New Project: Cyberpunk:Chrome Is The New Black

[Mr.Johnson]

Going to use this mostly as a log for what's being worked on with my new Cyberpunk 2020 project. I'm taking lessons learned from previous failed projects and trying a new approach this time with an actual coder brought onto the project to assist me with getting a good solid feel for the games systems.

What's the goal of the project: To port the tabletop experience of Cyberpunk 2nd edition AKA 2020 into a mush environment.

What does that entail: Full character sheets, inventory system, basic questing system, a number of optional minigame mechanics, a two layer grid with meatspace and the Net, rolling code, stats code, and a grid that'll be expanded as player demand calls for it.

What's done so far? Inventory system is complete and just requires population, multiple minigames have been completed including a cellphone system that you can tap into in order to listen in on peoples ic calls, and the system for dual grids where each physical location has a location on the net and vice versa.

Answered questions will go here.

Why Cyberpunk 2020? Well it's been a dream game of mine since about 2014 to make a Cyberpunk server, and up until now I didn't really have the knowledge available to make it work to my liking. This and the Fallout mush project have just been on my back burner for about half a decade. I chose 2020 in particular because RED isn't quite out yet in full, and Cyberpunk v3 was notoriously bad.

Why not Shadowrun? Well personally while I would be just as happy to make a shadow run game, and may in the distant future my coder has more experience and appreciation for Cyberpunk so work with what you've got. I also think that having to only deal with physical and the net as opposed to Physical, Astral, and Matrix will make the work a bit easier as will not having to worry about all the different metatypes out the gate.

If anyone has a good suggestion for wiki software/ a wiki site I'd be happy to start getting up lore info and the like for public perusal since I've got most of the info written down on my good ol laptop.

[Mr.Johnson]

The Active Mission System has been expanded into a reputation system allowing for better or worse jobs depending on character reputation with the factions. Get your reputation too low and they might just be too hostile to even give you work anymore.

We're adding the major corporations to the reputation system making it so missions have a better impact on prices from the corps jobs available and potentially can unlock contacts. We're also in the process of adding police specific missions to the AMS.

We're still deciding which gangs to have inside of the game at launch but are planning to launch with a smaller grid consisting of two districts of central Night City and expanding over time. To start with we are going to have the Corp city closeup along with Urban Zones B2 and B3.

If you guys have any particular gangs you'd like to see players able to join let me know.

Edit: To make things clear the plan is to allow anything you can do through the Minigames to be able to be done through proper RP. We're an RP focused game at the end of the day and don't just want people grinding for experiance.

[Runescryer]

Very interested in this. Especially if you're allowing PC Netrunners and PA Troopers. Hoping that beta testing will be opening soon.

[Mr.Johnson]

@runescryer That we are Runescryer. We're also allowing a limited number of Player run AI though they'll have some interesting limitations to keep them ballanced in lore.

[Wizz]

@mr-johnson said in New Project: Cyberpunk:Chrome Is The New Black:

If you guys have any particular gangs you'd like to see players able to join let me know.

It'd be cool to see some gangs with different goals and methods, like the Back Alley Brawlers, Voodoo Boys, Brainiacs, or the Philharmonic Vampyres!

Also, you're using CP2020 system-wise, but when is the game set on the timeline?

[Mr.Johnson]

@wizz We're going to be set with a 1:1 time passage so if it's December 31st 2021 in real life then it'll be December 31st 2021 in game. It'll let us go through the intrigue of the Corp War real time and build up to the RED period after the nuke goes off in Arasaka Tower.

[Mr.Johnson]

Proper server for coding and testing has been acquired. No more notepad grid descing for me. It's time for a harvest. Err I mean to get to work transferring.

[Mr.Johnson]

Character generation is all but complete, just a few more tweaks to the code and it should be good to go. We're still in the process of transferring everything over to the new server but as soon as that's done we'll transfer the multi-layer grid. Once that's done we should be good for closed testing if anyone wants in.

[Tinuviel]

@mr-johnson said in New Project: Cyberpunk:Chrome Is The New Black:

@wizz We're going to be set with a 1:1 time passage so if it's December 31st 2021 in real life then it'll be December 31st 2021 in game. It'll let us go through the intrigue of the Corp War real time and build up to the RED period after the nuke goes off in Arasaka Tower.

When you say 1:1 time passage, do you mean that strictly or more loosey-goosey, once play actually starts?

[Mr.Johnson]

@tinuviel Fairly lose once we actually start the game it's not going to be super strict but in general when it's january 2022 in real life it's january 2022 in game, unless you do backscenes.

[Tinuviel]

@mr-johnson said in New Project: Cyberpunk:Chrome Is The New Black:

@tinuviel Fairly lose once we actually start the game it's not going to be super strict but in general when it's january 2022 in real life it's january 2022 in game, unless you do backscenes.

That's fair. My only concern with the idea of strict timelines is the age old 'getting everyone together to run a scene that's supposed to be set on the 15th but can't get there on the 15th' kind of deal.

[Misadventure]

@tinuviel said in New Project: Cyberpunk:Chrome Is The New Black:

My only concern with the idea of strict timelines is the age old 'getting everyone together to run a scene that's supposed to be set on the 15th but can't get there on the 15th' kind of deal.

This is a thing. One suggestion is to define a time period (say a week, two weeks or a month) where time is fluid for OOC scheduling needs but then the timeline progresses.

A way ways back a game did this by season and I didn't hear any complaints.

[faraday]

@misadventure said in New Project: Cyberpunk:Chrome Is The New Black:

A way ways back a game did this by season and I didn't hear any complaints.

It's certainly been done, but FWIW I've complained (and heard others complain) about games with fluid timelines.

For those of us who maintain an internal continuity for our characters, it's maddening. It's like playing Sudoku for each scene trying to figure out where it can fit into everyone's individual timelines for the week. Or if you don't, you can end up with continuity glitches where people are referencing events that technically shouldn't have happened yet, or ending up in contradictory places at the same time.

I've found it far easier to have a consistent default of "This scene takes place on 1/6 unless otherwise specified" and deal with the occasional scheduling snafus and backscenes as they happen.

[Misadventure]

@faraday said in New Project: Cyberpunk:Chrome Is The New Black:

I've found it far easier to have a consistent default of "This scene takes place on 1/6 unless otherwise specified" and deal with the occasional scheduling snafus and backscenes as they happen.

I think this would be the default. Or go with the proposed no it's today, every day, no matter what. I assume this is linked to predetermined events and changes to the setting and whether that march of time takes precedence over player scheduling issues.

I will say that unless events change things every few days, emphasis on the precise time doesn't seem important enough to shift from the usual way people play.

[Mr.Johnson]

@misadventure The only time that would really come into view would be that certain story events from the canonical timeline occur at certain dates so those dates themsleves are important but in general I still think time flow is 1:1 unless it needs to be temporarily modified for a particular scene should work juust fine.

[SquirrelTalk]

It seems like it would be good enough to just label certain scenes as, like, 'flashback scenes' or what not that take place earlier in the timeline. I've had that problem. Even when it's not about specific dates, there have been times where, like, schedules didn't line up fast enough for me to reasonably RP my character's immediate response in the aftermath of a friend being injured, since they would have mostly recovered by then. I was just able to 'back-scene it' in a scene taking place hours after the fact.

[Mr.Johnson]

There was a minor setback with porting over content to the new server so we've had to change plans drastically on the internal side of things resulting in some major changes to how code is done and the system itself. This will delay the launch of closed alpha somewhat but hopefully not significantly.

[Mr.Johnson]

The minor setback has been dealt with. Currently holding back closed alpha launch is the data entry portion of setting up chargen AKA inputting skill names, costs for rising the level of skills and descriptions of skills.

Grid building has been temporarily put on hold while we work on the data entry side of things.

Still to do prior to alpha launch: Finish data entry, set up the basic dual reality grid for Netrunners and Edgerunners. Finalize character generation. Get a basic wiki setup for the game.

[golgoth]

@mr-johnson I eagerly await.