I kept fighting hordes of afterlife mercs and I was like why are all these mercs hunting me. Turns out I had committed a crime in Pacifica, and instead of sending the NCPD it was the mercenaries. I thought that was pretty neat.
Can we actually talk about this? The police aggro is so aggressive. I remember hiding in a spot, after 3 mins the stars didn't disappear so I left it on for like an hour and nope, cops are still searching for me. Not to mention you can't even hide in your own home! They lock you out, at least have them bust into my apartment for a risk of being arrested. Let me take that gamble. (Sorry, just had to vent lol but it's a good thing they released mod resources)
Cops still have jurisdiction in free fire zones. The limit for opening fire is lower though. They could simply fly a gunship over the place and shoot everyone at the scene holding a firearm. The city cops and other companies might also have wavers that exclude service coverage in these areas. I don't know what Pacifica is like in 2077. Some central company property has extralegal status. It goes both ways though, the cops don't like to show up and support corporate security.
the thing is, in the lore, the ncpd was defunded by a corrupt mayor, and essentially, they are underfunded, undermanned, and overworked, meaning many of them are on stimulants, which probably does wonders on their mental state
Most problems usually have two or more components, you may solve them by acting on either. For example, if you don't have money to buy food, you could eat your banker instead. Protein is protein. Problem solved.
What if you're a violent amoral sociopath with a long history of violence and military grade hardware but refuse to kill anyone you consider weaker than you?
Remember that if the ADUs fail to engage the target, and the police are not yet here, consider using, if the store policy permits it, heavy weaponry, such as an antitank missile launcher, certain brands of personal firearm, or a grenade launcher. Please ensure that collateral damage is kept to a minimum, in order to reduce any fines caused by said damage. Remember that not all stores permit use of explosives, or armour piercing weapons. make sure to check! An additional warning. Psychos can be equipped with a myriad of different armor levels. Fire at your own risk!
*Coupon Expires upon leaving the leaving the premises. Not valid for any purchases of food, water, ammunition, weapons, cybernetic implants, consumer merchandise, etc.
So you could game the system by inciting cyberpsychos to attack malls and stores you go to, just so that you can get coupons and free vouchers. Splendid!
What's funny about the last episode is that there's a dude in the game world who lives exactly like Mr. Puggins, turrets everywhere, mines at the front door, gates covering all the property. What's also kinda funny while also being sad is that it killed his wife and kid because the system rebooted and didn't recognize their faces.
Damn is that really what happened? I thought they were concerned for him becoming too paranoid and one day when checking on him he snapped and killed them
@@liamedwards7656 I think it’s a lot how cops are in real life. There are very strict rules and procedures but not every single police officer is going to be a dick and enforce every last little bit of enforcement unless you give them reason. But the game also has plenty of shitty cops that don’t fit that bill
@@LoveSickWorld There are a shit ton of cops that act like dicks in the game or are obviously corrupt but not as violent as shown here. Even the cops that killed Harris only shot after he started running. I can't actually think of a cop whose reacted violently without reason first in the game
One of my favorite details, in the game, there’s a line about Pacifica being de-incorporated from night city in order to bring down the crime rate, backing up what sgt. Dobbs says.
Correct. Peralez tells V that Pacifica has been deemed an "independent district" by the then major Lucius Rhyne, therefore their crime statistics don't count anymore, therefore the crime rates went down.
@@commietearsdrinker to be fair, if they are independent their crimes might be different than the crimes from the rest of night city. Also, NCPD shouldn't really concern itself with those guys.
And a proof how fucked the situation is in Pacifica: Removing it from the crime stats make it go down when in the same time it's skyrocketing everywhere else in NC, Like, every District got +10% crime rate and removing Pacifica bring the total number to -6% compared to last year (and, the intro in Pacifica is a chopper shooting a building soooo yeah, feels right
@@douglasmarshall6661And in the chance that a child is born in NC, it's either they're destined to become orphaned, or their parents will outlive them.
I feel like realistically Night City wouldn't be as deadly as it is in-game. Gangs like the valentinos, voodoo boys and 6th street would "protect" you so long as you passed their vibe check. The city can't eat itself, some form of order has to exist.
That reminded me of a mission that Muamar gives you (in Phantom Liberty so spoilers if you haven't played it yet) You unlock this mission, Baby Let Me Take You, by doing 10 vehicle contracts. He explains that him and his friend, Daniels (who happens to be a cop) were both born and raised in Santo Domingo. And when they were growing up, and even during the events of the game, Arasaka had been polluting the water around Santo Domingo (probably from some kind of factory or Arasaka just being evil for the sake of being evil) so clean water was just not a thing anyone had access to. And people just kept dying from pollutants and diseases in the water (and obviously no one wants to fix that. Politicians as usual) So he enlists your help in going to steal this Arasaka truck full of medicine so he can use that medicine to start helping all those sick kids. It's a great mission, honestly. Not only a fun mission in its own right but you get a really sick car from it too
It's not "mugging" you just have to pay the nice officer some scratch for keeping the streets safe...er...ish. a mugging would just take your entire wallet.
@@leonsteinberg6965 , it depends where you live. Now I live in Moscow and can walk safely even at nights alone, but when I lived in Norilsk only main streets were safe (exept there could be situations like when you must pay fine for overspeeding 40 kilometers per hour, no mater your walk by foot). All others remind me of puckman where you running from ghosts, exept there was "хачики" (yeah, was, not were. It looks like they have a hivemind or something similar), that wanted to beat and rob everyone they saw "not a real man" (woman also can be "not a real man") instead of ghosts. And this is a pretty safe town in terms of a country.
@@user-ki6xw5lr4p , я бы наоборот порадовался если было в РФ всё настолько хорошо, что эту тему я б обсуждать не решился. А то больно уж высокое место РФ занимает в рейтингах полицейского произвола.
I love how they acknowledge just HOW dangerous night city is, while still saying “night city~” like its a beautiful place to be. He literally says you should never even walk in NC. Ever. Unless you have no other choice.
It's not wrong... I walk everywhere in Night City specifically BECAUSE there's a pretty good chance someone will make me shoot them. :P I love the Ka-chunk BOOM sound my shotgun makes, and the only way to hear it is to find more targets!
Ironically, Night City is probably one of the better places to live in 2077. You only have to worry about the gangs, the police, the corporations, the weather, netrunners, and overpopulation. Anywhere else you would have to deal with all of that PLUS the Government
@@testedhawkThing is, most of us aren't solos or ninjas or netrunners. Night city would eat us alive. I think I'd prefer having my soul crushed by corporations without the risk of also getting shot during a gang war.
@@MissGenkiArt Not in the country, in the whole CONTINENT. But half of the NUSA at this point is either a wasteland, a war zone, or so corrupt that living there makes independence look like a dream.
Dogs aren't extinct but they are very VERY rare. There are no street dogs in NC, only pets and they are super expensive to keep so only rich folks have them
Tbh that's hard to believe because they would adapt to night city rather easily unless you know they have street cameras that specifically shoot them on sight
Its odd, but a lot of this advice actually feels pretty realistic given the universe. Sure, something like "The first response medics are only there for their policy holders" is a bit dystopian, but stuff like "The Auto turret does not differentiate between civilian and hostile", "The police will fire upon you if you run at them in a panic", "Don't call the police during a cyber psycho attack because they will hear you", "Be careful walking down the street because you could get mugged" all seem like realistic advice. The presentation just adds the icing to the cake, since I have seen safety PSAs like this.
Trauma Team is not even First Response, they are basically paramedic/merc hybrids. And yes they are quite literally only there for Trauma Team policy holders, and even then if there is somebody with a better coverage plan than you near you, you will be delegated to the back of the queue until the better member is safe and in a hospital, which depending on your wounds it can mean that they will call in for another ambulance or you will be left there until they can come for you.
The autoturret distinguishes between fast moving target and slow/immobile object. They're discouraging people from fleeing in a panic because its visuals might not be able to scan them fast enough to recognize that they're nonhostile, and they're designed to shoot fast-moving targets. Cyberpsychos, meanwhile, are always visible as hostile, whether slow or fast, due to their brain activity and extensive cybernetics giving them away.
I didn't see any of these til the endgame. Paused my rampage of vengeance during a tense infiltration to watch some TV and Mr. Puggins get pulled over.
The best and worst part of this is that the crazy power that the NCPD holds makes complete sense In particular, needing to stay silent, avoid eye contanct, keep hands behind head etc. In a pull-over situation, makes perfect sense, the NCPD officer has no idea if youre a Netrunner outfitted with quickhacks, hence no eyecintact, lay on the ground so that cyberware like Berserk or Sandevistan could be momentarily deactivated by the officer (assuming there is an in-universe way to deactivate it), plus it puts the officer in the place of power, no surprise attacks, then not speaking to the NCPD officer makes sense because of the Maelstrom group itself, having mechanical vocal chords, they could be outfitted with a vocal set that can produce genuinely harmful sound, disorienting the officer, letting you escape, etc. It all has good reasoning in-universe
Yeah in a world where people can violate the laws of physics and go incredibly fast, and a world where netrunners can literally drive you to cyberpsychosis with a singular hack it makes sense
Eh- I agree, but only under the caviat that this is a dystopian setting designed for maximum interpersonal violence, in which the police serve as an occupying army responsible for preventing uprisings rather than public safety.
NCPD in 2020 worked like a public utility company, but one with guns and law enforcement powers. They still have a sort of public duty. If you played a cop character, you still had the law. The special skill for cops was to be the law and make others back down.
tbf the advice in these cartoons can actually help an NC resident even if it's a bit fucked. Plus I'm gonna assume this is the Cyberpunk equivalent of a cartoon so it's probably aimed more at children which will be helpful for them in the future
@@AlexKeyes299What about the police bending the space time continuum and the thin fabric of reality to travel to your location within 40 milliseconds of unholstering your gun?
Honestly though in this ducking city, it’s definitely safest for the office to detain you every time. Remember, detaining is meant to keep the officer safe. You are released if you are not being changed with anything.
@@penisbumpkin3315 No that is more mexican Police then anything else. It's dumb. Maybe Brazil, in my area if a cop was taking bribes or performing extortion he would dissapear and his daughters would get put into a brothel in the middle east... Yeah... not sure which is worse.
"They can hear you even when you whisper." As someone who made a Cyberpsycho build, we can do more than just hear you. If you exist, your fate is already sealed.
@@CTI-BCU-W15 *Looks at the 2.1 Sandevestian murdeblender build I made while bored, which on proving trials, took out 6 MaxTac teams before going down* "Uhhhh... yeah."
@@gaboderflinger7854 "there's no laws protecting us in the streets of night city; just f**king gangoons with badges & guns" -Johnny Silver hand, maybe.
Friend of mine works in law enforcement and he loves how these cartoon use Cyberpsychosis as an allegory for active shooter situations. All of the advice in the first short(barring the obviously futuristic ones, like the turret) all apply to active shooters.
Yeah they encourage you to stay still and as docile as possible because the security can accidently shoot you or get distracted and die in a split second decision.
There was a news story recently forget where it was out of the hundreds of them a month, an innocent civilian that took down a shooter got shot and killed himself because the police thought he was the shooter.
Fun fact - anyone who takes pot shots at least one person in public (regardless of motivation or gang affiliation) is considered an active shooter. And in spite of that, there are still only 100 deaths a year. It arguably made more sense to be afraid of terrorism after 9/11.
@@jonathanwilliams1065 In the cyberpunk universe, I think "implants" are more of an allegory for our many monads of tech that dominate life. Things like a smart phone aren't an "implant", but it's something (virtually) attached to you that you are required to have for life - and which has a potentially huge / terrible impact on you psychologically.
It actually was pretty informative and accurate for the situation, as messed up as it seems I feel convinced that all these rules are for the good of the citizen. Effective propganda
I mean, yeah when the average gang has a heavy machine gun on the back of the car, and will try and take down police vehicles with an antitank missile... Well, if the police can't get there, who knows, might get a bounty if you dome the bastard from your home. With the new Militech Home Weapons Platform, now you can! Featuring integrated netrunner resistant defenses, and a wide array of weapons to choose from, the Militech HWP is the newest innovation for defense of house and home.
@@arnowisp6244 Very true. Not everyone can follow these rules/guidelines since it's too strict especially elderly people. Innocent people would die everyday because they fail to follow the rules.
These lesson could be good if the animation doesn’t depict the world like Bladerunner or use the cyberpunk theme so heavily, it makes it looks like propaganda Nor the script really, the script tries to be cyberpunk so hard, it feels like a cyberpunk theme propaganda at this point
@@twotailedavengerEven if you don't count the token of gratitude coercion, perhaps they did, it's just bad optics to show it in an ad of themselves. Note how the search was fully skipped.
@@Xterminator8411 well, there are Dogs it seems. But they may only be attack dogs or more protective breeds. Like, Dobbs is a Doberman. But pugs, cosmetic pets, have fallen to the wayside. Early concept art did show corpos and NC elites owning fancy looking dogs, however. And other characters do allude to dogs (like the pirn developers saying they have "dog stuff") There's also ads for Dog food, The song Black Dog, etc.
The Virgin Officer Dobs: Invisible No one listens to his advice Wears sunglasses at night Gives dumb advice The Chad Mister Puggins: Chonky Immortal Large eyes alerts him of danger Has friends Cute
They only protect paying customers (for the police that's anyone with enough money to bribe the government or what's left of it), everyone else is just a potential threat.
The NCPD would like to note that the SmarTek Model 8552 Washing Machine was a repurposed riot cannon. An unknown netrunner managed to take control of several dozen M8552s and significantly harm, or in some cases drown, residents with the spray. beyond that, some brands of appliance can be made to explosively overload, albeit the detonation is... well, fairly pathetic. Still, check the product histories, and consult the ratings of any product. At this time, Arisaka would like to promote its Oldworld Comforts selection of unnetted items, which have no net systems. This of course, does mean you might not have the convenience of a netted home, but there seems to be a remarkable lack of explosive home devices in their history.
I love the context you can infer from these episodes without even knowing what the game is like. The government doesn't care and disregards your life. Corporations have private security that function like the police. Insurance policies are life lines and very close to a near necessity but not everyone can afford it. You're allowed to open carry but only cause the city can't protect you. Rewards like coupons are equivalent to your life. They made it into an animated cartoon to reach YOUNG audiences. Just goes to show how natural death is, when you're in the city. Murder and death is daily occurrence that they've called serial killers or extremely dangerous individuals, Cyberpsychos, further inferring that Cyberpsychosis is 'natural' occurrence. NO PLACE IS SAFE!
@@Randomusername673 There is still the NUSA. Europe is one big surveillance super state, there is still a Soviet Union around, Japan is probably nice, if dystopian. Africa and South America are probably hellholes.
_"Oh-oh! Looks like Mr. Puggins accidentally dropped a piece of candy on the street. You know what that means! According to article 22571 of the Global Emissions Act, any discarded item which has not been claimed by its own in 60 seconds or less , no matter where the vicinity (natural or commercial) is considered loitering and is punishable by fire squad."_ _"Maybe next time Mr. Puggins will think before violating the sanctity of our natural environment."_ _"That's all for this episode! Stay alive out there"_
I feel like in the corporate run world of cyberpunk, environmental legislation would be non-existent. Like, there are hardly any domesticated, let alone wild, animals left in the city (and I assume world) because of the pollution and nukes and stuff.
@@owendavis5420 I think there's a section that talks about mechanical pets programmed to behave like a domesticated version of its natural counter part. Some extra Eddies could get you a custom designed one, like a dragon I think. Imagine that as an update. V running around and shouting, "DRACARUS!!!" every time Maelstrom shows up.
i like that despite this being a horrible nightmare future where the life of the average civilian isnt valued that much, the tone of these videos actually make it seem like theyre trying to help and give genuine advice for their safety, and not just saying in a friendly voice "if you interupt police matters you will be destroyed" like a lot of other universes might
Agree. Night City has been through a history worse than most cities so it's no surprise that the NCPD needs to give PSAs on rules and customs that can save your life.
@@mdokuch96 night city is a dream because of prospect of growing. It's the same reason people irl go to the US, hoping to get more successful. Their hometown might be worse, better, or about the same, but it has less people, corps and opportunities
comments like this really miss the point. they arent trying to help people, or they wouldn't do this shit in the first place. they're trying to make this dystopic nightmare seem normal and friendly. it apparently worked too well.
I just love the way they seamlessly hide the dark subtext behind the seemingly friendly cartoons. The lessons this show basically teaches Night City children. 1. The police are not here to protect you. 2. Your only source of safety is to work for a corporation. 3. Never question the police, or their corrupt policies. 4. There is nothing more dangerous that going somewhere outside the corporations control. It goes to show, just because you are lacking in any government regulation, it doesn’t mean you are a free society.
I love how the cop guy looks like a grown-up paw patrol character I also love how extremely corrupt and corporate night city has become The literal police officers murder you at any given opportunity provided that you aren’t being a literal sheep even then…
Mate i feel like NCPD has the right to act like that. Think about the scavs, malstrom, or tiger claws, those guys are crazy. The reason the american poluce is so agressive today is, that they are more likely to be shot down than their european counerparts. They fear their lives as well.
@@wolfgangbloodymeatsack1687 damn actually even the tip might be warrant imagine youre police you stop someone they look at you and fry your brain or make you explode or kill yourself with your own gun the risk they occur on day to day must be huge no wonder so many are corrupt
@@rustyfisher2081 I imagine making someone shoot themselves in the head after a second of eye contact (or if a camera sees you) would make anyone jumpy. It's dystopian because the police are kind of justified in this world.
...uhh, okay? what the hell are you tryna say? "this would be incorrect if it wasn't for the fact that it's correct." think before you speak, motorhead.
@@theunreal_TOEBEANS Bounties. The NCPD is happy to report the Civil Defense Program, allowing all citizens who pass the mandatory security screening to begin earning their way through life, and defend their house and home. As of course is required by the Equal Opportunity Act, the NCPD is legally required to not discriminate based on gender, race, or economic status. Please remember to bring your identification and documents, or submit appropriate identifying cyberware. The NCPD would also like to extend the right to offer low cost consultations about the best path of weapons and style, ensuring a safe and profitable bounty hunting experience for all citizens.
@@Ploaper That's no problem! Just locate the nearest Budget Arms Slaught-O-Matic vending machine and purchase yourself a brand new, single use Slaught-O-Matic! Boasting a breakable tab safety, reliable polymer construction, and an internal, non-reloadable 36 round magazine, this automatic pistol is definitely _a_ gun!
<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="589">9:49</a> Travel by sea is dangerous because of rogue AI submarines, travel by car is dangerous because of violent Nomad gangs. Damn, this world really must suck, air travel is probably not far behind to getting dangerous as well, depending on which ending you chose.
@@mateuszmateuszowy you do down an AV but literally only because you used an entire powerplant to EMP it AND a FIM-92 stinger anti aircraft missle to down the thing. Id assume in most cases AVs if you can afford one are quite safe
<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="700">11:40</a> That nefarious netrunner wouldn't have been able to do anything if Mr. Puggins hadn't put a shotgun into the washing machine earlier
"As with the police, if Trauma Team medics arrive at the scene, Mr. Puggins should not speak to them or approach them. They are there only to extract Trauma Team policyholders." Well... that would explain Edgerunners. T____T
Yyyep. Exactly. In the RPG books it's laid out in detail exactly how strapped the crew will be that comes based on what policy you hold. There's also a lot of fluff explaining that trauma team do what they do and are so trusted because their trustworthiness is their primary selling point. Every TT operator is given an enormous background check, psych eval and a lot of effort goes into keeping them loyal and laser focused on only serving the policy holders. In edgerunners if David had tried any harder to hail them for help they probably would have shot to kill in case he threatened the client.
I like that they included the lock down shutters mentioned here in one of the new apartments you can get. I believe it’s the japantown apartment. Nice touch of detail.
@@anlumo1 Well the best part about 2077 is that it also released alongside RED (takes place in 2045) - so it literally added 57 years to the Cyberpunk timeline. And A LOT happens in those fucking 57 years
Maybe the Game IS not the BEST in some aspects but have incredible details everywhere.this show TV for example. A entire show TV for us into the videogames. This IS so much work and dedication.
bad optimisation, even though it had a long development time it was rushed, bugs. this game had huge potential though when it worked it was a very immersive game
@@unknownastroid_2240 Pacifica is kinda very... weird place Its hard to stay alive out here for normal civilian Central town area is most safe also because mostly the only hostile people here are corpo's
@@skell6134 oh I been knew lol I did everything in Pacifica and Westbrook so far.. and city center is the only place with out gang label so it made sense to me
The part where he reccomends tipping the cop kills me every time. Not only do I have to bend over for every cop trying to find contraband on my car, but I'm expected to PAY for the privilege. I wonder how many cops manage to suddenly "find" illegal possessions after they don't receive a tip.
This is some top tier worldbuilding. Edit: You know, in like a couple of months or years. This is going to go from cheeky worldbuilding to very real propaganda.
If I ever run a tabletop Cyberpunk game, I'm definitely opening the first few sessions with one of these episodes. Love me some sweet, fucked up juxtaposition.
I would say the first boss should be a Cyberpsycho but that might be a little too hard for new players. Especially if there's not a defense turret around.
@@iamsinistar8971surprised mid tier cyberpsycho boss fight while grocery shopping after a beginner mission. Show them the food pyramid and that they really should hide then run.
@@iamsinistar8971Cyberpsycho is a boss always hard no matter your level, equipment, chrome and experience, put a Cyberpsycho to battle new players is the same as TPK them
My favourite little tidbit about the whole series is that it’s constantly trying to kids hooked and dependant on corperate owned transportation and hardware. Like buying a gun is considered an afterthought to spending all your savings on security tech
Yep and I hope we get a "kill 'em all" option considering we only deal with 2 media types in the game: one with the actor; and the other is a bit of a spoiler in 4th wall studios you can overhear a conversation between 2 NPC's that work for TV studios - it is revealed that they hired a gang to kill and create an XBD of the preacher's boy.
You can actually interact with Gilean Jordan after the mission "Play it Safe" when you're leaving the area. You should spot a camera drone, the lady herself, and an N54 News AV hovering above.
You mean the bad lands that are in the game? And the same badlands that they alone dont really have anything in them...and a game in juzt them literally could be named anything and youd not know it was cyber punk?
@@BopaBola nah the big open areas in between cities in the lore. For me the Bad lands in game were funny, you could find raffen shiv camps, corpo hide outs, secret labs, forward operating bases, AV crash sites, ambushes, you had random solos and netrunners trying to set up shop, lotta references from breaking bad to silence of the lambs, not to mention some fun missions like Space oddity. You got the swamps, the city dump, the big swathes of desert. Idk bad lands felt pretty well utilized to me, but to each their own. There is that one corner that's a huge labyrinth of biotechnica warehouses, and that's kind of annoying but there's some secrets in there as well. Would have been cool to see big sandstorms and maybe fuel and water mechanics out there. Pretty fun but always room for improvement.
@@johntaylor7029 ...so...like i said...you mean the badlands that are already in the game and dont need their own because theres not much cyberpunk to do with just sand.
@@BopaBola lol nah, the sand is just the setting, shows the outer fringes and shady dealing of cyberpunk. Lotta nifty things out there. Favorite being a massive AV wreck with sloppy corpo coverup, or maybe the iron man reference. But in a solely badlands game, you could have corpo troops fighting each other for research sites, have nomads on the go, cool car stuff. Dead and dying cities showing the plight of the little people. They did a ton of stuff with the badlands in game, you just got to go look for it. Love to see mad max stuff.
@@HiddenRealm I suppose that's one way to see it. I disagree, though I like your arguments, and you make good points. I simply feel there's stories to tell. It's mentioned in lore there's abandoned cities and open roads, dying towns etc. There's whole clans of nomads out there, and despite air travel being a big part of society, most people are limited to overland routes. That's a lot of traffic. So I'd say there's opportunity for narrative and gameplay. Like you said, a metro Exodus type deal, maybe follow a nomad clan as it tries to find whatever its looking for. Travel make deals, be the fringe of society, chasing the dream. Or maybe have a mad max style deal, open sandy sand box, zooming around in desert rigs between various safe zones. Be the wary small town survivor who disdains the big city folk, but can't run away from the world. Get that sense of dread knowing the world changes for the worse, despite all you do. Maybe you are trying to prop up dying communities, be the last of a township, but have to stray ever deeper into brutality and cyber usage to keep yourself free from what's coming. Or maybe you choose to become greedy, like the world and give in. Maybe your a small time gang exile, looking for new victims. Maybe you are the corpo fist, sent to iron out a rough patch on Arasaka or militechs to do list, and you notice people seem content, or maybe you don't care. Open world existential crisis. Retell the story of how urbanization and climate change affect us all. Battle over settlements, viable soil or food growing ops, for fuel, for human decency as you battle choosing the easy path that deep down you know is unavoidable. You could be facing down nomads, raffen shiv, encroaching corpos, revived govt shards trying to enforce their will. Or all of the above. Send panzers and AVs into battle, survive artillery or satellite bombardments. Feel the wieght of the cruel worlds hungry gaze. Open sand could just be the empty canvas to see how messed up it can get in modern life, no big city to lose your self in. No amount of tech or distance can save you from the human race or the human condition, unless you find yourself, or whatever. This is just off the top of my head. You could also go a different route, instead of a vast open world, with character creation options and such you could have a narrower character driven experience. Say a gang caravan getting lost, or a corpo kill squad failing and is thus abandoned. Or maybe just some truckers having a really bad day. Have a smaller cast of characters that are broken out of normalcy and forced to survive, not only the elements and each other, but also an absence of the noise of civilization. Out away from the cities you'd have to dig deep to stay focused on what drives you. Make it about getting back vs getting away. Have themes of returning to civilized, ordered hell vs barbaric freedom. Make hard choices. Or if you are nostalgic, have the story of Jackie Welles; on his quest for the original tequila recipe from that abuelita in Mexico. Or how he saves corpo from the cartels that one time. Or be a AV pilot, zooming the skies above scorched earth, be corpo courier take the narrative into the air. Add aeronautical mayhem into the mix to over come distance. Cyberpunk has a lot of lore, lot to see. Be fun to see a radically different angle. That's all I'm saying. The areas between the cities are an ocean of opportunities. Not untapped desert, miles of empty nothing; it's the ruined world humanity with its reckless progress made. The shadow of mother earth, of older days. Be interesting to roam it. To each thier own.
