In a recent response recorded via the Developer Tracker here on DiabloFans, Bashiok has responded at the Battle.net board regarding bag usage and findability in Diablo III.
First off, he starts with rationalization of the importance of inventory in the game as a viable concern for gameplay and game depth:
Quote from Bashiok »
Upgrading storage size is a great reward, and can be much better than any incremental weapon/armor upgrade. (Kills/min could easily calculate out to be much greater without having to stop to clear inventory as much with a bag upgrade as compared to a damage increase from a weapon upgrade.)
Building off the last point, it helps add the sense of your character becoming more powerful and gaining more from the time spent playing.
Increasing the storage size over time/play experience is a great way to scale the player's sense of the game's complexity.
Beginning with a small and limited amount of space teaches the player early on that inventory management is an important part of playing the game - and sometimes generating income.
Making and keeping the player aware of their limitations can also help keep a better sense of structure and focus. Being overwhelmed is sometimes as detrimental to a play experience as being bored.
Although many of us might not fully agree with everything he has said here, they are legitimate considerations, partly issues that we did not think about in Diablo II: LoD, where we were given a fixed inventory without any hope of upgrading it besides the Horadric Cube which was, in my opinion, somewhat inadequate for storage.
He followed up with something that might make more than a few Diablo fans happy about the prospect of increased inventory sizes for individual players:
Quote from "Bashiok" »
Also keep in mind that while we're obviously dropping bag upgrades off of monsters now, we could choose any number of alternative ways to get them to the player. Or maybe a combination of different ways. Whatever, I just wouldn't focus on the 'how' of them being delivered right now.
It seems from this we can safely assume that at least some, if not all, of the inventory expansions (bags) will be attainable as standard in-game drops, as opposed to a royalty service that many had been speculating. Also worthy of note, however, is that he explicitly said "maybe a combination of different ways", cluing us off that perhaps it might include a mixture of both in-game drops and royalty fees, which Blizzard has stated would be a minimal part of the up-coming game, or perhaps from various quests throughout the game.
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So, what do you think? Do you agree with his stance on the new bag system being implemented in the world of Sanctuary? Does it seem better for the Diablo community now that it's been officially stated that bags will be dropped from in-game monsters?
Well it depends on how much extra space each bag gives us and if you can trade for bags.
If you can trade for bags i do not like this idea at all. But if you have to work for the bags then yes i do.
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Well, that depends a great deal on what you are talking about.
If you're saying that people who work to find stuff that other people want and trade it to a person for a bag, they would have just as legitimately worked for it as the person that found it, him/herself, because they'll have traded for it with items of equal value.
Now, if you're worried about it getting exploited, that's a different matter entirely, I think.
I'll miss the tetris style storage but I think the new system wont really take away from the game anyway. If more inventory space can be found as drops then I imagine I will be quite excited about those drops.
Good post makes valid point. Was thinking of exploited.
But Why don't we just start with full sized inventory to start with. I guess this is all part of making money the main currency. If you have more bags you can hold more items and therefore make more money. It also will help speed up the play.
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I am cheese. I am loved by all. I go great with everything. Other foods hate me because I take all the glory. Like Nachos..Their just jealous cause no one eats them unless Im there. Shit..I even ruined broccili's rep. Broccili kept talkin shit so I was like. " You know what?, I think I might melt myself on some Broccilli. See how those humans enjoy that green [sexual slur censored] now." Shit...Now,People dont even touch him, unless Im all over that shit! Ahhh..Its not easy, being cheesy.. Peace. Cheese Out.
I think it also gives us something different to trade for than just combat equipment, which is a bit of a plus. Stirs up the market a bit from previous games
Didn't Bashiok just say that inventory size is a big part of making your character better, perhaps even more important than MF or killing speed at times? Didn't they also say they didn't want to connect royalty fees to things that give one an advantage over others? So if inventory size gives one an advantage over others, they wouldn't want it to be something players can just buy, right?
Sure, if you want to think like that. Notice that I was only suggesting something and didn't quote Bashiok as saying it was a royalty perk. There are numerous ways it could be employed- I also noted quest drops. Maybe even crafting, in whatever form it shows up in Diablo III. Can you think of more ways?
I'm 100% for bags...the inventory system in D2 sucks..big time. As to how they are obtained; I think the suggestion by level might be a good one, but I think that would make sense as something that is part of the character not an item.
Say you reach level 20 you get a bigger bag (permanently) 40,60, etc. That's a system that I think might make it something less menial. Otherwise if they're just dropping or a quest item I guess I'm fine with that too.
I don't understand. Bashiok is talking about limited inventory space as if it's a good thing. What the hell?
This game is about killing stuff and collecting loot. Why on earth would you want to limit the amount of loot we can carry in the first place? It doesn't make sence.
No. It does make sense!
Quote from Bashiok »
Beginning with a small and limited amount of space teaches the player early on that inventory management is an important part of playing the game - and sometimes generating income.
Making and keeping the player aware of their limitations can also help keep a better sense of structure and focus. Being overwhelmed is sometimes as detrimental to a play experience as being bored.
If you don't agree with this... well... maybe the best decision you could make is >>>
Quote from "Ivaron" »
I know I'm gonna sound like a whiney little kid and no-one is going to care, but this is one of those things that makes me think I might not want to buy the game.
Does anyone think they may implement stat boosts with these bag like you see on specific WOW bags? It maybe another way that may arise for character customization.
And what is up with the getting more bags thing? C'mon, that thing sucked in WoW and it's gonna suck in D2 as well.
Funny, I was just about to say the opposite. Few item upgrades were as rewarding in WoW as when you could upgrade your bag space. Like Bashiok points out, this is a character improvement just as much as a new weapon is, and it gives tangible rewards. I definately like the sound of this.
PlugY for Diablo II allows you to reset skills and stats, transfer items between characters in singleplayer, obtain all ladder runewords and do all Uberquests while offline. It is the only way to do all of the above. Please use it.
Supporting big shoulderpads and flashy armor since 2004.
Funny, I was just about to say the opposite. Few item upgrades were as rewarding in WoW as when you could upgrade your bag space. Like Bashiok points out, this is a character improvement just as much as a new weapon is, and it gives tangible rewards. I definately like the sound of this.
Meh. How rewarding was it really? Only when you first started playing the game. Once you got to a decent level, bags were an afterthought. You got 4 of the best bag you could get and moved on.
Sure, there was occasionally a random bag that was not easily attainable that you might come across. But it wasn't anything special.
When I stopped playing WoW, it was before the most recent expansion and I had 2 20 slotters and 2 18 slotters. I couldn't have cared less about the two smaller bags. If I got an upgrade, great. If I didn't, whatev.
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Meh. How rewarding was it really? Only when you first started playing the game. Once you got to a decent level, bags were an afterthought. You got 4 of the best bag you could get and moved on.
Sure, there was occasionally a random bag that was not easily attainable that you might come across. But it wasn't anything special.
When I stopped playing WoW, it was before the most recent expansion and I had 2 20 slotters and 2 18 slotters. I couldn't have cared less about the two smaller bags. If I got an upgrade, great. If I didn't, whatev.
Well I'll give you that it was diminished by the fact that you could easily go into the auction house and get yourself some really decent bags way ahead of your level.
There could be several ways to increase the benefit and feeling of reward from getting a bag. The first would be to make them less common. Since you are unable to craft bags (I assume) in WoW, it will simply be a matter of drop chance. Make that small enough and the worth, and value, of the item will go up.
The other obvious chance is o change the increments. Going from 0 to 14 is a big step, while going from 18 to 20 is, indeed, practically useless. If the bags in D3 are something like 10>20>30 slots, we're talking about a noticeable increase.
PlugY for Diablo II allows you to reset skills and stats, transfer items between characters in singleplayer, obtain all ladder runewords and do all Uberquests while offline. It is the only way to do all of the above. Please use it.
Supporting big shoulderpads and flashy armor since 2004.
YEA I like this kind of changes =))
make the bag that gives me 100x slots so that I can put 100 items
or maybe 50x MAX for classic then 1 year later add in 100x slots bag XDDDDDDddddddddddddd
make bag with different color too plz just like in WoW hahahaha
OT: Getting news about Diablo III and how stuff works there is great BUT at the moment i am more interested in the progress on the latest patch for D2. Any news on that or Bashiok keeping it a secret? OT end
No, there hasn't been anything for a week or so. You can check the news forum for more on that- do a search or just look around I, too, am hoping for something soon.
The bag system for me will make it feel more like WoW again where there are bags and you can get the bags from drops and quests. I really liked the D2 inventory although there were times that i was frustrated with it being so small. I really dont like the bag system being in D3.
If you liked the old system because it provided a challenge of fitting everything in to a limited space then I think you should like the new system, too. It would be the same thing. The only difference is the lack of grid. You'd still have limited space- the trick would be getting the right amount for you.
They would rather be doing it like it was upgradeble meaning that you start of small and as you progress in levels it grows bigger. It can be explained by that you are getting stronger so you can carry more stuff on you.
As Bashiok said, in addition to monster drops they are considering other ways of implementing it. This could mean that something similar to that is also used, but, of course, we can't know for sure.
That is true Ivaron but don't forget this also applied to people's weapons and armor, like in Diablo 2. What was your chance of getting some crazy rune or a really nice item, like .0001%?
So it's kinda consistent enough with how it is, i.e. online ftw!
I'm whatever on the bag situation, oddly enough I liked inventory Tetris but I'm fine with whatever, just give us Diablo 3! (or at least the new patch/ladder reset on D2 already!)
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First off, he starts with rationalization of the importance of inventory in the game as a viable concern for gameplay and game depth:
Although many of us might not fully agree with everything he has said here, they are legitimate considerations, partly issues that we did not think about in Diablo II: LoD, where we were given a fixed inventory without any hope of upgrading it besides the Horadric Cube which was, in my opinion, somewhat inadequate for storage.
He followed up with something that might make more than a few Diablo fans happy about the prospect of increased inventory sizes for individual players:
It seems from this we can safely assume that at least some, if not all, of the inventory expansions (bags) will be attainable as standard in-game drops, as opposed to a royalty service that many had been speculating. Also worthy of note, however, is that he explicitly said "maybe a combination of different ways", cluing us off that perhaps it might include a mixture of both in-game drops and royalty fees, which Blizzard has stated would be a minimal part of the up-coming game, or perhaps from various quests throughout the game.
So, what do you think? Do you agree with his stance on the new bag system being implemented in the world of Sanctuary? Does it seem better for the Diablo community now that it's been officially stated that bags will be dropped from in-game monsters?
If you can trade for bags i do not like this idea at all. But if you have to work for the bags then yes i do.
If you're saying that people who work to find stuff that other people want and trade it to a person for a bag, they would have just as legitimately worked for it as the person that found it, him/herself, because they'll have traded for it with items of equal value.
Now, if you're worried about it getting exploited, that's a different matter entirely, I think.
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But Why don't we just start with full sized inventory to start with. I guess this is all part of making money the main currency. If you have more bags you can hold more items and therefore make more money. It also will help speed up the play.
They should have learned it from Titan Quest* by now
* Diablo's best and most successful clone so far
Sure, if you want to think like that. Notice that I was only suggesting something and didn't quote Bashiok as saying it was a royalty perk. There are numerous ways it could be employed- I also noted quest drops. Maybe even crafting, in whatever form it shows up in Diablo III. Can you think of more ways?
Say you reach level 20 you get a bigger bag (permanently) 40,60, etc. That's a system that I think might make it something less menial. Otherwise if they're just dropping or a quest item I guess I'm fine with that too.
If you don't agree with this... well... maybe the best decision you could make is >>>
Meh. How rewarding was it really? Only when you first started playing the game. Once you got to a decent level, bags were an afterthought. You got 4 of the best bag you could get and moved on.
Sure, there was occasionally a random bag that was not easily attainable that you might come across. But it wasn't anything special.
When I stopped playing WoW, it was before the most recent expansion and I had 2 20 slotters and 2 18 slotters. I couldn't have cared less about the two smaller bags. If I got an upgrade, great. If I didn't, whatev.
There could be several ways to increase the benefit and feeling of reward from getting a bag. The first would be to make them less common. Since you are unable to craft bags (I assume) in WoW, it will simply be a matter of drop chance. Make that small enough and the worth, and value, of the item will go up.
The other obvious chance is o change the increments. Going from 0 to 14 is a big step, while going from 18 to 20 is, indeed, practically useless. If the bags in D3 are something like 10>20>30 slots, we're talking about a noticeable increase.
make the bag that gives me 100x slots so that I can put 100 items
or maybe 50x MAX for classic then 1 year later add in 100x slots bag XDDDDDDddddddddddddd
make bag with different color too plz just like in WoW hahahaha
No, there hasn't been anything for a week or so. You can check the news forum for more on that- do a search or just look around I, too, am hoping for something soon.
If you liked the old system because it provided a challenge of fitting everything in to a limited space then I think you should like the new system, too. It would be the same thing. The only difference is the lack of grid. You'd still have limited space- the trick would be getting the right amount for you.
As Bashiok said, in addition to monster drops they are considering other ways of implementing it. This could mean that something similar to that is also used, but, of course, we can't know for sure.
So it's kinda consistent enough with how it is, i.e. online ftw!
I'm whatever on the bag situation, oddly enough I liked inventory Tetris but I'm fine with whatever, just give us Diablo 3! (or at least the new patch/ladder reset on D2 already!)
Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals... except the weasel.
- Homer Simpson