make Aranaus aable to be Sic'd on mobs by its master.

[Ace_McLazer]

 

See above. Much how slimes's commands work, but with a domesticated attack spider!

 

HOW COULD YOU SAY NO TO THAT FACE!~~~

 

[ProperPants]

 

 

Robust

Every

Antag

 

[Tauka Usanake]

Oh if only Aranaus was as cute. I'd actually like this idea so long as Aranaus isn't too powerful against a decent robusting

[NTSAM]

Araneus is one tough spidercookie. I'd nerf him and probably de-poison him (Something something detoxification procedure has been done on him prior to shift start or something?) before letting him be a killer machine because he can easily take out two unsuspecting civvies easy

[saywat_the_15th]

Sic em boy!

[davidchan]

 

The only way I can think to do it would be to somehow give it SecHUD and attack people who are wanted.

 

 

Either that or somehow code it so that Aranaus will defend the HoS if he's in line of sight. If HoS is attacked in a place Aran can see, Aran runs up and starts biting. Aran should be anchored to HoS while in this mode, never getting more than 5-6 tiles away before rushing back, and the HoS can do a help intent pet to Aran to clear the hostilities, if the attack against him was accidental or a misunderstanding. Maybe a Disarm intent push on Aran would have Aran follow HoS around like a beepksy being summoned?

 

I'd say change his poison from lethal to something that deals stamina damage so 4-5 bites and the target is incapped on the ground with minor brute damage (Basically the same nerf that was done tot he revolver.)

 

[HereticChurch]

 

Araneus should probably be changed to be a non-poisonous spider, or have an attack that does stamina damage, regardless of any other additions. The ability to do special voice commands, like follow, stay, attack, and whatnot would be cool though. Maybe even the ability to restrain people with webs? Basically make Araneus a pet beepsky with stamina damage.

 

Imagine the HoS walking down central primary with Araneus following behind. Nobody would fuck with him.

 

Also Araneus should probably get a new sprite to show that they're not a standard giant spider... maybe make them albino or give them a hat or something...

 

[Spacemanspark]

I'm a tad iffy on this, but if it can be nerfed and maybe have DavidChan's ideas put in, I'd probably like it.

[saywat_the_15th]

Make Araneus as pale as the bodies he leaves behind him

[Coldflame]

I may be wrong but I think he's already not poisonous.

[davidchan]

I can't remember if he's poisonous or just has a stupidly high damage attack, I know plenty of HoS's who died to him because they thought he was just another giant spider.

[Machofish]

 

One thing I've noticed about Araneus is that it'll defend itself against some hostile mobs, such as space carp, who attack first. I think if Araneus's mob code was adjusted so he could be equipped with a leash, and would automatically attack hostile non-crew such as: Xenomorphs, Cortical Borers, Cult Constructs, other spiders, mice, lizards, etc., it would be a good way to give him a use without jumping through too many hoops in regards to server code.

 

As much as I like the idea of him being a Beepsky variation, I feel as if Araneus would need his own niche in that respect.

 

[Cupcakes_n_Hacksaws]

Maybe a laser pointer type item that makes him hostile to mobs its used on

[improvedname]

 

You are correct if i believe i was right

 

Hes a warrior spider more health non poisonous

 

And the thin spider lays egg and such

 

And the other type was poisonous if i believe

 

[davidchan]

Well with that in mind Aranaus would need to have his damage tweaked to make it mostly non-lethal, as giving the HoS a pet that will quite happily kill anyone the HoS designates is going to end poorly when Ara gets sicked on petty criminals and kills them, I can think of at least a handful of regular HoS players who be tripping over themselves at the chance to kill people and have the alibi that they just couldn't pull Aranaus off in time.

[Tauka Usanake]

 

Well with that in mind Aranaus would need to have his damage tweaked to make it mostly non-lethal, as giving the HoS a pet that will quite happily kill anyone the HoS designates is going to end poorly when Ara gets sicked on petty criminals and kills them, I can think of at least a handful of regular HoS players who be tripping over themselves at the chance to kill people and have the alibi that they just couldn't pull Aranaus off in time.

What if there was a subdue command that could be given? So that Aranaus will only send them into crit or softcrit, not outright kill them? I think about it a little, I like the idea of a lovable spider ripping apart someone after you mention their name. In fact can that be a command too? Dis-arm? :3

 

[NTSAM]

Or just make Araneus tackle his target IE pushdisarm about say 90% of the time.

[Tauka Usanake]

 

Or just make Araneus tackle his target IE pushdisarm about say 90% of the time.

But... but I like my murder... why won't you let me have it?

 

[saywat_the_15th]

 

There is no need for HoS to have a lethal hound dog spoder.

 

The stun/disarm is a good idea.

 

[Kyet]

 

Compare the stats for Araneus:

https://github.com/ParadiseSS13/Paradis ... ate/pet.dm

With the stats for a standard guard spider:

https://github.com/ParadiseSS13/Paradis ... _spider.dm

 

Stuff I notice:

 

• Araneus has 250 maxhealth to the guard spider's 200, but they both have 200 'health' on spawn.

• Araneus has the same (15-20) melee damage as a regular guard spider

Araneus has 8 turns_per_move instead of 5, making him slightly slower

Araneus has the default move_to_delay, instead of the 6 the guard spider gets

Araneus does not get see_in_dark (nightvision), or speak_chance (chittering behavior) as the hostile spider does

 

 

If I'm reading this right, Araneus is a slightly slower but tougher version of the guard spider?

 

How could we change him?

 

 

• Make him obey commands like sit, stay, follow, attack, etc. Sure, this is possible with code, but I feel like when HoSes often can't handle Araneus even being around without beating him (and then getting robusted by him), having a complex command system is just going to invite further fuckups by HoSes. On the other hand, if anyone is going to have the equivalent of a trained german shepherd, it would be the HoS. Do we think that the HoS having a combat-capable pet would be awesome, or an awesome trainwreck? Or both? I am not sure.

• Make him attack wanted people. Personally, I'd favor this over an 'attack my target' type thing. Attack my target, especially if it requires some special cue, like voice, is harder to code, harder to use, and more prone to misuse. For targeting, I'd give him a rule that he attacks only people who are wanted AND not cuffed AND not wearing security gear, AND his attack isn't lethal.

Give him something unique on his sprite. Personally, I'd say give him a sec hud visible on his sprite. Or red bands on his legs. Either would communicate he's a security pet.

Make him defend the HoS if the HoS is attacked. There are two issues with this: 1) I'm not sure how it is codable, and 2) it would encourage the HoS to take Araneus everywhere with him, which would lead to an entirely new set of issues (e.g: random people attack araneus, and....)

Changing his poison. He has no poison, he's a modified guard spider. They don't do poison damage. Test it (on a private instance) if you don't believe us.

Make his poison do stamina damage. Weird, for a poison. Also, doesn't fit his base type. Also, doesn't protect him that well. Could easily end up in an endless loop of biting someone every time they get up. Webbing them down would be safer and fairer. Maybe stamina damage until they have no stamina, then "web"?

Laser pointer that makes him hostile to whatever it is used on. This is actually doable (I could script this, actually)... but I dunno if it would work well. Bluntly, I don't think it would.

 

 

There's another idea nobody has thought of... make him player-controllable, just like the other head pets are. Sure, he'd be the only combat-capable pet, but he'd still be dependent on his owner for everything, due to no door access, etc.

 

I've actually been writing a fair bit of new ai for my own terror spiders lately, so if people are really interested in making Araneus a nonlethal spider that stuns/disarms and webs criminals, I could code it.

 

[alexpkeaton]

 

I say give the sprite a secHuD (spider with sunglasses!), make it that he'll go hostile on wanted mobs or xenos/borers/cult constructs/etc. (How do we handle friendly ones via xenobio?) His hostility should be limited to disarm/stuns. Maybe a special chem injector could be added to the Syndie uplink that would make Araneus hostile toward loyalty implanted crew (and not just disarm/stun)

 

Araneus should also have some sort of command that will make him docile, if only clicking on him with either help intent to pacify or disarm intent to activate.

 

And one other thing. When Araneus identifies a mob that he can attack, let him come on the radio like Beepsky and instead of "Beepsky says: 'Responding'" make it "Sergeant Araneus chitters"

 

[davidchan]

 

While I do admit that a player controlled Araneus sounds like fun, there is a dozen plus things that can go wrong or ruin the concept.

 

1)Damage. Araneus can't be lethal, at least without serious effort on his part. He's not an antag and shouldn't kill people like one, and validhunting with Araneus should be difficult at best, and usually impossible. I suggest stamina poison because it is possible to get away from, so Araneus wouldn't be a beepksy with an intsant stun ability, someone being bit would have a chance to run, stimulants/ephedrine and other items would make it even easier to escape.

 

2) Armor/Gear. Araneus would need a vest or unique equipment to help identify and discriminate him from hostile giant spider mobs. The ability to wear body armor (like Ian) would also be nifty way to increase Aran's robustness at the cost of his speed. The idea of Araneus in a riotsuit makes me giggle too.

 

3)SecHUD. Something would be needed to help the spider officer discriminate criminals from innocence, maybe a natural ability, implant or specialized equipment for him. I feel it would be important for him to be unable to modify arrest records. Araneus probably isn't intelligent enough to know all of space law and dole out judgements, but rather like a GSD he'd respond to commands.

 

4) ID and Access. Araneus would need to be able to traverse the station. A player controlled mob that can't leave his spawn zone would be a terrible thing, so if HoS wasn't in the round the player would be stuck unless they disposed themselves. An implant or special item for him would probably do the trick. I personally don't feel he'd need any access higher than what a Security Officer gets standard (Plus the HoS's office of course.) Some how being able to upgrade this mid-round would be ideal as the situation calls for it, but if t he HoS isn't active Araneus shouldn't be do much but helping the other officers, and if the HoS is active Araneus should be following him, so Security Officer access would suffice with HoS office and maybe Bridge access.

 

As an alternative Araneus could be granted vent crawling. While I imagine it would be fun for Araneus to be able to bypass bolted doors or other obstacles and pop out from a vent into a Cultist hideout or similar criminal den to dispatch them while security bursts through the door, I can also understand how this ability would be abused by the player and probably would be best left out unless there was some guidelines on it's use and Araneus gameplay in general.

 

5) Webbing and cuffs. Araneus being able to spin webs would be just fine, though given his specialized training and conditions I'd like to see him be able to do more than just make a slowdown tile. The ability to web people to the floor would probably be my first choice, instead of making pseudo-web cuffs. Araneus wouldn't be able to properly arrest someone but rather detain and restrict them from running away while security plays catch up. In practice, webbing someone to the floor would make an object similar to a Xeno nest, escaping from it would be much shorter (requiring only 30-45 seconds) and removing someone from the webbing, or them escaping, would destroy it to prevent re-use. Alternatively they could cocoon and bind someone up for transport, while I concede that a giant spider would be able to use a glob of webbing from it's spinner to drag someone, I'd rather Araneus not be able to reliably drag criminals.

 

6) Healing As a simple mob, Araneus wouldn't be able to be healed by everything, notably sleepers and cryotubes. I feel his primary source of healing should be food, specifically as a carnivore he could eat meat to heal, preferably raw. Vermin like rats and lizards would also be applicable, as well other Command pets if someone was so inclined. Would give the HoS a good reason to regularly harass the chef for raw meat steaks or get synthmeat from Chemistry.

 

As an alternate ability, one which I would like to see spread to all giant spiders, would be the ability to create a regenerative cocoon. By standing still on a tile for 30 seconds, the spider would be able to cover itself with webs and wait for its health to restore, say 3% every couple of a ticks or what ever rate would require about 5 minutes to restore from 1% to 100. The flip side of this would be the cocoon being highly flammable, meaning matches, lighters, welders, flamethrowers and other sources of fire could ignite and kill the spider inside. Resisting while in the cocoon would allow an early exit, but this would take time, the various fire sources might take some time to fully light the cocoon on fire, say strike matches and cheap lighters needing 10 seconds, a zippo needing 5, and a welder needing 2 while a flamethrower would set the tile on fire and instantly start the cocoon on fire too. Would make dealing with giant spiders very interesting when they retreat to heal, bursting from cocoons when they are idling and attacking people that get near.

 

[Coldflame]

 

This seems to be in a similair vein to an older suggestion:

 

http://nanotrasen.se/forum/viewtopic.ph ... dog#p35137

 

I do like the idea of sec fielding an animal, and currently araneus is useless as anything but culling HoShits, so I could certainly get behind this idea. If it were do happen, I don't think the best method of implementation would be as an extension of a pet, though.