The City
Procedural, but Reproducible
The game world is a procedurally generated cyberpunk metropolis. Each session creates a new city based on a fixed seed — meaning the same session always generates the same map. No two sessions play out in the same city, but within a session everything is deterministic.
Sectors: The Strategic Unit
The city is divided into sectors — rectangular districts with their own identity, population, and economy. Sectors are the foundation for everything: your buildings stand here, your runners operate here, and here you fight for influence.
Map size depends on the session mode:
| Mode | Grid | Total Sectors |
|---|---|---|
| Quick | 4x5 | 20 |
| Standard | 5x6 | 30 |
| Epic | 5x8 | 40 |
Sector Types
Every sector has a type that determines its character and atmosphere:
| Sector Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Residential Low | Simple neighborhoods. Cheap real estate, high population density, vulnerable to drug trade and extortion. |
| Residential High | Upscale area. Expensive properties, wealthy NPCs, excellent laundering potential — but every crime immediately generates high heat. |
| Commercial | Business district. Shops, offices, restaurants. Good income from extortion and legal fronts. Moderate police presence. |
| Industrial | Factories, warehouses, docks. Ideal for drug production and smuggling routes. Few witnesses, but also low laundering capacity. |
| Waterfront | Harbor area and coastline. Smuggling routes, illegal imports, fish markets as cover. Rush hour barely affects these sectors. |
| Government | Government buildings, police precincts, courts. Extremely high police density. Operations here are risky, but bribery and political influence pay off. |
| Entertainment | Nightclubs, casinos, arenas. High cash flow, ideal laundering terrain. Many NPCs out at night — more witnesses, but also more customers. |
Sector Metrics
Every sector is recalculated daily. Four core metrics determine behavior:
| Metric | Range | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Wealth | 0–100 | Population prosperity. Affects property prices, laundering capacity, and NPC behavior. |
| Fear | 0–100 | Fear level. High fear means less resistance, but also less economic activity. |
| Addiction | 0–100 | Drug dependency in the sector. Increases drug demand, but lowers Wealth over time. |
| Heat | 0–100 | Police pressure across the entire sector. High heat increases arrest risk for everyone. |
Each sector also has a Property Value and a Laundering Cap (maximum laundering capacity per tick).
Dynamics: Ghettoization and Gentrification
The city lives. Your actions permanently change sectors:
Ghettoization: Violence and crime lower a sector’s Wealth. NPCs flee, property prices fall, laundering capacity drops. The sector becomes cheaper to control — but also less profitable.
Gentrification: Peace and stability raise Wealth. Better laundering options, higher income — but every visible crime generates disproportionately high heat. A wealthy neighborhood forgives nothing.
Sector Type Mutation
Under extreme conditions, a sector’s type can change. Example: A Residential Low sector whose Wealth stays above 75 for 5 days mutates into Residential High. This changes the entire dynamics of the neighborhood — new opportunities, new risks.
Third Places: Community Facilities
Some sectors have Third Places — community centers, libraries, sports grounds. You can donate to these facilities to secure Benefactor status. This brings:
- Fewer witnesses willing to testify against you
- Reduced heat buildup in the sector
- Better recruitment chances with local NPCs
The neighborhood protects those who support it.
Fog of War
You don’t see the entire city. At the start you only have 5 nodes of visibility around your starting office. Everything else is hidden in fog.
Your runners reveal areas as they move or scout. The quality of revealed information depends on the runner’s INT attribute: a smart scout delivers detailed intel, a dull one sees only outlines.
AI Megacorps
The city doesn’t belong only to the players. 1 to 3 AI-controlled megacorporations occupy sectors and pursue their own objectives:
- Expansion — The corp spreads into adjacent sectors
- Crackdown — Private security forces massively increase heat
- Buyout Offers — The corp offers you money for your buildings. Accept or decline?
Megacorps are not passive scenery. They react to your behavior and can become both allies and enemies.
Traffic
Not every street is equally fast:
- Rush Hour (07:00–09:00, 17:00–19:00): Main streets are slowed. Runners need longer for movement actions.
- At night: Side streets are faster, but in Government sectors police checkpoint density increases considerably.
Plan your routes accordingly. A raid at 08:00 on a main street? Your runner is stuck in traffic while the police are already informed.