Inventory size, Holsters/Belts/Straps/Backpacks, Weapon concealment - immersion elements

[Adamantium_X]

I realize that game is basically finished and in the phase of polishing, so any new features are highly unlikely to be implemented at this point for the main release.
That being said, I do feel the need to discuss some aspects of gameplay that would add value to the game and it's immersion strength.

Most RPGs (Witcher inculded) have huge inventories that allow the player to carry a truckload of stuff that you don't really need.
Most of it is basically loot to be sold off.
You don't need to carry 8 sets of armour and two dozen firearms with you.

I think this approach to inventories is bad and outdated, and here's why:
1) Carrying 3 assault rifles, 2 snipers, a shotgun, grenade launcher, heavy machine gun, 2 revolvers, a knife and a bat, and 7 armor sets is unrealistic and takes away from the immersion aspect. (looking at you Fallout).
It may be okay if you have a loot oriented game (such as Borderlands) but otherwise, it's detrimental to immersion

2) It devalues the roleplaying aspect.
You don't need to choose what kind of person your character is in this regard - which are his/her weapons of choice? - Because all of them are.
And this makes them feel like impersonal tools and not like the extension of your character. (which is the approach I'd go for)

3) It takes away from gameplay.
You don't need to plan your loadout for confrontations, or pick some optimal weapon set (3-4 weapons) you figure might have you covered.
You carry everything. And you can momentarily change your entire loadout as you please, switching through 10 different guns in a fight.

Metro Exodus did well in this department. You only carried 3 weapons with you and you were able to go through a larger inventory only in the train.
I'd argue that Cyberpunk should go along a similar path and alow you to carry something along the lines:
A) 2 small firearms (pistols, revolvers, small concealable SMG's) + 1 melee weapon (knives, telescope batons, tazers, etc) or
2 melee weapons (swords, sledgehammers, other crazy stuff) + 1 small firearm if you are a melee oriented character.
B) 1 large firearm (assault rifle, sniper, shotgun/automatic shotgun, grenade launcher)
Larger inventory should be made accessible to you through the trunk of your vehicle.
You can set your loadout there as you please there, but once the choice is made, you play with the toys at hand.

Weapons should take up actual physical space, and not materialize from thin air when needed. (looking at Fallout 4 again, GTA also comes to mind)
This means pistols and melee weapons need to be holstered visibly, tucked in a belt, put inside a large pocket if you are carrying a coat.
Carrying them tucked in a belt with a shirt over it, as well as in a coat pocket should provide concealment.

Large weapons should be carried visibly, in hand, or with a shoulder strap on - meaning, if you are carrying a rifle with you, you are visibly armed at all times.
Like this:

Exception would be large weapons that can be disassembled fast into several pieces, and tucked into a backpack or a briefcase.

Meaning that briefcases and backpacks should provide concealment for these special weapons as well.

Carrying a backpack should allow you to expand your inventory (more gadgets, ammo, +1 small firearm slot, + concealable large firearm) but it should reduce your running speed a little and hamper with your stealth abilities.

Anyways, those are my two cents.

 

[Nikola_Nesic]

1. Most of the time you only have main weapons you use, and in inventory you have just weapons you just found and plan to use later when you level up or what you want to sell.

2. If you have skills and perks for each weapon type, you can build your character around that.

3. Not all game let you switch weapon's from inventory during fight, Skyrim and Falloute let you switch during fight but any other RPG no.
V is not part of some big military units to have all details for a job, how many guard are there where all defences are and so on, and you don't alway have luxury of time to stake out your target and see with what you have to deal.

And again, your Skills and Perk need to make you possible that you do job done with weapons you pick and specialize in, if you didn't specialize in any weapons, and you are bad at using them, no matter what inventory system is in game, you will have hard time.

 

[4RM3D]

I am a pack rat and a collector. So, I just want unlimited inventory space to drop everything, even stuff I probably never going to use. This was especially true for Diablo 3 when I found a piece of equipment that had different stats which could have been useful for a different build, which I might eventually try, but likely never will. Even the chest couldn't hold everything.

Anyway, if the devs want to go for realism, that's fine by me too, as long as I can switch between 3 weapons or so. Or I just use a mod that increases the inventory space.

 

[Adamantium_X]

I don't mind having a huge storage of loot either.
There is an easy workaround for your concern.

When finding new items add two options:
1) Equip - takes up an item slot in "character inventory" (and moves the current item into vehicle storage), or places it in a backpack that's always accessible, but with a very limited storage)
2) Loot/Move to storage (sends the item directly into your car trunk)

However, moving items(weapons, armor, gadgets, etc) in the opposite direction,
from your car trunk (storage inventory) into your personal slots (player inventory), should only be possible when you call the car to your location and actually open the trunk.
(This way your character doesn't seem to carry an endless arsenal with him, and it affects your loadout choice ahead of confrontations)

CDPR could easily let you tune whether you want unlimited access at all times in difficulty settings.
(unconstrained item transfer in both directions, player inventory → storage inventory & storage inventory → player inventory)
But at more hardcore, realistic difficulties you would be limited to the equipment you chose the last time when accessing the car trunk (or picked up along the way)


When trading, you would obviously trade with your "storage inventory" not just the things you have at hand.

Post automatically merged: Jul 29, 2020

1. Most of the time you only have main weapons you use, and in inventory you have just weapons you just found and plan to use later when you level up or what you want to sell.

2. If you have skills and perks for each weapon type, you can build your character around that.

3. Not all game let you switch weapon's from inventory during fight, Skyrim and Falloute let you switch during fight but any other RPG no.
V is not part of some big military units to have all details for a job, how many guard are there where all defences are and so on, and you don't alway have luxury of time to stake out your target and see with what you have to deal.

And again, your Skills and Perk need to make you possible that you do job done with weapons you pick and specialize in, if you didn't specialize in any weapons, and you are bad at using them, no matter what inventory system is in game, you will have hard time.

1. Issue lays on the fact that the inventory you have is accessible at all times, and you can swap out your "main weapons" as you please, meaning that you don't actually have a few weapons at hand but de facto an arsenal.
2. You can, but adding further characterization would be neat.
And redoing quests with different loadouts would add some replay value.
Changing loadouts on the fly negates that.
3. You do get a briefing from your fixers that assign you to a job.
Given the fact that many quest will have multiple paths and outcomes, approaching them with different loadouts seems sensible.

 

[Bottleblonde]

I want to wear a slinky dress, heels and carry everything in my clutch <3 Style over encumbrance!

 

[satyrsangre]

i like the idea of holding the rest of your inventory in the car boot. you can call it up anyway, so there's no issue about access. i think i saw lockers being included on the map, so perhaps those also act as inventory access points?
a backpack for the smallest amount of carry-able things while in hideouts where you can't access lockers and boot inventory, while having rib and thigh holsters for smaller weapons

• rib holster holds handguns, tactical knives, or a set of throwing knives; one each side
• thigh holster holds handguns, tactical knives, machetes, or a set of throwing knives; one each side (i'm caribbean and there are haitians in this game, i better be able to have a cutlass)
• back holster holds shotguns, rifles, machetes, swords, or bows; only one, except for smg's maybe you can carry two of those
• backpack for consumables, limited clothing

V isn't military personnel, so she's not gonna walk around looking like rambo. style is important so no one wants to be super obviously carrying a weaponset in the street. i would enjoy needing to buy different body holsters and a backpack.

 

[Adamantium_X]

^^^ Pretty much what I'm aiming for here.

I want to wear a slinky dress, heels and carry everything in my clutch <3 Style over encumbrance!

Absolutely legitimate.

However, I personally lean towards the realistic side.
I'd like to see my guns on me. Not have them pop in, out off thin air.

And I do feel that holsters, and strap belts may add to style, not hinder it.
If you feel more inconspicuous and stealthy you may carry your weapons in a backpack or a suitcase (as agent 47).
Maybe even get cybernetic legs that have internal storage in thighs, or simply firearms and blades integrated into cybernetic limbs.

Otherwise you can get an overcoat that covers the guns.
That way you keep a "clean" look.

 

[Nikola_Nesic]

Even in Cyberpunk Theme you not going to see normal people with assault rifle on their back walking around city.
And if you want realism so much, than they need to make that headshot is lethal or that after 2-3 bullets you can die, and not to be able to stay alive after 2 guys empty their magazins in you.

 

[Suhiira]

While I'm DEFINITELY a packrat in most games I don't see the need to have access to your entire inventory at any time. And option to loot items "to your trunk" or whatever would be very nice. Needing to make multiple trips back and forth collecting and consolidating/selling loot is annoying. But so is needing to leave 90% of it behind.

 

[Sardukhar]

Even in Cyberpunk Theme you not going to see normal people with assault rifle on their back walking around city.
And if you want realism so much, than they need to make that headshot is lethal or that after 2-3 bullets you can die, and not to be able to stay alive after 2 guys empty their magazins in you.

Well. Actually. Humans vs wounds is an odd one. Typically, any vitals shot is fatal. The head is the famous one, at something like 90% fatality in modern times. The femoral artery, for example, is worse. Heart shots, just as bad, although the chest plate protects.

And even with all these, very often survival is a matter of luck and not going too deeply into shock, THEN surviving blood loss and infection.

People have survived truly ridic amounts of bullets though. Google will tell you some interesting stories about this.

That 90% or so kill rate for vital shots is across a period of time, it's rarely instant. So the get-shot-be-done thing in video games ignore the very messy and horrible reality of wounded people dying over the course of several minutes and/or hours and/or days.

Cyberpunk 2020 does not a bad job of this, as you know, with the Mortal check system. Once you are in Mortal, you have to keep making saves or you die minutes later.

So even if that guy you shot in the head (or femoral or heart, I like to use -several- vitals locations!) makes his Death Save at Mortal 1, odds are he will fail it in the next few minutes unless he's stabilized.

I would like to see -that- system implemented, frankly. Head and vitals shots rarely autokill, and not immediately, but without immediate skilled help, inevitably they will.

Also worth noting that only in video games are head shots a thing. Real world, that's too small and too move-y a target to aim for, especially since the skull and/or helmet have a deflection factor the torso does not. Center mass, my friends. Video game shooting is ridiculous though, as @Suhiira and @eraser7278 would agree. 2020 again does not a bad job of this, with negatives to both call location and moving targets or yourself moving. Those add up fast.

As for showing your gear I'm in favour but I doubt it, as it would limit what you can carry. Given that you see yourself in mirrors, the inventory screen and vehicles, too much trouble for the result.

I would -like- to hear the sounds of clearing my holster/activating my chest rig though. That'd be sweet.

 

[Bloodartist]

I am sure I have answered this same question earlier. The answer depends on the amount of unnecessary junk we are expected to carry. WItcher 3 went WAY overboard with the amount of junk given to us.

Most likely the cp2077 inventory is a classic RPG as in Witcher, but what makes the inventory functional is the amount of stuff we put into it.

 

[Nikola_Nesic]

Also worth noting that only in video games are head shots a thing. Real world, that's too small and too move-y a target to aim for, especially since the skull and/or helmet have a deflection factor the torso does not. Center mass, my friends.

Yeah i know that, i never fire a gun but i did read and listen about it, and even i know that you should aim at center mass for better chances to hit, but we talk about video game here.
And yes, wounds kill you really fast, blood loss or destroyed organs, but it is funny when you stay alive after you get hit by 60 bullets, even if you have body armor kinetic force of that bullets would destroy your internal organs.

 

[Sardukhar]

Yeah i know that, i never fire a gun but i did read and listen about it, and even i know that you should aim at center mass for better chances to hit, but we talk about video game here.
And yes, wounds kill you really fast, blood loss or destroyed organs, but it is funny when you stay alive after you get hit by 60 bullets, even if you have body armor kinetic force of that bullets would destroy your internal organs.

Yeppppp....video game logic. Same thing that says, sure, you can carry 6 rifles, 4 handguns, 2 SMGs, 11 grenades, ammo for all, plus medical and commo gear and body armour...and not be encumbered. Le sigh.

I mean, I get the pack rat fun, for sure, and I'm not a big fan of inventory management, but it's also prettttty silly.

That's why I doubt we'll see our gear externally other than clothes/armour. Maybe a shoulder arm a la Witcher 3. Where Geralt carried multiple blades but only showed 2.

CDPR has made player choice well ahead of realism - see: the perk tree, non-lethal playthrough, respeccing skills/perks, etc - which is a certainly valid artistic and entertainment choice. I liked the Deus Ex method of inventory better, is all. Mostly. I really -do- hate inventory management!

 

[Adamantium_X]

That's why I doubt we'll see our gear externally other than clothes/armour. Maybe a shoulder arm a la Witcher 3. Where Geralt carried multiple blades but only showed 2.

Even that would be better than nothing - showing a couple of weapons that are equipped to weapon slots.

Looking virtually unarmed in Fallout 4 really irked me the wrong way.

 

[Cargan2016]

Id want it to be somewhat realistic and have to manage inventory space somewhat. I know it was said we would have 3 weapon slots i think i would like to be able carry 1 maybe 2 others in back pack that would give options if need to change on fly so to speak. but make it a little difficult like inventory closes when under attack or something so forced to find safe spot to change equipment. also want weapon size to have direct effect on ammount of space takes up ie dont want to have a 5ft long rocket launcer taking up same space as a pistol.

 

[Restlessdingo32]

I'll politely attempt to add to the post by Bloodartist.... Loot quanity..... Personal opinion, modern games put too much loot in the game world. The only reason carrying 40 guns, pieces of gear, etc. is a thing is because, well, they fall from the sky like candy. Enter a house, loot all the things. Bag some bad guys, loot all their stuff. Walk down the road and pick up all the bottle caps. At a certain point it becomes excessive.

Clearly context is important. If the bad guy has a helmet equipped then the bad guy has a helmet on his corpse. Random guns in magical cases sitting in the open for no particular reason? No thank you. I'd think this sort of thing would break from the lore of a dystopian future version of our existing universe anyway (be an interesting experiment though... go out into a major city IRL, drop valuables on the sidewalk and see how long they remain there).

 

[kofeiiniturpa]

The game seems to be a bit loot heavy in some ways (e.g. crafting items), so there might be a need for a "magic pockets" type loot section in the inventory. Of course it should be limited by carryweight and preferably also size.

But when it comes to combat items... I'd prefer that section went with a "loadout" principle that you can carry a very finite amount of weapons and ammo. Let's say three guns for examples sake. All of which have a soft cap for ammunition -- what that means is that there'd be a limit to how many rounds you can carry per weapon before the amount starts to weigh you down (hit to movement speed, jump height and length, sprint distance, stamina and sneaking (the rounds/clips make noise in your pockets)).

 

[mhl333]

I prefer an arma/green hell way of dealing with inventory and weapons. I stll collect as much loot as possible in games but prefer the more realistic approach. The option to store loot in the trunk would be nice but was this shown in any of gameplay videos we have seen so far? And what if we choose a motorcycle instead of a car? I have not watched yet any of the post night city wire videos, so can someone tell me if we were shown anything related to inventory management?

 

[Suhiira]

The game seems to be a bit loot heavy in some ways (e.g. crafting items), so there might be a need for a "magic pockets" type loot section in the inventory.

Yeah, including crafting in a game ALWAYS necessitates increased inventory space. Tho a good many games (un)intentionally ignore this (spend real $ for increased inventory!). So just by virtue of there being a crafting system in CP2077 there will inventory issues the developers, and ultimately players, will have to deal with.

As to seeing everything you're carrying on your character model.
HIGHLY impractical due to the sheer amount of artwork and 3D rigging required.

 

[Restlessdingo32]

Yeah, including crafting in a game ALWAYS necessitates increased inventory space. Tho a good many games (un)intentionally ignore this (spend real $ for increased inventory!). So just by virtue of there being a crafting system in CP2077 there will inventory issues the developers, and ultimately players, will have to deal with.

Within reason sure. If you have crafting you need to have materials related to crafting. I don't think this means the loot systems need to go nuts with it though. As noted, as a general rule loot collection should make sense. Walking into a building and blindly running to the half dozen boxes sitting around to loot them doesn't make sense.

Something like bottlecaps, cans, empy potion bottles, broken rakes, ruined books and trash might make sense but it adds exactly zero to the game play. TW3 suffered from this problem. You would find random trash laying around... everywhere. Why? It's ends up being useless junk you toss into your inventory to dump at the next available merchant/vendor.

The same could be said about useful loot. If a bad guy with a shotgun gets wrecked then, by all means, put a shotgun on his smoldering corpse. Finding random shotguns sitting around everywhere in the world.... Just... no. My preference is when the objects I find in the game have meaning and value. It gets irritating when 90% of them are something you slap in your inventory/bag to sell at a later moment.

If I wanted to be a delivery boy single-handedly propping up the in-game economy while navigating from shopkeep to shopkeep pawning off goods I'd play a different sort of game....

As to seeing everything you're carrying on your character model.
HIGHLY impractical due to the sheer amount of artwork and 3D rigging required.

The perspective is largely going to be FPP anyway. I'd think this would remove much of the need to make every little thing visible on the character. Obviously, showing portions of an automatic weapon or rifle as a character walks while it isn't at the ready would make sense. Holsters and whatnot, eh... I don't know...

Interestingly, one has to wonder if this doesn't weigh into the perspective choice... I'd imagine TPP adds a very large amount of work here. People want to see their equipment. Again, I'd guess this means model and animation work for every piece of gear you will be able to see. It also means work to make sure each and every single piece you show can be paired with anything else.

I mention that last bit because I've experienced a number of games in the last 5ish years where the work needed to get this stuff right was on full display. Clipping issues with certain gear combinations. Wonky animations in certain instances. Why is that shield on my back poking in my helmet? How comes my shoulder armor sticks through my cape? My large built character shows some buttcheek while walking when equipping skinny jeans. This sort of stuff....