Culture Shock 101 The world of Cyberpunk is an alternate reality from our own. Keep this in mind when playing. First, technology went in a different direction 30 years ago with the introduction of Cybernetics and bionics. These advances have improved and changed the lives of many. Weaponry has become more lethal, and more advanced. Also culturally, the streets are filled with more firearms due to gun laws being relaxed and the inability of police to enforce stricter gun laws. Spaceflight is a major industry. With space stations and off world colonies being built. If any advanced technology exists it is kept in those far away sterile environments and off of the Earth. Speaking of the Environment, there is simply no care or consideration for pollution -- the environment is considered just another side effect of progress and quit complaining. Leaded gasoline was never banned, and smog is an ever present problem over almost all cities. Whatever, who cares? Just try and get a spot on a ship leaving this mudball for the new frontier. Cars are generally big, loud, get horrible gas milage and this is seen as a status symbol There are also extremely cheap almost 'golf cart' type vehicles driven by the poor / working class. 'Organic Food' ? No such thing. Enjoy your processed soy paste from All Foods. The VERY wealthy might get access to farm grown fruits and veggies. Or 100% REAL meat. Or REAL water. There is no social media - No Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, no Amazon, Google, Uber, PayPal, Netflix or anything else that we are used to. In fact, there are no Web Browsers at all, The internet is still 'text' based...lines of text and code like it used to be in the early 1990's. There are no smart phones, no smart devices, no Alexa, other such devices. No Bluetooth. Oh Tablets exist, but they are rather primative affairs and only the wealthy have them. Laptop computers exist and are seen all over the place thanks to the Cybermodem. Compact Discs (CD's) are still very much a thing. As is Radio, broadcast television, newspapers, and magazines. Video games are a thing. Like the kind that used to be in arcades. They don't take quarters any more, they do credit chips. And people smoke. They smoke everywhere. There is no idea of secondhand smoke and no one cares. Everyone seems to enjoy lighting up a cigarette and the Megacorps enjoy selling them to folks. Smoke at a bar, in a restaurant, as you walk. One thing similiar to our world is that vaping is gaining in popularity. Medicine is more advanced than in our 'real' world -- drugs and surgery can heal wounds in days, and even life threatening damage can be healed in a comparatively short time. Of course, not everyone has access to such seeming miracle healing, but it is safe to say the upper echelons of the Megacorps and the political elite will have such resources at their disposal. The Euro [ € ] and the NuYen [ ¥ ] are the main units of cash. € Eurodollars (commonly called 'Eddies' ) are the main unit of measuring value. [ <a href="https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Braindance" rel="nofollow">https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Braindance</a> ] There is a 'new' technology which has been around a decade -- Brain Dances. These 'head harnesses' record experiences from the point of view of the wearer and can then be played back by another to fully feel the experience. These soon become a highly demanded for of entertainment. In addition to 'legitimate' uses for psychiatry and criminal reform, the technology results in a very sinister black market. There is no Amazon delivery, but in this culture, you can buy a plastic pistol from a vending machine. There are even reverse vending machines called 'drop boxes' where you can sell thing scavenged from the street for a quick Eddie. These are some of the cultural changes of the Cyberpunk world. Get geared, get strapped, juice up, and hit the streets. There's a city out there for the taking!