A real roadmap for CP2077

[cannabination]

This game is built on a very strong foundation, but due to the rushed release we're all aware that some parts of the overall construction are very shaky. I can sort of almost understand investor pressure and the need to release something early. It's too bad they couldn't take the paid beta route that many devs use to keep the lights on while they finish a game, but it is what it is. Regardless, they released the game and we bought it. I really hope that CDPR understands that how they handle the next year of Cyberpunk will determine folks' likelihood to leap into Witcher 4 and any other future projekts. It's important that they justify our investment in what is essentially a beta release over that time or I will have a hard time blindly trusting that Witcher 4 will be as good as I hope and I doubt if I'm alone in that after this release and the overall product.

However, if they faithfully continue creating the game as envisioned before all these cuts, Cyberpunk could be a triumph that lives longer than GTAV. This business of ironing out bugs and moving on to DLC isn't going to cut it unless that "DLC" is really just patches inserting cut material and smoothing the edges. While the foundation is pretty solid, there's a lot of work to do to make this the game it could be, and I really hope that CDPR wants to make that game as much as we want to play it. Here's what I think we need to get there.

First priority: QoL and fundamental issues that need fixed

-Fix police and crowd AI. Driving adjustments or ghost pedestrians may well be needed here to balance.
-Mini map zoom based on driving speed.
-Map changes: unique markers for side quest types(cars, psychos, etc) similar to sabotage missions. Colors would be nice, as would persistent custom markers with a 4checkable "HUD visible" box.
-Barbers, tattoo shops, plastic surgeons.
-Street level events. I know you planned them, please put them in. We need a more living world. Races with our significant other?
-"Craft Multiple"
-"Favorites" for cars.

Stretch Goals for content updates:

-"Healing V" prologue quest with an open-ended, more open chapter allowing more emersion in Night City, a chance to shape our own NC. Faction rep, strategic locations being battled over periodically by gangs, corps, nomad tribes, etc. The game can't end when we finally gain the agency to live the life our V chooses rather than the one dictated to them by the Relic. If the only motivation we're allowed to have is to be a legend let us do something with it when we become one, or at least concoct our recipe. Tie the street level events to the influence of the various factions. Let V choose something to fight for, be it the destruction of all corps or gangs, the elevation of one corp or gang, Aldecaldo supremacy around NC, the sanity and effectiveness of Jefferson Peralez, or alternately controlling him... give us something to do with our new status as living legend. I made all these contacts with fixers and movers and shakers in NC, let me do something cool with them.

-Extend romances past the consummation in some form. I'm not asking for a dating sim, but you got us invested in these characters. There's so much time between the "start" of most of the romances and the end of the game that they feel unfinished. Please give us some missions in theme with the characters(getting a new piece of communication equipment for the Aldecaldos with Panam, fixing things at Clouds for Judy and getting her ready to take it over, etc.) Also, take a look at Kerry and River. I'm not going to suggest you redo anything else in the game, but the relationship V has with those characters is lame. River feels like an up-jumped NPC and Kerry shows up so late that you couldn't get invested even if he weren't a self-absorbed, smarmy weirdo. Other characters give the protagonist meaning, please keep them around once we've finished their quest lines.

-Houses to pick from and not just one at each price level, give us some cool options. I bet if you open the tools up you could get the modding community to make as many houses, lofts, yachts, and trailers as you need to w/e parameters. Garages?

-Decorations in our pads. Stuff we purchase and things we liberate from unique locations would be cool, as would memorable quest items as trophies. Let us throw parties in our houses to improve relations with a faction, or Red Wedding them. Again, I don't want the Sims, but I'd like to be able to commemorate Silverhand's death or the day Judy and I went scuba diving.

-Car and gun customization; paint job, armor panels, tires, rims, suspension, engine... let us go crazy here.

-Rigging? Why are there no drones for V? I can steal a car with a drone tucked into the back but I can't figure out how to use it with a 20 INT and 18 ENG? We all know that Grenade tree was supposed to be Rigging and something went wrong and y'all gave up. Do eet.

This list doesn't approach the limit of what could be done here; trams and more open buildings, parts of the city, other cities... the sky is the limit. I guess the main theme of what I would like to see added to the game is the idea that it's alive, the city is alive. That the choices my V makes really do affect it and the characters in their orbit, and enable them create a life where more than one person(ok, two b/c of Saul) is willing to throw down if V's life is on the line. Let's be clear, I like this game a lot. However, I've played all the starts and all the ends, there's no reason for me to come back to it and that's sad. Further there's currently no reason for me to believe the DLC will be completed with any more pride than the core game, so spending money on them seems unlikely at this point. I really hope that CDPR will deliver on this thing that could be so good... because so few things are.

Thank you for reading my text wall.

Edit: Argh, I just noticed this isn't in "Suggestions". If a mod could move it I'd be ever so grateful.

 

[Zaccarato]

Seconded. This is my vision for the game. I hope CDPR is willing to spend this year implementing everything you have suggested.

Since I think it's one of the greatest unresolved issues, CDPR need to be looking at a post-game DLC. In three of the four major endings, V's story ends on a cliffhanger. We need a resolution to their story if you want to encourge us to actually play the game again.

Have Star find information in Arizona, have Sun find information in Crystal Palace and have Devil get information from Hanako. There we go. All roads lead to the same place, and you can continue the story in one location for all endings, just the start will differ. Then, give us our happy ending, or at least a meaningful ending. Not doing so does a diservice to the phenomenal characters and story you have created.

In line with the characters, I should emphisise the romances. We don't play CP2077 for a dating sim, but the romances you form in the game are a key component in the overall story, as they represent the deepest relationships V can have with a character, in a game where the characters are the major driving point of the narrative. What we have now is great, we just need more of the same quality, particulary, as OP highlighted, in between Queen of the Highway/Pyramid Song and game end.

I have confidence that, as long as you continue to develop this game, and add content, that this will be an NMS situation. The rumoured multiplayer will cater to peoples RP/Immersion wants, while the singleplayer story will feature some of the greatest and most memorable characters in gaming history.

We're not mad at you for releasing an unpolished and somewhat unfinished game. But if you abandon this project before it is finished, you will not recover the consumer confidence you once held.

 

[crawfordman]

Seconded. This is my vision for the game. I hope CDPR is willing to spend this year implementing everything you have suggested.

Since I think it's one of the greatest unresolved issues, CDPR need to be looking at a post-game DLC. In three of the four major endings, V's story ends on a cliffhanger. We need a resolution to their story if you want to encourge us to actually play the game again.

Have Star find information in Arizona, have Sun find information in Crystal Palace and have Devil get information from Hanako. There we go. All roads lead to the same place, and you can continue the story in one location for all endings, just the start will differ. Then, give us our happy ending, or at least a meaningful ending. Not doing so does a diservice to the phenomenal characters and story you have created.

In line with the characters, I should emphisise the romances. We don't play CP2077 for a dating sim, but the romances you form in the game are a key component in the overall story, as they represent the deepest relationships V can have with a character, in a game where the characters are the major driving point of the narrative. What we have now is great, we just need more of the same quality, particulary, as OP highlighted, in between Queen of the Highway/Pyramid Song and game end.

I have confidence that, as long as you continue to develop this game, and add content, that this will be an NMS situation. The rumoured multiplayer will cater to peoples RP/Immersion wants, while the singleplayer story will feature some of the greatest and most memorable characters in gaming history.

We're not mad at you for releasing an unpolished and somewhat unfinished game. But if you abandon this project before it is finished, you will not recover the consumer confidence you once held.

EA did the same thing with ME:A. the game had so much potential but support for the game was cut off before it got a chance to "hit the ground running". why do people continue to buy these dumb fucking sports games anyways they are the same recycled shit but with different graphics and updated rosters. sigh....

 

[Pufty]

Decorations in our pads. Stuff we purchase and things we liberate from unique locations would be cool, as would memorable quest items as trophies. Let us throw parties in our houses to improve relations with a faction, or Red Wedding them. Again, I don't want the Sims, but I'd like to be able to commemorate Silverhand's death or the day Judy and I went scuba diving.

I completely agree with the changes, but this one already exists. Every time you decided to do something for the characters, you've ended up with a memory or trinket in your apartment. This is one personal touch I will commend from the Devs as you can find and adopt a cat in your place, get a scorpian figurine, get the Peralez campaign poster, stolen art near th bean bag, the Lizzy poster, scuba diving gear from Judy, I think the Valentino poster was also a new thing I noticed, also a dream catcher from Misty and probably more I fail to mention from memory. They're small trinkets that make the apartment feel a bit more like home, so to add more housing (I still really would want this) is to figure whether those trinkets will come along in other living spaces or just remain fixed to the one megabuilding apartment we have, because I'd sure love having the cat with my in my chosen living space.

The factions part is pretty eh, because you'd be making friends with shady people if you didn't know their background, because take Maelstrom - Some really sketchy stuff is going on there with the whole connection to Peralez Campaign. Take Valentinos, they've got someone hiring them to impersonate Militech for some shady stuff too, so what type of faction do you think you'd have over?

Overall more use of the apartment is where I'm still putting confidence in that point.

 

[Griff1981]

haven't they said they are proud of the game, on pc at least?

With that in mind I'm taking it that they just want to get rid of the bugs then just do DLC and MP.


I do like your ideas though

 

[Zaccarato]

haven't they said they are proud of the game, on pc at least?

With that in mind I'm taking it that they just want to get rid of the bugs then just do DLC and MP.


I do like your ideas though

It was in the context of the console releases. Doesn't mean they're not going to add updates, infact they seem to state the opposite, that they will "...continue to introduce updates and patches to give all players across all consoles and PCs a better experience with the game."

Not to mention the free dlc, of course.

 

[cannabination]

The factions part is pretty eh, because you'd be making friends with shady people if you didn't know their background, because take Maelstrom - Some really sketchy stuff is going on there with the whole connection to Peralez Campaign. Take Valentinos, they've got someone hiring them to impersonate Militech for some shady stuff too, so what type of faction do you think you'd have over?

Overall more use of the apartment is where I'm still putting confidence in that point.

Regarding the decorations, I was thinking of things we could place, so we could decide in which pad the various trinkets would be housed. I'm serious about giving that over to the modding community. They'd have pads of every type, style, and price all over the city complete with the ability to renovate and sell them for profit in a month, lol.

Regarding the factions, yeah, they're shady, but it's the only way to affect a living world. If I could side with Padre in instigating a gang war against the Tyger Claws or Arasoka against Militech the landscape of the map would start to change. As I accomplished more objectives(cleaned out dens, liberated stolen property to fence, take out leaders, etc) the Valentino's control of NC would grow. This could begin all sorts of gated missions, npcs, and rewards that would only be available to folks on this path. That would do a LOT to increase replayability, especially as new content is added. Alternatively I could clean all the gangs out of NC, or go to war with all the corps, Silverhand style. There are other factions, too. The Peralez situation would be fun to come at from various angles, Clouds needs some work, the Aldecaldos are cool, plus there are several corps we've barely heard of that could be fleshed out.

It isn't so much about having a team as it is about bringing the world(and the main character) to life around us. The bigger purpose is to let V pick a goal for once... the entire story line is about V reacting to other things, we didn't have a say in V's motivations at all. It would be nice if we had the agency to invest in something that will give us some sense of accomplishment.

 

[Zaccarato]

Regarding the factions, yeah, they're shady, but it's the only way to affect a living world. If I could side with Padre in instigating a gang war against the Tyger Claws or Arasoka against Militech the landscape of the map would start to change. As I accomplished more objectives(cleaned out dens, liberated stolen property to fence, take out leaders, etc) the Valentino's control of NC would grow. This could begin all sorts of gated missions, npcs, and rewards that would only be available to folks on this path. That would do a LOT to increase replayability, especially as new content is added. Alternatively I could clean all the gangs out of NC, or go to war with all the corps, Silverhand style. There are other factions, too. The Peralez situation would be fun to come at from various angles, Clouds needs some work, the Aldecaldos are cool, plus there are several corps we've barely heard of that could be fleshed out.

My hope for this, and it is a long shot, is that this gets integrated into the multiplayer, and isn't a part of Vs story. It would make much more sense if you created your own character and aligned yourself with a faction ala gtaV.

My hope is that most of the concerns about the CP2077 roleplay experience are solved with multiplayer story content. I think alot of people would come to the game because that was the experience they were expecting in the first place.

 

[cannabination]

My hope for this, and it is a long shot, is that this gets integrated into the multiplayer, and isn't a part of Vs story. It would make much more sense if you created your own character and aligned yourself with a faction ala gtaV.

My hope is that most of the concerns about the CP2077 roleplay experience are solved with multiplayer story content. I think alot of people would come to the game because that was the experience they were expecting in the first place.

Yep, it's all about how they integrate it. I'd be more than happy to start as a random goon and work my way up, but I need it to be a fun single player experience. I'm really nervous about multiplayer because of all the different ways that can be approached. I agree that it might still be the best way to get things implemented without having to rewrite the story or w/e.

 

[madmidder]

I posted something similar here, my topic is about quality of life changes, small features and more. Nothing like adding scrapped story etc. Feel free to check it.

 

[Zaccarato]

Yep, it's all about how they integrate it. I'd be more than happy to start as a random goon and work my way up, but I need it to be a fun single player experience. I'm really nervous about multiplayer because of all the different ways that can be approached. I agree that it might still be the best way to get things implemented without having to rewrite the story or w/e.

They seem to be taking inspiration from GTA online, which is a good thing in some respects, because it manages to have story content and can be an effective singleplayer experience if you want it to be. I gotta say it would be interesting playing some Maelstrom ganger and seeing Brick/Royce before the events of V, or working with Padre and the Valentinos.

 

[cannabination]

I posted something similar here, my topic is about quality of life changes, small features and more. Nothing like adding scrapped story etc. Feel free to check it.

Some really good stuff in there, especially the looting priority and call skipping. Nothing quite so fun as creeping up behind a goon to take them down at the perfect time to avoid the two patrols only to have Regina call and chat for 30 seconds about a cyberpsycho two buildings over.

 

[Kescham]

I completely agree with the changes, but this one already exists. Every time you decided to do something for the characters, you've ended up with a memory or trinket in your apartment. This is one personal touch I will commend from the Devs as you can find and adopt a cat in your place, get a scorpian figurine, get the Peralez campaign poster, stolen art near th bean bag, the Lizzy poster, scuba diving gear from Judy, I think the Valentino poster was also a new thing I noticed, also a dream catcher from Misty and probably more I fail to mention from memory. They're small trinkets that make the apartment feel a bit more like home, so to add more housing (I still really would want this) is to figure whether those trinkets will come along in other living spaces or just remain fixed to the one megabuilding apartment we have, because I'd sure love having the cat with my in my chosen living space.

The factions part is pretty eh, because you'd be making friends with shady people if you didn't know their background, because take Maelstrom - Some really sketchy stuff is going on there with the whole connection to Peralez Campaign. Take Valentinos, they've got someone hiring them to impersonate Militech for some shady stuff too, so what type of faction do you think you'd have over?

Overall more use of the apartment is where I'm still putting confidence in that point.

Yah ... I did Scorpions *funeral* with mitch and got his ninja figurine. I searched my apartment, car and aldecaldo tent multiple times for it.

I finally found it ... In the Mansion of the Sun? ending... Pretty pointless.
This game really needs an complete overhaul.
Looking at the stiff character animations, passive AI and lacking physics (Ragdolls, Water and so on)
The engine is clearly underdeveloped and needs much work.

But is Cyberpunk worth the effort? Im afraid its a lost cause and maybe its better to move on to a new project.
i understand its not possible at this point for a lot of reasons.

And when the patchnotes drop in a few days there will be a lot of new discussions why so little got done.
Its just too much to fix ...

My suggested Roadmap:
Bugfixing for the entirety of 2021
dont mistake dlcs with content, im pretty sure this will be just some skins for characters

2022 Maybe 2 story updates.
2023 Multiplayer, this will be dead on arrival and the end of cyberpunk.

 

[RagnaBreaker]

It's a nice detail that mementos go there but I never felt the need to go back to my apartment after the game opened up.. except when I learned in a video that iconic guns go on your stash wall if you store them there. But that's a strange design decision. The guns should appear there automatically after you unlock them. It's not like V can pull out guns inside his/her apartment to possibly break the logic by holding an identical copy, if logic was the goal for this decision. And iconic guns are pretty strong, I'd rather have them with me than up on display.

 

[A_GRIM_OBLIVION]

This was actually meant for a different post, too many windows open at the same time.

The fixer phone calls are annoying. Apparently the fixers have implanted a GPS chip in V, seeing as they only call about a job if you are in a close proximity to it. Having a current job interrupted by a phone call with a new one, while I'm trying to stealth track an NPC is distracting to say the least.

I would like it more if you called the fixer, asking for a job, and are given various current job offers fitting your skillset. Only rarely do they call you about a specific job that needs doing within a certain time, asking if you're available and willing to take on the gig. Also the possibility of the job being double booked, having another merc competing for the same job hired by another fixer.

Maybe a fixer net based posting board. Different fixers having different jobs, with some overlap. Listing current job offers in the the city and it's surroundings, accessible thru any of the numerous computers scattered throughout the city. Jobs that list specific requirements needed and payment plus bonuses upon certain objectives being met, kinda like the real internet. Jobs come and go over time, some pay better than others, some you're overqualified for and some underqualified.

At the moment it feels like you're the only merc in the city. - I would like a more Freejack, The Fifth Element, Bladerunner, Altered Carbon feel to the game. - You're just one of millions trying to get by the best you can.