Too much loot

[Sheikh]

Am I the only one who hates muling up on trash loot to sell, or maybe-usable items to identify later or save for later just in case? The amount of loot in icewind dale games was astounding, and I worried that if I didnt pick it up i might one day need some of it or the gold I would get for selling it. It was like fighting yourself internally to balance the amount of loot you pick up, because I really hated doing it and worrying about the amount of space in your inventory or the weight capacity. If most of the loot is useless it kind of kills the mentality of trying to get every advantage you can.

 

I think good items should be very rare, decent items should be somewhat rare and common items would be common, which doesnt mean that they drop every time you kill a random monster. The curve should be parabolic.

[Sarex]

There is no such thing as too much loot.

[Fearabbit]

The curve should be parabolic.

 

Experts only use exponential curves.

 

I don't like all the micromanaging that goes along with lots of loot, either. I'd especially prefer it if the game was balanced around a system where selling loot like weapons and armor is impossible, unless it's a unique item. Those weapons you found on the body of a zombie warrior aren't gonna be worth a whole lot to a merchant.

 

But I do want lots of loot. As long as there's a good overview in the menu that tells me which character profits from that item the most.

[Gfted1]

PE's inventory offers unlimited weight and unlimited items in its "deep stash". No worries on space issues.

[Sheikh]

I think they should make it only possible to carry as much loot out of a dungeon as your party full of humans could actually carry in real life (more or less) . So the amount would be pretty limited, but if you really wanted to then in many cases you could go back again and take more of the loot, if you were dire for money or left just exactly this few or that few items in the dungeon, but it would be somewhat bothersome so there would be motivation to not do it.

Edited June 26, 2013 by Sheikh

[Fearabbit]

I think they should make it only possible to carry as much loot out of a dungeon as your party full of humans could actually carry in real life (more or less) . So the amount would be pretty limited, but if you really wanted to then in many cases you could go back again and take more of the loot, if you were dire for money or left just exactly this few or that few items in the dungeon, but it would be somewhat bothersome so there would be motivation to not do it.

 

That's how RPGs usually do it. It never works, people always come back for the extra loot. And it is tedious as hell. Which is why Obsidian decided for a different kind of inventory that doesn't have size or weight limits, but is for the most part out of reach (until you reach a camp or an inn or something). Just... trust them on this one.

[Gfted1]

I think they should make it only possible to carry as much loot out of a dungeon as your party full of humans could actually carry in real life (more or less) . So the amount would be pretty limited, but if you really wanted to then in many cases you could go back again and take more of the loot, if you were dire for money or left just exactly this few or that few items in the dungeon, but it would be somewhat bothersome so there would be motivation to not do it.

 

 

Sorry but the bolded has been deemed "degenerative gameplay" and thus infinite inventory springs to life.

[Iucounu]

I would be glad if some of my companions would do most of the looting, automatically after every fight, they should collect all the stuff from the corpses that are lying around. And when the items in the inventory are well sorted, I really have no problem with looting at all. Also don't give a crap about limited inventory.

It should also be possible to select several items at once, to transfer them into some sort of stock or to another companion. 

[rjshae]

It might be useful if I could set some filters on the type of loot that I want to collect. Good quality arrows = yes; masterwork daggers = yes; smelly goblin codpieces = no; ogre's arse wiping brush = no. As we go up in rank, dealing with rusty weapons will lose its appeal, so being able to tune that stuff out will be expedient.

 

Perhaps have a loot filter dialogue with general loot categories (each slot, scroll/potion expendables, and treasure) and matching slider controls so we can set the quality of loot we want to pick (ranging from low quality unsellable crap to masterwork or better).

[Nonek]

Yes I hate loot with a passion, however I realise that i'm in a minority and there's no real use bringing the subject up, as the vast majority of players find real satisfaction and progression in collecting tat. Personally i'd prefer an inventory like in the first Witcher game, where I can only carry a few weapons and no armour other than what i'm wearing as well as a few trinkets in my pack. That will probably never be implemented again however.

[Gfted1]

Im actually kind of looking forward to it. Ive never played a game that has unlimited inventory so Im down for it if it makes my life easier.

[LadyCrimson]

There is no such thing as too much loot.

Loot, loot, that RPG fruit!

The more you smite, the more you loot!

The more you loot, the better you feel

Sifting through the rewards at every meal!

[teknoman2]

what i would do, would be  to add a pack mule that waits outside the dungeon. you go in, kill stuff and loot them, then you go to the mule that has unlimited room and drop off what you dont need... then back in to kill some more.

the unlimited deep stash and the limited usable inventory, is practicaly an implied mule

[quechn1tlan]

A primary rule of classical RPGs:

1- Loot *everything* you can, unless it's bolted to the ground or on fire...

1b- ...then come back later with a crowbar and a bucket of water.

 

Don't take this away from us.

 

 

 

PE's inventory offers unlimited weight and unlimited items in its "deep stash". No worries on space issues.

 

You're a mod, so probably not talking out of your arse, but could we still get a link where this is stated by the devs?

[Amentep]

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/63839-inventory-management/ this thread has a summary, interview links and some comments from Josh.

 

Josh's first post here: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/63839-inventory-management/page-2?do=findComment&comment=1334881

 

Also "Deep Stash" sounds like a porn movie title.

[quechn1tlan]

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/63839-inventory-management/ this thread has a summary, interview links and some comments from Josh.

 

Josh's first post here: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/63839-inventory-management/page-2?do=findComment&comment=1334881

 

 

 

Welp, that's kinda sad. Not game-breaking, but still sad. Thanks for the link nonetheless.

[Amentep]

They have said before something to the effect that if it ended up not working in a fun way they'd change things around to try and make it fun.

 

I think right now its hard for me to visualize some of how they're thinking this stuff is going to work; hopefully we'll be able to see it in action (so to say) in previews which may give a better idea.

[motorizer]

I kind of dislike the way RPGs always turn into a crap collecting simulator.. I'd be happy with a realistic inventory limit, but I know I'm in the minority there

Trading in a more realistic and meaningful way, such as buying a shipload of goods and sailing it to another port to sell...or running a trading caravan would be a much more preferable way of trading and making cash to me...or hell, even looting and robbing other people's caravans or ships.

[Lephys]

Welp, that's kinda sad. Not game-breaking, but still sad. Thanks for the link nonetheless.

Meh, details like that are pretty up-in-the-air until later on in development. Josh's big thing is "How does this actually affect the gameplay?". So, until it fully checks out against that, I wouldn't assume it's set-in-stone and absolutely untweakable.

 

Look at the miss mechanics. He had the very reasonable notion that chancical missing was playing too lame of a role in most games, and he wanted to fix that. Well, he took missing out completely. After further consideration and feedback mulling, he decided "Yeah, that may have been a slight overshot. We'll step it back a few and just make misses the rarer thing now." And now we have hits and critical hits, and grazes and "critical grazes" (full misses). And I think that's splendid.

 

The point being, even after he, with all his awesome development knowledge, thought he had nailed a solid solution, he still ended up tweaking it, because of its effects upon gameplay.

 

Whatever they end up with, in the finalized version of the inventory mechanics, I trust that it will be something that's well-thought-out and entirely functional.

[Iron_JG]

I'm agnostic on whether there should be a lot of loot or not. There needs to enough loot to give diverse and cool itemization options, and a sense that you've thoroughly ransacked a dungeon with a valuable haul. This is something that takes play-testing to perfect, methinks, so time will tell if PE gets it right.

 

However, if PE does decide to have a lot of loot, make it easy to pick up and sort. I don't subscribe to the theory that tedium should be a trade-off for thorough looting. In general, if a system is tedious or the player can easily make it tedious, it should probably be adjusted to make it not tedious. Some people might say, "Oh, hoarders deserve it for being so greedy," but the goal of the game is to be as much fun for as many people as possible. Superfluous loot should be scaled back before players are allowed/forced to waste a lot of time looting. That's kind of saying save the player from himself, and, well, it is. Find room in your heart for mercy!

[Bartimaeus]

Honestly, playing through BG2 again, I have >300,000 gold, and I haven't even joined Bodhi or the Shadow Thieves yet. I feel like there's a problem here, but I can't quite put my finger on it...I like the idea of creatures having actual equipment, (as opposed to NWN2's not very fun system), but goodness gracious, I already have more money than I could possibly ever need for throughout the entire game...

Edited June 29, 2013 by Bartimaeus

[Frenetic Pony]

Err, yeah it can become a problem. Some games (my latest example is level 30+ in Borderlands 2 + DLC) can just have you sorting through piles and piles of trash, with so much stuff thrown at you that all is meaningless. "Oh look, it's one of those extremely rare colors, I'll toss in with my dozen others I have that are junk."

 

So, there's definitely such a thing as TOO much loot.

[jamoecw]

if you have to loot trash bins to stay alive, then there is an issue with the loot system.

if you loot trash bins and become a millionaire, then there is an issue with the loot system.

if you face dozens of enemies with equipment you'd like to use and don't get any of it just because, there is an issue with the drop mechanics.

if you face dozens of enemies that don't use the equipment that they would like to use, there is an issue with the drop mechanics.

if at the end of a game you have no room in your inventory due to needed 'junk', then there is an issue with the inventory system.

if you have been looting everything literally possible and hoarding it, and never have to think about space, then there is an issue with the inventory system.

 

as long as these are taken into consideration, it'll be fine.

 

P.S.  infinite doesn't necessarily mean you don't have to worry about space (like if there is only so much you can have with you at any given time, as proposed).  it also doesn't mean that you can't 'run out of room' in your inventory (think planescape torment with the junk item being useful only if it is with you at the time).

[eschaton]

IMHO a game should have the following regarding loot:

 

1.  You can take/sell just about everything not nailed down, but most things are of piddly value.

2.  Inventory space is limited.

3.  The really cool **** is only available at incredibly high prices, or as a result of special encounters/quests 

4.  Gold has weight.  It keeps you from accumulating huge amounts.  If you have too much, open a bank account, use writs of payment, or buy/keep high value things like magic items or precious gems.  

 

The beauty of such a system is it makes the payoff for selling vendor trash almost not worth it.  For the obsessive-compulsive players who want to sell everything in the game, it still exists as a option.  But most players, as they gain levels, will reach a point where it's just not worth it to pick up non-magical items anymore - as it should be.  

[motorizer]

IMHO a game should have the following regarding loot:

 

1.  You can take/sell just about everything not nailed down, but most things are of piddly value.

2.  Inventory space is limited.

3.  The really cool **** is only available at incredibly high prices, or as a result of special encounters/quests 

4.  Gold has weight.  It keeps you from accumulating huge amounts.  If you have too much, open a bank account, use writs of payment, or buy/keep high value things like magic items or precious gems.  

 

The beauty of such a system is it makes the payoff for selling vendor trash almost not worth it.  For the obsessive-compulsive players who want to sell everything in the game, it still exists as a option.  But most players, as they gain levels, will reach a point where it's just not worth it to pick up non-magical items anymore - as it should be.  

I agree with all this except partly 3, the really cool stuff should be obtained from encounters, puzzles etc...no legendary items in shops please

 

Arthur didn't go down the shops to get excalibur, the one ring wasn't on offer down at the jewellers...

 

I'd prefer the  a lot of the so called legendary  stuff in shops to be charlatans selling fakes...could still be useful fro what it is, a sword is still a sword,  but turns out not necessarily to be the legendary artifact their outlandish claims said it was

a bit like all the people selling pieces of the one true cross in the middle ages

Edited June 30, 2013 by motorizer