A tag-based cyberpunk-fantasy roleplaying game in a megacity of tech and myth, powered by City of Mist.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
First-day backer Codex invites going out this week!
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Dec 08, 2022 at 06:34:09 PM
Hello there cyber-spirits data brokers,
We've had our nose to the grindstone for a while with this engrossing project and are making great progress. I'm personally bursting with anticipation to start sharing what we have for you. The new system in Metro and the Tokyo setting are just blowing my mind.
THE CODEX APP ALPHA IS (ALMOST) HERE
So it's a good thing that the first volley of Codex App invitations are going out to our First Day backers hopefully on Saturday! (Bear with us if due to tech issues we have to push it to next week). About a week to 10 days later, we'll send the invites to all other backers and to pre-orders.
Here's what you can expect from the Codex App:
1. It's an Alpha. It's working quite nicely but it will be buggy at first. We are working on it continuously so you can expect great leaps weekly.
2. Content: We'll gradually upload all written UNEDITED and NOT FINALIZED texts onto the platform, starting with:
Metro://IMAGINE the primer for the setting
Metro://CREATE themebooks (so you can create new characters)
Metro://RUN Challenges (Dangers)
Tokyo://KEY_PLAYERS chapter with 10 operations
Tokyo://BOOK_OF_YOKAI chapter with dozens of Yokai and other weird Tokyo Megacity Challenges (Dangers)
3. Feedback: We're setting up a #feedback-otherscape and #feedback-codex-app channels on our Discord to hear what you all think about the game and the app respectively. Tell us your thoughts there! Feel free to share shots of the Codex App on these channels, but please be cognizant of how much content you're sharing there.
Current Codex App home screen for Desktop. We're still working on it.
DEVELOPMENT UPDATES
So what's happening on the content side of things? The writing proper is almost there.
Metro: Done: Setting, Character Creation, Starter Adventure. In progress: Rules, MC Guides.
Tokyo: Done: 10 operations, Challenges, 5 Mini-Locations. In progress: Setting, Adventure, Catalog and Player options
There's also some "connective tissue" missing, like paragraphs that introduce a chapter or a subsection.
This month we'll start editing, proofreading, and layout of existing content, and try to wrap up writing of the rest. While you will have access to tons of content via the Codex App, we are already delayed with delivering the full digital product, and that's going to affect the print. Art is also way behind, and will take some time to catch up. Right now all of our focus is to get what we have published via the Codex App; next month we'll take stock and try to estimate a new delivery date. We did set a lofty goal for ourselves to produce two books in six months... so please bear with us as we deliver the usual Son of Oak badass content, with the usual not-as-fast-as-we-imagined (but, we hope, not too long of a delay as the vast majority is already written).
Some layouts we're experimenting with at the moment
SYSTEM UPGRADES
One of the biggest challenges in designing CoM:Reloaded is how to make it both more cyberpunky, quick, and gritty, and at the same time backwards compatible with CoM. The current solution we're exploring is moving to describe status damage as +4 wounded, +10 humiliated, +3 boosted, etc. which signifies the number of boxes to check on the new tracking cards. As in CoM, it's still the tier of a status that affects your action's Power; but in this solution, CoM:R will be naming tiers as T1, T2, T3, T4 and so on.
Still, satuses are not limited to using boxes. A Challenge/Danger can still give itself a T4 status without having to worry about checking boxes; that would tick all the boxes up to 7, or just circle the T4 box, or the first box in T4 -- all of these notations work.
Another thing that's being explored is changing how Challenges/Dangers are written and laid out. Generally, the design principle is "reduce repetitive text" and "simplify mechanics". Here are some of the things we're exploring:
No more status filter custom moves ("reduce its tier by 2"). Instead, Dangers will have defensive tags like armored-T2, firewalled-T3, boosted-T1 that would hinder and weaken PC attacks.
No more starting tag/status custom moves ("When X enters the scene, give them"). Instead we'll have a Statuses & Tags section that lists what Statuses & Tags a Danger should have. You don't need the whole line of text to tell you that :)
Custom moves for countdown spectrums will be written in the spectrum section, under the relevan spectrum. It will save having to match the move to the spectrum -- they will be next to each other.
With this trimming down of the custom moves, that section becomes less prioritized in terms of reading experience, so it will move to the bottom. Soft moves, which we're considering calling 'threat moves' go up, and hard moves, as their natural continuation, will be under them.
You can check out how this new model plays out in this short Test Playthrough we drafted. Playtests run by our writing team have shown fights to be quick, decisive, and costly -- exactly as we'd expect it from a cyberpunk system. What do you think?
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In addition to all the content coming via the Codex App, we'll have more and more to share with you as we're wrapping up development, such as a city-generator (and a specific Tokyo-generator), a weapons and gear catalog (loadout time!) and more.
Stay tuned to this datastream!
Amit
First Look At Codex App! // Tokyo Factions Roster // Action Spaghetti
over 1 year ago
– Sat, Oct 22, 2022 at 01:02:08 AM
Konnichiwa kami-blessed hackers,
We're here today with some juicy updates about our mythic cyberpunk project, let's jack in!
DEVELOPMENT PROGRESS
We're making good progress with the content writing. As of last week, more than 60% of the two books has been written by our incredible creative team masterfully led by Developer Kelly Black. We've recruited more writers to pick up the slack and overall it's looking like writing should be completed in 4-6 weeks.
We've recently been working on the Tokyo Megacity Key Players (working title), the :Otherscape equivalent of Avatar Operations. Here's a quick teaser of what's coming in the T:O book:
The Tokoyo hive mindand cult whose harnessed members live in a virtual heaven
The warring Yakuza Clans, who have chosen Sources and bioware over cybertech
The Ghost Market, a nefarious pop-up black market cyber-superimposed on a changing location
A street movement of nerdy, techy Neo-Samurai wannabes sworn to vanquish all yokai
The cyberspace court of AI-Avatar King Enma, who brutally judges all corruption in the City
Oni-masks-donning motorcycle gangs who terrorize and raid the Megacity, subject to infernal drives
The Taiyo-SolarTech Corporation who have harnessed the power of Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess
TheReturned Soma Clan, a medical corporation harboring an ancient vindictive urge to unleash carnage upon the Megacity
The Bureau of Onmyo, corrupt bureaucratic mystics within the Japanese government, now authorized to stop supernatural threats to the Megacity
In addition to that, the Yokai Database chapter is already bursting with dozens of strange, creepy cyberpunk interpretations of yokai and other mythical oddities from Japanese culture.
We're hoping to be releasing some of this content as playtesting materials on the Codex app next month, which brings us to the next subject:
FIRST LOOK AT THE CODEX APP!
We now have an unskinned version of the Codex App alpha which includes the reader and most of the features described in this Kickstarter. "Unskinned" here means it doesn't look anything like it's going to look like when you use it -- it just has the basic functions, none of the cool visual design or smooth user experience. We have to skin it, debug it, add some functionality (possibly some character management tools, but that remains to be seen). All in all it seems to be on track to start sharing with day-one backers mid-to-late November, and then add in all backers.
Check out this Dev Diary by Amit going over the app:
ACTIONS SPAGHETTI
As we continue to build the language that is COM:Reloaded, we begin to try and disentangle the mythic-cyberpunk genre into different activities and how they are reflected by the core moves, temporarily named Conflict, Stunt, Resist, Discover, and De/Buff. For example, a character aiming could Buff themselves with aiming-3, boosting the Power of their future shooting actions. Under the Aiming entry in the big action dictionary we're building, we list the tags which boost or hinder such an action (nerve-wired targeting systems, anyone?) as well as possible complications and hard moves the MC can throw at someone who messes up their aim (such as being caught off guard by someone else).
Using the recommendations in the book is optional, but for those who use it, it will serve as a reference point for your crew, eliminating the need to wonder "How do I do X" in the system, for most actions.
There's still a lot of work on this, and currently the team member tasked with it is Kend'or, our game design intern, who has dubbed the board he's working on "Action Spaghetti":
Slicing up a genre into discrete actions is harder than it looks! We're getting there...
Work in progress: texts sample for the action dictionary we're building
That's all for now, Source-hunters,
Stay tuned for the next update soon!
-Amit
Development Updates and Dev Diary 3!
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Sep 13, 2022 at 02:56:07 AM
Hi there neuro-boosted gangsters with guardian angels!
We've been working hard all summer to develop Tokyo:Otherscape, from the grand pillars of the setting down to the smallest Dangers and Theme Kits. Overall, the :OTHERSCAPE books (METRO and TOKYO) are coming along. We are a couple of weeks behind our internal schedule plan, but we’re bringing on additional writers to help us catch up soon. Here's what we've been up to:
METRO:
Together the writing team have all contributed to a solid foundation in the METRO book, with a focus on the unique ideas we’re pulling together for our vision of mythic cyberpunk.
://IMAGINE, the setting introduction chapter, is nearly complete; we’re touching it up by expanding the cyberspace section to include more detail on the cyber-geography of that important digital landscape (and a cool map to go along with it).
In ://CREATE, the series and character creation chapter, the Themebooks are also almost done. We’re developing an easy-to-use rapid character creation system that really plays to the iconic nature of cyberpunk characters, integrating in the mythic Sources. Unlike City of Mist, in T:O your character is rarely a human Rift. Instead, you will be obtaining, trading and equipping Sources of mythical powers which are effectively Relics, Enclaves, and esoteric teachings, or work for an Avatar to give you some of their power. We're also working on a weapons, vehicles, and Sources catalog that you can use to load out before missions.
In ://RUN, the MC chapter, the introductory adventure has been written and is being edited. Hear more about it in this Dev Diary video, where Kevin interviews writers Tony Pi and Colin Wilson:
TOKYO:
As for the TOKYO setting book, we’re taking our time to get it right, which means doing things in the right order so it comes together as a whole.
In ://TOKYO/MEGACITY, ten (10) major players in the city are being developed first and they will serve to inform the setting introduction we’re beginning now, which in turn will help us build compelling adventures and jobs for play in your games.
In ://YOKAI/DATABASE, we've got quite a few fun Dangers worked up based on Japanese mythology already and there are many more in the works. When it comes to stories, the culture of Japan gives us so much to work with and we’re doing our best to adapt those beloved narratives to the :OTHERSCAPE world.
NEW! CITY GENERATORS IN BOTH BOOKS
We’re working on a system for crews to generate their own timeline and maps for their Megacities by taking existing city maps and landscapes and rolling randomly for historic events that happened between nowadays and the near future. Events rolled for could indicate a district may have been destroyed in a natural disaster, became the new hot spot to go out to, or became infested with Conjurations or Mythos-powered gangs. Every time you start a campaign, your session zero would shape a new City!
The universal city generator will be featured in Metro:Otherscape and would be applicable to any City, where as Tokyo:Otherscape will include a tailored city-maker specifically for Tokyo, complete with a map of the Tokyo Megacity that you can customize.
CODEX APP
Now that we have a good chuck of content optimized for the codex app, we're starting to turn our Attention to that part of the project. Once we have a soundly-working Alpha version, hopefully by the end of October or beginning of November, we will start inviting backers to the app (first-day backers first, and then all backers). This will probably be the first platform where we publish the content, so you won't be just testing the app, but reading parts of the game for the first time there!
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We’ve got a ways to go, but the momentum is strong and we’re all having a blast working on the project. We can't wait to share more with you!
Kelly & Amit
Help us win an ENnie + City of Mist downloads sent!
almost 2 years ago
– Fri, Jul 22, 2022 at 11:52:40 PM
Hi there samurai with chainsaw arms,
Vote for City of Mist!
City of Mist was nominated for three ENnie awards and we need YOUR VOTE to win! If you love our games, hit ALL THREE of these links and vote for us - it only takes a moment!
If you're new to the Metroverse and have been waiting to dive into City of Mist, the wait is over!
Earlier today we sent City of Mist downloads to all backers who pledged at the METROVERSE and IMMORTAL tiers or who added City of Mist add-ons to the their pledge (and who have both filled their survey and finalized their payment).
We sent links to those downloads through DriveThruRPG. If you don't see an email from us, please check your 'spam', 'updates', and 'promotion' folders as these emails sometimes are filtered into those tabs. If you already have an account on DriveThruRPG, you'll find that those files are already in your account's download library.
Last call for late pledges! Help us unlock 15 more character folios for the BOX SET!
almost 2 years ago
– Sat, Jul 02, 2022 at 02:36:52 AM
Hey there urban drifters in search of Relics of power!
One week remaining for surveys!
There's only one week left for you to fill out your backer surveys before we lock up all orders! We're at 87%, but that still means that about 400 backers have yet to fill out their surveys. All orders will be locked on July 8th, so come on, stragglers, you have to move fast before the Yokai get you!
If you paid with credit card, your credit card will be charged July 9th.
You will be able to update your address before we ship (est. February 2023).
If you picked up the METROVERSE tier, the City of Mist PDFs will be sent to you via DriveThruRPG on July 25th.
If you picked up the METROVERSE tier and paid extra shipping for early delivery, the City of Mist books will be shipped to you in September 2022. Otherwise, they will ship with the rest of your :Otherscape goods (est. February 2023).
Stretch Goal Progress: Help us unlock 15 more character folios for the BOX SET!
So far, late pledges and add-ons brought us to a total of $288,581 for this campaign (the amounts previously shown on the BackerKit store were unfortunately incorrect as they included funds raised for shipping and VAT). This means we only need $11,418 to unlock the next stretch goal - 15 (FIFTEEN!!) printed pregen folios addedto all BOX SETs as well as to the character pack add-ons!!
Last call for late pledges with a GIVEAWAY!
This also means the time for late pledging to the Tokyo:Otherscape campaign is running short! We really want everyone to get in on this, so we can make the BOX SETs even more amazing with the aforementioned 15 more character folios!!
That's why we're giving away 5 City of Mist Ultimate PDF bundles to help promote the late pledge store. Share it with your friends and have them share it with their friends to get a chance to win the prize!
While all of this is happening, our incredible writing team is almost done working on the ://IMAGINE chapter of the Metro:Otherscape corebook. In the tradition of City of Mist, this chapter is not about outlining a new future history; it's about the cinematics of :Otherscape, and about the forces and key players who are at war in this setting.
The ://IMAGINE chapter will also give you insight into which types of protagonists, jobs, and scenes you can play through in this setting and get some story seeds to get a game going.
Next up, the writing team is going to tackle the first chapter of Tokyo:Otherscape by outlining the main characteristics and powermongers of the Japanese Megacity. While Samurai are guaranteed, you may be surprised at how they are interpreted in this setting...
