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ITEM CARRYING RESTRICTION
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Ocean
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CloseIn RPGs, there are restrictions to the amount of items you can carry at once. Sometimes you'll feel this restriction very quickly and will need to determine which items to keep or not, and sometimes the restriction will barely be present.
The different types:
*No restrictions to the amount of item types
It's extremely rare to see a game that doesn't limit your items at all, including the amount of each item you can carry. So it would be possible to get 300000 potions if you want. The bad thing is that there may be an incredibly huge list to sort through, if they have a million different types of items. Plus, most games don't really need you to have that many items.
Generally, what you'll see (Especially in Final Fantasy and RPG Maker) is that you can hold as many different items as you'd like, but the amount of them is restricted. Usually the restriction is 99, but there are games that have different restrictions. Secret of Mana used 4 as a maximum, Seiken Densetsu 3 used 9 (At least in the Ring menu).
Something you might want to consider with this (Unless you're using the default menu in RM2K3) is if you want a carrying bag or other upgrade type to allow you to carry more of each type. So perhaps when you get a travel bag, you raise the amount of items you can carry in each type from 15 to 25.
*Restricted amount of item types, no weight
Some games have it so that you can only hold a certain amount of items. It may or may not include the amount of each item. So, perhaps you can hold only 4 item types (For example: Potion, Mana Herb, Life Potion, Sundial), but up to 99 of each. Perhaps you want to limit it furthur and have up to 3 item types, and you can carry at most 5 of each.
What happens here that doesn't in the previous one is now you have to consider which items you keep and which ones you don't. Does equipment count? Can that maximum be raised? Are quest items counted?
*Restricted amount of total items, no weight
Similar principal to the previous 2, but now both item types and their amount are counting. So, you would be careful to not have too many of an item because you'll need room for others. If the total amount of items you can carry is 15, you probably wouldn't want them all to be heal potions, and you'll usually have to make sacrifices. Is it worth getting a Megalixer right now if I don't think I'll use it until the end of the game, and there's a sword right there that will serve me now? If so, what do I give up to get that Megalixer?
*Weight restriction
When using this system, you'll have to assign a weight value to each item. Obviously potions aren't going to weigh as much as the +3 Iron 2-handed Claymore of the Titans. You may or may not feel the restrictions depending on what you carry. If all you do is hunt 60 ft. tall giants for their armor, you'll probably run out of room for items quickly. If you instead carry cloth armor, potions, and coins, you may be able to carry a ton of them before you aren't able to carry any more.
You may want to consider how the player will be carrying these items, and what determines how much weight you can handle. Usually either Strength or Endurance will be what determines how much you can carry. You could also have it affect the type of stuff you can equip. So instead of limiting equipment by class/race, instead it's just determined by strength, so a Level 99 Wizard can equip 2 handed swords that a Level 1 Knight couldn't.
Will you have animals or people help carry stuff for you? If so, either they'll have their own strength/endurance values, or perhaps there's a fixed value. Maybe you'll want more horses to carry stuff for you, then you might want to put a restriction on the amount of animals/people can carry bags of items. Or perhaps they run the risk of dying, either natural or by attacks, so maybe you can't carry all you could when you had that horse alive.
*Space restrictions
This one will usually require the player to sort and arrange items. With space restrictions, the item bag (or whatever) will usually be layed out like a grid, and you can place items there. Things like armors, spears, and axes may take up more space than herbs and rats teeth. You could group like items together (Such as potions) so they fill one space instead of each in their own spot, or you could let each of them have their own space, so having 99 potions then isn't as helpful. Consider the shape of the objects too. Some like Axes may take up an upside down L shape, while spears are just vertical, so the player would make some decisions based on the shapes of the objects as well. Does the bag shape ever change, can you transfer stuff to other characters (or even animals, as mentioned with the weight section)?
You could make it puzzle based, and have odd shapes that the item must fit into in the grid. So if you have an upside-down L shape, you could only put in items like axes in there. Or maybe you could put items like Axes and smaller, but only one item can be in that space, and must fit inside of it.
Feel free to discuss your own ideas that you have for item carrying restrictions, which ones you like or don't, the pros/cons to them, whatever!
The different types:
*No restrictions to the amount of item types
It's extremely rare to see a game that doesn't limit your items at all, including the amount of each item you can carry. So it would be possible to get 300000 potions if you want. The bad thing is that there may be an incredibly huge list to sort through, if they have a million different types of items. Plus, most games don't really need you to have that many items.
Generally, what you'll see (Especially in Final Fantasy and RPG Maker) is that you can hold as many different items as you'd like, but the amount of them is restricted. Usually the restriction is 99, but there are games that have different restrictions. Secret of Mana used 4 as a maximum, Seiken Densetsu 3 used 9 (At least in the Ring menu).
Something you might want to consider with this (Unless you're using the default menu in RM2K3) is if you want a carrying bag or other upgrade type to allow you to carry more of each type. So perhaps when you get a travel bag, you raise the amount of items you can carry in each type from 15 to 25.
*Restricted amount of item types, no weight
Some games have it so that you can only hold a certain amount of items. It may or may not include the amount of each item. So, perhaps you can hold only 4 item types (For example: Potion, Mana Herb, Life Potion, Sundial), but up to 99 of each. Perhaps you want to limit it furthur and have up to 3 item types, and you can carry at most 5 of each.
What happens here that doesn't in the previous one is now you have to consider which items you keep and which ones you don't. Does equipment count? Can that maximum be raised? Are quest items counted?
*Restricted amount of total items, no weight
Similar principal to the previous 2, but now both item types and their amount are counting. So, you would be careful to not have too many of an item because you'll need room for others. If the total amount of items you can carry is 15, you probably wouldn't want them all to be heal potions, and you'll usually have to make sacrifices. Is it worth getting a Megalixer right now if I don't think I'll use it until the end of the game, and there's a sword right there that will serve me now? If so, what do I give up to get that Megalixer?
*Weight restriction
When using this system, you'll have to assign a weight value to each item. Obviously potions aren't going to weigh as much as the +3 Iron 2-handed Claymore of the Titans. You may or may not feel the restrictions depending on what you carry. If all you do is hunt 60 ft. tall giants for their armor, you'll probably run out of room for items quickly. If you instead carry cloth armor, potions, and coins, you may be able to carry a ton of them before you aren't able to carry any more.
You may want to consider how the player will be carrying these items, and what determines how much weight you can handle. Usually either Strength or Endurance will be what determines how much you can carry. You could also have it affect the type of stuff you can equip. So instead of limiting equipment by class/race, instead it's just determined by strength, so a Level 99 Wizard can equip 2 handed swords that a Level 1 Knight couldn't.
Will you have animals or people help carry stuff for you? If so, either they'll have their own strength/endurance values, or perhaps there's a fixed value. Maybe you'll want more horses to carry stuff for you, then you might want to put a restriction on the amount of animals/people can carry bags of items. Or perhaps they run the risk of dying, either natural or by attacks, so maybe you can't carry all you could when you had that horse alive.
*Space restrictions
This one will usually require the player to sort and arrange items. With space restrictions, the item bag (or whatever) will usually be layed out like a grid, and you can place items there. Things like armors, spears, and axes may take up more space than herbs and rats teeth. You could group like items together (Such as potions) so they fill one space instead of each in their own spot, or you could let each of them have their own space, so having 99 potions then isn't as helpful. Consider the shape of the objects too. Some like Axes may take up an upside down L shape, while spears are just vertical, so the player would make some decisions based on the shapes of the objects as well. Does the bag shape ever change, can you transfer stuff to other characters (or even animals, as mentioned with the weight section)?
You could make it puzzle based, and have odd shapes that the item must fit into in the grid. So if you have an upside-down L shape, you could only put in items like axes in there. Or maybe you could put items like Axes and smaller, but only one item can be in that space, and must fit inside of it.
Feel free to discuss your own ideas that you have for item carrying restrictions, which ones you like or don't, the pros/cons to them, whatever!
Despain
415
As I see it, restricting players is never a good thing. A player will never WANT to have to choose to throw away an item. Lots of people out there will jump at the idea of limiting items in their game because it's just one more CUSTOM SYSTEM or whatever but honestly it doesn't add to the gameplay- it takes away from it, and quite literally (ohoho).
I'm fine with the reasonable limits- as many item types as you want, 99 or so of each. I mean there's no reason to have 99 anyway, so it's pretty much limitless as it is.
I'm fine with the reasonable limits- as many item types as you want, 99 or so of each. I mean there's no reason to have 99 anyway, so it's pretty much limitless as it is.
I don't like the restrictions much either. I was playing Oblivion and I got a mod so I could carry as much stuff as I wanted to. Before, even in the first dungeon I was throwing away things because I ran out of space. I think that's excessive. It seems like it's mostly cRPGs that use the total item, space and weight restrictions, jRPGs usually use the first 2 (And even then, mostly the first).
That post wasn't even meant to be that long, but I guess I got bored at work.
That post wasn't even meant to be that long, but I guess I got bored at work.
Gadreel
4
Weight Restriction is sort of a silly thing.
It is a cheap attempt to become realistic but seriously comes off as more a major annoyance to the user when they can't fit an item in the bag because you only have .99 weight available. e.g. D&D HEROES: Max weight of 100 pounds and a spear weighing 1 pound allows you to carry 100 of those spears... without any bulges in your backpack. Last I checked, 100 spears is a tad bit too large to carry in a dinky backpack.
Combining backpack with a with space restriction and weight restriction would be the most realistic. Something like in Diablo where a weapon is 3x5, 2x2, etc.. and you have a 10x10 slot bag. Shoot.. I could deal with it if the character's in-game backpack bulged because of the contents and would have its own durability and suffer from having a very low avoidance ability which ultimately allows a monster to slash and miss you but destroy your bag - spilling the contents all over the dungeon floor! But realistic? Why bring realism into a game. It's a game after all and real-life is a pain anyway. Would be nice to actively avoid the laws of science and bend it to your own will in a bubble that only you have control of.
Think of how nice moving would be? Just pack an entire household into your car and still have room to fit 10 clowns or going to class with a backpack and pulling out your desktop from home, a beach ball, and 14 stacks of comic books.
Out of the list though, I think Restricted Amount of Item Types w/o weight is the best in games specifically MMORPGs. I play an MMORPG called RF Online and it has slotted bags and limited amount of bags and BANK SPACE but in combination with the Restricted Amount of Item Types w/o weight and it works pretty well. You get pretty picky with what you carry with you eventhough you feel that you MUST keep everything.
It is a cheap attempt to become realistic but seriously comes off as more a major annoyance to the user when they can't fit an item in the bag because you only have .99 weight available. e.g. D&D HEROES: Max weight of 100 pounds and a spear weighing 1 pound allows you to carry 100 of those spears... without any bulges in your backpack. Last I checked, 100 spears is a tad bit too large to carry in a dinky backpack.
Combining backpack with a with space restriction and weight restriction would be the most realistic. Something like in Diablo where a weapon is 3x5, 2x2, etc.. and you have a 10x10 slot bag. Shoot.. I could deal with it if the character's in-game backpack bulged because of the contents and would have its own durability and suffer from having a very low avoidance ability which ultimately allows a monster to slash and miss you but destroy your bag - spilling the contents all over the dungeon floor! But realistic? Why bring realism into a game. It's a game after all and real-life is a pain anyway. Would be nice to actively avoid the laws of science and bend it to your own will in a bubble that only you have control of.
Think of how nice moving would be? Just pack an entire household into your car and still have room to fit 10 clowns or going to class with a backpack and pulling out your desktop from home, a beach ball, and 14 stacks of comic books.
Out of the list though, I think Restricted Amount of Item Types w/o weight is the best in games specifically MMORPGs. I play an MMORPG called RF Online and it has slotted bags and limited amount of bags and BANK SPACE but in combination with the Restricted Amount of Item Types w/o weight and it works pretty well. You get pretty picky with what you carry with you eventhough you feel that you MUST keep everything.
DFalcon
2141
I see it as two separate issues:
Restrictions on how much stuff I can carry around to use can be interesting.
Restrictions on how much stuff I can loot are usually not. A lot of the time finding things in a dungeon or monster corpse is the main reward for that dungeon or monster. (Not to mention that selling loot is often your primary source of money.) If I have to make multiple trips to haul that stuff back to where it can be sold, it becomes a pain, especially because merchants don't tend to be very close to dungeons.
Just to throw out an idea, in Oblivion this could have been alleviated by, say, a "Turn this item into money" button, or a portable hole that the player could only withdraw from in town.
Restrictions on how much stuff I can carry around to use can be interesting.
Restrictions on how much stuff I can loot are usually not. A lot of the time finding things in a dungeon or monster corpse is the main reward for that dungeon or monster. (Not to mention that selling loot is often your primary source of money.) If I have to make multiple trips to haul that stuff back to where it can be sold, it becomes a pain, especially because merchants don't tend to be very close to dungeons.
Just to throw out an idea, in Oblivion this could have been alleviated by, say, a "Turn this item into money" button, or a portable hole that the player could only withdraw from in town.
It could be like either having a travelling merchant with you, or a familiar (or messenger person or whatever) so that you could immediately sell the items that you find that you want to sell. Or, it could easily be remedied also by being able to teleport to town and back to the place where you were instantly. There are a few games like that (and it makes travelling a lot more convenient too).
One example of a good item carriage system is that of the old PC classic, Castle of the Winds (plus sequel). Here, you had two limiting factors: weight and bulk. This did well to solve the common problem of realism that gadreel outlined. Weight capacity was increased by strength, while extra bags gave extra bulk capacity. Of course, this makes a lot more sense than the infamous "bag of holding" effect, although you still could carry a lot more than is considered sensible (particularly as the character was on his own, and it's unlikely he'd be able to have a good melee skill with a huge bulging pack on his back...which is where encumberment should appear). While this should be fairly easy to implement in rm2k3, it may be a lot of work trying to come up with a good system for balancing all the items.
Pokemon is another good example of a storage system. A backpack with compartments, and while you can have a more or less unlimited stock of your main item - pokemon (though they are essentially your party members) - you can only carry 6 at a time for use in battle. Again, this worked as it fitted in with the storyline and yet was practical and realsitic.
Pokemon is another good example of a storage system. A backpack with compartments, and while you can have a more or less unlimited stock of your main item - pokemon (though they are essentially your party members) - you can only carry 6 at a time for use in battle. Again, this worked as it fitted in with the storyline and yet was practical and realsitic.
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