I don't think they expected most of the stuff to be useful as is. I see all weapons and armor as care packages of components. They also have no idea what path the player is going to take when exploring, so something everywhere makes sense. The witcher gear is maybe just too good, or too easy to get, or a combination of the two..
So, whats your solution? Make all the bags and boxes not lootable?
I understand what you are saying. However, I like the fact that you find stuff everywhere. I'm glad you do. I agree though, that an Elven Ruin should have more items that are more valuable. But other than that, I like to pick up loot everywhere. That's just my play preference though.
Well, as to food in the sewer..In the United States, people live in sewers in bigger cities. I have a relative that is a city worker who got attacked by a vagrant living in a sewer. So, "RP'ing a bit, you really can find food in a sewer, this guy had a refrigerator down there. People who actually live down in these things have shopping carts in them, I've been told.
Well, my guess is that they put stuff down there to people would always be finding things..it feeds the brain..dopamine. If you find stuff, it makes you want to keep looking and find more stuff. That is the thrill of all those lootable containers for me anyway..I just LOVE opening things.
And then, make few boxes and chests, but filled with some special items. In this way, you encourage the exploration.
But with this kind of looting system, in which you find a lot of useless stuff...there are 2 problems:
1) Looting became a mechanical action in which you find a lot of stuff that...shouldn't be there, and are...useless.
2) I can ignore them, but there is the risk that I miss some schemes or formulas. Because those items are placed in the same random bags of the useless items...so I have to open them all to be sure that I don't miss the special item.
Have you ever thought of opening a chest/crate and *blink* not picking everything up. It's your choice
Enough with this "is your choice".
It doesn't add anything to the discussion and it doesn't solve the problem.
No, it's not my choice. Finding a lot of useless stuff with an incoherent placement it's not my choice.
And still, the fact that I've to press the E button everytime, and everytime close the loot menu without picking up anything, just to make sure to not miss real interesting items....there isn't a universe in which this could be considered as a good design choice.
Have you ever thought of opening a chest/crate and *blink* not picking everything up. It's your choice
Don't tell me, the keyboard gremlins 'made you pick it up'
But that's the point.
If you design a game with a room of 10 loot-able chests.
Yet only 1 of them has something truly meaningful worth keeping.
Now you have to check all these loot-able chests to find that 1 item
Now take that 1 room and spread them in a world the size Witcher 3
That's not poor design?
You don't have to do anything is such a weak argument that can be applied to just about anything.
So the solution to that would be that there should be no lootable objects unless they contain the very items you are looking for? Hence, "oo lootable, that's me done".
Exactly.
Seriously, when you put in a room 20 bags, and 19 are filled with useless stuff...and you have to chek up all 20 to be sure to not miss a formula...it's an indefensible design choice.
So the solution to that would be that there should be no lootable objects unless they contain the very items you are looking for? Hence, "oo lootable, that's me done".
No. a solution would be loot placement that makes some sort of sense in terms of it's location. for instance if I went to a peasants house I learn pretty quickly that I'll find food or peasant junk and maybe a few orens. I go to a hearbalists I'll find herbs and potions ect. I go to a majestic elvin ruin I'll find maybe elvin books, notes weapons ect obviously it takes a lot of work.
But hard work yields better results as is life.
Would a peasants hut not have herbs? Would a herbalist not have items of value? Would an elven ruin (are there elven ruins?) not have some paper kicking about?