Regarding Inventory Bloat...

[Shurrikhan]

In a moment I'll open this up to any and all points of concerns or possible solutions for inventory bloat, insofar as you may or may not think it exists, but I wanted to start with some guiding questions to see where we're all at:

• Is Materia worth having separate item IDs for with every rank and type?

  Could they not, for instance, simply be held as an essence of a given type (Battledance, Heaven's Eye, etc.), with that essence then being consumable to slot a given amount of that secondary stat into gear.
  
  In such a case, the spiritbond gear index (the data required on each piece of gear to store the 0-100 value) could be removed, too, with gear just generating over use essence of its largest secondary stat type, forgoing the need to extract it periodically (at 100%), and retrieving materia could just convert the attached secondary stat back into essence, though perhaps at similarly grade-related efficiency.

• Is it worth having Cracked Planiclusters, Stellaclusters, Machi Matter, and the like?

  Rather than, say, just having those add "Chromatic" essence that could be spent directly on any sort of Materia?

• Is it worth having separate item IDs for tome tokens that you pay currency for just to then trade in yet again to actually make a "tome"-weapon purchase?

  As compared to just paying the currency directly, atop whatever other items may be required?

• Is it worth having separate accessory, feet, hands, head, legs, and chest-related items from normal raids?

  As opposed to simply letting players spend 1 of a universal currency on accessories/belts, 2 on hands/head, and 4 on legs/chest gear as they like?

• Is it worth having separate floor-by-floor item drops in Savage raids?

  As opposed to simply letting players spend 1 of a universal currency on accessories/belts, 2 on hands/head, and 4 on legs/chest gear as they like, accruing that many more of those universal pieces per week as they clear more floors, perhaps with weapon and weapon upgrade purchases simply locked behind the relevant floor's achievement (or, n weekly clears of the normal version, whichever comes first)?

  Might it not be more efficient to simply merge them into a single, multi-armor-class piece of dyable gear?

• Is it worth having separate gear IDs for gear pieces that are only redyes of each other?

  Might it not be more efficient to simply merge them into a single, multi-armor-class piece of dyable gear, with any crafted dyable copies later added instead at least varying in their highlight colors/metal filigree, etc.?

Just some food for thought.

Consider all this now opened to discussion of anything and everything concerning inventory bloat.

Now, what, if anything, seems a problem in regards to XIV's inventory systems, and what might be done about it?

Is having efficient inventory systems, thus reducing need for (largely monetarily mitigatable) inconvenience, even important? Would a desire for increased intuitiveness or to reduce redundant UI steps be mere entitlement? Or, is some polish worthwhile, even if not 100% necessary? You decide.

[Shurrikhan]

<This second slot will be reserved for quick-links (via quotes) to popular suggestions or well-liked points in the thread's discussion, if any.>

[ICountFrom0]

As much as I enjoy your thoughts, we all know it isn't going to happen.

Squenix sells you inventory space. It makes money from clogging your inventory and talking you into buying more space. Up to 10 retainers and expanded chocobo bags, all just waiting for you to feel that you are too full and bloated.

In such a case, the spiritbond gear index (the data required on each piece of gear to store the 0-100 value) could be removed, too, with gear just generating over use essence of its largest secondary stat type, forgoing the need to extract it periodically (at 100%), and retrieving materia could just convert the attached secondary stat back into essence, though perhaps at similarly grade-related efficiency.[/INDENT][/INDENT]

Well, no, but while the new system you mention is interesting it is lacking in some significant ways. The existing system lets anybody farm up any materia, and then use it in latter equipment and get the boost faster. It also lets them sell the boost to others in order to gain for themselves if they don't intend to use it.

Though I will also say that the materia system we have now is only one third (or less) of what used to be able to happen. Not that "fire" materia would matter now, but it was an option once.

[*]Is it worth having separate item IDs for tome tokens that you pay currency for just to then trade in yet again to actually make a "tome"-weapon purchase?

As compared to just paying the currency directly, atop whatever other items may be required?

This is something I've noticed myself. A few of them get removed here and there. The crafting and gathering ones were simplified as the augmented items were made the default, with a few exceptions.
I understand why it started, so that they could make some items cost more than the max tomestone amount when the tomestone cap is low.
It "should" be trivial to go back and replace them, but...
... you've noticed that there's ways to redeem every single old item still in the game?
They are dedicated to the idea that if you put in the work, got tier 4 weaver glam prisms, and then took a break for 3 years, you could come back today, notice they don't work, and turn them in for an item that does.
So they'd not only have to setup the new method, they'd also have to setup a refund method.
This is much more work compared to just changing the price.
It's very low on my list of desires from the game, almost anything else that worker could do (including moderating the forum) would count higher for me.

[*]Is it worth having separate accessory, feet, hands, head, legs, and chest-related items from normal raids?

As opposed to simply letting players spend 1 of a universal currency on accessories/belts, 2 on hands/head, and 4 on legs/chest gear as they like?

If they did that, the final chest wouldn't even need to be there, it would just award 1 token to your inventory if you've not yet run this week.
This sounds nice, but we know this isn't how this game works. You have to make a choice now, are you going to save up for four weeks, or take the common and easy upgrade of four right side items instead, and you can't back out of it without losing progress. I could see a game that does intend that system, I just don't see it being this game.

[Shurrikhan]

Squenix sells you inventory space. It makes money from clogging your inventory and talking you into buying more space. Up to 10 retainers and expanded chocobo bags, all just waiting for you to feel that you are too full and bloated.

Tbf, couldn't they do all that at lesser cost to themselves by just not having as many different items, similarly to above, and not expanding the inventory (including Armor Space) while adding further jobs and continuing to use a terrible glamour storage system?

They're picking a worst of both worlds here for themselves. Nearly so for the players, too, but let's ignore that for now, as they're just variably lucrative cows who'd certainly never quit over inventory bloat, right?