Character Customization!

[Sardukhar]

Actually. Actually. I think Flash has a good idea.

Seriously, Wisdom, think about it. I dunno if you played Fallout or Arcanum, ( well, I'm pretty sure you never played Arcanum) but one of the neat things they did was to provide you a quite deep character generator AND some premades.

Each of the premades had a neat writeup and history, and perks.

So why not make prebuilt templates using the Lifepath ( which had BETTER be what they call the char gen) for the CP2020 icons like Morgan and Alt? You could either update them to 2077 with a stop in cryofreeze or restart them at the beginning of their careers from a Soulkiller/braindance download that some corp had captured years ago and rebuilt.

It's kind of a neat idea, playing one of the icons, ( even Saburo! Ha!) at the start of their career and having suffered some corporate editing, then being injected into Night City 2077.

That way you can rewrite their personality with one of your choosing and still enjoy people staring at you suspiciously, old enemies you never earned, etc. fuN!

 

[darcler]

Detailed character creation, please. There can be a number of pre-made characters available, but I would like to create someone unique, someone only I have, someone only I play as. Especially since CDPR wants to have a feature of printing out your CP character sheet right out of game, so that you can continue playing your character in CP2077 PnP version, with your friends and lots of beer. How cool is that? It would be kind of lame with pre-made characters.

Having said that, I would love different physical features of your character having actual impact in the game. That's one thing I very much miss in virtaully all CRPGs. When I look like a huge badass on steroids, having some random generic NPC treating me like an imbecile is so immersion breaking that it's not even funny. People usually judge other people by looks - don't deny, it's true. And it is understandable, since you obviously can't keep having deep conversations with each and every passerby on the street; you simply choose to avoid this giant guy with a huge scar across his face, even if he's in fact a very nice man if you get to know him.

That's what I would like to have in the game.

Imagine: let's say that I would like to play as a huge, muscular thug with badass clothes and a giant scythe instead of left arm. Normally, when you'd meet someone like that on the street (especially after dark), you'd be intimidated as hell and you'd try to give me a wide berth. Then again, when someone's intimidated (or scared as hell), he won't trust me, so an NPC might just not give me the very cool quest in which I get a very cool item; he'd normally give the quest to a somewhat friendlier-looking person. Oh, and I'd be more likely to be considered a threat by random thugs across the city, sometimes even attacked on sight. So not everything's cool with being badass.

Then I could play as a beautiful girl that can seduce and otherwise influence people she interacts with, gaining trust, winning people over, creating divisions in groups, influencing decisions, getting close to her target - and then unsheathing her huge mantis-like blades... Then again, such a character would undoubtetly get very much attention - including the unwanted kind, the type an attractive woman might get when she stumbles into a shady part of a city at night. Including, yes, an attack.

Or perhaps I could be an average, non-descript guy that is easily forgotten, easily overlooked, able to blend in and live his life mostly undisturbed. This gives him safety, but also freedom, creates opportunities that can be difficult to get for other kinds of characters. But when he'd try to threaten or otherwise influence someone, he'd be most likely mocked, ridiculled or even attacked. And he'd need to constantly prove yourself before people who respect only strength and character.

And so on, and so on. Tweaking your physical appearance can be lots of fun and impact gameplay, if done right. Perhaps my memory fails me right now, but at the moment I can't really recall any game that would have such a feature, at least not to such degree (Dragon Dogma, for instance, had some dependence between physical appearamce (body size, really), weight and strength, which was cool, but sadly limited).

Note that physicality of PCs have nothing to do with roles/classes, but can either supplement or interfere with each role's advantages (and even mitigate some disadvantages as well), so it would create an even bigger degree of customization.

Of course, physical characteristics of PCs could be altered to some degree by using various items, like clothes or implants, or surgery.

I think I could have a lot of fun just trying out new things with my character (no, it didn't sound creepy). And it would be so much more fun to move my unique alter ego from CP 2077 the computer game to CP 2077 the pen-and-paper game.

 

[blank_redge]

@ darcler:

Over in the Wardrobes and Styles thread, I suggested a mechanic for something along these lines. As previously explained, it was for clothing options or hairstyles, but it could easily be expanded to include physical traits of your character. Makes a certain amount of sense, too; if that Nomad pack or that Boostergang is looking someone over for "street cred," they're more likely to acknowledge the person that looks like a scarred, grizzled combat vet, over someone that looks like a fresh-faced kid out of the Corporate 'burbs.

 

[onosendai7]

Well, the most basic caracterisation would be like the one displayed in the ME series : you choose what the character look like, one thing or two about its past and its class. Then, same story all allong.

 

[darcler]

@ darcler:

Over in the Wardrobes and Styles thread, I suggested a mechanic for something along these lines. As previously explained, it was for clothing options or hairstyles, but it could easily be expanded to include physical traits of your character. Makes a certain amount of sense, too; if that Nomad pack or that Boostergang is looking someone over for "street cred," they're more likely to acknowledge the person that looks like a scarred, grizzled combat vet, over someone that looks like a fresh-faced kid out of the Corporate 'burbs.

Sorry, haven't yet ventured that far on the forum But clothing and style could very well add another layer to gameplay, along with body features and implants. All together this could form great space for customization.

And I think that it could also benefit CDPR in marketing terms. When you have a predefined set of characters, you have rather limited customization options - they have to be limited, because otherwise having such pre-made characters would be pointless. But when you can build a character from scratch and really create something unique, something you'd wish others to see, I'm sure there'll be many images and videos of such characters, thus promoting the game itself. And I'm sure some other people will also come to see who they can create.

Just a slight OT

 

[Sardukhar]

Prettttty sure one of the interviews linked in the Known About and FAQ threads - as well as those threads themselves - makes it clear that character customization is IN.

 

[username_3641692]

People reeeeaaad!

 

[darcler]

Yes, well, I kinda know there will be customization in CP2077 But as of yet no one knows how deep or extensive it will be. Strictly speaking, TW2 also had character customization, since you could learn various skills and equip different stuff, and even change your haircut. But still everyone was Geralt of Rivia aka the White Wolf, with the same past and mostly the same gameplay and things to do, etc. And it's fine, I don't mind following someone else's story, if it's good enough (which in TW2 is mostly true). But this time I'd really like to play something different, with a character I can shape according to my needs and whims -- and not have to deal with shallowness of Skyrim. That's my point.

 

[cmdr_silverbolt]

I don't mind having unlimited character customization, or a character made via those means. I will say, however, that it might be fun to include a non-gutter rat option, i.e. powerful pre-mades with their own history and status in this world (see "Icnic Characters" thread).

 

[wisdom000]

I don't mind having unlimited character customization, or a character made via those means. I will say, however, that it might be fun to include a non-gutter rat option, i.e. powerful pre-mades with their own history and status in this world (see "Icnic Characters" thread).

Ah.... as like an unlockable after beating the game.... I wouldn't really mind that.... one of the various DnD games did somethingl ike that way back, where you could Play as Drizzt if you beat the game...

Although honestly, the Iconic characters of Cyberpunk really just never seemed that interesting to me... too perfect, too powerful...

 

[braindancer12]

i totally want the leopard suit from the artwork

Suit up, because this game is going to be LEGEN...wait for it...DARY!

 

[Meccanical]

That is a damn nice jacket.

However what mainly catches my eye is that bracelet of his, smartgun links will be wireless in 2077 maybe? Makes sense.

 

[Sardukhar]

There are mag-duct wireless links in the PnP - no cable needed. Cables are faster, though. Also, wireless,( radio) SG could be hacked. Not a great idea.

 

[Tarathelion]

There will be gender choice in Cyberpunk. Studio head Adam Badowski confirmed it.

 

[Garrison72]

There will be gender choice in Cyberpunk. Studio head Adam Badowski confirmed it.

Link?

 

[Tarathelion]

Link?

Its from podcast posted on polish site "Masa Kultury". http://masakultury.pl/masa-kultury-37-adam-badowski/

Its in polish though. He said you have a choice in this matter. Characters will have backgrounds as well. Other than that he didn't say a lot about cyberpunk.

 

[Meccanical]

I was just considering making a thread about character backgrounds/lifepath but it seems it's already confirmed.

That's good news.

 

[braindancer12]

there should be many options for piercings and tattoos, somethng like this would be cool

 

[Maligna]

I'd like to have it so that picking either one of the two genders opens up some specific missions, options and dialogue. Really make them as different of an experience as possible.

Also, I'd like as much customization as humanly possible. Not silly stuff though, like clown wigs and bear costumes. I mean tons of normal clothes... well I mean "future" normal clothes. Pants, shirts, jackets, shoes in tons of different styles. Too many games give you lots of customization where half of it looks ridiculous.

Also, maybe not have it so that apparel has stats. Because I like to go for a nice look, but sometimes in other games if you want the best stats you end up wearing a random mish-mash of clothing that makes you look like a weirdo.

 

[rad_cow]

I would definitely love an Eve-Online style character customization. For some reason my characters always turn out awesome with it.

Also, body tattoos. Anything from arm sleeves to back tattoos. I really would like to have an almost tribal-esque character. One whose tattoos might tell a story.