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How much can you carry?

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    VaknarVaknar Moderator, Member, Staff
    Would you feel that inventory management being a large part of the game would break your immersion or add to the game? On the other hand, would you feel that no weight would hurt your immersion? Do you find inventory management fun or tedious or necessary? Some very good points being shared in this thread! Keep it up :D
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    CROW3CROW3 Member
    edited September 2021
    Vaknar wrote: »
    Would you feel that inventory management being a large part of the game would break your immersion or add to the game? On the other hand, would you feel that no weight would hurt your immersion? Do you find inventory management fun or tedious or necessary? Some very good points being shared in this thread! Keep it up :D

    Thanks, @Vaknar - good additional questions. Based on the responses on the 'immersion' thread, I imagine it's going to be a split vote on immersion.

    It's immersive because I realistically can't carry everything, it's important to have constraints that force me to prioritize what benefits me the most near / long term, also I'm at high risk when standing still in the wilds with my attention focused in my bags, not on @Vhaeyne who has a bow trained on me.

    It's immersion breaking because I don't want to spend my time micromanaging stacks of items so I can make room in a random grid to carry something more. Just let me carry everything and take a hit to movement speed..

    I'm curious to see how folks respond.

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    SongcallerSongcaller Member, Alpha One, Adventurer
    1. Would you feel that inventory management being a large part of the game would break your immersion or add to the game?
    Inventory management would enhance the game in my opinion. I'm never immersed through inventories but I am often cautious about what I carry. Therefore, I'm more engaged through the caution.

    2. would you feel that no weight would hurt your immersion?
    A lack of weight wouldn't hurt my immersion, but, a lack of weight often implies items are all the same, thus, item prioritisation doesn't have the same function.

    3. Do you find inventory management fun or tedious or necessary?
    I find inventory management a pleasure when the scope is perfect, it is also a risk/reward when weight applies and you go slow because you are over the limit. I would also prefer the risk/reward in terms of weight management because a toon can't run around with numerous sets of armour - only the most succinct sets at one time.

    Cheers Vaknar.
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    NoaaniNoaani Member, Intrepid Pack
    edited September 2021
    Vaknar wrote: »
    Would you feel that inventory management being a large part of the game would break your immersion or add to the game?
    Straight up honest, if inventory management is adding to your game, you need to ask yourself why.

    Inventory management is a task that needs to be performed in order to keep the game balanced (unlimited inventory would break many things). The management system of that inventory should be based on the fact that managing said inventory is indeed just a task that needs to be performed.
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    Noaani wrote: »
    Straight up honest, if inventory management is adding to your game, you need to ask yourself why.

    I think this ties back to the immersion question. Even if it's a negative effect that adds to immersion, then it's a good thing. Taking falling damage is a negative effect of an immersive believable world.

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    edited September 2021
    Vaknar wrote: »
    Would you feel that inventory management being a large part of the game would break your immersion or add to the game? On the other hand, would you feel that no weight would hurt your immersion? Do you find inventory management fun or tedious or necessary? Some very good points being shared in this thread! Keep it up :D

    Q: Would you feel that inventory management being a large part of the game would break your immersion or add to the game?

    A: Being a "large" part of the game, yes, it would not only break immersion for a lot of people, but it would also possibly take players focus/attention away from other more important parts of the game.

    Q: On the other hand, would you feel that no weight would hurt your immersion?

    A: I believe weight to be a very important aspect of inventory management as weight gives more depth to it and adds the possibility to balance maximum amount of carryable items without being completely bound only to inventory slots and limit of items stacks while maintaining a stackable aspect to items.

    Q: Do you find inventory management fun or tedious or necessary?

    A: Necessary? Depends on the type of game, but in MMORPGs, Yes, certainly.
    Fun or tedious? Depends on the implementation.
    But for a game like Ashes, the general idea is that it is better for the player having to worry less about your inventory limits/restrictiviness, and having to worry more about how much you could lose by being too greedy and having too much stuff in it, basically playing into the Risk vs Reward aspect of the game.

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    Aren't we all sinners?
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    DygzDygz Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    Vaknar wrote: »
    Would you feel that inventory management being a large part of the game would break your immersion or add to the game? On the other hand, would you feel that no weight would hurt your immersion? Do you find inventory management fun or tedious or necessary? Some very good points being shared in this thread! Keep it up :D
    I typically have tons of stuff in my backpack and banks. Big-time hoarder.
    I tend not to care either way about weight. Of course, I would prefer no weight, but it's a very minor annoyance.
    It's not much different than armor degradation. Easier without the restriction(s), but not too much of a hassle.

    In Ashes, seems like inventory management could be tons of fun if other people can see, from the outside, how we packed our bags.
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    Vaknar wrote: »
    Would you feel that inventory management being a large part of the game would break your immersion or add to the game? On the other hand, would you feel that no weight would hurt your immersion? Do you find inventory management fun or tedious or necessary? Some very good points being shared in this thread! Keep it up :D

    I don't mind space or weight limitations if they are reasonable. What's reasonable?
    • Like I mentioned earlier, it can't feel like it's solely a money grab. Breaking our leg to sell us a crutch isn't cool.
    • I shouldn't have to regularly stop having fun, lose my spot, or hold up my group to go empty my bags. It's a delicate balance, but it should be something where if I'm organized, and I plan ahead, I can do the activities I enjoy, collect all the fun stuff without having to leave things behind, and clear things out when I'm naturally back in town between events / groups.
    • Maybe there would be rare, amazing drops or something that would be an exception and require me to stop and immediately go deal with inventory...but it should not be a chore every half hour. There's nothing less adventuresome than needing to be within eyesight of a bank and vendor all the time.
    • Alternate middle-ground storage - there should be ways to travel far away from banks and vendors and adventure for longer than your inventory / bag space will allow. There need to be storage options that are local or portable like mount bags, mules, fedex for items, etc.
    • Decreasing movement speed is better than forcing someone to leave things on the field or destroy items they want to keep.

    These things add the element of immersion from a tiny bit of realism without being smacked in the face every five minutes by unfun mechanics. That's the key, I think. add complexity and depth without adding tedium or pain.
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    FozzikFozzik Member
    edited September 2021
    quote and edit aren't the same button.
    me stupid.
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    AelAel Member
    edited September 2021
    Thumb up for the thread, that's indeed an interesting topic to discuss!

    What system do you prefer?
    For a MMORPG I do prefer a slot/stack system.

    Why?
    The weight system is great in "realistic" games such as Arma 3 but doesn't make much sense in MMORPGS... I mean, my skinny Bard will be able to have an actual ship inside his backpack right ? Plus a bunch of stones and some armors sets. How many tons is he supposed to carry ?

    I like the Diablo "size" inventory system too, but it would end up with the same flaws... trying to bring some "realistic" size/weight limitation doesn't really fit the MMORPG genre in my opinion.

    So I'd say slot/stack > "size" > weight.


    Would you feel that inventory management being a large part of the game would break your immersion or add to the game?
    A "large" part of the game would definitely be more a burden than a plus to me.

    On the other hand, would you feel that no weight would hurt your immersion?
    No, I'm not comfortable with weight in MMORPG as discussed above.

    Do you find inventory management fun or tedious or necessary?
    It's necessary... to some extent. And it becomes tedious if it goes too far.

    The basic of inventory is to find a decent compromise between "Being able to carry enough for the inventory management not being a nuisance in the game" and "not to carry half of the world in a mere backpack".

    On that regard I think the Mules system is quite an elegant solution. It allows the players to be able to carry a decent amount of goods, without having a too highly unrealistic backpack content. Plus it adds a cool immersion feature... no need to bother with weight here.
    "We have two lives, and the second one begins when we set foot on Verra."
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    akabearakabear Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    edited September 2021
    L2, ESO, BDO had open slots.

    New World implemented a slots with categories so your bag was already sorted and your items could be transferred from that subslot by individual item or by category. that was a tremendous plus for inventory management. The same management followed through into your chest. Probably the best system I have come across.
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    KhronusKhronus Member, Alpha One, Adventurer
    edited September 2021
    Vaknar wrote: »
    Would you feel that inventory management being a large part of the game would break your immersion or add to the game? On the other hand, would you feel that no weight would hurt your immersion? Do you find inventory management fun or tedious or necessary? Some very good points being shared in this thread! Keep it up :D

    If there was no such thing in game as "weight" in regards to inventory or equipment I would be perfectly fine with this. It is absolutely tedious in most games and in some it breaks the game and ruins the fun. Immersion is not something I usually care about but things that just stand out as dumb actually bug me. For example, the phone number "555" thing from movies. It's just dumb. In games it's things like a weight system where gold coins have no weight to them haha. Like wtf. It's GOLD.

    Unlimited slots with a weight system = You can have a bag with 500,000 feathers because they are light or you could be bogged down with a couple pieces of armor. This sucks (especially when it comes to looting corrupted players or leaving a raid). Positively, with this system you can have the capability to spec into convenience perks like adding weight capacity.

    Bag system with no weight limitations may be tedious to organize between bags but it does give us (or me anyway) a better sense of organization. It can provide more depth to the crafting system (skinning, leatherworking, processing the leather, and enchanting to make the bags bigger or hold more of certain items). It can be add another sense of improvement as you obtain larger bags. I also prefer the risk more when the bags are full vs the weight is at capacity. There is no need for your character to slow down and be penalized for playing the game.

    At the end of the day, I honestly don't care what Steven decides to do. Split body melee combat is their focus moving forward and I am BEYOND excited all over again for this game. : )
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    KhronusKhronus Member, Alpha One, Adventurer
    Noaani wrote: »
    Vaknar wrote: »
    Would you feel that inventory management being a large part of the game would break your immersion or add to the game?
    Straight up honest, if inventory management is adding to your game, you need to ask yourself why.

    Inventory management is a task that needs to be performed in order to keep the game balanced (unlimited inventory would break many things). The management system of that inventory should be based on the fact that managing said inventory is indeed just a task that needs to be performed.

    Unlimited inventory would definitely not break the game! (I would NOT have a bank alt hold everything I ever farmed and only log in to dump loot) :smiley:

    I agree that inventory management is a task that simply needs to be expected. I hated the size of inventory in Rust at first. I learned how to loot quickly, loot the high value items, and do this all while knowing my surroundings. Too many times I loaded up on loot only to get blasted in the back of the head right after. Point is, the system was satisfying and balanced and we should hope to see something that brings the same feeling as this in AoC.
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    Huh. I never played Rust. I’ll check that out.
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    Khronus wrote: »
    I agree that inventory management is a task that simply needs to be expected.

    Yes, it's a necessary part of the game. Without it, the entire caravan system would be meaningless.
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    NoaaniNoaani Member, Intrepid Pack
    Khronus wrote: »
    I agree that inventory management is a task that simply needs to be expected.
    To me - and I am aware that people often don't see things the way I do - the fact that inventory is simply something that needs to be done, rather than something players pick up a game for, says to me that the most important factor in designing a good inventory system is efficiency.

    As a system, it should be easy to see what we have, how much of it we have, and what condition it is in (where condition is a factor). That way, we can quickly make what ever decisions are necessary without taking too much time away from the actual game.

    If I need to scroll up or down (or sideways, I guess), or if I need to mouse over an item or stack in order to make a decision, then the system is not as efficient as I would want it to be.

    To me, weight or slot/stack doesn't really concern me, as long as the system itself is designed well.

    As they say - if you can be one thing, be efficient.
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    OrymOrym Member
    edited September 2021
    Bags/inventory with limited space feels GOOD.
    Bags/inventory with limited weight or item size feels BAD.

    My immersion is not ruined if it doesn't exist weight limit. This is a fantasy game which is far beyond realistic to begin with. If you want it to feel believable that you can carry a ton of things in small bags just play with the thought that some wizard have casted some spell on the bags which makes them magical like Santa claus's present bag!
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    maouwmaouw Member, Alpha One, Adventurer
    If weight,
    It would be cool if crafters could create bags in a similar vein to DnD's bag of holding/portable hole, letting players push the weight limits.

    give the bags a durability modifier similar to weapons, so you don't end up flooding the market with bags.
    I wish I were deep and tragic
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    Weight limit ( a big one) and inventory slots but kinda plenty. Because there are no teleports, no flying so having to walk back 10 mins every 30 just to sell junk would be bad.

    Yet i do not know what mobs will drop cause in alpha 1 (from what i saw) they droped just 1 sellable item.
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    I enjoyed running around while over-encumbered in BDO to increase my characters strength. You could follow that route, possibly tying character carry weight to a mix of life skills x character race. Also think about adding the option to store items on mounts too.
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    First of all, games being too unrealistic can be just as bad as being too realistic. Therefore I hope they choose to make the inventory system good/fun/enjoyable, not necessarily realistic.

    I don't mind which approach AoC takes regarding inventory space/weight limitations as long as it's enjoyable and not (too) tiresome. For example, I hope it won't force you to go to a city after 20 minutes of grinding to bank stuff to free up space/weight.

    I also really hope the UI for inventory and storage is top notch. I want to be able to organize my bank thoroughly to satisfy my OCD without being extremely click intensive.
    🎶Galo é Galo o resto é bosta🎶
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    IronhopeIronhope Member
    edited September 2021
    Vaknar wrote: »
    Would you feel that inventory management being a large part of the game would break your immersion or add to the game? On the other hand, would you feel that no weight would hurt your immersion? Do you find inventory management fun or tedious or necessary? Some very good points being shared in this thread! Keep it up :D

    It would greatly add to immersion to have inventory management.

    It helps a ton with immersion because:
    Its something strongly tied to your character, your avatar in the mmo-rpg world.
    And it also makes the game more challenging, thus the adventure more real, which is the goal of any mmo-rpg game.

    You could go both ways
    1. World of Warcraft-like system with very limited inventory which you can improve by finding/buying better bags, with items which you would expect to be heavier requiring more bagspace than items you would expect to be lighter.
    or
    2. Weight system with a large inventory. I would however avoid making weight influence character combat performance. It should be restricted to item-carrying only, as a limitation.
    hell, you can even combine the systems and I think it would work out great.

    At the end of the day, you need to give people a good reason to use the caravan system anyway.
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    BaSkA13 wrote: »
    I don't mind which approach AoC takes regarding inventory space/weight limitations as long as it's enjoyable and not (too) tiresome.

    The problem is, your definition of a fun inventory isn't the same as mine.

    I find a game which forces you to be smart and take good decissions when it comes to inventory space, sacrificing some items to bring others home, as fun.

    I loved what the Darkest Dungeon did with its loot systems.

    I for one would love if the rarest and most valuable resources would be deep in dangerous jungles, far away from cities, and people would have to be smart and take good risks and be sociable, to achieve stuff with the profession system & economy.

    Initially I wanted to write ''who knows, maybe a balance would be found to make both of us happy'' but neah.

    At the end of the day, convenience is a main factor which ruined modern mmo-rpgs and I really hope they will take as few ''here, let me hold your hand baby'' approaches as possible.
    BaSkA13 wrote: »
    For example, I hope it won't force you to go to a city after 20 minutes of grinding to bank stuff to free up space/weight.

    You will pretty much want to do that anyway since you might get ganked and your stuff looted.

    Even if they make the corruption system very harsh, you will have people in decent profession made (very available) gear zerging gatherers to loot their resources and to grief.

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    Ironhope wrote: »
    The problem is, your definition of a fun inventory isn't the same as mine.

    I never argued fun isn't subjective or that tiresome/bad isn't also.

    Someone (IS first and then the player base, most likely) has to decide what is fun and what isn't.

    So I hope they make it good/fun/enjoyable and that it also fits my taste.
    Ironhope wrote: »
    You will pretty much want to do that anyway since you might get ganked and your stuff looted.

    Wrong. It's always risk vs reward and it's always about choice.

    If I feel like it's a good idea to farm for 2 hours straight before banking because I'm somewhere remote or because I have a party or because I think I'm a PvP god, I want to be able to choose taking those risks.

    Forcing players to go back to town every 20 minutes because of weight/space limitations is especially bad in a game with basically no fast travel. Having enough inventory capability for 1 hour long trips is a good number I'd say.
    🎶Galo é Galo o resto é bosta🎶
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    BaSkA13 wrote: »
    Wrong. It's always risk vs reward and it's always about choice.

    If I feel like it's a good idea to farm for 2 hours straight before banking because I'm somewhere remote or because I have a party or because I think I'm a PvP god, I want to be able to choose taking those risks.

    Forcing players to go back to town every 20 minutes because of weight/space limitations is especially bad in a game with basically no fast travel. Having enough inventory capability for 1 hour long trips is a good number I'd say.

    This is why mules should be meta and be able to carry a lot.
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    BaSkA13 wrote: »

    I never argued fun isn't subjective or that tiresome/bad isn't also.

    Didn't say you said fun isn't subjective.
    Ironhope wrote: »
    If I feel like it's a good idea to farm for 2 hours straight before banking because I'm somewhere remote or because I have a party or because I think I'm a PvP god, I want to be able to choose taking those risks. Forcing players to go back to town every 20 minutes because of weight/space limitations is especially bad in a game with basically no fast travel. Having enough inventory capability for 1 hour long trips is a good number I'd say.

    I don't know what 2 hours straight of farming means for you. Can do that with a very smalli inventory if resources are rare.

    My point is, making the game to force players to take smart decissions (what to keep when out there in the world and what to scrap) is good.
    Thats what games should do, challenge people at an intelectual level.

    Also, I think having too big of an inventory would actually diminuish the risk since if you have to go back to town every now and then and then back to the farming/questing areas, its an extra traveling risk (risk of being ganked on the way and back).

    Having a small inventory would also make the people making bags (inventory improvement items) worth more (their time I mean) so it would also be better for the economy.




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    I had a friend of mine that I played DAOC (i think) with. I had a shaman that he loaded down with ingredients than buffed me up and moved me out to the middle nowhere on some island then dropped my buffs. I logged in and couldn't move.
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    NoaaniNoaani Member, Intrepid Pack
    Ironhope wrote: »
    My point is, making the game to force players to take smart decissions (what to keep when out there in the world and what to scrap) is good.
    Thats what games should do, challenge people at an intelectual level.

    You have that already.

    If you are out harvesting, you can opt to use a mule to store materials. It has a capacity 10 times larger than yours.

    It makes you a more obvious PvP target, but that is a decision that you get to make.
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    pyrealpyreal Member, Warrior of Old
    In Asheron's Call (my first MMO) players had limited space that was increased with belt pouches, sacks and backpacks. But they also had a Burden system that was based off Str.

    I'm not a fan of the Burden system based off of Str because it leaves every class that isn't based off of Str at a disadvantage. And we all love phat lewt, and I don't see any reason to restrict any particular class from enjoying that.

    Personally I prefer the Limited Slots route opposed to the Weight Only or Limited Slots & Weight.

    Reason being as it moves me to pay more attention to the items I'm picking up and make strategic decisions. Am I looking for tinkering mats in the form of low value iron swords, or am I looking for highest coin per item?
    One could say the same about Weight Only, but with Limited Slots my greed never renders my character Encumbered. Its more of a pain to find that last .25lb to ditch so I lose Encumberment as opposed to clearly seeing all more slots are full.

    Man, I sure need that Enchanted Bag that has 10 more slots /drool

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