So, you've received your first geno! Before we can dive into anything with it in the DoK ARPG, we have to design and submit it to approvals! Here in this guide, we'll use an example to walk through the step-by-step to help you understand what the different parts of the geno mean, and how to design it!
Reading a Geno
Genos are give us the guidelines for designing a character, by letting us know what import base, colors, and markings we can and can't use, as well as any mutations that the character may have. They're made up of 3 or 4 lines of text, which we'll break down below.
Above we have an example geno that we'll using to go over the different aspects of the geno.
Line 1: Variant Lines - "Barroe -- Detrix"
Let's start with the first line, "Barroe -- Detrix" This line tells you the Primary Variant Line, and the Secondary Variant Line of your geno. As with most things, the Primary Variant line is first, on the left, and the Secondary Variant line is second, on the right. A geno will only ever have two Variant lines. The Primary Variant line is most important when it comes to letting us know which import base to use. Since the Primary Variant line in this example is Barroe, then the design will be on the Barroe import base. You can find all the current import bases here. The Secondary Variant line plays more of a role when breeding two characters together, as it has affects the possible markings and mutations. It also plays a role in determining what colors you may use when designing your geno, but we'll get more into that later.
Line 2: Genotype - "nAs/nBl/nBr/nPt"
The second line in a geno is the genotype. This string of letters is your geno's "genetic code" and shows you what they'll possibly pass down to their offspring. It's made up of the genetic code of different markings, separated by "/." Each marking has an associated genotype, that comes in two forms- Dominant and Recessive. Dominant markings means your geno has two copies of a marking in their genetic code, one inherited from both of their parents. Dominant markings are more likely to be passed down to offspring, and often are allowed to express in more ways than recessive markings can. However, most markings will be recessive, which means they only have one copy of the marking in their genetic code. Recessive markings have a "n" first, while dominant markings have the same genotype twice. So, for example, the first marking in this geno's genotype, "nAs" is a recessive marking. If it was a dominant marking, it would be displayed as "AsAs." Seeing that each mark starts with "n" and isn't duplicated, it can be concluded that this geno does not have any dominant markings, and we can move onto the third line.
Line 3: Phenotype - "Ashen Blanket Brindle Points"
This line translates the genotype from the previous line into a format that's a little easier for us to follow and understand by listing the markings by their names. It's here that we can start to get a better idea of what our geno is going to look like. Let's take a closer look at what we have to work with here. The first marking, Ashen, is a Combo marking that the geno developed by having Barroe and Detrix Variant lines. Even if Detrix had been the Primary Variant line, the geno could still develop Ashen as a Combo marking. It doesn't matter which order the two come in for it to be a possibility. The second marking, Blanket, is a General Marking that's a part of the Barroe Variant line. General markings can only appear on the design if the Primary or Secondary Variant line matches the Variant line the General marking belongs to. In this case, since the marking is from the Barroe line, and Barroe is the geno's Primary Variant line, it's allowed to show on the design. The third marking, Brindle, is another General Marking, but this time from the Devouz Variant line. Since the geno does not have Devouz as a Primary or Secondary Variant line, however, it won't appear on the geno's design, and will instead be "Carried." These markings are still included in the geno's genotype and phenotype, because they can still be passed down to any offspring the geno has. If it's bred with a character that does have the Variant line the marking belongs to, then there's a chance any offspring will then be able to show the marking on their design. The fourth marking, Points, is another General marking, and belongs to the Detrix Variant line. Since Detrix is the geno's Secondary Variant line, it can show on the design.
Line 4: Mutations - "Doubled Horns"
The fourth and final line may not always be present in a geno- it tells you if your geno has any mutations your geno may have. Different combinations of Primary and Secondary lines can lead to higher chances for certain mutations. Like in our example, they have the mutation "Doubled Horns" which allows for the design to have a second set of horns where they would otherwise only have one set. Detrix already have four sets of horns, but Barroe normally only have one. So while Barroe is the Primary Variant line, (what's present on the import base), a bit of the Detrix lineage can show through with this mutation! Each Variant line has its own special physical traits that have a chance of being presented as a mutation. There are also several other unique mutations that can develop when you cross two different Variant lines.
Designing
Now that you understand the information given in the geno, it's time to put this info to use!