Moving Large Items

[Publik 404]

At some point we're going to get large, heavy items. For example, engine blocks or tires in the mod. I'd like to suggest a few ways of moving these items around that make sense (no putting engine blocks in your backpack).

 

1. Large Items

Some items will be too large to reasonably fit in a backpack, but still light enough that a person could reasonably pick up and move the item around. For these items, say a gas tank or tire, you could put the item on your back in place of a backpack and carry it around. If you pick the object up on your back, your character can only move slowly and leans forward with their hands behind their back to carry the item. While carrying an item like this, you cannot have an item in hand, carry a pack, or have anything on your back. Alternatively, you can take rope in hand before you pick up the item and create a makeshift item backpack, which frees your hands for other things and lets you carry a weapon on your back as well.

You could also pick up such an item in your hands and carry it that way. When carrying one of these items in hand, your character can only walk and tires quickly. If you get too tired, you drop the item and have to rest. If you carry items on your back with a large item in hand, you tire faster.

 

2. Large, heavy items

Some items will be large and also very heavy, for example an engine block. For these items, you probably can't pick it up and put it on your back. When such an item is on the ground, you can interact with it and push it, which moves it in the direction you're pushing by 1m or so. Pushing an item tires out your character.

 

3. Using a Sled

You could also build a sled to put items on to drag them around, using some wood and a rope. Drop wood on ground, take rope in hands, interact with wood to Build Sled, move the sled near the item you want to move, and if it's within 1m you can Load Onto Sled. This places the large item onto the sled. The sled acts as a vehicle with a small amount of inventory space. You can "drive" the sled around, which tires your character depending on how full the sled is. You could also stack other items onto the sled, say weapons or packs.

 

4. Using Vehicles

If you've got a vehicle, say a pickup truck or 2-tonne, you can move the vehicle near the item (within 1m or so) and get the option to Load Into Vehicle, just like loading the sled. You can also take the item out of the vehicle, which places it on the ground directly behind the vehicle.

 

Scenario:

You're in the industrial part of Cherno with a buddy and find an engine block sitting on some cinderblocks. Your clan has a vehicle nearby you're trying to fix up. Luckily, you've got some rope, but nothing to make a sled out of. You scrounge around and find some scrap wood and return to your engine. You drop the planks, attach some rope to it, and presto, sled. You "drive" the sled near the engine block, and load the engine on top. To make it somewhat easier for you, you also drop your pack and weapons onto the sled. You pick up the rope and start pulling the sled, with your buddy walking along as an escort.

 

You're driving through Berezino and get into a firefight. The bastards shoot out your tire but you manage to kill them. You head down to the Lumber Mill and Docks area to find a new tire, and you're in luck. Your car is nearby, so you pick up the item in your hands and begin slowly walking it back to your car. Some guy shoots you when you get back, fixes up your car, and drives off into the sunset.

 

TL;DR

• Large item like tire
  • Pick up on back, only walk, no backpack or weapons on back
  • Pick up on back with rope, can run, no backpack
  • Pick up in hands, only walk, get tired quickly
• Large item like engine
  • Push 1m
• Sled
  • Wood or other material + rope = sled
  • Acts like vehicle
  • Can move stuff like engines - "Load Onto Sled"
  • Can carry other stuff too (bodies, people, packs, weapons)

[Etherious 907]

I like that you simplified it at the end. LOL Also, good idea but in my opinion a lot of that is gonna be hard due to the game engine. :3

[Publik 404]

I like that you simplified it at the end. LOL Also, good idea but in my opinion a lot of that is gonna be hard due to the game engine. :3

Not really. We've already got the ability to carry things in hand, this would just be a different animation with some other restrictions, like how some hats take up a head slot but still allow a headlamp. Carrying an item on your back just treats it like a backpack without any items that takes up the 2 shoulder slots as well. Moving stuff around on the ground is a simple script, and a sled would act like a bicycle that has a lot of friction and doesn't move very fast. It's actually pretty reasonable for Arma to handle.