Tip - Multiplying storage space

[Enlightened_One 30]

Hey, all.  Boy am I excited about this.  So much so that I have to tell everyone about it.  Although I'm sure many of you already know about it.  But here it is for those who don't know....

 

Did you know you can multiply storage space using backpacks to exceed storage limits?  Note this:

 

We know that bulk storage bins can store something like 16,000 kg of volume.  That's huge.  One disadvantage, however, is that the QL of the items inside it are averaged out.  Crates also average out the QL of the items inside.

 

If you want to preserve the item QL (there are many reasons why you would want to, such as for improving tools, for selling to your settlement token for a higher price, for player-to-player sales, etc), then you would have to turn to chests, rafts, wagons, carts, and boats.  But the disadvantage with these storage devices is that they usually have very low item limits, like 45 items for small chests, 100 items for large chests, 100 items for small carts and rowing boats, etc.

 

But... and here's the part I'm all exploding about... we can increase the storage capacities of these non-QL-averaging devices (chests, rafts, carts, boats, etc) simply by putting a bunch of backpacks into them.  The backpacks take up only 2 kg of space, but will hold 75 kg of items which all count as just 1 item.  It's like smuggling stuff inside without detection.  Here's what I mean...

 

I loaded my small cart with iron lumps.  Each lump had a weight of 1 kg.  The small cart took only 100 such lumps, because it has a limit of 100 items.

 

But when I put a backpack onto my small cart, I could fit a total of 174 lumps (75 lumps into the backpack + 99 lumps directly onto the cart).  Keep in mind that although the backpack occupies 2 kg of volume, it still counts as only 1 item.  Thus, the cart was able to take 99 lumps of iron + 1 backpack for a total of 100 items.  That's the item limit.  But the cart's volume limit is 756 kg, so I was able to put 174 lumps (174 kg) + 1 backpack (2 kg) for a total of 176 kg.

 

But wait... there is still more space in volume on the cart... 756 - 176 = 580 kg of unused volume.  So I added another backpack and stuffed it with another 75 lumps.  Now my cart holds 98 lumps (because the 2 backpacks take up 2 spots) plus 150 lumps inside the two backpacks for a total of 248 lumps.  But there is still more unused volume capacity.  I just ran out of lumps so I can't run the test, but we can calculate it as follows:

 

Using 9 backpacks onto a small cart, we could load:

 

91 iron lumps (1 kg each) directly onto the cart

8 backpacks (stuffed full with 75 lumps each = 600 lumps)

1 backpack (partially stuffed with 47 lumps)

Total = 738 lumps (the cart's volume limit of 756 kg minus 18 kg of volume for the 9 backpacks).

 

So now we have a storage device (a small cart with 9 backpacks) which can hold 738 items (1 kg each) which does not average out their QL.  What is more, this storage device is mobile and does not even require animals to pull.

 

This is a real treat for someone who mines iron and other items, and needs a lot of storage space which preserves their individual QL.  Personally, what I do after filling up my cart with individual units, I then group them by QL in the top tier (the highest QL I have), and I move them into a bulk-storage-bin so I can combine their QL when I'm ready to sell them to my settlement token at the highest QL level possible.  But I don't want to combine them early on until I see how many I get at the highest QL and how many at the lower QLs.  So I keep them separate until my cart is full, and only when I'm ready to sell do I combine them in a BSB, but only the top QL level gets combined.  I save the lower QLs as individuals until my next mining expedition.  So you can combine only those QLs you want to combine using the BSB, but keep the individual QLs preserved in the small cart... which can magically hold 738 items thanks to backpacks.

 

Happy storage, everyone!

 

PS... In sum, everything you put into a backpack does not count as an item, only the backpack counts as an item, its contents don't even register as items.  The contents do register as volume, however, so you are still bound by the cart's volume limit.  But the contents of the backpacks will not count toward the cart's item limit at all.  Neat, huh?

 

Oh, and this works with rowing boats too.

 

 

 

Edited July 25, 2018 by Enlightened_One

[Trake 360]

I'm enjoying your Wurmthusiasms lately. 

I believe I found this wisdom first on the Wiki at some point.

Yes, I believe people routinely use backpacks to avoid volume and 100 qty item limit restrictions. 

Forges pretty much require backpacks or cauldrons to be effective. 

You can fit thousands of cotton in a Raft if you combine them into max KG units. 

 

[Enlightened_One 30]

Super.  I'll have to try that since I farm a lot of cotton and pumpkins.

 

Yeah, I thought I would post it because I remember reading a post from a guy who mined but needed a way of transporting large quantities to his settlement.  He had 10 bsb's (one for each QL bracket), and would sort them when arrived at his settlement.  But he just wanted a way of transporting them without combining them at the mine.  This was when crates first came out, and he didn't like how the crates averaged-out QL.  He's probably got a backpack thing going on by now I guess.

 

In fact, I was thinking about building 10 bsb's myself.  But now all I need is one cart for starge and one bsb for final combining and all right next to my token.  Chaching!

 

Edited July 26, 2018 by Enlightened_One

[Brash_Endeavors 4,735]

 

 

Handy link for wurm container comparisons:

 

https://www.wurmpedia.com/index.php/Container_Comparison

 

Sometimes, different items are better at "subdividing" for different items. I use bowls, jars, cloth sachels  and barrels a lot when I am gathering or transporting very small items, such as harvesting smaller grains and vegetables, foraging/botanizing, or collecting  sprouts/flowers etc. Some of these are much lighter than a backpack if you need to carry a large amount in inventory or by rowboat.

 

Rafts can be useful inside of carts or boats  - a favorite wurm tradition. Rafts were what we all used in the days before Crates, and can still accommodate many items that are not allowed in a crate. Put backpacks, barrels or sachels  inside one of the rafts, so that you can handle both small and large mass items.   if you are transporting a large amount of combinable items such as cotton, clay or ore by large cart, and don't want to use multiple crates to sort qualities, you can sort a large pile on the group and combine as much as you can carry of similar quality, then put the merge "bundle" into the cart, so you can keep separate say qualities 00-09, 10-19, 20-29 etc. That way you can transport a LOT more than individual units, and usually more tan backpacks.  Cauldrons also make a nice storage container, in ovens or forges, although bulkier than a backpack (which is luckily fireproof, though its contents are not protected from the heat) . Backpacks are beloved by blacksmiths everywhere for sorting and holding more individual units in a forge. 

 

For many other handy Wurm tips, make sure also you are familiar with Gamester4life's youtube channel, where he has a total of about 230 "one shot" tutorials on nearly every aspect of Wurm life.

 

 Here are some of his many tips about storage:

 

 https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gamester4life+wurm+storage

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 26, 2018 by Brash_Endeavors

[Wonka 438]

The problem with using storage solutions like this is that they don't prevent decay.  It's find for short-term transport, but for longer storage, you want one of the bulk containers (BSB, FSB, crate).  Most people split by quality in 10-ql steps, and there are a bunch of 'standard' house designs to facilitate this.  There are also BSB racks to make (slightly) more efficient use of the space.

[Ayes 3,715]

8 hours ago, Trake said:

I'm enjoying your Wurmthusiasms lately.

*agrees*

It's nice to see new players such as this enjoying the discovery of Wurm's many hidden gems along the way and expressing their thoughts in this manner.

 

=Ayes=

[armyskin 930]

you think thats cool, wait until you discover combining.