[SPOILERS] End-Game And Suspicions About The First DLC

[taiwanluthiers]

They wanted to create a futuristic guitar. Generally everything about his guitar is wrong. The way that strings are mounted is ridiculous, it has head but without keys. But it fits for futuristic scenery so i don't mind. Generally this guitar actually exists. U can find videos of keanu having fun with it.

I refinished a headless guitar once. It was covered in some red paint that looked like it was slapped on with paper towels (and there were places where the paint wrinkled... I hate alkyd paints, which is what 99% of paints you buy at the store are). It was a bitch to strip down and the guitar had so many sharp contours that it was a miracle that I could buff it and still have minimal blow throughs (where the paint gets worn down to bare wood).

I just prefer Fender Stratocasters... But then those Cyberpunk guitar probably gets fitted with linkages for cyberware so it probably doesn't even need strings.

 

[poldengonyboy]

With the open endings, the urgency of Act 2 and all the premises they laid out with MBE/Peralez/Gary, it'd be a really weird choice to go for #1

Let's hope they realize this, I'm honestly hoping for 2 post-game expansions that build off each other story wise at this point. I know I'm probably just setting myself up for disappointment with that lol but I think it would be sick if the first expansion was us going to crystal palace to find this cure and getting caught up in some mess there and continuing that storyline and wrapping everything up in a second expansion that leads into a sequel.

I also don't think V was ever intended to be a series long character like Geralt for instance, so I'm sure his story and fate will be completely wrapped up in this game w expansions. However that's just my assumption based off how other RPG's handle player made characters without set personalities/backgrounds (courier in FNV, lone wanderer Fallout 3, grey warden Dragon Age Origins).

 

[I_Willenbrock_I]

Let's hope they realize this, I'm honestly hoping for 2 post-game expansions that build off each other story wise at this point. I know I'm probably just setting myself up for disappointment with that lol but I think it would be sick if the first expansion was us going to crystal palace to find this cure and getting caught up in some mess there and continuing that storyline and wrapping everything up in a second expansion that leads into a sequel.

I also don't think V was ever intended to be a series long character like Geralt for instance, so I'm sure his story and fate will be completely wrapped up in this game w expansions. However that's just my assumption based off how other RPG's handle player made characters without set personalities/backgrounds (courier in FNV, lone wanderer Fallout 3, grey warden Dragon Age Origins).

I hate throwaway characters. Especially when they are my avatars. It always feels like the developers are not valuing me as a player.

 

[poldengonyboy]

I hate throwaway characters. Especially when they are my avatars. It always feels like the developers are not valuing me as a player.

I mean this is pretty much what every RPG does though. All of the elder scrolls games, all of the fallout games, all of the dragon age games except the one game where you can't create your own character and play as a pre-determined character.

It's kind of a consequence of allowing players to create their own character from scratch. How are they going to bring back V in a sequel if my V was a Street Kid solo male who's an asshole, and yours was a Nomad netrunner female who's a saint? Let alone all of the choices and different outcomes that come with letting a player create their own character and make their own choices that can easily be avoided when telling the story of a predetermined character.

It's easy to bring a character like Geralt back because he is not only a predetermined in his looks and personality, but also in his backstory and the way he fights. It's just the price you pay when you give people a chance to create their own character/personality in the game and make their own choices and play the game how they want to play it.

 

[EuphoricM]

It's easy to bring a character like Geralt back because he is not only a predetermined in his looks and personality, but also in his backstory and the way he fights. It's just the price you pay when you give people a chance to create their own character/personality in the game and make their own choices and play the game how they want to play it.

I do agree with you. I'm also setting myself for disappointment for expecting post ending expansions regarding V and the god dammed cure , but hey, I'll carry my sorry ass to a bar if I do find myself royally disappointed . I don't mind wrapping up V's story in this iteration of this IP; as it stands now, it feels far from over. As wise man/woman once said: "Open endings suck." - V.

 

[JubJub154]

Let's hope they realize this, I'm honestly hoping for 2 post-game expansions that build off each other story wise at this point. I know I'm probably just setting myself up for disappointment with that lol but I think it would be sick if the first expansion was us going to crystal palace to find this cure and getting caught up in some mess there and continuing that storyline and wrapping everything up in a second expansion that leads into a sequel.

I also don't think V was ever intended to be a series long character like Geralt for instance, so I'm sure his story and fate will be completely wrapped up in this game w expansions. However that's just my assumption based off how other RPG's handle player made characters without set personalities/backgrounds (courier in FNV, lone wanderer Fallout 3, grey warden Dragon Age Origins).

If they add a post game, I can almost guarantee you it will take place in NC. If I'm right about this, its very likely the game will progress like it did from one act to another in the base game. A major expansion could include about 20 main quest missions, a few side quests/gigs per district (if they added only 5 gigs per district that would give us 30 gigs to play), tons of more NCPD missions (these are probably very easy to do, its really kill everybody and loot at the end), and lots of more in world activities. There's a lot of cool stuff they can do. I also just recently figured something out, apparently the Flathead from the first heist was possible to keep in the earlier builds of the game. What if the next expansion brings this back (or something like it) and allows you to upgrade that through the skill menu. They could do a ton of different things with that. Sort of like FL4K's pet in Borderlands 3.

 

[xcuphra]

I mean this is pretty much what every RPG does though. All of the elder scrolls games, all of the fallout games, all of the dragon age games except the one game where you can't create your own character and play as a pre-determined character.

That is all true, but then again in all those games your character had some kind of reason for following their path. V has only his survival, which tbh is not very unique nor does it promote imagination or wanderlust. Let's be honest, the story is not about V, it's about the other characters. Especially Johnny.

 

[nadsh]

I mean this is pretty much what every RPG does though. All of the elder scrolls games, all of the fallout games, all of the dragon age games except the one game where you can't create your own character and play as a pre-determined character.

It's kind of a consequence of allowing players to create their own character from scratch. How are they going to bring back V in a sequel if my V was a Street Kid solo male who's an asshole, and yours was a Nomad netrunner female who's a saint? Let alone all of the choices and different outcomes that come with letting a player create their own character and make their own choices that can easily be avoided when telling the story of a predetermined character.

It's easy to bring a character like Geralt back because he is not only a predetermined in his looks and personality, but also in his backstory and the way he fights. It's just the price you pay when you give people a chance to create their own character/personality in the game and make their own choices and play the game how they want to play it.

Just a single set common goal is needed, survival works pretty well. And it was done with Shepard, who's semi defined like V. Or even the warden in Awakening (you can say that you'll leave for Par Vollen or some other conflicting plans at the end of DA:O but that's never accounted for).

Let's be honest, the story is not about V, it's about the other characters. Especially Johnny.

Johnny is important, but I never got this impression while playing. V definitely had the spotlight, despite the fact that the endings kinda fucked them over.

 

[poldengonyboy]

That is all true, but then again in all those games your character had some kind of reason for following their path. V has only his survival, which tbh is not very unique nor does it promote imagination or wanderlust. Let's be honest, the story is not about V, it's about the other characters. Especially Johnny.

Maybe, but I think makes it even more clear that he wont be coming back in a future game. I always felt like V was just a vessel for us to experience this world and to help us experience a bigger story. The main story is about our interactions with Johnny and the other stories that tie into the main story are not really about V himself, but about his interactions with other characters (Panam, Judy, Goro).

This isn't necessarily uncommon though, TES4 Oblivion wasn't really about you, it was about Martin and him saving the world. Fallout 4 isn't really about the sole survivor, it's more about Sean and also the factions vying for power in the commonwealth. It's definitely more common to take this approach when you're trying to make a relatively ambiguous character, it's a lot harder to make a story fully centered on developing the player character as the main plot point when you're trying to let them create their own character. It's a lot more easy to build a bigger plot around the character and let them interact with that plot as they see fit based on their own characters decisions/moralities.

Post automatically merged: Jan 16, 2021

If they add a post game, I can almost guarantee you it will take place in NC. If I'm right about this, its very likely the game will progress like it did from one act to another in the base game. A major expansion could include about 20 main quest missions, a few side quests/gigs per district (if they added only 5 gigs per district that would give us 30 gigs to play), tons of more NCPD missions (these are probably very easy to do, its really kill everybody and loot at the end), and lots of more in world activities. There's a lot of cool stuff they can do. I also just recently figured something out, apparently the Flathead from the first heist was possible to keep in the earlier builds of the game. What if the next expansion brings this back (or something like it) and allows you to upgrade that through the skill menu. They could do a ton of different things with that. Sort of like FL4K's pet in Borderlands 3.

Why do you feel as though it will take place in NC rather than in Arizona or Crystal Palace?

 

[kjiandan]

Let's hope they realize this, I'm honestly hoping for 2 post-game expansions that build off each other story wise at this point. I know I'm probably just setting myself up for disappointment with that lol but I think it would be sick if the first expansion was us going to crystal palace to find this cure and getting caught up in some mess there and continuing that storyline and wrapping everything up in a second expansion that leads into a sequel.

I also don't think V was ever intended to be a series long character like Geralt for instance, so I'm sure his story and fate will be completely wrapped up in this game w expansions. However that's just my assumption based off how other RPG's handle player made characters without set personalities/backgrounds (courier in FNV, lone wanderer Fallout 3, grey warden Dragon Age Origins).

I think it makes the most sense to play as V through the entirety of CP2077, including expansions since the whole story has revolved around V and consequently, us, the player. Not to mention all the cyberware, clothes, eddies, and stat builds players have pooled into their character can't be thrown to the side for another character - that just feels like a slap in the face to the player.

If they add a post game, I can almost guarantee you it will take place in NC. If I'm right about this, its very likely the game will progress like it did from one act to another in the base game. A major expansion could include about 20 main quest missions, a few side quests/gigs per district (if they added only 5 gigs per district that would give us 30 gigs to play), tons of more NCPD missions (these are probably very easy to do, its really kill everybody and loot at the end), and lots of more in world activities. There's a lot of cool stuff they can do. I also just recently figured something out, apparently the Flathead from the first heist was possible to keep in the earlier builds of the game. What if the next expansion brings this back (or something like it) and allows you to upgrade that through the skill menu. They could do a ton of different things with that. Sort of like FL4K's pet in Borderlands 3.

I am curious for why you feel this way too. I think Naddaya's point is spot on - "With the open endings, the urgency of Act 2 and all the premises they laid out with MBE/Peralez/Gary, it'd be a really weird choice to go for #1 [mid-story expansion] "

 

[nadsh]

Maybe, but I think makes it even more clear that he wont be coming back in a future game. I always felt like V was just a vessel for us to experience this world and to help us experience a bigger story. The main story is about our interactions with Johnny and the other stories that tie into the main story are not really about V himself, but about his interactions with other characters (Panam, Judy, Goro).

I think this is the hardest to do with semi defined protagonists like V honestly. With predefined characters that have a fixed personality and goals, you're more or less just along for the ride. It's like a book, whatever happens is tailored for them and the story always feels concluded. With complete blank slates, they feel less like characters and more like insertions of the player so it's easy for people to feel way more invested in NPCs than the MC without a huge amount of headcanon. But semi defined protagonists can hit the sweet spot of being a likeable character that feels as "alive" as the others but also customizable enough to make the player feel more attached to them than a predefined one. At least in my experience, that's subjective.

I never minded the fact that the protagonists always changed in TES as they were pretty much blank slates with zero personality. But a ME2 with a different MC than Shepard wouldn't have worked as well in my opinion. Same for a hypothetical CP sequel unless V's story is expanded more in this one.

 

[poldengonyboy]

I think this is the hardest to do with semi defined protagonists like V honestly. With predefined characters that have a fixed personality and goals, you're more or less just along for the ride. It's like a book, whatever happens is tailored for them and the story always feels concluded. With complete blank slates, they feel less like characters and more like insertions of the player so it's easy for people to feel way more invested in NPCs than the MC without a huge amount of headcanon. But semi defined protagonists can hit the sweet spot of being a likeable character that feels as "alive" as the others but also customizable enough to make the player feel more attached to them than a predefined one. At least in my experience, that's subjective.

I never minded the fact that the protagonists always changed in TES as they were pretty much blank slates with zero personality. But a ME2 with a different MC than Shepard wouldn't have worked as well in my opinion. Same for a hypothetical CP sequel unless V's story is expanded more in this one.

Yea I can see that too, I agree with you that a CP sequel wouldn't really be all that great if V's story was never wrapped up and the sequel didn't feature them at all. Mass Effect is a pretty good example of like you said a semi pre determined character, but I think the main contrast between a semi determined character and a complete blank slate with no personality has a lot to do with having a Voice Acted main character.

I think characters in triple A rpg's nowadays are always going to have Voice Actor's, it really became an industry standard in around 2014-2015 with the release of Fallout 4. I think it's unavoidable to have a complete blank slate when you have a voice actor because then you bring, tone, emotions, accents etc. into play and that helps define a personality. Also the fact that there will be less lines to choose from overall because everything has to be voiced so there's less opportunity to dictate how your character reacts.

That being said, you do make a good point with Commander Shepard, he/she did have "life paths" and could choose to be different classes throughout each game. That does make it seem like it could potentially be possible for V too, I think it just depends if CDPR is going to try and go down the route of always making your own "custom character/custom world" or if they are going to steer the series more in the direction of building upon this character. I wouldn't mind seeing V as the protag in the next game but I personally would want this whole cliffhanger ending wrapped up in this game before that happens.

 

[taiwanluthiers]

I think people are saying the expansion would be in NC because that's the easiest option for CDPR. People are saying there are cut contents and areas that you can't go into (but are on the map). Crystal Palace seems a completely different area meaning CDPR would need to dedicate resources into creating and implementing them. Or you may have a CP heist but it's not somewhere you can go back to after (meaning one and done after the mission).

On the other hand expansion is just that, expansion for the playable area. More side quests, more gigs, or more psychos to catch. And given the areas that are closed off but still on the map, I think this is the likeliest route CDPR is going for.

 

[Deathstruck92]

So uuh... Crystal Palace has already been discussed, but do you guys think the Night Corp/Peralez/Sandra Dorsett plot will be a mid or post-game expansion/DLC?

 

[nadsh]

So uuh... Crystal Palace has already been discussed, but do you guys think the Night Corp/Peralez/Sandra Dorsett plot will be a mid or post-game expansion/DLC?

Think post game as well, since V doesn't meet MBE until the ending and gets the voicemail from Peralez in the epilogue

 

[rapij42882]

"Turn back, this area is not available... Yet..."

this is a general border message. it happens during the prologue when you try to venture outside of watson

 

[Deathstruck92]

Think post game as well, since V doesn't meet MBE until the ending and gets the voicemail from Peralez in the epilogue

Makes sense. I read from some people who'd swear on their mothers we'll never get anything past the ending - but for this particular plotline to work, I really don't see it happening in the middle of the brain cancer adventure with its false sense of urgency.

 

[JubJub154]

Maybe, but I think makes it even more clear that he wont be coming back in a future game. I always felt like V was just a vessel for us to experience this world and to help us experience a bigger story. The main story is about our interactions with Johnny and the other stories that tie into the main story are not really about V himself, but about his interactions with other characters (Panam, Judy, Goro).

This isn't necessarily uncommon though, TES4 Oblivion wasn't really about you, it was about Martin and him saving the world. Fallout 4 isn't really about the sole survivor, it's more about Sean and also the factions vying for power in the commonwealth. It's definitely more common to take this approach when you're trying to make a relatively ambiguous character, it's a lot harder to make a story fully centered on developing the player character as the main plot point when you're trying to let them create their own character. It's a lot more easy to build a bigger plot around the character and let them interact with that plot as they see fit based on their own characters decisions/moralities.

Post automatically merged: Jan 16, 2021

Why do you feel as though it will take place in NC rather than in Arizona or Crystal Palace?

Honestly I'm trying to look at it from a development perspective, why spend time creating a whole entire other city there's still a ton of space left and there are unfinished areas in NC. Most of the promo money was spent surrounding NC, the whole intro of the game is about NC. I think if they make post game DLC no matter what ending you will find yourself starting in NC. As for the Crystal Palace, this could definitely make an appearance as a playable area and there's no reason for me to think that won't happen. As for Tuscon, I strongly doubt it will (as much as I want it to). It's too much to add and where would they take it for more then just an intro similar to Yucca, you leave and you can't go back. That's my biggest fear with the star ending and its that it will end up with you and Panam just not working out so you leave with no back story. So they don't have to have her story continue. Which would f'n suck. To get back on track, as much as we want to hope for certain things we all need to take a look at what's practical and what's not. Going to Arizona puts CDPR into a hard spot with content. Crystal Palace will likely happen but will be a temporary thing for a few missions or so. If I'm wrong I'll own up to it, but I'd be very shocked if I am.

 

[RL_KARGAIN]

If they add a post game, I can almost guarantee you it will take place in NC. If I'm right about this, its very likely the game will progress like it did from one act to another in the base game. A major expansion could include about 20 main quest missions, a few side quests/gigs per district (if they added only 5 gigs per district that would give us 30 gigs to play), tons of more NCPD missions (these are probably very easy to do, its really kill everybody and loot at the end), and lots of more in world activities. There's a lot of cool stuff they can do. I also just recently figured something out, apparently the Flathead from the first heist was possible to keep in the earlier builds of the game. What if the next expansion brings this back (or something like it) and allows you to upgrade that through the skill menu. They could do a ton of different things with that. Sort of like FL4K's pet in Borderlands 3.

Or V is coming back to NC and some areas have changed so that players get a stronger sense of a living world.
For example the resalt of gangwars etc.

 

[taiwanluthiers]

I know what you guys are saying but I got a feeling that it's going to be mid game, in Act 2.

Because Mass Effect 2 has a "point of no return" as well which decides if any of your team member lives, or if any of Normandy's crew lives as well. You had to do all side quests, loyalty mission, etc. to get the good ending. Furthermore, post game in ME2 dropped you off after the final mission, not right before (to try and get multiple endings), so it did not matter with any of their DLC. Mass Effect 3 also has a forced urgency as it would be a matter of weeks before the Reapers wiped out all the major powers and started the harvesting process, but they have not 1, but 3 mid game DLC's that expanded on Liara's Shadow Broker, Aria's taking back of Omega, and a final DLC (that was actually the cheeriest DLC from ME3) that took place in the Citadel.

Finally, Final Fantasy XV had really sad endings (Noctis dies no matter what), but it had like 5 mid game/prerequel DLC that expanded on the lore. Did not matter that there are forced urgency either.

So therefore I think V's ending will not change, DLC will not be post game, and it will be mid game. The fact that V has 3 weeks to live doesn't matter, as if you actually did all the side quests (many of which required you to wait 24hrs of game time, if not more, to activate), you'd actually need 6 months(!!!) of game time to actually finish. Relic chip will not start to kill V until he does the point of no return anyways, and besides if you took the Nomad ending, it is almost as if the relic chip did not exist at all, and that final mission took place over 2 days of game time! You didn't even notice the relic chip until you're jacking into mikoshi. Actually as far as I know Nomad ending took the most time to do, as V basically went to the badlands, then they mobilized the clans and had basically an all out war with Militech, and it took probably almost 2 days of game time before V jacked into mikoshi, yet during the whole time it was almost as though V wasn't dying. If you chose Johnny to control V then the screen is all red and messed up the whole time, even post game (I do not know if this is a bug).

So I think a mid game DLC is far more likely, to explore the other areas of Night City, and possibly the crystal palace. I think anything post game will likely be in a sequel where V fades into legend, or it could be like Mass Effect where you load a previous save to make your lifepath and choices stick (except they will do little except a couple of dialogues and what NPC appears in the second game).

Finally, CDPR said they are NOT changing the story, and it makes zero sense to if you actually read up on the lore (this forum has a series of cards from the Cyberpunk 2020 game that really explained a lot of stuff). Johnny is NOT shoehorned in, and all the songs, like Chippin In, Will Not Fade Away, etc. are all in there! CDPR isn't making shit up. Also when the game credit rolls around, after all the calls to V, it plays a different version of Will Not Fade Away, and look up the lyric of that song and it tells you everything you need to know about how the story is supposed to go. Especially when it says "I have lost everything, we have to pay the price".