Encumbrance

[Danial]

I know this probably shouldn't be in this thread, but I thought it might interest some people and couldn't decide where to post it.

 

Anyway, I got S.T.A.L.K.E.R. the other day and was excited to note that they use encumbrance! If you haven't heard of it, it's a FPS that has a few RPG elements thrown into the mix. In the game, you have a slot-based inventory, similar to most RPGs, but you can only carry up to 50kg without penalty. Between 50-60kg, you're running time is seriously cut, forcing you into a walk due to fatigue after only a few seconds. 60kg or over prohibits you from moving at all and you must drop items from your inventory to be able to move. This is the first game I've played (since X-COM) to use this weight-effected encumbrance mechanic. Most games simply limit you to slots, taking no account of weight.

 

Does anyone know of any other games that use weight in this way?

[Knan]

Well, yes. Baldur's Gate series. Elder scrolls series (ie. Morrowind, Oblivion).

[NKF]

I seem to recall Fallout 2 had something like this. I'm assuming this also extends to Fallout.

 

It generally stopped you from loading more equipment once you've reached the limit. But if you were to drop in strength and go over your limit (say you've been taking strength enhancing drugs and they've worn off, or you've taken off your suit of powered power armour), your ability to run is stopped and you can only walk everywhere.

 

It has been a while since I last played the Fallout games, so I can't remember if encumberance reduces your action points once you enter turn based combat.

 

X-Com did it well though.

 

- NKF

[Gimli]

Arcanum had this as well. Carry weight was divided into "categories", and each one would make you run slower, and at some point you could not run at all. I'm not sure if it ever stopped you from moving, I don't remember ever carrying that much.

[Bomb Bloke]

Ultima Underworld is the earliest FP game I know of to use a weight system. Although you also had slots, you could expand these by picking up the common place bags and packs littered throughout the dungeon.

 

However, I don't think this system affected your movement. You could either carry the weight or you couldn't. Some other Ultimas are the same, though NPCs in 7 will on occasion throw equipment away to help them flee from battle! Ultima Online allows you to move only short distances while overloaded, and makes you rest for a bit before you can move again.

 

Arx Fatalis is very similar to the Underworld games ("spiritual successor" type of thing), I know it uses weight but I don't know how it affects your movement.

 

X-Com Alliance was going to use a system where wounded units would have to limp or even crawl around the field. I assume they'd also slow down if overloaded, though I guess we'll never find out now.

 

Other non-3D games? Diablo II makes your character move slower if you equip heavy armor, but allows you to carry as much as you have slots for in your pack with no penalty.

 

Syndicate used 8 item slots per cyborg you controlled, though their movement speeds depended on what they were carrying, what implants they had, and what drugs they were high on. Loading an assortment of miniguns onto unmodified agents just resulted in frustration (even if it assured victory).

[Tepid tasoth]

Jagged Alliance has such a system, too. At least JA 2 and UB have it, dunno for JA 1 and JA:DG (haven't played them in like a 100 years).

[Azrael Strife]

The Baldur's Gate games, Planescape: Torment, Neverwinter Nights (1 & 2), etc.

[Danial]

So there's a lot of RPGs that use it then.

 

It does make sense that at a certain weight you just wouldn't be able to move at all. The system for this in UFO was rather strange as you could carry HEAPS and still be able to move somewhat. The 60kg limit in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. seems a little odd though. I can carry a 60kg friend on my back and still walk (albeit slowly) and I'm by no means a strong person

 

 

EDIT: One other noteworthy tidbit - Unlike UFO, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. uses realistic weights (eg. 2.5kg MP5/2.7kg AKM-47). I wonder why UFO didn't try to do this?

[NKF]

For simplicities sake, it was kept abstract. Players weren't meant to figure out what the equipment weights are or how it correlates with your strength stat. We dont really know what an X-Com weight unit is in real-life.

 

About UFO's encumberance, the more you carry above your maximum carrying capacity, your TUs are reduced by the percentage of weight over your max. So you essentially get slower. And if you carry even more, you get even slower. It just doesn't look like that because the game always animates the walk sequence as if the unit were taking a brisk stroll through the park. It would've been nice if the walk animation was adjusted by your encumberance level.

 

Come to think of it, most games have a very digitial change in encumberance (i.e. you lose your ability to run), rather than an analogous change in encumberance where you gradually slow down.

 

Oh, don't forget Rogue-likes such as Nethack, ADOM and millions of others.

 

- NKF

[Bomb Bloke]

I can also carry 60kg on my back, but I see flashing lights in front of my eyes shortly after, and I need to use both arms to balance myself and secure the weight. Wouldn't be able to aim a weapon, for example, especially not a melee one.

 

If memory serves, carrying too much in UFO means you start each turn without enough time units to move, sometimes so little that you can't even drop the items that are weighing you down!

[Tepid tasoth]

sometimes so little that you can't even drop the items that are weighing you down!

 

 

WOW! This was one thing I was wondering about a while back. Apparently, UFO's logic really works that way.

[Knan]

Oh, don't forget Rogue-likes such as Nethack, ADOM and millions of others.

 

Heh. I used to run a site with a family tree of roguelikes. At last count, I had well over 220 of them, and that's not counting the new branches since 2005 or so.

 

The roguelikes vary ... some do just the slot thing (DoomRL), others do weight (ADOM, Dungeon Crawl), still others do a combination. Some are plain strange - and enjoyable nevertheless (GearHead, anyone? The build-your-own-frankensteinmonster-mecha roguelike! An expandable slot system, in effect. Welding on a third leg is quite doable, but leaves you rather unbalanced and easy prey.)

[Kirill]

Hidden and dangerous deluxe is a fps/3th person shooter with encumberance and soldier and item (weapons) assignment. Its like playing Commandos but equipping & aiming yourself! Very cool indeed :-). Its also free! You can find it in gamershell.com