Six legs good, Eight legs bad!

[5thHorseman]

I want it to have like 40 legs so I can look like your character in Carrion.

[xfir01]

Fascinating that spiders appear special to the brain.

Mammals and spiders have a LOOONG evolutionary history together. For large parts of that history, we weren't bigger than them.

[Impatient]

Hey, lots of thanks to you arachnophobists. It was very interesting to read about your brains reactions to spiders. Creates some awareness.

was this posted already?
https://mods.factorio.com/mod/arachnophobia

[sparr]

While you can't use a mod in multiplayer, you can directly edit/replace the graphics files in your game install if you want. Blanking out the leg files would give you the hovering version without any data/logic changes.

[sqAree]

Hello everyone,

as a fellow arachnophob who considers buying the game, I'd like to make sure there won't be problems:
1. Are there any other spiders except just the spidertron involved in the game?
2. If I understood correctly, if I install the arachnophobia mod and decrease the number of legs, I won't be able to use a spidertron without crashing the game. Is this correct? If yes, what is the point of the mod then?

Thanks in advance.

[Theikkru]

1. Are there any other spiders except just the spidertron involved in the game?

No other spiders in vanilla, at least. The closest other thing is the biters, which look more like crickets or centipedes.

2. If I understood correctly, if I install the arachnophobia mod and decrease the number of legs, I won't be able to use a spidertron without crashing the game. Is this correct? If yes, what is the point of the mod then?

The issue appears to be when you install the mod and try to apply it to a map with Spidertrons already in it. If your map doesn't already have any Spidertrons in it, there should be no problem.

[ickputzdirwech]

1. Are there any other spiders except just the spidertron involved in the game?

No. Also there won’t be any Spidertron unless you build it yourself (or someone else in case you play multiplayer). If you never played the game before you shouldn’t worry. It‘ll take you some time until you can even get a Spidertron, by then some nice mods and 1.1 with loads of bugfixes is probably already there (can’t actually tell you how good the current mods addressing this issue are working right now). And besides that people managed to get around without Spidertron for years. It’s a really nice feature for late game, but not essential.

[eradicator]

Do brains really count legs? Can you avoid reaction by just taking out one pair of legs but keeping spider's distinctive body shape?

TBH, I'm mildly arachnophobic, but was never bothered by spiders on screen or in games. On the contrary, I find quite reassuring that they are just an on-screen representation, but not actually crawling on my desk.

I have medium arachnophobia too. I concider myself rational and i totally know that those little things won't do me any harm. Around here poisonous spiders don't occur naturally. And i find normal insects somewhat interesting (spiders aren't insects i know). But none of that knowledge helps when my brain decides it wants to panic *right now!*. With time i learned to supress the panic reaction. But it takes a concious effort and even if it works it still feels like somebody's trying to pull me away with a rope while i'm trying to stand still. And when my conciousness isn't fully available - i.e. because i only just woke up, am tired or was taken by surprise - i'm several meters away from the "thing" before i notice. Can't explain it with logic really. And just looking at how spiders are used in media - horror, fantasy, etc - i would assume that spider = bad is a common association even for non-phobic people. Lord of the Rings anyone?

Spiders in games/media to me are a safe way to observe my own reactions. But it's nonetheless a somewhat exhausting somewhat unpleasant experience. For me the roboty-ness of the spidertron makes it much easier to cope with than in-game bio-spiders. But that won't work for everybody.

In order to overcome your fear of spiders, you must become one with the spider!

(That is pretty much exactly how it works in game... just saying...)

As funny as it may sound, it *is* actually less bad when inside the spider - when i *control* "the thing" and know it won't do any sudden moves. But when i get out and look at it standing there wiggly jiggly ready to jump at me i still get that slight "uneasy" sensation.

As for the "number of legs" thing... I've never thought about it. I think it's more about the way that the legs move for me.

[sqAree]

Thank you for your answers guys, brb gonna buy the game then.

[Theikkru]

[...]And just looking at how spiders are used in media - horror, fantasy, etc - i would assume that spider = bad is a common association even for non-phobic people. Lord of the Rings anyone?[...]

Well we all know the media's job is to oversensationalize and overdramatize in order to brainwash the masses, so you really shouldn't be using that as any kind of gauge of anything based in reality.
As a result of my living situation I discover spiders crawling on me with surprising regularity, and they sometimes even visit me in bed. Contrary to what the media would like you to believe about that, I see spiders as my greatest allies; I'm well aware that the true enemy is FXING MOSQUITOES.

[eradicator]

[...]And just looking at how spiders are used in media - horror, fantasy, etc - i would assume that spider = bad is a common association even for non-phobic people. Lord of the Rings anyone?[...]

Well we all know the media's job is to oversensationalize and overdramatize in order to brainwash the masses, so you really shouldn't be using that as any kind of gauge of anything based in reality.

Exactly my point. The broad masses will adopt at least the tendency of that image.

As a result of my living situation I discover spiders crawling on me with surprising regularity, and they sometimes even visit me in bed. Contrary to what the media would like you to believe about that, I see spiders as my greatest allies; I'm well aware that the true enemy is FXING MOSQUITOES.

Ever heard of survivor bias?

[Theikkru]

Exactly my point. The broad masses will adopt at least the tendency of that image.

Hmm. I'd very much like to counter that the average bloke should have enough mental faculties to distinguish between reality and media hysteria, but given how 2020's been going, I must concede the point.

Ever heard of survivor bias?

I'm afraid you've lost me. What group is being overlooked in which evaluation? The only subjects being eliminated in that quote of mine are, hopefully, the mosquitoes.

[eradicator]

I'm afraid you've lost me.

Just saying that if you - as you said yourself - live in a place with lots of spiders, you likely have a very different perception of spiders than the average person that lives in a place with few spiders has.

[Theikkru]

Just saying that if you - as you said yourself - live in a place with lots of spiders, you likely have a very different perception of spiders than the average person that lives in a place with few spiders has.

I'm hard-pressed to think of a place that does not have a healthy population of resident spiders. The Arctic circle? Even the average concrete jungle has spiders living among dumpsters and inside walls, opportunistically predating upon the various creepy crawlies and belligerent buzzies that live there. I find it hard to believe that the majority of the population lives their lives in hermetically sealed quarters that are regularly sprayed down with insecticides. (And if that is in fact the case, we've got a far larger ecological problem to worry about.)

[mrudat]

I like spiders; they tend to eat all the other creepy-crawlies.

In terms of a practical solution, replacing the leg graphics with empty graphics seems the most compatible solution for multiplayer.

Perhaps a zip file of empty png files to overwrite the base graphics?

[TheRangerLOL]

[...]And just looking at how spiders are used in media - horror, fantasy, etc - i would assume that spider = bad is a common association even for non-phobic people. Lord of the Rings anyone?[...]

Well we all know the media's job is to oversensationalize and overdramatize in order to brainwash the masses, so you really shouldn't be using that as any kind of gauge of anything based in reality.
As a result of my living situation I discover spiders crawling on me with surprising regularity, and they sometimes even visit me in bed. Contrary to what the media would like you to believe about that, I see spiders as my greatest allies; I'm well aware that the true enemy is FXING MOSQUITOES.

A lot of truth here. Spiders in media are often used as villains and made out to act completely different from how they are in nature. And the movie Arachnophobia is actually some of the worst spider propaganda out there. The movie is very unrealistic in many ways, one of which being that, No tarantula has a venom that can kill you. Ever. As for Lord of the Rings, it's a well known fact that Peter Jackson is an arachnophobe, which i find hilarious. If i remember correctly, he told his CGI crew to take all of the things he hates about spiders, and make them into Shelob, so that might be why arachophobes hate her so much.

The thing about mosquitos though... Well, most things in nature serve a purpose. Usually it has something to do with the food chain or cleaning up waste or something else like that. Mosquitos, however, literally serve no purpose in nature. And seriously what DO they eat when they're not suckin' down humans?! As far as i'm concerned, mosquitos are human's natural enemy.

As funny as it may sound, it *is* actually less bad when inside the spider - when i *control* "the thing" and know it won't do any sudden moves. But when i get out and look at it standing there wiggly jiggly ready to jump at me i still get that slight "uneasy" sensation.

As for the "number of legs" thing... I've never thought about it. I think it's more about the way that the legs move for me.

When was the last time a spider actually "jumped at you"? Jumping spiders don't count because they're cute and harmless, and they probably see you as something more like a jungle gym than something to bite. I've handled many different kinds of jumping spiders over the years and not a single one of them has ever bitten me.

I'm hard-pressed to think of a place that does not have a healthy population of resident spiders. The Arctic circle? Even the average concrete jungle has spiders living among dumpsters and inside walls, opportunistically predating upon the various creepy crawlies and belligerent buzzies that live there. I find it hard to believe that the majority of the population lives their lives in hermetically sealed quarters that are regularly sprayed down with insecticides. (And if that is in fact the case, we've got a far larger ecological problem to worry about.)

I read once somewhere that some scientists in Iceland were checking out a brand new volcanic-formed island and they found a bunch of spiders there. Apparently, spiders are some of the first animals to populate new areas with how the spiderlings travel on their little wind parachutes (like in Charlotte's Web).

Btw, has anyone ever heard of the Flic-flac spider? No?? Oh, well i'll just leave this here...
Flic Flac Spider - Benny Hill Theme Song

[Theikkru]

[...]Flic Flac Spider - Benny Hill Theme Song

Play at 1.5× speed for great justice.

[Impatient]

That's mean. I imagine an arachnophobist literally throwing their smartphone away from them at certain points in the video.

So what does the new land story tell us? that there are millions or billions of spiders sailing around in the atmosphere at any given time, waiting to touch down on uninhabited land by chance?

[Theikkru]

That's mean. I imagine an arachnophobist literally throwing their smartphone away from them at certain points in the video.

Judging from the comments, arachnophobes either find it hilarious, terrifying, or both. The idea is that the hilarity would help defuse the fear. Apparently, jumping spider videos also help (because they look cute and behave intelligently).

So what does the new land story tell us? that there are millions or billions of spiders sailing around in the atmosphere at any given time, waiting to touch down on uninhabited land by chance?

Yes. Such is reality. Another fact that highlights the absurdity of arachnophobia, in that so many people never seem to notice all the spiders just milling about, despite such an abject terror of them.

[kirazy]

Yes. Such is reality. Another fact that highlights the absurdity of arachnophobia, in that so many people never seem to notice all the spiders just milling about, despite such an abject terror of them.

Absurdity? That's the nature of a phobia, an irrational, overpowering fear. You have to see the spider to have the response. Yes, there are spiders all around you, but how many do you actually see in a given day? I can do days, weeks without seeing a spider myself.