Cyberpunk Catch-All

Prederick wrote:

A little over halfway through my second playthrough, and this isn't a criticism of Cyberpunk, as much as it is of romance in games in general:

Spoiler:

So, I quite enjoyed V's romance with Judy. I haven't seen or played through the one Male V gets with Panam, but the one with Judy felt warm and surprisingly nice (I'd argue that the sex scene felt surprisingly not-male-gaze-y, but I'd be happy to be corrected).

But the thing that disappointed me, actually, was that we didn't get to spend enough time living in that relationship. And that's not just a Cyberpunk thing, that's most games, which treat the first time you bang your paramour as the last meaningful moment of a romance, gameplay-wise.

And I get why, and I'm certainly not asking for a game to try and represent all the ins and outs of being in a long-term relationship yet, but I know when I was playing CP, I found myself wishing I could've explored more of the budding of V and Judy's relationship.

I don't think it's in any way controversial to say that very few lasting relationships peak with the first time you have sex. And I was left a bit disappointed that after that, V & Judy's relationship amounts ultimately to a few text messages. Hell, even at the end (assuming you take the "Let the Aldecaldos Help You" method and choose not to cross into the veil with Alt) you get a nice little message from Judy about how she's finally happy, but that's it, and I wanted to spend a little bit more time inside of that romance, of taking it from "we f*cked that one time" to "I genuinely care about you and want you in my life."

Basically, I'd like games to stop treating banging your crush as the be-all/end-all of a romance plot, and start considering that the first time you have sex is a landmark in a relationship, but that there's so much more around that to explore.

Again, I don't need a whole RomCom out of it, but like, maybe another 1-3 side missions and some dialogue? Just something to let it breathe and deepen, and to stop treating "the first time we f*cked" as little more than an achievement to be unlocked.

Spoiler:

Couldn't agree more - I thought that relationship was super well done and fun to work through, right up until the 'objective' was achieved - then you get one circular conversation (when she's standing by the window in her apartment) and a couple of missions with Judy involved, and an ending involving her and... that's it. It's kind of a bummer. Kind of goes with the whole 'mile wide, inch deep' vibe of the whole game.

The Haunted house in Vampire:Bloodlines

NathanialG wrote:

The Haunted house in Vampire:Bloodlines

One of the best levels I've experienced in any game.

I'd rather hang out in Chora's Den

Vector wrote:
NathanialG wrote:

The Haunted house in Vampire:Bloodlines

One of the best levels I've experienced in any game.

Such a great game. Excellent music too.

Ok so on the interior thing I get it is hard to make a memorable space. But when characters won't shut up about how legendary it is, even if only for its legacy, maybe somehow make it be significantly more notable than other locations. Maybe multiple job hubs are there, random events happen, playable mini-games, or even as challenging as it may be actually have a notable interior space.

Should this thread's title be changed, or is it intended as a subtle jab that the game remains incomplete?

merphle wrote:

Should this thread's title be changed, or is it intended as a subtle jab that the game remains incomplete?

Definitely a jab.

Happy Dave wrote:
Prederick wrote:

A little over halfway through my second playthrough, and this isn't a criticism of Cyberpunk, as much as it is of romance in games in general:

Spoiler:

So, I quite enjoyed V's romance with Judy. I haven't seen or played through the one Male V gets with Panam, but the one with Judy felt warm and surprisingly nice (I'd argue that the sex scene felt surprisingly not-male-gaze-y, but I'd be happy to be corrected).

But the thing that disappointed me, actually, was that we didn't get to spend enough time living in that relationship. And that's not just a Cyberpunk thing, that's most games, which treat the first time you bang your paramour as the last meaningful moment of a romance, gameplay-wise.

And I get why, and I'm certainly not asking for a game to try and represent all the ins and outs of being in a long-term relationship yet, but I know when I was playing CP, I found myself wishing I could've explored more of the budding of V and Judy's relationship.

I don't think it's in any way controversial to say that very few lasting relationships peak with the first time you have sex. And I was left a bit disappointed that after that, V & Judy's relationship amounts ultimately to a few text messages. Hell, even at the end (assuming you take the "Let the Aldecaldos Help You" method and choose not to cross into the veil with Alt) you get a nice little message from Judy about how she's finally happy, but that's it, and I wanted to spend a little bit more time inside of that romance, of taking it from "we f*cked that one time" to "I genuinely care about you and want you in my life."

Basically, I'd like games to stop treating banging your crush as the be-all/end-all of a romance plot, and start considering that the first time you have sex is a landmark in a relationship, but that there's so much more around that to explore.

Again, I don't need a whole RomCom out of it, but like, maybe another 1-3 side missions and some dialogue? Just something to let it breathe and deepen, and to stop treating "the first time we f*cked" as little more than an achievement to be unlocked.

Spoiler:

Couldn't agree more - I thought that relationship was super well done and fun to work through, right up until the 'objective' was achieved - then you get one circular conversation (when she's standing by the window in her apartment) and a couple of missions with Judy involved, and an ending involving her and... that's it. It's kind of a bummer. Kind of goes with the whole 'mile wide, inch deep' vibe of the whole game.

Spoiler:

I'm playing through Mass Effect now, and the way games do this is beginning to bug me more ad more as time goes on.

Basically, if this is an "adult" medium and if it is art (as I believe it is!), then games have to stop treating relationships purely as achievements to be unlocked.

Somebody oughtta be daring and let you bang a paramour early, and the rest of the romance sideplot is about you actually being a good partner to them.

But yeah, I'm nearing the end and I'm still annoyed at, after that wonderful buildup, that you get next to nothing out of Judy and V once you've f*cked. Tell me the suicide mission into Arasaka wouldn't be hugely improved if we didn't have to convince Judy we had to do it when she is terrified of losing another woman she loves, or if you had to explain to her why you were giving up and letting Johnny take over.

(This is extra-frustrating because I'd bet an entire paycheck that the VAs for V and Judy would've knocked either of those scenes out of the park, as I think they both did fantastic jobs.)

Give me a romantic partner, not just a sexual achievement.

merphle wrote:

Should this thread's title be changed, or is it intended as a subtle jab that the game remains incomplete?

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E2vkFtEX0AQkHRn?format=jpg&name=large)

Back on PS Store June 21st.

Prederick wrote:

Basically, I'd like games to stop treating banging your crush as the be-all/end-all of a romance plot, and start considering that the first time you have sex is a landmark in a relationship, but that there's so much more around that to explore.

"Press X to complain about picking up your goddamn underwear off the floor AGAIN, Nigel"

I wonder if we'll get another largish patch next week to coincide with its PS re-release.

Wouldn't surprise me if the first batch of freeby DLC content arrives same time as the return to PS store, to create a bit of buzz. Maybe a mission or two, some new outfits, a new car and bike etc.

By the end of the freeby DLC I hope we get
1. Better apartments to buy, Watson is a dive!
2. Better police AI
3. Cruise control for our vehicles
4. Brain dances we can try out.
5. Balance rework of the game.

Then the paid DLC I hope for
1.great stories
2.third person.

There's at least one alternative apartment in the game that is (currently) inaccessible. Glitchers found it early on. It's basically a rooftop mansion.

My hope is that a lot of stuff they cut can be restored just by making it accessible, but who knows.

I'd like the housing to be something more than a bed. And that's only in the one apartment. There's literally nothing else to it.

Seeing as your stash is better accessed through your cars there's really no point to your in-apartment stashes.

What a weirdly awful quarter-baked feature.

Uhh... You guys haven't finished the game have you? Cuz that apartment is accessible in the game depending on what path you took.

Isn't it some chsracter's house?

All the housing is tied to completing major NPC plotlines.

Yes, it would be nice if each district had an apartment, and the higher end ones were very expensive. Always a good money sink device.

Dakhath wrote:

Uhh... You guys haven't finished the game have you? Cuz that apartment is accessible in the game depending on what path you took.

Huh, I haven’t done that path I guess, because I never saw that house. That video was from the first week or two after release, when Youtubers were running around finding stuff.

Latest patch is out and is another big list of quest fixes and fairly nebulous performance improvements. I can’t see a noticeable difference on PS4 Pro but I haven’t played much.

Still no substantial gameplay changes, AI improvements or quality of life like a minimap that zooms.

Optimists over on Reddit are asserting that this is all laying the groundwork for future major improvements, but I’m increasingly thinking that’s unlikely. Think I might uninstall and try again in six or more months.

I keep hoping for "the big patch" where it is at least close to what it should have been at release.

No patch will do that. It's gonna have to come in dlc or something.

I truly think they've moved on to free and paid dlc for the game, along with splitting off folks for the next Witcher game.

Happy Dave wrote:

Think I might uninstall and try again in six or more months.

I felt it was so poor and so far off the mark at launch, that I decided to make the release date 10th December 2021 for my version of the game Can't wait for this game to come out

Played a little more today and actually driving is noticeably better, textures load much more smoothly and the draw distance appears to be much improved.

Still seeing dupe NPCs everywhere and clipping bugs, but not as many.

Yeah, the game keeps playing better. Shame about design issues.

garion333 wrote:

Yeah, the game keeps playing better. Shame about design issues.

Unfortunately months of patches don’t fix the mental, emotional, and creative drain of months on end of crunch. Someday a video game company will learn this. Doubt it’s CDPR

Part of the tragedy and frustration of the whole thing is that there is a top-notch experience in there somewhere. Or, maybe, there are elements of a top notch experience buried under a lot misconceived stuff.

A big part of my frustration comes from feeling like you're on a timer due to your decaying mind. All that needed to be Act 2 of a five act story. It undercuts the narrative which was beautifully set up in the first few missions.

Also, I stopped playing when I realized that the main story line was way shorter than it should have been.

Have to think of it as a platform exclusive. This time for the PC instead of console. Everyone has just been play testing the console side of things.

The PC side has been able to play an amazing game.