Are tennis balls supposed to be keepable?

[channeljohn]

Every time I open a suitcase with a tennis ball in it and pick it up (accidentally or otherwise), it immediately equips the tennis ball and unequips my axe. If I re-equip the axe (or anything else), it drops the tennis ball on the ground and the tennis ball just rolls away. I don't seem to be able to possess more than one tennis ball at a time and I can only hold it in my hand, drop it, or throw it.

Based on other comments I've read here, I'm guessing I'm supposed to be able to stick it in my backpack/inventory and have several at a time. I can't seem to figure out any way to do this. No matter what I push, no matter how I approach it, the tennis ball is either equipped or it's on the ground.

I have the Oculus Rift and the Touch controllers. Anybody know what I'm supposed to push and/or do to put a tennis ball in my inventory without having to have it equipped? As of now, they're just annoying and force me to have to open my inventory to re-equip my axe.

[eclipse]

No you can only carry 1 in hand.

Throw them at cannibals to tease them, hoping for a good tennis match
Chuck them at player heads
Attempt to play tennis with 2 ppl, must have good timing though- doesnt work all that well (cant really use the racket since its swing is azz backward)
Play catch with another player

[Zac's Dad]

I remember, and I bet Eclipse does too, that a cerrtain cannibal used to throw burning tennis balls at you. Or was that explodable. But I have not seen him for months and months.

A tennis ball can be used to 'distract' a roaming cannibal if he does not see you. But you can throw a rock to do the same.

[channeljohn]

Gotcha. So, just to be clear: I can hold one tennis ball at a time and I can throw it at someone, but I can only hold it in my weapon-hand and can't keep it in my inventory?

If that's true, that's kind of dumb. The only time I ever see a tennis ball is when I find one in a suitcase. For them to be at all useful -- even just for throwing at a cannibal -- either (a) a cannibal would have to approach me coincidentally right at the same time I happened to find a tennis ball, or (b) I'd have to carry one around (instead of my axe) until I happened to stumble across a cannibal somewhere in the woods. And if I needed to use my axe to cut down a tree or something in the meantime, I'd have to drop the tennis ball to do it.

Speaking as a game designer who has worked on 30-ish games over the past 20-ish years, that is clunky as hell and makes zero sense. The result is that I pretty much just immediately dump and ignore the tennis balls (after being annoyed by accidentally picking them up in the first place), and that's just bad design.

Also, how is it that I'm able to carry branches, rocks, weapons, etc. in my backpack but I can't fit a tennis ball in there? That's just goofy.

I still love the game though! :>)

[Wariat117]

tennis balls are probably just troll/meme made by devs ;D

small rocks have the same functions with the difference that devs finally allowed us to carry small rocks in backpack (earlier they were just like tennis balls, but you can find them anywhere, just poke ground with stick)

Originally posted by Zac's Dad:

I remember, and I bet Eclipse does too, that a cerrtain cannibal used to throw burning tennis balls at you. Or was that explodable. But I have not seen him for months and months.

dynamite cannibal was removed
the burning tennis balls one still exists (and he can carry tennis balls in his inventory)

[channeljohn]

Okay, so it's either a dev-troll or a leftover bit of a previous design that hasn't been pulled yet. That makes WAY more sense. I still hate the tennis balls with a passion, but at least now I understand why they're there. Thanks, Wariat!