Cyberpunk 2077.2

This is going to start becoming a Nier-title at this rate

Do you remember that game which was supposed to come out last December? It was meant to be this huge first person RPG extravaganza with the 'most immersive open world ever' or some such nonsense? What ever happened to that game? Oh, that's right; it was a disappointment in many respects. Yes, I've not shied away from the fact that CDPR managed to throw the wool over my and many other's eyes when it came to this Cyberpunk title, and we've been eating several months of crow as a result. It's enough to put anyone off and to be honest it put me good and off for a while. I've seen Cyberpunk stories drift past me and I always avoid them for the same reason I've avoided the game itself. (P.S. It's going to take a lot more than a 10% sale to get my money, Steam, try again next season) I don't want to play or see the game that Cyberpunk launched as, nor the game it is right now: I want the game that I was marketed, and if there's a chance of that game ever eventually materialising, as ludicrously slim as that chance is, I want that to be my Cyberpunk experience.

All that being said, merely throwing a bag over my head and ignoring the game until it 'gits gud' isn't exactly going to work when this game still dominates so much of the news cycle, (Albeit, more for the novelty of a proposed great game gone bad than for it's merits) and thus I've relented. And where better to take another look at Cyberpunk than square on it's road to sobriety, slap-dash in the middle of CDPR's daring escape from the hospice just before the staff can lockup the front door. That way I can capture all those swirling lingering negative emotions still emanating from that Cyberpunk wound and channel them into hope. Hope for the future. Isn't that what the Cyberpunk genre is about? Optimism regarding the future? Hmm? 'No, it's literally about the exact opposite'? Well, then allow me to break from the genre and be the fellow with his head in the clouds and a song in his heart. Similar to the way in which CDPR are attempting to break all known laws of physics and aviation by magically delivering on their erstwhile promises. 

The first major patch for the game wasn't really worth talking about, and it seems that the team themselves weren't hyping things up all that much either. It was a preliminary, a messy means to a simple end. (So messy, in fact, that it warranted a hotfix or two over minor introduced issues. Such is the ballad of plugging holes in leaky ships, I suppose) For the second patch, however, it seems that CDPR are good and ready to turn fixing this game into their new project, with a whole faux-news presentation dressing up their patch insights in a cutesy, on-the-nose, manner. They even wrote fun 'in-universe' blurbs for a giggle. And as you can imagine this has gone down pretty much as well as the Hindenburg. A lot of folk are very unamused by the light-hearted machinations attached to these pre-patch-note comments, likely because it reeks of the marketing efforts which got everyone in this mess in the first place. (That marketing team have some real nerve showing their face around here so soon!)

As for me, I don't care too much. Let them have their fun, I say, as long as the fixes actually come and they work on the problems which still plague this game worse than 18th century Marseille. (Dang, my metaphors are coming out extra morbid today. Guess that bitterness isn't all gone yet.) All I'm saying is that I don't want a situation where the team comes out in support of some weird new rebalance directly contrary to what everyone is asking for out of the game. (>cough< Avengers >cough<) And as far as we know of this patch, which isn't very far as these are just three highlights from what they're attacking with 1.2, they've at least got their priorities in the right place. That may sound like small praise, and it is, but actually being capable of identifying their own issues is a huge step above where they were last year when they said the game ran "surprisingly well' on consoles. (Okay, I'm being a dick. I'll stop.)

The second detail they revealed, (yeah we're doing this in order of what I find most interesting, sue me) they touched on an added detail to the key bindings that allow dodge rolls to be tweaked for their activation. Now this might sound like a frightfully insignificant change to highlight out of a big patch, and again it absolutely is, but this does genuinely addresses a concern I've seen a few have with the movement. Apparently with the 'double-tap means roll' feature the base game had specifically for keyboard users, there would be instances where minute movement would send the player flying into a roll if they tapped the same directional key too frequently. A minor inconvenience perhaps, but a least a clear example that complaints are being heard and addressed. Find some comfort in that.

Next come some driving fixes, in which is wrapped my favourite little factoid from this patch highlight. Tightening to driving controls has arrived in the form of extra tweak menus, which seems a little bit dismissive to me, ("Go fix your own problems!") but it is what it is. What I like is the car rumble system, not because it's ingenious or innovative but because it provides insight into common game design that you'd otherwise never think of. Getting your car lodged somewhere happens in every game, it's a universal problem, and having the ability to shake and jostle your car out of that hole comes so naturally we don't even consider it. But it is a genuine QOL feature that has to be implemented with the right stipulations so that it activates in the right moment, or else you'll be bouncing all across the street like you're in a low rider. CDPR have gone for a rule where it activates if acceleration is being pushed with no actual movement. A simple problem with a simple solution, but I find these little things just fascinating to me. 

And finally comes the big one, the first response by CDPR to one of their most derided systems; the police. That's right, they're actually looking at the pathetic law enforcement system which randomly spawns officers two feet behind you the second you do a crime, with no complexity thrown in there at all. They don't drive vehicles, hardly chase you and immediately give up on you if you enter V's apartment. CDPR's solution? Make them spawn further away. Okay, I'm being facetious. They created a brand new 'police drone' unit that shows up on the scene first to make it look like the crime is being investigated. (I'm guessing the drone doesn't come with any actual 'investigation' AI routines, though) Also, this is a temporary fix to the problem and they're working on something substantial in the future. (Whether that's a 'fix' or the substantial reworking the game needs is anyone's guess) Still, this does slightly betray the prevailing willingness of this company to ship too early. I don't see the point of patching a system with a useless update like this when you plan on something completely different to replace it in the future. It's just making more work for yourself, something CDPR have been guilty of in other significant areas before. (Shouldn't they have learned by now?)

All and all, for what amounts to Cyberpunk's biggest patch yet, this does seem like a drop in the bucket. I recognise that these are merely highlights and the actual patch will be more packed, but I can't imagine basic problems like the awful traffic AI is going to see any work here. (Update: Blog delayed, patch is out. They didn't fix traffic AI) Plus, I still can't figure out if we're looking at a season of bughunts or serious reforms for the lackluster content. So many hopefuls out there seem convinced it's the latter but I can't find a single official comment where they've committed to that. And even if that does exist somewhere, it doesn't really mean all that much because the team has lied bare-faced before. What's to stop them from just shifting to making that online expansion they've been whispering about? Surely that's worth more to their investors? But- I need to stop. I said I'd be positive, and this is only the beginning. Ignoring the red flags and blaring warning sirens, this patch could mark the first significant step on the road to redemption for CDPR. And, at the end of the day, isn't that what we all want? A redeemed CDPR? (Well I do, anyway.)