What if the new cyberpunk game reused the open world of 2077?

[T.Djelal]

It's an idea I always thought was cool until the saints row franchise did it and I realised how much fun I have just exploring in an open world game.
Even though they made some changes playing in basically the same map on 3 and 4 really killed that aspect for me.
Also they would 100% charge full price and piss alot of people off.
But as most people here said, they have switched engines and I can't imagine it would be easy to properly transfer everything over without major work

 

[Stinkyremy]

I actually think the city is one of the best multilayered vertical environments I have ever seen in a video game and I have been playing for nearly 40 years.
It has massive issues as well, bugs etc, or dead ends that have been neglected by level design team but overall the variety of things in the city, the verticality of it and general feel of a cyberpunk environment is top tier.
Level designer should be praised with what they did with night city.
So I would not mind the city as it is now, but more added to it, like the space station, more in line with what it is in the OG tabletop RPG.
Plus if they added the ability for us to go to the moon base and dogtown was also in the base game, the moon colony would be enough of a new environment to warrant reusing night city as it is in CP2077.
Possibly increase the north, south and east badlands as well, adding more stuff.

Real issues with the game though, its fundamental design not the environment.
Like the whole checklist of merc stuff and scanner hustles is kind of generic ubisoft cut n paste checklist crap.
That stuff should be there naturally, gangs hiding out stealing from a corpse that if you take them on you can loot them and the corpse rather than a marker checklist of a reward (NCPD scanner hustle)
Stuff like that makes the city feel alive naturally rather than a gamey checklist of places you can go and there is stuff there. thing is there is already cool unmarked environmental story telling locations in the game, like a fallout game, so the crimes should have also been like that too.

Sure keep gig like side jobs and the real big NCPD hustles where the cops ring and say any merc in vicinity and explain what is happening. The generic ones should all just basically be random (scripted) encounters that can happen in the world in the dark corners and alleys of night city as you traverse it.

I do hope in the next game that we are actually not forced into a more linear story and our backstory is what makes our gameplay and story.
So for example in 2077 we are a merc doing merc stuff then the whole relic stuff and jhonny is the real story everything else is filler.
Back stories mean nothing.

Now if we had it that say I started as a corpo and instead of being automatically kicked out of the corp then follow the linear narrative (or I could be if I mess up from my choices) I am a corpo and my actions decide what Is or is not available to me. Same with other back stories and builds.
Rather than a linear story, make the story revolve around the player actions.
Simple as a choose your own adventure childrens book, like a true tabletop RPG is like.
Which of course warrants multiple playthroughs to experience everything the game has to offer.

They could make it that if I am an arasaka corp (should be able to choose what corp you work for) so i can casually stroll in corpo (arasak) plaza, where a street kid entering that would get gunned down, and visa versa with a corpo trying to chill out in haywood.
Then the overall story changes depending on your actions, I start as corp, of I get kicked out I have to hustle and steal, if I stay in I rise ranks, assassinate competitors, bomb countries etc.
A TRUE RPG.

Again this is part of the fundamental issues with CP2077 that really needs to be addressed for the next game, as well as the bugs and NPC interactions in the world.
If they focused on this, and only adding to what they have built and tidying up the cities design I think it will be a 10/10 game.



Shame thing is though that it seems most of the talent has left CDPR after TW3, REDengine is being replaced so diversity hires can use babies first engine, unreal, and because they released CP2077 like 5-6 years too early and didn't let it cook, they have sullied the games and IPs name, so I doubt they have the skill in the team now to actually make a good RPG like the witcher 3 was and even if they did, I think a next cyberpunk game would bomb quite a bit because of the harm to the IP 2077 release done.

Only need to see how they have implemented cyberware stat RNG and the crafting, looting and purchasing vendor economy in 2.0 to see the quality of the devs in their team is lacking.
I mean these are problem solving issues any gamer who uses logical thought would solve in an hour or 2 yet they have ruined the entire mechanics...
Who are these guys making these stupid decisions!

 

[CyberpunkRoslyn]

I'd like to consider that lifepaths will have more exclusive stories than what they did for the current game. Taking this into account, could warrant expansions of the current areas we've been introduced to already. I'd like to imagine a mini city being built out in the Badlands that resembles Dogtown. An area unregulated by law enforcement, with a corrupt dictator that the NUSA doesn't like. But most of this may depend on the direction of the story. If the next game takes place within 5-10 years after the events of the current game. I'd like to consider that Night City could undergo some changes. As we know, the NUSA government has been trying to get more control over Night City, via Dogtown. I am sure that there will be a revolt which could cause a war. As we saw in the DLC, that Militech had labs inside of Dogtown, which shows that there was interest in maintaining control of it, before it was reclassified as a subdistrict. It would be a very interesting to see MR. HANDS in control of Dogtown, if we return in the second game. How would he respond to keeping Dogtown free of NCPD and controlling the gate?

As for the Moon colony, this adds a major expansion to the existing world of Cyberpunk. If Lucy is on the moon, what is she doing and who is up there with her? Being an Arasaka trained netrunner, I'm sure that the company never stopped looking for her. Who knows what conflicts await us up there, or if the colony is a KEEP AWAY classification like Dogtown. I'd consider the Dogtown approach a lot more fun. Gaining access to am area that's not open for everyone immerses gamers in the spy-espionage world.

Vertical design is a major element that CDPR focused on for the game. Many buildings are still left unexplored as well as the vast network that exist underneath Night City. The up or subterranean world can be just as interesting as the street. But in the Cyberpunk world, we seek danger and thrill. Subterranean design could introduce V to a wide array of threats. It would be rather unique to see CDPR take us underground, where the sun truly never shines.

 

[Tricky81]

I've never seen a bigger, more complex game world. Phantom Liberty somehow fitted inside a fraction of it. They could pack five more future games inside and I wouldn't mind.

 

[CyberpunkRoslyn]

I've never seen a bigger, more complex game world. Phantom Liberty somehow fitted inside a fraction of it. They could pack five more future games inside and I wouldn't mind.

I was going to say the same thing. There is still a story left to tell in DOGTOWN. Remember, MR HANDS would get what he wanted, depending on the decisions you make. A DOGTOWN ran my Mr. Hands may have a much different vibe. If Hansen is gone, how does Mr. Hands respond to different corporate agencies trying to seize Dogtown? The design and feel of that subdistrict could change.

I'd like to consider the possibility of LIFEPATH designs. Things become more distinguished after the events of Cyberpunk 2077/Phantom Liberty. One could say that FIA could be a lifepath by itself, while Streetkid could involve a lot more betrayal and loyalty choices between fixers. But aside from all the shenanigan activity, cyberware still remains a critical factor when it comes to possible structure of the next game.

For those who haven't played phantom liberty, you'll soon find that looks in Night City can get you into places that you wouldn't be able to reach. Seeing CDPR take a deeper dive in espionage could make a rather interesting gameplay for our next game. CORPO as we can it could use a more distinguished approach in the act of scandals and war. Where does our V fit in a position with KANG TAO? This could create a rather interesting design for V to explore in a sequel, if V is required to do espionage against Arasaka or Militech.

The length of story, is a huge sword in roster of resources that CDPR can use to make the base game more thrilling. The threat of another corporate war could put the atmosphere of Night City on the edge. Using your street/corporate knowledge to survive creates a rather spicy playthrough for gamers.

 

[everon727]

I would love to see Trauma Team come and save me after I die, like a second life. Then I could upgrade my insurance package where not only will they revive me but help me for a certain amount of time.
I think something like this would be easier to make if CDPR didn't have to worry about creating a new map.

I loved 5star system in 2.1 but I think in a technological world, cameras, vending machines, television, should allow police netrunners to make it easier for them to track you.

Imagine getting MaxTac to kill you, then Trauma Team saves u and it's all out war.

 

[CyberpunkRoslyn]

I know this might sound like a terrible idea but think about it the open world is incredibly beautiful and well made to the point where i honestly dont mind if they reused it ofcourse they can make some changes and even add some regions but this will drastically reduce development time and give them more of a room to focus on the game design aspect and fleshing out the world more by having it being more interactive with better npcs, better gameplay mechanics, longer main story and more explorable buildings etc... i personally would much rather have a fully realized but reused open world than a new open world that is full of wasted potential.

This happens to be a big decision that CDPR is discussing right now. Check recent articles.

As mentioned, some feel that using Night City may become too familiar to gamers and create an underwhelming experience. However, there are still plenty of holes to fill in the existing Night City. There were many locations that we did not have access to and areas that were left unfinished. Depending on how many years have elapsed after the events of 2077, could determine what Night City looks like. CDPR seems to be dedicated to the vertical design of Night City; so there is still plenty of room to add immersion. But how long would it take gamers to explore a city that they are already familiar with?

While exploring the Cyberpunk Wiki, I am finding CHICAGO (https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Chicago) a rather interesting location in the world of Cyberpunk. Chicago is also mentioned to eventually be connected to Night City by mag-lev trains by the 2080. That gives us roughly 3 or more years of elapsed time, from the events of 2077. Creating a new fully explorable city with rich lore could become a masterpiece for gamers. I'd even be bold enough to say that CDPR could pull off a two city game. As we know, there are different ways to do this. One would expect there to be seamless fast travel from Night City to Chicago, which would elapse 3 game hours. For immersion purposes, part of the game could take place in Night City; where the other part takes the protagonist to Chicago.

Depending on how big CDPR chooses to go, obviously affects development time and release of our sequel. If CDPR chose to a slightly bigger vertical design by similar width size for a second city; I'd want to say that development time may be similar to the first game. As we know, this all depends on how many game assets they can re-use/revise. A second city would obviously require new textures and appearance development. However, a location such as Chicago might not have to focus too much on outskirts, like Cyberpunk 2077 did with the badlands. CDPR could use a slightly similar map size, but put more focus on vertical design and subterranean design, to give gamers more immersion. In reality, it would feel bigger than the first game and give the development team more time to work on the colossal expansion that we never got.

 

[EldritchEntity]

Absolutely. If they just give it a slightly more "photorealistic" look and, more importantly, far more to do in the city, I'd be more than pleased to spend as much more time in NC as possible.

 

[CyberpunkRoslyn]

Absolutely. If they just give it a slightly more "photorealistic" look and, more importantly, far more to do in the city, I'd be more than pleased to spend as much more time in NC as possible.

Same. It wouldn't take the game so long to come out. Something tells me that CDPR is going to lean this way. Not having to design a brand new city will save them a lot of time, which will leave a lot of opportunity to make bigger and more immersive expansions. Considering all the holes left to fill, I'd assume they could make a rather appealing base game from launch. Outside the City could be interesting too, if they really decide to detail the BADLANDS a lot more. It would make sense that there are more NOMAD camps inside and outside the boarder of Night City. The question is whether or not the game will be based on a canon ending to the first game. That's one major element that could determine what a Night City set after the year of 2077 would look like.

 

[yngccc]

It would be a huge disappointment if they don't, 90% of the buildings has no interior, if they make another city that looks good on the outside and empty inside again.......

 

[Master....]

It would definitely be a shame to waste all of the work that went into building Night City in the first game. I'd say the city is probably the game's best feature. I hope they can bring it to the 2nd game and spend their resources refining the city to be more detailed, varied and content dense.

 

[Gabidu]

Many people have expressed their desire to revisit Night City in a future Cyberpunk game, but I had a very interesting realization during the sequence of events presented in the "The Tower" ending, which was added in Phantom Liberty. Indeed, Night City is a very important element in Cyberpunk 2077, but after this specific ending, it became clear to me that more important than Night City are the characters we are exposed to. And even more important is the way CD Projekt Red manages to build these bonds through narrative and story, between (V), or simply us players with the characters we get to know.
Having the feeling that you are in Night City, but without the presence of all the characters you have met at some point during V's story, made me see Night City as a lifeless or cold city, with that noir atmosphere, very much in the style of the Blade Runner universe.
So I think that before having done the "The Tower" ending, maybe my opinion on having Night City in a next game would be different. But currently, I think it would be interesting to revisit Night City in a future game, but I don't see the city as something essential, as long as the characters and the narrative are well developed, I believe we will all enjoy it regardless of where the game takes place.

 

[sicurri]

The new game will definitely improve upon the original, and it should be far better considering that Unreal Engine 5 is much more advanced than the Red Engine. If they just have Night City and maybe a few surrounding areas, I'd still be fine with it, but I hope it's for a future date where the city has expanded and grown as well as many of the unfinished "Restricted" areas will be open and available. I'm also hoping that they can do something similar where every building is explorable and enterable to some degree.

 

[Skipper_1O1]

I know this might sound like a terrible idea but think about it the open world is incredibly beautiful and well made to the point where i honestly dont mind if they reused it ofcourse they can make some changes and even add some regions but this will drastically reduce development time and give them more of a room to focus on the game design aspect and fleshing out the world more by having it being more interactive with better npcs, better gameplay mechanics, longer main story and more explorable buildings etc... i personally would much rather have a fully realized but reused open world than a new open world that is full of wasted potential.

I would guess that they will generally follow the same pattern of building the city. Most likely, like others said, details will get an overhaul, but that does not necessarily mean that they will change how everything is placed and located. So, city planning could be very well remain mostly the same, which in turn does save time to focus on other areas of improvement, such as, and as mentioned in this thread, increasing interactions with buildings and places.

Take for example Spider-Man. Several releases were based in New York, and of course each time the map gets bigger, wider, more detailed, interactive, etc... However, the city generally feels the same in certain places. On the other hand, it feels a lot different in many other aspects. Which is naturally.

So, if Night City is going to be the "New York" story setting, that could indeed provide the opportunity to focus more intensively on developing the map from the inside more than the outside of it in its aesthetic features.

And even if they went with developing a totally different city, that won't rule out the possibility of applying general city building concepts and patterns that they developed for Night City to be implemented in the new one as a foundation of creating new ideas, even in going with the Unreal engine.