Shhhhh - Hush Tames
Every ARK: Survival Ascended survivor knows the struggle. You are deep in a resource run, carefully navigating a dangerous swamp, and suddenly your shoulder pet decides to screech directly into your ear. Or you are trying to scout an enemy base, but your mount's constant grunting gives away your position. The audio chaos of tamed creatures has been a long-standing quality-of-life issue in the ARK series, and the modding community has finally delivered a focused solution. Shhhhh - Hush Tames is a lightweight add-on designed specifically to give you control over the most irritating sounds your tames produce, without replacing a single creature or altering the game's core balance.
This mod is not about overhauling the audio engine or silencing the entire world. It targets a specific, persistent annoyance: the noise generated by your own tamed companions when they are on your shoulder, when you are riding them, or when they are set to mating. The beauty of Shhhhh - Hush Tames for ARK: Survival Ascended lies in its per-player approach. It does not force a server-wide mute on everyone; instead, each player can customize their own audio experience, saving those preferences directly to their character profile.
How the Sound Muting Works
The core functionality revolves around a simple, persistent global preference system. Once you configure your settings, they stay with you across sessions. You do not need to re-open a menu every time you log in. The mod currently offers toggleable mute behavior for four distinct categories of tamed creature audio:
- Shoulder Creatures: Silences the constant chirps, squawks, and squeaks from pets perched on your shoulder.
- Ridden Creatures: Mutes the heavy breathing, growls, and idle vocalizations of the mount you are currently controlling.
- Creatures with Enable Mating Active: Stops the repetitive mating calls that can loop endlessly when you have breeding pairs set to wander.
- Companion Creatures: Addresses audio from tames that are following you but not necessarily on your shoulder or being ridden.
Configuration is handled entirely through the in-game radial menu. This keeps the mod lightweight and accessible, ensuring you can tweak your preferences on the fly without needing to access server files or external configuration tools. The mod is compatible with the current builds of ARK: Survival Ascended, and because it does not remap creature classes or replace dinos, it has a high degree of compatibility with other mods that alter creature visuals or stats.
Current Coverage and Limitations
It is important to set expectations. This is an early test version, and the developer is transparent about its scope. The mod does not silence every creature in the game. Currently, it includes coverage for over 10 of the most notoriously annoying creatures, with a public coverage tracker available for players to check exactly which dinos are affected. The focus is on creatures that have persistent, high-pitch, or repetitive audio cues that become grating over time. Wild and hostile creature audio is explicitly not the target of this mod; it is purely for your own tamed companions.
The current implementation also lacks individual per-creature overrides or per-class overrides. You cannot yet say, "mute this specific raptor but keep my other raptor loud." The preferences are global, applying to all creatures within the selected category (shoulder, riding, mating, companion). Area-based muting through a placed structure is also not implemented yet. However, the developer has a clear roadmap for future updates, including more granular per-sound-type behavior and expanded creature coverage.
Planned Features and Future Scope
The mod's roadmap is promising for those who want even more control. The developer plans to introduce per-creature mute overrides, allowing you to silence a specific individual dino while leaving others untouched. Per-class overrides are also in the works, which would let you mute all audio for a specific species. For players who want a more immersive solution, area-based muting through a placed structure is planned, which would create a "quiet zone" around your base. Finally, the coverage list will expand to include more official tameable creatures, ensuring that the mod grows to meet the community's needs.
If you are looking to streamline your mod setup, you might want to check how this integrates with your launcher. The foxygame.net launcher offers a one-click install for Shhhhh - Hush Tames, which is a huge time-saver when you are managing a large mod list for your server. Instead of manually downloading and placing files, the launcher handles the directory structure and version checks for you, ensuring that your add-on is always up to date with the latest ASA patches.
How to Install and Get Started
Getting started with this mod is straightforward. To download Shhhhh - Hush Tames, you will need to subscribe to it on the mod platform you use for ARK: Survival Ascended. Once downloaded, the mod will appear in your mod list when you launch the game. If you are using a dedicated server, ensure that the mod is added to your server's mod configuration file. For single-player or non-dedicated sessions, simply enable the mod in the host settings before loading your world.
For those unfamiliar with the process, here is a quick guide on how to install the mod for your specific setup:
- Single Player: Download the mod, then go to "Host/Local" in the main menu. Select your map, scroll to "Mod Settings," and ensure Shhhhh - Hush Tames for ARK: Survival Ascended is checked in the active mods list.
- Dedicated Server: Add the mod ID to your
GameUserSettings.inifile under the[ServerSettings]section. Restart the server to load the mod. - Using the foxygame.net launcher: The launcher's add-on catalog allows you to search for the mod and install it directly to your client or server profile, automatically managing dependencies and updates.
After installation, load into your world and access your radial menu (usually by holding the use key on a tame or using the inventory wheel). You will find a new option for "Hush Tames" or "Sound Preferences." From there, you can toggle the mute states for shoulder, riding, mating, and companion audio. These settings are saved instantly to your player profile, so you can adjust them mid-adventure without worrying about losing your configuration.
Final Thoughts on Audio Sanity
Shhhhh - Hush Tames is a niche but incredibly valuable mod for players who value their hearing and their stealth. It does not try to do too much; it simply solves a specific problem with a clean, player-centric design. While the current creature list is limited, the foundation is solid. The persistent per-player preferences are a standout feature, ensuring that your audio settings are as personal as your character's appearance. As the developer expands coverage and adds more granular controls, this mod is poised to become a staple in many ASA loadouts.
If you have ever found yourself muting your game's master volume just to escape the sound of your own pack of raptors, this mod is for you. It is a lightweight, non-intrusive solution that respects the game's original audio design while giving you the power to silence the specific sounds that drive you crazy. Check the coverage tracker to see if your most-hated creatures are included, and if not, reach out to the community to request them. The future of this mod is community-driven, and your feedback will shape which sounds get silenced next.