Tag: cp2020

Dystopian Future visions only on economic heights!

Cirlot and I are just now discussing why cyberpunk seems to be big in Germany, but not in the US. I think it has something to do with economic circles and the fact that Germanys more advanced social security system prevented the necessary angst till now (Germany just saw a massive decrease in social security in the last years. We are back to public soup kitchens!)

Looks like I’m wrong! io9 (I talked about that fantastic blog already) has created this wonderful graph:

When The Economy Booms, Dystopias Rule

(click for larger image)

Charlie Jane Anders thinks

So what’s going on here? A few explanations suggest themselves. Movie execs may greenlight dystopian films during economic downturns, and their immediate aftermath, but it may take a few years for those films to work their way through the development process and hit your screens. But it’s also possible that when things are at their brightest economically, people feel the most insecure because they know the good times won’t last forever. So boom times are when people most need stories about people surviving the bad times. Or maybe it’s just that film-makers are a contrary bunch, who want to rub your face in the dirt just when you’re feeling your brightest.

So what? Even I’m sometimes wrong. Please don’t tell my girlfriend.

Programming 106: Everyone's Kung Fu Fighting!

Programming 106:
Everyone’s Kung Fu Fighting!
Clap of Thunder
CLASS: Anti-Personnel COST: 4,650eb
STRENGTH: 6 MU: 5
PROGRAMMING: 186 DIFFICULTY: 31
FUNCTION(S): Anti-Personnel
OPTION(S): Superrealistic Icon
COST MULTIPLIER: x25 (Anti-Personnel x25)
ICON: A rippling wave of black electricity.
DATA: The Icon of the netrunner shouts, “Clap of thunder!”, then claps his/her hands together to cause the rippling effect in the ‘net. The attack will cause 4d6 points of neural damage to the target ‘runner and will push him/her back 1d6+1 spaces. Continue reading “Programming 106: Everyone's Kung Fu Fighting!”

Cyb3rpunk | New State City Setting

cyb3rpunklogo.png

[ newstate, i.s.a. ]

Newstate ist der neueste Staat der Incorporated States of America (I.S.A.). Er entstand aus der Zwangsvereinigung verschiedener vormals getrennter Staaten im Nordosten des Landes zum Zwecke einer “Revitalisierung” der seit Jahrzehnten von Krisen geschüttelten und im Niedergang begriffenen Vorzeige-Region der alten USA.Speziell der Niedergang New Yorks im Nachgang des nuklearen Terroranschlages und das desaströse Ende der Arkologieprojekte während des Zusammenbruchs haben zum faktischen Ende des Wirtschaftsstandorts Nordost Continue reading “Cyb3rpunk | New State City Setting”

Cyberpunk Tech 9: Cyberarm

You got to watch this amazing movie! He can pick up a screw with this arm! It has enough feedback for the user to drink from a glass bottle without breaking it.

[youtube 1hzRja9eunY]

Via bookofjoe

Older news showing todays technological advances as predicted by the Cyberpunk Writers:

Programming 105: It Ain't Over 'til the Fat Lady Sings!

Programming 105: It Ain’t Over ’til the Fat Lady Sings!
Faceless Hunter
CLASS: Anti-Personnel COST: 15,250eb
STRENGTH: 8 MU: 11
PROGRAMMING: 366 DIFFICULTY: 61
FUNCTION(S): Anti-Personnel, Disguise
OPTION(S): Movement Ability, Trace, Auto Re-Rezz, Recognition, Invisibility, Memory, Speed, Endurance, Pseudo-Intellect, Superrealistic icon
COST MULTIPLIER: x25 (Anti-Personnel x25)
ICON: A silver humanoid figure with no facial or sexual features to distinguish it. However, with its Disguise function it can assume the structure of any program or form of any netrunner it has come across in its past.
DATA: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Unfortunately, with a Faceless Hunter after you, you’ll never know which is which. Continue reading “Programming 105: It Ain't Over 'til the Fat Lady Sings!”

Abenteuer: Der verfluchte Koffer

Abenteuer: Der verfluchte Koffer

Autor: TheOzz

18.01.08, 16:47

Ist ein Szenario, welches ich gestern [17. Jan. 2008 – Die Redaktion] erfolgreich geleitet habe. (=> Erfolgreich: Spieler überlebt und Ziel erreicht.)

Einleitung

Night City: 3. Sept. 2020, 21 Uhr, ein beschissener Mittwoch, mit noch beschissenerem Wetter.
Die Stadt, die nie müde wird. Nie müde, dich zu ficken…
Dein Kopf beklagt sich noch über die Dosierung des Alks und der Designerdrogen vom gestrigem Tag. Der heftige Regen der rhythmisch gegen das verdreckte Fenster knallt ist auch nicht das Beste für deine Kopfschmerzen. Aber was zur Hölle hat dich Continue reading “Abenteuer: Der verfluchte Koffer”

Hello Kitty craze – the female 'punk no longer wears leather

Damn, wasn’t I in love with tough Molly Millions when I read William Gibsons Neuromancer for the first time. Implanted Mirrorshades, Rippers under the fingernails and tight leather pants… he defined the look of tough ladies for ages. But these days, a girl with crowd approval needs to be cute. Even if you are a cyberpunk. Especially, if you’re a cyberpunk!

But we from www.cyberpunk2020.de are well aware of the difficulties to brave a dangerous dystopian world and look cute while firing an fully automated shotgun at a gang of cybercrazed boosters. We gave you the Hello Kitty assault rifle, a Hello Kitty handgun, and more pink guns than you can shake a stick at. But we realize that a gun is not the only fashion statement the female punk can make. You ladies are usually very interested in your fingernails, so we can help you there.

If that’s overdoing for you, check out these Hello Kitty Contact Lenses – they really freak me out!

Depending on the change in your pocket, there is cheaper or more expensive transport available for you. As you can see, the Hello Kitty franchise keeps the girl punk covered: Look cute while being deadlier then Molly Millions ever was!

Defending CP2020

Many people think that Cyberpunk 2020 is outdated, because the game makes assumptions on the future that – meanwhile – have proven to be wrong.

That’s okay. Let them. They are right.

But: What can be done about that? There are three basic “roads” open to “revamp” or adjust Cyberpunk 2020 to keep it up with the pace of technology and society:

  1. Ignore the problem. Hey, to err is human. To ignore is divine. You can just say that Cyberpunk 2020 follows a timeline that may have been our own up until nineteen80something. But which went another way since then. This way you can just stick with the oversized mobile phones and the huge “computer in a suitcase” stuff from CP2020. Our world went iPod. CP2020 went Cyber. Deal with it – by not dealing with it.
  2. Revamp the system. This is the Cyb3rpunk way to go: Either redo the whole system (or use the HARDWIRED setting instead, which is less of a contradiction to our “real here and now”) or – if you don’t want to trash your ongoing CP2020 campaign – move the timeline ahead 5-10 years and use this “gap” to place historical events that explain the change in the setup (you can use the articles tagged “cyb3rpunk” on this website for inspiration).
  3. Use your imagination, dammit! “So a mobile phone costs over a hundred eb and still looks rather huge in CP2020? Well, players, of course you can have a sleek mobile phone for free from one of the corporations – but I thought we were playing CYBERPUNK here. And Edgerunners sure are paranoid, so they use “overexpensive” (and dead-ugly) mobile phones from a small manufacturer in some far-away land that doesn’t sell out its customers to the IRS and the LEDiv.” This third road is somewhat a mix of the 1st and 2nd way to handle “contradictions”. It’s not the most elegant (that would be totally revamping the setting) nor the most time-efficient (that would be to ignore everything), but it takes “the best of both worlds”. The only thing you have to do is take a fresh look at CP2020 tech and gear and make up explanations for seemingly (key word!) incorrect prices and stats. Memory Unit seem too small? “That’s 1 MU for Data PLUS the necessary encryption or license attachment”. Laptop computer seem too huge? “That’s because in 2020 you need extra powerful radio transmitters to cut through all the electronic smog”/”That’s including acid rain protection”/”That’s the model of the only independent manufacturer left in the ISA”/”That’s pimp style, because size DOES matter”.

Have fun!

Programming 104

Programming 104
Hit Man
CLASS: Anti-Personnel COST: 10,500eb
STRENGTH: 8 MU: 8
FUNCTION(S): Anti-Personnel
OPTION(S): Movement Ability, Recognition, Invisibility, Endurance, Superrealistic icon
COST MULTIPLIER: x25 (Anti-Personnel x25)
ICON: A well dressed gentleman in a black or navy blue suit, a white, gray, or baby blue dress shirt, a black tie and shoes, and a pair of mirrorshades.
DATA: This program was an inspiration after a rogue hunter/bounty hunter tried to flatline me and my crew during a netrun to Afrikani. He was good, real good! But like Icebreaker says, “There is safety in numbers especially when the enemy doesn’t know when they’re there.” Hit Man can be programmed with the necessary data it needs to kill it’s intended target as well as containing a short message. It will attack from teh shadows of the ‘net and do 1d10 points of neural damage to the drekhead until it’s dispatched or the ‘runner is dispatched. Either way, someone or somethin’ is gonna die!
Shark
CLASS: Anti-Personnel COST: 9,750eb
STRENGTH: 4 MU: 6
PROGRAMMING: 234 DIFFICULTY: 39 Continue reading “Programming 104”

Bizarre Nomad Cycle

Just when you think you have seen everything, including Hello Kitty Gun Designs, you find something really new, like this approach to a truly “all-terrain” motorcycle:

The info about the bike comes from this site, where it reads:

“You may not have room in your garage (or budget) for a dirt bike and a snowmobile and a four-wheeler. But what if one vehicle could take the place of all three? That´s the idea behind the Hyanide, a wild concept vehicle created by German designers Oliver Keller and Tillman Schlootz for the 2006 Michelin Challenge Design. This year´s competition showcased vehicles made especially for California´s diverse and often rugged topography. Named for its supposed resemblance to a crouching hyena, the Hyanide is designed to run on a flexible rubber tread that spans the machine´s entire underside. So if any part of the bottom is touching the ground, the Hyanide should be able to move, no matter how deep the quagmire, no matter how rough the terrain. (…)

Both the front and rear of the Hyanide rotate into a turn, which would give riders extra control while making sharp turns or climbing hills. To drive the vehicle, you´d steer with your hands as well as your feet, and you´d wear special shoes that snap onto the pedals, like on a racing bicycle. To turn left, for example, you´d push the right side of the handlebar forward, to point the front of the tread left-it´s the same motion as on a motorcycle. At the same time, however, you´d also push back on the right pedal, angling the rear of the tread into the turn. This action would twist the tread into a crescent shape and whip the Hyanide around a turn.

The Hyanide currently exists only as a one-fifth-scale model, and Schlootz and Keller have no plans to bring a production version to market. Keep your fingers crossed, though-Hyanide´s unique drivetrain impressed a lot of automotive-industry heavy hitters at the Challenge Design. Maybe one of them has an overcrowded garage.”

Thanks to the guys from the Battlelords of the Twenty-Third Century RPG Forum, who brought my attention to this gem.