obvious, I just love the magical circles =P I enjoy working on them so much that I decided to make a better one. One with more options and more mutations to play with. Each and every texture had to be remade for a new template with more layers, making it a time-consuming (and costly) process.
"Why didn't you just update the Magic Circles to all of this instead of a new product!#%^*(#@????"
Well, for starters, I had to remake every texture. Every texture? Yes, every single texture. All six hundred or so (650 and counting) of them. They all had to be repositioned and designed to fit how I wanted them to on the layers. Obviously some of them will still be similar. It wasn't a simple matter of just stretch-or-shrink, parts of the textures had to be cut out and remade to make it all work. And since I had to remake every single texture, that means I had to to re-upload every texture and index all new UUIDs (again, 650 of them) to work into the system. It would have taken longer, and been significantly more of a headache, to manually replace every single texture than it would have to start fresh and just copy/paste the new ones into new lists for a new product.
And of course I love glowy, rainbowy circles. Did I mention that? The Greater Seals do NOT replace the Magic Circles; they are entirely separate plants and different systems.
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NEW MECHANIC: "Extraction"
WARNING: Any use of Extraction on a Greater Seal will consume the Seal, destroying it in the process no matter whether it is successful or not. While using Extraction/Imbuing may be an excellent way to create beautiful Seals, it will inevitably result in quite a few lost Seals before the process is successful. Consider yourselves warned.
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Greater Seals are tied to Witch's Bottles, which can be used to draw magical Mutations and Traits out of Greater Seals to imbue them into other Greater Seals, potentially creating very rare combinations. Any Seal with a Mutation or Trait gains access to the "Extract" blue-menu option, which permanently destroys the Seal for a chance to store one of its Mutations or Traits within a Witch's Bottle (sold separately, and reusable).
However, it is not guaranteed. The rarer the Seal, the more likely it is that the Witch's Bottle can successfully draw the magic out of the Seal and store it for later use. On a failed attempt, the Seal is still destroyed and the magic is wasted. If successful, the Witch's Bottle holds onto the magic until you choose a new Seal to try to imbue the magic into. Likewise, the more rare the imbued Seal is, the more likely it is to absorb the magic and successfully gain the stored Mutation or Trait.
The base chance of Extraction and Imbuing is 20% (~one in five chance). In many cases, the attempt will fail, but if you are lucky you may be able to pluck an important mutation off of an otherwise bland Seal and add it to an already worthwhile target, making it even more valuable in the process. This can be used to over-write unwanted Mutations with better ones.
Witch's Bottles can be traded. However, the volatile nature of the Extraction and Imbuing process means that you may purchase a Bottle that may fail to pass on the intended Mutation or Trait. It's always a gamble.
A "❖" will appear in the buff-tray of the Seal's hovertext to show whether the Seal gained its magic naturally, or through manipulation. This has no effect on the pet or its seedlings; it is only to show which rare Seals got their mutations without Imbuing.
[Butterfly's extended thoughts on Extract/Imbuing can be found at the end of this document]
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The Greater Seals have separated their Body Mutations from their Traits. Traits are now a separate category, allowing for more combinations of pretty mutations without losing out on important functional qualities. Greater Seals also have three categories of visible mutations; Inner Circle, Middle Circle, and Outer Circle. This is in addition to any Particle mutations.
Traits, Particles, and three sections of visible Mutations gives you five different categories of mutations to strive for. For example, you can potentially get a "Behemoth / ITechA / MTechA / OTechA / Sparkles" Seal with five mutations~
Due to the lengthy nature of having five mutation slots, the name of the Greater Seal offspring has been shortened to {P} instead of {Papillon} in order to save characters; SL has a hard-limit on how many characters can be in an object's name, and it would otherwise clip off the "GSeal" searchable tag, and even the particle name in some cases.
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A Greater Seal's base 'type' is separated into three pieces:
There are 26 primary types (A to Z)
There are 26 secondary types (A to Z)
There are 26 tertiary types (A to Z)
Your Greater Seal will display the type as "⌘-AAA" to "⌘-ZZZ" for ~17,500 combinations of visible base Seal types. Rarity increases alphabetically, with "C" being worth more than "B", and so on. As a Seal reproduces, it has the same chance to increase in primary, secondary, and tertiary types as most other pets have for their type, class, etc based on evolution and mutation chances.
The Seal receives a bonus to its chance of Extraction/Imbuing based on Type rarity.
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SIZES
Dwarf -> Diminutive -> Tiny -> Small -> Medium -> Large -> Giant -> Enormous -> Grandiose -> Colossal -> Titanic
Titanic unlocks Mondo
Mondo unlocks Gargantuan
Size affects Imbue chance, with each step adding +1% to the total (+1% for Diminutive, +12% for Gargantuan)
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RADIANCES
Normal -> Muted -> Dull -> Faint -> Soft -> Vivid -> Strong -> Bright -> Intense -> Radiant -> Dazzling -> Luminous
Luminous unlocks Shining
Shining unlocks Sparkling
Radiance affects Extract chance, with each step adding +1% to the total (+1% for Muted, +13% for Sparkling)
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TRAIT MUTATIONS (34 Mutations)
Eternal, Energized, Delicious, Monster, Abundant, Magical, Vibrant, Potent, Hungry, Helpful
Eternal (the plant lasts forever)
Eternal unlocks Incredible (Eternal, Tier is 50% more valuable towards Mutation Chance)
Eternal unlocks Reincarnated (Eternal, Increased Base Tier)
Incredible unlocks Amazing (Incredible, Increased Base %/Day)
Reincarnated unlocks Timeless (Reincarnated, Higher Increased Base Tier, +1% Mutation Chance)
Hungry (Instead of gaining Distortion (Weeds), the Seal gains Growth and %/day)
Hungry can unlock Ravenous (Eternal, Hungry, 25% Faster Tier Gain)
Ravenous can unlock Feasting (Eternal, Ravenous, 50% Faster Tier Gain)
Potent (increased chance of converting fairy magic into energy for the Summoning Circle)
Potent unlocks Powerful (Potent, Slightly Increased Base Tier)
Potent unlocks Fairytale (Eternal, Potent, Slightly increased %/day, Slightly Increased Base Tier)
Energized (+1% mutation chance, +5% chance to gain %/day per tick)
Energized unlocks Lunar and Solar (additional Mutation% during the Day and Night)
Energized unlocks Spirited (Energized, 10% chance to gain %/day per tick)
Energized unlocks Ardent (Eternal, Energized, 15% chance to gain %/day per tick)
Vibrant (increased mutation% from pure color vectors)
Vibrant unlocks Perfect (non-pure plants still gain the mutation% of pure colors)
Perfect unlocks unlocks Impeccable (Eternal, Perfect gains +2% additional color bonus)
Magical (more particles are added to particle effects)
Magical unlocks Mystical (Magical, 1% increased mutation chance from bonsai% and nutrition%)
Mystical unlocks Mythical (Eternal, Mystical + 2% increased mutation chance from bonsai% and nutrition%)
Abundant (10% chance to keep seedling %/day upon making a seedling)
Abundant unlocks Bountiful (15% chance to keep seedling %/day upon making a seedling)
Bountiful unlocks Endless (Eternal, 20% chance to keep seedling %/day upon making a seedling)
Monster (+30% Seal Size)
Monster unlocks Behemoth (Eternal, 60% Seal Size)
Behemoth unlocks Titan (Eternal, 90% Seal Size)
Titan unlocks Humongous (Eternal, 100% Seal Size, Increased Starting Tier)
Delicious (+1% Nutrition% Granted on Treat, +0.5% Mutation Chance)
Delicious unlocks Delightful (+2% Nutrition% Granted on Treat, +1.0% Mutation Chance)
Delightful unlocks Alluring (Eternal, +3% Nutrition% Granted on Treat, +1.5% Mutation Chance)
Helpful (25% Chance to share Potting Soil/Pruning/Watering from Druid, Sentinel, and Golem with nearby plants (10 Meters))
Helpful can unlock Kind (Eternal, +1% Mutation, 50% Helpful, 20 Meters)
Kind can unlock Charitable (Eternal, +2% Mutation, 75% Helpful, 50 Meters, Acts as a Dreamer for Plants)
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*(R at the end of a mutation name implies Rainbow)
INNER CIRCLE MUTATIONS (Over 300 Mutations...I stopped counting, all Inner mutations start with "I")
Rainbows (IRA to IRZ)
ITechA to ITechC
IFractA to IFractD
IMandalaA to IMandalaD
ICelticA to ICelticD
IPatternA to IPatternZ
ITribalA to ITribalZ
IRibalA to IRibalN
IGalaxyAR to IGalaxyER
ISpiralA to ISpiralF
ICharmA to ICharmE
ISunA to ISunF
ITintedA and ITintedB
IDesignA to IDesignU
IFrac* ulocks IPrismA to IPrismAO, IKaleidA to IKaleidI, and IIrisA to IIrisQ
IDes* unlocks IDesignAR to IDesignUR
ISun* unlocks ISunAR to ISunFR
IChar* unlocks ICharmAR to ICharmER
ISpir* unlocks ISpiralAR to ISpiralFR
IRibal* unlocks IRibalAR to IRibralNR
ITrib* unlocks ITribalAR to ITribalZR
IPatt* unlocks IPatternAR to IPatternZR
ITech* unlocks ITechAR, ITechBR, and ITechCR
IFract* unlocks IFractAR, IFractBR, IFractCR, and IFraftDR
ICelt* unlocks ICelticAR, ICelticBR, ICelticCR, and ICelticDR
IMand* unlocks IMandalaAR, IMandalaBR, IMandalaCR, and IMandalaDR
ISnowyA to ISnowyE can be acquired during the Winter Season
ISnowy* can unlock ISnowyAR to ISnowyER
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MIDDLE CIRCLE MUTATIONS (72 Mutations, all Middle mutations start with "M")
Rainbows (MRA to MRZ)
MCelticA to MCelticD
MTechA to MTechC
MPatternA to MPatternF
MDesignA to MDesignJ
MDes* unlocks MDesignAR to MDesignJR
MPatt* unlocks MPatternAR to MPatternFR
MTech* unlocks MTechAR, MTechBR, and MTechCR
MCelt* unlocks MCelticAR, MCelticBR, ICelticCR, and ICelticDR
MSnowyA can be acquired during the Winter Season
MSnowyA can unlock MSnowyAR
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OUTER CIRCLE MUTATIONS (94 Mutations, all Outer mutations start with "O")
Rainbows (ORA to ORZ)
OCelticA to OCelticD
OTechA to OTechC
OPatternA to OPatternC
ODesignA to ODesignZ
OPatt* unlocks OPatternAR, OPatternBR, OPatternCR
OTech* unlocks OTechAR, OTechBR, and OTechCR,
OCelt* unlocks OCelticAR, OCelticBR, OCelticCR, and OCelticDR
ODes* unlocks ODesignAR to ODesignZR
OSnowyA can be acquired during the Winter Season
OSnowyA can unlock OSnowyAR
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PARTICLE MUTATIONS
All of the usual v18+ particles, plus the following:
The flutter's rainbowy new magical circle mutations were copied over.
SpecklesA, SpecklesB, SpecklesC, SpecklesD, SpecklesE, PixelsA
SpecklesAR, SpecklesBR, SpecklesCR, SpecklesDR, SpecklesER, PixelsAR
ButterfliesA, FairiesA, ButterfliesAR FairiesAR
Flowers, Fall
SnowflakesA to SnowflakesD can be acquired during the Winter Season
FireworksA, FireworksB, and FireworksC can be acquired during the Winter Season
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Butterfly's thoughts on Extraction/Imbuing:
I'm aware that this may, in the long run, trivialize getting exceptionally rare Seals. You can, in theory, create farms for certain mutations, bottle them up, and slam them together over and over until it works. It inevitably will.
That having been said, that kind of situation is quite a ways off from what I'm expecting. It takes a while to even get the mutation that you want at all, much less risking a potentially 1-in-5 chance of extracting it, and then another 1-in-5 chance of imbuing it. Tacked together, that's about a 1:25 chance of successfully acquiring and transferring a single mutation. Over twenty or so attempts, it will probably work. And all of that was for one mutation.
Trying to create the perfect Seal by chain-extract/imbuing Inner, Middle, and Outer circles alone would statistically take about 50-75 tries. And that's assuming that you had ready access to a big pile of the exact mutations that you wanted. Will that make it "easier" to get triple-visible combinations? Yes. Will it make it easy? No. It will still be a time-consuming process to collect enough of the desired mutations to make the process steam-lined.
Eventually there will be enough extra mutations floating around that breeders can afford to blow them up with the extraction process, and eventually some people will have a hoard of mutations just waiting for the perfect Size/Glow/Type of Seal to put them on. But I don't view that as anything that will happen quickly.
Annnnd then there is the case of just applying random mutations to...whatever...to make "easy" triples. It'll happen. There'll be a lot of lost mutations along the way from failed Extract/Imbues, but ultimately it is possible to just put random mutations on random Seals until you come out with something pretty. As for their value? We'll have to wait and see, I suppose.
However, I still have my doubts about introducing such a system. I ended up including it simply because otherwise you'd never end up with a 4-5 mutation plant just due to the way that the plant reproductive system works. There's no way to combine them together to get combinations from two parents. So, we'll give this a try. If it works out then perhaps new plants will also have five mutation categories and a similar system. If it doesn't work out? Well, we created a whole bunch of really pretty Seals, didn't we? =)
When deciding just how difficult to make Extraction and Imbuing, I decided to side with the people that don't have thousand-prim gardens. If it becomes more difficult (for example 1:10 instead of 1:5), people with smaller gardens will likely never see any real use of the feature. It would take a hundred or more seedlings to see any results at that rate. There will inevitably be someone out there with a bazillion prims worth of Seals that will find a way to...I won't say abuse, since it's meant to be used, but yeah...the system. With enough plants, you'll inevitably be able to Extract and Imbue at your leisure even if I DID set it to 1:10 or 1:20. SO, I settled on 1:5 for now so that people with more practical garden sizes might just have some success with it too.
Don't think of Extraction as something that you "have to do". It's not. It's something extra. If it works, then you gained something. You were just going to convert all of those extra crystals anyway. This gives you something to do with that random RainbowQ that you already have a handful of. If you get lucky and that RainbowQ gets added onto another seal, well. Now it was worth it~