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Inventory Management

AmatheAmathe Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630
Evidently Pantheon will call for players to use situational gear, perhaps more often than most games. So let's say I have my fire armor, my ice armor, and my disease resist armor, etc. in my bags. Am I, every time I need to make a switch, going to have to take the main helmet off, put the fire helmet on, take the main breastplate off, put the fire breastplate on, etc? Or will I be able to save sets of selected gear like "Fire Set," "Ice Set," and so on, where they can be swapped all at once? It's really nice to be able to save armor sets. 

EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests

Comments

  • SinistSinist Member RarePosts: 1,369
    Amathe said:
    Evidently Pantheon will call for players to use situational gear, perhaps more often than most games. So let's say I have my fire armor, my ice armor, and my disease resist armor, etc. in my bags. Am I, every time I need to make a switch, going to have to take the main helmet off, put the fire helmet on, take the main breastplate off, put the fire breastplate on, etc? Or will I be able to save sets of selected gear like "Fire Set," "Ice Set," and so on, where they can be swapped all at once? It's really nice to be able to save armor sets. 

    Scripting for gear switching I don't see as an issue really, especially with the numerous situational gear they will have. I think it would be reasonable to allow for some element of setting such automation to change out gear, though personally I would like to see a cool down on it so it isn't used as a gimmick. Maybe even a cast timer that puts the process of putting on gear in an automated fashion, but simulates the process of it taking time.

    So, for instance you fall into a pit which is surrounded by lava and the room is extremely hot which results in you taking damage. You then use a command line or a hotkey to switch to a given gear makeup to put on heat resistant gear. This script begins putting on your gear slowly (how slow/fast would need to be tuned) one item at a time with a cast timer showing you the progress.

    What this would do is remove the tedium of the "mouse dexterity game" of dragging on each item, but it would allow for a game play mechanic that could be even used as an element in some scripted events. Not to mention, it would avoid abuse situations of people hot swapping constantly or in an unreasonable abusive manner.

    DDO had something similar for putting on heavy armor versus cloth. When you went to equip a breast plate, it would slot it and then a cast timer would display the time it would take to complete. If you were attacked in that time, moved, etc... the process was aborted.

    I do think there should be an inventory space management game mechanic. Unlimited space creates so many problems in the long run.
  • FelwitFelwit Member UncommonPosts: 20
    I agree that there should be automation of gear changes, especially since the game will require different sets of situational gear.

    The inventory management is a concern with multiple sets of gear. You cannot require a tank to have 5 different sets of plate tank armor on him at all times, but make each set equal to half of his weight carrying capacity and take up a quarter of his inventory slots. I hope the issues there are obvious enough to the devs.

    If we need to swap gear and only have a limited number of sets on us, I would like to see "gear bags." When I take off my fire resist gear to put on my poison resist gear, I would like all of my fire resist gear to get placed in the same bag, and nothing else to get placed in there as I loot things. If I have to go to a bank to swap what sets of gear I take with me, I want to just put one bag into the bank and take one bag out, and know that I have all the appropriate gear. Additionally, having different looking bag icons (or the ability to change the icon for particular bags) would be helpful. This way, I can look at the icon and know the light blue bag has my ice resist gear, while the red one has my fire resist gear, instead of opening each bag and inspecting what is inside.
  • DullahanDullahan Member EpicPosts: 4,536
    I think you should totally be able to macro item swaps, but I don't think equipping a set of gear should just be something that instantaneously happens.

    I can't remember what game it was (maybe Mortal Online), but there has been a few games where equipping an item actually took a few seconds. I like the idea that you can queue the entire set to equip, but each item icon should have a progress bar backdrop indicating status. The process should also stop all other actions and be susceptible to interruption if attacked. That way changing armor, much like changing active abilities, must be something you consider beforehand.


  • VorthanionVorthanion Member RarePosts: 2,749
    God, I hope not.  I'd much rather have classes buff me for the situation with resists and cures.  Running around with multiple sets of gear sounds irritating at best and immersion breaking to boot.

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  • DullahanDullahan Member EpicPosts: 4,536
    God, I hope not.  I'd much rather have classes buff me for the situation with resists and cures.  Running around with multiple sets of gear sounds irritating at best and immersion breaking to boot.
    Well they've already said bringing an extra set of gear will be a thing. You will have limited inventory space, and weight limitations, so I'm not sure how carrying an extra set of gear will be any more immersion breaking than its been in every other mmo.

    You will need more than just buffs to survive in certain environments.


  • AlbatroesAlbatroes Member LegendaryPosts: 7,671
    Did they say that you'll be able to switch gear during combat? (Like FFXI, if anyone has played that).

    Also, I hope they set up inventory so it can be expanded on....not like FFXIV's way of doing inventory, where they keep saying "Due to server stress, we can't...." yet can turn around and sell you more retainers for space....makes sense.
  • SinistSinist Member RarePosts: 1,369
    If they go the route of special gear bags only for that special gear, I think a good solution that falls in line with gear swapping and stays consistent to bag space game play is to have the player assign the swaped gear at a bank or the like.

    For example, I find a special gear bag that is designed to hold a certain style and set of gear (maybe a winter gear satchel of the like). When I am at the bank, I open it up and I am able to add or remove a set of gear related to that focus (ie winter gear). The bag would even have paper doll like slots where only a single set of gear could fit in it. So, you would add all the slots, then maybe you would have another bag for a different climate or environment (desert garb).

    The thing about this is on your main paper doll, there could be a limited number of bag slots for these set gear bags to which you would have to unlock as you learned that survival skill and then you would have to obtain a bag that fit that gear to store it.

    Now you could still put any gear in your general bag at any time, but it would be limited to its own space and game progression. With this design, you could have multiple gear packs, but not allow people to have unlimited space making inventory space management still a component of play.

    obviously this is off the cusp and can be modified and adjusted in numerous directions and ways.
  • SinistSinist Member RarePosts: 1,369
    Albatroes said:
    Did they say that you'll be able to switch gear during combat? (Like FFXI, if anyone has played that).

    Also, I hope they set up inventory so it can be expanded on....not like FFXIV's way of doing inventory, where they keep saying "Due to server stress, we can't...." yet can turn around and sell you more retainers for space....makes sense.
    I hope not. I would prefer there to be no in-combat gear swapping. I can see it as a game mechanic to an extent, but it really starts heading down the whole "action" mechanic. I would prefer gear to be a strategy mechanic in planning, not an arcade one.
  • AmatheAmathe Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630
    Something to keep in mind. Maybe you have a bag of gear that is your ice resist set. Every item has ice resist on it.

    But maybe you haven't finished collecting that set yet, so you have some items you will mic with other items.

    Or maybe you have an item you wear all the time because it has such important things about it that you are willing to forego ice resistance in that slot.

    Point is, many people's armor sets are not so neat that they can be put in a bag and left for a rainy day. 

    I would like to be able to define my sets by putting them on, defining them as "_____ gear," and then taking them back off again. So long as all that stuff is in my inventory, if I click "____ set" those items will then equip. 

    There are lots of ways to do it. I just don't want too much of the game's downtime to consist of me rummaging through bags looking for my +30 fire resist ring that looks like 10 other rings, if avoidable. 

    EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests

  • AmsaiAmsai Member UncommonPosts: 299
    They havent said 100% but Im sure I remember reading that they werent interested in that due to immersion and strategy of scenarios. So Im pretty sure it a no.

    On what Sinist just said about specual bags. One of the few things i like from XIV is its Armory system. Youve basically got regular inventory space which anything can go in. And then you have the Armory inventory system which stores sets of gear. And pantheon could do this because Im guessing inventory management and weight could quickly become a problem if you go to a dungeon boss tbat takes 4 atmospheres to reach. Its either that or they need to make it relatively eash to get magical bags of weightlessness. But I really think an Armory system with limits on it (only load gear sets to it in town and with cast time to wear in field ouy of combat) and a normal inventory with normal EQ rules is the way. That way you can have what you need for battle but new drops and what you take would act normally zo youd still need to be careful


  • SinistSinist Member RarePosts: 1,369
    Amsai said:
    And pantheon could do this because Im guessing inventory management and weight could quickly become a problem if you go to a dungeon boss tbat takes 4 atmospheres to reach.
    Oh I really like this. That is a great idea, another layer of layers of game play elements that create restrictions and carrots to obtain to progress. You can't get to a specific end boss in a given dungeon or area unless you have collected multiple sets to be able to withstand the journey to it.

    I like that a lot!
  • AmsaiAmsai Member UncommonPosts: 299
    Every since they introduced the atmospheres ive been thinking if things like that. All though im sure it will cause some to cry abouy "gated content" but thats probably unavoidable and Id honestly be ok with it.


  • SinistSinist Member RarePosts: 1,369
    edited November 2015
    Amsai said:
    Every since they introduced the atmospheres ive been thinking if things like that. All though im sure it will cause some to cry abouy "gated content" but thats probably unavoidable and Id honestly be ok with it.
    Gated content is only a problem if their exists bottle necks that can be precisely player controlled (easily). In EQ some content was channeled through bosses that guilds would camp specifically to gate other guilds from progressing. If they gate via group content (ie players will have to scour the world in group content to obtain items from various names, quests, etc...) then it is less of an abuse issue and simply a standard of progression and you have seen my arguments of those, that is... if someone is complaining about having to progress in a progression based game, they really are in the wrong place.
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