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what is the best inventory system in crpg?

  • Monocled and best of all text-based list inventory

  • Shitty grid icon-based inventory

  • Worse of all absolute dogshit tetris grid icon-based inventory


Results are only viewable after voting.

KeighnMcDeath

RPG Codex Boomer
Joined
Nov 23, 2016
Messages
12,871
Inventory tetris masterrace reporting in.

She can pack rat a bunch of this for a snack.
ratx-animal-rodent-control-100520232-64_1000.jpg
 

KeighnMcDeath

RPG Codex Boomer
Joined
Nov 23, 2016
Messages
12,871
Try to portray this inventory system in text only, it will be a lot less intuitive:
DL-113_v3.10.jpg

blackshirt.jpg


As you can clearly see from the very intuitive iconography of this inventory, there are slots for armor, helmet, gun held in your hands, and facial equipment on your character.
There are also several additional inventory slots based on what armor/accessory you're wearing. Notice the holsters on your belt? They only hold pistols. This is depicted by the empty slot having a holstered pistol icon, making it clear that it's a slot for pistols. Makes sense, right?
Slay's outfit allows him to carry two pistols in his holsters, one knife, a rifle slung over his shoulder, and two launchers in his backpack.
Meanwhile Cate's backpack has different slots than Slay's, allowing her to carry a sidearm and a couple of tools in there. One of her holsters also has a slot for an SMG.

It's a complex inventory system where equipping different vests and backpacks allows you to carry different things. But it's depicted in the most intuitive and easily readable ways possible.
but what do any of those images mean? They're just icons. They don't convey anything in RPG terms.
you can't possibly know without hovering over every single one individually, it purposely obscures information.

ool9u4ngtzs41.png

(not actually CoQ, but it's a nice mockup)

From a single glance I can see:
  • how much damage a weapon does
  • weapon penetration values
  • how much damage each type of ammo does
  • what material an item is made out of
  • the quality an item
  • whether an item is modded
  • the weight of an item
  • the charge of batteries
  • the charge of batteries inside an item

Holy shit it's like RPGs should be about giving you information rather than obscuring it behind pretty graphics. Saying you don't prefer list-based inventories is saying you hate information.
And old is better or even pnp???

You could write down anything you buy in your incentory list but the majority of thag information will be in the manuals or books (umless you write down a ton of shit in parenthesis). Older games, no mouse to hover and in some cases no cursor hilighting. Some won't tell you any of the hidden properties (take might & magic 1-2, ultima 1-4, phantasie, wizard's crown, shard of spring. Some details are only gained by using the item in various ways or looking at stats/resistances/etc while equipping/unequipping. And some games had the most clunky fucking interface and they were all TEXT.

A little mouse hovering over the item isn't bad at all. Besides, if you play the game enough and take notes your mental muscle memory will kick in.

In the end, you have to deal wth whag ever the designer put in or just not bother playing the game.

Well, maybe one can mod the game and change the inventory design to suit your desire but I seriously doubt that is verg common.
 
Last edited:

InSight

Learned
Possibly Retarded
Joined
Feb 20, 2020
Messages
421
Presenting Neverwinter Night's (2002) for consideration.
The game was made/designed specifically with/for multi-player. Multi-player design means/implies it has consideration for other player's, that is more players and more is greater than one as player's generally go.
Thus its expected to be more efficient compared to other, in regard to player's time at least( The more enjoyment or less hassle per time spent as to not obstruct or lessen the obstruction to other player's).

Transparent background
It's inventory system has transparent background. Contrast to other inventory system who change the entire screen or block part of game's environment.

The transparency allows to detected/notice motion. If the game is in real time and multiplayer, one is not left completely unguarded. In reality, if one was to manage/use a bag with items, that one would generally be not blind/disconnected to its surroundings be it due the Peripheral/indirect vision, other senses with/and position which would notify of any change thus allows re-action.

If immersion is considered, its a compromise/way that allows to focus on the alluring/attractive/main channel rather than switching to another channel(the inventory screen) and influencing the main channel(where the most visual graphics are,main/decisive action takes place) through it indirectly while maintaining efficiency, control, can allow focus on surroundings in real time system.
Note:based on image, games in post #16 and #25 are similar in these regard/aspects.


The game is also among these that allow having set's of equipment ready to use by having them placed in the Quick-bar. One can place armor two one handed weapons and the character will equip these if conditions allow. Contrast/compared to Infinity Engine based game inventory that does not allow swapping a different one-handed weapon while retaining a specific shield equipped which should be anatomically/body-wise possible during combat.


9_1.jpg

k95wJ.jpg

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A question to what makes the best inventory in CRPG?
Inventory by definitions:
"Inventory (American English) or stock (British English) refers to the goods and materials that a business holds for the ultimate goal of resale, production or utilisation"
Inventory management is a discipline primarily about specifying the shape and placement of stocked goods. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventory
https://www.shopify.com/encyclopedia/inventory
"Inventory is an accounting term that refers to goods that are in various stages of being made ready for sale, including:

  • Finished goods (that are available to be sold)
  • Work-in-progress (meaning in the process of being made)
  • Raw materials (to be used to produce more finished goods)"
Based on the above, inventory purpose/use is to store until use, often for a form a trade.
Thus the more it can contain ,preserve & organize the better it is.

In video games and thus CRPG there is an ideal/principle that requires consideration that can makes the above paragraph detrimental/bad to it.
Video games as craft of illusion and its pinnacle; forming illusion of a world, often more attractive/appealing. With such standing/standard having a man-like character with infinite room for storage, with no limits be it regard to shape, size, weight and their interaction without sensible explanation/rules within the game's world, would an inventory system that has more or unlimited capacity be bad/worse/negative in games depicting earth-like worlds in CRPG?

One can conclude based on its use in reality, the best CRPG inventory system would be one that allow/serve the most trade/craft.
The other, more general/global, is the inventory systems that allows more compared to others and thus often more real-like without being cumbersome/hassle/slow.


 

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