Cyberpunk 2077 - Unconventional classes like Journalists
 

According to Gameramt, Cyberpunk 2077, the game CD Project Red currently is working on,the game will have unconventional classes like executives, journalists etc.

As of now this game has not recieved an official release date nor has it been mentioned what platforms it wil be released on.





More information.

Class like …executive!? I get that you can have 'classes' with a more social bent, but that seems a bit much. How will they balance such diverse skill sets (e.g. tech/combat vs many social classes) - especially when combat situations are almost certainly guaranteed? I never played the cyberpunk table top game - so maybe this is all supported there already…

Probably not as awful as it sounds. In Cyberpunk, it's a dystopian world run by ruthless corporations. "Executives" will probably just be a character background that lines up with those factions.

It sounds a bit like Traveller, where characters had careers instead of D&D-like adventuring classes.

Man, Traveller was an awesome pen and paper rpg. I like this idea of unconventional professions, it lends me hope that I can live out my dream as a shotgun-wielding chef. With mustard.

So far, so good.

They follow the p&p rules to the letter. Each class has a unique special ability but other than that, it's pretty much a free system where only the skills and starting social connections are determined by the chosen class. The special abilities improve with the character's overall progressl. A Rockerboy can sway a small crowd with his performance at first but later as a star musician he can move a stadum full of fans to do his bidding (like, causing a riot). A cop can use his authority to influence people in interactions, a Solo has an initiative advantage when combat starts, a Nomad can call upon his pack for help, the Corporate can access the virtually limitless resources of his corporation.

The chosen role also determines how much a character earns per month if he or she chooses to work their more or less regular job. A corporate obviously earns the most whiel a Nomad earns very little.

Could see it working like this:
Char creation-> you set your stats, skills and life paths( giving bonuses, penalties, equipment, etc…like extended version of Arcanum background traits). Start of the game: player, new arrival in Night City.
"Roles" would work as rpg factions and would "blend" narrative to them…based on requirements ( stats,skills, reputation, etc)…for example, to become a cop for you need a clean record, good physical condition ( reflexes, body stat) and rank in specific skills ( firearms, intimidate/diplomacy, etc). Narrative would be more realistic, "down to earth"…here, like playing in a season of NYPD blue, starting out as a rookie, working your way up.
Class abilities, ( in this case "Authority") would be gained over it's course…as with your rank, equipment, access to specific role activities ( earning reputation/cash).

Outside of this, at it's core 2077 would play as Deus Ex plus Netrunning ( it's own playstyle: here it is an entire virtual world) and auxiliaries( wardrobe&style, crafting skills, etc).

2020 roles are very open and different from one another with one specific ability ( Nomad/Family, Cop/Authority, etc)…something like this would work well with it.

It will, but this is not a power fantasy and combat is often a last resort.
In Cyberpunk you do not go from 100 to 10000 HP's as you "level up"…more emphasis is on guile and skills, than bludgeoning your way through.
And if you make a mess here, you better hope nobody can trace it back.

From memory, the special skills are mostly combat related or oriented.
Marketing words as the approach is common.
Players are going to play PCs who apply their background to combat. GURPS had a generic way to do it. For example, a noble could tap into his noble guard asset etc, a monk could get the backup of its order.

There is little social class in that, just fancy names.

Sorry Chien, I don't know what version of Cyberpunk you've "played" , but this are common skills from 2020 ( based on required stats, except for special abilities):

SPECIAL ABILITIES Authority (Cop), Charismatic Leadership (Rocker), Combat Sense (Solo), Credibility (Media), Family (Nomad), Interface (Netrunner), Jury Rig (Techie), Medical Tech (Medtechie), Resources (Corp), Streetdeal (Fixer),
ATTRACTIVENESS: Personal Grooming, Wardrobe & Style
BODY: Endurance, Strength Feat, Swimming
COOL/WILL: Interrogation, Intimidate, Oratory, Resist Torture/Drugs, Streetwise
EMPATHY: Human Perception, Interview, Leadership, Seduction, Social, Persuasion & Fast Talk, Perform,
INTELLIGENCE: Accounting, Anthropology, Awareness/Notice, Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Composition, Diagnose Illness, Education & General Knowledge, Expert, Gamble, Geology, Hide/Evade, History, Know Language (choose between several), Library Search, Mathematics, Physics, Programming, Shadow/Track, Stock Market, System Knowledge, Teaching, Wilderness Survival, Zoology,
REFLEXES: Archery, Athletics, Brawling, Dance, Dodge & Escape, Driving, Fencing, Handgun, Heavy Weapons, Martial Arts (choose: from aikido to wrestling), Melee, Motorcycle, Operate Heavy Machinery, Pilot ( this covers several types separately from Gyro to Vect Thrust Vehicle), Rifle, Stealth, Submachinegun,
TECHNOLOGY: Aero Tech, AV Tech, Basic Tech, Cryotank Operation, Cyberdeck Deign, CyberTech, Demolitions, Disguise, Electronics, Electronic Security, First Aid, Forgery, Gyro Tech, Paint or Draw, Photo & Film, Pharmaceuticals, Pick Lock, Pick Pocket, Play Instrument, Weaponsmith,

This is all very awesome. A breath of fresh air.

When people say Journalists I think Blomkvist.

When people say Journalists I think of the scummy sensationalist headline parasites that don't report news, but instead report opinions and drivel.

I know its a flawed viewpoint but thats the way it goes. The terrorist minority wrecking it for the rest of them.

Sounds pretty cool. If the game has a lot of supplemental/non-combat skills to go along with the unique roles, it's going to be interesting.

Great guns! When they made the game set in 2077, I figured that would be used as an excuse to make everything more combat oriented like a traditional computer RPG. Character classes like rockers and journalists, though, are a lot more about politics than battles.

The classes really imply to me that we'll have control of multiple characters. I really don't see how you make a game where all those types of characters will be able to work through the game on their own.

I wonder… what if we get to control one of each type of character? If you get a traditional go-kill-the-evil-folks you take your solo or nomad. If you get a tip that somebody is going to be doing something naughty, you send in your journalist. Your suit probably finds (and funds) missions. Your fixer sells the loot. All of them getting their time in the sun - or rainy neon since this is cyberpunk. I would love that! An awful lot of folks would really hate it, too, so probably not but I can dream.

I think the Max Headroom TV series.

Words with no content. People still at that. While providing the contradiction material.
http://cyberpunk.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Roles
Rockerboy, leadership to be applied to the sociality of a rocker, leading a band into writing songs. No.

Corporate:

Self explicit.

Little social in that.

I vaguely remember that a class could use the camera flash to blind/stun critters - wasn't that in Nethack ?

Excellent. Something different in the endless pantheon of D&D Tolkien derivative RPG's. Let's hope it opens up and revolutionizes what an RPG can be.

It's all about implementation and if they can make these kinds of characters work within the game world and have meaningful gameplay that supports being something like a journalist.

If it's just a class label and press A for "press senses" with a magical pen pointing you towards "clues" - then it's not going to impress.

However, on the surface it sounds good so far - and I'm keen to see what they come up with.

But it's not a game particularly high on my wanted list after what they did with Witcher 3.

Yea, because they dared to make antiBInfinite story:



CP2077 is my #1 want to play ASAP. Assuming it's not MMO.
Not sure why is everyone on talking about journalists - I've expected everyone discussing executives.

I'm probably just not as big a fan of the mainstreaming of the franchise as you are ;)

If hairworks means mainstreaming, I guess you're correct.

"Witcher senses" auto solving of quests, pushover combat, streamlined character system, and so on.

It's ok, not everyone likes challenge or intricate mechanics :)

At least it's not mainstream on the same level as Bioware or Bethesda. At least not yet. :)

Well, I think the writing is much better - but the gameplay and complexity have been similarly affected.

I don't blame CDPR, though. I mean the budget has become huge - so they better not exclude the mainstream.

It's inevitable - and I don't think the primary qualities go away because of it.

It's just that the primary qualities of the Witcher franchise weren't really *my* kind of qualities. As in, the characters, dialogue and narrative. I really enjoy those qualities - but I've always been more of a gameplay guy.

In that same way, I don't think the qualities of Bioware and Bethesda games have gone away because they've become mainstream.

Well, Bioware games have definitely gone a bit downhill - but that started long, long ago. It has less to do with mainstreaming and more to do with simply losing their creative edge. I don't think they're in creative control - unlike Bethsoft. Bethsoft have more or less full creative control.

Personally, I think Bethsoft are stronger today than they've ever been - but there's no doubt that their games suffer from mainstreaming - like any publisher-funded AAA game would.

Well I definitely still enjoy Bethesda's games. I can't say the same for Bioware though which is real shame considering how much I used to admire them.

I haven't really enjoyed a Bioware game since Dragon Age: Origins, and even that was watered down compared to their older work.

Bethesda is still making great games when it comes to atmosphere and exploration, but I worry about their future titles if they continue to simplify them even further.

It all comes down to personal taste :)

I've greatly enjoyed Andromeda and quite liked Inquisition. Now, I've never absolutely loved a Bioware game except KotOR - and I was never their biggest fan. Probably one reason why I have an easier time giving them a break.

I think Bethsoft games have increased in both fidelity and complexity in several ways - but they've certainly moved away from "traditional" RPG stats and screens.

I personally agree with that choice, because I'm on the same page when it comes to the emphasis on immersion and freeform gameplay. I'm not really a fan of stats for the sake of stats - or complicated, intricate mechanics that get in the way of the flow of the experience. It all depends on the kind of game you're trying to make.

For instance, I consider both the combat and character systems of Skyrim and Fallout 4 far, far more interesting and entertaining than those in Morrowind and Oblivion. They're also much richer in terms of experimentation and playstyle strategies.

But again, it comes down to what you enjoy and what you find interesting.

I would adore a CDPR game if they upped their game in terms of mechanics, combat and especially exploration.

That would be ideal, really - and Bethsoft would have a very hard time competing with that.

I hope they focus on exploration, gameplay and character progression more. Not being stuck with a witcher may help in this department.

Like DArt i'm hopeful but not particularly excited for this game after playing the witcher 3. TO me the Witcher 3 is a bit of a one trick pony. The quest design and production values are through the roof amazing. Best I've ever played. Everything else though is very middling imo.

A huge Dark Souls fan calling TW3 a one trick pony. Now that's ironic. ;)

Now now, let's not get personal about these games again :)

We all like different things - and sometimes in unpredictable ways.

Bioshock Infinite, for instance, was an outlier for me - because the gameplay wasn't all that interesting. Well, I loved the exploration - but the rest was inferior even to Bioshock (apart from the actual shooting, which was better), which was already hugely inferior to System Shock 2.

The story really, really hit home for me, though. Sometimes, it's hard to categorize how and why.

If only I hadn't expected meaningful exploration from Witcher 3 - I suspect I would love it as much, if not more, than I loved Witcher 2 - which was a lot more linear and focused on simply delivering a fantastic story. Balance was also a lot tighter in the original release version.

But I made the mistake of playing it like I would Skyrim - just going out and doing my own thing. That was really what the marketing and PR had led me to believe was a big part of the game.

I felt punished for that in several ways - and I never managed to ignore the world, and just go from quest to quest. That's probably what I should have done.

I really like the series and the publisher, but I completely agree with Dart here. The autosolve and highlight was really really bad. Plus the combat even on hard mode is easy mode. I will finish the game as soon as I find the right combination of mods that make combat feel a bit more challenging and fun.

Yeah, I played on Death March - and the only real challenge was in the initial stages, and only because of the RIDICULOUS damage scaling, where being hit in the back was akin to being run over by a truck - completely regardless of armor.

But once you had established your main arsenal (in my case, it was focused on the Igni sign) - 9 out of 10 encounters became a complete joke.

I don't really think that was necessarily due to mainstreaming - but more about CDPR not knowing what the hell they were doing with combat. Much like the case was in Witcher 1 - and in Witcher 2 after they patched it.

I also think the crossbow mechanics were downright awful.

Sometimes, I'm truly astonished at the pass this game gets in a surprising amount of ways.

Bioshock Infinite is very good. I don't admire it as much as you do, but I was impressed by the story telling. I still think it could have been a lot better though. I found the combat extremely repetitive.

I still need to replay it with the DLCs.

I didn't have a problem with exploration in TW3 except for the crappy loot system. I agree you can't really play it the same way as a Beth game though.

Doubt they will change direction…Skyrim comprised of fedex/kill quests with no "fail state" ( other than dying), almost no "choices" and without negative repercussions( in gameplay or storyline), gameplay easily broken even at early levels, entirely reliant on following quest markers( without bothering with dialogue or even journal instructions) and few non combat/secondary skills (lockpick, pickpocket, speech, etc) were already superfluous. Fallout went even further.
Hard to call it an "rpg" at this point, more dungeon to dungeon hiking "experience" with a lot of busywork in between ( crafting, Sims elements, etc).
CDPR games have their own pros and cons next to one another, but they've consistently improved and expanded.
I'm not really expecting even half of skills/equipment/arsenal next to PnP, but that would still leave a massive variety…weapons alone cover a huge range of types, classics ( standard military) to exotics( nunchaka's, electric whip, etc).

http://datafortress2020.com/ultrachrome/bh2.html

Mike didn't go into any details, but he did say ( on recent conference ), " what he saw/played was closer to 2020 than even he expected".

I agree the combat was underwhelming - and I'm not really a shooter fan.

You haven't played the DLCs? Well, you really should. They're both worth it, but the second one is truly excellent, in my opinion.

You also get to explore Rapture in a superior engine :)

It's true that Witcher 3 isn't for everyone. It has a deep rich story and isn't just a console player button masher. Cyberpunk 2077 probably won't be a button masher either and may disappoint some for that reason.

Am really looking forward to Cyberpunk 2077, the new genre RPG from CDPR. They'll put the time and effort to make deep characters, and a rich story with new, creative, and different mechanics…

Avant-garde ain't no button masher.

__

You guys must be grand masters of RPG combat, because I didn't find TW3 to be that easy. :)

I also avoided the special armor sets though because I didn't like how those quests were presented, and I didn't metagame in any way.

Well, I felt the game really, REALLY wanted me to use those sets - so I did.

Also, I think it's fair to say that I find the majority of RPGs easy in terms of combat.

I'm not going to call myself a grand master - but I honestly DO have a lot of experience with optimising and power-gaming. I guess it's just my natural response to combat after years of competing for (and winning) the top DPS spot in WoW raids ;)

It's not just because I want to be powerful - but also because I don't particularly enjoy endless combat, so I prefer making it as painless as possible :)

Yeah, they were sort of shoved in our faces which is exactly what I didn't like. I had a real problem with common merchants having all the maps to those "long-lost" sets. :)