Forced-roleplaying / micromanagement - is it fun?

[FishBiter]

When it comes to mods, there is an interesting concept that I have called "forced roleplaying". The premier example of this is the inventory restriction mod; this is any mod that restricts how much stuff you can hold in your inventory, whether it directly lowers your available carry weight, or imposes penalties on you for carrying too much. The interesting thing about these mods is that, in essence, they are not necessary to achieve the goal that the player is attempting to get.

 

The player could simply say "I am only going to carry what I find to be a realistic amount, and nothing more, even if this causes me to miss out on something or become weaker". However, the fact that so many variations of the inventory restriction type mod exist makes it clear that there are players who either do not want to, or cannot do this. You may question the idea that a player "cannot" do this, but when I say this I am referring to the fact that, a player may be voluntarily roleplaying a restricted inventory... right up until they kill three thugs wearing full ebony armor, and they happen to have a need for the cash they could get from selling that armor; at that point they may decide to go ahead and grab that armor just because they can. If they had installed a mod that restricted their inventory, they may not have had that option and so would be forced to continue roleplaying a realistic inventory ( of course, they're forcing themselves to do it ).

 

 

So the questions here are as follows:

 

1. Do you find having a "realistic" inventory restriction fun, or do you prefer a more "open" inventory that focuses less on realism and more on simplicity of use?

 

2. Do you use "realism" mods to restrict yourself to realistic behavior, or do you roleplay it without the use of mods?

 

3. If you do roleplay it without the use of mods, do you break your own rules when it is convinient or do you play it to the hilt?

Edited October 15, 2012 by FishBiter

[aemaethcold]

If I may, I will add a variation into your concept. The idea doesn't come from me but I think everyone's aware of that on some levels : a realistic game and a believable game are (most of the time) two different things.

 

Example :

 

- If I shoot an arrow at the back of a weak unaware NPC, he will die. This is believable

- Doing the same in a realistic game could have a wealth of outputs : NPC left for dead while he just fainted from blood loss and physical shock

 

You may call that "fine prints" but the fact is, nobody wants a realistic game. It would spoil the whole of it

[Deleted472477User]

Because I play WoW and Diablo 1 and 2, I am all too familiar with the "My inventory is full/I am overburdened/I can't carry anymore" routine, and when I sit down to play Skyrim, I like getting away from that :D So I don't worry about my carrying stuff, unless it means I can't move/move slowly/can't fast travel.

[acidzebra]

You may question the idea that a player "cannot" do this, but when I say this I am referring to the fact that, a player may be voluntarily roleplaying a restricted inventory... right up until they kill three thugs wearing full ebony armor, and they happen to have a need for the cash they could get from selling that armor; at that point they may decide to go ahead and grab that armor just because they can.

 

I don't think I believe in using gameplay mechanics to augment a lack of willpower/resolve/discipline. Or put another way, I think that same person will just turn off those mechanics at that point, through console commands or whatever.

 

That said, I do enjoy a bit of realism in inventory management, as long as it doesn't get crazy and I find myself constantly swapping stuff in and out - there has to be some balance in terms of providing the option of a pack animal waiting outside the dungeon - just an example.

Edited October 14, 2012 by acidzebra

[aemaethcold]

By the way, Bethesda made a critical choice when they decided to make Skyrim stand halfway between full-length realism and a hack-and-slash game with NPCs. Mods fix that the way we want to.

 

I got a little upset by that at the beginning and also I missed the crowded towns, occasional dicing at the tavern, NPCs having much more to say( to each other I mean), etc. But I realize that it was done on purpose. Bethesda just let moders fill in the blanks, and that means that Hammond is aware that the gaming experience (which is basically the need that triggers the purchase of their products) is as much the modding community's work as Bethesda's. Guess who got the money ?

 

But I'm not trying to change the subject. I just needed it told...

Edited October 14, 2012 by aemaethcold

[StayFrosty05]

So the questions here are as follows:

 

1. Do you find having a "realistic" inventory restriction fun, or do you prefer a more "open" inventory that focuses less on realism and more on simplicity of use?

 

2. Do you use "realism" mods to restrict yourself to realistic behavior, or do you roleplay it without the use of mods?

 

3. If you do roleplay it without the use of mods, do you break your own rules when it is convinient or do you play it to the hilt?

 

I couldn't answer the first question in your poll as I don't fit any of the three options and so thus was unable to answer the second half of the poll either.....I don't use restriction mods but RP heavily and strictly and play it to the hilt.....He eats twice a day, a high protein diet suited to the Werewolf that he is....drinks four times a day (have a mod that adds milk, juice and water).....sleeps regular hours, about 8'ish a night, more so if he has to spend the previous night up all night....Never Fast Travels or take Carriage Rides, is always on foot.....Never loots the unreasonable like Armor or Weapons of any sort, only loots light, small objects like money, jewellery, gem stones, soul gems, basically small valuable objects....and pelts due to his Smithing....I do use Satchels, though ignore the carry capacity (He carries no more than I think some one reasonably could) I just use the Satchels for the visuals as to where he is carrying this stuff....His 'always' load out is light....1 set of light Armor, 2 Short Swords (Duel Wielder), 1 Bow with Quiver(s), 1 Enchanted Ring, 1 enchanted Necklace, Earrings and other jewellery piercings, 5 Satchels, Some Food and Drink, Lock Picks, a number of Poisons and a few Potions (Don't really carry Healing Potions as he doesn't swig potions mid combat...unrealistic...)...and as an Alchemist, tends to always have a mix of ingredients on him....And that's it.

 

I play this way because I find it fun, if I cheated it I would be cheating myself of my own fun and so don't.....Money really is no issue in Skyrim.....Though I would in fact like to make a Basic Needs Mod myself, more so for realism of the types of food a Wanderer/Ranger/Warrior would carry and the why of this food (what it offers nutrition wise) more than anything else....Plus would like to make a realistic Hunting Mod and a realistic Stealth Mod.

Edited October 14, 2012 by StayFrosty05

[littleork]

I love to play realistic but if there is one thing that I have problem staying realistic about is the inventory, as soon as I get overcumbered in the intro, I open up the console and set my carryweight way up, I think that the thing that annoys me is that it slows you down, if it was just making you unable to pick an item up, maybe I would be better about it.

 

 

I like to use mods to stay realistic because otherwise, I would easily forget to eat,sleep and stuff like that, I really hope that we get to see more immersion/realism mods, but not everyone wants to roleplay the same way so I doubt that all the mods that I want for roleplay will be done (which is the may reason that I try to create a few of them myself).

[AnkhAscendant]

Micromanaging, heck yes. :} I play with ICMN in the more complex mode (with mortality activated), Frostfall in Hardcore mode, Crafting Takes Time... (and let me tell you, CTT + Frostfall + Hearthfire and building your house in the Pale means one icicle Dovahkiin unless I remember to build a fire). As I may have mentioned one or two dozen times before, I wish there were more micromanaging-stat type mods. Cleanliness, piety, stress, all things I would like to manage...

 

Frankly doing things without mods that implement the necessity for it feels like I'm being silly and wasting time. Without a game mechanic reason to eat or sleep it just feels kind of, well, silly to do it. I know nobody's going to stand over my shoulder and judge me for making mt game artificially harder or more Sims-like, but it doesn't change the fact that unless I have a mod to make it that way I feel like they will. So forced-roleplaying mods give me an excuse to play how I want.

 

One thing I don't actually have is an inventory/carry-weight modifier. I wasn't aware there were all that many of them. I've looked at the SkyRealism encumbrance one, and I wanted it, but my character's life depends on being nimble, and I'd be overencumbered just with reagents, so I reluctantly decided against it. All I use for that is my own mod that tweaks all the base stats and carry weights for the races.

[musicalfrog7]

Well, the immersion is my favorite part about the TES series so if I don't feel like I'm an adventurer really there in the world then I'm not getting what I want out of the game. I focus on mods that bring immersion to the game.

 

I am a pack rat though but I try not to abuse the system. I don't download any mods to make inventory management easier but I also don't download mods that would make it harder because I already find it hard enough to manage the item weight as it is.

 

I do refuse to download a mod that disables fast travel though. No matter how much I am in to roleplaying, I just can't get rid of it as there are times when I go OOC for whatever reason.