Saved Gear Load Outs

[Calico Steel]

It would be great to be able to save gear load outs to quickly load up before a trek, switch between load outs for different adventures, or to be able quickly unload all gear that is not part of your load out.

 

I find that I spend a lot of time planning which cloths and gear are best for each type of trip I'm taking. So if I could just flag it in someway as a load out type, I could jump between my hunting/stuff collecting build, my long journey build, or my lightest build. 

An easy way to do this would be to have ux that allows you to tag the gear as part of a particular load out (or multiple load outs). It would save me a lot of time, and prevent instances where I get out into the bush and find out I forgot something important. 

Love the game. Keep up the awesome work. 

[odizzido]

Removable backpacks could be somewhat similar to what the OP is saying here. Have three different ones you can put on depending on what you want to do. It would also make it so people could drop their backpacks and go climb something or go explore with the downside being you no longer have your gear.

For a nice example you can download STALKER:Anomaly. It's free, fun, and shows (almost)exactly how it could work.

Edited February 8, 2021 by odizzido

[Cranky]

I too would like an easy switch out system but have solved this for myself in a rather simple way. It takes a bit of time in the beginning but I’m OCD af and this works for me. 
 

I always choose a regional base with lots of storage. In Myst Lake for example I have 2 (the dam and camp office) with food and water set about in various spots throughout the region. At each base I have a storage container filled with all my exploration gear and one filled with all my in region gear. Within a region I generally pack as light as possible (axe, knife, bow w/ 3 arrows, 2 torches 1 flare, 2 fishing tackle, med supplies, fire source, 5 cloth, 1.5 water and about 3kgs of food) sometimes I carry the revolver and bedroll but usually only when in areas I’m unfamiliar with or that have few man made shelters. 
 

When I’m expeditioning into a new region I dump all my in region gear into an empty storage container and load up with my exploration gear. This always includes both firearms and bow if I have them, bedroll, more food & water, and piece of wood that burns for at least an hour. 
 

I generally manage with 2 different load outs with many of the same items overlapping, just that when I’m going into a new region I carry more gear. I don’t begin to set up multiple load outs until I have multiples of the same tool. As I find  an additional axe for example I’ll set it aside at my regional base and begin to build up another storage container for expeditions. I too have been in the situation where I’m like “o shit I don’t have my bedroll” so with this set up I don’t have that prob anymore. 
 

I like your idea of an easy switch system but hope this helps. 

[Calico Steel]

Thanks all, just making a suggestion for the devs.

I have my own way of managing the load outs (I use a unique locker or cabinet to hold the travel gear). It would be simpler to tag it, plus sometimes the same gear is shared across load outs. 

[Nordique]

On 2/8/2021 at 8:47 PM, Calico Steel said:

An easy way to do this would be to have ux that allows you to tag the gear as part of a particular load out (or multiple load outs). It would save me a lot of time, and prevent instances where I get out into the bush and find out I forgot something important. 

Love the game. Keep up the awesome work.

Seconded on both counts, the love and the need to do at least two different kits sets. Would it be easiest to implement this with big enough containers like the garderobes (not e.g. fridges tho )? In effect a recycling style button in the container menu is all it takes UI-wise. As long the carried weight fits in a given container, switch what the character is carrying with what is in the container and autopopulate in worn slots (could get tricky, I know).

That would give a further lore-compliant reason to frequent the "more civilised" locations like Grey Mother's and Farmhouse which actually have the infrastructure for changing work clothes, instead of pulling a stone-age attire rehearsal in a gut-filled cave ...

[Stinky socks]

Maybe if they set up "list type" UI that will or astrid create and then you click on it, circle loading icon appears while packing is done.

[manolitode]

On 2/8/2021 at 10:13 PM, odizzido said:

Removable backpacks could be somewhat similar to what the OP is saying here. Have three different ones you can put on depending on what you want to do. It would also make it so people could drop their backpacks and go climb something or go explore with the downside being you no longer have your gear.

I agree word for word. Different backpacks is how you'd want to solve gear loadouts. Sure we can use lockboxes and switch items manually but very few bases have lockboxes (though stone boxes solve this to some degree), there has to be a less cumbersome solution. As for removable backpacks, it's an idea that seem 100 % intuitive to me. In fact I spent my first frustrating hours playing TLD not believing that there wasn't a drop backpack-button. There is the difficulty argument against it, that there's too much of an upside being able to explore more freely. Well, the downside of not carrying gear is huge, no tinder, no sticks, no ammo etc. And I would like to do more scouting without having to rearrange the backpack and drop all stuff in the snow. Other counterarguments is that removable backpacks mean it would be easier to outrun a charging wolf. That could be prevented by a drop backpack animation that lasts seconds, as has been suggested by other before. 

Edited February 13, 2021 by manolitode

[Mroz4k]

I agree it would be convenient.

You can also just place the gear in a specific pile, then equip and take it off based on your planned trip. Carry what you carry always on you. I actually turn it into a ritual for myself. Afterall, in real life, you have to "get dressed" as well, right? And that takes time of your day... but just cuz I do it this day, does not mean there cant be a way that this would work more conviniently. 

On 2/8/2021 at 10:13 PM, odizzido said:

Removable backpacks could be somewhat similar to what the OP is saying here. Have three different ones you can put on depending on what you want to do. It would also make it so people could drop their backpacks and go climb something or go explore with the downside being you no longer have your gear.

For a nice example you can download STALKER:Anomaly. It's free, fun, and shows (almost)exactly how it could work.

I suggested something similar in the past. The issue with my idea would be that "different size backpacks" could also essentialy be used as moveable containers if people wanted to. I think Hinterland does not want to give people ability to make internal storage containers - it seems storage space is something to consider when choosing a base (never was for me, I just lay it on the ground, but I guess some people care about putting things into storage. 

[Nordique]

11 hours ago, manolitode said:

Different backpacks is how you'd want to solve gear loadouts. Sure we can use lockboxes and switch items manually but very few bases have lockboxes (though stone boxes solve this to some degree), there has to be a less cumbersome solution.

Other counterarguments is that removable backpacks mean it would be easier to outrun a charging wolf. That could be prevented by a drop backpack animation that lasts seconds, as has been suggested by other before. 

Definitely, various backpacks would be the way to go, especially since there are already various packs in the game as textures -- probably not as objects tho. As suggested before, it would conveniently add depth well through late-mid-game if the player would need to start with pocket-carrying (a neat justification for current or even further slimmed down Interloper starting gear?) and then hunt for increasingly better carrying methods all the way to custom built portage rigs or pulks... All this would also introduce further micromanagement, which TLD has been avoiding and cutting down over the years. While super nice, implementing even a basic pack-based solution would likely take significant dev effort including introducing complex freely placed container objects in the world. That is why I suggested to start with a limited container-based approach for a welcome quality of life upgrade.

Further, I would much enjoy wrestling with the choice of whether to drop my rucksack and subject all my hard-won gear to the ravages of a wolf or bear (a moose would probably not dig in unless it were a case of a stuck antler 🙂) and run for it trying to save my sorry ass, or to battle the beast with a pack on to not risk an even more badly torn bedroll, broken mag glass or a chewed-through extra jacket.
What is more, the drop-pack mechanic could perhaps alleviate the hack 'n' slay (at its purest, the gamey bare-naked fights to save gear, yuck) fighting aspect especially in Stalker: a dropped pack could work as a lure, doubly so if there's a quantity of scenty edibles inside, and the damage from brawling could then be increased. This could make Interloper a tiny bit easier in the beginning, by allowing one somewhat-scot-free chance of an animal encounter -- but doing so would risk drastic damage or even destroy your crucial equipment, a potent disadvantage already mid-term.

[Mroz4k]

I was thinking about this further. Barring the usage of dropping a backpack outdoors to run from a predator or when one needs to quickly climb up and down a rope, but instead thinking of how to make the load outs mechanically plausible. 

I will assume what I suspect of the game, I have no knowledge of coding or of the inner works of the game, but I believe I have some limited idea behind the mechanics. I suspect all items have their own unique ID, at least the items which are non-stackable. Lets also assume that loadouts could be a mechanic only used indoors. For that reason, I assume all indoor locations have a knowledge of all the items stored inside them, or dropped on the ground. 

What if the inventory had an option, "create outfit of gear" - this would put you into the storage-kind of inventory. Think of it as an "internal container" of sorts. You put specific items into it and save it by leaving the window. At this point, nothing changes - but then you have an option to place down an item that looks like a backpack down anywhere indoors. It could also say the "weight" of  the collective gear, but putting it down wouldnt actually take any items away from your inventory. However, if you drop those items anywhere within that room, then pick up the loadout, it will put the items into your inventory. Regardless where they are stored. Think this would work pretty well. It would just give people the "role-play/convinient choice to put specific gear together into one box, then spread those same items over the ground, and then pick them up again simply by grabbing the load-out pack.