Shipments and Trade

[TheProdigyBoy]

I'll try making this work once I learn how the engine works... but I'm sharing it here so someone more experienced can try. Basically, allow us to pick up containers (at least crates, poorboxes, chests, and small ammocrates) while they're full. This would be useful for vehicle/cart storage. It could work like the backpacks in Fallout 1 & 2 did. Allowing players to compartmentalize and focusing on trade mechanics will encourage them to actually make and sell things to other players (this could even make Barter Grounds useful!). I haven't been playing long, but after a week of playing it's easy to see that the economy has little player interaction, maybe expand on that a bit?

[Wipe]

You pick up full container... and then what? I'm pretty sure allowing to drop them at towns is a Bad Idea (TM), so best what could be done is moving items from container in inventory to car trunk [when you use container on trunk]. But then again, player can just fill trunk from the beginning, so it's questionable improvement. And hey, Barter Grounds are already prepared for such "barter cars", as it's not possible to lockpick anything in there.

As for using from inventory, Fallouts had it in ugh way - once you open container, regular inventory slot is replaced with container content. So to get something from backpack you had to put it in hand, close backpack, put into regular inventory. Very roleplayish, but also very clunky to use. Possible solution here is to open loot screen once you use container; this would be nice - you can see both container and character inventory at same time, so that would be actual improvement.

But.

You're talking about trading here, where nothing would change. Both Fallout and loot screen way will just introduce more clicks to access items to trade. Temporary putting container(s) content into inventory while trading would be even worse - barter window is crap enough already. One last hope is putting container as a whole into barter section and calculate value of items inside, on trade extract them from container, and give it (empty) back to owner. Would work nicely for NPCs i guess, but for player<->player trading... not so much ("what's in the box?").

In the end, it's all about UI, as usual. That's why we can't have nice things
Technically stuff could be changed/added, sure, but i don't see a reason to do so. Not without serious interface rework, at least. And oh, someone who actually can draw new default interface from scratch.
Things above are just first what came to mind, and that already looks like lot of pain with no gain, so i'll completely skip a part about how/if full containers should interact with carry weight.

Maybe i'm looking at it from the wrong side, but then again, suggestion itself ain't helpful at all to get a right perspective.

[Henry]

For a quick way to improve basic logistics of loot manipulation, expand GUI taller, even by 1 item's height. The more items we see at a time, the better. Then expand wider and add ability to categorize loot into 2 columns. BAM we just doubled the amount of items we can see in inventory. One column could be "stuff i need to always keep". If i set my "stuff i always need to keep" to include 1000 rounds of 12g shotgun shells, then i always retain 1000 shotgun shells even when i open a locker and say "put all" in there. It would only move excess shotgun shells to the locker, and not empty me out.

For improved trade though...yeah let's dig in!

Player-to-Player Trading
A new GUI, that lists all open deals offered by players all over the map. A place where you go to accept a deal, and/or offer your own deal. Deals can be caps for goods, or goods for goods. You need to build your own caravan first, staffed by NPCs who run your goods to the other party. You find a deal you like, accept it, and away goes your private trade caravan. You get a prompt first: "Do you want to help guard your trade caravan?" Say yes, and you go along to make sure it reaches its destination, which is a random encounter on the map. There you meet the other player's trade caravan, also staffed by NPCs, and maybe guarded by that player. Your NPCs talk with each other and the goods are [silently] exchanged. Meanwhile, you players decide if you fight or make friends. Everyone knows in advance it can go either way, and if you don't guard your caravan, it can even get into trouble with normal random encounters.

Peaceful Outcome
If players stay friendly, then deal goes well - both caravans go back to map, now laden with goods from the other player, and return to base.

Suspenseful PvP
If players fight, somebody wins. They get to return their own caravan to base, still laden with their own goods, and both players get a dot on the map which marks where the losing player's caravan is. Both players have time to go back there and let's see who will get those goods! The launch of a trade caravan disallows bringing friends, but going back to the dot allows both players to bring whomever they can get to help.

Qualify
The inter-player trade GUI could be a Pip-Boy upgrade, available by beating a tough quest to get a trade base. Base shows on map in random place - you don't get to site it, some of these deals across significant distances. Next, do some quests to rescue enough NPCs to staff your trade base, and finally by trading enough in towns that some NPC merchant somewhere says "hey you're pretty good at this" and BAM you can do deals now. When you make friends, click their name green in the trade GUI so you remember them. Click enemies red.