The description of the helpless dog enemy implies that it is still alive, and at least somewhat aware of what is going on. Is there a way to save them, or is there nothing to be done but put them out of their misery?
Not beyond euthanising them. Welcome to Cataclysm Vet School!
But it seems like it would be very easy to nurse them back if you felt like it. The player already has the ability to smash through spider webs, why not the trap holding the dog down?
Err, there’s no “trap” holding them down. I’m not going to link any pictures, but if you want look up what parasitoid wasps do to their victims - word of warning, it was enough to make Darwin question the whole “creation by a benevolent god” thing.
Right, xenomorph reproduction (? Mutations can be weird). It’s a shame, but parasites are still treatable. If you wanna really dig the knife while still making it “realistic”, you could make it so that you can still save them, but if you don’t get in time the younglings burst from the pup.
The halpless dog is simply normal meat on the menu. Much better than the mutated things that come out of it.
I’m really bummed I couldn’t have them drop larvae on butchery, but they got a few chunks of mutant meat and no usable organs instead.
Exactly how they’re initally immobilised isn’t specified (most IRL wasps use symbiotic neurotropic viruses, but a few just chew on joints and such), but by the time you find them they’re thoroughly chewed through. Be sure to butcher them, I worked hard on those snippets!
I wonder if you could make them evolve/grow up after like a week so they become larvas (helpless dog → bursted dog → larva which consumes the cadaver → larva) or so. There is also the spider egg which spawns spiderlings after you examine it., this is C++ but might be easy to copy and paste.
They already spawn larvae continously, and have an attack to show the grubs fleeing when you come close. Them growing up into a self-destruct mob that bursts into a few could work and keep them from being infinite.
you can feed them with dog food to tame and put into a petpack to carry with or pet carrier on a vehicle if manage to get there