Have you ever found yourself running on your last 1/2 heart deep in the depths of your mine. At least 15 minutes away from the nearest spawn and you end up getting pegged by that arrow? Yep, you just lost everything. By the time you make it back, those diamonds are gone, your armor is gone, everything is gone.
It sucks. But there is hope!
Item binding!
Item binding is the ability to keep an item after death; no matter how you may die, be it lava, drowning, creeper explosion, falling, etc. The bound item will persist through death.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How does it work?
To bind an item, the player must construct locks. The player can build 3 different types of locks with varying colors.
A player can have as many locks as they desire. BUT, they can only bind 1 item at a time using a lock.
Using an overlock on 1 item will take the lock off of another.
To bind, the player simply has to hold a lock in his hand and use it with right-click; this will bring up a user interface where the player merely drag his desired item/stack into it to bind it.
A player can bind and unbind as he wishes; consuming 1 durability of the lock per bind/unbind.(binding a new stack will consume 2 durability (1 to bind the new stack, 1 to unbind the old)). Each lock has 8 total durability, so it's usage is limited.
When bound, the stack will be unmovable from that inventory slot. New units can be added to the stack, and the player can still split the stack; but the stack is securely stuck to that one slot.
If the player dies, the locks are dropped and the player is respawned with the locked items in his inventory except they become unlocked again.
This means that the locks only last (in a worst case) 1 death.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The RECIPE
This is the part where I need community input as I'm not entire sure how I should balance it. I grant that the advantage would be similar to a bed or chest, therefore I don't feel the lock should be very expensive. At the same time, item retention is a nice boon. Until I have more feed back, I'll go with my gut:
The above would create a lock which would be able to hold an item after death. This is known as an over-lock, or a lock for the overworld. When you bind an item with an over-lock, the item is known as over-bound.
A similar recipe:
Where is lightstone would be a netherlock.
This means that, so far, 2 of your 36 slots are protected from catastrophic loss. To rebind effectively, the player must sacrifice 4 slots (2 for bind, 2 for locks)
Since Notch is working on the sky dimension, a sky lock is in concept awaiting a sky-exclusive block. This allows a total of 3 of 36 slots to be protected. With the locks, this is 1/6th of your total inventory. I have no idea how this third lock will be constructed, I'll leave this up to your imaginations.
The player has 3 bound slots to act as a limiter but also so that the player must play though standard game progression before obtaining additional slots.
As the player progresses, the emphasis on exploration should be improved; I feel that this introduction has the potential to push adventure in the right direction.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: Will these bound items be better in any way?
A: No; they will only start with the player after death.
Q: Will you be able to bind stacks?
A: Yes. The entire stack is stuck to the inventory slot though.
Q: Aren't you worried that this would be overpowered/broken?
A: No. To be effective, the player would need 3 free slots for the bound stacks in addition to at least 3 more free slots for the locks. To have 3 locks, the player loses 1/6 of his carryable space.
Q: So I could take one [lock] down with me, mine a bunch of diamonds, then slap my lock on it to keep it safe on the way back?
A: Yes.
Q: What happens if I try to lock something while I already have another item locked? Nothing at all? A system message?
A: It simply rebinds, options should have a toggle option for rebind confirmation on/off if you don't want to be asked for confirmation each time.
Q: Might it work better if the lock applied to a slot, rather than an item?
A: It does, it binds to the first available free slot after the player closes the lock UI. The stack cannot leave the slot until unbound.
Q: If I die, do my bound items become unbound again?
A: Yes, your lock also drops where you died.
More questions to come.
Disclaimer:
I am open to any type of criticism; from constructive criticism, to "negative criticism" to simple flaming and trolling; just try to stay on topic. Thanks!
I originally had the system where it required you pay a price to rebind to a different item. That system would be unweildy and hard to implement and wouldn't be conducive to gameplay on an aside as it would be inflated with "what to charge for each item"; can you see the coding nightmare that would ensue for having to arbitrate the 100-some odd items? This is the reason why I killed the insurance system, though I personally like it.
When you bind to a new item; the old item is simply unbound. This allows some great flexibility, you would simply have to create the necessary lock to bind a new item.
Another idea, one you can play with if you prefer an insurance system, is that the lock is consumed when binding to an item; a lock is refunded with 1 durability damage if a new item of the same type is locked. It beat out argument, a lock has 32 8 durability.
When an item is bound, it is permanently bound; it does not deactivate after death. I figure that if beds allow you to reset your spawn, then having an item persist through death wouldn't be that dramatic of an overpowering.
So the lock is an item you have in your inventory now?
Yes. Consider this to be a less religion-ey version of the altar.
So I could take one down with me, mine a bunch of diamonds, then slap my lock on it to keep it safe on the way back?Yes. Though it would be wise to not die on the way down, locks may make your items safe, but locks are not safe (unless you lock it with a different bind)
How do I remove a lock?
You can either bind to a new item using the same type of lock, or destroy the item through use or fire.
What happens if I try to lock something while I already have another item locked? Nothing at all? A system message?
It simply rebinds, options should have a toggle options for rebind confirmation on/off if you don't want to be asked for confirmation each time.
Can I put a locked item in a chest/furnace/workbench?yes. No.
Might it work better if the lock applied to a slot, rather than an item?
It could, I just figure that the player may want explicit control over what's locked as opposed to a screw up due to inventory shuffling and 64 cobblestone is saved instead of the 13 diamonds.
If I die, do my bound items become unbound again?
No, bound items remain bound, however, you have a very real chance of losing your locks if you die. You CAN bind locks, but this is considered having insurance on your insurance :happy.gif:.
1) May change from 32 durability to 8 durability, discuss.
2) Removed ability to take bound items from inventory. You need to unbind them first.
You can unbind an item by binding another.
You can also unbind an item by discarding/consuming the stack.
Wow Yoshi... this is an RPG idea, and you seemed to like that sticky about "Why your RPG idea's won't work in Minecraft" when you replied in my thread to remove it. Odd.
Anywho, I think this would be nice, but with some additions/changes.
1. This should apply to everything in your inventory on peaceful without needing to do anything.
Is it an RPG idea? in what way? I will gladly make amendments to fix such issue if I get some points.
As far as peaceful goes, I'm sort of against the idea; peaceful does not mean safe; remember. It is still important to watch out for dangers such as height, drowning, and lava as these are all requisite of the game. I mean no disrespect and see exactly where you're coming from, but I fear that the peaceful idea would make this idea broken.
As far as the hard setting goes, I'm impartial. I'll leave this up in the air for discussion.
Is it an RPG idea? in what way? I will gladly make amendments to fix such issue if I get some points.
As far as peaceful goes, I'm sort of against the idea; peaceful does not mean safe; remember. It is still important to watch out for dangers such as height, drowning, and lava as these are all requisite of the game. I mean no disrespect and see exactly where you're coming from, but I fear that the peaceful idea would make this idea broken.
As far as the hard setting goes, I'm impartial. I'll leave this up in the air for discussion.
Thanks for the reply!
Bound items are in WoW, Guild Wars (I think), and Rift.
IRONY!
I always saw peaceful as the mode for people who just want to build things and not have to worry about creepers and such.
I made some changes, hopefully this will better improve readibility and flow. If there's still confusion, let me know and I'll try to answer below and in OP.
It sucks. But there is hope!
Item binding!
Item binding is the ability to keep an item after death; no matter how you may die, be it lava, drowning, creeper explosion, falling, etc. The bound item will persist through death.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How does it work?
To bind an item, the player must construct locks. The player can build 3 different types of locks with varying colors.
A player can have as many locks as they desire. BUT, they can only bind 1 item at a time using a lock.
Using an overlock on 1 item will take the lock off of another.
To bind, the player simply has to hold a lock in his hand and use it with right-click; this will bring up a user interface where the player merely drag his desired item/stack into it to bind it.
A player can bind and unbind as he wishes; consuming 1 durability of the lock per bind/unbind.(binding a new stack will consume 2 durability (1 to bind the new stack, 1 to unbind the old)). Each lock has 8 total durability, so it's usage is limited.
When bound, the stack will be unmovable from that inventory slot. New units can be added to the stack, and the player can still split the stack; but the stack is securely stuck to that one slot.
If the player dies, the locks are dropped and the player is respawned with the locked items in his inventory except they become unlocked again.
This means that the locks only last (in a worst case) 1 death.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The RECIPE
This is the part where I need community input as I'm not entire sure how I should balance it. I grant that the advantage would be similar to a bed or chest, therefore I don't feel the lock should be very expensive. At the same time, item retention is a nice boon. Until I have more feed back, I'll go with my gut:
The above would create a lock which would be able to hold an item after death. This is known as an over-lock, or a lock for the overworld. When you bind an item with an over-lock, the item is known as over-bound.
A similar recipe:
Where is lightstone would be a netherlock.
This means that, so far, 2 of your 36 slots are protected from catastrophic loss. To rebind effectively, the player must sacrifice 4 slots (2 for bind, 2 for locks)
Since Notch is working on the sky dimension, a sky lock is in concept awaiting a sky-exclusive block. This allows a total of 3 of 36 slots to be protected. With the locks, this is 1/6th of your total inventory. I have no idea how this third lock will be constructed, I'll leave this up to your imaginations.
The player has 3 bound slots to act as a limiter but also so that the player must play though standard game progression before obtaining additional slots.
As the player progresses, the emphasis on exploration should be improved; I feel that this introduction has the potential to push adventure in the right direction.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: Will these bound items be better in any way?
A: No; they will only start with the player after death.
Q: Will you be able to bind stacks?
A: Yes. The entire stack is stuck to the inventory slot though.
Q: Aren't you worried that this would be overpowered/broken?
A: No. To be effective, the player would need 3 free slots for the bound stacks in addition to at least 3 more free slots for the locks. To have 3 locks, the player loses 1/6 of his carryable space.
Q: So I could take one [lock] down with me, mine a bunch of diamonds, then slap my lock on it to keep it safe on the way back?
A: Yes.
Q: What happens if I try to lock something while I already have another item locked? Nothing at all? A system message?
A: It simply rebinds, options should have a toggle option for rebind confirmation on/off if you don't want to be asked for confirmation each time.
Q: Might it work better if the lock applied to a slot, rather than an item?
A: It does, it binds to the first available free slot after the player closes the lock UI. The stack cannot leave the slot until unbound.
Q: If I die, do my bound items become unbound again?
A: Yes, your lock also drops where you died.
More questions to come.
Disclaimer:
I am open to any type of criticism; from constructive criticism, to "negative criticism" to simple flaming and trolling; just try to stay on topic. Thanks!
OFFICIAL POSTING/REPLYING GUIDELINES
UNOFFICIAL POSTING GUIDE (PRT)
UNOFFICIAL REPLYING GUIDE (FTC)
When you bind to a new item; the old item is simply unbound. This allows some great flexibility, you would simply have to create the necessary lock to bind a new item.
Another idea, one you can play with if you prefer an insurance system, is that the lock is consumed when binding to an item; a lock is refunded with 1 durability damage if a new item of the same type is locked. It beat out argument, a lock has
328 durability.When an item is bound, it is permanently bound; it does not deactivate after death. I figure that if beds allow you to reset your spawn, then having an item persist through death wouldn't be that dramatic of an overpowering.
So the lock is an item you have in your inventory now?
Yes. Consider this to be a less religion-ey version of the altar.
So I could take one down with me, mine a bunch of diamonds, then slap my lock on it to keep it safe on the way back?Yes. Though it would be wise to not die on the way down, locks may make your items safe, but locks are not safe (unless you lock it with a different bind)
How do I remove a lock?
You can either bind to a new item using the same type of lock, or destroy the item through use or fire.
What happens if I try to lock something while I already have another item locked? Nothing at all? A system message?
It simply rebinds, options should have a toggle options for rebind confirmation on/off if you don't want to be asked for confirmation each time.
Can I put a locked item in a chest/furnace/workbench?
yes.No.Might it work better if the lock applied to a slot, rather than an item?
It could, I just figure that the player may want explicit control over what's locked as opposed to a screw up due to inventory shuffling and 64 cobblestone is saved instead of the 13 diamonds.
If I die, do my bound items become unbound again?
No, bound items remain bound, however, you have a very real chance of losing your locks if you die. You CAN bind locks, but this is considered having insurance on your insurance :happy.gif:.
OFFICIAL POSTING/REPLYING GUIDELINES
UNOFFICIAL POSTING GUIDE (PRT)
UNOFFICIAL REPLYING GUIDE (FTC)
OFFICIAL POSTING/REPLYING GUIDELINES
UNOFFICIAL POSTING GUIDE (PRT)
UNOFFICIAL REPLYING GUIDE (FTC)
1) May change from 32 durability to 8 durability, discuss.
2) Removed ability to take bound items from inventory. You need to unbind them first.
You can unbind an item by binding another.
You can also unbind an item by discarding/consuming the stack.
OFFICIAL POSTING/REPLYING GUIDELINES
UNOFFICIAL POSTING GUIDE (PRT)
UNOFFICIAL REPLYING GUIDE (FTC)
I'll change the lock durability to 8 uses. Thanks for the reply.
OFFICIAL POSTING/REPLYING GUIDELINES
UNOFFICIAL POSTING GUIDE (PRT)
UNOFFICIAL REPLYING GUIDE (FTC)
Anywho, I think this would be nice, but with some additions/changes.
1. This should apply to everything in your inventory on peaceful without needing to do anything.
2. Should be disabled on hard.
As far as peaceful goes, I'm sort of against the idea; peaceful does not mean safe; remember. It is still important to watch out for dangers such as height, drowning, and lava as these are all requisite of the game. I mean no disrespect and see exactly where you're coming from, but I fear that the peaceful idea would make this idea broken.
As far as the hard setting goes, I'm impartial. I'll leave this up in the air for discussion.
Thanks for the reply!
OFFICIAL POSTING/REPLYING GUIDELINES
UNOFFICIAL POSTING GUIDE (PRT)
UNOFFICIAL REPLYING GUIDE (FTC)
Bound items are in WoW, Guild Wars (I think), and Rift.
IRONY!
I always saw peaceful as the mode for people who just want to build things and not have to worry about creepers and such.
OFFICIAL POSTING/REPLYING GUIDELINES
UNOFFICIAL POSTING GUIDE (PRT)
UNOFFICIAL REPLYING GUIDE (FTC)
OFFICIAL POSTING/REPLYING GUIDELINES
UNOFFICIAL POSTING GUIDE (PRT)
UNOFFICIAL REPLYING GUIDE (FTC)
Currently the loss from dying isn't all that bad if you have prepared for dying. The only thing lost is time.
The Sun rises in the North!Now these points of data make a beautiful line...
Appreciate that. Respectfully, how will this negatively affect gameplay for those already prepared?
OFFICIAL POSTING/REPLYING GUIDELINES
UNOFFICIAL POSTING GUIDE (PRT)
UNOFFICIAL REPLYING GUIDE (FTC)
Until then, I'd love to hear more feedback on the idea.
OFFICIAL POSTING/REPLYING GUIDELINES
UNOFFICIAL POSTING GUIDE (PRT)
UNOFFICIAL REPLYING GUIDE (FTC)
OFFICIAL POSTING/REPLYING GUIDELINES
UNOFFICIAL POSTING GUIDE (PRT)
UNOFFICIAL REPLYING GUIDE (FTC)