Arachnophobia vs. TDM missions with giant spiders

[demagogue]

I recall a wiki page for fan-created tweaks and modifications, yeah. I can't find it now either.

Anyway I took the initiative and created one, and put a link up to this thread: http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Fan_Created_Modifications

 

If people know some other fan tweaks and modifications out there, put a link here so we can get them up on that page too.

[VanishedOne]

I recall a wiki page for fan-created tweaks and modifications, yeah. I can't find it now either.

Is this the one you had in mind?

[demagogue]

Yes. I linked the two together. I think add-ons could be for downloadable patch-like things you can drop in, and "fan made contributions" should be for links to forum threads that explain how to do something or any modification that isn't as easy as a simple downloadable add-on.

[STiFU]

Oh yeah, that's the one. It's a bit outdated though. The upright bowaimer has been integrated into the core mod, wasn't it?

[Petike the Taffer]

Well, OP, I personally don't have arachnophobia (even if I dislike some of the bigger, creepier spiders), but all my compassion to you. I know phobias can be hard to fight and some might not be possible to overcome, but you might indeed try to do something about your's. At least to send it on the defensive, so to speak.

 

While shock therapies mentioned by some in this thread (jumping into a DR map filled with spiders) might be a bit too much, some sort of milder therapy that helps you diminish your fear of creepy-crawlies could work. Until then, I concur that we could use some easy method of switching off the spiders' presence (or at least them being a threat) for any player who might find them too scary or off-putting.

 

Not that long ago, I played a smaller FM called Mad's Mountain, where (IIRC) in order to meet the loot limits for the expert difficulty level, the player had to go down into a small spider cave to collect a few trinkets. Unfortunately, there was a whole small family of TDM spiders there, and since I had low health at that point, they made even me nervous. I went through the whole FM without barely a problem, but it was in this cave that I messed up and died repeatedly (it didn't help that it was rather well lit...). Bummer.

 

Oh yeah, that's the one. It's a bit outdated though. The upright bowaimer has been integrated into the core mod, wasn't it?

 

Yes, it has. It's available in one of the Options menus.

[Deadlove]

I can't remember the name of the mission but it had a bank + some side quest with children disappearing and it was a giant spider located in a sewer and it drops down on you when you enter the room and there is a loud noise of the ceiling breaking...man, that made me jump out of my chair, damn headphones heightening the experience. :-)

[nbohr1more]

I think your speaking of "Rightful Property"

[Professor Paul1290]

It would be pretty cool if there was eventually "less intimidating spiders" so the spiders could still be spiders but less scary.

 

Perhaps modeling one from the Salticidae family would work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsGvT2DYJMc

 

[SteveL]

It would be pretty cool if there was eventually "less intimidating spiders" so the spiders could still be spiders but less scary.

 

Perhaps modeling one from the Salticidae family would work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsGvT2DYJMc

 

 

That link should come with warnings for the arachnophobes! Though I love jumping spiders too. The way they rear up to look at you and wave when you lean forward to look at them always gets me. We're not alone in finding them unbearably cute, I remember Richard Dawkins talking about how engaging he finds them. I guess their "cuteness" must be down to some kind of pareidolia, though I can't think what they resemble. The highly magnified one in your vid has an obvious "face" but I can't see that kind of detail on the ones that visit me when I'm sitting reading in the garden, yet somehow they always make me smile and make me feel like I've seen a friend.

[MirceaKitsune]

It would be pretty cool if there was eventually "less intimidating spiders" so the spiders could still be spiders but less scary.

 

Perhaps modeling one from the Salticidae family would work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsGvT2DYJMc

 

I clicked the video without actually watching it. The thumbnails themselves were enough to make me regret it I realized what it was about though so no worries.

[Hiradur]

I read that many people who confronted their phobia in virtual reality with the Oculus Rift got rid of it. But I guess it's like torture until you are "cleansed".

[SteveL]

I gotta say I'm really surprised by the number of "you've just got to show a bit of stiff upper lip, man!" responses in this thread from otherwise intelligent, thoughtful people. Think of the mind like a complex mechanism, which is the way it's been modelled by all the successful treatment strategies that've been developed over the last 30 years or so. When a delicate and complex mechanism gets a spring out of place, shoving hard with a blunt instrument often isn't the best way to fix it.

[MirceaKitsune]

I gotta say I'm really surprised by the number of "you've just got to show a bit of stiff upper lip, man!" responses in this thread from otherwise intelligent, thoughtful people. Think of the mind like a complex mechanism, which is the way it's been modelled by all the successful treatment strategies that've been developed over the last 30 years or so. When a delicate and complex mechanism gets a spring out of place, shoving hard with a blunt instrument often isn't the best way to fix it.

I noticed that there is a general tendency for many people to take solutions to issues easily, when in reality they aren't. Similar to how many people's spoken solution to making the world better is "we should all hold hands and hug and spread love", when in reality there are complex social mechanisms and many bad influences contributing to the issues of the world. I usually analyze things in depth to see everything realistically, so I don't always understand it.