http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=11322: A mod for enforcing a more realistic way of carrying items.

Edit 2012/5/9: New version: Now weapons and armor take up space like with the grid inventory of Deusix, pp.


With the release of SKSE papyrus support (many thanks to the SKSE-team!) I have been expanding the scope of the mod, implementing requests from Faize173, BethesdasBigFan and sukeban. The mod is compiled with skse_1_05_05. As this SKSE version is considered beta, so is this mod. This being said, I'm not aware of any problems (SKSE related, I mean .

The mod:

Skyrim's system of handling carry capacity allows for unrealistic exploits that may not only annoy the immersionist but can reduce game difficulty to boring levels.
With this mod you can limit the number of items from several classes the player can carry without dropping them. It does nothing you couldn't do on your own (by exercising some discipline) but, at least for me, in gaming it's easier to be forced to do the right thing
Items exceeding a maximum count are dropped, chosen randomly, until the limit is reached again.
The maximum number of items per class is handled using global variables. You can adjust these numbers to your needs using console commands. As soon as SKSE permits, I'll add a configuration file.

You can easily taylor the mod to your needs. To deactivate parts use

• set EK_GlobMaxNumXXXX to -1 : any item with a maximum number
  
• set EK_GlobSpcAvailable to -1 : all items with space requirements
  
• set EK_GlobSpcReqXXXX to 0.0 : any item with space requirements

The mod handles the following item classes (default configuration values are shown in set statements):

Arrows (no SKSE needed):

• set EK_GlobMaxNumArrows to 40
  
• Carrying 100's of arrows simply is unrealistic. Having a de-facto unlimited supply of ammunition makes playing an archer appallingly easy. Limiting the number of arrows available makes for a more suspenseful gameplay.

Lockpicks (no SKSE needed)

• set EK_GlobMaxNumLockpicks to 25
  
• Everyone whines about the lockpicking minigame, how abundant lockpicks are, how they have 100s of lockpicks in their inventory and the whole perk-tree is useless. So, just don't carry many of them.

Potions

• set EK_GlobMaxNumPotions to 20
  
• Potion spamming makes the game easy and I know no way of safely carrying 4 scores of frail glassware, simultanously having instantanous access to them.

Equipped rings

• set GlobMaxNumRingsEquipped to 2
  
• Following a suggestion of Lodakai you can specify the max amount of rings worn (KYWD ClothingRing). This is for those who use an unlimited rings mod but in fact only want to limit the number of rings to a finite number.

Armor and weapons

These item types are handled in effect similar to the grid based inventory management system used e.g. in Diablo or Deusix:

You have a maximum of available space (grid squares)

• set EK_GlobSpcAvailable to 50.0

and different types of equipment have different space requirements:

• set EK_GlobSpcReqLightBoot to 2.0
  
• set EK_GlobSpcReqLightGauntlet to 2.0
  
• set EK_GlobSpcReqLightCuirass to 4.0
  
• set EK_GlobSpcReqLightHelmet to 2.0
  
• set EK_GlobSpcReqHeavyBoot to 3.0
  
• set EK_GlobSpcReqHeavyGauntlet to 3.0
  
• set EK_GlobSpcReqHeavyCuirass to 6.0
  
• set EK_GlobSpcReqHeavyHelmet to 3.0
  
• set EK_GlobSpcReqShield to 5.0 (no distinction, the volume is the same)
  
• set EK_GlobSpcReq1H to 3.0
  
• set EK_GlobSpcReq2H to 5.0
  
• set EK_GlobSpcReqBow to 8.0
  
• set EK_GlobSpcReqStaff to 4.0
  
• set EK_GlobSpcReqDagger to 1.0

Note that the values are handled as floats, so you can adjust the relative requirements in any way you like.

Equipped armor and weapons

• are not dropped
  
• don't require inventory space

Cave: this means that you can unexpectedly drop something when switching from a warhammer to a one-handed sword.

Packrats may not like using this system. You can de-activate this part of the mod by setting EK_GlobSpcAvailable to a negative value

For the packrat immersionist, there is another solution:
The mod does not drop any of the items below as long as your hands are emtpy (no weapon or spell equipped). This way you can haul your loot (or your alchemist's merchandise) to town - picture pulling a handcar. As soon as you draw a weapon, the handcar will turn over and spill your items to the ground.

After looking over some more "immersion" mods and downloading the backpack mods I was thinking "what we really need now is a mod to limit the amount of certain items I can carry" and lo and behold the Nine did answer. Thank you very much shall have a pop at testing pronto.

Fantastic! Almost exactly how I self-limited myself with looting crap.

EDIT: Hmm, doesn't seem to work for me. I updated SKSE to the latest beta, activated esp and so forth. Mod variables are changeable no problem with console and batch file, but no matter how much stuff my character takes, nothing happens. Any idea how to troubleshoot this issue?

I re-tested with a character that never had this mod active and using the contents of the *.rar, he shedded items, as expected.

• You are working with the current 1.5.26.0.5 version of Skyrim? The SKSE beta is made for this one.
  
• SKSE is 1_05_05?
  
• You unpacked the bsa, also? This holds the script.
  
• You've set the EK_GlobMaxNumXXXXX variables to something > 0? Any value < 0 will de-activate handling of the associated item class.
  
• You have equipped something (a weapon or spell) in one of your hands? Empty hands will enable carrying more (arrows/lockpicks excluded).
  
• Weapon/Armor Items equipped are not dropped and don't count towards the limit.
  
• You have been patient enough? The SKSE version is running its tests every 3 seconds and for each item the amount of pieces dropped will be determined randomly. So, if you have 50 arrows, 10 more than maximum, a random number between 0 and 10 will be dropped. If you carry 1 piece each of iron, leather and steel armor, and have a limit of 1, then for each of those (unequipped) types of cuirass a random number between 0 and 1 will be dropped. So there is a chance that you still have dropped nothing, even after several iterations.

If all of the above is ok, you should look, if there are items handled correctly:

• Arrows and lockpicks will be dropped even if SKSE is not present and regardless of any IsEquipped or HandsEmpty condition.
  
• Potions need SKSE and won't be dropped with empty hands but are not checked for equipped.
  
• All Weapons/Armor should behave equally (if I have not made copy&paste errors)

If everything else fails I hope you'll be able to extract the script and compile it on your machine, inserting some Debug.notifications....

This is EXACTLY what I was looking for... fantastic!


Are there any other parameters we can set?

No, only the 12 globals detailed in the first post.
I'm open to suggestions for expansions, though. If something can be easily implemented and someone would really use it, I could fit it in.

There is a new version, introducing a space-based inventory system for armor/weapons.
Have a look at the modified first post.

Wow!

Have you spoken with Schlangster about the possibility of getting a UI incorporated with the next SkyUI?

This looks good! Is there a change to overall carry weight? I'd like to feel that my Bandoliers mod is helping me carry more. Also, a config file would be great. Is there a reason why you can't make one with the current SKSE? Many mods have them...

No, I haven't. My anology to the grid-based UI inventory management systems was meant more fundamentally:

• In the the grid system the player manages the inventory manually, this mod does a random-based automatic management.
  
• Common to both approaches is a fixed amount of overall space (number of grid squares vs. limit EK_GlobSpcAvailable) and the individual space requirements of an item (item size in grid squares vs. 'volume' EK_GlobSpcReqXXXX).

If one chooses to use a UI for a grid based inventory management (should Schlangster create it) , the armor/weapons part of my mod should be de-activated because both would basically do the same but in an uncompatible way. This would basically be the choice between interactive and scripted management, it comes down to preferences.

There is no change to carry weight, encumbrance is not touched. You could say that my mod manages volume, not weight. I think, it's realistic to check both - try to carry 10 inflated balloons

I was under the impression that config file handling was still on SKSE's ToDo-list. I plan to add a proper config-file as soon as possible. I'm quite sure that I should wait for SKSE's OnGameLoaded block, though (it's planned), so changes to the input-file can be seen without having to check in each OnUpdate block.

There is a kind of config-file: the mod contains a file EK_LI that holds lines "set EK_GlobXXXXXX" for all the globals used.
You can adjust this file to your needs and then, on the game console type "bat EK_LI".
You could even define several configurations, for example LI_PunyElf, LI_StrongOrc, LI_WithBigPackPack, ... and load these when appropriate.
If you created the bandolier mod yourself, it should be possible for you (provided you can SKSE-script the "bat CONFIGFILE" console call) to include the batch call of the LI_* input files in your mod, changing automatically when the bandolier is (de)activated (you only need to change EK_GlobSpcAvailable).

I'm toying with the idea of adding a hotkey that pops up a choicebox showing all files EK_LI_XXXXX in the data directory, so you can choose one on the fly (backpack/bandolier active/inactive).

Heh, no, it isn't *my* bandolier mod. It's alright, I'll make up a bat file, and the bandoliers would only let you carry fairly small stuff, anyway (which isn't limited by your mod is it? just weapons, armours, etc.)
I was just wondering if this could be made to account for weight in addition to volume (which would be a fairly small change really, just set the default amounts a bit lower)

Weapons&armor are handled using the space-requirement vs. available-space method, arrows, lockpicks, potions and equipped rings by individual maximum count.
You can de-activate any part of the mod seperately, the ReadMe provided with the mod gives more detailed configuration info.

Small stuff like clothes and misc items are not handled. It would be straightforward but very tedious to incorporate all kinds of CK-keywords and for me personally such an expansion would be filed under diminishing return If, however, someone wants to borrow the basic script, it's fine with me.

From a realistic point of view, I think that the graphical method of arranging items on a grid is flawed when it comes to small items: for example, 6 potions/jewelry take up one square each, the same as one piece of armor. As you said: small stuff belongs in pockets whereas the big things are carried by other means - one reason more for the mod to handle them differently.

Frankly, I don't want to muddle with weight. As it is now, my mod works completely separate from others, there won't be any conflicts. But as soon as I start changing carry capacity / weight I tread into the territory of the much more envolved encumbrance mods, of which there are some very popular ones. I'm quite sure you can use both in parallel and configure them to work together well.

Is there any likelihood of getting a UI attachment to this mod (ala Dues ex?) I agree completely with your logic about what you can carry vs. what should go in pockets, but it'd be great to be able to 'see things' in your inventory and move them around.

No, there won't be an extra GUI for this, that's simply not my line of expertise. I can understand the wish for a nice looking GUI, but imo such a GUI would only make sense replacing my mod because the only 2 functional goals of the GUI are

• show what you have in your inventory - that's done by the vanilla one or SkyUI
  
• allow you to arrange your items optimally - that's no point with my mod because it does not try to create the densest package of a set of rectangles but simply dumps together the contents of a set of waterfilled buckets (ouch, flowery

Having said that: I may be wrong with my reservations and if anyone feels he would like to create a GUI version of this mod, he's welcome to use my code.


Beware: advertisemant:

evilGiraffe, BalCleric and Nowhereville have suggested to add support for backpack/bandolier mods. I was sceptical at first but now I think I know how to recognize equipped backpacks/bandoliers.

Provided I can identify which type of packing gear is worn, I can then simply give a boost to the space available. I'll add modifiers like EK_GlobAddedSpaceSmallBandolier, you can set to your liking.
As it's not probable that I'll hit the taste of everyone I'll go the coward's way out and simply allow to have each pack boost each type of item (except lockpicks) even arrows. But I'll write the default configuration to my own liking, I think along the lines

• no potion boost from big packs but from the small pouches of the bandolier mod
  
• no weapon/armor boost from the small packs

For my idea of implementation to work the various packs need to have keywords attached so I can identify which kind of items is occupying the slots used. I have contacted Dragten (Bandolier) and TreasureChest (Sabre Gear Backpacks). Dragten has already replied and promised to add keywords to his mod for the next release.

I really like this idea. I was trying to figure out how you'd incorporate them, but your configuration above seems nice. The bags, pouches aren't big enough for carrying armor (well, maybe they could stuff gloves in them, but not helmet,etc but that's beside the point) and the tiny pouches being used for potion storage seems perfect.

Looks like I'll be using your configuration when you release the new version

Excellent news! Sorry to pile more work on you, but it is muchly appreciated! Might spread word of your mod, too (not that that's the aim of modding, really).
I look forward to it.

:-) This will never be a popular mod but I'm glad when someone likes it.
As for the pile of work: The basis functionality needed to execute my own requirements makes about 4/5 of the script. As the script is rather modularized, certain types of additional requests can be met with only a few lines of code more, while simultanously keeping the algorithm clean (as in aesthetically pleasing . In short: if it fits, it gets in.

To be honest: now the mod does much more than I had wanted but I find myself using the added parts, so I, too benefit from your suggestions. For example, Spiffyman in Deltes thread made a point I agree with: while I for myself dislike the 'unrealistic' carry weight enchantments that make backpack mods more than nice visuals, I most probably will use them when they (indirectly) boost carry space.

That reminds me, Bag of Holding is supposed to be a magically large bag, right? (sends stuff to another plane or whatever). In which case it would definitely have extra space. It's not a roleplaying mod, for me at least, but a convenience one (rather unlike this mod!). Nonetheless, might be worth considering compatibility (if it's just a question of adding keywords).

A bag of holding ... yes, actually I (blushes) added one to my (unreleased) house mod as convenience for 'carrying' loot to the merchants.
But I don't think here is a need for a compatibility (better: awareness, compatibility is given anyway because the mods are not disturbed by one another (same as with bandoliers/bags)) patch. The bag of holding already gives you unlimited space because anything you put into it won't be in your inventory and thus won't be counted towards available space. So there is no need to give a space bonus and should rather not go into the direction of giving a malus

Of course that does rather remove the necessity!

Short update on the progress:

there is a new version 0.99beta on Nexus:

• lockpicks are dropped in one block
  
• arrow handling now SKSE -> better compatibility with mods adding arrows (thanks MaxSustain)
  
• preparation for awareness of Dragtens bandolier mod
  
• preparation for awareness of TreasureChests Sabre Gear Backpack

This is mainly for testing purporses and for me to keep track of changes
It will be replaced as soon as the bandolier awareness is completed - Dragten has already added keywords to his mod and I have prepared slot anolysis so as soon as the new bandolier version is out, I shouldn't be long behind. (stepping on brake: integration should be easy but RL may postpone opportunity till end of next week)

This is a brilliant mod and I certainly think it would make the bandolier and backpack mods even better. Sadly my Skyrim PC is down with a failed mobo right now so I am satisfying my addiction by watching the forums and the nexus for cool mods and I'm pretty stoked to put all 3 mods into action when I get my PC back online. Thanks for sharing this ekroemer!

Just a thought, but have you considered extending this to alchemy ingredients or food? I'm not a modder so I am not sure if you could script those individually or even do a check of "all other items" to be limited so that food, ingredients, misc all get checked against a global factor. Or do you think it best to just let the carry weight handle that? Regardless I will certainly be trying this out soon.

Thanks for the praise xjs007.
I feel with you. My windows HD died just the day after CK came out and I had devoted a whole day off to creating my first mod. It took 2 weeks to get a new rig and install/configure the new OS (and re-create my work). But in hindsight it was ok: switching from XP to Win7 has done wonders for Skyrim stability.

I have considered this, yes and it would not be difficult (food has the same id as potions and I think alchemy ingredients have their own) to integrate, but I had decided against it:

• I've got only limited time (and just got a HN274H with Nvidia 3D
  
• I would not know where to stop adding things. Ore, especially, comes into mind as being unrealistically to haul in great quantities.
  
• The next release (bandolier awareness) will more than double the amount of configurable parameters and for any one out there who likes to micromanage his gaming experience, there is another one who is scared by too many options.
  
• So thought I'd limit this to the sort of items that affect the gameplay seriously.
  
  • I feel that lockpicks/potions/arrows have the greatest impact here and the added difficulty in carrying a whole dungeon's worth of weapon/armor loot to the next merchant will make money a bit tighter, so that's fine, too
    
  • Wheras for me, personally, limiting my ability to carry ingredients (food I've never tried, perhaps I should get me a hunger mod is a pure annoyance and adds nothing to the game's suspension.

That said, I never say never, there may be good reasons I've not yet thought of, to add more item classes or there may be too much time during too bad weather with only a boring book to finish and ... you get the gist.
And don't forget: if anyone wants to expand the script, you're welcome to. I think it's rather cleany written and the portions where one has to add item classes should be easy to find. If someone volunteers for some straightforward but tedious expansion work, I'll happy to steal it back and credit a cooperation

Just curious, would it be possible to instead of assigning the weapons to 'slot spaces' give an option to assign 'max amounts'?

Problem i've got is whilst this is definitely a step in the right direction for me, if you set max capacity to 50, even though a bow takes up 8, you can still technically hold 5 of them... completely unrealistic.

I'd rather set the parameters to something like

Bowmax 1
2handmax 1
1handmax 2
daggermax 3

That way technically, it's feasible to hold at max a bow, a greatsword, 2 swords on either hip and 3 daggers placed strategically on my body.

Any more than that is unrealistic IMO.

DeSetuede: It's not exactly the same, but you could lower the 50 max space to something lower, like 35 (which would mean 7 items you listed plus 1 set of light armor). In that case, you could still 4 bows (with enough room for 1 1hand sword and that's it).

I would imagine it's about how you character would manage his loot. If he can carry 7 weapons, why wouldn't he be able to carry 4 bows and a sword instead? I could understand it from the side of equiping himself (to be prepared for any situation, 4 bows would be ridiculous) but if he's trying to carry weapons he found in a dungeon, I don't think it is too unrealistic if chooses to carry back only bows rather than a varied assortment of weaponry.