Cyberpunk 2020 Daily Facts Conversation Thread!

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SCOP?

New in Red or did I miss it previously?

SCOP stands for "single celled organic protein". Imagine vats where trillions of single celled organisms are cultivated into gel/paste. The concentration and prep method changes the texture of the paste somewhat, and it can then be injected with flavors and molded to resemble various foods.

So, yeah. Like tofu. Except not made out of plants.
 
I do wonder if in the actual game, you can manage to get to go up the ladder in society based on your deeds or the main plot and see a clear change in your (eating) habits.

While I don't expect V to turn into a CEO or similar of sorts (It's called Cyberpunk not, I dunno, Businesspunk), obviousl as you gain more rep and cred and establish contacts, very likely in the mid to higher echelons of key players such as corps like Militech, you surely will see an improvement in living conditions or opportunities. You might just turn into something like a privileged caretaker of problems.

How would you live?

In a dog-eat-dog society like that, surely I'd try to aim to get as high and far as possible. The irony in this mentality is that it keeps this society going. If you basically only have the last end as bare minimum and can only improve and increase your living standard and survival, who wouldn't try to do so? In hierarchies like Corps it might be worse if you're not contend on the lower ranks as people want your position or privileges.

Dog eat dog. You are what you eat.


As I always weave in immersion and roleplay, in the game I'd surely mimic a more expensive or privileged life, use and consume more useful and surely expensive goods. Including food. After all, all the work isn't to continue to live in a "scrap shack" and eat what you can scavenge.

Enjoy life while it lasts. And that includes food.
 
So something of a return to a pre industrial economy.
Room and board alone are considered adequate payment for a days labor.
 
So something of a return to a pre industrial economy.
Room and board alone are considered adequate payment for a days labor.
Many Corp employees *do* get access to corporate housing and meals as part of their employment contract but most still draw salaries of some kind. The sort of meals talked about in a fact like this are more a kind of reward. "You did good on securing that asset, so here's a night out at a really nice place to eat."
 
I was just thinking about the serfdom or bond servant approach to employees.

I'm pretty sure a lot of Corps see themselves as nobility and workers as peasants.
 
Many Corp employees *do* get access to corporate housing and meals as part of their employment contract but most still draw salaries of some kind. The sort of meals talked about in a fact like this are more a kind of reward. "You did good on securing that asset, so here's a night out at a really nice place to eat."

Hm! Interesting angle to play, really. That people may commonly look upon eating as a "chore". They draw no pleasure from it, treating it more like taking medicine. Eating something for enjoyment suddenly becomes this incredibly rare treat...even a status symbol.

I still remember a discussion I had with the family of some of my friends in Britain who were alive during WWII. They were about 12 years old the first time they ever had any sort of candy. They had never had sugar before, and they said it was such a crazy experience. They traded possessions away for chocolate bars and Life Savers. Little details like that are really powerful moment-makers.
 
Little details like that are really powerful moment-makers.


Mm. My PCs will risk life and limb for fresh food now, after months of being homeless and hungry - which affects your stats in not a small way. Plus your GM makes you role-play being hungry. Kind of weirdly effective. They actually snacked more during those sessions.

They are so avid about it, I now give out IP towards their Luck stat when they eat fresh peaches. Which has happened....once now.

When they found them, I imagined a little CRPG <ding!> in my head, heh.

I'm thinking of having the Night City Restaurants ( if they ever make it there alive) gated by Rep.
 
Mm. My PCs will risk life and limb for fresh food now, after months of being homeless and hungry - which affects your stats in not a small way. Plus your GM makes you role-play being hungry. Kind of weirdly effective. They actually snacked more during those sessions.

They are so avid about it, I now give out IP towards their Luck stat when they eat fresh peaches. Which has happened....once now.

When they found them, I imagined a little CRPG <ding!> in my head, heh.

I'm thinking of having the Night City Restaurants ( if they ever make it there alive) gated by Rep.

Including a "food mechanic" like that might be interesting, but it would have to be carefully managed (in CP2077, I mean) so that players couldn't find ways of simply abusing it for wild stat bonuses. (Players are good at finding loopholes like that! :))

I think it might be more impactful to use it as a story-telling element. A handful of times, we see the effect "real food" has on characters. Help to build a sense of what it is to live in this world.

(Although, now that I've read up a bit on it, it seems that much of the synth food isn't really all that bad, just boring. Actually, I can't imagine it would be any worse than people living on fast food, Nissin Noodles cups, and protein bars. Hardly "torture", but you'd definitely appreciate a good steak.

(For the lowest classes, though, I imagine it would be torture. Literally eating a ration of "dog food" every day. A peach would probably be something worth fighting over.)
 
Including a "food mechanic" like that might be interesting, but it would have to be carefully managed (in CP2077, I mean) so that players couldn't find ways of simply abusing it for wild stat bonuses. (Players are good at finding loopholes like that! :))

Yeah, it's tough to loophole me. I'm not very fair. Why I run CPunk, SLA, Warhammer. Yay grimness!

One of the weakness of CRPGs - like 2077 - is the amount of abuse they can be put through to min/max characters.

Food-wise, James was just telling me how to heal after a fight in Skyrim, he ate like 6 wheels of cheese and a whole deer.

Wut?

I do so hope healing in Cyberpunk is problematic, certainly at higher diff levels - and not food related. Maybe a bit - you know, have a bowl of ramen and you heal a bit, but that's it for the day. Kibble heals a point, SCOP 2 and real food 2 plus it temporarily boosts COOL? Something like that would be fun.
 
Yeah, it's tough to loophole me. I'm not very fair. Why I run CPunk, SLA, Warhammer. Yay grimness!

One of the weakness of CRPGs - like 2077 - is the amount of abuse they can be put through to min/max characters.

Food-wise, James was just telling me how to heal after a fight in Skyrim, he ate like 6 wheels of cheese and a whole deer.

Wut?

I do so hope healing in Cyberpunk is problematic, certainly at higher diff levels - and not food related. Maybe a bit - you know, have a bowl of ramen and you heal a bit, but that's it for the day. Kibble heals a point, SCOP 2 and real food 2 plus it temporarily boosts COOL? Something like that would be fun.

I haaate Bethesda's "eat 27 things to heal instantly" mechanic. Granted, it's not their "fault", as lots of games at the time did that...

...but they're definitely one of the studios that should have moved on.

But, naw, for CP2077, I like your idea. Eat a certain food, gain a certain ability "boost" for a while. I just want to feel like that's something special. Not something I can use at will. It might be cool if "real food" were treated sort of like rare potions in other games. PoS.
 
Really digging how the food topic has brought out a depth of discussion that no other topic in the countdown has. Here and in other locations. Really shows how food is central to the human experience.
 
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