Jump to content
The Dark Mod Forums

Arachnophobia vs. TDM missions with giant spiders


MirceaKitsune

Recommended Posts

Wouldn't it be possible to just replace the model in yout darkmod folder. As long as nobody includes custom spider models (which is rather unlikely) this solution should work an all the missions. Spider sounds could also be replaced by empty files or zero volume files.

 

I suffer from a mild arachnophobia myself in real life. However, in games I actually enjoy the added tension from the fear of spiders. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wouldn't it be possible to just replace the model in yout darkmod folder. As long as nobody includes custom spider models (which is rather unlikely) this solution should work an all the missions. Spider sounds could also be replaced by empty files or zero volume files.

 

I suffer from a mild arachnophobia myself in real life. However, in games I actually enjoy the added tension from the fear of spiders. :)

In all honesty spiders seem more pleasant than rats and cockroaches. I mean they at least catch over things and eat them for breakfast. Everything has a purpose in this world they say!

"I really perceive that vanity about which most men merely prate — the vanity of the human or temporal life. I live continually in a reverie of the future. I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active — not more happy — nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago. The result will never vary — and to suppose that it will, is to suppose that the foregone man has lived in vain — that the foregone time is but the rudiment of the future — that the myriads who have perished have not been upon equal footing with ourselves — nor are we with our posterity. I cannot agree to lose sight of man the individual, in man the mass."...

- 2 July 1844 letter to James Russell Lowell from Edgar Allan Poe.

badge?user=andarson

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wouldn't it be possible to just replace the model in yout darkmod folder. As long as nobody includes custom spider models (which is rather unlikely) this solution should work an all the missions. Spider sounds could also be replaced by empty files or zero volume files.

 

I suffer from a mild arachnophobia myself in real life. However, in games I actually enjoy the added tension from the fear of spiders. :)

That's interesting, and sounds like a different form than mine. For me, the fear isn't really about spiders being there, such as worrying that they might bite me or be a danger... but it appears to be strictly related to their appearance and the way they look, hence why they scare me both IRL and on a screen. I know that IRL, I could hold a normal spider in my hand and absolutely nothing bad would happen... yet for some reason it scares me like hell to even see a larger one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The simplest solution I think would be to just make the spider .def entry empty and drop that in one of the pk4s (which are really zip files). Then you'll never have spiders ever again. Does deleting it outright work too?

 

Anyway, for now you can search the pk4s to find the spider .def file, make a backup version just in case, then try deleting it, or the data under its heading and see what happens. Experiment! ;)

What do you see when you turn out the light? I can't tell you but I know that it's mine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Being afraid of spiders, insects and snakes is quite common in general, but as many have said before, being phobic is not the same as being afraid. I think it has something to do with the fact that many (bigger types of) spiders and snakes ARE actually dangerous, and that this is something humans instinctively know. It might be lodged somewhere in the older parts of the brain from back when we lived outside in nature.

Also, these types of animals and lifeforms are very different from mammals in a variety of ways. The number of legs and the way they move being among the most significant ones.

If this phobia is something that is negatively affecting your life in other ways too, making it harder to go through your everyday life, I'd recommend looking into CBT. I'm sure you already know about these things but just wanted to share my thoughts. :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy

"My milkshake bringeth all ye gentlefolk to the yard. Verily 'tis better than thine, I would teach thee, but I must levy a fee."

"When Kleiner showed me the sky-line of New York I told him that man is like the coral insect—designed to build vast, beautiful, mineral things for the moon to delight in after he is dead."

https://soundcloud.com/paralytik

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Being afraid of spiders, insects and snakes is quite common in general, but as many have said before, being phobic is not the same as being afraid. I think it has something to do with the fact that many (bigger types of) spiders and snakes ARE actually dangerous, and that this is something humans instinctively know. It might be lodged somewhere in the older parts of the brain from back when we lived outside in nature.

 

 

Yep, definitely. Actually the people not afraid of these animals should get a checkup. :P But as you said, a phobia is another thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Yep, definitely. Actually the people not afraid of these animals should get a checkup. :P But as you said, a phobia is another thing.

Maybe i do because i actually like spiders, they kill the insects that do arm to us like the mosquitoes, i add one on my bedroom for years and i considered it my pet, i even started catching flies to feed it, :D i know this sounds crazy but on my country theres no venomous spiders capable of killing a human, so i'm not really afraid of them, nor even snakes, theres no recorded history here of killings of that kind, but on America perhaps i would be more careful, i would still not be afraid of them i think, but i would first see if it was a dangerous one before letting it be on my house or near me, theres millions of spiders races but the only really dangerous spider i know is the black widow, but it is not native here, nor the ugly but not that dangerous tarantula.

 

Thinking about it theres not a single insect i'm really afraid of.

Edited by HMart
Link to comment
Share on other sites

How bout instead of just taking them out entirely (basically cheating), you change their model and sound set? How about having a walking spoon or goblet chasing after you, shouting at you using a guard voice, or complaining as the spoon/goblet goes on its way patroling the map?

Edited by lost_soul

--- War does not decide who is right, war decides who is left.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@ HMart: I used to know a guy who had terrariums (correct plural?) with bird spiders, and other dangerous insects in his living room. He said, every now and then, one of those escaped from its terrarium, and he had a hard time finding it in some corner... not for me really, especially as he had his bedroom right next to his living room. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How bout instead of just taking them out entirely (basically cheating), you change their model and sound set? How about having a walking spoon or goblet chasing after you, shouting at you using a guard voice, or complaining as the spoon/goblet goes on its way patroling the map?

I was thinking about that as well. But we'd need to suppress the animation system, so TDM won't crash when it notices a spoon doesn't have the properties of the spider model. I don't know enough about how idTech4 expects entities to work to say if this is possible, but I assume it would take some rather complex scripting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah okay, I've done that in other games just for fun. Of course there are no animations (which makes it funnier) but the objects can usually still move/attack/behave as normal. I used to play Unreal as a table when on modded servers...... because.... nobody ever suspects the table!

Edited by lost_soul

--- War does not decide who is right, war decides who is left.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Or people could get some therapy to help them overcome their fear of such things. ;)

 

I used to be afraid of ALL bugs, but I got it dealt with. I used to be terrified of heights, couldn't climb a few feet on a ladder. Dealt with it and can now get up on my roof confidently to fix problems or clean the snow off.

 

The measures being discussed here are far more work than they're worth. Why maintain a fear? Eliminate it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fear is rooted in ignorance. That is the saying I picked up along my way.

 

For me at least, the more I know about something the less and less it affects me in a bad/malicious way. I'm now familiar with it, know its habits, its abilities, its shortcomings, it's attributes, and now I can predict its behavior to enough of a degree as to act prior to anything bad happening.

 

Insects and arachnids are very peculiar creatures to be sure. They're also very alien to everything I understand about me and other mammals and that doesn't make them malicious. They are amazing in their own rights and have many of the same mechanisms to protect themselves that we have.

 

I really dig snakes. They're soo cool. I've had a few as pets for short times just to observe them and then eventually let them go in to the woods. I'd hate living my life in a see-through container for someones amusement too. I actually had a garter snake once that I named "Hercules" because she was so fat for a snake. A week or so later she had 21 babies! They were like little night-crawlers with larger heads and soo cute. About 4" (10cm) long each. I let them all go after a few days. Food for the birds I guess. Some of them will make it though. :)

 

I've caught a few water snakes also (non-venomous) and they are very very aggressive. A couple times when I've caught them bare handed they've bitten me repeatedly and rapidly and I've thought to myself, "woah woah woah little guy! Don't be scared!" They probably think this giant is grabbing them and they're going to die. Surprised they don't have a heart attack, hehe. But...in the end, just a little blood and they calm down a bit and can be handled when they know you're not going to hurt them.

 

Not to get off topic though, back to spiders.

Edited by Lux
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not phobic, but I strongly dislike snakes. Seeing one swimming creeps me out. The notion of finding one "cute" is utterly foreign to me. :)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I understand they're not bad creatures as well. Even if insects creep me out, I hate the idea of killing any, and I even think most are nice in their way. Like I said, a phobia like mine isn't a conscious fear of spiders nor related to thinking I might be in any danger, but an uncontrolled hardwired reaction that gives me a strong negative feeling upon seeing one. It makes no sense really... but it's there.

Edited by MirceaKitsune
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a phobic I can second that. Phobias do not neccessarely have to be associated with fear. And in some cases, you don't even recognize it as such. I have agoraphobia since a couple of years and in the beginning I interpreted them as circulation problems :P

 

Often such phobias are a form of stress, which you get in situations that you (unconsciously) connect to something unpleasent for you.

FM's: Builder Roads, Old Habits, Old Habits Rebuild

Mapping and Scripting: Apples and Peaches

Sculptris Models and Tutorials: Obsttortes Models

My wiki articles: Obstipedia

Texture Blending in DR: DR ASE Blend Exporter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried the latest suggestions, but nothing is working. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong please?

// Remove giant spiders for players with arachnophobia

entityDef atdm:ai_spider{
	inherit "target_null"
	"hide"   "1"
}

entityDef atdm:ai_spider_child{
	inherit "target_null"
	"hide"   "1"
}

entityDef atdm:ai_spider_huge{
	inherit "target_null"
	"hide"   "1"
}

entityDef atdm:ai_spider_huge02{
	inherit "target_null"
	"hide"   "1"
}

entityDef atdm:ai_spider_thin{
	inherit "target_null"
	"hide"   "1"
}
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're missing the quotes around "inherit".

 

 

 
// Remove giant spiders for players with arachnophobia

entityDef atdm:ai_spider{
    "inherit" "target_null"
    "hide"   "1"
}

entityDef atdm:ai_spider_child{
    "inherit" "target_null"
    "hide"   "1"
}

entityDef atdm:ai_spider_huge{
    "inherit" "target_null"
    "hide"   "1"
}

entityDef atdm:ai_spider_huge02{
    "inherit" "target_null"
    "hide"   "1"
}

entityDef atdm:ai_spider_thin{
    "inherit" "target_null"
    "hide"   "1"
}
 

Please visit TDM's IndieDB site and help promote the mod:

 

http://www.indiedb.com/mods/the-dark-mod

 

(Yeah, shameless promotion... but traffic is traffic folks...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alright... appar

ently this does work if I also remove tdm_ai_monsters_spiders01.pk4. The new def file is still needed in this case, since maps with spiders crash if the entity definitions aren't detected.



Any thoughts on how to make it work without having to remove the original pk4? Or is overwriting the original entity definitions via a pk4 addon not possible?


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just extract the def file from the pk4 and put it in the "def" folder in your darkmod directory (if it doesn't exist, create it). Loose files will always overwrite files inside pk4s. You probably had your new def file inside a pk4 and the loadorder was messed up so that the original def file was still in use.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just extract the def file from the pk4 and put it in the "def" folder in your darkmod directory (if it doesn't exist, create it). Loose files will always overwrite files inside pk4s. You probably had your new def file inside a pk4 and the loadorder was messed up so that the original def file was still in use.

Thank you, it is at last working! I had to put the new definitions in darkmod/def/tdm_ai_monster_spider.def. The file must be named precisely that to override the original... I was naming it zzz.def because I thought alphabetical order mattered more, which is why it wasn't working.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • Recent Status Updates

    • Petike the Taffer

      I've finally managed to log in to The Dark Mod Wiki. I'm back in the saddle and before the holidays start in full, I'll be adding a few new FM articles and doing other updates. Written in Stone is already done.
      · 4 replies
    • nbohr1more

      TDM 15th Anniversary Contest is now active! Please declare your participation: https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/22413-the-dark-mod-15th-anniversary-contest-entry-thread/
       
      · 0 replies
    • JackFarmer

      @TheUnbeholden
      You cannot receive PMs. Could you please be so kind and check your mailbox if it is full (or maybe you switched off the function)?
      · 1 reply
    • OrbWeaver

      I like the new frob highlight but it would nice if it was less "flickery" while moving over objects (especially barred metal doors).
      · 4 replies
    • nbohr1more

      Please vote in the 15th Anniversary Contest Theme Poll
       
      · 0 replies
×
×
  • Create New...