Realistic Inventory FPS games

[YoshiM]

This is just something you don't see often. As I was writing the post for the March XBox demo disc, I got to thinking about the inventory system in games. Most notably in FPS games. I really didn't give much of a thought back when I played Wolfenstein 3D or even Doom. I got kick ass weapons at my disposal and I was gonna use 'em. As I got older, the idea of being a massive walking tank with all these weapons seemed rather stupid.

Think of Goldeneye. In a level Bond could carry multiple pistols, small machine guns, a rocket launcher, a couple of rifles, AND ammunition for all of this. Yet he moved with grace and was silent when needed to be. I'm sorry, but walking about with all this hardware clacking about would NOT help one's stealth factor.

Some games, that I've seen, have started to take a more "Realistic" approach to FPS inventories. Halo is a great example. Two guns and X amount of grenades. That's it. 007: Nightfire (at least in the Multiplayer)-a professional mode that only allows a handgun and a large weapon to be in inventory at a time. Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force uses Trek physics to explain the huge inventory capacity of Lt. Monroe-a portable transporter buffer that you can stuff your items into and recall on a needed basis. Makes sense in a...um, Trek sort of way.

What are some of your thoughts on this? Do you want to see a more realistic approach to your FPS games or are you the "hell, gimme my pistol, machine gun, sniper rifle, rocket launcher, plasma gun, BFG 9000 so you can get some rest medicine"? Or should I just start drinking caffine in the mornings again so avoid posts such as these?

[Nature Boy]

I'm all about how it plays. If I need to be able to carry six weapons so that the game is playable and enjoyable then I could care less about how 'logical' it is. Of course, when a game like Halo comes along that *is* playable within reasonable limits I appreciate it just that much more.

[geelw]

i sort of like the king's field approach to inventory: you can carry what you can, but the more weight you're lugging around, the slower you move, and the more tired your character becomes.

halo probably has the most effective way of dealing with weapons, as far as the "realism" of finding and using what a dead enemy drops (especially when you mistakenly grab an almost empty weapon in the heat of battle, lol)...

[Sothy]

Operation flashpoint had it down pat.

I would go out of way to disable Russian armor without killing them so that when they crawled out of the hatch I could gun them down and take the compact Ak-74s with retractable stock. dunno why but that gun was sweet.

[Raedon]

Redneck Rampage.. Whiskey, beer and a shotgun.. seems about right to me