Assign "drop backpack" (keep toolbelt) to a hotkey

[Loey]

As a prolific hoarder and someone who is forever walking over encumbered, would it be possible for the Devs to create the ability to assign a hot key to drop your entire backpack (tool belt remains)? 

 

The idea behind this comes from being an over encumbered "light" infantry soldier who would "drop pack" in order to increase mobility during a fight. Once the threat has been dealt with, packs are picked back up and the patrol continues.

 

In game it would allow you to ditch your burden to out run zombies (I'm playing always sprint) far enough to lose them or reposture and fight in more advantageous terrain. After which you could then return to pick up your pack.

 

If you play in a group and find yourself consolidating loot amongst yourselves, dropping a backpack while another play picks it up and "loots all" would be a faster way to combine stacks of materials than creating a storage chest, dropping materials in 1 by 1 and then the other player "looting all".

 

In terms of implementation, the mechanism of dropping backpack on death exists while keeping your toolbelt. I imagine there may be some way to trigger that with a hotkey instead.

 

*Edit*

My wife mentioned this would likely change gameplay to the point where being over encumbered is of no real detriment and suggested that there needs be a downside for being able to do this.  Her suggestion was when you drop your backpack, there's no marker available for it. This may or may not add a slight inconvenience depending on how good your memory is, how stressed you were when you dropped it and or how similar the environment is. Relating this back to real life, it's not much fun trying to find a camouflage backpack in the jungle after a 100m assault uphill.

Edited July 25, 2022 by Loey (see edit history)

[meganoth]

There is some work involved to add such a feature. Now consider: They have a well working detriment to hoarding, specifically that you might die because you have no stamina and the zombies get you. I don't think there are many players who did not die at least once because of this.

 

Why should they replace it with another detriment that has no advantages over the old detriment?

 

 

[enkephalin07]

I like the idea, but the backpack is really just a game abstraction representing the items you may be hauling in any wearable containers. This is why you never actually see a backpack on a player character, it only appears as a gameplay convenience as a container you can recover all your things from at once.

[Melange]

I hoard stuff too. When the backpack gets full, I place a chest and mark it on the map. Go back to it later. Some items may be ideal for a particular goal and others more valuable at the Trader. Those items I retain and hope the slot space was worth it and hopefully finding more of the same as we go forward.  Other items like clay, stone, flowers, and that handful of lead scraps*, well they go into the chest. 

 

The idea of dropping a backpack whilst in game is interesting. Yet one would then need to carry ammo on the toolbelt at all times if you find yourself faced with conflictt at no notice. I for one keep weapons, tools and medkits around my waist. Ammo is in the backpack. No room for it on the toolbelt based on my gameplay strategy. If what you are potentially asking for were made a reality (most likely a mod), I would consider giving it a try. But in the mean time, I just put down a storage chest early enough so that I'm not encumbered.

 

Cool concept though

 

*when I find scrap lead the quantity is so small that keeping it until the backpack is full is usually what I do. Then faced with making the choice of 'keep or throw out' its usually the first item to be jetisoned. If we need lead, smacking an exposed ore node and the four underlying deposits with the right tool will yield a lot more than you'll find on a loot run. Then again, the same is true for iron, yet I can't get myself to unload it from the backpack. Old habits die hard, as they say.

 

As an afterthought, consider trying out some of the backpack mods. Lots of slots, and some mods even allow you to be unencumbered no matter how much you cram in there. Problem solved, no need to drop the pack really.

Edited July 26, 2022 by Melange (see edit history)

[Melange]

4 hours ago, enkephalin07 said:

This is why you never actually see a backpack on a player character, it only appears as a gameplay convenience as a container you can recover all your things from at once.

Indeed. Just like the upcoming non-existent water jars in A21 😎