The suit storage changes were a huge quality of life dip for most players, but here is an idea that can have it coexist with inventory quality of life, as well as make every backpack slot storage item feel more unique than they currently are:
Regular backpacks should get an external backpack slot. This is a slot you can stick a gun or spear or oxygen tank or anything onto the back of your backpack. It is whitelisted for everything. Your character can have a cute Weh doll on their backpack if they want (Like people wear keychains and such in real life). If you are wearing a hardsuit with a suit storage slot, that slot is separate, doesn’t show up on your character, and is whitelisted specifically for the oxygen/nitrogen storage tanks or their extended versions, representing the special accomodations a hardsuit would have for such items.
Syndie backpacks will have the same thing as regular backpacks, plus they will also have an additional slot where you can put a small sidearm or ammo clip. They are items that make you valid, they should have that additional quality of life for quick reloading or shooting.
Satchels don’t have a backpack slot. They aren’t really designed to stick things on after all. Instead, they will gain two additional 1x2 slots, representing the small pockets a satchel would have for stuff like water bottles, cigarettes or whatever other nicknacks you want to put in them.
Duffel Bags will get an additional row of inventory to match the changes for the others. They are already not really “the meta” because they slow you down and speed = robustness in combat, so I don’t think this is particularly unbalanced. You should be able to stick a satisfying amount of stuff inside of these.
I feel like these changes will both further diversify inventory options, and bring back the option for a much needed quality of life feature, while still having hardsuits retain their additional inventory slot for tanks.
I feel like this would just further cement backpacks in the meta while satchels get barely anything and duffels become an even better option for hoarding powergamers.
Also, would syndie duffels and satchels (when added) also have bonuses compared to their crew counterparts? Would they just have the same bonus as the backpack?
Satchels are the meta right now, not backpacks. The only thing you can’t fit in the satchel is the shotgun from the armory as it is the only 1x5 I’m aware of. You can still fit the ones from cargo in it. Otherwise, it is just free inventory slots in exchange for having to play inventory tetris more.
Duffelbags are also not a powergamer item. They are an item that inherently makes you less robust and good at combat. Robust players are players who maximize their speed and therefore ability to dodge shots and weave in and out of melee combat. The general thing that makes you most robust when you hoard is hoarding meds to heal yourself as an antag, but with new-med healing yourself is already going to be much more difficult and require all the surgery tools rather than just a jug of punct and a hypospray.
I generally think all the syndie counterparts should have the sidearm slot that the backpack gets, as its more intuitive if they all get the same bonus.
I like the idea, however I don’t think it should necessarily be for ALL bags. Maybe restrict it to sec and syndicate bags (also including nukies, ERT, etc).
Would give sec more convenient places for all the shit they tend to carry, and give more functionality to the syndicate backpack in the uplink. Would in general make all effected bags more valuable targets of theft.
Although sec bags probably should also get a sidearm slot, the irony here is that sec probably has the least use for inventory of anyone because their role is incredibly narrow and they are specifically the role that is supposed to not be hording things unrelated to their role.
Like, whenever I play sec, I always have a ton of inventory spaces still open, and whenever I steal bags from sec, the same is true. The exception of course is when it is red.