Editing Life Stages

[[File:Life Stages.jpg]]

There are six different '''Life Stages''' in [[One Hour One Life]]. Currently, players can either enter the game and be born as an [[Eve]] (a young woman, without a mother), or a [[Life Stages#BABY .28Age 0 - 3 years old.29|baby]] (a boy or a girl). Life stages can be divided by a character's age range, 0 to 60 years old. Age's curve also apply in this game, which means a player will start as a weak baby, getting stronger as they mature, and then weaken of old age before they inevitably die. 

When a player is born as a baby, the chance of being male or female is equal. Unless the family has less than 4 fertile women (age < 40), then the player will always spawn as a female.

''Note: A year old in-game equals to a minute real-time.''

=== '''BABY  (Age 0 - 3 years old)''' ===

When a player is born as a baby, they spawn in proximity to an adult woman. They can only be breastfed by fertile women (menopause starts at age 40) by being picked up, or they can be fed by any other characters by literally handing them [[food]] items. Until age 3, a baby cannot jump out of their mother's arms but must wait to be put down. Babies start with 4 blocks in their food meter which grows one block each year/minute as the baby grows, allowing them to survive longer without being fed.

A baby being held by a male or post-menopausal character will not be breast-fed, cannot be manually fed, and is at risk of starving if not dropped, or if the player does not escape and acquire food in time. It is advised to pay attention to the age of the mother.

Babies cannot pick up any items, including food (with the exception of [[Rubber Ball]]s). They have limited interaction with their environment, such as [[Canada Goose Pond|goose ponds]], [[door]]s and [[Open Wooden Chest|chests]]. It is possible to place [[Clothes|clothes]] and [[Backpack|backpacks]] on babies, and also to indirectly give items (including a [[knife]]) within a backpack or [[White Apron|apron]] placed on the baby (Although this is ill-advised as it is also possible to steal a baby's clothing and any contained items by swapping clothing). A baby is able to remove and drop its own clothing but can't pick it back up from the ground.

Babies can speak too! A player can press the "enter" key to type. However, a baby can initially only say 1 character at a time. As they age, they can type more characters, up to 3 as a baby (6 food bars - two characters, 9 bars - four characters). This allows a baby basic communication with its mother, especially when a baby needs to be fed. The most common way of asking to be fed in-game is by saying "F" for 'food'.

It is advisable for a newborn to learn from an expert in game. A baby is helpless and cannot do anything except be fed and cared for. Babies walk very slowly. This stage is a good time to start observing and learning how to [[Crafting|craft]] and to [[Starting Guide|survive]] later in game. Planning is the key.

=== '''CHILD  (Age 4 - 13 years old)''' ===
During this stage you are able to pick up any item except for a [[Hand Cart]], [[Knife]] and a [[Yew Bow]]. While a player can eat food on their own in this stage, they can still be breastfed for two extra years, which is more efficient as it doesn't consume food items, and the mother only loses 1 hunger point for each feed.

In this stage it is recommended to stay near a ready source of food or to always carry food, as the risk of starvation is high. [[Domestic Gooseberry Bush|Gooseberry]] farming is a common task for children, as it allows players to stay near an age-appropriate food source, while tending an important crop used for [[Compost|compost]] (one of the most important aspects of farming) and [[Fleece|wool products]].

=== '''YOUNG ADULT (Age 14 - 24 years old)''' ===
During this stage, the character will get more food meter capacity until they reach [[Life Stages#ADULT .28Age 25 - 48 years old.29|adulthood]]. [[Food|Foods]] with increasingly higher value should be sought out to reduce strain on [[Domestic Gooseberry Bush|gooseberry]] farms. Young Adults are able to do all the tasks that a child cannot do, like pulling a [[Hand Cart]] and handling a [[Yew Bow|Yew Bow]].

A female character in this stage will be able to give birth to a baby, and breastfeed them. Picking up a baby to breastfeed will fill the baby's hunger meter, and take one bar off of the mother's. Each time the baby is picked up will cost the mother food. Continuing to hold the baby will keep the baby's full at no extra cost to the mother. However, a mother may have to care for multiple babies at a time. 

The most common method of child rearing is to leave the baby in [[Fire|a spot with balanced warmth meter]], and only pick them up when the baby gets down to two hunger bars (the baby can signal this by typing 'F' for 'food'). In this way it is possible to rear a child using only three feedings. However, this may not be convenient depending on the stage and location of a civilization. 

Fertile females who are at an ideal [[temperature]] and have a high [[Food#Yum Bonus|Yum Bonus]] will give birth more often. Every fertile female has a weight, range from 0 ~ 1. The higher the weight, the better chance to give birth.

weight = ( 0.5 - fabs( temperature - 0.5 ) ) + ( 0.5 * yum / maxYum )

maxYum is the maximum yum among all fertile females.

=== '''ADULT (Age 25 - 39 years old)''' ===
An adult’s [[Food|food]] meter will no longer grow as they age. [[Pies]] and [[Bowl of Stew|stew]] are common go-to foods for adults, although it is worth aiming to maximize "[[Food|Yum Bonus]]" in this stage if convenient. This is the most mobile stage of life, and can be the most productive. Adults retain their all previous abilities until menopause (age 40), when they can no longer birth or nurse a baby, and soon after will become [[Life Stages#ELDERLY .28Age 49 - 60 years old.29|elders]].

=== '''ELDERLY (Age 40 - 60 years old)''' ===
A female in the elderly stage cannot breastfeed babies any longer, nor give birth to a new baby, making it easier to move and work freely. Characters who reach the elderly stage will begin to lose their [[Food|food]] meter capacity by one block every year (a minute real-time) until there's only four blocks left. Similar to [[Life Stages#BABY (Age 0 - 3 years old)|babies]] and [[Life Stages#CHILD (Age 4 - 13 years old)|children]], this will make them prone to die of starvation rather than old age if they didn't prepare an easily accessible food stock (such as a [[Domestic Gooseberry Bush|gooseberry]] plot). Additionally the hunger warning chime will cease to ring. 

Players in this stage also reach the maximum character length of speech, making it the best stage to pass on complex messages including locations of resources, [[Curse|cursing]], or any wisdom to teach new players.

Soon after they reach four food blocks, the elderly will die of old age. You may wish to stand somewhere with balanced warmth, with food in-hand, to say goodbye. A player's [[grave]] will drop on the closest available tile with all worn and held items. It is advised therefore, to pass on items before this stage is reached. Their age and lineage depth will be visible on their [http://lineage.onehouronelife.com/server.php?action=front_page Family Tree].

= See Also = 
* [[Names]]
* [[Eve]]
* [[Lineage Ban]]
* [[Causes of Death]]
* [[Starting Guide]]
* [[Characters]]

=History=
*Prior to [[Version 135]], it was possible to [[Clothes|clothe]] and steal items from the elderly- as with babies.
*[[Version 239|v.239]] - "Mother birth cooldown has been restored to the way it used to be."<ref>Jason Rohrer, OHOL Forums, [https://onehouronelife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=6891 "Update:  Precious Life"], 8 June 2019</ref>

=References=
[[Category:One Hour One Life Wiki]]