character beginnings

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character beginnings

So this is a pet peeve of mine with RPGs- I've gotten really bored with the nameless character dudefaces all starting out in the same place for their beginnings. For example, I really liked that Arcanum included the option to give your character a backstory, but all characters, regardless of who they are, start out in the same place. But why should that happen.

As it concerns CP2077, I am not asking for backstories, but it might be cool to give the players a bunch of options in the character creation menu which determine the starting out point of your character. It could also be different depending on your role.

For example, if you choose to be a down-on-luck Netrunner who is also a drug addict, then you start out in a methadone clinic or whatever.

Doing this will add another layer to role-playing, but it will also ease the player's transition into the world of CP2077 with their unique role; the player can be creatively introduced to a "guide" who gets the game going. Like for the druggy Netrunner, s/he could meet someone who gives them a job for drug or rehab money, player's choice ;)

TL;DR: it might be cool to give players the options to decide various aspects of their character which determine unique starting points, which could also differ depending on role.

Well, that's all. Thoughts? Rants? Tea and biscuits?
 
Thanks for linking that. I looked through the sticky thread, but I looked under main character and mechanics.

I hope something like this is feasible for the game, but I am also interested in how CDPR will do it. Maybe they'll surprise us with something really cool.
 
It would be really cool. I in fact would like to see different beginnings for different roles, and not only that, but having our profession determine to some extent the kind of scenarios we would be visiting and the kind of jobs we get: roles are in the end jobs in a non-fantasy society, you wouldn't ask a journalist (media) to arrest a criminal, although uncovering a truth might be a job for almost every role. In the end I wouldn't want it to be just a thing for the beginning that gets thrown out of the window as the game progresses either.
I also love me some characteristics/lifepaths/advantages/disadvantages. I would like those to have an impact in the world, the portrayal of our character, but that could be mighty difficult to implement unless it comes packed as a series of suites or maybe comes packed with the role (maybe the cop will be always divorced, the media always have an affaire with a colleague...). It might not alter the story at all, just our stats and be there "for the fantasy of it". Maybe nobody will acknowledge that we were raised by drug addicts, but we as players might use it as a guideline to make our choices (would my character do this or that?).
 
http://www.cyberpunk.net/forum/en/t...and-fitting-them-all-together?p=7749#post7749

As I said in this thread, I think your starting safehouse should be determined by your characters role.

We can be pretty sure that there will be an optional lifepath generator for those interested, to give your character a backstory. We can be almost sure of this because they have already confirmed the ability to print off our character for use in the tabletop game.
It would be really cool. I in fact would like to see different beginnings for different roles, and not only that, but having our profession determine to some extent the kind of scenarios we would be visiting and the kind of jobs we get: roles are in the end jobs in a non-fantasy society, you wouldn't ask a journalist (media) to arrest a criminal, although uncovering a truth might be a job for almost every role. In the end I wouldn't want it to be just a thing for the beginning that gets thrown out of the window as the game progresses either.
I also love me some characteristics/lifepaths/advantages/disadvantages. I would like those to have an impact in the world, the portrayal of our character, but that could be mighty difficult to implement unless it comes packed as a series of suites or maybe comes packed with the role (maybe the cop will be always divorced, the media always have an affaire with a colleague...). It might not alter the story at all, just our stats and be there "for the fantasy of it". Maybe nobody will acknowledge that we were raised by drug addicts, but we as players might use it as a guideline to make our choices (would my character do this or that?).
I like these idea's, though I would take them one step further. How about starting in a random location based on lifestyle choices made during character creation? I really want to see the character creation process follow all the steps in CP2020. Keep the life events random, along with the family history and the like. Allow the personal details to be selected by the player rather than strictly random. Following the same style as APB and EVE online for physical side of character creaion would be awesome. We also select our lifestyle when we create a character in 2020. The same should apply in '77. We can select a type of accomadation and it's location from a list and we can select utilties we wish to have available. All of this forms the basis of our character and our identity. I would love to start in a random location based on these choices, as well as our role.

The fulcrum point here though, is our career... in the PnP world, we may hold down a steady job, and thats fine, (nobody wants to turn down a steady income, right?) But this is not the Sims, a steady day/night job will not work in '77. So, we all should start after losing or quitting our job. That will force us to go an find work to pay for our lifestyle.

Also, SIN's. Where do we stand on SIN's and 'new shoes'?

(And while we are at it, I think food quality should be taken into consideration here. In 2020 there is no benefit to eating fresh food as opposed to eating kibble, other than your own opinion of your character. That needs to change, there should be an insentive to get good quality food from a gameplay perspective.)
 
I like these idea's, though I would take them one step further. How about starting in a random location based on lifestyle choices made during character creation? I really want to see the character creation process follow all the steps in CP2020. Keep the life events random, along with the family history and the like. Allow the personal details to be selected by the player rather than strictly random. Following the same style as APB and EVE online for physical side of character creaion would be awesome. We also select our lifestyle when we create a character in 2020. The same should apply in '77. We can select a type of accomadation and it's location from a list and we can select utilties we wish to have available. All of this forms the basis of our character and our identity. I would love to start in a random location based on these choices, as well as our role.

The fulcrum point here though, is our career... in the PnP world, we may hold down a steady job, and thats fine, (nobody wants to turn down a steady income, right?) But this is not the Sims, a steady day/night job will not work in '77. So, we all should start after losing or quitting our job. That will force us to go an find work to pay for our lifestyle.

Also, SIN's. Where do we stand on SIN's and 'new shoes'?

(And while we are at it, I think food quality should be taken into consideration here. In 2020 there is no benefit to eating fresh food as opposed to eating kibble, other than your own opinion of your character. That needs to change, there should be an insentive to get good quality food from a gameplay perspective.)

what you propose would be fine, excpet some of us, while appreciateive of the life path option, would prefer to forgo it, and instead create our favorite characters from our tabletop into the game... That's definitely going to be my first chop at it...

Plus, you have to realize, even in a game like this, there are only going to be so many housing options...
 
Or some of us would like to play a pre-defined character, just with an option to customize the appearence, gender and so on.
 
what you propose would be fine, excpet some of us, while appreciateive of the life path option, would prefer to forgo it, and instead create our favorite characters from our tabletop into the game... That's definitely going to be my first chop at it...

Plus, you have to realize, even in a game like this, there are only going to be so many housing options...

Or some of us would like to play a pre-defined character, just with an option to customize the appearence, gender and so on.
Well, the idea is not immutable. I don't expect there to be hundreds of options for housing. The options could be limited to:
Combat-Zone - Cube or Appartment
Moderate-Zone - Cube, Appartment or House
Corporate-Zone - Appartment, Penthouse or House

Frome ach of these you get a couple of options, so that Techies would be closer to industrial areas, etc. Those sorts of changes. realisticaly, each option would only need 2 or 3 locations, tops.

You guys are seriously tempting me to dig out Axl... My first ever character... I know I have the origional character sheet somewhere...
 
Well, the idea is not immutable. I don't expect there to be hundreds of options for housing. The options could be limited to:
Combat-Zone - Cube or Apartment
Moderate-Zone - Cube, Apartment or House
Corporate-Zone - Apartment, Penthouse or House

From each of these you get a couple of options, so that Techies would be closer to industrial areas, etc. Those sorts of changes. realistically, each option would only need 2 or 3 locations, tops.

You guys are seriously tempting me to dig out Axl... My first ever character... I know I have the original character sheet somewhere...

It would be better if it was like;

Combat zone - Mobile Home, Old apartment
Moderate zone - Cube, Apartment, Really old house, House
Corporate zone - Apartment, Penthouse, House, Mansion

Also, we should have a last name from the beginning. (Like Dragon Age Origins "Cousland", Dragon age 2 "Hawkes" and like Mass Effect "Shepard")
We should pick our first name, but that's it. I don't want to be called "That dude over there." and be nameless dude, who is called by a nickname or a title all the time, like in Skyrim.
 
Or some of us would like to play a pre-defined character, just with an option to customize the appearence, gender and so on.

This is actually my first choice in RPGs as well, but I thought CP2077 is all about the character creation. I remember posting a few months ago about playing as a pre-defined character, someone with a game life and background, but I was informed that there aren't pre-defined characters in CP2077, so that wouldn't work.

Well, whatever it's like I just want character starting points to be meaningful, and not cookie cutter for all characters.

And, guys, why would you want character name to be decided without your input? Unless it's a pre-defined character, it doesn't make sense to do that.

As for housing, I think it can be whatever- a boat, a trailer, a car. I wouldn't mind some creativity in that regard.
 
This is actually my first choice in RPGs as well, but I thought CP2077 is all about the character creation. I remember posting a few months ago about playing as a pre-defined character, someone with a game life and background, but I was informed that there aren't pre-defined characters in CP2077, so that wouldn't work.

Well, whatever it's like I just want character starting points to be meaningful, and not cookie cutter for all characters.

And, guys, why would you want character name to be decided without your input? Unless it's a pre-defined character, it doesn't make sense to do that.

As for housing, I think it can be whatever- a boat, a trailer, a car. I wouldn't mind some creativity in that regard.

We have to be called something.. It's not like in real life you can determine your last name or anything.. Also, things would be more personal with NPC's if we had a name. What will your friends call you? "That guy who is been my friend for years now, but i can't recall his name."? How is that meaningful?
 
It would be better if it was like;

Combat zone - Mobile Home, Old apartment
Moderate zone - Cube, Apartment, Really old house, House
Corporate zone - Apartment, Penthouse, House, Mansion
I dont think any character should start with ther resources to live in a mansion. And by mobile home, I assume you mean the sort that Americans refer to as an RV. Not sure how those would work...

Also, we should have a last name from the beginning. (Like Dragon Age Origins "Cousland", Dragon age 2 "Hawkes" and like Mass Effect "Shepard")
We should pick our first name, but that's it. I don't want to be called "That dude over there." and be nameless dude, who is called by a nickname or a title all the time, like in Skyrim.
I've got to disagree here. I don't want to have a specific surname in the same way as these games. If we have choices from about 30 or so names, then I can maybe live with it, but having a premade surname at all, for me, takes a huge amount away from the uniqueness of the character and carries too much of their identity. A name is a powerful thing. It is ours and it says a lot about us. Here's an example; Which name is sexier; Marilyn or Norma? Names make up a huge aprt of our image and that will never change. Here's some more for you:

Ice-T; rapper and film star. He has played some bad-ass roles in his career. Do you think the public would have taken him seriously if he had gone by his real name, which is Tracy?
The Rock; professional wrestler and film star. Again, ignoring his Disney 'blip', he has played some epicly bad-ass MOFO's. Would he still be 'laying the smackdown' if he went by his real name, Dwain?

I would rather be nameless in audio conversations and cut-scenes than lose my freedom of choice with regards to my surname.

And if there is a multiplayer Co-Op, do we really want to be playing in a game with 'Meatb4gg Smith', 'R4z0r Smith', 'Akira Smith' and 'Bob Smith'?
 
I dont think any character should start with ther resources to live in a mansion. And by mobile home, I assume you mean the sort that Americans refer to as an RV. Not sure how those would work...


I've got to disagree here. I don't want to have a specific surname in the same way as these games. If we have choices from about 30 or so names, then I can maybe live with it, but having a premade surname at all, for me, takes a huge amount away from the uniqueness of the character and carries too much of their identity. A name is a powerful thing. It is ours and it says a lot about us. Here's an example; Which name is sexier; Marilyn or Norma? Names make up a huge aprt of our image and that will never change. Here's some more for you:

Ice-T; rapper and film star. He has played some bad-ass roles in his career. Do you think the public would have taken him seriously if he had gone by his real name, which is Tracy?
The Rock; professional wrestler and film star. Again, ignoring his Disney 'blip', he has played some epicly bad-ass MOFO's. Would he still be 'laying the smackdown' if he went by his real name, Dwain?

I would rather be nameless in audio conversations and cut-scenes than lose my freedom of choice with regards to my surname.

And if there is a multiplayer Co-Op, do we really want to be playing in a game with 'Meatb4gg Smith', 'R4z0r Smith', 'Akira Smith' and 'Bob Smith'?

Just because you live in a mansion, it doesn't mean you own the mansion. It could be like your family's mansion. You just live there.

Also, you just rather be a nameless person who is actually nobody when you think about it.. Its like people don't even know you exist. They certainly don't even seem to be interested in learning your name. It doesn't add character. The name you give is a name only you know. It doesn't add any uniqueness since it is never used. Having a name is the only thing that can add personality and a sense of closeness with NPC's.

And for the multiplayer thing, It could only show the first name. That would solve the problem.. And having 30 name option is outright ridiculous. Every actor/actress who supposed to speak our name would have to record all 30 names over and over again, which wouldn't be feasible.
 
Well, the idea is not immutable. I don't expect there to be hundreds of options for housing. The options could be limited to:
Combat-Zone - Cube or Appartment
Moderate-Zone - Cube, Appartment or House
Corporate-Zone - Appartment, Penthouse or House

Um... seems kind of stale to me honestly... I still prefer the idea of each Role getting it's own unique place. There are any options for housing in lifepath anyway, and nothing in lifepath is really going to make a difference in the amount of money you get more than a small little bonus.... No the major determining factor for money for new characters is their Role...

So I would go with

Corporate - Large Apartment in the Corp Zone it's just pimp,
Media - Small apartment in the Corp Zone with video and photo editing suite
Netrunner - entire floor of a Coffin Cube hotel on the border of the Corp Zone and a higher income moderate zone multiple cyberdecks and
databases set up all over, to foil trace attempts and store ridiculous amounts of data... hacking from this location is virtually impossible to trace
Medtech - clean but small house in a higher income Moderate Zone surgical room in basement
Cop - A house boat on the pier in a medium Moderate Zone Police issue armor, weapons, ammor, gear, and car always available here for free
Techie- Auto Repair Garage with an apartment over it in a lower income Moderate Zone the garage is fully functional
Fixer - Entire hotel in the Combat Zone and can collect rent from tenants
Solo - Broken Down warehouse in the Combat Zone with built in shooting range
Nomad - Old Farm or Ranch out in the Wasteland with a large barn/garage with small airstrip
(Each residence should have a parking area for vehicle storage and a landing pad on the roof or somewhere close for AV parking and storage and maybe a secret entrance/exit)

In addition the characters should also be able to acquire a boat dock and an airstrip or hanger at some point, either by purchase, favor, or reward for a side mission...

And towards the end of the game you should get a large ultra-deluxe top floor penthouse in the Corporate Zone with the options of all the other houses, including underground boat dock and helicopter storage and AV/heli storage


You guys are seriously tempting me to dig out Axl... My first ever character... I know I have the original character sheet somewhere...

Heh, I am so OCD that not only do I have every character I have ever played, but I have every character that has ever been played in a Cyberpunk game I run... over 20 years of them... each with their own individual drawing by yours truly (and up until I switched to Interlock Unlimited, I would hand draw them in the little character drawing space...). I have serious problems....

Also, we should have a last name from the beginning. (Like Dragon Age Origins "Cousland", Dragon age 2 "Hawkes" and like Mass Effect "Shepard")
We should pick our first name, but that's it. I don't want to be called "That dude over there." and be nameless dude, who is called by a nickname or a title all the time, like in Skyrim.

Um... no.... I can give my character his own first and last name thank you very much... I don't need the npcs to call me by name, they can call me by "that asshole over there" for all I care, but my name is my name... In Saints Row every called the Protagonist Playa... these guys can call us Hero (sracastically of course) or dude, or bro, or whatever...

This is actually my first choice in RPGs as well, but I thought CP2077 is all about the character creation. I remember posting a few months ago about playing as a pre-defined character, someone with a game life and background, but I was informed that there aren't pre-defined characters in CP2077, so that wouldn't work.

Well, whatever it's like I just want character starting points to be meaningful, and not cookie cutter for all characters.

And, guys, why would you want character name to be decided without your input? Unless it's a pre-defined character, it doesn't make sense to do that.

Character Creation is a huge part.... I am sure there will be defaults, but thats about it.

Agreed

And I have no clue why Warsend would want that.... but I think he is pretty alone in that regard....
 
Just because you live in a mansion, it doesn't mean you own the mansion. It could be like your family's mansion. You just live there.

Also, you just rather be a nameless person who is actually nobody when you think about it.. Its like people don't even know you exist. They certainly don't even seem to be interested in learning your name. It doesn't add character. The name you give is a name only you know. It doesn't add any uniqueness since it is never used. Having a name is the only thing that can add personality and a sense of closeness with NPC's.

And for the multiplayer thing, It could only show the first name. That would solve the problem.. And having 30 name option is outright ridiculous. Every actor/actress who supposed to speak our name would have to record all 30 names over and over again, which wouldn't be feasible.

No.... just no....

In the first place, most of our characters are going to have nicknames or somesuch, I don;t want the computer telling me who I am.... that shit is for me to decide. It;s my character. Whats the point of creating your own character if its just going to be someone elses vision.

The dialogue not using our name worked fine in Saints Row 1, 2, and 3, in Fallout 3, in Fallout New Vegas...

I imagine people will actually refer to us by our primary Role if anything.... Solo, Netrunner, Med-tech, etc...

Fuck the computer decinding my name... at that point it might as well decide my personality too... bollocks to that.
 
No.... just no....

In the first place, most of our characters are going to have nicknames or somesuch, I don;t want the computer telling me who I am.... that shit is for me to decide. It;s my character. Whats the point of creating your own character if its just going to be someone elses vision.

The dialogue not using our name worked fine in Saints Row 1, 2, and 3, in Fallout 3, in Fallout New Vegas...

I imagine people will actually refer to us by our primary Role if anything.... Solo, Netrunner, Med-tech, etc...

Fuck the computer decinding my name... at that point it might as well decide my personality too... bollocks to that.

Wow, you didn't get my point at all.. I said, we have to be called something. We can't be nameless. I don't want my character to be called "That guy over there" Even a nickname would work. I never played Saints Row, but both in Fallout 3 and in New Vegas we had a nickname. In Fallout 3 we were called Lone Wanderer. In New Vegas, we were called Courier. Do you get my point now? We need a name.
 
Wow, you didn't get my point at all.. I said, we have to be called something. We can't be nameless. I don't want my character to be called "That guy over there" Even a nickname would work. I never played Saints Row, but both in Fallout 3 and in New Vegas we had a nickname. In Fallout 3 we were called Lone Wanderer. In New Vegas, we were called Courier. Do you get my point now? We need a name.

Which is why I said:
"I imagine people will actually refer to us by our primary Role if anything.... Solo, Netrunner, Med-tech, etc..."

Or at least some variation on that theme, like Killer (solo), Doc (Medtech, Suit (Corp), etc....
 
Which is why I said:
"I imagine people will actually refer to us by our primary Role if anything.... Solo, Netrunner, Med-tech, etc..."

Or at least some variation on that theme, like Killer (solo), Doc (Medtech, Suit (Corp), etc....

What, you want your romance option to call you a "Suit"? (Oh Suit, i love you.) Or one of your friends call you "Killer, where are you?" Do you consider that as unique?

We should at least have a nickname (or a codename) that they can call us with. In character creation, they can give us a few nickname options and we could pick one there. Even that would mean they will have to record a lot more lines than they would have if we had a last name instead. But at least that would be special. Instead of a supposedly special name no one in the world really knows but you.
 
Wow, you didn't get my point at all.. I said, we have to be called something. We can't be nameless. I don't want my character to be called "That guy over there" Even a nickname would work. I never played Saints Row, but both in Fallout 3 and in New Vegas we had a nickname. In Fallout 3 we were called Lone Wanderer. In New Vegas, we were called Courier. Do you get my point now? We need a name.
That's more of a 'signifier' than a name. Your previous examples were given surnames, like in Dragon Age and Mass Effect, so you can probably see how we misunderstood your meaning.

I don't feel we need an actual title or nickname to be called by. I am happy with different people refering to me personally by various terms. Chombata, Homie, Asshole, whatever works for the individual. But being refered to personally by some means, yes, I agree with that.
 
That's more of a 'signifier' than a name. Your previous examples were given surnames, like in Dragon Age and Mass Effect, so you can probably see how we misunderstood your meaning.

I don't feel we need an actual title or nickname to be called by. I am happy with different people refering to me personally by various terms. Chombata, Homie, Asshole, whatever works for the individual. But being refered to personally by some means, yes, I agree with that.

I gave those examples because i prefer to have a surname than a nickname. But a nickname would work as well. Like in the movie Matrix, you can have the nickname Morpheus, Neo, Trinity, Niobe. You can also have Hades, Oracle, Prophet and Osiris... Hell you can call yourself Ra for all i care. It is important what your close friends call you in game.
 
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