Does radioactive sludge give spectres their invisibility?

[Jeimuzu73]

One common trope I've seen when playing Doom all this time is that the spectres almost always appear in rivers or pools of radioactive green sludge (or blood or water depending on the WAD).
Which begs me to ask the titular question: does the radiation give spectres their invisibility?
From what I've seen monsters are not affected by radiation such as zombies and imps but when it comes to pinkies, they're usually invisible instead of pink. Maybe the sludge reacts with their particular skin to create a thin layer of some external epidermis that obscures their visibility? Or maybe it's the fact that they have the same sort of energy as the partial invisibility sphere in them that makes them invisible? There's many answers, but how you do explain it?

[NeuralStunner]

I predict a Vaecrius post in this thread.

Anyway, this is a connection I never noticed. Now I'm going to feel compelled to go look at Spectre placements.

[Matt]

Since you asked...

The first thought I had to connect them was maybe the radiation hurts your eyes and so you can't see them.

Then I thought about heat waves, possibly bending of light, sort of like a black hole but with a different mechanism - but what would that mechanism be?

If green nukage were somehow connected to the teleportation power of the Anomalies, that could be the basis for it.


As for if I were free to explain it, the spectres seem pretty clearly inspired by the cloaks in the Predator movies, so I've always assumed they were in possession of a similar device (whether grown in them or worn by them - not sure hidden in which orifice in case of the latter). In terms of mechanism, I just chalk it up to magic - sort of like how the imp fireballs don't seem to be burning anything in particular and can travel indefinitely in a perfectly straight line (or potentially in a curve following the curvature of the planet).

[Sgt. Shivers]

I always figured they stuck around liquid since their camouflage is very watery and the moving liquid makes it harder to see them.

[Nevander]

I just always thought that they used the Blur spheres and since those are a demonic artifact, it works better when used by a Demon (i.e. lasts forever or a really long time). Maybe a human such as the Doomguy can't utilize its full power or something, so the duration is limited.

[Rachael]

I just always thought that they used the Blur spheres and since those are a demonic artifact, it works better when used by a Demon (i.e. lasts forever or a really long time). Maybe a human such as the Doomguy can't utilize its full power or something, so the duration is limited.

I like this idea, actually, it seems to make the most sense. Although it makes you wonder why demons don't use certain other powerups, i.e. invulnerability.

[osjclatchford]

its obvious really. its because the movement of the liquid textures around and behind them makes it harder to see them so the game designers at id put them there as a trickier enemy...

[Blox]

its obvious really. its because the movement of the liquid textures around and behind them makes it harder to see them so the game designers at id put them there as a trickier enemy...

Yes, it's just a fucking videogame. Who cares about having things make sense as long as they fulfill a task well.

[4thcharacter]

Maybe they drink the nukage but since their physiology is different from humans they get a different reaction. Instead of dying, they turn invisible.

[shotfan]

You can meet Spectres outside and far away from any nukage (like in Doom2 map3), so I would not say that radioactivity is responsible for their invisibilty.
I always thought of them as a special Pinky breed that got evolved somehow in Hell. How, I have no clue. They simply bend the incoming light off their skin (super)naturally. That is my version.

[Bashe]

Yes, it's just a fucking videogame. Who cares about having things make sense as long as they fulfill a task well.

Yep, everyone stop posting. You're objectively not allowed to speculate because it's just a game. Stop posting and close it now.

[Blox]

I can't prevent you from spending your time on videogame theology, but I can tell you that it's a waste of time.

[4thcharacter]

I can't prevent you from spending your time on videogame theology, but I can tell you that it's a waste of time.

It's fun to overthink stuff on video games sometimes. Besides, overthinking things and sharing them to others shouldn't take an eternity for everyone.

[Matt]

I can't prevent you from spending your time on videogame theology, but I can tell you that it's a waste of time.

By reading this thread enough to have made 2 posts, you've just made an above average per capita amount of contribution to it.

[NeuralStunner]

You can meet Spectres outside and far away from any nukage (like in Doom2 map3), so I would not say that radioactivity is responsible for their invisibilty.

This is why I was curious about the actual statistics. Personally, I put them in darker rooms or places with very gritty textures, because it's where they're most effective as an ambush attack. (Lots of crossover between gameplay and "canon" monster strategy here.)