Coming off of Dark Souls, I became hyper aware of Bethesda's typical inventory encumbrance system. I LOVE Skyrim and I'm about 15 hours deep, hungry for more - BUT, the encumbrance feature once again seems to do nothing but drag the game down. I remember playing fallout 3 feeling as if I was perpetually one or two looted items from being overweight. It becomes a game within a game that just isn't any fun at all. If anything, it just frustrates me and makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong. Dark souls solved this by giving you an encumbrance for WORN items, but didn't care how long your inventory got. This let you loot freely, carry what you wanted and yet still have to worry about item weight in a less irritating way.

Not that I'm getting into comparing the two, but it does seem like Bethesda's insistance on adhering to to a rigid encumbrance system does absolutely nothing to enhance the enjoyment of the game. The inventory weight is ALREADY ridiculous and unrealistic, so that rules out going for realism. It isn't a multiplayer game where sets of items and weights can be factors in pvp balance. So...

Why?

This is one of the major reasons I chose the PC version. One simple console command and my encumbrance issues are over. I justify it as my character is a pure mage, so I'm sure he has a bottomless bag of some sort to carry all his crap in.

@MB: Does opening the console disable Steam achievements?

@sdharrison: Because carrying a bunch of swords, armour, ingredients, potions and general crap is heavy.

@Sitoxity said:

@sdharrison: Because carrying a bunch of swords, armour, ingredients, potions and general crap is heavy.

But if that is the case, the encumbrance limit the game imposes is already wildly unrealistic. You wouldn't be adventuring around with 4 axes and 3 chain tunics, 50 potions and trashbags full of herbs. So if we're ALREADY being unrealistic, what exactly is the point of the system? (not even to mention the asinine pointlessness of your post)

@Anund said:

@MB: Does opening the console disable Steam achievements?

Not so far, check it out. I was changing FOV and encumbrance before I got any of these achievements.

It's there to prevent you from blindly picking up everything you come across. Just because it isn't a multiplayer game doesn't mean there's no balance. Forcing you to pick and choose what you carry around adds a strategic element to what you loot (weight vs value and sellability) and I don't mind that. Plus it keeps your inventory from getting out of hand, and lord knows the damn thing is hard enough to manage already. In Dark Souls the unlimited inventory was kind of self limiting because you couldn't pause to look through your million items if you needed to swap something out in a hurry, so smart players will naturally keep just the stuff they might actually need on hand.

@SuperfluousMoniker said:

It's there to prevent you from blindly picking up everything you come across. Just because it isn't a multiplayer game doesn't mean there's no balance. Forcing you to pick and choose what you carry around adds a strategic element to what you loot (weight vs value and sellability) and I don't mind that. Plus it keeps your inventory from getting out of hand, and lord knows the damn thing is hard enough to manage already. In Dark Souls the unlimited inventory was kind of self limiting because you couldn't pause to look through your million items if you needed to swap something out in a hurry, so smart players will naturally just keep the stuff they might actually need on hand.

Good answer

@sdharrison: It makes having higher Stamina more important, forcing people that want to play a warrior class with heavy armor and weapons to put more points into stamina to increase their carry capacity. It's all about balancing the game. It also gives you a reason to buy a house to store things in. Which I actually like. It does add a little more realism even if, as you say, it is already unrealistic.

@MB said:

@Anund said:

@MB: Does opening the console disable Steam achievements?

Not so far, check it out. I was changing FOV and encumbrance before I got any of these achievements.

Sweet, encumberance sucks, it adds nothing to the experience :) Going to be issuing some console commands when I get home!

To deter you from doing this.

If you do away with encumbrance you might as well not even pick up the items in the first place and just use the console to dump a bunch of money in your inventory.

1. Get companion
2. Tell companion to pick up that stuff
3. laugh at complete lack of encumbrance

the only weight thing i don't like is dragon bones and scales being so heavy

DO what I did, started the game, first thing, ran to the Steed Stone and encumbrance dosen't really come up that much. It helps that I'm playing a warrior and dumping most of my lvl ups into stamina aswell tho..

I feel that encumbrance shoud be an option for something like a hardcore mode like in Fallout: New Vegas. I come to a game like this for the story and the questing, not to do serious role-playing where I have my actual character though out and consider what they are in how I approach the game. I realise that there are many people who want to do that, but there are plenty who probably don't. It seems like an outdated mechanic that just makes the game less fun. I understand why its there, but I wish it wasn't

as long as you manage your items properly then its not an issue. don't go on a quest when your carrying to much. i leave almost all my items back at my house and only take what i need. this means i never go on a quest with any more than 100/300 so i have good 200 to fill on my adventures.

@SeriouslyNow said:

1. Get companion
2. Tell companion to pick up that stuff
3. laugh at complete lack of encumbrance

what happens when/if your companion gets killed? can you loot the stuff back from his/her body?

I look at it the same way I look at other games that have implemented it, like the STALKER games. The fundamental ideology/reasoning behind encumbrance is good, but the game mechanics surrounding this feature are simply not good enough to support such "realism". The only side effect of encumbrance in Skyrim, is that I'm forced to fast travel back to a merchant/fence to peddle my wares more often than I'd like; time I could be spending doing some quests. The fact of the matter is that if you want to earn money in the game, you have to be periodically looting and selling a bunch of crap.

If there was a greater risk/reward for hauling back a few items from a dungeon, I think it would make more sense to limit what you could carry (like, if you literally carried what a person could carry, or had to figure out a means to transport heavier items [by cart/horse etc]). But there isn't. You're not even forced to walk or ride back to town, you just have to click a button. Dark Souls had the right idea. Despite how hardcore that game is, they realised encumbrance was pointless in a game that hasn't fleshed out a deeply realistic side to the game.

Encumbrance is one of the smartest things to implement in RPG's. It keeps people from carrying a bunch of useless junk just so they can make a few pennies selling crap to a merchant.

@SeriouslyNow said:

1. Get companion
2. Tell companion to pick up that stuff
3. laugh at complete lack of encumbrance

what happens when/if your companion gets killed? can you loot the stuff back from his/her body?

@chrissedoff said:

Encumbrance is one of the smartest things to implement in RPG's. It keeps people from carrying a bunch of useless junk just so they can make a few pennies selling crap to a merchant.

Exactly.

I want to be forced to decide what to pick up. If I could just pick up everything and there were no consequences, that'd be just boring and break the immersion for me.

@SeriouslyNow said:

1. Get companion
2. Tell companion to pick up that stuff
3. laugh at complete lack of encumbrance

This. Also there is a standing stone which helps a bit. And enchantments.

I look at it the same way I look at other games that have implemented it, like the STALKER games. The fundamental ideology/reasoning behind encumbrance is good, but the game mechanics surrounding this feature are simply not good enough to support such "realism". The only side effect of encumbrance in Skyrim, is that I'm forced to fast travel back to a merchant/fence to peddle my wares more often than I'd like; time I could be spending doing some quests. The fact of the matter is that if you want to earn money in the game, you have to be periodically looting and selling a bunch of crap.

If there was a greater risk/reward for hauling back a few items from a dungeon, I think it would make more sense to limit what you could carry (like, if you literally carried what a person could carry, or had to figure out a means to transport heavier items [by cart/horse etc]). But there isn't. You're not even forced to walk or ride back to town, you just have to click a button. Dark Souls had the right idea. Despite how hardcore that game is, they realised encumbrance was pointless in a game that hasn't fleshed out a deeply realistic side to the game.

@SuperfluousMoniker said:

It's there to prevent you from blindly picking up everything you come across. Just because it isn't a multiplayer game doesn't mean there's no balance. Forcing you to pick and choose what you carry around adds a strategic element to what you loot (weight vs value and sellability) and I don't mind that. Plus it keeps your inventory from getting out of hand, and lord knows the damn thing is hard enough to manage already. In Dark Souls the unlimited inventory was kind of self limiting because you couldn't pause to look through your million items if you needed to swap something out in a hurry, so smart players will naturally keep just the stuff they might actually need on hand.

Yup, I think encumbrance makes the game more realistic and more fun to play since you need to choose the items you want to carry and what items are worth the most. It's awesome!

I dislike limited inventory too, but it's rather easy to get around after the first few hours of an ES game. Just stop picking up weapons and heavy objects, it's not like you need the money from them unless they're magic.

I haven't had too much inventory problems, only when i pick up those stupid dragon bones and scales!!!  I just immediately get on my horse and fast travel back home to toss them in my chest.   (you can fast travel while overencumbered if you get on your horse).

1. Get companion
2. Tell companion to pick up that stuff
3. laugh at complete lack of encumbrance

@SeriouslyNow said:

1. Get companion
2. Tell companion to pick up that stuff
3. laugh at complete lack of encumbrance

i think there is a weight limit on companion's as well.  I remember trying to give Lydia some stuff and it said it was too heavy to give.

It's always annoying but if you could hold everything you found, what would stop you from getting absolutely everything and then buying everything you wanted?

@MB said:

This is one of the major reasons I chose the PC version. One simple console command and my encumbrance issues are over. I justify it as my character is a pure mage, so I'm sure he has a bottomless bag of some sort to carry all his crap in.

Do achievements get turned off when you do that? Edit: whoops that was already asked. sorry

My issue in the game isn't with encumbrance, it's with the vendors. Yes, I know that eventually through the speech tree you can sell all items to them, and they all get a bunch more money, but it's still incredibly annoying to have to track down a vendor with enough money who'll buy your crap.

I've had some annoyance over being over-encumbered, but I like that it forces me to control my inventory. Both sides have valid points though, so I'd say it comes down personal preference.

There are a lot of unrealistic things about the game, so let's "fix" those while we're at it.

Don't pick up every goddamn bucket and shovel you come across, problem solved.

Keeps me sort of organized and I can then manage my inventory better. Although it can cause a headache when I have to micro-manage my bag when I'm knee deep in adventures. For that reason my stamina is high.

@Red said:

My issue in the game isn't with encumbrance, it's with the vendors. Yes, I know that eventually through the speech tree you can sell all items to them, and they all get a bunch more money, but it's still incredibly annoying to have to track down a vendor with enough money who'll buy your crap.

This bothers me more than a limited inventory. It annoys me when I drop a few items in the middle of nowhere in order to pick up a heavier but more valuable piece of gear but then no merchants can afford to buy it off me.

I'm not a cheater, so I deal with it.

Encumbrance is one of the smartest things to implement in RPG's. It keeps people from carrying a bunch of useless junk just so they can make a few pennies selling crap to a merchant.

Use Alchemy to brew up some potions that'll allow you to carry more.

Yeah the very first thing I did was to pull up the console and set my encumbrance to 9999999. The one thing I will say about keeping everything is that it can make the inventory menu a hassle to scroll through, especially with a gamepad (Dark Souls mitigates this by letting you scroll quickly with the triggers). Fortunately, the mouse is still enabled in the inventory menu even with a 360 controller enabled so I can use the mouse wheel to quickly scroll through long lists of inventory items.

This is why my house exists. It's less a house more a warehouse. A warehouse with bookshelves filled with books.

@deadmanforking said:

DO what I did, started the game, first thing, ran to the Steed Stone and encumbrance dosen't really come up that much. It helps that I'm playing a warrior and dumping most of my lvl ups into stamina aswell tho..

This basically. I see no reason to ever really switch from this stone. Not to mention you do not suffer armor movement penalization.

@MB said:

This is one of the major reasons I chose the PC version. One simple console command and my encumbrance issues are over. I justify it as my character is a pure mage, so I'm sure he has a bottomless bag of some sort to carry all his crap in.

What console command are you using for disable encumbrance? The only one I know of is TGM (toggle God mode). I was wondering there is one JUST for encumbrance.

I prefer Elder Scrolls' encumbrance system to Demon's/Dark Souls, but I'd love it more if it had the Torchlight thing and let me send my companion to sell off stuff I don't want to carry around. Then of course, the companion would probably get killed on the way there.

Buy a house for storage. Then find the steed stone. Sorted.

@thornie said:

@MB said:

This is one of the major reasons I chose the PC version. One simple console command and my encumbrance issues are over. I justify it as my character is a pure mage, so I'm sure he has a bottomless bag of some sort to carry all his crap in.

What console command are you using for disable encumbrance? The only one I know of is TGM (toggle God mode). I was wondering there is one JUST for encumbrance.

player.modav carryweight ##

It's always annoying but if you could hold everything you found, what would stop you from getting absolutely everything and then buying everything you wanted?

@MB: Awesome. Thanks.