Constructive discussion ( Romances) Plz

[HeWhoWobbles]

I understand some of you come into this discussion with personal feelings on the matter but this thread is for constructive conversation only and an opportunity to try see each others points without slamming others.


Subject Points

Character/romance consistency: How did you find the experience from a plausibility standpoint and how did it come across, did it fit the given scenario for the gender you chose and if not what could be done to improve?
Romance Interactivity: Did you feel this was fleshed out properly from an RPG perspective and did it reflect the scene well enough?
Scene Believability: What can be done to better represent / confirm a players sexual preference in game and with regards to how the characters treat V when romance options / scenes come up.

_______________________

Many have already voiced strongly including myself on why this is an important area to cover, I would politely ask that if you are happy with how the games romance options resulted, please take into account this is an RPG and individual experiences still matter and should be allowed to explain on the subject, this should be discussed reasonably.

Keep in mind that just because something is of artistic vision / writing shouldn't mean it's a closed topic for constructive conversation, if this thread should become heated mods may close it so please remain witty but also cool and not hostile.

Thanks.

Again, Lets keep this Reasonable.

 

[Zaccarato]

The romances (Panam/Judy) are amazing... riight up until the end of Pyramid Song/Queen of the Highway. We need more content to take place after the final mission so they actually feel alive. This can take the form of a further mission chain, or hell, just have Judy do something else other than stand by the window, as an example. More text messages would be a plus too, and require practically no work to implement.

The actual missions and everything beforehand are absolutely stellar, I have no issues with that. Pyramid Song is the best mission in the game imo.

There are a few points in the game that do not let you play out the V you have envisioned and created. The two that spring to mind for me is V referring to her relationship with Judy to Panam as "Off and On" (dialogue option if you romance Judy before finding Hellman), and, probably more strikingly, is FemV referring to past boyfriends as the only option during the River questine, when he invites you to his house.

Kerry and River need work, but I can't comment because I have done neither.

 

[Hexagon-Sun]

Well, for starters the characters should probably be given the same amount of attention. From what I've read in the forums and from the game itself it's clear that the male characters were given way less attention than the females.
I personally don't care all that much for this feature in games but I think this isn't fair for those who do. That's all can say about this subject though since I'm not that invested in it.

 

[HeWhoWobbles]

I do agree River seems very underdeveloped from a Player to character aspect so I can see why most didn't click with him from a romance take, but he is a very enjoyable character generally, I hope future DLC's help structure him better when interacting with V.

 

[OrigNN]

By industry standards (which aren't that high), all of the romances were pretty good on all of the points you mentioned. (River was underdeveloped)

 

[HeWhoWobbles]

Fair point and in many ways I feel that's why this game should have set the bar to become the standard.

 

[ReneAensland]

I haven't done Kerry because I stopped playing the game but....I'm just not interested in Kerry.
I would have Loved Takemura as an option but....I don't know what happens in the end game either.

More JoyToy options would be awesome as well...I'm not interested anything Long Term either.

 

[HeWhoWobbles]

@ReneAensland Agree'd the lack of JoyToy's in a city is kind of funny given what most of us expected from this particular genre, I would encourage you to return to the game eventually as I do feel things will be improved.

 

[OG_VELI]

The romances (Panam/Judy) are amazing... riight up until the end of Pyramid Song/Queen of the Highway. We need more content to take place after the final mission so they actually feel alive. This can take the form of a further mission chain, or hell, just have Judy do something else other than stand by the window, as an example. More text messages would be a plus too, and require practically no work to implement.

The actual missions and everything beforehand are absolutely stellar, I have no issues with that. Pyramid Song is the best mission in the game imo.

There are a few points in the game that do not let you play out the V you have envisioned and created. The two that spring to mind for me is V referring to her relationship with Judy to Panam as "Off and On" (dialogue option if you romance Judy before finding Hellman), and, probably more strikingly, is FemV referring to past boyfriends as the only option during the River questine, when he invites you to his house.

Kerry and River need work, but I can't comment because I have done neither.

Honestly, this sums up everything you need to hear.

You can also check this thread for a more in-depth analysis regarding this topic:

Romance: Quality over quantity, V

Thread summary and disclaimer There will be spoilers. This thread doesn't advocate for less romance options it mainly wishes to address issues with current romances for the mutual benefit of the future ones we wish to see as well. Please engage in the discussion even though maybe none of the...

forums.cdprojektred.com

 

[ReneAensland]

@ReneAensland Agree'd the lack of JoyToy's in a city is kind of funny given what most of us expected from this particular genre, I would encourage you to return to the game eventually as I do feel things will be improved.

Yeah, I stopped playing at 30% completion because the city feels dead.
I'll come back in a year or so.

 

[JuanEvil]

By industry standards (which aren't that high), all of the romances were pretty good on all of the points you mentioned. (River was underdeveloped)

I strongly disagree with this. Kerry romance arc is so rushed and underdeveloped that I find very hard to even call it a "romance". Don't get me wrong, I love his character, but you can't even flirt with him in his quests and then the option to kiss him came out of nowhere. Plus Johnny never says anything if you romance him. It's pretty obvious that they did not put enough effort into Kerry and River romances compared to Judy and Panam.

 

[HeWhoWobbles]

@JuanEvil On that topic how would you improve this going forward?

 

[JuanEvil]

@JuanEvil On that topic how would you improve this going forward?

Maybe they could do the same thing they did with Triss romance in The Witcher? I heard some people saying that they added new scenes with her due to players feedback. If they add a few more scenes with Kerry where they show him and V flirting, Jonhny teasing V for dating his old best friend, small things like that I think it would improve the experience a lot.
Beyond that I belive that adding more scenes and quests with Judy/Panam/Kerry/River after their sex scene would be the best thing to do.

 

[Krul2k]

All characters are expertly writing and voiced, the npc's in question arcs/missions are good, getting to know them and allow trust to form feels natural but the actual "romance" from all is, sorry to say, virtually non existent for all of them.

Just as something happens, just as that trust is realized, just as you the player can come to feel something for whats growing it all ends and everyone of the npc's is relegated to a static position forever repeating the same lines with you being giving access to new digs you can do absolutely nothing in with again zero interacting between said npc an again zero AI of said npc with any of there surrounding.

How you get to this point is as i've said some of the best most natural writing i've experienced in a game greatly voiced and if there is anything positive about it it's that because there is so little, virtually non existent, "romantic" content there is still so much potential and many ways for them to go with it for good or bad.

About your last point. I dont need a way to express my sexual preference anymore than whats been done, i dont need to shout and tell ppl im gay, straight, bi whatever, my character being who they are and becoming involved with who they do does all the talking for them. The only scene that needs any sort of new dialogue is a female V telling River she is either in a relationship or she is gay, preferably both.

 

[yota71]

reasonable when we talk about judy and panam, almost impossibile

 

[HeWhoWobbles]

reasonable when we talk about judy and panam, almost impossibile

Please Try, I'm practically Satan and even I'm making the effort lol

 

[EuphoricM]

Can only speak for the Judy arc:

1. Character/romance consistency: Although I'm all for player choice I would be lying if I said I didn't like that Judy had her own sexual orientation. Progression felt pretty natural, transition between Judy looking to change clouds to being interested in V was a little bit rushed, but aside from that, I though it was preem work.
2. Romance Interactivity: I think this is the lowest point for all romances honestly. Once the LI arc is done, there is very little possible interaction. Like, relationship just started. This needs a major overhaul, specially after main LI arc. Things like moving in, more random texts, reactions to missions, voice calls, have LI react to new characters, have them have a schedule instead of have Judy looking through a window forever, different dialogues, things like that.
3. Scene Believability: This is by far the current strongest point, there are very powerful scenes in the LI's story arc. IMO CDPR did a fantastic job here.

 

[Fuse_00]

The problem with romances is linked directly to the problem with a story and the entire game itself. Romances just feel incomplete, rushed and somehow a lot like an extra content for the game (except for maybe Panam). These characters - Judy, and especially(!) River and Kerry, just not involved in the story much, they are nothing but a "side quest" you complete and forgot about it.

I don't seek something like "hey cousin let's go bowling" from RPG, but I compare it with Witcher series, where friendly NPC and LI accompany Geralt all the way. You can't call them out or visit them whenever you like, but they pop up here and there during the whole game, you always feel their presence at your side.
Bioware games do the same way too.

Cyberpunk doesn't. And it is actually not only about LI, but about V's friends also. Like Misty seems to be close friend, but we can hardly see her twice in a game for 5 min dialogs. Or Takemura, or Jackie's mom, or Victor. Maybe that was the idea, like V is the lonely wolf, I don't know. But all relations feel empty and leading to nothing, V has no connections at all except for Johnny.

 

[acakomandos]

I personally romanced Judy, I played as a Nomad and I loved romancing up until end. After it finished I hoped to get a chance to hang out, do some gigs, heck why not another hot scene etc. Like I get it this not romace or porn simmulator or real life simulator BUT even GTA 5 has options to hang out at a bar. I would forgive even 3 same sentences she is always saying for a chance to do some gigs togheter. Whole romancing felt like a cheap achievement. "congrats you had sex now fuck off (s)he dosent exist". I felt like they could have done more

 

[HeWhoWobbles]

I personally romanced Judy, I played as a Nomad and I loved romancing up until end. After it finished I hoped to get a chance to hang out, do some gigs, heck why not another hot scene etc. Like I get it this not romace or porn simmulator or real life simulator BUT even GTA 5 has options to hang out at a bar. I would forgive even 3 same sentences she is always saying for a chance to do some gigs togheter. Whole romancing felt like a cheap achievement. "congrats you had sex now fuck off (s)he dosent exist". I felt like they could have done more

At least you felt you achieved something some of us just felt like, welp shouldn't have been male V... shrugs... be it too little too late, all those moments lost in time, like tears in rain