[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka That's fair.

I thought the same thing about boxes when I saw that mod, but I guess making them into mimics is too time/resource-consuming for a fan mod, maybe. Or maybe not.

but then I thought that the boxes the way they are now add to the creepiness and cringe factor, and maybe that was the point?

But I wonder how you know the visual ques of when to use certain spells, spiders get extra damage from some spells in certain situations, but you need to notice those things. With boxes, I am not sure how that works.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch If you think that's too time-consuming then you clearly haven't seen the Skyrim fan mods. 😂

That reminds me, Bethesda pushed a small patch to introduce more paid mods. That broke all the fan ones. Community is not happy.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka Oh, I know Skyrim mods, though I am more Fallout guy. But even there, some mods are gigantic and very impressive. Fallout London, for example. It is still in development even now, that how big it is.

I meant it as more of time/effort versus the end result. Spending a lot of time on a big mod that anyone can enjoy and that brings a lot into the game is different from spending a lot of time and effort on a mod that replaces one single monster and that only 3-5% of gamers would truly appreciate (that the average arachnophobes percentage in population). I guess they replaced spiders with boxes and decided it was good enough.

In an ideal world, we'd have mods and options to make every gaming experience as comfortable as possible, but alas, we're not there yet. I am playing Assassin's Creed Origins right now, and those blasted cobras always give me a fright. But there is no mod for that, as far as I know...

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch Some Skyrim mods are very niche, so I don't think the 3-5% is a huge issue. Probably just a lack of developer with arachnophobia willing to make an elegant solution for it. But possibly, if the issue was talked about more, someone would put in the effort eventually.🤔

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka How niche? Most of what I've seen is either content or graphics/cosmetics, with some "easier life" thrown in, like limitless inventory or faster sprint. When you say "very niche" what do you mean?

It is interesting that there is no PEGI or something like that standard for these things. Something like "If your game features enemies that are represented in common phobias (common phobia referring to at least 5% of the global population), then the game must have the option to replace that enemy with something else".

I wonder if this is not the case because it is not seen as a big enough issue (which, to be fair, I am not sure it is, I did not read any research about this) or if the gaming industry does not want a limiter like that or some other reason.

Probably because not all phobias are about something that can be seen. Vehophobia (fear of driving) is one of the most common phobias too, and it would make GTA games very hard to make without it, not to mention all racing games.

But monsters can be replaced. Still, with a lack of actual rules, the best we can hope for is modders for now. Which actually is not that bad at all as they can help to tailor the game to the experience you want with greater flexibility, most of the time.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch There are fixes for some really minor issues. Someone was bothered by the water under the bridges and made it look better. Another person made a mod for blinking. These are not in the usual recommended packages.

There's also a mod with different haybale textures. Because why not.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka I heard a few stories when modders were hired by developers because of their mods (but also stories where they were hoping to get hired but were not, too). Modding is not only fixing stuff in-game, it is also saying to the devs "Look what I can do with your code". Maybe some modders thought that when modding.

But then again, maybe someone just launched the game one day and thought "this needs more haybales". I guess if we really want to know, we can always ask, modder channels are usually open.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch Texture swaps or adding more clutter are relatively simple mods, so I think the latter was the case there. It's not like reverse engineering script engine. 😅

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka I honestly know very little about modding and how much time/effort it takes to do that, and how the type of mod fits into this. Texture swaps and clatter may be easy enough, but if we think "turning spiders into mimics" mechanic, then we need to think about mimics walking and attacking movement and their reaction to spells, so that's already some animation involved with skeleton models and all that. Do you have an idea how much work that could be?

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch if someone is skilled in Blender, then it doesn't take much more work than making a 3D model with rigging and then making some simple animations. After all mimics don't have that many moving parts. 😅