How do you like your inventory?

[NoOdle]

I need to finish my inventory code, but before I can do that I need to choose a style and stick with it to save having to start it again later down the line. From experience there are many different types of inventory and not all of them, in my opinion, work very well.

 

I would appreciated it if you could tell me what you find the most fun.

 

1) Bags - Items have different shapes and sizes, you have to fit them in as best you can

2) Bags - Items have set slots, each item occupies one slot, some tpyes of items can stack.

3) List - Items appear in a list, space is unlimited, Items appear in order of power/strength

4) List - As above except there is a limit to how much you can carry, e.g. Fallout3

 

Ofc there are more types, but this is to give people and example. If you have any ideas then I would love to hear them. This is also closely linked to how I will store the data for the items and how I will handle equiping of weapons, items and other things. Are there any good approaches to equiping that people have really enjoyed? I need some inspiration. I don't like the WoW method. Gothic 2 worked well but it is quit outdated now, would be nice to have a nex gen approach that is similar.

 

Anyway I'm open to ideas and suggestions! Cheers

[NoOdle]

Oh one other thing, do you like all of your items together? E.g. swords, shields, potions and maps are all in the same grid/bag/list or do you like them split into categories?

[carlb]

for me i liked option 1 and is the most common in RPG type games

which i like lol

[Canardia]

1) Bags - Items have different shapes and sizes, you have to fit them in as best you can. In addition items have also different weights, so you get encumbered if you carry too much. The more you carry, the slower you move.

 

To equip different item sets, you use some sketches (which are also items in your bags) which work like bags, except that they contain only links to items. If a link to an item is not in one of your bags, but in the bank, then it can't be equipped.

 

You can also have mules and wagons, which can carry the bags for you.

[Qbound]

i will go the way like diablo 2 did. so no list but slots with different sizes.

In the beginning i use lists because they are easier to handle from the coding point of view.

the DB and all items are prepared for the D2 way.

For merchants and so on i will use lists.

 

cu

Oliver

[Davaris]

This is probably not practical, but what if you did away with the inventory altogether? How about having slots on the player's game body where you can put things? So if he has a sword it is strapped to his side. If he has a quiver it is strapped to his back?

[VicToMeyeZR]

This is kind of an open ended question for me, because it totally depends on your goal..

 

I don't think there is a right answer to that, because if you want your characters to be able to carry unlimited then make it unlimited.

 

I do like using icon slots versus lists though, so that wold be my preference. I personally don't like multi-sized slots; one slot per item, some items stackable, but I would make the "backpack" not unlimited, but each character based on a certain stat would have a set weight they could carry, and at around 80% of that number you can no longer run, and at 101% your walk would be then cut in half. At 150% you would not be able to move anymore. Or something to that effect, but that is just my personal thought on it.

[Rick]

I prefer bags where 1 slot per item with some stacking and not unlimited BUT with the ability to make it unlimited somehow so when a person gets so powerful they don't have to worry about bag space.

 

I don't like slowing movement because then you might end up throwing stuff out to move faster to get away from someone/thing and that would be kind of lame. Funny to see, but lame.

 

*pictures a lowbie running away with items flying from his body*

[NoOdle]

Thanks for the replies, I tend to agree that throwing items away is kind of lame, it pissed me off in Fallout3. If I do take this approach then I will have to get the balance correct so it is not such of a problem. The trouble is that most RPG's are all about the loot, to me anyway, and I love killing stuff to get some rare items. I will impliment the inv to have different shapes and sizes for each item, because I can then always make them all 1x1 if it doesnt work as well with the game.

 

Thanks again

[Canardia]

You don't necessarily need any inventory system, if you use physics for the inventory

[NoOdle]

You don't necessarily need any inventory system, if you use physics for the inventory

 

I like that idea ALOT, that is genious!

[TylerH]

[/sarcasm]

[Davaris]

I like that idea ALOT, that is genious!

 

 

Can you use physics while you are placing items and then turn it off for the items when you return from inventory mode?

[Canardia]

You don't need to do anything, let the physics handle it. You only need a pickup/drop object key, usually this is the F key like in Crysis. You could have a softbody bag (softbodies are planned in LE), and a simple box where you can drop the items. To avoid that other players steal the items from your box, or the box itself, you could dig it in the ground, so that they don't find it. You could also have a lockable cover on the box, which can be opened only with a key you possess (a key is useful, if you want to borrow the key to a friend to pick up some stuff from your box). If you feel that just digging the box into the ground is not safe enough, you can also place some heavy ballast into the box, so that people can't move the box.

[Laurens]

I need to finish my inventory code, but before I can do that I need to choose a style and stick with it to save having to start it again later down the line. From experience there are many different types of inventory and not all of them, in my opinion, work very well.

 

I would appreciated it if you could tell me what you find the most fun.

 

1) Bags - Items have different shapes and sizes, you have to fit them in as best you can

2) Bags - Items have set slots, each item occupies one slot, some tpyes of items can stack.

3) List - Items appear in a list, space is unlimited, Items appear in order of power/strength

4) List - As above except there is a limit to how much you can carry, e.g. Fallout3

 

Ofc there are more types, but this is to give people and example. If you have any ideas then I would love to hear them. This is also closely linked to how I will store the data for the items and how I will handle equiping of weapons, items and other things. Are there any good approaches to equiping that people have really enjoyed? I need some inspiration. I don't like the WoW method. Gothic 2 worked well but it is quit outdated now, would be nice to have a nex gen approach that is similar.

 

Anyway I'm open to ideas and suggestions! Cheers

 

I personally liked the way it's done in Dragon Age very much. It's a single bag for your entire party (not sure if you control a single character or multiple in your game) that categorically lists your items.

[Rick]

You don't need to do anything, let the physics handle it. You only need a pickup/drop object key, usually this is the F key like in Crysis. You could have a softbody bag (softbodies are planned in LE), and a simple box where you can drop the items. To avoid that other players steal the items from your box, or the box itself, you could dig it in the ground, so that they don't find it. You could also have a lockable cover on the box, which can be opened only with a key you possess (a key is useful, if you want to borrow the key to a friend to pick up some stuff from your box). If you feel that just digging the box into the ground is not safe enough, you can also place some heavy ballast into the box, so that people can't move the box.

 

 

I can't even begin to imagine how big of a pain this would be.

[Gardowyr]

I can't even begin to imagine how big of a pain this would be.

 

That would be great for benchmarking - place thousands of items in a soft body and look how fast the single threaded physics engine handles it . The final score will then be calculated by multiplying the amount of pork in your bag by the framerate (e.g. 10000 * 0 = 0 points).

 

Even my simple cloth code is awfully slow, I guess a bag with items inside and some kind of complex soft body wouldn't be much faster.