RELEASED Arachne 1.17

Quintexial updated WIP: Arachne with a new update entry:

Hotfix

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Romani spiderpeople ftw. I love the imagery.

Looking good so far, hoping for more content soon. Only problem I have so far is with climbing slopes and the bigger body type; every time I turn (because I point the MM a little too far to the other side), the abdomen bumps into the wall and pushes me off my foothold. Kind of annoying. I think it's because only your front half (the space that would be occupied by a regular vanilla character) counts as having feet, or something like that.

 

It's because the Arachne have a bigger hitbox, and when you switch direction it flips around so it's still accurate

 

I had mentioned the hitbox cons but I feel the larger hitbox adds some realism to the sprites. Spiders have vital organs in their abdomen and humans have vitals in the torso. The larger hitbox actually makes scientific sense in that regard.

Granted this makes mining difficult due to enclosed spaces. However this does make the race more favorable for combat oriented gameplay thanks to additional health.

There are other bonuses I'd like to see, but I think they're better suited as add-ons for Frackin Races mod to prevent overpowering.

Art wise, I'm afraid I'll miss deadlines I set up (still sick and heading to doctor this Thursday) so I won't be uploading more concept art for bit I am researching and thinking up some flavor text to fit the arachne theme. So I'll drop ideas here now and again (granted my head isn't splitting too bad)

 

Hope you feel better soon, my dude!

 

I did have a few ideas for a ship pet though.
-Adorable big eyed jumping spiders.
-"Spiderpigs" which are just piglets dressed in various spiderman outfits (guess which movie I watched the night before)
-ladybugs
-"rare" poptops with an array of colors that don't attack you on sight
-and catbugs

As for flavor texts, I think with the Hylotl going with their oriental theme that they'd have a beneficial relationship with the Arachne for their silks and culture (coughcoughandhasmultipleeyescough) Humans would no doubt be either fascinated or freaked out. Floran would probably find then crunchy or compliment their webbing for being so sticky (the ssssilk keepss the prey from running away). Avians, and their Aztec/Egyptian theme, could have a negative history with the Arachne lore wise if we wanna put up some codices for them. Apex could view them in a negative light due to being nomadic and thus harder to control/observe. As for Novakids, probably indifferent or most likely can relate to the Romani space spiders seeing as both drift where the solar winds take them. As for the glitch, I honestly can't come to a conclusion. I'm switching between Judge Frodo and Festival Loving Partiers that revel at their arrival.

These are just my ideas based on imagining how the races would interact. I'm not concrete on them yet so any other ideas are welcome. This race mod has potential for growth.

 

I posted a comment on steam about this mod. I've got a file that has a few things, including spider eggs, which spawn spiders, and other spiderly things. Feel free to use any asset if you want.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1awmuyk7q09vxdx/Arachne.zip?dl=0

 

Incorporating the body, armours, and some items. Thanks.

 

Quintexial updated WIP: Arachne with a new update entry:

Revamp + More content

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The Nova set of the armor for the Separator Addon isn't appearing for some reason yet is a requirement to make for the Dark Dressing Set. Making the final tier armor unavailable to craft as a result although I can craft the final tier armor in Admin mode. and the stylish vanity set from the character creator is also absent in the spinningwheel/sewing machine crafting station.

there also appears to be a sprite error in the running/walking cycles where between the legs becomes filled with a different color. I'm not sure if it is just my illness screwing with my vision in that regard so if anyone else can verify the run cycle I'd appreciate it (See image below). Other than that it doesn't seem to affect mechanics and is purely cosmetic error. The armor being missing is the biggest worry I have. Other than that, I'm loving the armor themes (and the witty descriptions)

 

Quintexial updated WIP: Arachne with a new update entry:

Tenants

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Quintexial updated WIP: Arachne with a new update entry:

Tiered Weapons

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I did find that the armors added too many stat increases, especially in the final tier armors. The later tier armor is way overpowered even for final sets, in fact the values for arachne armor are much higher than all other racial armors at the same tier. I ended up capping at the max damage output before getting the upgraded sets and that was just the violium tier armors. They need serious rebalancing, including the solarium tier sets.

I had found this out a week ago but my new medications made me pass out for hours so I never got around to letting everyone know. (just fighting to stay awake now just to inform everyone)

anyways, another reason to post was I had some weapon ideas. Recipe values are NOT final, open to suggestion.

Arachne Broadsword: Tier 3? Secondary Attack: Sticky Spray similar to the Exodoom Claw's secondary but whiter. Made from 20 Silk Bars, 5 Iron Bars, and a few hard carapace drops. The sword has a carapaced appearance with web decoration similar to the Web Shortsword.

Silkshot Crossbow: Tier 2. Secondary Attack: Sticky Bolt that fires a rope that acts as if you fired a Grappling Hook. Made from 10 Silk Bars, 5 Silk Fibre, 5 Timber, and 15 Rope. Just a white and purple varient of the Variable Crossbow bought from the store near The Ark.

Sticky Web Bombs: Just a sticky varient of the regular bombs in game that sticks to surfaces and explodes as normal. Same recipe as bombs but with Silk Fibre added.

Glowing Silk Worms: a reskin of glowsticks basically made from Silk Fibres, glow fibres, and bio samples.

Widowmaker Revolver: Black revolver with red accents. Silk Bars, Durasteel bars, Aegisalt, and Solarium Stars for Legendary tier.

Furnishing Ideas next. furniture and decorations to spice up your buildings. couldn't think of resource cost so just added what I think should be required. If all else fails, Pixels are a nice replacement.

Hanging Futon: A Comfortable seat to place your spider bum and hang out with your peers. Silk Fibre, timber, and fabric made from the loom. Basically similarly designed to a basic bench but white with purple cushioning.

Fancy Beanbag Chair: A place for resting your legs comfortably in. Silk Fibre, Wheat Seeds, and fabric. Reskin of Felin Beanbag chairs basically with purple fabric.

Fancy Arachne Table: For entertaining dinner guests. Silk Bars, Timber, and Iron Bars. Similar design to the Overgrown Table found in Floran Villages with a pixelated spider design on the side in shades of purple covered in white web.

Purple Silk Wall Rug: A beautifully woven Arachne wall rug...wait do they walk on them? Silk Fibre, Fabric, and Purple Dye. Something similar to Avian Banners but purple and spider themed.

Red Silk Wall Rug: A gorgeous woven Arachne wall rug. Not for wiping feet on! Same as Purple Rug but with Red Dye.

Yellow Silk Wall Rug: A stunning woven Arachne wall rug. Commissioned by Rumpulstiltzkin. Same as the other two but with yellow dye.

And of course lets not forget actual webbing reskinned from the Exodoom webbings to appear more fibrous and silky also made from silk fibres with resource requirements scaling with the size of the decoration. For those who like to decorate their lair for Halloween.

 

Quintexial updated WIP: Arachne with a new update entry:

Relatively big update

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Some error in my log regarding the spider egg recipe...

[11:17:22.419] [Error] Exception caught loading asset: /recipes/webloom/spideregg.recipe, (AssetException) Could not read JSON asset /recipes/webloom/spideregg.recipe
[0] 13f8b7153 Star::captureStack
[1] 13f8b5ede Star::StarException::StarException
[2] 13f8b5fc8 Star::StarException::StarException
[3] 13f8c6b60 Star::AssetException::AssetException
[4] 1401fa391 `<lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933>:perator()'::`1'::catch$25
[5] 7fef8c0c220 _C_specific_handler
[6] 7fef8c029b2 _FrameUnwindFilter
[7] 77afb681 RtlRestoreContext
[8] 13f8c964d <lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933>:perator()
[9] 13f8c1b2f std::_Invoker_functor::_Call<<lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933> & __ptr64>
[10] 13f8c45f6 std::invoke<<lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933> & __ptr64>
[11] 13f8c25a0 std::_Invoke_ret<std::shared_ptr<Star::Assets::AssetData>,<lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933> & __ptr64>
[12] 13f8ca286 std::_Func_impl<<lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933>,std::allocator<int>,std::shared_ptr<Star::Assets::AssetData> >::_Do_call
[13] 13fc6a337 std::_Func_class<std::shared_ptr<Star:amageDatabase> >:perator()
[14] 13f8d3d68 Star::Assets:rocessAssetData
[15] 13f8d1e18 Star::Assets::loadJson
[16] 13f8d111d Star::Assets::loadAsset
[17] 13f8ce32f Star::Assets::doLoad
[18] 13f8d7e4d Star::Assets::workerMain
[19] 13f8b3737 <lambda_acdb4815e022f76f36408ff78907d178>:perator()
[20] 13f8b3c5e Star::ThreadImpl::runThread
[21] 778a59cd BaseThreadInitThunk
[22] 77ada561 RtlUserThreadStart
Caused by: (JsonParsingException) Cannot parse json file: /recipes/webloom/spideregg.recipe
[0] 13f8b7153 Star::captureStack
[1] 13f8b5ede Star::StarException::StarException
[2] 13f8b5fc8 Star::StarException::StarException
[3] 13f8c7a60 Star::JsonParsingException::JsonParsingException
[4] 1401fb666 `Star::Assets::readJson'::`1'::catch$264
[5] 7fef8c0c220 _C_specific_handler
[6] 7fef8c029b2 _FrameUnwindFilter
[7] 77afb681 RtlRestoreContext
[8] 13f8d436a Star::Assets::readJson
[9] 13f8c964d <lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933>:perator()
[10] 13f8c1b2f std::_Invoker_functor::_Call<<lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933> & __ptr64>
[11] 13f8c45f6 std::invoke<<lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933> & __ptr64>
[12] 13f8c25a0 std::_Invoke_ret<std::shared_ptr<Star::Assets::AssetData>,<lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933> & __ptr64>
[13] 13f8ca286 std::_Func_impl<<lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933>,std::allocator<int>,std::shared_ptr<Star::Assets::AssetData> >::_Do_call
[14] 13fc6a337 std::_Func_class<std::shared_ptr<Star:amageDatabase> >:perator()
[15] 13f8d3d68 Star::Assets:rocessAssetData
[16] 13f8d1e18 Star::Assets::loadJson
[17] 13f8d111d Star::Assets::loadAsset
[18] 13f8ce32f Star::Assets::doLoad
[19] 13f8d7e4d Star::Assets::workerMain
[20] 13f8b3737 <lambda_acdb4815e022f76f36408ff78907d178>:perator()
[21] 13f8b3c5e Star::ThreadImpl::runThread
[22] 778a59cd BaseThreadInitThunk
[23] 77ada561 RtlUserThreadStart
Caused by: (JsonParsingException) Error parsing json: bad array, should be ',' or ']' at 5:5
[0] 13f8b7153 Star::captureStack
[1] 13f8b5ede Star::StarException::StarException
[2] 13f8c440c Star::inputUtf8Json<char * __ptr64>
[3] 13f8d436a Star::Assets::readJson
[4] 13f8c964d <lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933>:perator()
[5] 13f8c1b2f std::_Invoker_functor::_Call<<lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933> & __ptr64>
[6] 13f8c45f6 std::invoke<<lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933> & __ptr64>
[7] 13f8c25a0 std::_Invoke_ret<std::shared_ptr<Star::Assets::AssetData>,<lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933> & __ptr64>
[8] 13f8ca286 std::_Func_impl<<lambda_80e152f0e8987fd28e54fe8e75d4e933>,std::allocator<int>,std::shared_ptr<Star::Assets::AssetData> >::_Do_call
[9] 13fc6a337 std::_Func_class<std::shared_ptr<Star:amageDatabase> >:perator()
[10] 13f8d3d68 Star::Assets:rocessAssetData
[11] 13f8d1e18 Star::Assets::loadJson
[12] 13f8d111d Star::Assets::loadAsset
[13] 13f8ce32f Star::Assets::doLoad
[14] 13f8d7e4d Star::Assets::workerMain
[15] 13f8b3737 <lambda_acdb4815e022f76f36408ff78907d178>:perator()
[16] 13f8b3c5e Star::ThreadImpl::runThread
[17] 778a59cd BaseThreadInitThunk
[18] 77ada561 RtlUserThreadStart

 

Quintexial updated WIP: Arachne with a new update entry:

Hotfix

Read the rest of this update entry...

 

Ok I playtested last night. I apologize for the wall of text, got a lot of critique and hints to unload.

Good news, the mod IS compatible with FrackenUniverse with little issues (it did lag but I had a lot of other mods installed so yeah best idea is to install fewer mods to avoid this issue). Which is awesome because FU has blocks that are webs so RolePlay wise people can build lairs with them. I'll need to see if any coders will help with an Arachne Update to the FrackenRaces Mod to really flesh out the race.

I also got a bit frustrated as I mined but I think I discovered methods to avoid ripping one's hair out when dealing with the larger hitbox.
Hints and Tricks:
-Don't mine directly down or directly up. The hitbox is too big to do that effectively and will make your character spaz out trying to face the direction of the cursor. Instead, Mine in a diagonal direction so your character wont have to flip to face the cursor when mining.
-Always leave at least 5x5 space for your character. When they flip to face the cursor, they may accidentally fall from smaller platforms and blocks. I fell through a lot of platforms just by standing directly next to a wall because of this when I was crafting. This buffer zone makes it easier to move and mine underground and avoid falling down long shafts.
-Invest heavily in either the Manipulator Block Damage or the Area of Effect Upgrades. This will make mining as an Arachne SO much more bearable and making buffer zones for your hitbox.
-Distortion Sphere techs are your friends. The smaller hitbox makes it easier to navigate underground, and the climbing variant makes it even more so. In FU even MORE techs become available and opens up more navigation options for your character. Smaller spheres, the ability to jump higher in sphere form, etc.
-The parachute legs are your friend. When you can craft them, do it because it'll help circumvent the fall damage when mining in the event you don't manage a buffer zone for your hitbox and become shoved off a small ledge. I made them and I keep them in my inventory in case I want to mine deep into planets and they saved my spiderbutt more than enough times to confirm its validity.

Now onto issues I ran into.
The recipes for the new furnishings and decorations aren't showing up for some reason when I enter the silk loom and crafting tables. I can't find them. So I can't craft them. I also wasn't able to unlock the spiderling recipes or didn't know how to do it properly at the silk loom.
The spears are inconsistent in their tiers and abilities. They seem to jump from improving damage and specialties to decreasing power and switching abilities constantly.

from weakest to strongest with their tiers damage, speed, ability, and my critique:
-Silk Spear: Common. Damage Output: 8.6 with 1.1 speed. Flurry Special. Very basic and a weak spear but the flurry makes up for its initial output. Balanced as far as I can see.

-Silk Claw Spear: Common. Damage Output: 15.5 with 1.1 speed. Blade Whirl Special. Again basic but now on par with spears you find out in lootchests with a fairly useful ability. Pretty balanced in my opinion.

-Silk Glaive: Common. Damage Output: 23.4 with 1.1 speed. Unknown Special which I tested and wow. I think I'll dub it Comet Spear based on how I flew when I used it. In my opinion this is a special attack for the legendary tier instead of a common one. Also the titanium used in the recipe would have bumped this weapon's tier into uncommon. I feel the ability would be worth getting if placed into a higher tier weapon rather than a common/uncommon tier weapon. In terms of damage, its just right as a uncommon tier but not as a common one. I feel this weapon would benefit better with Blade Whirl instead of Comet Spear.

-Silk Venomous Spear: Uncommon. Damage Output: 27 with 1.1 speed. Energy Whirl Special. Very decent damage for its tier and a very useful ability that upgrades on Blade Whirl. I wouldn't change this one too much.

-Silk Venomous Spetum: Legendary. Damage Output 27.3 with 1.7 speed. Flurry Special. This doesn't make sense to me, this is a legendary tier and yet it has a low tier ability and barely increased in power compared to the Venomous Spear and is a downgrade of the weapon used to make this. I find this really odd and not worth crafting when the spear used to make it is far stronger with a blink ability. Instead of 27.3 damage, I feel it would work best with an output of 37.4 with the Comet Spear ability shown in the Silk Glaive weapon. This would make getting that ability more rewarding and make the weapon worth making.

-Silk Poisonblade Spear: Rare. Damage Output 32.4 with 1.1 speed. Blink Slash Special. This is the strongest of the spears and yet upgrades into a legendary tier that is less powerful and useful than what it already is. And Blink Slash is an odd deviation from the Blade and Energy Whirl abilites. Its normally only exclusive to Broadsword weapons. And it makes little sense how this ability is traded out for a less useful one in what is essentially a downgrade. As far as damage is concerned, its pretty much worthy of its tier. Spears this strong are worth crafting since finding spears just as strong are as rare as their tier. As for ability. While strange, the Blink Slash kind of works. If you wanted to replace it, I'd suggest either a broadsword ability or a spear ability of its tier. Maybe Charged Blade or Long Blade from the broadsword class of weapons or Energy Whirl from Spears with a slightly increased range.

Other issues are the damage output of the widow maker is unbalanced with its energy cost. Increasing the cost a few more points will balance it out.

Ending on a more positive note: The webbed bombs worked beautifully and stuck to blocks they hit and the resources used are balanced. They make mining easier as a result of their sticky effect, but I must warn not to throw them at ore blocks because it WILL destroy them like the blocks they blow up.
I tested out the spiderlings by crafting their eggs through admin mode at the loom, the recipes ARE there and supposedly unlockable but I haven't been able to craft them out of admin mode. I tested each spiderling in combat with weak enemies gradually going against tougher larger enemies. My results are as follows.

Green Crab Spiders are THE weakest of them all. However they are easy to craft in high numbers, making it a good idea to carry as many as your pockets can carry. The numbers you can spawn via throwing the eggs doesn't seem be limited but the game will lag if you spawn more and more. This throwable is great if you want to overwhelm your foes and if you keep a farm for milk you can craft them easily. They seem to prefer rushing at enemies and spitting poison as a tactic which is pretty hilarious to watch. After the foe is defeated they seem to wander aimlessly until they meet another foe to attack. Their HP is understandably low, but they do make up for it with the numbers you can craft.

Orb Weaver is the middle child and is stronger than the GC Spiderling, but their gold ore requirement makes them a little less easier to craft but not impossible. Again can be spawned in high numbers and overwhelm foes but also wanders around like the GC Spiderlings. All the spiderlings seem to do the wandering around when the fighting stops and ignite into aggression when a foe arrives in sight. Also spits poison but deals greater damage compared to the last spiderling and did last longer against stronger foes, but a few seconds is still better in terms of overwhelming.

Easily my favorite to talk about, Black Widow Spiderling. IT looks like they spew fire and are the strongest of the three and lasts longer in a fight. Durasteel mining isn't as easy as gold since asteroid belts make the best basic metal mining spots, but well worth investing ore into this spawnable ally. Again swarming is the best option.

All in all the spiderlings are balanced with their resource cost and effective in swarm tactics making this race mod THE best combat oriented race as well as being highly mobile and durable. While I believe a Fracken Races Arachne Abilities should include some exploration given their theme, the whole list of my propositions in that area is best left to the Fracken Races mod maker.

Again I apologize for this huge comment.

 

Thanks very much for the feedback, I likely would have not found those issues otherwise.
As soon as I figure out lore for the Arachne I'll ask Sayter to include the Arachne in Frackin' Races.

A lot of the recipes are given from picking up the webloom, so picking it up again should give the recipes for the wall decoration.
-Edit: Apparently I tagged them with "decorative" rather than "decoration". That'll be fixed in today's update.

New update will be up sometime today.

 

Quintexial updated WIP: Arachne with a new update entry:

More Fixes

Read the rest of this update entry...

 

No problem, I'll contribute some screen shots of the new furnishings later. I'll also continue stress testing the mod with FU, that way I can let you know of any problems I run into as a result of the two mods in action.

And honestly, I had way too much fun testing out the spiderling egg items. Spider Soldiers on demand is easily my favorite update far in this mod