My List of "Must-Have's" for CP2 in 2032

[Cyberdude]

I realistically dont expect CP2 to release before 2032 if its to expand its scope in proportion to Witcher 2 over Witcher 1 so here is a list of my future self expecting from CP2 in 2032.

1. Multiplayer with numerous game modes. This alone would be years of development.
2. In game store
3. No mesh clipping.
4. Seamless animation transitions. No walking at right angles, glitching over curbs and fences, etc.
5. Remove all "gamey" UI. Use in world animations, diagetic UI. After all we have cyber optics.
6. More sandbox, less set pieces and story. Let the world be a living world with characters and motivations. Less scripted "gamey" sequences and forced narratives. Let players choose which NPCs to interact with and that becomes their story.
7. Normies love big set pieces. But let the world happenings feel more natural and logical. Lotsnof base game and PL events had big set pieces and stakes but ultimately werent very logical.
8. Natural clothing with physics. Coats should hang and move with coat physics. Not look glued to the player.
9. Do away with fake FPS camera views. Look at the player shadows in CP2077 and you will see what I mean. In 2032 we should be evolved enough to not have to see everything at nose level like in original doom. Let the body animations be consistent with real anatomy and physics.
10. Base/hideout/home building.
12. Random city encounters, gang attacks etc
13. Respawning missions like cyberpsycho or NCPD.
14. Vehicle customization. Vehicle theft. A garage where you can see your collection.
15. 30+ fashion body slots. Like equipment EX
16. Recolor clothes, armor etc
17. No pop-in whatsoever.
18. Sit anywhere, eat enywhere, with animations.
19. Gang factions with reputation. Can join gangs. E.g. fallout new vegas
20. A crew with other characters. Either NPCs you recruit and take on missions or other characters you create.
21. No frame hitches when crossing load zones
22. 3rd person views for cutscenes, instant replay, sitting/eating, waiting around etc.
23. Video instant replay. Take photo mode to the next level. If i have an awesome fight sequence, i want to see an instant replay. Either first or third person view. To record and share.
24. Dozens of voices to choose from. My Haitian voodoo boy sounds ridiculous with current white male V voice. Just use AI.
25. Every building has some kind of interior. Nothing sucks more than exploring the world and every door is fake. Use AI to build out all the random buildings. Let us break into buildings, steal stuff, fight the gangoons etc.
26. More braindances, detective work.
27. Professions instead of life paths. If i want to play a cyber detective for example. Or a trauma team.
28. 8k photo mode, instant replay.
29. Digital clothes
30. Usable mechs
31. Weaponized bikes
32. Arasaka, militech and gang versions of bikes e.g. wraith bike
33. Smart knives, shurikens.
34. No more suicide simulator endings.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

I realistically dont expect CP2 to release before 2032

To be honest, I except the next Cyberpunk to be released a bit sooner than 2032, knowing that they won't have to deal with their own engine anymore and a studio in Boston already "work" on Orion (code name for the next Cyberpunk game).
-----
Beside, there is two point that I disagree and don't think it will happen, which is :

6. More sandbox, less set pieces and story.

Knowning CDPR already announced they will keep making "open-world story-driven RPG", so I assume their next games (The Witcher & Cyberpunk) will be focused on story, like always. Afterall, that's for what CDPR is known to be good at.

24. Dozens of voices to choose from. My Haitian voodoo boy sounds ridiculous with current white male V voice. Just use AI.

Oh no. For now, AI can't replace good "human voice acting". Voice acting in Cyberpunk is outstanding and I don't see how an AI could even come close (and as good in all languages that I assume the game will be available). So I prefer less choice but with better quality, so human voice acting.
------
For your other points, well, we will see I guess

 

[Cyberdude]

And yeah I'm not saying no story. I'm saying more organic story vs a stage play or linear story. Make the world more dynamic.

I think by 2032 movie games will feel dated.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

I think by 2032 movie games will feel dated.

Not sure what do you mean by "movie games" or "organic story".
But there were, there are and there will be always players which like to play games for good stories

 

[GrimReaper801]

Oh no. For now, AI can't replace good "human voice acting". Voice acting in Cyberpunk is outstanding and I don't see how an AI could even come close (and as good in all languages that I assume the game will be available). So I prefer less choice but with better quality, so human voice acting.

While I agree with the rest of your post, on this, AI really isn't that far behind to be honest. There are already specific situations where AI has been shown to be almost indistinguishable from a real human being.

It's not ready for voice acting yet but AI has improved by leaps and bounds in that department over the last two years and I can only imagine what can be achieved in 4 years, let alone the 8 years to 2032.

And yeah I'm not saying no story. I'm saying more organic story vs a stage play or linear story. Make the world more dynamic.

I think by 2032 movie games will feel dated.

"Movie" games will always be a thing. As @LeKill3rFou said, many people play games for exactly that. Many play games exclusively for that. It's not going away. If by 2032 you feel all of these games are dated based on that alone, all it means is that you're not the target audience.

As for your OP, frankly, almost everything on there is a matter of preference and not related to technological limitations. Most of it exists already. The problem is having all of them together. You may want them all together but it's just ignoring the realities of game development. More precisely, financial resources to make it all happen.

I'm sure every development studio out there would love to be able to "do it all" and just provide people with the ultimate gaming experience but it's just not possible. You'll always be limited by how much you can afford to throw at development and, equally importantly, your return on this investment.

This is also something that AI could eventually help with immensely but it's not there yet and I wouldn't expect it to make enough of a difference by the early 2030s. I could be wrong, of course.

 

[Bartinga2077]

I realistically dont expect CP2 to release before 2032

I wouldn't be surprised if Cyberpunk 2 would already launch in 2027. They now have the expertise and experience to build it. Whether it'll be just as good or even better as the first, remains to be seen, but yeah, I'm aiming and hoping for 2027.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

While I agree with the rest of your post, on this, AI really isn't that far behind to be honest. There are already specific situations where AI has been shown to be almost indistinguishable from a real human being.

It's not ready for voice acting yet but AI has improved by leaps and bounds in that department over the last two years and I can only imagine what can be achieved in 4 years, let alone the 8 years to 2032.

Yeah, true
And knowing how costly voice acting is, I have no doubt that studios are very interested and will try to make it possible. But on another hand, I hope it won't because it wouldn't offer a bright futur for voice actor.
"Sorry guys, we don't need you anymore... Find another job"

 

[devivre]

I’d say there will still be closed doors and limitations in the next CP. There are many large towers with lots of apartments, not small little houses. Making too much of that accessible just for the sake of it seems problematic to me. Sure, interiors could be randomly generated to minimise the costs, but that sandboxy approach never felt right to me, as it takes away from story and immersion.

I agree that AI voiceovers are already surprisingly good - in one or two years it might be reliable enough even for bigger games. However, in a story driven game I still would prefer proper voice actors for main characters at the very least.

Many story paths with lots of flexibility always sound nice but it‘s no coincidence that game studios are doing that less and less the past 15 years. Games have gotten a lot more expensive and risky after all which doesn‘t work well with different story paths in very large games.

I guess we will see if Sandbox-MMO-Service Games (the list from above reminds me of that…) are still going to be as popular in a few years. It‘s an insanely time consuming type of genre. At some point players might actually go back to shorter gaming experiences again. It might already be too late to start developing a game for that particular audience. We will see.

As for narrative games in general - I think that games with a mix of great story and fun gameplay will continue to be able to sell very well, especially since that particular combination is getting rarer and rarer on AAA+ Level.

 

[SpookyFX]

Yeah, true
And knowing how costly voice acting is, I have no doubt that studios are very interested and will try to make it possible. But on another hand, I hope it won't because it wouldn't offer a bright futur for voice actor.
"Sorry guys, we don't need you anymore... Find another job"

They have already used AI voice in movies you just do not realize it yet. The based on actual actors voices. AI can replicate the voice qualities but you still want a real actor to bring all the voice qualities to the table. James Earl Jones contracted his voice for Darth Vader for future films where he Vadar will appear. Johnny Cash voice as well (by his surviving family) for some of the songs that he wrote but did not record yet. As long as the voice actors are compensated for their voice contribution then it is no different than motion capture of an actor body movements and gestures that is combined in programs to create animations.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

They have already used AI voice in movies you just do not realize it yet. The based on actual actors voices. AI can replicate the voice qualities but you still want a real actor to bring all the voice qualities to the table. James Earl Jones contracted his voice for Darth Vader for future films where he Vadar will appear. Johnny Cash voice as well (by his surviving family) for some of the songs that he wrote but did not record yet. As long as the voice actors are compensated for their voice contribution then it is no different than motion capture of an actor body movements and gestures that is combined in programs to create animations.

Oh, I'm not worried for the "famous/known" voices. For a Keanu, Idris or Cherami Leigh I don't think AI would be a real problem. I'm a bit more worried (maybe wrong) for unknown or at least "less known" guys who for example, currently voice random street vendors, enemies, minor NPCs.

 

[Spockprime]

Condensed version:

Multiplayer -- Disagree
In game store -- Disagree
Better clipping, pop-in, frame rates -- The new engine should help, but it has to be balanced for a wide variety of systems.
More sandbox, less set pieces and story. -- Disagree. I want a good story, followed by a Sandbox.
Better clothing options and clothing physics -- Agree
Better first-person implementation -- Agree
Dynamic, alive city with a variety of ongoing activities we can participate in -- Agree
Crew and/or companion dynamics -- Agree
Better photo mode and instant replay -- Don't care.
More voice choices -- I want quality over quantity. Other than that, I don't care.
No rabbit holes or fake doors -- Somewhat agree, but within reason. Autogenerating thousands of interiors would bloat the game.
Professions -- Don't care, but I would like to own real estate.
Usable mechs, weaponized bikes -- Don't care.
Smart knives, shurikens. -- What's a smart knife?
No more suicide simulator endings -- Agree x 100
Likely won't be out until 2032 -- Disagree. We're not going to have a decade between games.

 

[northwold]

I want them to turn down the sewer smells and include an option to reduce temperature effects because I don't like having to wear a coat and scarf for the ice level.

 

[GrimReaper801]

Yeah, true
And knowing how costly voice acting is, I have no doubt that studios are very interested and will try to make it possible. But on another hand, I hope it won't because it wouldn't offer a bright futur for voice actor.
"Sorry guys, we don't need you anymore... Find another job"

It's why a lot of voice actors are actively fighting against AI. Or at least, the current way some companies have tried to implement AI voices.

it's an extremely important battle too because it's voice actors for now but I fear a lot of people will face the same battle within the next two decades.

Thr sooner there is a legislative framework around AI, the better.

 

[tavellone]

You have a very specific yet at the same time very dull list of desires.

 

[Mag1kfingers]

I realistically dont expect CP2 to release before 2032 if its to expand its scope in proportion to Witcher 2 over Witcher 1 so here is a list of my future self expecting from CP2 in 2032.

1. Multiplayer with numerous game modes. This alone would be years of development.
2. In game store
3. No mesh clipping.
4. Seamless animation transitions. No walking at right angles, glitching over curbs and fences, etc.
5. Remove all "gamey" UI. Use in world animations, diagetic UI. After all we have cyber optics.
6. More sandbox, less set pieces and story. Let the world be a living world with characters and motivations. Less scripted "gamey" sequences and forced narratives. Let players choose which NPCs to interact with and that becomes their story.
7. Normies love big set pieces. But let the world happenings feel more natural and logical. Lotsnof base game and PL events had big set pieces and stakes but ultimately werent very logical.
8. Natural clothing with physics. Coats should hang and move with coat physics. Not look glued to the player.
9. Do away with fake FPS camera views. Look at the player shadows in CP2077 and you will see what I mean. In 2032 we should be evolved enough to not have to see everything at nose level like in original doom. Let the body animations be consistent with real anatomy and physics.
10. Base/hideout/home building.
12. Random city encounters, gang attacks etc
13. Respawning missions like cyberpsycho or NCPD.
14. Vehicle customization. Vehicle theft. A garage where you can see your collection.
15. 30+ fashion body slots. Like equipment EX
16. Recolor clothes, armor etc
17. No pop-in whatsoever.
18. Sit anywhere, eat enywhere, with animations.
19. Gang factions with reputation. Can join gangs. E.g. fallout new vegas
20. A crew with other characters. Either NPCs you recruit and take on missions or other characters you create.
21. No frame hitches when crossing load zones
22. 3rd person views for cutscenes, instant replay, sitting/eating, waiting around etc.
23. Video instant replay. Take photo mode to the next level. If i have an awesome fight sequence, i want to see an instant replay. Either first or third person view. To record and share.
24. Dozens of voices to choose from. My Haitian voodoo boy sounds ridiculous with current white male V voice. Just use AI.
25. Every building has some kind of interior. Nothing sucks more than exploring the world and every door is fake. Use AI to build out all the random buildings. Let us break into buildings, steal stuff, fight the gangoons etc.
26. More braindances, detective work.
27. Professions instead of life paths. If i want to play a cyber detective for example. Or a trauma team.
28. 8k photo mode, instant replay.
29. Digital clothes
30. Usable mechs
31. Weaponized bikes
32. Arasaka, militech and gang versions of bikes e.g. wraith bike
33. Smart knives, shurikens.
34. No more suicide simulator endings.

That's .. quite a list.

IF it's not released until 2032 (I personally doubt it's going to take that long. It's much faster to build upon than to start new.), some of that might be more feasible than others.

The problem with that huge list is simple: Economics.

Right now, games are already breaking the $100 range. We can go on and on discussing the corpogreed part of the equation, but it comes down to this (underneath all the other stuff): If it costs more to make, it will cost more for the consumer.

Not only that but the more high-end stuff you have on it, the harder it will be to retrofit it to older hardware. So you'd be excluding a large part of the customer base with mid-range equipment instead of top of the line. That mid-range is where most of the money is made.

Open-world "sandbox" environments are processor-intensive. Even if you use "cookie cutter' parts of it, it's going to be intensive. It'll be even more intensive to use AI for this stuff because the AI will run on the end-user PC/Console and use up system resources that could better be used for other things that make the game more playable.

Personally - I'd like to see the game make an evolutionary change, introduce new stories into the Cyberpunk universe, and keep the gritty, film noir aspect of the game. Especially the Phantom Liberty story - I felt like that had a lot of avenues that could have been explored, but then see my comment about the economics of the game.

No matter what, I'm very much anticipating the next release. I tried it when it first came out for about 10 minutes and gave up because of the state it was at release. I set it aside until just before Phantom Liberty and WOW. My hopes are very high for the next release.

 

[Cyberdude]

In no particular order. Some things here are repeated from my other list, but included here for completeness.

1. Multi-player. Perhaps it has game modes or just allows for anyone to jump in your game, or invade your game (invading netrunners!) Like Elden Ring or Deathloop
1a. Co-op campaign
2. VR support. With actual cyberspace missions. Metaquest minigame or PC VR headset support like Valve Index.
3. Wallrunning/Jumping
4. Arial vehicles
5. 3rd person instant replay (in game), for posting videos, photo modes, etc This is different than just using gforce replay because the game has to use 3rd person camera and the body animations have to be built. For example, if I use air dash and kerezikov to do a headshot, what does this look like in 3rd person instant replay? My body should be in a pose that makes sense for jumping and dashing (e.g. no t-pose)
6. Equipment XL equivalent body clothing system
7. Diagetic UI and animations (e.g. vendor handing you food and eating it, putting guns in your trophy room etc)
8. Vehicle customization, weapons, colors, mods
9. Deeper weapon customization
10. Base/Hideout building, decorating
11. Repelling
13. More than 25% buildings have interiors with people or encounters that respawn. Use AI to help build out 100's or 1000's of interiors like warehouses, office buildings, factories, etc. Each will be slightly different of course and not copy pasted because of the gen AI.
14. Megabuilding dungeons, encounters or missions that respawn. Perhaps this unlocks as an endgame mode or acts as a multiplayer raid setting.
16. More emphasis on gangs, reputation, being part of a gang, starting a gang (with multiplayer!),
17. A crew you recruit (or not if you choose) that hangs out at your hideout and you can select one to go on a mission
18. Tasers
19. A garage to keep your cars
20. Craft your own weapon mods (RNG rolls for stats and combos of stats maybe)
21. Improved quickhack system where there are chances of failure or retaliations making it a bit less automatic
22. Deeper skill trees
23. No "gamey" balance mechanics. Let things be consistent with what you would expect. Example: A weapon mod that is +30% magazine size, -20% accuracy. Doesn't make sense. Also, no "zero-sum" modifiers like +50% bullet speed, -50% dmg (which is a zero sum DPS). We don't want to be a financial wizard to calculate what's good or not. I just skip all these types of weapon mods.
24. Less emphasis on set pieces and story beats and more emphasis on sandbox, living world, immersion, role playing (this is where the real game longevity is)
25. In-game store (let's face it,a big game like this won't have a long revenue tail without this)
26. "Immersive" game settings that turn off game nanny's, markers, trackers, dialog path indicators, etc.
27. Time limited missions. It's super convenient to walk away from a mission and go to other things. Although it's very "gamey" so maybe some missions can be IRL time scoped to give some variation.
28. Multiplayer game "events"
29. Ethnic voices. I want a real voodoo boy voice. Use AI to generate dozens of different voices.
30. Animated photo mode poses. I want a 3rd person view of my character leaning against a wall and lighting a cigarette.
31. Cyberspace missions. Cyberspace needs to be a thing you can "jack in" to and explore. Perhaps there's even a separate skill tree for this.
32. More boss fights. Probably need random generated bosses and encounters to fill the random interiors etc
33. More cyberpsycho's. Perhaps as random encounters as well.
34. Sit/Eat/Lean/Smoke anywhere. First or third person.
35. Fluid animation transitions, foot placements when walking over things (not hopping up and down for example)
36. Next-next-gen facial animations and lips synced to the language. Bad lip syncing is something that's plagued FPS games since the beginning. We need to make a leap here.
38. Real hand movements when steering cars.
39. Better dialog options. A lot of the base game dialog choices were a little odd for V to say given the context.
40. Dialog choices that do something. For example, maybe choosing one gives you a conversation buff that helps resolve a problem. Or unlocks a perk, or gift. Games need to move beyond the old "choose of bunch of flavor text until you choose the only option to move forward" dialog system. It can be a minigame in itself to explore dialog options that have some tiny reward or impact (that makes sense of course - not gamey stuff).

 

[LeKill3rFou]

36. Next-next-gen facial animations and lips synced to the language. Bad lip syncing is something that's plagued FPS games since the beginning. We need to make a leap here.

Seriously? For you, it's a problem in Cyberpunk 2077?
I mean, CDPR used JALI which is freaking amazing when it come to lip syncing on several languages... (11 to be precise).

 

[PillowEgg3]

 

[Cyberdude]

Seriously? For you, it's a problem in Cyberpunk 2077?
I mean, CDPR used JALI which is freaking amazing when it come to lip syncing on several languages... (11 to be precise).

I mean, it's not bad compared to existing games, but it still doesn't look 100% natural to me. In the game that is. I'm sure the technology is far more capable than what is currently in CP. Don't forget they had to make a lot of concessions to get it to work on consoles.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

I mean, it's not bad compared to existing games, but it still doesn't look 100% natural to me.

"Not bad compared to existing games"? Seriously?
It's better than 99.9% of all the games ever released... and very in 11 languages. I don't say it can't be improved, but among the things that Cyberpunk achieved greatly, facial animations and lip-synching is sure one of them.
In my opinion, there are tons of other things that CDPR can greatly improve instead of facial animation/lip-synching