In the last update I announced that the merchant prices need to be more balanced since we had prices that would be just all over the place. This is implemented now. The item prices now are based on a simulated economy of supply and demand. This means they should feel more realistic now as well as make a bit more sense. I also designed some more ASCII art for weaponry and some clothes. And did some minor tweaks in displaying them. I still have to come up with how I want Cyberdecks to actually look like in this future. After browsing around on https://www.reddit.com/r/cyberDeck/ to see how current ones look like, I decided in the future they should look very different indeed since they could be hooked up directly to a neural interface of the runner (wired) or at least to his/her cybernetic eyes (wirelessly). But for those users who have neither, a cyberdeck should provide a holographic display and therefore needs some kind of holo emitter. Designs for such a device I'm still working on. 

Since I was already working on balancing the prices of the items that the merchant sells, I also reworked the effects of some items. Now, the camouflage suit will actually improve the runner's stealth rating making it easier for enemies to overlook him. Additionally, since we always had an item limit the runner can carry (which was statically set to 20), I changed this to reflect the types of clothing the runner is wearing. So a bullet-proof vest, while helpful to protect against bullets has very few pockets compared to a regular leather jacket or the Urban Explorer Overall (which effectively can double the carrying capacity). If the runner wants to change his clothing to something that has fewer item slots that the amount of items he is currently carrying, then you will be asked to drop some things before proceeding. During the run, you can now see your current maximum carrying capacity as well as how much of that is already in use.

Along with this, also the damage of some weapons was updated to make sure they reflect their usefulness and are also more in harmony with the offered price point.

Hiring  & Roster changes

In the roster, underneath the already employed runner(s), you can now see random other potential employees for your company with their hiring prices. Those constantly change, so whenever you get to the roster, what applicants you will find is random. Given sufficient funds, you can hire one. Based on their skills those applicants are trying to join for a specific position in your team, be it a mage, a warrior or a decker (a matrix hacker using a cyberdeck). They come with basic equipment for their position but once in the field you may need to equip them (either based on what you gathered during your previous runs or what you bought and kept in the company inventory). A mage will always come with a Focus object, while a decker will come with a Cyberdeck. If a runner has Cyber eyes, they get a slight wit boost: they know a bit more because they always half in the matrix. However, such cybernetic augments are decreasing their essence supply, making it harder to be a successful mage. Cat eyes on the other hand will provide a slight strength boost, since they allow the runner to react faster during combat.

As part of this, I decided to bring a bit more diversity into the mix by updating what difference the choice of meta type (Elf, Dwarf, Human, Orc or Troll) has on game play. So Elves can see further, have a stronger ego but can inherently carry less. Dwarfs are wittier but can't see as far. Orcs are slightly stronger, while Trolls are a lot stronger, however lacking in wits. They can also carry more than anyone else. 

Since each of those runners is someone specific, rather than just a role, every runner now has a name as well as a job title. It took me quite a time to settle on an algorithm for generating these names, but I think the one I chose in the end is quite good in giving a feeling of cultural diversity that I see in such a future in Berlin.

Now that we have this new random character generator for applicants, I decided to also use this for the initial character that is part of the company in the quest "The Lair". So this means you now start the game no longer with someone who can do everything a bit, but instead with someone specific who also has a name and a specific job. This creates a little bit of a pressure for the player to hire some additional help to be able to effectively get through the matrix levels as well as later on through the abandoned building and the actual lair. 

Up next

Having tweaked the effects of the different types of characters, the next thing I want to do is to allow to implement more (cybernetic or other) augmentations. For this I think I will add a separate wetware shop merchant, who only sells and "installs" changes to the runner themselves, allowing such things such as thicker skin, cybernetic arms and legs, eye implants, etc... . 

Let me know what you think and feel free to post comments or reach out to me. 

Have fun!