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Evil Minion

Use your hands - better item interaction system.

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I feel the current item management is a little clumsy for the reason the "use key" messes with certain parts of your character at once. Those things don't necessarily belong together making things very fiddly and annyoing at times:

  • When trying to pick up a small item or opening a door you run the risk of reloading your weapon instead potentially giving away your position or making you temporarily vulnerable.
  • While looting an area you end up dropping your weapon and replacing it with an hard to reach item you thought to be much smaller.
  • Both picking up and dropping a weapon forces inventory management upon you even though the only things that should be involved are the item and your hands. In particular:
    • You are unable to put an item from the ground into your hands quickly as long as you have enough storage space to put it into your inventory instead.
    • In order to drop a handheld item you need to put it away first or throw it.
    • Using an item on the ground will automatically put it into your inventory even if you intended to leave it there possibly blocking inventory space.
  • Items in a players hand get damaged when their assigned container gets damaged. Players get damaged when handheld items are damaged.
  • Having a bigger number of magazines inside your inventory makes the action menu pretty confusing as magazines tend to spam it.

So I suggest splitting those actions and assigning multiple keys. No panic we already got enough - we should just start to use them more efficiently:

 

Items

There should be four types of item/player relations:

  1. On the ground: The item is on the ground and can be picked up or (in some cases) used. If used they either end up on the ground again (if something gets used upon them for example when crafting or lighting a flare) or put into your hands (2.) if used manually* (eating half a Zucchini or lighting a fire).
  2. In hands: The item is in your hands but has no assigned inventory slot. It can be used and carried but taking another item in your hands (from the ground or your inventory) will drop it to the ground.
  3. In hands with storage space: The item is in your hands and has an assigned inventory slot. It can be used and carried and taking another item in your hands will store it in your inventory as usual. While the item is in your hands it only blocks the inventory space but is not affected by it (loss or damage state of the container). In case the reserved slot is lost/rendered useless the item becomes "In hands".
  4. Stored: The items in your inventory. They can not be used in this state but have to be put in your hands. Trying to perform an action on them will automatically put them into your hands staoring or dropping any items currently held. However after performing the action the formerly held item will not be put back in your hands. Instead you will keep the one you used if it wasn't consumed by the action.

There should be an option whether crafting an handheld item would put the newly crafted item into the "In hands", "In hands with storage space" or "On the ground" category. Items held in your hands should be damaged when damage is applied to them and they might even block melee attacks (but to shots) soaking the damage for the user. They should not be affected if their "reserved slot" is damaged.

 

In order to repair stored items or use them for crafting their should be put in your hands or on the ground first. Same goes for filling magazines etc. Doing things inside your backpack while running is pretty unrealistic and not really fun either (also its often used as a way to cheat away animations - reloading a weapon for example).

 

*I would like this option for more fluent gameplay rather than having to pick them up first. Basically an auto-pickup feature for some usage options.

 

F key - generic action (take and use)

This one would work just as it does now with two exceptions:

  • no reloading (managed exclusively by the reload key or via inventory screen)
  • no take into hands when your inventory is full (instead it becomes a pure use key)

So this button leaves both your hands and your weapon alone, allowing for looting and navigating without having to fear of suddenly reloading or dropping your weapon because you misaimed your little white dot. the mouse wheel will support this one as usual - unless you are reloading/selecting a "firemode" (see below).

 

Middle Mouse Button - hand action

Here "Take into hands" is the default option - the button does not mess with your inventory.but only with your characters hands:

  1. Using it on an item on the ground will pick up the item and place it in your hands but it won't assign an inventory slot.
  2. If you had an item in your hands it will either put away (if an inventory slot is assigned) or drop it on the ground (if no inventory slot is assigned).
  3. To assign an inventory slot you need to open the character menu and drag&drop the item from your hands to an inventory slot. This won't put the item out of your hands but simply "reserve" the slot (if the container is damaged or the slot is lost you will still keep the item in your hands and it won't be damaged).
  4. Holding and releasing the button will drop an item held in your hands on the ground in front of you (inventory slot "reservations" will be removed).
  5. Holding the button while aiming at a close player will initiate a "give" feature - that player can take the item by clicking the middle mouse button as if he would pick an item from the ground. If you release the button before the other player could click the item drops on the ground instead.

 

R key - reload action

This key works in two different ways. Simply clicking it will reload as usual choosing the best option available (biggest and fullest magazine) - if no magazine or speed/snaploader is available the weapon will be chambered instead. When held a menu similar to the current action menu is opened showing the available choices. Scrolling the mouse wheel will select an option that is chosen by releasing the key.

 

This button might only take items out of your topwear or pants but not the backpack or any other container. In order to reload from your backpack you have to use the inventory screen and either drag&drop it on your weapon (only works if the weapon is either drawn or on the ground) or put it in your clothing and use the R key. Magazines removed from a weapon would automatically be stored but would drop to the ground if there is no space available (maybe add an option that always drops them on the ground).

 

T key - "firemode" action

Now "firemode" might also include melee stances or functionality changes of handheld items here. So you could switch between using your flashlight as light source and improvised club for example. The key should work similar to the reload key with a short click switching to the next mode and hold opening a menu to choose from.

 

The selected option should be visible on the model, by looking at the animation or via the "Inspect" option in your character screen. So a weapon would have a firemode switch that shows the selected firemode on its model - and the "Inspect" option would have a line like "this weapon is currently on burst mode". A flashlight might be pointed at your target (light source) or held like a hammer (improvised weapon).

 

Of course all those keys should be able to be reassigned (including the mouse wheel).

Maybe also add a hold&scroll option for the F key.

 

TL:DR: The current item management sucks - split actions into "pickup and use", "take into hands, give and drop" and "reload".

Edited by Evil Minion
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I just played the new build and found a telescopic baton. Its pretty good at showing why your hands should not function via inventory management: Pick it up in closed state. Now take it in your hands. Now open. If the baton was located in your clothing (which is very likely as the inventory management fills slots from top to bottom) you will now drop it. Why? Because there is no space in your inventory. Nevermind that you held it in your hands at this moment.

 

Then there is the chemlight/flare thing - light them and try to take them in your hands. It requires you to first put them inside your inventory (unless there is no space), then take them into your hands, then light them again. At least "dropping" works via G.

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I don't think you need to go into so much detail with it, but yeah, separating actions that appear as a "default action" (drinking from a well, item pickups, door opening, entering a vehicle) onto a different key wouldn't be a bad idea.

Edited by Mos1ey

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With the current issues regarding hands and dropping items (as well as the persisting reload thing) I think this deserves a bump.

 

Aside from the "give" feature I do not think this is too detailed as at the moment it appears you require at least three different keys (hands, inventory and weapon) to reliably communicate what you want to do. And in case hands and inventory should work on the same one it should be environment<->hands<->inventory instead of the current environment<->inventory<->hands.

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Reloading needs more attention in general, I should be able to chamber my weapon then load a full magazine.

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