Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General get rid of the empty containers

I agree, it feels like a waste of time.
You either accept that you're going to miss out on loot or that you're going to waste time, it's bad design imo.

I think the easier thing to do would be the game checking if anything is in the container. If there is nothing (RNG involved I guess), then the mouse pointer should be a hand indicating you can throw or grab it. If there is something inside, then it should be the treasure icon we have today. Problem solved.

There are plenty of non-container items (broken vases) that you cannot loot and that work to fill atmosphere and be used to throw, place on vents etc. Please consider keeping the amount of "things" in the room the same, just have 80% less that are lootable.

Something else to consider is that D:OS 1/2 had some randomized loot (and a whole mechanic for that), but I haven't gotten the impression that randomized loot exists (yet) in BG3. I could be wrong, and another playthrough would probably confirm it, but if loot isn't random then that is even more reason to have less of these lootable containers.

Either way, I don't want to spend so much time checking every single one of them. It's a huge time sink, but one that I feel obligated to do. Playing Solasta this weekend was a breath of fresh air for containers (and many other things).

I don't want to see empty containers removed. Instead what I would like to see is a direct visual appearance for when a container is empty or not.

Bookcases would have empty shelves if they are empty. Bookcases that have items would show some items they contain such as books or scrolls.

Potion racks will appear empty if they are empty, but will contain bottles if they are not.

Barrels, chests, and crates would appear open if they are empty, but will be shut if they are not.

Armor and Weapon racks will appear empty if they are empty, but will contain relevant armor or weapons if they are not.

The list can go on.

Preferably, I would also want it so that you could not put anything but appropriate items inside a container; i.e. no putting weapons in potion racks, etc. Barrels, chests, and crates being the exception, having no limitation on what can be placed inside.

Obviously, this would take alot more effort than simply mousing over a chest and having it say (looted), but I think it would be worth it.

Do what Skyrim did.

Open Urn(empty)

Problem solved.

I thought it was just me irritated by empty boxes and stuff. I don't mind clutter, hell, have the boxes contain 1g junk. Just SOMETHING.

It's pretty arrogant of you to make assumptions about people like this.

I am a very old school gamer. I am not anything like what you describe and I too hate all the empty containers. I understand this is sort of a "tradition / running joke" in a lot of computer RPGs but this is one tradition that needs to end. Have you ever played a table top d&d game where every room you enter and every street you walk down is filled with dozens of empty barrels, cupboards, vases, bookshelves (with shelves that need to each be opened individually), bags, and crates and your DM makes you open each of them one at a time, over and over and over only to say "That one is empty" each time. Except that every once in awhile there is actually something good in there, just enough to make you keep checking? I think any reasonable DM would just say, "You open all the crates and don't find anything." Oh and of course there is no consequence for rummaging through every container that you come across on every street and in every building even though none of them belong to you? Where is the logic in having some random barrel on a street corner have a magic weapon or a pile of gold, not locked, just waiting for someone to come along and take it with no consequence because it doesn't belong to anyone and is just there waiting for the player to find it?

You say it's stupid to have every container with items inside or one container with everything inside as if those are the only two options. Isn't there a middle ground there? People are not asking for one container per room, just a few less per area which is a very fair point.

No, no, I understood. Hence; " I'm fine with how it is." Because if finding doesn't reuire searching, it's a whole less fun, in my mind. I do not need to be rewarded for just entering a room.
Now, I too find it tedious to search every barrel. So I don't. I might miss out on something, but I'll never know because I don't notice. I really don't have a problem with how it is.



Judging by your tone, I suspect I will not get far debating this point. Enter Ms Screenshot, Cavalier. She was just on a holy mission in the Candlekeep Inn to count the containers in a not-so-packed entirely unneccesary area.

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Look, five containers. In a packed area (a dormitory).
Totally comparable to the 40+ containers we have in some areas of BG3.

Jesus Christ, I feel like I'm being trolled.

Yes. Five. As opposed to 'max four'? I suspect you and I will forever disagree on the term 'packed'. I'd count ' The Underdark' as a packed interior. Mind you that in the Svirneblin Inn part alone, there are just about 15 containers, some of which locked, that hold..... Thirteen gold pieces. I don't have any savegames ready, and I'm not particularly in the mood to send Ms Screenshot on another holy mission... I certainly hope you get the idea. If not, then, sure. By all means, consider yourself trolled. I advise acid or fire.

They certainly reduced the number of containers in BG2. Many areas indeed only had 4-10, yet filled multiple screens. Especially in dungeons most containers had relevant loot, so weapons, armour or money/gems/jewelry. There wasn't much "trash loot" at all. Even trash loot was often never sold. I recall that I looted a broken sword from the Duergar in Irenicus' forge and I kept it until the end, although it was totally worthless. I thought I could make a sword out of it.

If we go to an inn or so, indeed almost every room has a chest, or a cupboard, but that is five or so on one screen. I went downstairs into a cellar of a hourse in the blighted village and there were 4 chests that were marked when pressing alt, around 4 vases/urns both lootable and only interactable, 10-15 barrels and 10 crates, lootable and interactable. All of these were unmarked. Along with a cupboard, couple of boards on the wall several items on the floor, probably a couple of candles, chandeliers, books, baskets and so forth. That is around 40 or so interactable objects in a room with no gameplay value, there are no mobs, there is no riddle or hidden lever behind crates. If I recall correctly however there is a quest-relevant item in crate no 7. Of the containers likely 5 or so are filled, so if you are on a bad streak you might miss that object because looking at all takes several minutes. That is just a bore and a chore.

This

Just wish the highlight feature actually highlighted stuff. Doesn't show a lot of stuff....

No matter how it is, somebody will like it that way, others won't and most have bigger problems than argue about game features (even if the feedback will help everyone).

So just solve this, while keeping it as it is.
Just an optional toggle to show "empty" or even better, show an OPTIONAL aura or something around those which aren't empty, would do.

Yeah, again, I don't really mind it. I just prefer to be rewarded for actual effort; be it on my part or my character's, but if every bit of loot is just the only thing you can pick up in a room... That cheapens it a lot.

At the same time, I recognise that the game allows for containers to act like containers; you can pick them up, stuff them with candles and chuck them at the enemy, for instance. It might be quite a bit of effort to change this, and I'd rather they spend that effort on something I consider more necessary.

So, let's come up with a solution, shall we?

In tabletop, you oftentimes go; "I search the room for anything relevant.", the DM would have you roll perception, and tell you what you have found, if anything. Perhaps the inclusion of an active perception-check button would be nice. That way, the player can counteract the whole ' perception check happens when alreadyt on top of the damned trap* as well.

Either remove empty container or mark them as empty. It's just not fun if you have to click on 20 container per room, just to find out that 19 are empty. It's not fun, annoying and a waste of time.

Oh, and please don't take this as a suggestion to fill every container with apples and trash. That would be just as bad.

Why have so many empty containers interactive in the first place? As noted, they're a distraction.

This has to be one of the smaller issues, right? I guess if one doesn't want so many, you don't have to look. If they are adding just for clutter, they could go with a look/design where we know they aren't openable to know we don't have to go over there just to check.

You could stack them if empty or not?

Sure i do ... and that is the reason i writed there solution fot that problem, that allready was told here and i finded it like ideal "gold middle way" ...
Why you cuted it from that quote, that is mystery to me ... but let me remind you:



And some explanation seem to be in order ...

If we start to getting rid of containers, this game:
- for one start to feel even a little more empty ...
- for two we are getting rid of materials ... since we can stack them to make path where isnt any, we can throw them, we can climb on them to get advantage, etc. etc.
- and for three, even if that is just elevation of two ... we will get rid ourselves of number of chances ... since sometimes, (i dont say it happened often, but it happened allready few times to me) i accidentaly broke a box instead of moving it. Therefore having half boxes means having half chances to create stairs i need to get somewhere.

But if Larian implement some group loot!
So when we click on group of barrels, some ring will show up on the ground so we see wich is included, and wich is not ... we get benefits from both!
We will have nice decorated world, with all boxes and barrels, and w/e else ...
Yet we dont need to click on every single one to see if we dont miss anything.
And the best thing is ... Larian dont need to see whole EA and reconcider if on this or that place isnt too much boxes, or how many, or wich they should delete.

For myself clean, effective and simple solution ... those i like just the most.

This is what I want.