Picking and storing multiple big toys in the inventory simply makes every D4 hero “the Mask” in disguise.
As long as we want to change that perception we need to get rid of the current inventory concept.
If we were to design a new aRPG from scratch the way to go would be just to change the setting to some more futuristic one where the player is to extract information from dead enemies and their equipment instead of picking the arsenal. In D4 however we have to think of something else.
Some possible solutions:
1] Remove the storing of weapons/armor in the inventory - the player has to teleport back and forth to town in order to store the newly found arsenal in his stash.
2] 1 + put lbs dependent inventory on mounts - the player can store some quantity of heavy items in the mount’s saddlebags.
3] 2 + villagers - the player can hire groups of villagers from towns that would transport the items he chooses/marks to his stash/hideout.
4] 3 + replace arsenal drops from creatures not wearing any weapon/armor with gold/receipts - the player then will buy/craft the needed weapon/armor from town vendors/artisans. This further strengthens the immersion since it removes “the Mask effect” from the monsters too.
5] 4 + give each hero telekinesis - the player can “send” the items to his stash with the power of his mind. This won’t be that immersion breaking if we bind it with character’s wisdom stat.
What do you think - is inventory an immersion break for you and would you change anything about it?
We still have enough realism in the game setting in the form of physics and rules that makes the storing of 30 axes in one’s pockets an immersion break.
Also, it would be more interesting if the player is more limited in terms of what he collects.
For example, you just slain a huge monster family of Skeletons and a lot of weapons dropped on the ground. You have to make a choice what to take with you on the mount, or you can spend 10 minutes of teleporting back and forth to town, or you can pay a big amount of gold to the villagers to transport everything, or rely on your telekinetic energy. The game gains both immersion and depth.
I don’t want realistic, I want immersive. Your suggestions would (in my opinion) make the game a chore. With that said, I want item Tetris inventory back. Having tiny little chicklets where all items take up the same space just ruins immersion both in how items look and your interaction with deciding if you want to pick them up or not. Even if it is just for selling, you think, I might want to pick up rings even if they are only normal or magic, because they only take 1 space. A massive axe…well, is it good? You think more, and thinking makes you analyze your loot, which makes you more connected to the game and the process, rather than grinding through endlessly without thought.
So in D2 and D3 it wasn’t immersion breaking, but in D4 it is. Or what? And also: Hell nooooo! It’s a magickal backpack or purse or what ever. It has its limits, but its not ordinary. Most ARPG games have this method, and i haven’t seen any fans thinking that: Yea im shooting lasers from my hand, BUT THE BACKPACK, is just unrealistic dude, it makes the whole game unenjoyable.
Dudes/ettes… an inventory has always been the way. Saddle bags make sense for D4. Keep it real as possible. What i don’t want to see are health globes, arrows etc stick and disappear while i am stood there or skills going through obstacles or buildings when they shouldn’t. I want to see immersion where everything makes sense not sit there playing going omg… all the time.
Well… I guess… I can stikc whit that. But seriously, it has to have some limits. But not in the way you want. I want to fill my pockets whit 20 big brutal axes, and run back to the vendor to sel them, or something like that.
and every sacred hero and every torchlight her and every titan quest hero and every wow hero and every elder scrolls hero and every borderlands hero and every…hero in rpgs that were made in the last 20 years so stop shtng on this legacy
Diablo is supposed to be about “slaying demons and finding epic loot”.
Now what use is finding epic loot if you have no way to carry it?
Make inventory and stash HUGE, near infinite. I won’t buy a game with an inventory of 20 years ago.
Example of how not to do it - look at the POE2 trailer. Nice looking graphics - until the inventory is opened. Ugly UI looking like D2, and a single weapon takes about a quarter of the inventory?!? Hard pass.
I mean empty your mind of what is there for aRPGs. We can do much better.
Collecting stuff should feel good, not just putting it in the magic pocket. It has to come with some extra experience - is there space in the mount’s saddlebags, do you have gold for a transport, do you have telekinetic energy left, or you’d equip the item on the place of your old gear.
Don’t you think collecting 30 axes after each battle makes them less epic?
no thank you
if you dont like how rpgs work just leave them alone
trying to find explanations for every little game mechanic makes it ridiculous
what comes next? you need to bring a ladder with you to bonk diablos head?
That’s why the genre can’t evolve - because we never start building it from scratch. We don’t start from “A”, we start from “K” taking for granted the old ridiculousness of the relics.
