Cyberpunk 2077

On the issue of bugs, I discovered a recurring bug that was irritating. There is a DLC mission where you imitate a Cuban hitman. When you turn on the tech they disable inventory, map, etc, and when the quest is over they forget to re-enable them. Loading from the last save resets normal behavior.



Anyway, wrapped up my new playthrough, choosing the Aldecado assault with Panam and ended up with "The Star" ending this time.

Seems like the best outcome possible. Johnny lives on as part of the AI and Arasoka stock is nosediving. V lives and loves, and moves on with his life with his new family. With Johhny out of his head, meds are seeming to help, and Panam says they have favors that they can call in that might be able to resolve the problem. Either way, this is the ending for hope. V said that the glow in cyberspace was hope (in this case for Johnny), and so is the departture from night city with those he is closest to. Misty's final Tarot reading in the credits mentions a good life in the badlands, which implies that that hope may have been realized. All in all, very satisfying

Still, there was a certain melancholy appropriateness of watching a changed Johnny wandering off on a bus to make a new life from my previous playthrough (Temperance). As implied throughout the game, Johnny was rubbing of on you, and you were rubbing off on him. Johnny became less of a selfish **ick and started actually caring for people, hence the Kerry storylines and some others. So, in a sense, V is still living on in Johnny and the world is better for it.

The final confrontation with Alt now references So Mi (Songbird) from the DLC, but nothing of significance changes... just one response, but it's nice that they took the time to do it. Somewhat appropriate that Misty's reading right before I did the Mikoshi job had The Moon as the final card. She describes is as Mystery (ie. an ambiguous ending... will V live or die?) but The Moon was also the ending I ended up with in the DLC.... probably just coincidence, but it was a little spooky.




All in all, Cyberpunk 2077 was very well written. I am satisfied and consider it one of the best games I've played. The dramatically different endings all have emotional resonance, and it's not a case of "this is the real ending, and we through in a couple of others quickly because it's an RPG." Probably won't play it again, and if I do it'll be a good long while, but it was a preem ride.



Addendum:

Realizing I was pretty much done with the game, I noticed that I was missing one Tarot card and that it was probably obtainable by doing the Hanako path to Arasaka Tower. In the interest of completeness, I did that storyline too.


Different than I thought it'd be, and interesting. Aft the end of things, in this one Sabura Arasaka gets reincarnated, V gets Johnny shredded and the biochip extracted. Unfortunately, after many tests it seems the chip is still killing him and Arasaka offers two options: 1) Sign the devil's contract and become an engram, consigning your soul to Mikashi-hell in hopes of a future rebirth. 2) Return back to earth to wait out your 6 months.

First thing to note... there's no reason to believe that Arasaka ever wanted to save your life, for those who say "if Arasaka can't save you, how could the nomads?" I think it's just as likely that Arasaka was just using you as a Guinee pig to see how your body reacts to various changes so that the eventual Saburo reincarnation goes well. They don't give a rat's ass about V. Hanako was willing to sacrifice her brother for this, but she's too honorable to fuck over V? Maybe they got enough data to finally do it, and didn't want to. Buh bye, or go directly to soul-jail. If Relic 2.0 can rewrite DNA, then why not use a second one to reprogram back to V? Because they don't want to. :)

Another thing to note... Johnny isn't completely gone via the surgery. He still pops up as a voice in your dreams telling you to make a break for it.. This may be the difference between the return-to-earth-and-die scenario (2) in this version and the Aldacado path, where Alt took Johnny away and the meds seem to be helping.

Just to see the difference I reloaded to see what happens if you sign the devil's contract. Not a whole lot really... walk down the hallway, lay on a chair and you see a starfield/nebula as you await your hopeful reincarnation that may never come. Limbo? Oblivion? You've literally sold your soul to the devil... all rights, signed away, literally.

So, lets bring it full circle! If Arasaka = the Devil. Saburo = the Antichrist, who was dead and lives again to the astonishment of the multitudes, thanks to you helping them experiment and getting the resurrection stuff nailed down with all of the testing. Mikoshi was a repository of souls for use as guinnee pigs to get it right before using it on Saburo... and realized that Yurinobo his son was the ideal candidate based on compatibility.



Not a "good" ending by any means, but one of the more informative from a lore perspective and helping understand the big picture, where the others V wanders off largely oblivious.




Now lets go back... how did all of this start? Who actually set up the heist? Evelyn? Dexter Deshawn? Really? Seems awfully ambitious to think two street thugs could pull this all off, and why is Johnny Silverhand? Just a wierd coincidence that Arakaka Corp's nemesis is the one on a prototype chip that can resurrect him? This link makes a compelling argument that Yorinobu set it all up and manipulated Evelyn into doing it as a big middle finger to daddy. That he hoped to resurrect SilverHand to fight Arasaka corp and that Saburo's arrival threw a wrench into everything? THere are some shards indicating that yorinubo may have been trying to sell Silverhand to Netwatch to be bait for Alt. Voodoo Boys then sweep in and steal it out from under them to cut a deal with Alt? Seems to fit pretty well either way.

https://forums.cdprojektred.com/ind...erything-that-happened-max-spoilers.11067428/
 
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I keep wishing this game had proper VR. Both 3rd party mods with AFR are crap halving frame rate forcing potato visuals.
 
Do you have a 40x card where the frame generation may be able to help (and it doesn't do enough?) or using a card that's doing it the normal way? I definitely wouldn't be able to turn up all of the rendering options without DLSS3 going.


I reloaded from the big checkpoint in phantom Liberty's story to choose "the other" path

Sided with Sol and betrayed SongBird.

Plays out completely differently. Rather than getting out then infiltrating a spaceport, you head to Cynosure, an ancient militech base to put a stop to songbird who has lost it and is being taken over by the AI.

The bit of playing hide-and-seek with the AI spiders is irritating as hell. Died more in an hour there than in the previous 300 hours I've put into the game simply because "if noticed -> die and reload from last checkpoint." That said, it was interesting, and the final "talk" with So Mi in her "apartment" as it was slowly being absorbed by the Blackwall was very effective.

Tried both avenues regarding the final choice. First, I took pity on So Mi and let her die rather than being taken over by the Blackwall, or sold into servitude for the good ol NUSA again. It felt right (though not as good as the Moon ending), but leaves you still with your problem. You confront mayers, etc, but no So Mi, no deal. Back to NC for you. Sol can't deal with failing to save So Mi's life even at the expense of her life.


Next, I reloaded back a-ways, got the schematics for the blackwall cyberdeck (which I missed the previous run), and captured/turned over So Mi to Sol/Mayers. She "lives", and Sol is satisfied (at least initially) but we don't really know what happened to her. I imagine that she's like a Human AI... constantly jacked into the net, surrounded by ICE for her protection and only let out to do jobs. But that's just conjecture. Sol and Mayers live up to their promise to use NUSA resources and technology to remove the engram and let you live. This is an alternate way to get "The Tower" ending it seems. The downside is that most of your cyberware is permanently disabled as it could kill you. Two years have passed and virtually everyone has moved on, but Viktor feels confident that he can fix the cyberware problem, but he's wrong.

Viktor's sold out to the corps, Arasaka moved out after Yorinobu was crippling Arasaka from the inside and he was deposed, and Militech's stepped into the power void. You leave Viktor's shop and get brutally beatn by a couple of punks that think you're loaded. Trying to scare then by bringing up Padre just makes them last as he lost control of Heywood. Misty finds you and you have a nice talk. She's moving on, and wants to know what you're going to do.

I chose to remain in Night City, maybe become a fixer. THe new V (after you wake ffrom surgery/coma you are shaved with natural hear colo, no facial hair, facial implants removed, etc... looks like a different person) fades into the masses... the nobodies. It's an ending completely the opposite of "dying a legend" which is what was initially offered you. As the phone calls during the end credits suggest, Rogue says you're always welcome at the Afterlife, but maybe better to let the legend survive on its own and build a new life. That maybe not a bad thing, so you can have your cake and eat it too. Vincent the fixer will have to build up his own reputation, but V will always be a legend and bring some hope.


So about getting the cyberdeck plans... before finalizing things in part 2, I was curious about this super-secret pre-Krash deck and wanted to try it out for a bit. Only 4 slots, a lot of ram, and a buiult in Blackwall Gateway cyberware, which is basically death... fries cybercircuits and other tech, for a low price of 12 ram, and supposedly spreads. Not nearly as effective as when I was throwing Blackwall around during the moon ending, and pretty lackluster really, mostly due to the delay. Memory wipe/reboot optics/sonic shock is not that much more expensive (use purple memory wipe), faster and "silent."

As I was preparing to put away Cyberpunk for good also decided to do a few fights with Sandevistan Apogee cyberware to speed things up. If you just want to blast things, it's pretty awesome. Not as good with my perks as some others I'm sure. Tech shotguns can't really charge when it's active, but don't really need to. Sasquatch's Hammer on the other hand's slow movement speed (no dashes) gets dealt with and a single strong swing takes most things down. If I was going Katana or otherwise I'm sure the combinations of dashes and slices would be very impressive.

Anyway, I think I'm finally done. Phantom Liberty is a good expansion and I'm glad to see that they took some of the criticisms of the base game to heart with regards to quest structuire, etc. I look forward to what they bring with the sequel.
 

A closer look at the current version of Ultra Plus mod that can give you allot more options for RT and Pathtracing. Allowing for more performance customization and even going the other direction and taking the visuals further than default.

Mod can be found in the link below,
 
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Update 2.3 Patch Notes said:
Update 2.3 lands tomorrow on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S! The update will also be hitting Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on Nintendo Switch 2 at a later date — stay tuned for more detes!



Experience Night City in a whole new way — this patch introduces 4 new vehicles, the AutoDrive feature, self-driving Delamain cabs and more! It also contains updates for CrystalCoat™ and Photo Mode, as well as support for AMD FSR 3.1 Frame Generation, Intel XeSS 2.0 and HDR10+ Gaming on PC, among others.



Update 2.3 also brings Cyberpunk 2077 to a whole new platform: Mac with Apple silicon! The game can be purchased via the Mac App Store and other PC storefronts. If you already own the game via GOG.com, Steam or the Epic Games Store, you can play it on your compatible device. To find out whether your Mac can run Cyberpunk 2077, please check the official requirements.



Read the list of changes for more info:



Vehicles



Added 4 new vehicles, including several Side Jobs tied to acquiring them:

  • Yaiba ARV-Q340 Semimaru
Reward from a new side job (to unlock, complete The Hunt and The Beast In Me).

An additional side job unlocks the CrystalCoat™ feature for it.

  • Rayfield Caliburn "Mordred"
Reward from a new side job (to unlock, complete The Beast in Me: Badlands, The Beast in Me: Santo Domingo, Transmission, and Search and Destroy).

  • Yaiba ASM-R250 Muramasa
Reward from a new side job (to unlock, purchase 1 Yaiba vehicle, purchase at least 3 vehicles through AUTOFIXER, and complete Reported Crime: You Play with Fire...).

If you fail the side job, the vehicle can later be purchased through AUTOFIXER.

  • Chevillon Legatus 450 Aquila
Available for purchase on AUTOFIXER.



  • Introducing AutoDrive! This cutting-edge, autonomous driving feature will take you to your chosen destination (i.e. job objective or placed pin on the map). If you have no set destination, it will take you on a leisurely ride through the streets of Night City. Simply hop in any of your vehicles, make sure you're on a road, and hold H (PC) / Left Stick (consoles) to activate. This feature is disabled when you enter combat or when your vehicle is heavily damaged.
  • Implemented Cinematic Camera for AutoDrive. Hold Q (PC) / D-Pad Right (consoles) to activate. Sit back and enjoy cinematic views of Night City as you cruise toward your destination.
  • Self-driving Delamain cabs are now available on demand! Simply open the menu to call vehicles, then select "Delamain Cab" from the list to request a ride. This feature unlocks after completing the job Don't Lose Your Mind (regardless of outcome) and receiving a message from Delamain.
  • Rayfield's CrystalCoat™ is now available for vehicles from partner brands, including motorcycles. Additionally, the infamous hacker known as Cosmetic_Troll exploited a vulnerability and created a cracked version of Rayfield's CrystalCoat™ technology for lower-end vehicles. Please note, however, that some models do not support the technology, such as heavily modded nomad vehicles and job-related vehicles.
  • Fixed an issue where unique color schemes did not work properly on the Mizutani Shion MZ1 and MZ2.
  • Fixed an issue where unique color scheme could not be applied properly to the Villefort Deleon "Vindicator".


Photo Mode

  • Added 27 new NPCs that can be spawned in Photo Mode, including Rita Wheeler, the Cassel twins, fixers, Dum Dum, the iguana, Brendan, and more.
  • You can now switch between alternative outfits for NPCs spawned in Photo Mode.
  • You can now switch between V's saved Wardrobe outfits in Photo Mode.
  • Added a confirmation pop-up when exiting Photo Mode to prevent accidental exits after setting up the perfect shot.
  • Added more customization options to the Look-At Camera feature, including an option for only the character's eyes to turn toward the camera instead of their entire body.



  • Added multiple new stickers and frames, including iconic quotes and stylish overlays that let you turn your screenshots into Night City postcards – perfect for sharing memories from the City of Dreams.
  • Improved Depth of Field and moved it to the Camera tab.
  • Added a new Color Balance tab, allowing you to create your own custom filters.





Quality of Life & Accessibility

  • The game will now detect if the player is using inverted mouse button settings and automatically adjusts in-game button prompts accordingly.
  • Added an option to toggle aiming down sights in Settings → Controls.


Jobs & Open World

  • Cyberpsycho Sighting: Bloody Ritual - the "Crack the ritualist's shard" objective now properly disappears from the Journal after completing the objective.
  • Sex on Wheels - now properly appears in the Journal after receiving the message from Jake Estevez.
  • Shot by Both Sides - fixed an issue where selecting a specific dialogue option in the conversation with Bree created a nameless, iconless item in the player's Inventory.
  • Shot by Both Sides - fixed an issue where the button to go to the lower level didn't appear on the elevator panel.


Gameplay

  • Fixed an issue where, when using a controller in Trauma Drama, the controllable character would default to shooting upwards instead of forward.
  • Players can now drop more Cyberware Capacity Shards if some within the intended drop limit were previously missed.
  • Fixed an issue causing automatic weapons to fire slower than intended.
  • Fixed an issue where the Official BARGHEST Tac Vest didn't drop from the scripted Airdrop as intended.
  • The level 60 Engineer perk no longer activates the EMP blast outside of combat or after entering a vehicle.
  • Added an option to replay the gameplay tutorial at any time via Settings → Controls.


Miscellaneous

  • Added an option to tell Johnny to go away after you look at him for a short while when he appears in the passenger seat. He takes the hint and disappears as a passenger for a couple days.
  • Fixed an issue where the sound of V's Radioport could be randomly interrupted by the Radioports of nearby NPCs.
  • Fixed an issue where History by Gazelle Twin and Trash Generation played too loudly compared to other songs on the radio.
  • Improved the HDR Setting screen: fixed the HDR calibration preview so it correctly reflects the chosen settings, and clarified the description of the "Tone-Mapping Midpoint" setting.
  • Updated the End User Licence Agreement. You will be asked to accept it again when you load the game after updating.
  • Fixed several visual issues with missing, clipping, or floating textures.
  • Fixed several localization issues in various languages.


PC-specific

  • Added support for AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 for compatible AMD GPUs. IMPORTANT: The FSR 4 option will not be available in the in-game settings until the supporting AMD driver is installed. Please note that the driver will be released at a later date.
  • Added support for AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution Frame Generation 3.1 for compatible hardware. It can now be used in combination with any upscaler.
  • Added support for Intel XeSS 2.0, with XeSS Frame Generation available on compatible hardware.
  • Added support for HDR10+ GAMING certified Intel GPUs. To enable this feature, your display must support the technology (Find My Display) and have "Game Mode" enabled. The HDR10+ GAMING toggle can be found in Settings in the Video tab.
  • Fixed an issue where the DLSS Super Resolution Preset would invisibly revert from the CNN model to the Transformer model after restarting the game, even though the UI still displayed the CNN model as active.
  • Added more detailed information to the DLSS Super Resolution Preset tooltip in Settings to help players choose the best option for their setup.
  • Added the ability to move the mouse cursor to a different display while in Windowed Borderless mode.
  • Increased the maximum save size from 12 MB to 15 MB.
  • It will now be possible to rebind the key used to jump out of vehicles with the Stuntjock perk.


Console-specific

  • Added VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) support for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
  • Fixed an issue where foliage was not properly affected by weather conditions on PlayStation 5.
 
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