Character Customization!

[Tieco]

In the PnP game it was a stat, but people generally went for one extreme or the other. Both actually had advantages and disads. The incredibly beautiful (by who standards BTW?) could create negative reaction from some, because it was really evident you were a fake (a very good looking fake....) Of course if your character was into seducing people to get info or a Rockerboy/girl, it was kinda expected because it was the basis for Wardrobe / Style rolls.(I.e dress to impress) These kind of rolls were needed to infiltrate high society events. On the other side, street punks might be viewed as having more cred with heavy tats and cyber than some glam job. Pretty people get all the wrong type of attention in the Combat Zone, unless they have body guards, lots of body guards.

As Shavod points out, they may need to design it so that a really high, or low score, helps one skill and hinders another. e.g. a low stat helps with intimidate rolls and hurts seduction checks (at least in high society situations). Given the core rule of "Style over Substance" Attractiveness may be unavoidable.

 

[Suhiira]

The problem with attractiveness stat in the game with character customization is that you can easily create a dissonance in gameplay by creating an abomination with high attractiveness level. One way around it, that I can see, is specifying this skill in the game as some sort of personal charm, instead of physical appearance, that allows you to look attractive for other people, even when your character looks like it has been dragged face down through the asphalt with a fast moving car. In other words, when your character is ugly, with high attractiveness skill it becomes fascinatingly ugly. On the other hand, if your character is customized in a way to appear sexy, but it's attractiveness is low, it basically turns into Johnny Bravo.

Hardly a new problem, it's one PnP games have delt with for years. Of course PnP games have a GM to enforce some common sense. With a single-player video game does it really matter if the character sprite is handsome yet the character stat says's they're ugly? Now for multi-player, yes, there should be some consistency between the two, but again, CP2077 isn't going to be an MMO. So if someone that's created a character with wildly different stats/appearance wants to join YOUR server tell them to fix it or tell them to bugger off.

 

[Sardukhar]

In the PnP game it was a stat, but people generally went for one extreme or the other.

Not our experience. In any of my groups. The problem with really ugly is it screwed any chance of social interaction pretty hard. Wardrobe and Style was like the go-to stat for checking initial impressions.
And like a high ATTR, it made you memorable. Not great for certain Roles and variations on roles.

High ATTR had all it's own challenges. Great first impression and very memorable. Lots of dates - people want to see you just for how you look. If you statted to 8-10 ATTR and didn't surgery it, even more impressive. You had a style for that.

Problem is, you have to follow that up with Personal Grooming, high Cool to be cool and high Empathy for things like Social and Persuade. High empathy? That means less cyberware and drug use...

So yeah, viable play style but definitely had challenges.

Most people went 4-6 ATTR unless Rockerboy, Media and the occasional Corp or Eurosolo.

 

[Suhiira]

As Sardukhar said, exceptionally high, or low, values created their own problems. Like him most of my players stayed in the 4-6 range unless they had a reason to go extreme. Most Edgerunners really don't want to stand out in a crowd (another reason very few went full borg in my game).

I once had a player that took this to an "extreme" tho, John Doe, all his stats were 5, brown hair, brown eyes, average height/weight ... but he had some skills and "hidden" cyberware to make up for it. He turned out to be a pretty interesting character.

Sure, your "Power Gamers" might well go for the extremes, but that type of player doesn't tend to do well unless they're in a group with other "Power Gamers" because they tend to annoy normal players.

 

[Sardukhar]

Sure, your "Power Gamers" might well go for the extremes, but that type of player doesn't tend to do well unless they're in a group with other "Power Gamers" because they tend to annoy normal players.

Also because a well-run Cpunk game tends to the as-realistic-as-possible-while-fun side and that means people that min/max go splat when they hit the area that they went "min" in. Or get really frustrated, same result.

 

[Suhiira]

Also because a well-run Cpunk game tends to the as-realistic-as-possible-while-fun side and that means people that min/max go splat when they hit the area that they went "min" in. Or get really frustrated, same result.

Yeah, it's always very amusing when you confront them with "realistic" responses and opposition.

 

[DannyCortz]

or APB.

>Oh wow.
>That game.
>Those times where awesome.
>I remember creating my fallout boy character from it.
>Even created it by having a blond hair and blue suit and yellow lines.
>All exactly as in the game, it was amazing the way I came up with the customization.

 

[RLKing1969]

Haha, TESTIFY!

When I'm done with this game, it's going to be crying for its mommy.

More like you'll be crying like a whipped puppy, choomba....

 

[RLKing1969]

You know, as much as I want my character creator - and 3D printer! - I REALLY want every damn piece of gear I put on or IN my character to show and modify the character I've created. If I get flamboyant pink Tech-Hair ( Hint: use this to cover up the skull-plate you are going to need. Head hits double damage, kids!), then I want it to override my current hair BUT leave the awesome Fu-manchu stache I already had.

I've thought about going "full retro" We're talking Humphrey Bogart retro. Old school suit, Fedora, The whole shebang.

 

[RLKing1969]

I've thought about going "full retro" We're talking Humphrey Bogart retro. Old school suit, Fedora, The whole shebang.

And I can just picture my typical catch phrases: "Here's looking at you....in infrared, kid." "Brother, can you spare a 9." etc.

 

[Sardukhar]

And I can just picture my typical catch phrases: "Here's looking at you....in infrared, kid." "Brother, can you spare a 9." etc.

Those were terrible.

 

[RLKing1969]

Those were terrible.

Thought you'd like it. Here's another one: "Slay it again, Sam."

 

[Sardukhar]

Thought you'd like it.

"Play it, Agan-san".

 

[RLKing1969]

"Play it, Agan-san".

Right!

 

[Rawls]

There are so many great quotes in the movie that fit right into CP.

"And remember, this gun is pointed right at your heart."
"That is my least vulnerable spot."

 

[Tieco]

And I can just picture my typical catch phrases: "Here's looking at you....in infrared, kid." "Brother, can you spare a 9." etc.

Quoting a mid 1900s movie on an early 2000s forum that is discussing retro would be in the late 2000s....

 

[Rawls]

Hey noir fiction dialogue is timeless

 

[RLKing1969]

Quoting a mid 1900s movie on an early 2000s forum that is discussing retro would be in the late 2000s....

I think you are missing the joke. In many circles, the idea of film noir is considered very Cyberpunk. Not because of the tech level, but because of the dark, gritty feel of the genre'. Besides, Bogart was cool and having a CP2077 version of that, in my opinion, would be classic.

 

[RLKing1969]

Hey noir fiction dialogue is timeless

RIGHT! You get it!

 

[Lisbeth_Salander]

Customization in CP2077 should happen frequently, and to do such thing players should have the need to use different types of clothes more frequently too

Spoiler

(unlike Witcher 3).