Encumbrance Based Inventory System

[DarkNacht]

I like the idea of an encumbrance system, but the Ultima system of making you rummage through a pile of **** is a pain in the ass. Add weight to everything, make more stuff stackable, expand the number of slots and make a hybrid system. You can have pockets and backpacks not only give you more slots but reduce the encumbrance of what is inside them.

Also I love UO and Diablo II''s system.

Isn't Diablo II purely slot-based, or do I remember it wrong?

Its slot based but everything takes up a different number of slots, so its closer to an encumbrance system but definitely not the same.

[Orcling]

What you want is the hnh inventory system, except that you can stack some stuff. Am I wrong?

[trungdle]

Nah I think he want HnH system with added weights to every objects.

[Potjeh]

I think the current system is fine, just needs some polish.

[Gacrux]

This could be very useful with the the current purity system I know there has been mention of this before but I wanted to intertwine these ideas where leather/fine purity plays a role in how much the backpack can support or increases your overall encumbrance.

On another note something that Totallymeow mentioned, I played A tale in the desert which had a strength and weight system your strength played into how much max weight you could carry and even then you could carry over that weight by 200(don't remember the weight metric) but at that "Max" you could no longer moves.

This concept could be adopted in a way were you have a cap and then a hard cap where you start snapping limbs or maiming yourself with how much you carry

My last question to the OP or anyone rather, what would the mechanic be for carrying boulders then? Will this mechanic play on more literal weights or more imaginative pounds. And also an idea for boulders is changing the chip so that stone/granite/lime have a chip and (maybe with package) have a shatter function where you break off 10 "stone" which could be the max inv stack at a longer timer and cost more phlegm.

[ImpalerWrG]

Well this now seems to be on the Road map, and for the first time JC is doing something that makes me serious consider quitting the game, as I foresee this Encumbrance system being an unmitigated disaster.

If he simply adds 'weight' to every item and the player has a max weight in a list based system then we are no better off then the Diablo grid system with different sized objects (and Salem is already better then that with it's 1-slot rule). If it's a weight & volume system with grids as volume and some kind of weight 'meter' on the side then it's even worse as were under a double-cap, that's going to just be frustrating and annoying as you need to consider two separate caps to know what you can and can't carry. Your also faced with having to divide your remaining weight limit by an items weight to know how much you can carry, currently we only need to COUNT slots, visual counting and arithmetic activity is literally done in another part of the brain. Division is vastly more mentally taxing then counting and that will add up fast, picking things up is literally the most common activity in the entire game. I want my mental energy to be spent on interesting a deep game-play, crafting, politics, combat, exploration, not taxed to do the most basic of activities. If their was some viable game-play pay-off here then I might buy into the idea, but I see none, with current inventory we pickup stuff and put stuff in containers, with any future inventory system we will do exactly the same things. Dose anyone consider picking up a lot of rocks is OP and needs nerfing?

[Feone]

Well this now seems to be on the Road map, and for the first time JC is doing something that makes me serious consider quitting the game, as I foresee this Encumbrance system being an unmitigated disaster.

If he simply adds 'weight' to every item and the player has a max weight in a list based system then we are no better off then the Diablo grid system with different sized objects (and Salem is already better then that with it's 1-slot rule). If it's a weight & volume system with grids as volume and some kind of weight 'meter' on the side then it's even worse as were under a double-cap, that's going to just be frustrating and annoying as you need to consider two separate caps to know what you can and can't carry. Your also faced with having to divide your remaining weight limit by an items weight to know how much you can carry, currently we only need to COUNT slots, visual counting and arithmetic activity is literally done in another part of the brain. Division is vastly more mentally taxing then counting and that will add up fast, picking things up is literally the most common activity in the entire game. I want my mental energy to be spent on interesting a deep game-play, crafting, politics, combat, exploration, not taxed to do the most basic of activities. If their was some viable game-play pay-off here then I might buy into the idea, but I see none, with current inventory we pickup stuff and put stuff in containers, with any future inventory system we will do exactly the same things. Dose anyone consider picking up a lot of rocks is OP and needs nerfing?

This is just a strawman argument. There are no details available on what they will make so claiming it's too complicated or restrictive is based on nothing. I personally think it could work just fine assuming it's implemented in a sensible and consistent way. A little polish on the interface should make sure we won't need a degree in calculus to deal with picking up stuff.

[lachlaan]

A little polish on the interface should make sure we won't need a degree in calculus to deal with picking up stuff.

Or need to purchase Hermione Granger's bag from the store

But yeah I think encumbrance would be a nice addition. To be honest i like the idea and will be interesting to see it come into play.

[ImpalerWrG]

This is just a strawman argument. There are no details available on what they will make so claiming it's too complicated or restrictive is based on nothing. I personally think it could work just fine assuming it's implemented in a sensible and consistent way. A little polish on the interface should make sure we won't need a degree in calculus to deal with picking up stuff.

I described several ways in which Encumbrance is often implemented all of which are consistent with the trend of this thread, they are by no means straw men as they are not designed to be bad or exaggerated. I described how they all in my opinion suck, you might not agree with my rational of excessive mental taxation being bad, but your unjustified of accusing me of arguing in bad faith (which by the way your exaggeration of Division into Calculus comes close to doing). If you know of or can design a system that avoids the problems I foresee then lay it out for us all to see, JC would probably use it if it is as great as you claim.

[Feone]

This is just a strawman argument. There are no details available on what they will make so claiming it's too complicated or restrictive is based on nothing. I personally think it could work just fine assuming it's implemented in a sensible and consistent way. A little polish on the interface should make sure we won't need a degree in calculus to deal with picking up stuff.

I described several ways in which Encumbrance is often implemented all of which are consistent with the trend of this thread, they are by no means straw men as they are not designed to be bad or exaggerated. I described how they all in my opinion suck, you might not agree with my rational of excessive mental taxation being bad, but your unjustified of accusing me of arguing in bad faith (which by the way your exaggeration of Division into Calculus comes close to doing). If you know of or can design a system that avoids the problems I foresee then lay it out for us all to see, JC would probably use it if it is as great as you claim.

You are missing the point.
You are saying that the system proposed here is a bad idea. You do this by making up several other systems and then pointing at those and saying they are bad. This is a strawman argument.

I personally like the idea of heavier objects slowing you down while giving us a bit more freedom in picking stuff up. Especially for foraging it would be nice, being able to pick up the small stuff in bigger amounts would save a lot of pointless back and forth walking.

The system really doesn't need to be all that complicated, just keeping the current slots and add a total weight after which your character just slows down gradually with every increase. No need to prevent people from picking up that one extra item, it'll just make them walk a bit slower. Nothing hard to grasp about it.