Skyrim mod - realistic carrying system

[Oomo]

realism? ok, no problem: remove all the magic, stealth, alchemy and leave just bows and swords/axes, remove all the races and monsters etc.

don't you think you are taking it too far with realism? this is an RPG game and not an FPS

 

IN THE WORLD OF SKYRIM [Note: NOT Earth] magic, stealth is quite realistic. Please desist with old, tired, irrelevant arguments. If you don't like realism mods, don't use them and don't berate those who are making them.

[mawarm]

Here's a way to keep the game very realistic, whilst still being able to carry a lot of stuff:

Make a mod in which you have a slay and a big bag to put on the slay, then you can store a lot of items there and drag the slay around. For extra realism I'm thinking maybe you could be able to upgrade the slay in some way, so that it can fly.

'Nuff said or what?

[Meatbomb]

I have been thinking of an even more restrictive and immersive idea. I love your starting point, but feel you aren't going nearly far enough here. Of course what I imagine would take a lot of modding skill, but let me outline what would be the perfect ultra-realistic carry mod...

 

"Droppable bags would probably be a must, but I think they might be better if they came with a new concept of inventory, turning off the 'freeze time', as they did with conversation. That could bring a whole new class of needs, like speed potioning only from specific bags, or not even that."

 

Yes, absolutely the bags must be droppable. Before accessing inv, I want to see a delay while your character unshoulders and grounds the backpack / knapsack, kneels at it, and only then gets to look through the goodies within. And while knelt there, time is ticking along, the enemy is proceeding towards you... :biggrin:

 

Different types of bags would have different benefits. A small belt satchel could be almost immediately available - the character needs just an anim of quickly fingering at the bag there at his belt. A nice knapsack could have proper categorization of items, and maybe the "favs" that would be at the top when you opened it (so easier to quickly find what you want). A typical burlap sack should NOT have the categories, and maybe even just lists stuff in a random shuffled order when opened... tick tock... where's that scroll?!?

 

A bandolier type scroll case helps with quick access (like the belt satchel).

 

You can tuck smaller items onto your belt and these items could be easily hotkeyed (e.g. potions).

 

The backpack needs a few models for each level of fullness. Slack when empty, filled out when full, and bulging at the seams when you are overencumbered.

 

Overencumbrance: you can do it, up to certain limits. Maybe 10-20 over and you are slightly slowed, and there is a small chance that a random thing will fall out of your backpack. At a larger level of OE, you are slowed in your walking and there is a more likely chance that random stuff will pop out the top of your bulging pack.

 

If you are carrying a bow, the bow and quiver are always there on your back, tucked in behind the pack. You can carry multiple weapons if you wish, but sword sized stuff doesn't fit in a pack, it is there on your back as well.

 

Bag of Holding ala D and D would become a super useful item! How about also magic "carry stones" or something, that have a negative weight?

 

Also, for those deep in a dungeon and feeling they MUST have more than they can carry, how about a usable lock? You can "own" a chest within a dungeon, so you can fill it with stuff and not fear the contents being reset, while you get up to your horse / back to town to sell your first load.

 

This mod would really need additional elements - horse with saddle bags. Mule would be VERY useful, as it is small enough to lead down into dungeons. A squire/porter type follower would be very cool! The poor guy is just humping a huge pack for you, of course useless in combat and his only real option to flee when faced with trouble...

 

OK, sorry for such a long post... I really really want to see something like I am imagining here...

 

And to all the haters / doubters - well, this idea certainly isn't for everyone. Plenty of people hack the game to have infinite carry weight. So I don't think it is wrong to say "well you don't have to load this mod" - there is no question, some will totally hate and not want to use such an idea. That's OK, but surely their opinions don't count for much when discussing this topic. :biggrin:

[Elodran]

@meatbomb, love it. The things you wrote are exactly what I want to add for an inventory system too!

[JeremeW5257]

I often thought the inventory system of carrying items was "out of wack". There is a fine line between too much realism...(like having to eat every few hours, sleep one a day for 8 hours, replacing food so it doesn't "spoil") and total fantasy where there's no rules (God mode, takes the fun out of the game). When I started playing, I was spending 90% of my time collecting loot, selling it, smithing, enchanting and upgrading weapons. I would literally spend days (real world days) doing nothing except "running errands". It was fun at first, but got frustrating when all you want to do is equip yourself with strong enough armor and weapons that won't get you killed every time you encounter a bear or troll. The problem is that you do "need" extra bottles of health potion, and specialized weapons and armor, so you can accomplish missions. My solution to the inventory problem, would be having "help"...more followers.

 

I currently have 6 female followers...not for carrying stuff, just for eye candy sake. For me it just makes the game more fun having a "following", especially a half naked, supermodel following. They don't really add anything to killing the enemy, if anything they are in the way half the time. If the inventory system was based on followers carrying most of your "unnecessary" items, it would give the game a more "real world" feel. You would equip the main armor and weapons, and your followers would carry everything else. Of course, in order for this the work, the "follower" system would have to be completely overhauled. You'd have basically two options, having the followers "wait outside" the dungeon entrance while you enter and clear it of all enemies, or have them accompany you for the adventure. I personally feel if you have too many followers, they get more in the way, especially if you play stealthy, like I do. If you choose to go at it alone, you'd just "tag" an item for the follower to retrieve once you finish the mission. They would go in and get it. If you'd rather have the followers accompany you, you would direct them to pick up something with a command. Each follower would be limited to the amount, like you are, so you'd have to "choose wisely". Once any particular follower was "full" you could send them back to "Skyrim" (where you entered the dungeon) and store the goods on a horse, which would be pulling a wagon or something. They would then return to your location when you entered a new dungeon location.

 

I personally like the interaction with NPCs, but the repetitive limited dialogue wears thin. Once you make an NPC a follower, they should have new dialogue. They should somehow recognize you as their leader and follow basic instruction...(attack or stand down, attack from a distance or rush the enemy, attack with stealth or go crazy...). This would lend to the appeal of having your "own private army" accompany you throughout your adventures. I would also be nice if you could send the follower on "errands". For example, you realize you're running low of health potion, so you send someone back "home" to retrieve some. You'd have a designated "chest" with extra weapons, potions, armor...whatever you need, so you'd have to keep plenty on stock. To add more realism, the further you are from your "home" the longer it takes the follower to return, which would lend to the idea of maintaining several "homes" and keeping them stocked. You could even tell the follower to "come back with help"...bring another particular follower waiting at your home (housecarl type), that you realize you need in defeating a "boss".

 

As you can see, the options are endless. The game needs to keep moving, otherwise it seems like too much work, but adding as much realism as possible, only makes you have to "think ahead"...like in real life.

[Deleted3463132User]

I often thought the inventory system of carrying items was "out of wack". There is a fine line between too much realism...(like having to eat every few hours, sleep one a day for 8 hours, replacing food so it doesn't "spoil") and total fantasy where there's no rules (God mode, takes the fun out of the game). When I started playing, I was spending 90% of my time collecting loot, selling it, smithing, enchanting and upgrading weapons. I would literally spend days (real world days) doing nothing except "running errands". It was fun at first, but got frustrating when all you want to do is equip yourself with strong enough armor and weapons that won't get you killed every time you encounter a bear or troll. The problem is that you do "need" extra bottles of health potion, and specialized weapons and armor, so you can accomplish missions. My solution to the inventory problem, would be having "help"...more followers.

 

I currently have 6 female followers...not for carrying stuff, just for eye candy sake. For me it just makes the game more fun having a "following", especially a half naked, supermodel following. They don't really add anything to killing the enemy, if anything they are in the way half the time. If the inventory system was based on followers carrying most of your "unnecessary" items, it would give the game a more "real world" feel. You would equip the main armor and weapons, and your followers would carry everything else. Of course, in order for this the work, the "follower" system would have to be completely overhauled. You'd have basically two options, having the followers "wait outside" the dungeon entrance while you enter and clear it of all enemies, or have them accompany you for the adventure. I personally feel if you have too many followers, they get more in the way, especially if you play stealthy, like I do. If you choose to go at it alone, you'd just "tag" an item for the follower to retrieve once you finish the mission. They would go in and get it. If you'd rather have the followers accompany you, you would direct them to pick up something with a command. Each follower would be limited to the amount, like you are, so you'd have to "choose wisely". Once any particular follower was "full" you could send them back to "Skyrim" (where you entered the dungeon) and store the goods on a horse, which would be pulling a wagon or something. They would then return to your location when you entered a new dungeon location.

 

I personally like the interaction with NPCs, but the repetitive limited dialogue wears thin. Once you make an NPC a follower, they should have new dialogue. They should somehow recognize you as their leader and follow basic instruction...(attack or stand down, attack from a distance or rush the enemy, attack with stealth or go crazy...). This would lend to the appeal of having your "own private army" accompany you throughout your adventures. I would also be nice if you could send the follower on "errands". For example, you realize you're running low of health potion, so you send someone back "home" to retrieve some. You'd have a designated "chest" with extra weapons, potions, armor...whatever you need, so you'd have to keep plenty on stock. To add more realism, the further you are from your "home" the longer it takes the follower to return, which would lend to the idea of maintaining several "homes" and keeping them stocked. You could even tell the follower to "come back with help"...bring another particular follower waiting at your home (housecarl type), that you realize you need in defeating a "boss".

 

As you can see, the options are endless. The game needs to keep moving, otherwise it seems like too much work, but adding as much realism as possible, only makes you have to "think ahead"...like in real life.

I love that idea, but the problem is that having followers follwing determined paths that you set, while you were out playing, would cause the game to slow down as the game would have to keep moving in other places, in whitch it doesn't? So if you are fine with your game slowing down by 30~40% then this is a goodmoption for you.

[Furrywolf]

You can have 6 Followers? I completed the game with only Lydia?! How do you get more? When I tell another one to follow me Lydia goes home! :( And replaying the game on Master diff now is really hard and so I need an extra pir of boo...hands to help me fight :3

[oncloudtwenty]

I really like the idea, but we all know that when your out playing the game there are so many treasures and items begging to be recieved, picked up, or stolen. So a good turn around would be to do something like, have a way to, say for instance, your on your horse going to a crypt and your bags are full, slap the bags on the horse and send him home or something. Or just increase the bag sizes, better yet make multiple bags with larger sizes later in the game.

[Jakisthe]

I don't know, I can't see this being anything but incredibly annoying. Especially when you figure in things like quest items. I have a quest item which weights 20 and cannot be removed from my inventory. Others I've found weigh up to 25. Plus, it limits flexibility of playstyle. Might not have enough to carry a bow, or any potions at all, or soul gems...now, that might be what you're aiming at, but I can't see how that'd be fun to run into a situation where something unexpected happens (ie, all the time) and you can't react just because. What if a warrior comes across a dragon, but has no bow? A thief is in a situation where a few potions would do wonders? A mage whose primary weapon is a staff has no soul gems? Can't predict all of those incidences, and preparing for all of them beforehand would load you up quick...

 

On top of that, what if the player is full and finds an item they REALLY want? Likeyou happen across a Dragonpriest and their mask...you really want it, but what to get rid of? All your other gear is also stuff you REALLY want (or else you wouldn't keep it in your small inventory). Either don't take the mask, which is limiting yourself because of a sheer mechanical issue, or you dump some of your needed items. You could go back, but constant backtracking is rarely fun.

 

Finally, as far as realism is concerned, what about gold? Gold is a very heavy metal, yet I can carry 20000 coins at no adverse effect. Same with arrows. Hundreds of arrows must weigh something...yes?

[GisleAune]

Perhaps have it limited by stamina, but sword slots at hip height, ability to have a bow and greatsword on the back and a quiver and make the main bag one hou have to carry over your shoulder and drop to be able to use one or both hands depending on bag size and content weight and stamina. Perhaps allow enchantments to be made for the bag to increase maximum content weight by up to 40% (lvl 100, echanter 5/5) and the power gamer could get that up to 50-55% somewhere.

 

Just some ideas. Perhaps having a realism playthrough for one character would be fun when all the mods come out, even if it would be hard to adapt to new rules and restrictions, it would be interesting.

 

A command to toggle it on/off would be nice.