In the relatively near future (perhaps as part of the next major release after .7), I think the inventory system needs a significant quality-of-life rework; much of the impetus behind this suggestion is the large number of weapons and increased number of star systems due to mods, but some of these address issues already apparent in the base game, and as the base game expands in those aspects, the need for these changes will become more pressing. This is both a list of things I think are needed as soon as is reasonable, and things it would nice to see eventually as the game nears completion.
Regardless of whether the current grid-based system is the final inventory scheme or something altogether different is implemented, I've identified four areas that need improvement.
1) Item OrganizationThe current inventory screen is lacking any ability to organize or filter below the level of 'all weapons', which is inadequate given the sheer variety of weapons that now can appear in a single campaign. Ideally, I'd like to see the following features in an inventory system:
- the ability to sort or filter my weapons by slot size, slot type, and damage type, including combinations of these
- the ability to search for a specific weapon by name
- the ability to have all weapons of a specific type automatically marked or tagged wherever I see them (for example, to easily see weapons I'm looking for in markets)
- the ability to apply custom markers or tags to individual weapons or groups of weapons in my inventory (for example, to earmark them for use on a specific ship retrofit)
2) Ease of TransferenceMoving large numbers of items should be quick, and there should be options for quickly selecting certain subsets of items based on groups or filters. Features I'd like to see:
- [ADDED] some form of drag-a-box or shift-click selection
- sorting or filtering schemes that are persistent between inventory locations - ex. if markers/tags are used as above, those should stay applied; if a folder system is used, those folders should be copied over with the items
- options for 'take all' and 'deposit all'
- options for taking subsets of items: 'take/deposit all items of [slot size/slot type/damage type]', 'take/deposit all items with the tag/marker [xyz]', 'take/deposit' all items needed for ship loadout [xyz]'
3) Refit SortingThe pop-up scrollable list in the refit screen is simply too small to accommodate the the number of weapons in the game - trying to fill a medium or large universal slot is particularly egregious. Features I'd like to see:
- the ability to filter by slot size, slot type, and damage type
- the ability to filter by weapon role (Close Support, Point Defense, etc) and weapon range
- the ability to filter by custom tag/marker and item source (Cargo Hold, Military Supplier, Black Market, etc.)
- a warning dialog box before buying weapons to complete a saved loadout originating from the Black Market
- a pop-up showing what weapons are used in a loadout when hovering over a saved ship loadout
4) Sector-wide HoldingsWith mods, the sector can be a pretty big place; in the next update, the core game's sector will be significantly expanding as well. The player can store items and ships at any of dozens of different markets - but if your memory fails you, there's no indication whatsoever where you can find your stuff! The game needs a way to manage your overall holdings, with at least a few features:
- the ability to see a list of all your ships and weapons stored at each market in the sector
- the ability to search for a specific type of ship or weapon you have stored at any market
- possibly, the ability to order some of your stored ships and/or weapons be transferred to another market where you have bought storage, with a significant fee based on the quantity of ships and items being transferred, and taking an amount of time based on the distance between your location to the place where the items are stored to their final destination
- possibly, (and this feature may belong on another screen altogether) the ability to send out a market request via the relay system searching for a specific item/ship in exchange for a significant credit fee
Thoughts? Anything else people would like to see? Again, much of this is long-term, but I think some of these would be a significant improvement right now, even in the base game.