I can't seem to get the DML part to work properly (not having enough time to really dig into the guides to DML might be an issue here), however, for anybody who still wants it, here is the revised and all fixed up version of shockscp.gam

I might get back to attempting to switch spiders into something else, but don't expect it too hard. Trying to replace them by worms made BotM rather complicated due to how small these are and the lack of a flashlight, and replacing them with rumblers is guaranteed to rip up anybody who didn't play the game for at least 4/5 times (or doesn't play on easy).

Another suggestion stems from voodoo's proposition to replace the spider model and give it new sounds, but I'm nowhere near 3D graphics and animation, so I'll have to bow out for now.

Feel free to use this as you see fit. Yell at me if something's broken/not working. I'll attempt to fix it ASAP.
[shockscp.zip expired]

Is it my imagination, or are some of the arachnids in the Many cutscene different than the others (and new to scp b2)? I saw some with some white markings on their bodies and they had a slightly different shape. Opiliones, maybe?

Myself, I have never been much bothered by spiders. However, this thread is starting to look a little scary.

@ CFW Magic

Don't forget that   .   .   .   .   .

[Image deleted by moderator.]

The cure for fear of spiders is MORE SPIDERS. The BotM and SHODAN bosses are now giant, screen-filling spiders. That shoot spiders at you.

Maybe the pumpkin head spider world do the trick. Can't imagine even a severe arachnophobia would be too bothered by that

Alright, time to learn how to put this mod into DML. Thanks for the links, VooDoo.

Zylon wants me to have a heart attack, respiratory paralysis and then drown in my own puke puddle... That, or I shall go on a flammenwerfer rampage.

EDIT:

So as far as the DML documentation has taught me, it's not possible to create new stims and assign act/react to things, right? Because if that is so, then removing spiders won't be possible. The mod relies on assigning a new stim, making spiders emit this stim and forcing them to react to that same stim by pretty much dieing. I can make them invisible, completely silent, have 1 hp and switched to player team, but they won't self-destruct.

This might take a longer while than I expected it to ...

[secretly replaces file with an all-spiders mod]

converting the changes into a dml should be pretty easy, if you know/remember what changes need to be done. check the dml stuff over at Engineering.

no idea whether some other suitable replacement creature models exist - I'm aware of the roach, but would actually have to ask for the model at TTLG, as I don't see it in any of the public model repositories at a quick glance.

but it's good to see an actual arachnophobiac's angle on this - as I have absolutely no problem with insects, it's pretty hard for me to imagine how things work for someone who does.


the only thing that can disgust me almost up to the point of vomiting are.. people.

those are actually symptoms of editing the gamesys without having a map loaded, something you should never do.

anyway, this is exactly the type of mod that should be done via dml, to minimize chances of screwups and to maximize compatibility and (ease of) future editability.

also, there is a giant roach model available at TTLG, turning the spiders into roaches would probably allow arachnophobic people to play while not breaking the game as much (removing three enemy types completely does affect the game balance for quite a bit).

I think I have figured out how this mod was made and ported it to work with SCP beta 2 (untested so far as I have just finished learning how to use ShockED), being arachnophobic myself, I couldn't bring myself to enjoy that excellent mod just because of these enemies, which, IMHO, is a waste.

For anybody interested, here's the modified shockscp.gam. As said above, it's largely untested. The spiders are set to be un-rendered (invisible), silent, self-destructing on spawn and set to the Good team (player team) to be murdered by any other wandering AI shall something go wrong with the other aspects. I haven't found a way to make spiders "slower than an average dead slug" and do zero damage, but even without those, I think it shall be more than enough to help out fellow arachnophobiacs enjoy the excellent SCP mod.

Please test it out and let me know if it works properly (it should, but who knows?) and if possible, send feedback as this is essentially my very first time using ShockED and I had to figure out how to do that by myself (largely because the advanced tutorial had too much info for me to dig through to find the relevant sections).

Installation process is fairly simple: go to DMM folder in your SCP linked System Shock 2 folder, then to your SCP Beta 2 folder and un-zip the package inside it. The only file in the package is shockscp.gam. Don't forget to back up the original in case I have screwed something up.

P.S.: For our amazing host (Kolya) and/or SCP dev team, feel free to re-host/include the modded .gam in releases or wherever else you need to help out other arachnophobics.

P.P.S.: Shoutout to voodoo47 and ZylonBane for bringing us SCP. Excellent work out there, people.

Peace,

Magic.

While we're at it, why don't we change every enemy into fluffy teddy bears so that nobody gets scared?

Phobia is not another word for being easily scared. It's a medical condition with sometimes severe consequences for sufferers. If you're interested here's a good article about arachnophobia.

While we're at it, why don't we change every enemy into fluffy teddy bears so that nobody gets scared?

Yeah, fluffy teddy bears would fit well in spaceship filled with ninjas and monkeys shooting ice/fire balls into everything!

as someone who is ok with spiders/beetles, I can't really relate, that's why it'd be nice to have a real arachnophobic comment on this, so I can consider whether a spider->beetle mod would be worth attempting.

a question for all our arachnophobic friends - how well do you cope with giant beetles? because I think it shouldn't be too hard to replace all the SS2 spiders with a custom giant beetle model made for Thief2, allowing an arachnophobic person to play the game without breaking a lot of stuff (as simply removing the spiders will indeed break a lot of stuff).

It could even be fed into the storyline, like they are slightly more grown worms/a different type of annelid.

As a warning, there is still a spider's corpse on the Recreation deck in the mall area (the one with the gardens and I think the chemical room).  It's dead but be prepared if you're an arachnophobe like me.  It's near a dead body that may or may not have good loot on it (I forgot what I found last time) in the second section of shops.  Other than that the mod works really well.

So, just what is the small addition in the Sim unit 3 trap.

You made a mistake, no big deal. ZylonBane called you out on it harshly. Try not to make such a big deal of this either. Move on everyone. Thanks.

For the record: Generally thread necromancy is no problem as long as you have something new to add to the topic. This could also be a new question.

An analogy might be appropriate here.  Would you be upset with the kitchen stove if you burnt yourself on it because you weren't paying attn. to where your hand was?

Apparently you're not aware that the last post to this thread was almost a year ago. How about if in the future you don't amuse yourself by thinking up stupid things to post to threads that are perfectly well off without your dazzling wit.

Stop making me want to punch you.

Yes. In fact, it's possible to complete the entire game with only melee weapons.

I took the liberty of making a small addition to the Sim unit trap so Malick's log will make sense even with this mod installed. Let me know what you think.
Be advised that this new version replaces ops4.mis in addition to shock2.gam, so be sure to back up both files before installing.

An arachnophobe named Scorpion. Only just noticed.

I fear spiders this is why this mod is correct for me If you ask why i fear spiders... When i was kid my friend did drop a lot of spiders on top of my head  :p