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WIP Cyberpunk RP
Topic Started: December 4, 2014, 11:15 am (341 Views)
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Mdl. No. 00X "Burrito"
This is way, WAY down the line, but I thought I'd post this up to get some feedback on the RP and the mechanics I've thought up for how it works, just so if and when I do make this RP it can be what you guys want it to be (if you want it to happen).


Synapses

The RP would take place in a large city; dystopian and full of punks and cybering (probably). In this RP, each citizen is forced to have a neural uplink that links their mind and body to a central network. This system allows the users to have a "More enriched life" with prevention of degenerative mental diseases, vivid access to past memories as well as the ability to manage those that you may not want, access to a new "Augmented Reality" where they can touch, taste, and see things that may not have normally existed, and a foolproof system of identification (maybe). In the main city, most citizens live a blissful, unaware, and happy life. With media under control by the government, man's first true "utopia" can exist. Across a well-guarded bridge is a near island where the rest of the civilians exist. Scum, filth, homeless, or otherwise unwanted. These people are forced to work in the recycling plants and other unsafe jobs, experience frequent oppression, and hope that the crime stays out of their way. All of this to sustain the lives of those better off.

Some members of this sub-city have managed to rid themselves of the shackles of their implants and be able to manipulate the augmented reality they are a part of. Removing themselves from the system of their oppressors, these "Rogue" users began to fight against the main city. To keep the peace, the government issued a new task-force of civilians who had their limiters removed, calling them the new "Enforcers" to keep the peace from these new terrorists and maintain the order of their peaceful utopia. As the effectiveness of this new "Augmented Warfare" became apparent, guns and weapons were slowly but surely eschewed from society entirely and to this day not a single one can be found; that is, not one that is usable or maintained.


How the RP progresses

In this RP, our characters would make use of their implants for whatever cause they may please. I've been toying with the idea of a sandbox RP, one more akin to how CoH was but figuring out why we haven't been able to replicate that level of success. Our primary problem has been with the power levels; we want to avoid those ridiculous levels we achieved before (as fun as they were). To do this we've gone with more focused RPs, keeping leveling and progression in check. But I've been thinking; how could we go back to the sandbox days of old where the story we craft is one that we all craft?

So I went to crafting the mechanics for the RP. For the story and plot, I want to be ones that the players of the RP craft; I want all of us to be the protagonists and antagonists, keeping NPC involvement closer to a minimum. I want our characters to be very important to the going-ons of this conflict. This would mean, of course, that plot ideas would need to be run by me or any other admins of this RP just to make sure everything stays in check, but it could still be done.


Power Levels and Progression
This still leaves the power level in check, but I figured out why our power levels in CoH got so crazy. It was the self-training and unchecked progression. Now, if we want a sandbox RP it would be very difficult to include progression as everyone is doing something different and moving at their own pace. It would be difficult to keep the balance. So that got me thinking; why not eschew the leveling progress; have each character start out at a good, strong level and keep progression at a bare minimum? No challenge the RP would be impossible for their level of ability and skill. Of course, your character could still LEARN how to fight better or train to be stronger physically (in realistic boundries), but abilities would stay more or less the same.

Of course, I would give the option to be able to change-up your abilities, but overall you would remain at the same power and strength. Each character would be able to 1v1 each other in a balanced manner. This would help focus more on character development and cinematic fighting.


Abilities and Equipment

I want to try something different with this RP. Instead of a magic and equipment system, I want to work purely on abilities. Now for abilities, a lot of it would function as you think they would but with some new twists. Instead of an elemental system I want to work off of a Function System. Your abilities could work with elemental themes if you want, but your abilities would be classed by WHAT they are doing, now HOW They are doing it.

Abilities in this RP work off of manipulation of code, the ability to bend the augmented reality to the user's will (to an extent). Kind of like magic, but with some differences. Dealing with augmented/virtual reality, your abilities would not be able to: promote instant healing, affect objects that are not a part of that reality in any way (buildings, natural things, rocks, etc.), or deal with anything supernatural.

Abilities can be one of four categories: Execution, Render, Encode, or Proxy.

Execution - Abilities that are directly used by the user for offense or defense. Fireballs, temporary offensive/defensive buffs, cloaking, shields; anything that is directly used by the user.

Render - Creation of coded objects. Think of this like the Video ability from Infamous Second Son; you're creating virtual objects either as simple as a sword, or complex as a robot or mech. Of course, the complexity of objects affects the difficulty or possibility of it being made, but it's there.

Encode - Manipulation of captured or created programs to take control of objects that can be coded. Wanna give your robot husk a soul? This is the ability that can do it. Beyond giving a Tin/Code Man a heart, you can also use this ability to manipulate other Users of lesser extent, even going as far as mind-control or other manipulation...

Proxy - Affecting your own exterior in the augmented reality. This includes abilities that change your appearance to even your own "physical" ability in the augmented reality. More complex modifications are harder to do, however.


A few of those may sound busted, but remember that as we create our characters at a stationary power level it will be easier to balance and tweak them and not worry about power creep.


Anything Else?

With the setting of this RP in a sort of semi-virtual environment, it won't be unlikely to see malicious programs such as viruses manifested before one's own eyes. Defeating or controlling these foes will be an integral part of the RP, and the fact that part of the experienced world in this RP is virtual and part of a computer will play a big role in the RP.

Overall I'm still looking for feedback on this RP, and if have any ideas I'm happy to hear them out. If this is something that interests then I'm happy to hear it. Of course this RP is still a long ways from happening, but I'm hoping for a return to the sandbox days of old with nothing but the good aspects. If and when the RP happens, and you wish to be a part of the admin system in it, then please let me know. This won't be a plot-heavy fair like FA so it will be a lot easier for a co-admin(s) to help out.

So there you have it!

I'm not doing a poll, BTW. If you're interested, add your input. If you're not then be on your merry way!
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Onime No Ryu
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I'll be your Undertaker this evening
Having players and their powers start off pretty much as strong as they'll be and then letting them figure out better ways to use that power over time is kind of a theme I was going for with my ACES idea too, I agree with a lot of what you said in regards to that.

Everything else sounds neat, although I'm a little puzzled as to why full VR augmentation was needed for some of it; for instance, keeping tabs on people, that seems like it could be done via implanted chips and whatnot but without the need for any kind of separate dimensional cyberspace. Could you explain a little more about it?

Another thing is, how is the level of inequality controlled? What decides who becomes lower class and who rises higher? Who works if they have everything they need? Why hasn't automated labor become a thing in a world with such advanced technology?

Sorry if it seems like I'm trying to poke holes, I'm just trying to get a better sense of the world. I like the idea, though.
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Mdl. No. 00X "Burrito"
No those are great questions.

Social status movement hardly happens, and people only become part of their class by where they are born and under what family. If you're born on Ghetto-Island (place-holder name), then you're stuck there. Movement between the islands isn't easy and neither class travels to the other location easily due to the police. In short, nobody rises higher easily, but there are still people who can be knocked down much lower by political rivalry or power struggles or whatever. The divide between classes is controlled by a physical, watery barrier.

The Augmented VR space was more intended to be a way to make life better and vibrant; create things that could not be created in normal space and allow access to a much better world. The physical tracking and ID portion is all hard-wired into the uplinks people have integrated, while the AR part is totally separate. It all started out as just the hardware hooked up to people with limited networking to a central computer, but as the technology advanced different third parties began to work on it and the AR was ultimately created. As this technology advanced the government found ways to "weaponize" it in civil-protection and hopefully external conflicts in the future.

In short, scientists found ways to bend the laws of physics and make a lot of things better because of it, so they went with it.
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Knight of Tigers
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So how does "virtual damage" (damage taken from virtual/augmented reality attacks and the like) express itself? Is it just pain with no physical symptoms? Damage direct to one's nervous system? Mental/sanity damage? Or does it damage, destroy and/or interfere with one's 'virtual self/avatar/proxy to the point that they can't interact with the virtual world properly or at all?
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Mdl. No. 00X "Burrito"
This is something I'd like input on. We could have it just as feeling pain and the mental impact so that losing a fight doesn't necessarily mean a character's death. It could also include the character's "avatar" and connection to the AR world, and if that's defeated they're unable to do much in the AR world until it's refreshed. It could also go as far as their own selves are physically a part of an alternate reality at the same time and the virtual attacks have real consequences.

Upon more thinking, though; having the avatar component coupled with mental/nerve pain would be both more realistic and fit the setting. Having the total immersion to the point of an ACTUAL alternate reality goes beyond the point of "WHY WOULD YOU MAKE THIS TECHNOLOGY PUBLICLY AVAILABLE?!"
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Knight of Tigers
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I totally agree with that idea. It's a very "you mind makes it real" sort of approach; as you said in the opening post, the AR expands your senses into the virtual layer, so I can only assume the neural implant has some means of creating sensory feedback. So as your avatar takes damage, the tactile feedback would transmit directly into your sense of pain, and as its ability to affect the virtual layer decreases, the sensory disparity would create a sense of dissociation and disorientation, especially with long-term users. The sensory information coming in is telling you "you're being hit and now your hand can't feel or touch anything", so your brain fills in the gaps with phantom pains, disconnection with one's own body or even going into shock in the worst cases, things like that.

There's probably safety measures in the standardized implants to prevent this sort of thing from happening, but when you're hacking into and jury-rigging the things, or are coming into contact with illegal programs and the like, naturally those safety nets aren't going to be particularly helpful.

Ah, but I'm probably rambling a bit much.

Also, I know I mentioned this in the chatbox earlier, but in case you missed it, it seems reminiscent of Dennou Coil. Have you watched that? If not, you should definitely take a look at it for inspiration. The way people use AR - and the way the AR affects them and their avatars in return - could give you a few ideas.
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Mdl. No. 00X "Burrito"
I have not seen it, but I'll take a look
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Onime No Ryu
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I'll be your Undertaker this evening
I just looked at Dennou Coil in general on Wikipedia, and yeah it sounds very similar to what you're going for here, but without the enhancements or the class system. Definitely something to take a few tidbits from and see what's been done before.

Are you planning your AR/VR to be like, a literal overlay of the physical world, or is it a separate world that people enter like the cyberspace from the Megaman Battle Network/Star Force games?

Also, another thing to check out now that I think of it is a movie called Summer Wars; it depicts what happens when a social network/VR game has expanded to control literally every aspect of a society, down to not only people's jobs but also government functions. It's not a 1984-esque story though--the social network isn't treated as an overseer or abused by the government, it's just a major facet of every day life. Sort of how in Battle Network literally everything can be accessed through the internet, even the inside of toilets and doghouses. The real threat comes when an artificially intelligent virus hacks the network.
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Mdl. No. 00X "Burrito"
I actually was toying with the idea of a Battle-Network system, but gave it up for some reason. But as I'm thinking it over, it could work where there's the AR part that's the overlay of the physical world, and then include some VR components where the characters enter in some locations that are completely virtual and where their abilities are amplified and have more physical components.

Also I did some backtracking, and I knew I had heard of Denno Coil somewhere; I saw a post of it on one of the very few art tumblrs I follow and was very impressed with the animation. Watching it now and woooowwww
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Onime No Ryu
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I'll be your Undertaker this evening
Has your viewing of Dennou Coil changed any of your plans or given you ideas or anything? I'm interested in a sci-fi RP and I think some others are too.
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Mdl. No. 00X "Burrito"
It's given me a bunch of ideas, but I can't make it based off of Dennou Coil entirely. Dennou Coil is a more light-hearted story, so it won't translate 100%. But, besides a potential villain idea, it's given me these insperations:
- How Augmented Reality and Nervous Implants would improve day-to-day life immensely
- Ways the abilities, attacks, and virtual weapons could affect each other
- Ways viruses and other programs could operate
- How AR could be used to modify the city itself
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Onime No Ryu
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I'll be your Undertaker this evening
Cool. Maybe rewrite the first post to reflect that and give us some more info? I'm still interested in this idea personally.
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