Communication and the Road Ahead

[Trykz]

I think some people were/are expecting some tweaks to gameplay and open world interaction most asked by the community, some already provided by modders, to be inserted somewhere along the patching/dlc'ing. It shyly happened on 1.2 woth police, driving and crafting and there was a statement after the game came on pstore that now that ot's reached a satisfactory performance level we can focus on (...) and comunity feedback features. The fact that there is no information on how they'll proceed on this doesn't help in my opinion to keepmore new players coming in, following the development. There is nothing to follow at the moment

I think many are likely distracted with other games across all platforms because of the lack of news.

Right now (and this is just speculation on my part), I suspect they've likely wound up with the fixes and are gearing up for a soft relaunch in one fell swoop. To pull it off, they'll have little choice but to cut loose anything that's holding them back from showing what the game is truly capable of:

Last-gen consoles

I know it sucks to hear, but it's my firm belief that CDPR is basically resolved to "forward momentum" from here on out. As a PC player (and I'm sure many other PC players would likely agree), I've already had what I believe is just a nominal taste of what the game, and it's foundation engine, is truly capable of. Capabilities the older consoles simply cannot achieve.

It's the most sensible move. The fallout and resultant backlash of that is far more tolerable and recoverable than the alternative of bailing on the game entirely after "just fixing it" and dropping a few DLCs. Especially given the steady uptick in next-gen console availability. The game has it's problems, sure. But the IP itself is wildly popular. Best to salvage as much as they can, and cut loose what's holding it back.

 

[Notserious80]

Too be honest im not expecting anything, i have a feeling they consider the game done. There will be DLC and probably some bugfixes and perhaps some optimisations coming but i think the core wont change much if at all. The reasons for not communicating is probably that they dont wanna commit too dates/promises and the current lawsuite. If they are restructuring and dealing with the hacker/covid fallout aswell i can kinda understand that its hard to keep us up to date, but i still dont like it. If we cant get news from reputable sources then the unreputable ones will appear or pure speculation like we do here.

Also i think that most of the ppl who bought it already have moved on more or less. Most of the people here are the outwire and the people who spend more time in games generaly id say, or are passionate about gaming overall. Anyways i think im done hoping for news, ill still stick around since i like reading and debating but ill probably tone it down some i guess.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

Too be honest im not expecting anything, i have a feeling they consider the game done.

You think if the game was "done" day one (let's imagine), CDPR would have never patch/update Cyberpunk except the Next-Gen update ?
And release DLCs and that's all, never more ?
(I have an update for BD3 actually, but the game is "done" like since forever, but GearBox patch/update it reguliarely)

 

[Notserious80]

You think if the game was "done" day one (let's imagine), CDPR would have never patch/update Cyberpunk except the Next-Gen update ?
And release DLCs and that's all, never more ?
(I have an update for BD3 actually, but the game is "done" like since forever, but GearBox patch/update it reguliarely)

Well more like, they considered the base game finished at release. They will be fixing stuff and doing the DLCs. Also the next gen patch ofc. But as far as content goes, doubt we will se any changes to anything. They might add mechanics like they did in witcher 3 with DLC but it wont be any of the supposed "cut" content that i think some people are hoping for. We might get some QoL stuff in the free DLC/payed DLC.

Patches arent often content in singleplayer/storybased games. It can happend yes but its not that common. BD3 is Borderlands 3 im assuming? has multiplayer and im guessing they consider it somewhat of a live action game(im not sure how buggy the game was/is). AC:Valhalla also releases alot of patchs and "festivals" in between DLCs. Its a good way of keeping interest up for a game and i hope it will happend here to but if these last 8 months are anything to go by. yea i dont see it

 

[Trykz]

Well more like, they considered the base game finished at release. They will be fixing stuff and doing the DLCs. Also the next gen patch ofc. But as far as content goes, doubt we will se any changes to anything. They might add mechanics like they did in witcher 3 with DLC but it wont be any of the supposed "cut" content that i think some people are hoping for. We might get some QoL stuff in the free DLC/payed DLC.

Patches arent often content in singleplayer/storybased games. It can happend yes but its not that common. BD3 is Borderlands 3 im assuming? has multiplayer and im guessing they consider it somewhat of a live action game(im not sure how buggy the game was/is). AC:Valhalla also releases alot of patchs and "festivals" in between DLCs. Its a good way of keeping interest up for a game and i hope it will happend here to but if these last 8 months are anything to go by. yea i dont see it

I expect the first "paid content" to be of the full-on "expansion" type. Likely sometime in 2022 (Q3-Q4). I also wouldn't totally rule out "new" or "expanded" mechanics. Moving on to the next gen consoles is going to allow them to open the engine up more, and try more things the newer hardware is likely capable of handling. I suspect the latter part of the year, because they're certainly going to spend more time thoroughly testing EVERYTHING. Especially the console hardware.

If the soft relaunch I'm suspecting to happen goes well, I'd also expect they'll feel a little more emboldened to re-engage the community about future content and long term plans going forward for the franchise once the legal woes are behind them. I honestly don't think CDPR imagined the cyberpunk genre in general would be this wildly popular among such a broad spectrum of gamers. It's been pretty niche' for decades. And they'd be fools not to capitalize on that newfound popularity. Especially with a game that for all it's problems and issues at launch, is still vastly anticipatory.

 

[Notserious80]

I expect the first "paid content" to be of the full-on "expansion" type. Likely sometime in 2022 (Q3-Q4). I also wouldn't totally rule out "new" or "expanded" mechanics. Moving on to the next gen consoles is going to allow them to open the engine up more, and try more things the newer hardware is likely capable of handling. I suspect the latter part of the year, because they're certainly going to spend more time thoroughly testing EVERYTHING. Especially the console hardware.

If the soft relaunch I'm suspecting to happen goes well, I'd also expect they'll feel a little more emboldened to re-engage the community about future content and long term plans going forward for the franchise once the legal woes are behind them. I honestly don't think CDPR imagined the cyberpunk genre in general would be this wildly popular among such a broad spectrum of gamers. It's been pretty niche' for decades. And they'd be fools not to capitalize on that newfound popularity. Especially with a game that for all it's problems and issues at launch, is still vastly anticipatory.

This got me a bit curious about what you think the next gen patch will do?

About Cyberpunk popularity i can only speak for myself and ive always loved the ide behind it. Never got a chance too test out the TTrpg since i lived in a bit of a rural area, but i did read a bit about it and have read some of the books. Also the games i played were mostly based on one TTrpg or another. Im basicly a RPG lover (not every game but in general) Sure i would love it if they kept updating the game for years to come but i have a feeling they will move on after the payed DLCs are done, they might addon the multiplayer in some way or even release it as a seperate game but i think we have a higher chance to se most of the lessons learned come in Cyberpunk 2078 or whatever they will call the next game. I just hope they will communicate there proper intent with the game so i can make a choice on if its worth waiting for or what i should expect.

 

[CS554]

Well more like, they considered the base game finished at release. They will be fixing stuff and doing the DLCs. Also the next gen patch ofc. But as far as content goes, doubt we will se any changes to anything. They might add mechanics like they did in witcher 3 with DLC but it wont be any of the supposed "cut" content that i think some people are hoping for. We might get some QoL stuff in the free DLC/payed DLC.

This is pretty much what I think too.

For DLC, not placing any bets here, but considering how popular photo mode feature and posting that stuff to social media is, It's like it's own culture, adding a barber and whatever in-game feature to adjust looks of V might be something CDPR may have considered. Can't say features like that are something that I find interesting, but trends and that.

Paid, story content then, last DLC worth anything for me was expansion for a racing game and that was years ago, obviously nothing to do with story driven games. What is keeping people curious is there is content related to ultimate fate of V, other than that... Kill 100 Wraiths to loot crafting blueprint for iconic weapon, I wouldn't use anyway... this stuff games have today as there is audience for that. I'm just not part of that audience.

 

[Trykz]

This got me a bit curious about what you think the next gen patch will do?

I expect it to provide a significant boost in graphical fidelity at it's core. Otherwise it's pretty damn useless for PC players if we just go back to where we were before. It would be a disastrous mistake for CDPR to think high-end PC owners won't notice. It certainly won't be the response you'd want from 56% of your total sales base for a brand new IP. Especially after the initial launch went so bad.

I'm unfamiliar with how CDPR further defines their "next gen update". I didn't play The Witcher titles. So I don't have that history to opine from. Some studios add in small content bits as well. Like NBA2K21 did with new WNBA courts and whatever else. They all put their own little spin on it. But I do know CDPR added a LOT of story content to each Witcher title. I've read the expansion for Witcher 3 was as long or longer than the base game. Or was that the second title? Again, didn't play them, so I'm not exactly sure.

That said, they're highly unlikely to walk away from this IP. There's too much to be gained once last gen and legal woes are resolved. Sure. I could be wrong. So I feel compelled to ask:

Would you rather I was?

Though I should make clear that I'm not making any hard predictions here. I'm simply opining what could "reasonably be expected" based on 30+ years of gaming, and what I've observed over the years.

 

[SigilFey]

...but it wont be any of the supposed "cut" content that i think some people are hoping for.

Very likely not. Most "cut content" in games is not because there wasn't time to finish it, or because the devs couldn't figure out how to make it work -- it's because it was intentionally cut.

Could have been because it just wasn't balanced against the rest of the game. Could be because it came off as a departure from the tone and mood or overall aesthetic of the piece. Could be that it was decided to handle that section of the content a completely different way, so something else was created to replace the content, making it redundant. Could be that it just wasn't possible to do, as the engine simply couldn't handle some aspect of the mechanics or something.

Very, very rarely is content cut because it's just unfinished or devs don't know how to utilize it. It's just that, even though it may have sounded great in concept, in practice it doesn't work, so it needs to go. (Great example of this is the expanded civil war in Skyrim. It took modders nearly 10 years to get that working with any sort of universal functionality, and even today, using SKSE and specially written/rewritten Papyrus scripts -- not all of the options are there, and it's still highly prone to crashing, glitching, and corrupting saved games. Flat-out, it was an attempt to get the game's engine to do something it wasn't really designed to do, and it just isn't possible to do it stably. Hence...it was officially cut.)

I'd say most of the cut content for CP2077 is probably in the same boat. Things I'd bet we probably will see at some point are the metro system and different apartments to buy around NC. (But again, these are just my speculations -- not an official answer from CDPR.)

 

[Neuronin]

To be honest, he's just saying what many people already think. CDPR's unwillingness to communicate is indeed bizarre.

It probably doesn't matter what they say at this point. I think CDPR have realized that gamers feel betrayed, and that nothing they say is going to change that perception. The company is now paying the price for over-promising and under-delivering, and the only thing that can turn it around is to stop promising and just start delivering; hence the lack of communication.

 

[Trykz]

Very likely not. Most "cut content" in games is not because there wasn't time to finish it, or because the devs couldn't figure out how to make it work -- it's because it was intentionally cut.

Could have been because it just wasn't balanced against the rest of the game. Could be because it came off as a departure from the tone and mood or overall aesthetic of the piece. Could be that it was decided to handle that section of the content a completely different way, so something else was created to replace the content, making it redundant. Could be that it just wasn't possible to do, as the engine simply couldn't handle some aspect of the mechanics or something.

Very, very rarely is content cut because it's just unfinished or devs don't know how to utilize it. It's just that, even though it may have sounded great in concept, in practice it doesn't work, so it needs to go. (Great example of this is the expanded civil war in Skyrim. It took modders nearly 10 years to get that working with any sort of universal functionality, and even today, using SKSE and specially written/rewritten Papyrus scripts -- not all of the options are there, and it's still highly prone to crashing, glitching, and corrupting saved games. Flat-out, it was an attempt to get the game's engine to do something it wasn't really designed to do, and it just isn't possible to do it stably. Hence...it was officially cut.)

I'd say most of the cut content for CP2077 is probably in the same boat. Things I'd bet we probably will see at some point are the metro system and different apartments to buy around NC. (But again, these are just my speculations -- not an official answer from CDPR.)

I don't buy into the "they couldn't make it work" theory either. Not with an in-house engine.

I read somewhere that the wall running thing was over decorations or something. Which makes sense. If the meshes for those decorations don't have collision to support the wall running mechanic, and the sheer number of decorations would need to be completely reworked with collision meshes, then yeah. It's more sensible to cut the mechanic. The alternative is the player sinking into the decoration geometry to the wall behind it. Certainly not "optimal"

 

[Notserious80]

I expect it to provide a significant boost in graphical fidelity at it's core. Otherwise it's pretty damn useless for PC players if we just go back to where we were before. It would be a disastrous mistake for CDPR to think high-end PC owners won't notice. It certainly won't be the response you'd want from 56% of your total sales base for a brand new IP. Especially after the initial launch went so bad.

I'm unfamiliar with how CDPR further defines their "next gen update". I didn't play The Witcher titles. So I don't have that history to opine from. Some studios add in small content bits as well. Like NBA2K21 did with new WNBA courts and whatever else. They all put their own little spin on it. But I do know CDPR added a LOT of story content to each Witcher title. I've read the expansion for Witcher 3 was as long or longer than the base game. Or was that the second title? Again, didn't play them, so I'm not exactly sure.

That said, they're highly unlikely to walk away from this IP. There's too much to be gained once last gen and legal woes are resolved. Sure. I could be wrong. So I feel compelled to ask:

Would you rather I was?

Though I should make clear that I'm not making any hard predictions here. I'm simply opining what could "reasonably be expected" based on 30+ years of gaming, and what I've observed over the years.

Ok i think (speculating here) that the next gen will be a boost in Gfx thx too RTX+FSR enable on the new consoles+will probably run at higher settings across the board(Resolution/high to ultra settings). Possibly with 2 diffrent presets for fidelity/fps. Probably will take advantage of the fast m.2 with better texture streaming and so on too. But i kinda think that will be it. Pc and probably older consoles too if theres support will get FSR and possibly the new direct storage that microsoft and others are working on. might give a better implementation for DLSS too if they upgrade to latest and so on.

They might revert some changes they made to get the game to run better on current hardware. especially if they can get FSR to run on ps4 and xbox. Dont think cdpr has ever done a nextgen upgrade/patch before so i just base this on what else could they do pretty much. Dont see much else they could do to improve GFX tbh, increase drawdistance/lod distances perhaps but unless they optimise the crap outa it it will be hard to run on most PCs.

Would i want you to be wrong? No. I would want this game to become the best it can be, i see loads of potential here but i think its rare to see 2 years of new stuff added to a game. So far they havent really built my confidence either so i think id rather set my expectations low.

 

[Trykz]

Would i want you to be wrong? No. I would want this game to become the best it can be, i see loads of potential here but i think its rare to see 2 years of new stuff added to a game. So far they havent really built my confidence either so i think id rather set my expectations low.

Phew! Had me worried for a sec there

But in all seriousness, the ramifications for just "walking away with minimal effort" approach simply won't work out beneficially for them. Their next title will suffer immensely from that kind of move. Especially so for a title developed within the same genre and IP.

Regaining the confidence and support of spurned fans is going to be a long, slow process. We're 8 months out from launch with nothing but some fixes and graphical fidelity reduction measures to show for it. So as I see it, walking away without doing something INCREDIBLY impressive for those who remain (and those observing from the sideline), would be the something akin to financial suicide. Sure. They'll sell some games down the road. But for a great many gamers (and gaming media like Paul Tassi, IGN and others to remind them at every opportunity), the sour taste of Cyberpunk 2077 will forever taint them, and make gamers think twice. Or three times. Or maybe just forego their future titles entirely for something comparable from another studio with a better rep.

Until they actually walk away, I just can't see it. Not reputationally. Not financially.

 

[BabaBooey88]

Phew! Had me worried for a sec there

But in all seriousness, the ramifications for just "walking away with minimal effort" approach simply won't work out beneficially for them. Their next title will suffer immensely from that kind of move. Especially so for a title developed within the same genre and IP.

Regaining the confidence and support of spurned fans is going to be a long, slow process. We're 8 months out from launch with nothing but some fixes and graphical fidelity reduction measures to show for it. So as I see it, walking away without doing something INCREDIBLY impressive for those who remain (and those observing from the sideline), would be the something akin to financial suicide. Sure. They'll sell some games down the road. But for a great many gamers (and gaming media like Paul Tassi, IGN and others to remind them at every opportunity), the sour taste of Cyberpunk 2077 will forever taint them, and make gamers think twice. Or three times. Or maybe just forego their future titles entirely for something comparable from another studio with a better rep.

Until they actually walk away, I just can't see it. Not reputationally. Not financially.

I sincerely doubt that. Gamers suffer from severe short-term memory loss. The reaction to this game's launch, and the ongoing pandemic, has caused publishers to tap the breaks on a steady stream of broken game releases for now; It's only a matter of time when publishers feel they can get away with it, and they will. They will get away with it again. Yeah.. That'll go well. Biting off more than you can chew will eventually pay off I suppose. It's why the CEO double down on simultaneous, multi-title production. Even if your hypothesis were to materialize; A few years out there will be a fresh, steady stream of teens and young adults with PS5s and Xbox Series' to sell 'totally finished' games to. They will get away with it and they know it.

 

[Trykz]

I sincerely doubt that. Gamers suffer from severe short-term memory loss. The reaction to this game's launch, and the ongoing pandemic, has caused publishers to tap the breaks on a steady stream of broken game releases for now; It's only a matter of time when publishers feel they can get away with it, and they will. They will get away with it again. Yeah.. That'll go well. Biting off more than you can chew will eventually pay off I suppose. It's why the CEO double down on simultaneous, multi-title production. Even if your hypothesis were to materialize; A few years out there will be a fresh, steady stream of teens and young adults with PS5s and Xbox Series' to sell 'totally finished' games to. They will get away with it and they know it.

Console gamers might soon forget the release fiasco of Cyberpunk 2077 (doubtful, but possible I guess), but PC gamers will not. They invest a LOT more into their hardware. Many even just to get as full an enjoyment experience as they can out of just a single title. No one is "tapping the brakes" on anything. They're taking notes. And slowing things down based on what they observe. Not just from this games launch issues, but the successes of other games releasing weekly.

Simultaneous development of multiple games from a single studio is also quite commonplace. Not so much on the PC platform, but MUCH more common in the console market space (Sony/Microsoft/Etc.).

We're also not talking about "a few years out". We're talking about multi-year spans of interest for the most popular of IPs. Case in point: Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Mass Effect, Assassins Creed.... and yes, even The Witcher series. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. THIS game and it's IP had (and still has, for now) that level of potential. It all depends on how they handle things going forward. And I just don't see them walking away thinking "next one people..... we'll totally NAIL the next one".

 

[Erdrick80]

Console gamers might soon forget the release fiasco of Cyberpunk 2077 (doubtful, but possible I guess), but PC gamers will not. They invest a LOT more into their hardware. Many even just to get as full an enjoyment experience as they can out of just a single title. No one is "tapping the brakes" on anything. They're taking notes. And slowing things down based on what they observe. Not just from this games launch issues, but the successes of other games releasing weekly.

Simultaneous development of multiple games from a single studio is also quite commonplace. Not so much on the PC platform, but MUCH more common in the console market space (Sony/Microsoft/Etc.).

We're also not talking about "a few years out". We're talking about multi-year spans of interest for the most popular of IPs. Case in point: Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Mass Effect, Assassins Creed.... and yes, even The Witcher series. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. THIS game and it's IP had (and still has, for now) that level of potential. It all depends on how they handle things going forward. And I just don't see them walking away thinking "next one people..... we'll totally NAIL the next one".

Isn't that the truth. You can only imagine how much I spent on this PC just to play this game. well... Also cause I love the hobby but, usually games like this trigger that instinct of building again. It always start with a game though. My last build was 5years ago cause any game barely made it worth while to get back on the hobby but, boy oh boy when I played this game I chucked that thing like a bad habit.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

Console gamers might soon forget the release fiasco of Cyberpunk 2077 (doubtful, but possible I guess), but PC gamers will not.

Being on Series X, honestly, I don't know how I must take that

Spoiler

Are we more stupid ? We paid less for our equipment so we forget more quickly/easily ? Are we more young (that could be cool^^)?

Anyway I don't think the majority of players are "disgusted" by CDPR and/or Cyberpunk, no need to generalize.
4/5 star on Xbox Live
(So mostly by players on XB1/XB1x who possibly have the worst impression of Cyberpunk)
Mostly Positive on Steam

I speak for myself, but when I leave a review it's when I love the game or when I hate it. All the games that are in between, almost never.
So I think those who are really "disgusted" with Cyberpunk really left a review (same goes for those who loved it). But most of those who simply "enjoyed" the game probably haven't.

And for press articles (like the dude "Tassi"), it's simply because criticizing Cyberpunk is "fashion" right now. it brings views (clic bait...). When it will over (like after 1.3), they'll move on, they will find another crispy subject...
So I'm pretty sure that the paid DLCs for Cyberpunk will be selling like a little breads

 

[Trykz]

Being on Series X, honestly, I don't know how I must take that

Spoiler

Are we more stupid ? We paid less for our equipment so we forget more quickly/easily ? Are we more young (that could be cool^^)?

Not at all. Console gamers (on average) are simply more likely to move on from a particular game than PC gamers, because PC gamers tend to be much more invested, and console games are largely platform specific, affording a much wider variety. How you take that is a matter of whether you consider yourself an "average console gamer" or not. If you don't, I'd say it sets you apart.

My son played through Horizon: Zero Dawn on his Playstation once. When it released for the PC last year, I played through it three times. And I'm about to play through it again. It's just that awesome both visually and in it's gameplay. When he first saw me playing it (ReShade with max settings running full blast), he could hardly contain himself. And now he's playing it for an hour or two here and there on my PC, every time he and his family come over for dinner

 

[LeKill3rFou]

Not at all. Console gamers (on average) are simply more likely to move on from a particular game than PC gamers, because PC gamers tend to be much more invested, and console games are largely platform specific, affording a much wider variety. How you take that is a matter of whether you consider yourself an "average console gamer" or not. If you don't, I'd say it sets you apart.

My son played through Horizon: Zero Dawn on his Playstation once. When it released for the PC last year, I played through it three times. And I'm about to play through it again. It's just that awesome both visually and in it's gameplay. When he first saw me playing it (ReShade with max settings running full blast), he could hardly contain himself. And now he's playing it for an hour or two here and there on my PC, every time he and his family come over for dinner

I not really agree, because when you paid 60E for a game and you don't like it or can't play it, whatever the platform, you are "mad"... And maybe (I suppose) console users, especially those on "old" XB1 fat, have less financial means than a gamers on high-end PC, so they could be even more "mad"
I have played CP day-one on XB1x (less than 2 years old) with lot of crashes, lot of FPS drop, so I can imagine the game on the first model of XB1 (2013) was way worse. But even on Xbox, Cyberpunk have 4/5 star, who is mostly "positive". It's better than AC Valhalla who have "only" 3/5 star. So even on the worst platform (don't know about Playstation), players have in majority, a good review for Cyberpunk. Whatever the "journalists", articles and other media think...

 

[Trykz]

I not really agree, because when you paid 60E for a game and you don't like it or can't play it, whatever the platform, you are "mad"... And maybe (I suppose) console users, especially those on "old" XB1 fat, have less financial means than a gamers on high-end PC, so they could be even more "mad"
I have played CP day-one on XB1x (less than 2 years old) with lot of crashes, lot of FPS drop, so I can imagine the game on the first model of XB1 (2013) was way worse. But even on Xbox, Cyberpunk have 4/5 star, who is mostly "positive". It's better than AC Valhalla who have "only" 3/5 star. So even on the worst platform (don't know about Playstation), players have in majority, a good review for Cyberpunk. Whatever the "journalists", articles and other media think...

Why are you reading so much into something I neither said, nor implied?