Why don't we separate the hotbar from our inventory, MMO style? For example, if I dragged an iron pick from my inventory to slot one of my hotbar slots it would just place the iron pick icon there. If there were iron picks available in my inventory, I could use it. If not, the button would just be grayed out. I'm aware that this would mean one less row of inventory, but I'm sure it would be easy enough just to add an extra inventory row.
Ideally, we would be able to fill as many hotbars as we wanted with different items, and switching out obsolete items (like wooden tools) would be a matter of just dragging an item in our inventory over them. This idea would make it so people could have an adventuring/mining hotbar with tools and torches, a building hotbar with different blocks, a food hotbar, etc. The only thing it would eliminate is the timesink of inventory management, and a tiny bit of challenge when swapping out or switching to a new button when a sword breaks.
EDIT: Added mockups.
Here's a breakdown of the images:
Extra row of inventory to make up for lost space
New hotbar included at the bottom. It looks the same, but works differently as described.
Grayed out stone hoe as there are no stone hoes in inventory
Total number of items displayed in hotbar
Arrows for swapping to other hotbars included. Could be numbered 1-99.
EDIT: Added a red mask to unavailable items to make it more obvious.
EDIT: The pictures seem to have actually confused some people. Here's the idea, that bottom row, what I'm calling the "hotbar" and what is visible when you are not in your inventory isn't actually a part of the inventory. It is separate (hence the title) and only links to items in your inventory.
Some other questions answered:
New items would be added to the hotbar by just dragging them from the inventory. This could be used to add an item to an empty slot or to replace an existing one.
Hotbars can be switched either by clicking the arrow or using Shift + Number for 1-9. Possibly alternate shourcuts could be assigned to other hotbars.
Durability could be handled one of two ways. Either it could display the lowest durability (as it does in the mockup), or durability will only be displayed if there is a single item left.
Note: This idea comes from seeing a thread about "securing items to the hotbar" and immediately thinking that it would be a great idea. Turns out the thread had nothing to do with what I thought it did, so I decided to make my own suggestion.
Me too. Its too bad it doesn't get more attention. It is a change I suspect most would be in favor of and that would not be too difficult to implement.
If there were iron picks available in my inventory, I could use it. If not, the button would just be grayed out. I'm aware that this would mean one less row of inventory, but I'm sure it would be easy enough just to add an extra inventory row.
The title is misleading.
The title can be interpreted like "SEPARATE THE HOTBAR space AND from the INVENTORY space"
while after reading the OP, I assume you mean something more along the lines of:
"SEPARATE make THE HOTBAR only link to items in the AND INVENTORY"
But personally I like how it is currently, and enchanted items would be annoying with this idea and you could possibly end up using more items than planned (losing track of blocks) if not implemented correctly. I do have my own idea to manage the hotbar that I plan to make when the mod API comes out, it is like the current, only a little more advanced.
"I'm an outsider by choice, but not truly.
It’s the unpleasantness of the system that keeps me out.
I’d rather be in, in a good system. That’s where my discontent comes from:
being forced to choose to stay outside.
My advice: Just keep movin’ straight ahead.
Every now and then you find yourself in a different place."
-George Carlin
The title can be interpreted like "SEPARATE THE HOTBAR space AND from the INVENTORY space"
while after reading the OP, I assume you mean something more along the lines of:
"SEPARATE make THE HOTBAR only link to items in the AND INVENTORY"
But personally I like how it is currently, and enchanted items would be annoying with this idea and you could possibly end up using more items than planned (losing track of blocks) if not implemented correctly. I do have my own idea to manage the hotbar that I plan to make when the mod API comes out, it is like the current, only a little more advanced.
I agree. I'll fix the topic up a bit.
As to the issues you mentioned, I am trying to work up a little graphic representation of what I had in mind. I think it would be good to have the total number of an available item listed in the hotbar (meaning we'd use up to four digits if your inventory happened to be full of a single stackable item). The durability would have to be moved to the top of the icon or something for the item presently in use. Enchants, I suppose, would either need to be treated as their own unique item or marked in some way on the hotbar so you didn't accidentally use one when you didn't want to. I honestly hadn't considered them, but making them their own item wouldn't be any more annoying then the current method of switching to them manually.
honestly hadn't considered them, but making them their own item wouldn't be any more annoying then the current method of switching to them manually.
Well yes it would, because you still have to add a link to it, however, now when it gets destroyed, the link stays there, meaning you have to manually delete that unique link.
"I'm an outsider by choice, but not truly.
It’s the unpleasantness of the system that keeps me out.
I’d rather be in, in a good system. That’s where my discontent comes from:
being forced to choose to stay outside.
My advice: Just keep movin’ straight ahead.
Every now and then you find yourself in a different place."
-George Carlin
Well yes it would, because you still have to add a link to it, however, now when it gets destroyed, the link stays there, meaning you have to manually delete that unique link.
Meh. You don't have to delete the link, just drag something new into that slot, just like with the current inventory. Seems like a pretty minor annoyance when compared to the amount of time and effort it would save in almost every other circumstance.
If you're saying what I think you're saying, I think I like it.
You should post a mock-up though. I got a little confused until I thought of it as toggle-able favourites bars instead of a hotbar separated from the inventory.
If you're saying what I think you're saying, I think I like it.
You should post a mock-up though. I got a little confused until I thought of it as toggle-able favourites bars instead of a hotbar separated from the inventory.
I think I posted a mockup. I can't actually see if the image is loading right.
It would be helpful for inventory management and organization. I could just use a hotbar to have all of my tools ready, then if my inventory is full of swords and one breaks, I don't have to worry about swapping it back out. Also, I could have separate hotbars for building materials. Everything could be nice and organized and it would eliminate the need to swap out for a new stack of this, or a new one of that, or whatever. As long as an item is in the inventory, it could be used without having to drag it down into the hot bar like we do now.
An example of when it would be useful is when building a new shelter in survival. I have torches, picks, and swords on my hotbar pretty much all the time (currently the bottom row of the inventory). Imagine I'm building a house out of cobblestone. Unfortunately, I only have two slots left for my materials, but my inventory is otherwise completely full of cobblestone blocks and stairs. I run out of cobblestone, I have to go into my inventory to get a new stack out. I run out of stairs I need to do the same thing. With a hotbar I'd have a slot for cobblestone, a slot for stairs, and I could use them all up before I'd need to even look at my inventory, at which time I'd need to go rummaging through a chest or something anyway.
I think people would find duplication bugs. I like the inventory and hotbar just as it is now.
It seems like the potential for bad programming is a bad reason not to support something. Your other reason, however, isn't something I can really argue with.
The idea is discombobulating. I really dont understand what it is. So all it does is tell you what you have in your inventory? Can you even use the items in the hotbar? What? I don't get it at all.
The idea is discombobulating. I really dont understand what it is. So all it does is tell you what you have in your inventory? Can you even use the items in the hotbar? What? I don't get it at all.
The hotbar becomes what is visible on screen while you're playing, instead of the bottom row of the inventory. I'll add a new picture.
The idea is discombobulating. I really dont understand what it is. So all it does is tell you what you have in your inventory? Can you even use the items in the hotbar? What? I don't get it at all.
It would be helpful for inventory management and organization. I could just use a hotbar to have all of my tools ready, then if my inventory is full of swords and one breaks, I don't have to worry about swapping it back out. Also, I could have separate hotbars for building materials. Everything could be nice and organized and it would eliminate the need to swap out for a new stack of this, or a new one of that, or whatever. As long as an item is in the inventory, it could be used without having to drag it down into the hot bar like we do now.
An example of when it would be useful is when building a new shelter in survival. I have torches, picks, and swords on my hotbar pretty much all the time (currently the bottom row of the inventory). Imagine I'm building a house out of cobblestone. Unfortunately, I only have two slots left for my materials, but my inventory is otherwise completely full of cobblestone blocks and stairs. I run out of cobblestone, I have to go into my inventory to get a new stack out. I run out of stairs I need to do the same thing. With a hotbar I'd have a slot for cobblestone, a slot for stairs, and I could use them all up before I'd need to even look at my inventory, at which time I'd need to go rummaging through a chest or something anyway.
You could easily have that same convenience just by altering how the slots work, you don't need to make the hotbar separate.
Nice suggestion, but there are a few things wrong with your mock-up:
- A stack of 128 stone? Hmmm.....
- Why is the pickaxe's health bar in the center of box?
That's the entire point. There's a stack of 128 stone in the hotbar because there are TWO stacks of 64 stone in the inventory. The idea is that the hotbar links to things in your inventory rather than actually being a part of your inventory. That way you can set up as may different bars as you want for different purposes. The health bar is in the center to make room for the number of pickaxes in the inventory.
You could easily have that same convenience just by altering how the slots work, you don't need to make the hotbar separate.
So, how could this possibly improve the game?
Altering how the slots work does not allow you to set up separate bars for different purposes. Ideally, you could switch from one bar to another using the arrow buttons on the end of the hotbar. You could then set up a hotbar for adventuring with, say, swords and picks and things, another for building with various blocks, another for smelting with coal and ores, another for eating with various foods, and so on.
Nice suggestion, but there are a few things wrong with your mock-up:
- A stack of 128 stone? Hmmm.....
- Why is the pickaxe's health bar in the center of box?
You seem to have misunderstood.
There aren't one hundred twenty-eight stone in the hotbar. The hotbar stone icon is a shortcut to the two sixty-four stone stacks in his inventory. If that makes any sense. In other words, when he's all out of stone he'll have a stack of zero.
I still think that, if implemented, tools should still function as they do now, or there should be tool slots.
Altering how the slots work does not allow you to set up separate bars for different purposes. Ideally, you could switch from one bar to another using the arrow buttons on the end of the hotbar. You could then set up a hotbar for adventuring with, say, swords and picks and things, another for building with various blocks, another for smelting with coal and ores, another for eating with various foods, and so on.
Har, I missed that post you made. Aaagain. Pretty slow, huh?
You could also map the hotbars to different keys. I, O, and P to switch between bars, for example. People will never need to access their inventory ever again.
Ideally, we would be able to fill as many hotbars as we wanted with different items, and switching out obsolete items (like wooden tools) would be a matter of just dragging an item in our inventory over them. This idea would make it so people could have an adventuring/mining hotbar with tools and torches, a building hotbar with different blocks, a food hotbar, etc. The only thing it would eliminate is the timesink of inventory management, and a tiny bit of challenge when swapping out or switching to a new button when a sword breaks.
EDIT: Added mockups.
Here's a breakdown of the images:
Extra row of inventory to make up for lost space
New hotbar included at the bottom. It looks the same, but works differently as described.
Grayed out stone hoe as there are no stone hoes in inventory
Total number of items displayed in hotbar
Arrows for swapping to other hotbars included. Could be numbered 1-99.
EDIT: Added a red mask to unavailable items to make it more obvious.
EDIT: The pictures seem to have actually confused some people. Here's the idea, that bottom row, what I'm calling the "hotbar" and what is visible when you are not in your inventory isn't actually a part of the inventory. It is separate (hence the title) and only links to items in your inventory.
Some other questions answered:
New items would be added to the hotbar by just dragging them from the inventory. This could be used to add an item to an empty slot or to replace an existing one.
Hotbars can be switched either by clicking the arrow or using Shift + Number for 1-9. Possibly alternate shourcuts could be assigned to other hotbars.
Durability could be handled one of two ways. Either it could display the lowest durability (as it does in the mockup), or durability will only be displayed if there is a single item left.
Note: This idea comes from seeing a thread about "securing items to the hotbar" and immediately thinking that it would be a great idea. Turns out the thread had nothing to do with what I thought it did, so I decided to make my own suggestion.
Me too. Its too bad it doesn't get more attention. It is a change I suspect most would be in favor of and that would not be too difficult to implement.
The title is misleading.
The title can be interpreted like "SEPARATE THE HOTBAR space
ANDfrom the INVENTORY space"while after reading the OP, I assume you mean something more along the lines of:
"
SEPARATEmake THE HOTBAR only link to items in theANDINVENTORY"But personally I like how it is currently, and enchanted items would be annoying with this idea and you could possibly end up using more items than planned (losing track of blocks) if not implemented correctly. I do have my own idea to manage the hotbar that I plan to make when the mod API comes out, it is like the current, only a little more advanced.
"I'm an outsider by choice, but not truly.
It’s the unpleasantness of the system that keeps me out.
I’d rather be in, in a good system. That’s where my discontent comes from:
being forced to choose to stay outside.
My advice: Just keep movin’ straight ahead.
Every now and then you find yourself in a different place."
-George Carlin
I agree. I'll fix the topic up a bit.
As to the issues you mentioned, I am trying to work up a little graphic representation of what I had in mind. I think it would be good to have the total number of an available item listed in the hotbar (meaning we'd use up to four digits if your inventory happened to be full of a single stackable item). The durability would have to be moved to the top of the icon or something for the item presently in use. Enchants, I suppose, would either need to be treated as their own unique item or marked in some way on the hotbar so you didn't accidentally use one when you didn't want to. I honestly hadn't considered them, but making them their own item wouldn't be any more annoying then the current method of switching to them manually.
Well yes it would, because you still have to add a link to it, however, now when it gets destroyed, the link stays there, meaning you have to manually delete that unique link.
"I'm an outsider by choice, but not truly.
It’s the unpleasantness of the system that keeps me out.
I’d rather be in, in a good system. That’s where my discontent comes from:
being forced to choose to stay outside.
My advice: Just keep movin’ straight ahead.
Every now and then you find yourself in a different place."
-George Carlin
Meh. You don't have to delete the link, just drag something new into that slot, just like with the current inventory. Seems like a pretty minor annoyance when compared to the amount of time and effort it would save in almost every other circumstance.
You should post a mock-up though. I got a little confused until I thought of it as toggle-able favourites bars instead of a hotbar separated from the inventory.
Enter that and you'll score one hundred thousand rupees for us both, along with a spiffy card!
I think I posted a mockup. I can't actually see if the image is loading right.
It would be helpful for inventory management and organization. I could just use a hotbar to have all of my tools ready, then if my inventory is full of swords and one breaks, I don't have to worry about swapping it back out. Also, I could have separate hotbars for building materials. Everything could be nice and organized and it would eliminate the need to swap out for a new stack of this, or a new one of that, or whatever. As long as an item is in the inventory, it could be used without having to drag it down into the hot bar like we do now.
An example of when it would be useful is when building a new shelter in survival. I have torches, picks, and swords on my hotbar pretty much all the time (currently the bottom row of the inventory). Imagine I'm building a house out of cobblestone. Unfortunately, I only have two slots left for my materials, but my inventory is otherwise completely full of cobblestone blocks and stairs. I run out of cobblestone, I have to go into my inventory to get a new stack out. I run out of stairs I need to do the same thing. With a hotbar I'd have a slot for cobblestone, a slot for stairs, and I could use them all up before I'd need to even look at my inventory, at which time I'd need to go rummaging through a chest or something anyway.
It seems like the potential for bad programming is a bad reason not to support something. Your other reason, however, isn't something I can really argue with.
The hotbar becomes what is visible on screen while you're playing, instead of the bottom row of the inventory. I'll add a new picture.
Posted a screenshot. Hopefully that clarifies.
- A stack of 128 stone? Hmmm.....
- Why is the pickaxe's health bar in the center of box?
You could easily have that same convenience just by altering how the slots work, you don't need to make the hotbar separate.
So, how could this possibly improve the game?
That's the entire point. There's a stack of 128 stone in the hotbar because there are TWO stacks of 64 stone in the inventory. The idea is that the hotbar links to things in your inventory rather than actually being a part of your inventory. That way you can set up as may different bars as you want for different purposes. The health bar is in the center to make room for the number of pickaxes in the inventory.
Altering how the slots work does not allow you to set up separate bars for different purposes. Ideally, you could switch from one bar to another using the arrow buttons on the end of the hotbar. You could then set up a hotbar for adventuring with, say, swords and picks and things, another for building with various blocks, another for smelting with coal and ores, another for eating with various foods, and so on.
You seem to have misunderstood.
There aren't one hundred twenty-eight stone in the hotbar. The hotbar stone icon is a shortcut to the two sixty-four stone stacks in his inventory. If that makes any sense. In other words, when he's all out of stone he'll have a stack of zero.
I still think that, if implemented, tools should still function as they do now, or there should be tool slots.
Har, I missed that post you made. Aaagain. Pretty slow, huh?
You could also map the hotbars to different keys. I, O, and P to switch between bars, for example. People will never need to access their inventory ever again.
Enter that and you'll score one hundred thousand rupees for us both, along with a spiffy card!