[SPOILERS?] Loot Drop Concerns

This might work for some people but not everyone. That's a sort of sense/talent not everyone has. There are actually tests for that kind of thing.

Personally I've never been good at it. Hence why I end up distracted trying to pick up every item ASAP and usually getting nailed by enemy attacks because of the distraction.

And regardless, a flash effect of some sort can at least let players know if they'd be wasting their time trying to pick up that item across the room. If it's flashing, it's probably not worth bothering. There's something quite frustrating about reaching for an item and it poofing away just before you get there. At least with the flash, you can see it coming.

For one thing alot of players "like" snagging their loot there is a release of feel good chemicals in the brain and such when you reach out a grab your treasure, also the tension of deciding whether to stay and fight something or expose yourself to try and snatch the treasure can add to the excitement. The time limit add's to the pressure and reward when successful.

I suppose they could have the object begin to glow slowly and when the glow effect totally covers the object it shatters to let you know how much time you have left.

I like getting all the drops in IGAvanias as much as the next guy but even though your point is a fair one I think that's one of the worst "risk vs reward" situations.

I mean, it's not the end of the world for me if the loot disappears, but I'd prefer not. If we stick to the traditions on the matter, then some sort of disappearance warning is definitely necessary.

I agree with the concept, but I still think this particular situation is more a matter of reducing the quality of life of the game. Bloodstained is not a frantic game that locks you in tense combat scenarios and in the previous IGAvanias I never felt in a situation of risking getting killed to acquire a piece of loot.

The one situation where it DID make sense was the glyph absorbing in Order of Ecclesia, but that's because of two key reasons:
1 - acquiring a glyph isn't as simple as getting over there and taking it but it required the player to remain still and completely defenseless for a few seconds;
2 - Order was a much more brutal game than any other IGAvania, with tougher combat situations and denser/more vicious enemy placement, so an enemy dropping a glyph at the beginning of most combat scenarios was kind of a big deal because the fight often wouldn't give you that much room to breath. Some enemies also hit like trucks, so deciding to be still for a few seconds had big implications and could even mean your demise.

See, I adored this risk vs reward mechanic in Order, because it was well thought out and complemented by more key factors than just "you might get hit once or twice while you run to the loot".

In Bloodstained, though, the "risk vs reward" nature of acquiring loot before it disappears IMO makes no sense, because any tension is completely nullified by the instant pick up of said loot and also by the fact that Bloodstained will probably be a more lenient game than Order, difficulty wise. So I really don't see any benefits in practice, even though the mechanic can have some as you stated (and as it actually HAS in OoE), and in my eyes the entire thing becomes a detriment to the overall QoL of the game.

It's still my opinion though, everyone can think differently from me. As I said it's not really a big deal, but as a fan of unforgiving mechanics in game I love these mechanics when they are supported and complemented by numerous elements, so that they become a source of tension and adrenaline rather than just a little annoyance.

These weren't issues in previous games, so I'd like to think they already plan to make these changes. Just in case they don't though, I'm glad you pointed this out. Also, add me to the list of people that would like loot to remain until picked up. I've actually always wanted that, especially when you leave a room. Sometimes you're moving/farming so fast, you don't realize an enemy has dropped something until a split second before you transitioned to the next room.

I don't have a negativ opinion on the loot drop icon if that is the default for mostly everything. It's not like this game is going to have a weight limit to what you pick up so I will pick up everything anyway. On the subject of what it could be an icon off, there is a chance it could be a crafting ingredient.

I haven't really thought this through, so I don't know if I'm saying something stupid but ... why not just add a generic icon that tells you that you don't have that particular item yet, when it's not in your inventory?

This would have the advantages of...

1. Building anticipation for the drop.
    Maybe it's something really good, maybe it's not; you don't know until you pick it up, but you know you don't have it!

2. Doesn't require leaving the loot indefinitely.
     The problem with leaving loot indefinitely is that it does kind of kill some of the excitement of getting the item. Sometimes they drop in a place that's difficult to get to without getting hit by another enemy, so you need to take a risk to get it before it disappears. It might feel like a risk not worth taking if you don't know if it's a new item or not, but if you know you don't have it... well, that might make the risk worth it.

Anyway, those are my two cents.

lovelydumpling

I mean, I'm sure they'll eventually add icons. They're calling it a Beta, but it's more like a pre-alpha build where the first hour of the game will be more polished than what you'd expect from a pre-alpha build.

I'm sure they'll add blinking, too.

As for the item not vanishing... I dunno, but probably not. It's a staple of these kinds of games, mainly to put some pressure on the player to grab the item before it vanishes. I dunno if it would really affect the game much for most people, but I'm not sure it's something they'll go out of the box with.