Mod ID: 1111178

A formidable battle mount both on land and in sea.

Dossier:

Wild:

Spinosaurus are known to enjoy spending time near and in the rivers of the ARK where they can commonly be seen fishing for their food. They are not as massive as some of the other predators on the ARK though make no mistake as when comfortable within their preferred aquatic environment, Spinosaurus are somehow capable of taking down creatures even greater in sheer size and brute strength than themselves - an impressive feat. Having said this, Spinosaurus actually prefers to avoid getting into any confrontation; there is no need to when their dietary requirements are so readily available to them. Perhaps, acknowledging their calm temperament, daring survivors could take advantage of Spinosaurus' habits and supplement their meals in an attempt to build their trust...

Tamed:

When domesticated, Spinosaurus remarkable adaptations prove incredibly useful to their tribe. It turns out their large dorsal sail is not exclusively for looks, but also a means to regulate the temperature around them, convenient for tribes seeking to hatch and raise their own young, or adventurers desperate for a brief respite in extreme weather conditions. Be aware though that a thermoregulating Spinosaurus tends to require often feeding, likely a result of an accelerated metabolism.

Spinosaurus is an exceptional swimmer; its hydrodynamic general build and massive paddle-like tail grant it excellent manoeuvrability in underwater conditions. Said tail can also act as a deadly weapon. A full-speed Spinosaurus tail will comfortably send struck enemies airborne, and when underwater, Spinosaurus' tail is more than capable of generating organ-rupturing shockwaves. Additionally, Spinosaurus' forelimbs are powerful, enough to pickup and carry heavy creatures for a long distance; they also aid in battle where they are used to hold a strong grip and leave prey caught in them extremely vulnerable to other attacks. A powerful, safe and fast mount both on land and in sea, it's no surprise that they're so highly sought after by tribes on the ARKs.

Attainable buffs:

Thermoregulation: Gives off an air conditioning effect

Hydro: OFFENSIVE Increases movement speed and damage to a max of 130% at 100%

Fish: DEFENSIVE Greatly increases natural health and stamina regeneration rate

Waterboarded: Rapidly drains the oxygen of any non-aquatic creature or any player without a scuba tank. The victim must be submerged for this buff to affect them.

Spawn commands:

Spinosaurus:

admincheat GMSummon "Paddleswimmer_Character_BP_C" 1 1 0

Aberrant Spinosaurus:

admincheat GMSummon "Paddleswimmer_Character_BP_Aberrant_C" 1 1 0

Spinosaurus Saddle:

admincheat gfi PSpinoSaddle 1 1 0

Notes:

-The "Paddletail spino admin remote" can be used to configure a few settings without the need to modify INI files:

"Use KO Taming" will determine whether the paddletail spino uses the standard knock out taming procedure or the fishing mechanic to tame.

"Use power scale claw attacks" changes how the clawswipe attack works. When false the attack will function as a standard attack, press once and leave it. When true, the attack will work differently; you are now able to use your camera speed and direction to power the attack. You must hold the attack down, then move the camera in the direction of the swipe. When done correctly, you are able to dish out more damage than possible when this option is false, and even apply bleed to the target if maximum power is achieved in that swipe (you can tell how powerful the attack was by the look of the claw trails left behind and of course the amount of damage dealt). You can also receive a damage penalty for messing up the direction so be careful. This mechanic works better for mouse input than controller so it is left false by default.

-Saddles can be obtained from any red loot crate, with the exception of deep sea/deep desert loot crates. Saddles can also be found in all types of underwater cave crates

-When saddled, you are able to carry small creatures in the passenger saddle provided it is empty. To do this, place the creature near the paddletail spino and an option to seat the creature will appear in the spinos radial menu.

-Can pickup and gore any creature it attacks below and including 200 drag weight. If you attack an enemy Spinosaurus fast enough while in its grips, you can "struggle" free and escape this deadly attack

-Both gore and claw attacks semi pierce armour, gore leaving the victim with a bleeding debuff

-They are exclusively pescatarians. Preferred foods are any type of fish or exceptional kibble and above

-Swimming while turn in place is enabled will allow the paddletail spino to pitch up and down 45 degrees

Taming:

-To tame, it is highly recommended to find a Spinosaurus in a good location, that is, near or in a river with lots of fish. Kill everything in the area so the Spinosaurus does not aggro onto anything and loose taming effectiveness. Then equip a ghillie set, or from a flyer, throw one of it's preferred foods close to it's jaws while it is fishing - the radius is fairly forgiving. Then either by luck or your own luring skill, get it to attempt a fish catch. TAMING FOOD MUST BE THROWN FROM A PLAYERS INVENTORY

-The amount of taming affinity you get per feed event is also dependent on the type and size of fish the Spino kills

INI

To replace vanilla spinos entirely, add these lines to your game.ini file (different file to gameusersettings.ini):

NPCReplacements=(FromClassName="Spino_Character_BP_C",ToClassName=" ") NPCReplacements=(FromClassName="Spino_Character_BP_Aberrant_C",ToClassName=" ")

These lines will turn off vanilla spino spawns, leaving only paddletail spinos to spawn. They will not remove any existing vanilla spinos.

OTHER LINKS:

Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/AuARzhgX3w

Donate: https://ko-fi.com/murtburt3

DISCLAIMER:

I do NOT consider my Paddletail Spino mod a Spinosaurus TLC. If I did, it would have been both quadrupedal and bipedal and made less realistic and more akin to the current ark one. On the topic of realism, yes it's more realistic than the ark Spino, but it was never fully realistic nor meant to be, just made to my personal vision; at the end of the day, it's an ark creature. So, if unlike my Spinosaurus the real one wasn't able to regulate heat, or roar, or was able to fly around with its tail helicopter style, just know I am not and was never trying to make it the real deal.

This is my first ever ark mod and was a first for many aspects to me (sculpting, retop, weightpaint, the devkit etc.), and I've learnt so much about the workflow of creating an ark creature. I understand it is not perfect and most issues with the model/animations you could think of I am aware of. Had I made it again there would be 1000 things I'd change.

CREDITS

All sounds are a combination of existing ark creature sounds and stock creature sounds which have been edited together and remixed by me.

Everything else within the mod was made by me.