The difference between a duck: two legs, both the same.
I think some level of printing could be used, but as we're early days development of economic application of printing I think it could be a step too far, based on this basic reason:
I want a gun. Do I go to gun shop, or to PC world?
I think in a hyper capitalistic world, printing gear would be difficult due to patent infringements and easily traced by corps who'd layeth the smack if someone tried to print their kit.
Though I wouldn't want to see it as a part of the in game economy, it could be hilarity invoking in a plot line for a mission.
I think some level of printing could be used, but as we're early days development of economic application of printing I think it could be a step too far, based on this basic reason:
I want a gun. Do I go to gun shop, or to PC world?
I think in a hyper capitalistic world, printing gear would be difficult due to patent infringements and easily traced by corps who'd layeth the smack if someone tried to print their kit.
Though I wouldn't want to see it as a part of the in game economy, it could be hilarity invoking in a plot line for a mission.
Easily solved in the same way that many games are now bought online. You can buy a hard copy or download digitally, you just need a userkey. When the key is used up, you need to pay for another if you need to use it. Of course, that won't preclude pirated keys, but then ther could be a 'problem' with pirated goods...
I think 3D printing should be part of everyday life in 2077. But I also think it should be the more expensive option. It should be cheaper to go and buy something from a shop. But if they don't have it in stock, they can print one for you, at an inflated rate. You can use one at home, but that would be even more expensive in materials.
I think that complex equipment involving many composite materials and circuitry should not be printable, but i do think that many many many common household items and tools will have the possibility to be printed off a 3d machine. Basically the ideal candidate for 3d printing would be single material based plastic parts. idk if 3d printing would be a good fit for cyberpunk, i would want to know what the devs would do with the concept
They are here now as tech gets older it gets cheaper, my first DVD player was almost 500.00$. Now you can get a brand new Blue Ray player for 70.00$, in 10 years I think a number of homes will have them. In 20 years they will more then likely be common. Maybe even less time then that, CP 2020 was always about a dark and gritty future, if folks think they can have the cyber eyes that work so well that getting them isn't done just because you have bad eyesight or are even blind, but to the fact that they are better then your real eyes. That these kind of printers won't be around has to rethink that, now the bigger ones yes those my end up being rare. and the liberator is a single shot I believe and a rimfire at that. Now the Semi Auto had other parts that had to be milled that had a metal barrel on it, if you know how to use a lathe you can make one, maybe not rifled but still a smooth bore is better then no bore. They are here and will stay and get better even, maybe even able to work with metal instead of plastic.
One problem I see with owning 3D printers is space. If the characters are starting off low powered it is doubtful they will have an apartment big enough to house a piece of equipment. Then, if they do there is securing the equipment from thieves. Making items with a 3D printer may be cheap, but how much does it cost to buy and maintain the printer?
Starting off in a cube appartement is fine, but we should be able to trade up, even rent multiple apartments. (There is a whole thread on this btw.)
Anyway, if we can trade up to a full size house/apartment then space isn't an issue.
Realistically, going and buying stuff should be cheaper than making it from scratch. Although, I see no problem with some NPCs owning printers, so that we can get our hands on certain gear at short notice, (for a fee.) Owning one ourselves should cost us more than buying stuff. We should be able to own one more as a matter of convenience than to save money.
I think that there should be different grades of 3D printers. The most basic can only print in one material at a time and are not equipped to bond different types of materials together and are also not capable of printing heavier metals. The top of the line printer will have reservoirs for several materials including bonding agents for differing materials. The top of the line could easily print circuit boards and some solid state mechanisms.
Of course chemical compounds are easier and cheaper to create by hand than to 3D print. We aren't talking nano assemblers here but rather 3D printers, or at least that is what I am talking about. I vote yes on 3D printers and a vehement no on nano assemblers.
Of course there will be licensing and copyright issues to deal with. For designs and the machines them self, you will have to crack your printer to get it to print a design that you don't have a license for and then you will want to steal designs to print on it. Also the tech and machines should have come under fairly strict regulation by this point, like GPS now.
I think that you should be able to print most anything without complex chemical properties. You couldn't print a population inverted chemical matrix to fuel a chemical laser, but you certainly print the laser mechanism itself, including the lenses.
This should certainly be the more expensive option when compared to a store and mass market devices, but for those with an overabundance of money and a desire to have what they want whenever they want it is the way to go.
Of course chemical compounds are easier and cheaper to create by hand than to 3D print. We aren't talking nano assemblers here but rather 3D printers, or at least that is what I am talking about. I vote yes on 3D printers and a vehement no on nano assemblers.
Of course there will be licensing and copyright issues to deal with. For designs and the machines them self, you will have to crack your printer to get it to print a design that you don't have a license for and then you will want to steal designs to print on it. Also the tech and machines should have come under fairly strict regulation by this point, like GPS now.
I think that you should be able to print most anything without complex chemical properties. You couldn't print a population inverted chemical matrix to fuel a chemical laser, but you certainly print the laser mechanism itself, including the lenses.
This should certainly be the more expensive option when compared to a store and mass market devices, but for those with an overabundance of money and a desire to have what they want whenever they want it is the way to go.
Now, see, here is where I fall on the quality over quantity argument. Quality. I prefer not to play a Walmart-game. Remember the apartment in Bloodlines? he radio, TV, computer, fridge, view out the window? Great, right? I WANT EVEN MORE of that.
And I dont' think I'll get that level of love with this mass-production of stuff you are talking about.
I'd like to see 3D printers as a cool way to upgrade and purchase from online or blueprints, akin to the Makers you see in Transmet.
I love Transmet, and there is a very real Cyberpunk feel to it, but a Maker is just too high tech for a CP2077 setting, at least to my mind. The versatility of the machine would be too over powered, no matter the cost of the machine.
I agree, Transmet is my favorite book of all time... But it has some elements that strip it pretty far from Cyberpunk... At it's heart it is very CP, but then you get into makers, aliens, and such.... and it becomes more star trek...
If they are going to use this in game then I would perfer, for the sake of realistic, just to be able to print out simple mechanics such as guns and edged weapons. And they should be a cheaper version that falls apart quicker and has certain limits unlike the real deal that costs more from proper shops.
No circuitry.
No circuitry.
You do realise that currently circuit boards are basically printed. Hence the name, PCB - Printed Circuit Boards.
Finished products should require assembly, but for the most part I think 3D printers and lathes should be able to construct pretty much any solid obejct or part. The final assembly be done either by a robotic assembly system built into the Auto-Factory or by hand.
I don't think these things should be cheap to aquire or use, but they should provide convenience. Is that not the very nature of Cyberpunk and the disposable future?
The whole system should be expensive, the machine, the designs, and the materials that the machines uses to print. but with the right skills you should be able to design your own patterns, without patent/copyright infringement. The high-end 3D printer capable of mult-material, simultaneous printing along with an auto lathe should be a Techies end game dream. Given the right skills, materials and a few spare parts the Techie can make almost anything, on the macro scale,including firearms and cyberware.
Drugs and explosives of course require a kitchen and a chemistry set.
Drugs and explosives of course require a kitchen and a chemistry set.
If there was a way to build custom gear in the game, especially guns, from the ground up, (as in both models and stats,) I don't think I would ever play another game. I already play around with "Pimp my Gun" for hours on end. The idea alone is giving me a serious E-boner... (It's a boner for your E-peen.)
However, I think that would be more in the realm of moding. Maybe that's something I should consider looking into...
But yes, I agree 100%. Building stuff for yourself should be a convenience rather than an economical option.
Have you seen this yet?
and
[video=youtube;IylGx-48TUI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IylGx-48TUI[/video]
and
[video=youtube;IylGx-48TUI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IylGx-48TUI[/video]
Hmm If you think it over... All corpos (maaaybe apart from ones providing services not producing anything physical) would be against it so will hunt down people who use it for commercial purposes so Hell yeah they should exist but in the veeeery underground and undercover because you can simply get killed for using that and not buying some corpo stuff. That is what I think. 
This thread as based on that information.
There are plenty of machines that are avaiable for private use in 2020 that work in a similar way to 3D printers. The point is that corporate stuff is cheaper to buy than it is to make yourself. Plenty of Techies still produce their own parts and gear because a lot of the time its the only way to get parts for out-dated tech.Hmm If you think it over... All corpos (maaaybe apart from ones providing services not producing anything physical) would be against it so will hunt down people who use it for commercial purposes so Hell yeah they should exist but in the veeeery underground and undercover because you can simply get killed for using that and not buying some corpo stuff. That is what I think.
And even though corps are powerful in 2020, they are still beholden to the law, (it's just easier for them to pay off the right people and get away with a lot more when they do break the law.)
Okaaay that explains much ... Thanks
P.S.> Guys do you have any known source were I could possibly buy a Cyberpunk 2020 book?
R. Talsorian is selling them on their website or you can try DriveThruRPG if you just want a PDF. There are always places like Amazon as well. Also http://www.cyberpunk.net/forum/en/threads/343-Any-Place-To-Acquire-The-Old-Books