[CarbonatedFalcon]

So on this topic:

Is there a game that starts you off with an inventory limit, but then increases to infinite size as a reward?

Obviously games allow you to increase your inventory size if it is limited, but I was wondering if there were any games that went from n -> ∞ rather than just n -> n + x

I'm thinking like getting a portable hole as an endgame piece of technology/magic here. Hermione's bottomless handbag in Harry Potter only manifests itself in the last book, for instance.

[we.are.the.armada]

I like it, especially if it has a significant impact on combat (ie. Dragon's Dogma speed/stamina limitations, shooters, etc.) and is set up in a way that causes you to be organized and comprehend the value of inventory (ie. WoW, RE4, etc.)

[toddhunter]

So on this topic: Is there a game that starts you off with an inventory limit, but then increases to infinite size as a reward? Obviously games allow you to increase your inventory size if it is limited, but I was wondering if there were any games that went from n -> ∞ rather than just n -> n + x

Bag of holding

[ChaosInTheRain]

As others have said, I think RE 4 had a great little system. But personally I feel games like Skyrim are way off the mark with how things are handled. Too many exploits and when you're allowed to carry an unreasonable amount of stuff in the first place it feels silly to have a limit.

I'd be much happier if devs in cases like Skyrim simply made the item limit an optional difficulty tweak. I mean we can pretend to ourselves that it forces thought and preparation but in reality you're usually able to carry more far more stuff than you'd ever need and then all you end up doing is filling the rest of the space up temporarily with loot, most of which is either sold or thrown away. It leads to a cycle of questing - looting - selling/trashing that usually involves no actual thought or skill. It's kinda like a never ending fetch quest.

I'd like much harsher limits and an increased focus on only picking up useful/valuable stuff or to simply do away with the limit altogether when you can already carry several chests worth of stuff on your person. Not this ridiculous system that sits squarely in the middle that is present in far too many games.

[Treemonkeys]

Eventually the non-carry weight crowd will get their way for further game design being dumbed down. If you complain out it in a Bethesda game, then stop carrying around useless shit that you will sell for gold which you already have too much of. It's not bad game design, it's game design that doesn't cater to balancing your own OCD which you've never managed to control.

[dokish]

I hate inventory limits.

There's no other answer :lol

I hate this. Gave me a big headache in Parasite Eve, and still does in modern games. If a game has limit but you can "manage it comfortably", what's the point in being limited, then?

This keeps me from playing 4 Heroes of Light. Anybody knows if this becomes a issue in the game?

[epmode]

I think the carry limit really adds to a few games so I guess I like it: Deus Ex, System Shock 2, Dark/Demons' Souls

But it's rare to see a game handle it correctly.

[blame space]

It makes sense in games that are poorly designed, like Skyrim. I think if a game is designed well then it shouldn't need to limit you. I like Skyrim, but I don't give a shit about playing it.

first of all don't hide behind spoiler tags all it does is devalue your opinion and lets everyone know that you're ashamed of yourself. second of all does this mean that there are games you don't like but you give a shit about playing them?

[Fancy Corndog]

first of all don't hide behind spoiler tags all it does is devalue your opinion and lets everyone know that you're ashamed of yourself. second of all does this mean that there are games you don't like but you give a shit about playing them?

Yes: Angry Birds. Also Scrabble and Tic-Tac-Toe.

Skyrim is only fun for me as long as I'm role playing. The second I remember it's a video game I realize it's very poorly designed and boring (everything is level scaled and looks the same) and I turn it off. For another thread though I suppose.

[Spring-Loaded]

I liked it in Max Payne 3. These days, I feel like I hardly run out of ammo in games and if I do, I can just run up to an enemy, melee them and get more ammo. In MP3, there were moments where I would run out of ammo and have to make a made dash for some guns lying out in the open or dive out of cover, making sure I placed my last bullet well.

[EatinOlives]

I think it would bother me more if I had half a game continent in my pockets.

Carry limits is a sanity check for your inventory. Because so many alchemy items in the Witcher 2 had almost no weight to them, I would amass an absolutely ridiculous avalanche of items that made navigating that menu a nightmare. After I filled my inventory I spent like 2 minutes putting all the shit I didn't need but still wanted to keep in storage, and I was actually able to organize the damn thing.

[Grayman]

I think games should get more restrictive with them in some cases. Bethseda games have crap inventory management, no meaningful choices to make with it(even Sawyer mod in FNV allows a lot to carry), yet still burden the player.

Limits that are actually a little bit strict can make some enjoyment in the game.

[graywolf323]

most carry limit inventory systems are crap and very annoying

[Dapperk]

In addition to the difficulty options there should be a realism option in games. "Realistic mode" would have the weight limits, limit on the number of guns you can limit, no regenerating health bars etc. The limits in realistic mode would have to actually be realistic as well. None of this bullshit running around at full speed with 299 lbs of gear and not being able to walk with 300.

Unrealistic mode would eliminate weight and gun limits, and add the regenerating health of course.

In MP games just separate players according to the selected mode.

[revolverjgw]

It's not the kind of thing you actively enjoy, per se, but it encourages decision making and compromise and whatnot. It can make a game more satisfying.

[FrenchToastDisciple]

It's not the kind of thing you actively enjoy, per se, but it encourages decision making and compromise and whatnot. It can make a game more satisfying.

Basically this. It's not about it being "realistic," it's about a constraint that requires you to actually make choices which can add a layer to gameplay. (Although, I can see how in games like Fallout 3 or Skyrim how such limits are more annoyances than actual additions to gameplay. The carry limits are so high that you get into a "grab everything" mode in which the only thing added by the limit is the need to go back to your house every now and then to drop stuff off.)

[Aeana]

I don't like anything that limits what I can carry around in general, but I actually do like it when you have to set a "loudout" as it were for what's available to you in battle. I think that's actually a really great median and it still forces you to make choices and prepare yourself.

[Zeitgeister]

Looking at all the crap you can carry in Bethesda games, I'm more than a bit surprised that there even IS a point where you can't carry more of Alexandrea's library, despite robbing 98% of it already. Oh well, just one more, than walk very slowly -for dramatic effect, you see- to the nearest merchant abled NPC.

What should happen:

three sets of armor? Iffy but okay, I guess you could still carry that.
six sets of armor and weapons? woah there, you can't take all that! it's too heavy! (walks and fights a tiny bit slower, but not much)

And then:

SNAP! You fall to the floor helplessly as your spine just snapped like a twig, where you die.
(should no enemy rip you apart in this state)

You then go to Hoarder Hell and get a chance to fight for a second chance, but you must leave everything behind, and all the good stuff is lost to you forever (or cursed).

Oh, and the hoarder demons may randomly curse objects in the world to increase rapidly in weight when in your inventory.

Travel light, adventurer.

[Grayman]

Looking at all the crap you can carry in Bethesda games, I'm more than a bit surprised that there even IS a point where you can't carry more of Alexandrea's library, despite robbing 98% of it already. Oh well, just one more, than walk very slowly -for dramatic effect, you see- to the nearest merchant abled NPC. What should happen: three sets of armor? Iffy but okay, I guess you could still carry that. six sets of armor and weapons? woah there, you can't take all that! it's too heavy! (walks and fights a tiny bit slower, but not much) And then: SNAP! You fall to the floor helplessly as your spine just snapped like a twig, where you die. (should no enemy rip you apart in this state) You then go to Hoarder Hell and get a chance to fight for a second chance, but you must leave everything behind, and all the good stuff is lost to you forever (or cursed). Oh, and the hoarder demons may randomly curse objects in the world to increase rapidly in weight when in your inventory. Travel light, adventurer.

a mod of this would make me play more skyrim.

[blame space]

Yes: Angry Birds. Also Scrabble and Tic-Tac-Toe. Skyrim is only fun for me as long as I'm role playing. The second I remember it's a video game I realize it's very poorly designed and boring (everything is level scaled and looks the same) and I turn it off. For another thread though I suppose.

no we need to get down to the bottom of this.. this is pretty fucked up bro. scrabble is nothing like angry birds.

[Laughing Banana]

The magical briefcase of RE4 is funny.

Imagine if Leon running all over the place while carrying a magic briefcase with his hand or on his back. That would be something to see.

If only in real life we can have a briefcase that can store fully functional/assembled rocket launcher, a shotgun, and a sniper rifle in one swoop, hahaha.

[Aeana]

I think it would bother me more if I had half a game continent in my pockets. Carry limits is a sanity check for your inventory. Because so many alchemy items in the Witcher 2 had almost no weight to them, I would amass an absolutely ridiculous avalanche of items that made navigating that menu a nightmare. After I filled my inventory I spent like 2 minutes putting all the shit I didn't need but still wanted to keep in storage, and I was actually able to organize the damn thing.

That's a failing of the interface.

[Zeer0id]

Sometimes. It needs to be balanced well, otherwise it runs the risk of becoming oppressive.

[blame space]

it's only ridiculous in that it's an actual briefcase. make it just an inventory screen and it actually makes it less ridiculous.

[CarbonatedFalcon]

Looking at all the crap you can carry in Bethesda games, I'm more than a bit surprised that there even IS a point where you can't carry more of Alexandrea's library, despite robbing 98% of it already. Oh well, just one more, than walk very slowly -for dramatic effect, you see- to the nearest merchant abled NPC. What should happen: three sets of armor? Iffy but okay, I guess you could still carry that. six sets of armor and weapons? woah there, you can't take all that! it's too heavy! (walks and fights a tiny bit slower, but not much) And then: SNAP! You fall to the floor helplessly as your spine just snapped like a twig, where you die. (should no enemy rip you apart in this state) You then go to Hoarder Hell and get a chance to fight for a second chance, but you must leave everything behind, and all the good stuff is lost to you forever (or cursed). Oh, and the hoarder demons may randomly curse objects in the world to increase rapidly in weight when in your inventory. Travel light, adventurer.

That would be a fun easter egg.

[blame space]

games are just numbers. i want to have the best numbers. just let me look at all of the numbers.

[EatinOlives]

That's a failing of the interface.

The interface is terrible, true, but the sheer number of shit I carried would've made ANY interface annoying to go through. And remember that I only organized the thing when I filled my carry limit. Without one it would've been three times as worse.

[Y2Kev]

games are just numbers. i want to have the best numbers. just let me look at all of the numbers.

It has to be realistic!

Why realism is a desirable pursuit in a game where you go fight giant trolls is something of an interesting question.

[Lactose_Intolerant]

Elder Scrolls probably do it so it discourages you from touching everything and breaking their games when the save file gets too big.

[Kai Dracon]

Personally I prefer the RE4 style briefcase which seems terribly underused. That turns inventory management into a game that's thematically appropriate.

It's kind of silly, even in an abstract gamey sense, to have a set inventory limit within which ANY combination of items fit so long as the total number isn't exceeded. Carry 30 broadswords, or 30 thimble sized potions! It's exactly the same!

Now if you had an inventory where you could visually fit in 30 tiny vials, or one HUGE sword that took up all the grid spaces, hello strategy.

It has to be realistic! Why realism is a desirable pursuit in a game where you go fight giant trolls is something of an interesting question.

Isn't this a sort of fallacy where, in a piece of fiction, you say "well it's all made up so there's no logic at all in a story! My protagonist has five heads but is a historically accurate civil war soldier who flies in the USS Enterprise!"

I think the more interesting observation is that pen and paper RPGs, the precursor to the computer RPG, apparently tackled these common sense questions first. Players and a GM are expected, if they wish to play it with internal consistency, to object to say, a player picking up fifty swords at once. It's computer RPGs that quickly abstracted things to just lists of numbers, where one could have 99 potions, 99 tincures, 99 swords, 99 shields, in the party sack...

[krae_man]

Seriously though, it depends. Torchlight was perfect since you could send your pet to sell unneeded crap easily. But then in Kingdoms of Amalur and I got annoyed at there being basically way more stuff then you would ever be able to carry and you have no idea what's worth keeping.

[TheShampion]

Can anyone name a recent game that was "challenging" because of inventory limits? I'd like to play it.

Most good Rogue-likes have that challenge. Since so much about going through the dungeons is picking and choosing what items and skills to use, item management is what makes a lot of rogue-likes hard. Having an inventory of great offensive items, and then realizing that you starving to death because you forgot food items is a true harrowing experience.

I recommend Shiren the Wanderer (DS) and Dungeons of Dreadmore (Steam).

[RurouniZel]

The ONLY games where I've ever enjoyed an Inventory limit is the Atelier games. It works there because it's part of the overall planning/decision making process.

Beyond that, I hate 'em.

[carfo]

It sort of ruins the suspension of disbelief when you're carrying 50 weapons and a billion bandages in a small satchel. So in a way I do, but on the other hand if you're a pack rat like me, it can be annoying having to manage your inventory. Then again, that's a meta game in itself.

[blame space]

what a great thread. seriously.

[Nemo]

If the item system around it is designed well, yup!

Certain games like earthbound tho (before you get the extra characters) is just annoying

[picklecannon]

It honestly depends on the game. I don't go out of my way to pick everything up but sometimes the limit is ridiculous or the weight of certain things is so disproportionate. I recall getting a mod for the Witcher 2 to always make my weight 0 because iron ore just weighed way to much, even when compared to weapons. Skyrim had fast travel so when you were close to the weight limit you could just go home and drop your stuff off, and thus weight wasn't a problem there. Just two quick examples of recent games that I've played.

[Laughing Banana]

It has to be realistic! Why realism is a desirable pursuit in a game where you go fight giant trolls is something of an interesting question.

It eases the player to feel more immersion? Sure, fighting giant trolls is not realistic but if the hero is grounded to some level by the reality of real life the player will tend to get more connected to what's happening on the screen and such.

Speaking of "realism", I personally welcome the day when gaming is bold enough to employ "One shot, one kill" mechanic, where the hero would get killed/severely wounded if he/she got shot and with no chance to regenerate health or instant heal medikit pickups (I mean, its "realistic" I guess if the hero is wearing some sort of high-tec self-repairing armor like Halo but even the heroes of Call of Duty games got this bizarre regenerating skill). It would be interesting to see.

[Tricky I Shadow]

HA! I was going to make a thread exactly like this one...trying to manage your weight/items is just plain annoying and not fun at all.

I’m playing through Dragon’s Dogma at the moment and yeah, it’s lame to always have to constantly manage items. It needs to die!

[RoboGeorgeForeman]

I liked the equipment limit in Demon's Souls over the lack of one in Dark Souls. The presence of the equipment burden forced me to constantly manage my inventory, where in Dark Souls, my inventory usually got so clustered that I could never switch weapons reliably mid fight.

But in other games where you can actually sell items, it usually just gets in the way. I remember many-a-time in Fallout: NV where I ended up crawling at the speed of snail instead of dropping weight because I wanted all dat dosh.

[blame space]

It eases the player to feel more immersion? Sure, fighting giant trolls is not realistic but if the hero is grounded to some level by the reality of real life the player will tend to get more connected to what's happening on the screen and such. Speaking of "realism", I personally welcome the day when gaming is bold enough to employ "One shot, one kill" mechanic, where the hero would get killed/severely wounded if he/she got shot and with no chance to regenerate health or instant heal medikit pickups (I mean, its "realistic" I guess if the hero is wearing some sort of high-tec self-repairing armor like Halo but even the heroes of Call of Duty games got this bizarre regenerating skill). It would be interesting to see.

games where you die because of one pixel being wrong are the best games. everything is on the line, realism doesn't fucking matter because it's a game.

[RdN]

Skyrim drives me crazy sometimes.. Really hate it.

[zoku88]

I mind them because most RPGs have sucky inventory UIs, which makes choosing between what to keep and what to throw away an annoying task.

This is especially true for weight-based systems. How many of those don't have a 'sort by weight' feature?

[FyreWulff]

Don't mind it, it's part of the game balance

[Paracelsus]

Terrible, just hideous. It would be better if it told you can't pick any more instead of doing so and walking slowly, what's the damn point.

[injurai]

Solid Snake doesn't give two shits about the limits of his pockets.

[Schweinehund]

Don't care for it.

Anything that takes me out of the action is really annoying.

I'm playing through DE:HR right now, I love the stealth sections, but I hate the obscene amount of hacking and inventory management I have to do. Its not mentally challenging, its just tedious.

The only games I liked inventory management in is Resident Evil Pre-4 and other survival horrors where it is important to keep a clean inventory. I hate games with diablo 2 like inventories, I much prefer the WoW-style single slot item spaces.

[voodoopanda]

Really depends on the game and how its designed. I think it's the in-the-middle limits that can be the most annoying. If a game has a super strict inventory limit that makes you actively have to choose what to take and carry, that's fine and can make for interesting gameplay, like older survival horror games. If it's unlimited and designed for that, cool. But if its huge and limited, it feels pointless. I can carry 200 things but the 201st breaks the limit? I don't have to be careful about what to carry since I can have anything I'd ever need but if I keep picking stuff up eventually I'll have to go into the inventory and drop/sell stuff for no real reason other than the inventory limit existing.

[Grimadin]

I liked Legend of Grimrock's inventory, having it split up between your characters was kinda fun. I only played a few hours of the game, but it seemed like the inventory caps worked well.

[Sullichin]

Equip weights are done beautifully in Demon's and Dark Souls, with different movement/roll speeds based on your equip weight. But i'm glad they got rid of Demon's Souls item burden. It would have been far more annoying in DkS' open world, and it's annoying enough in Demon's Souls. If you pick up a heavy piece of armor that you cant carry and you drop it and leave the level, it will be gone forever. There's a ring that increases item weight that helps with that but it's still annoying.

I'm playing through New Vegas again and it works well enough in that game. Otherwise I'd be picking up every fork and tin can in the game, gives me a reason to manage my inventory more carefully.