Cyberpunk 2077

Can someone check whether the English version of the game's fanpage on FB has as extensive info on the NP Cs as the Polish one? The Polish one contains short write-ups on several characters, you can wring a trope or two out of them.

• Saburo Arasaka: He's mentioned and shown in the Lifepaths featurette, in the Corp part. Today's post on the FB page confirms his age as 158 years old.
• Yorinobu Arasaka: A render of his character and a short bio omitting his actions in the pen & paper game was posted back in July.
• Judy Alvarez: Named, pictured and described in July, pretty much what's on the Characters page.
• Evelyn Parker: That chick with blue hair and a fur coat. Named, pictured and described in July.

Polish video game developer CD Projekt Red told employees on Monday that six-day work weeks will be mandatory leading up to the November release of the highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077, reneging on an earlier promise to not force overtime on the project.

Official websites, fanpages, interviews, and other forms of Word of God usually aren't acceptable as sources for pre-release troping. Word of God saying a trope is going to happen is not the same as the trope actually happening.

Oh, that's a big oof. Not doing their image any favors with this.

RE: The cleanup effort on the characters page, I'll share the advice HighCrate gave me in the ATT to help clear things up:

Edited by Dirtyblue929 on Sep 29th 2020 at 5:05:52 AM

I stared at this sentence for a few minutes before remembering that doing twelve hour days six days a week is not normal for most people (my job is terrible).

Anyway, yes, reneging on that promise is almost worse than the overtime in the first place. The developers should have done a better estimate of the amount of work they needed to do, and if that means pushing the launch back another month, then that's fine.

Hell, pushing it back a month puts it right in the middle of the holidays, which is a better launch window, right?

I mean, to play devil's advocate, that would be, like, the fourth or fifth publicly-announced delay since the game properly debuted in early 2018 with an estimated Q1 2019 release, and that's not counting the countless internal delays that likely occurred after, or even before, its announcement in 2012. I don't know if they have any shareholders or investors or contracts looming over them, but if they do then delaying the game again would be suicide.

I suppose. I always use Nintendo as the example of "it's ready when it's ready" delays, but they've produced enough good games, especially after delays, that they've earned a lot of good will. CD Projekt Red has made good games, no question, but not enough for them to just declare infinite delays and suffer no consequences.

It probably doesn't help that this is a pretty big departure from their previous games. I've seen a lot of people who are like "okay, I don't have a real reason to be worried, but I'm worried anyway, because this whole thing seems super ambitious and I'm not sure they can pull it off."

x5 The World of Cyberpunk isn't a supplemental book like, say, The Stolen Throne or Masked Empire are for Dragon Age. It's pretty much an art book that is framed around expositing a lot of lore and stuff about the world. Most of the stuff in there is concept art or notes about designs; like what colors or styles for each of the gangs or how context of the different cooperate wars shaped how the world/culture is right now or other things. It's basically a concept art book without the commentary being direct quotes from the dev team and I don't think there's too much directly about, say, the plot. There's not really a need for a separate work page since any information in there is relevant to the game itself and nothing really unique to the book alone.

And since it was set to release with the original release date of the game, I think it's a fairly safe assumption that most things in there are canon (especially since it's framed as lore book with in-universe commentary) rather than being like other art books which have 'These are the 20 designs we had for the main character's iconic look before settling on the in-game one' or something. I don't suspect that there'd be too much that will wind up to be so wrong it'd be non-canon or contradicted by the game. In fact, I foresee the opposite that the book might be the source to clarify details from the game.

As for the crunch... Oh boy. Though can't say that we haven't seen it coming. They've certainly tried and pushed the game back so many times... And they still need to get more done. It's 'yikes' but I also think it just goes to show an industry scale problem cannot always be solved by just one valiant company standing against the tyranny of crunch culture or some other issue.

Bright side... ok, try to find a bright side. Cling to straws. Uh... at least it's maybe two months of crunch time rather than 6 months-2 years of it? And they're demanding 6 says rather than outright non-stop work? Other companies (Rockstar) would demand both and put it in their marketing.

Edited by InkDagger on Sep 29th 2020 at 6:03:39 AM

If the book is concept art, then any troping that uses it as a source should definitely note that it's troping the concept art from the book, and not the final game. The whole point of concept art is that it's often different than what makes it to the final product.

Apparently the game failing to release might cause the collapse of the Polish economy & by extension the collapse of the European economy.

That would be the most Cyberpunk thing of all, entire Capitalist economies being felled by the failure of a single video game.

I suspect, however, Poland will survive a single game not meeting expectations.

Lore book that uses the concept art to explain the lore. So, the art that wasn't used, is non-canon, and otherwise irrelevant to the finished project of the game is presumably not in this book. Since all of the art has in-universe commentary on the details; the oil fields and badlands outside of Night City, the colorful designs and identities of the gangs, the shapes and functions of the weapons, etc, it's presumably canon unless explicitly contradicted in game. That's what I'm getting at.

Even if, say, an advertisement in the book (and oh boy are there TONS of ads in this book; most 'sexy' too.) were cut from the finished game, the book might have details about the company, dates of relevant events, their products, and the ad itself that's still technically canon to the game, if just never seen.

Edited by InkDagger on Sep 29th 2020 at 9:10:46 AM

Yeah, that seems... highly unlikely. Where did you get that idea?

Edited by Dirtyblue929 on Sep 29th 2020 at 9:22:15 AM

From this.

https://www.tweaktown.com/news/71636/cd-projekt-red-is-worth-more-than-polands-largest-bank/index.html

CD Projekt RED is worth more than Poland's largest bank

That report is from 5 months ago. The Bloomberg article they cite shows a graph◊ that demonstrates this is just a sudden and unexpected downturn for Poland's economy in general, and judging from the timeframe (Dec. 2019 to Mar. 2020) you can probably blame it squarely on the COVID panic and resulting stock market crashes. It also shows that the banks in question were recovering by the end of March.

Not to mention the fact that the highlighted stories on that website's sidebar included sensational headlines about alleged Starfield leaks and home security drones, which tells me this isn't the most reliable source. I don't really have time to dig deeper but I'd bet my bottom dollar that this isn't the case any more.

Edited by Dirtyblue929 on Sep 29th 2020 at 9:33:41 AM

Let's assume for a moment that CD Projekt Red really is the most important company in Poland by the numbers, and them going bankrupt would kill the entire economy of Poland. That still wouldn't mean "Cyberpunk 2077 has to do great or Poland will suffer another depression." The game would have to bomb hard—as in, be so completely unplayable that everyone who preordered demands a refund and no one else buys it—in order to tank the company.

I'll take your word for what's "canon"; at the end of the day the important thing is that trope entries that come from the book should say that that's where they come from.

Look, I don't care if Cyberpunk 2077 destroys the Polish economy. I care about how we can blame the government for it.

Also, I noticed something peculiar while rewatching the 2018 gameplay. The DJ says that Johnny Silverhand released his last album a year before, which would be 2076. And the version of "Chippin' In" that plays is not the one by Refused. Plot point or early development weirdness?

Also, I seem to have a brainfart. Richard Night in the "Postcards from Night City" featurette is portrayed by a character actor I've seen before, but I can't put a name to the face. Anyone has an idea?

Characters.Cyberpunk 2077 is still in pretty bad shape. The worst of the current problem entries (problems in bold):

V

• Anatomy Arsenal: V has cybernetic forearms that can be outfitted with weapon systems: electrified Blade Below the Shoulder, Arm Cannon or a Power Fist. That in addition to a retractable universal interface cable. no citation

Johnny Silverhand

• Artificial Limbs: He sports a mechanical chromed left arm, from which he draws his stage name. no citation

Jackie Wells

• Death by Adaptation: Kicks the bucket in the E3 2019 trailer, but it's unknown if he'll actually die in the game. explicitly speculative
• Schrödinger's Question: As shown in the Lifepath previews, Jackie's role in the game's prologue chapter and initial relationship with V depends on which of the three backgrounds the player chooses: ZCE. What is the question?

Jenkins

• Klingon Promotion: what he plans to do, using V as muscle. ZCE, no citation

Trauma Team

• Ace Pilot: Each team has two pilots to fly the team vehicle. ZCE (Ace Pilot involves more than just "pilots a vehicle"), no citation

6th Street Gang

• Motive Decay: 6th Street's interpretation of the law is described as "self-serving", with the group straying from its original ideal of an armed neighborhood watch and are now fighting other gangs for influence. no citation

The Animals

• Brawn Hilda: Sasquatch, one of their leaders, is a hulked-out woman who can hurl around V easily,She also wields a massive sledgehammer, for good measure. The other female Mooks in the gang are appropriately ripped as well. no citation
• Hulking Out: Their members drink something called "Juice" that further increases their muscle mass and speed, implied to be a drinkable steroid cocktail. no citation

The Tyger Claws

• Yakuza: The gang has taken over Japantown and seem inspired by the real world Yakuza, with full body gang tattoos and a focus on illicit sales. no citation
• Katanas Are Just Better: Tyger Claws members have been shown in screenshots utilizing katanas in melee combat. ZCE / shoehorning; Katanas Are Just Better is not "katanas exist"

The Moxes

• Band of Brothels: A group of ladies of the night... About as dangerous as the Girls of Old Town. ZCE (referencing another work is not context), no citation
• Vigilante Militia: One formed of sex workers, with the goal of protecting sex workers from physical harm. ZCE (one what?), no citation

Evelyn Parker

• Miss Kitty: Started as a call girl, ended up running the business. no citation
• Shout-Out: Her business is one to Dollhouse, down to the name. ZCE, no citation
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Has a blue haircut similar to the giant holographic Joi from BladeRunner2049. no citation

Judy Alvarez

• Hackette: For the "Braindance" Brain/Computer Interface system. Judy serves as V's introduction to "BD's". ZCE, no citation
• Romance Sidequest/Optional Sexual Encounter: Judy is confirmed to be a romance option for V. There are hints suggesting she is a Gay Option for a female gendered V. trope slashing, ZCE, no citation, explicitly speculative

The Scavengers

• Organ Theft: Their main line of work, albeit it's mostly focused on stealing cybernetics, rather than actual organs. no citation

The Wraiths

• Bandit Clan: Mentioned to be a particularly violent one who control large areas of the badlands. ZCE (one what?), no citation
• The Unfettered: The Wraiths have no respect for the law and have no moral code, doing whatever it takes to survive. no citation

The Aldecaldos

• Honor Among Thieves: While The Aldecaldos are still a collection of Nomad packs that loot and steal to survive, they have a strong sense of loyalty and look out for each other as if they were family. no citation
• Venturous Smuggler: Smuggling is mentioned to be one of the Aldecaldos' and other nomads' means of income, with Nomad!V making their way to Night City by trafficking a rare iguana past the border. no citation

Dexter

• Cigar Chomper: He can always be seen with a fine cigar in his hand. no citation
• Conspicuous Consumption: He wears a lot of bling, and his cyberlimb arm appears to be gold-plated. no citation
• The Fixer: Dexter serves as the contact between mercenaries and corps. no citation
• Pragmatic Villainy: Blasts V for his and his "psycho friend" Jackie going in guns blazing on a job to steal a chip he was after, with the shoot-out being all over he news and him knowing that the corpocops would be on their way shortly. He got to where he is by avoiding that kind of attention, and thus sees an Ax-Crazy V as a liability. no citation

Mr. Goldhands

• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Has golden cybernetic hands. no citation

Lizzy Wizzy

• Chrome Champion: Champion maybe be too much, but she definitely has the chrome part down. Her entire skin is covered by cybernetic body plating. outright admits to shoehorning, no citation
• Shout-Out: To the cover of the first Chromebook sourcebook. ZCE, no citation

These should all be fixed by adding context or citations, or deleted if they are speculation or shoehorning.

• Anatomy Arsenal: cited in the entry on the game's main page, presented in the "Tools of Destruction" featurette.
• Artificial Limbs: Jesus fucking Christ, every trailer since last year's E3, every bit of Johnny-centric merch features his silver hand. Looks like we need a nice big pic of Johnny that shows that.
• Klingon Promotion: ties to Jenkins' description on the page, featured in the "Lifepaths" featurette.
• Motive Decay: Gangs of Night City featurette and the city guide website confirm it.
• Brawn Hilda: The Deep Dive gameplay heavily features the boss fight against Sasquatch. Also, watching the new Jimquisition video I noticed there's a segment where a pit fight against another female Animal ganger is shown in the Gangs of Night City featurette.
• Band of Brothels and Vigilante Militia: brought up repeatedly in press releases, articles and on the game's FB fanpage (also, on the official Twitter).
• Hackette: featured in Night City Wire #2 and the Braindance gameplay video shown during that stream. It's explicitly said there that Judy is the person who teaches V to navigate braindances in order to look for clues.
• Pragmatic Villainy: E3 2019 trailer, where Dex chews V out for the Arasaka job going south.
• The Lizzy Wizzy shout-out to the Chromebook cover is obvious once you see her (the image on the Characters page is wrong, that's just Grimes with a Photoshop filter - CD Projekt posted a proper render on their Twitter).

Edited by NotSoBadassLongcoat on Oct 7th 2020 at 5:00:53 PM

Okay, so could you actually add those references when you're editing? I notice a few of those were added by you, after the issue of the page not following unreleased works citation guidelines was brought up.

Mostly done.

Also, I spotted some odd blink-and-you-miss-it things in the videos while looking for references. Particularly what the Voodoo Boyz want from V.

Cross-posting here that we're having edit-warring / unilateral cleanup-reversion problems on Characters.Cyberpunk 2077 again. ATT thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/query.php?parent_id=92987&type=att

Silverblade went a bit too far with the cleanup on Sasquatch (the sentence just before tropes clearly mentioned that everything about her is based on the Deep Dive gameplay), but then FSU Bulldogs just went and basically fucked everything up.

Now I have to check the edit history and see whether I deleted the katana trope from Tyger Claws' entries once or twice.

Also, I reverted the change on Revenge Before Reason for Scavs and added a reference to the gameplay reveal video, because it's there (after the van chase sequence), it's gone again. Jesus.

Edited by NotSoBadassLongcoat on Oct 8th 2020 at 7:08:25 PM