I tried with this game, I really honestly tried. But God I hate it. It's just really, really flawed. The tragedy is that it seems to have so much unrealized potential. *not newbie friendly Actually, not friendly period. Which makes sense given the genre I suppose, but don't look for a welcome here. Or help. At all. *TERRIBLE terrible interface The command system here just sucks, it's counterintuitive and poorly documented, which basically describes everything in the game. It requires a painful degree of precision in all commands, and it took me forever to familiarize myself with it. Basically just sucks. *Poor administration When I first started playing the game, I noticed a lot of odd little comments here and there in the help files and elsewhere, comments that just seemed kind of condescending in a weird way. As I kept playing, it made more sense. I don't know what's up with the staff here, but it seems like they either don't care about the game, don't have time for the game, or are just really sick of the players and don't want to deal with them. --Character Creation Characters in this game are pretty cool, but even the basic character creation took me over an hour. I'm not complaining about that, because I enjoyed creating a character, in spite of the fact that it required me to flip back and forth between the game and the website and the help files *pant pant*. And it ain't easy either, kiddos. *complete and total disregard for trademark and copyright laws Yeah, they could get sued. A lot. This game has flavor, it's definitely its own thing but I personally regret every second that I wasted here and I'd rather play any other game.

I heard alot about Cybersphere from several friends of mine on another MOO. Some things were bad, some things were good. I decided to see for myself what the game was like, so I popped on and did the little Guest tour, which was certainly interesting, even though my guest character wasn't strong enough to pick up the gun he was issued during the tour. I started the registration process dealie, which meant I had to submit a character history for the staff to review, which personally I think is a pretty good idea. The staff get to make sure you're a quality roleplayer and not just some little kid who's going to break all the rules. So, I spend several days scavenging through their timeline and game history in order to make my character's history intertwine with the game history, so I'll feel more a part of the game. I submit it, it gets approved, I get my password and whatnot to log in and start chargen. Chargen was cool and though confusing at times, most things had little explinations and descriptions, so I at least knew a little bit about what I was doing. In the end I had a rather crappy, but not terribly so, pistol-wielding combat character with some biking knowledge. I did my @nudities and everything and was approved. Then jumped in game. Though many of the room descriptions were terribly bland (or nonexistent), and the map helpfile was out of date, the players were really helpful and fun to RP with. A nice bartender girl, Cordelia was very friendly in helping me get used to the new MOO and several other characters were just as inviting. Lazarus, another player, was kind enough to hire my character on the spot, and within the first two days I'd already had several memorable RP experiences with him. The players seem real great there. My problem, however, is not with the players. By the third day or so, my character got a job with an NPC who ran a casino and offered rather low-paying automated jobs for players, either courier runs or little jobs where you would just have to stand around and wait for some shady guy to come in and meet her. Anyway, I'd received the latter job when another player walked in, who the NPC apparently didn't like. She yelled at him to leave, then immediately attacked him. My character of course jumps in thinking this is the fellow who he's supposed to help her with if there are any problems. My character KO's, wakes up to see the NPC dead, then KO's again. He wakes up being dragged to the doctor by the player. Some neat RP ensues, and I think that's that. When I return to the NPC's place to get another job, she immediately attacks my character with a katana. He barely survives. Every time he walks in, she attacks him, so he figures 'Since she's the only person hates... Read More

I first heard about Cybersphere in 2003 when inquired about all that text on my college roomate's computer. He informed me that this game's been around for years, and that there's people who have been playing for half my years on earth. Which was quite surprising to me, I always figured a good game is good for awhile, then the next generation of games come out and the good games of the past are long gone. Not the case with cybersphere. I was curious about why someone would spend so much time playing a text game, so I tried it. It was my first time playing a moo and was quite challenging. I had no idea what to do, and couldn't even hang up a phone at the end of a conversation. I played a couple characters, and the roleplay here is great fun, I can honestly say that some of the individuals display some of the best roleplaying I've ever seen in a game. Other things in my life had taken my time, so I quit. 5 years later, I asked my friend if he still plays, and he does! It shouldn't be surprising, because now I play again too- engorged in the world of the sphere. It may be tough at first, but keep trying! It's quite a fun game once you get to understand it. Cheers. -Mystery

Cybersphere is an amazing game. No, its a mistake to call it a game. There is very little hack and slash involved, and there's no proper way to win. Cybersphere is an interactive novel. There is a rather well done classless, leveless system in place, and while you can have some amazing items or an ungodly amount of money after a reasonable amount of gameplay, ultimately all of that stuff is worthless. Success, enjoyment, and the foundation of the game itself are built upon character interaction, upon RP and style. Your character could die, his gear pawned off in a back alley, his implants ripped, his meat sold as 'chicken' by Sol'eil; none of that stuff matters. In the end, style is forever. The admins do an amazing job of keeping the world real and enjoyable, and indeed it is a very real world (stupid, thoughtless, and often random actions will warrant harsh consequences...) giving the game and the story an amazing backdrop. Really, you have to play it to understand. This game is amazing. Its a chance to be part of a story over ten years in the making, a story compelling enough to illicit laughter and even tears from its players. There's nothing else like it in the world, and once you get over the learning curve and understand whats what and how to do this and that, you'll be hooked.

Well, I've reviewed this game before, and I've some things to add. The game has made strides to enhance the cred-making capability, but it still has it's one fatal flaw. The group of administrators is so loosely monitored and seems to have no established chain of command. They all do what they want, when they want and without need of approval or whatnot. The game is unique, two others are close, but they are both hollow shells of what CS has and does right. The game has some awesome features, some incredible things that haven't been done on other muds before, at least things I haven't seen before. Such as turrets that you can purchase that guard rooms, and will fire on anyone who isn't authorized to be in that room, plus you can upgrade the turret to fire larger or smaller caliber weapons, through weapon mounts and what not. The cloning system is sweet because it gives you permadeath, but a way around it. So just cause you have one bad day, doesn't really mean your week or month old character is gone cause he died. However they make this cloning extremely expencive in the swing of things, they have cheaper ones, but the chance you'll clone fail (Go retarded stats wise) is 1/4 at the cheap joint. And goes up from there. Mid-range cloning costs about 2k, now 2k can take you multiple hours of play or even days to make if you find yourself in a bind for a clone. There is a base playerbase of about 20-30 on a good day. Now these players are mostly old timers, multiple years old who I feel just haven't experienced a fun or worthwhile moo or mud outside of the genre, let me explain why. They see that doing these small courier jobs and only making say 3k a day as a plausible thing, but this is where the game truly lacks. The amount of ways to make cred should be in accordance to the things that you have to purchase or maintain. What I mean is simply that stuff is too expensive to maintain (Rent, clones, gear, weapons, ammo etc) for the pathetic amount of credits your character can make. Now have I found ways around it? Sure. You make a character who can fight, give him dodge shock and a killing skill, max his agility and perception and strength, then give him decking skill, lock expert and lockpicking skill and you've got a pretty good pot to pick from. Deckers make a ton of cred, so if you do kryptech, jobweb, oracle all that, then you are doing pretty decent. If you have lockpicking you can go see the chick that gives lockpicking jobs about once every two days for a decent hunk of cred. And after you get sick of running kp and janya, you have the fighting skills to take on a job with the mafia, yakuza or whatever. However with this set,... Read More

I've been mudding since 1994, and maybe its because alot of people from my town played Cybersphere, or it was the first non-medieval text-based game i played, but this is by far the best futuristic, post-apocalypse, cyberpunk genre game of all time. It's not a MUD. There are no levels, no Remort, no pointless hack&slash. It uses the LambdaMOO Code, and has more depth than any game i've seen. The combat and matrix code are excellent. Roleplaying is heavily enforced, but do not let that turn you away. If you follow the rules, have a good understanding of IC and OOC, read the History and Timeline on the website, you should have no problems at all creating a Standard Character History, or even an Advanced Character History. This game has the perfect mix of RP and PK. The PK must be justified, and if not can lead to your demise in one way or another. Highlights: Average sized world, Very easy to navigate. Easy to read Main-City Map. Lots of Exploring. Dedicated Player Base. Clean ANSI, helps give the game a more organized feel. Unlimited Possibilites. Features: Pistols, Rifles, SMGs, Swords, Knives, Blunt Weapons, Rocket Launchers, Grenades, turrets, roadblocks, cybernetic implants, drugs, Mutants, Megacorps, Motorcycles, Automobiles, Planes, Helicopters, Boats, armor, languages, Clones, Gangs, Triads, Mafia, cyberdecks, matrix, professions: mechanic, electrician, cyberdoc, cyberdeck engineer, armorcraft, weaponsmith, and TONS more. Way too much to continue. If you are interested at all, Check some of the other reviews, specially one by GanjaThief. Check the website at cs.vv.com . Or just log on and check it out for yourself. You will not be disappointed. Just be warned getting your History Approved can be very fast, or sometimes you must wait a bit. But trust me, its well worth it. telnet cs.vv.com:7777

I have played almost EVERY level-less, roleplaying enforced game on both www.mudconnector.com and www.topmudsites.com and I can honestly say that this is the only game I have always come back to. Cybersphere basically takes place in the year 2030 with a dark future where the corporations rule with more power than the government ever had. Gameplay Cybersphere is full of huge environments and dynamic rooms that really bring the game to life. There are NPCs that intelligently react to the situations. Loads of interactivity with objects in the game environment. Vehicles such as planes, cars. The battle system is advanced. Full of modifiers and other factors that effect the outcome of the fight. Of course, one can take choice of an array of weapons such as guns, knifes, swords, etc, etc etc.. as well as many unarmed styles. Roleplaying The roleplaying is very extensive. You almost naturally fall into the theme of the game by default. There are several types of core players you can be, which effect your rp experience overall... But unlike many other games, you can be pretty much anything. It just takes time and effort. The admins are always watching and try to make experiences for all character types fun. Weaknesses The only real problem I have with the game is its lack of size. There are probably 30 players online MAX a day, which is good. But personally, I like large games. I think the game would be alot more dynamic if it had 50+ players online. CS has a large player base, but if there are never more than 30 players on at a time, on a good day, than it tends to restrict the rp a bit. Overall If you are looking for great, strict rp, with a friendly helpful staff, try Cybersphere. Many people may be turned off because the rp requirements tend to be strict if you want the best experience, but you can always make a standard character or a lower level just to get the gist of the game.

In CybersSphere, you inhabit the dark futuristic city of New Carthage, or the tunneled sleeves of low-orbital space station L4. Life in New Carthage is typical cyberpunk, great gap between the poor and the rich. The rich are played by game administrators, while the poor are usually the players, while not necessarily that rules apply to all. You?re a desperate low-life punk no matter with what history you start. You live in the misery of low-rent cube hotels, or with the roaches in standard apartments, owned by Russians. The game will offer you chances to join the Yakuza, which though a legit corporation in Japan is considered still illegal mafia in the rest of the world. You can also join the Italian Mafia, in either way you are doomed to do dirty courier jobs or assassinations. Your weapons are swords, handguns, rifles, knives, exotic and melee weapons. Martial arts or plan brawling. You're boosted up with over the counter and illegal drugs. Ripperdocs would sell you chrome in their dark underground clinics, practicing with no license but the filthy clinic they operate in. Cybernetic implants are in a great variety, most of it borrowed from Shadowrun and Night City. Gangs rule the north and south of New Carthage, pimps would sell you prostitutes for entertainment. You can chat with other players In Character at any of the several bars in the game. Non player characters would throw you a random word on the street, shopkeepers would service you in any of the several shops in the game. Good part is that you can evolve, you can rent a shop and start selling gear you stole with your Thievery or that of the suits you?ve mugged along in the back alleys behind the luxury bars. You can play as a techie who produces weapons which will be used by other players. Recently the game added the feature allowing you to also produce several types of armor. Combat system is complicated and sophisticated, rolling a dice for variety of chances, armor, skill, weapon, room-type, etc? The city is rich in chances and with the right type of roleplaying you can soon rise from the mud of the poor and own a shop, have friends, become a headhunter or a chrome-doc in less than a month. Cyberspace cowboys have a large MATRXI to explore, hack and rule the meatside world. Chances are that other players would hunt you down, but if you team up with the right set of friends ? you?re most likely to prevail. Corporations would also want to mess you up ? since this is the main theme in cyberpunk: Corporations versus Everyone else. A fair amount of plots pop-up, managed by the administrators of the game, other plots are player-organized. In either way, if you?re a good roleplayer chances are great that you will have fun. Character generation is automated, you?re given an amount of points you distribute among the right stats and skills. You choose and... Read More

I?ve been a player on CS for about 3-4 years, with large gaps of time in between and not a lot of time to play them. But in the past 7+ months, as free time allowed, I have been playing the game quite a bit. In the realm of Cyberpunk/modern day M**s I really feel there is no equal. The combat system is fairly amazing, which any hack n slash game would be lucky to have, but CS is more than just combat. The non-combat skill options are fairly diverse from the standard CP classes of Ripperdocs, Deckers (the Matrix is real dope, and well done, definitely giving a different experience from playing a character), Thieves, to skills/classes you don?t find in many CP games, like weapon-smiths, ammo loaders, scavengers and armor crafters. For a good, but not totally up to date list of skills and advantages that you?d have at the disposal in c-gen go to: http://cs.vv.com/game/skills.html and click on the corresponding menu links at the top to get to other information in that realm. The coded money making systems are stand out in my mind as well. In CP games that don?t rely on looting, and don?t have a ?salary system? of some sort, I?ve found the basic, available to all money earning systems tedious. No one wants their character sitting in a room hitting ?work? every 4 minutes, to get a pathetic hourly wage (though there are employment options like this). As mentioned in the previous review, the main source of income, are package delivery jobs that pay fairly decent. There?s not a guaranteed amount you can earn per day, but if you keep doing them consistently, with the bad and good days, you?ll have a nice amount of credits/money to get your character all the gear they need. Besides that, there are all sorts of other coded employment/money making options that you have to find out for yourself, and with a bit of exploring and lucky timing, you?ll eventually find them. One thing that heavily differentiates the game from other CP M**s, is that in Character generation (C-gen), you are given enough points to create a character that?s good and capable at what you?ve chosen them to do, straight out of the gate. Then it just becomes a matter of getting the right gear, building IC connections and such. I won?t lie, if you create a combatant, comparatively the older combat characters have the advantage of gear and earned skill/stat points through their time, but really, if you just want mindless killing, it?s not the place for you, but if you want combat that has an emphasis on style and being a means in the course of RP, not an ends of itself, than you?ll probably play at least one combat character if you choose to play on CS. The Character generation system is divided into three levels. To get your player slot, you will need to submit a character bio, but after the... Read More

Cybersphere is a brilliant game, in which almost anything you can imagine is possible. It features a vibrant, sinister world where all the power lies in the shadows, in the dark, gritty tales of shadowrunners, thugs, drug addicts; in the massive hallucination of deckers and techers. It's in the design of a pistol, the speed of a deck, it's in the neon lights of the corporate towers and the lost syringes of a crumbling alley. The game is coded brilliantly, with a number of skills and stats rendering an almost infinite combination; allowing for a wide range of characters and assets. From a rampaging psycho, a calculating assassin, a user-friendly (or user-destructive) decker, a frail techie, to any number of other less archetypal designs: anything is possible in character development. Perhaps you want to build a hitman who researches information on the matrix. Or a decker with a knack for hijacking planes. Or a techie with a sinister side, who tortures screaming victims in a hidden hole. Again, you can fix your character to any ends. The out-of-character environment is relatively friendly, most everyone gets along with one another. No one is really hated, except by tradition from older, less friendly days. Sometimes the IC environment can become a little 'fluffy' because of this general OOC pleasentness, but, on the whole, it is primarily an OOC friendliness. ICly speaking, the world is still as gritty and dark as it could be. The administration is unpredictable, but generally progressive. If you stay to the 'high road' and avoid doing stupid things (i.e: cheating), you should be in the clear with them, and they'll be willing to listen to your ideas and suggestions. They're a pretty friendly staff, compared to older incarnations of the CS administration, and will prove, often, to be very helpful. The economy of CS is fueled primarily by three things: repetitive coded systems, admin plots, and murder. In fact, one of the best things you can do for the CS economy is die. Other than dying and killing others, there are a variety of coded choices ranging from the dull and tedious to the exceptional and intriguing. More interesting, though, are the admin plots which can pay relatively good amounts of money for an hour or so of solid roleplaying (or continuous roleplay, depending on the plot). On the whole, Cybersphere is probably the best M** I've ever played in my life, and I would suggest it to anyone who enjoys text based games. It's features lend itself to infinite playability, and the environment is rich and omnipresent. Anyone who is interested in cyberpunk at all should give cybersphere a go. It is, without a doubt, a brilliant place.

Nearly two years of text-based gaming on this game and I have to say. It's still the greatest MOO I've ever played. The only game where if you think it, there is a pretty good chance you'll beable to do it. Want to be a roving psycho killer? Well we have a few of those! Want to be a homeless bar walker? Yep those too. Radiation mutated freak that has a third arm out of your face? It can probably be arranged. The best part about cybersphere is the constant evolution and the ability to change the game how -you- want. I can personally attest to it. This game is designed around the players and will take its form from them. Probably the only game in the world where literally you can do anything you imagine. 10/10 on everything save graphics. But hey. Can't expect -that- much out of a text game.

Cybersphere is a unique moo, unlike any out there, totally original, years upon years of coding and player ideas have gone into this game. The players are great, the staff is so/so. Lots of things that work seemlessly into the game world to give a totally immersive experience, things like implants, weapons, armor, vehicles, jetpacks, COLOR, remote control spiders, overpowered melee system (for all you true at heart warriors), admins that truly love the playerbase and want nothing more then to see the players succeed and would do absolutely anything for them. A detailed character generation that makes for great RP! Cybersphere all in all is a pretty amazing text based game, give it a month or two, and you won't ever stop playing.

I would just like to start this review by saying this is by far the BEST Cyberpunk RPG MOO experience you will ever experience. With a strong player-base exceeding over 30+ characters daily, and the strongest active Admin ranging from Gods, Wizards, and GameMasters, that I have ever seen, period. The codebase is extremely easy to get used to, and the helpfile database both In-Game and on the WebPage are that of no other. These next few categories are just -some- of the highlights this place has to offer, I'll try to keep it simple; Weapons & Armor: Everything you can possibly imagine, ranging from 2mm, 6mm, 9mm, 10mm, 12mm, 10 gauge, 12 gauge, .44, .357 to rocket launchers, gas grenades, napalm grenades, anti-vehicle mines, swords, knives, sub-machine guns, assault rifles, chainsaws, (some cybernetic implanted weapons, I will explain later. For armor, there is also everything under the sun, from combatmesh bodysuits, various armored trenchcoats, kevlar helmets, bulletproof vests, and many many more that have been customized (redescribed and renamed) by different players throughout the years. Stats/Skills/Advantages: This list could also go on for awhile, I'll list a few for whoever out there doesn't want to check the webpage. Stats are Strength, Endurance, Dexterity Agility, Intelligence, Willpower, Empathy, and Perception. Some of the Skills include, Shock, Dodge, Stealth, Pistol, Swords, SMG, Rifle, Knives, Decking, Programming, Electronics, Mechanics, Thievery, Lockpick, Pilot, Driver, Gunner, Biker, Scavenging, Melee, Offensive Martial Arts, Defensive Martial Arts. Following that is a huge list of Advantages, Which there is tons, a whole bunch of different languages, fighting styles like KungFu, MuayTai, TaeKwonDo, Akijutsu, Savate, And other advantages that help with skills, like Detective Training, Assault Driver, Corp Driver,..Much more are available. Cybernetic Implants: These implants, some expensive, some very cheap, can be used for many different purposes, they can make you extremely smart, fast on your feet, very strong, or even armor that is placed under your skin. And many implants are weapons, here are a few, Razorclaws, Molydenum Bonespurs, Monofiliment Thumb-Wires, Lykos Sidearms. The list seriously continues, lots of rare and unseen implants still waiting to be purchased. Vehicles: There is an incredible amount of vehicles in the game as well. All within decent price range. All which can be destroyed and repaired by mechanics and weapons/security systems installed my Electritians. There are many different bikes, one-seaters, two-seaters, pretty sure I saw one with a side-car too, at some point. All bikes can be used in combat, but be warned, if your bike blows up with you on it, it's not pretty. There are also larger land-vehicles, like a Ford-Mustang, a Limo, Hummers, Baja Buggies, Hovercrafts and large AV's are also available, both land and sky vehciles can be piloted by one, and a gunner could be using the radar systems for target-locking the weapons. CyberSphere a futuristic, Cyberpunk RPG MOO. Please, I know character-generation may be frustrating at times, but if you take your time, read the Theme, History, and TimeLine on webPage,... Read More

Cybersphere is the best cyberpunk MUD I have ever found. It's worth being clear on that because while I?m going to do some complaining about it, and while I didn?t find it fun enough to keep playing, I also maintain that if you want to try some cyberpunk MUDing, you should check out Cybersphere. What?s right with it: Firstly, Cybersphere definitely has a cyberpunk feel to it. The city of New Carthage (and the surrounding areas, insofar as I have seen them) is very well described and very atmospheric. PCs are required to fit in with this setting. Your name and description must be appropriate and you must submit a character history before being approved to play. When I made a mistake in my biography, so that it didn?t quite fit in with the setting, an immortal politely complimented me on the history and pointed out my mistake, asking that I fix it up and resubmit. I call that classy and good for roleplaying. There are lots of skills to take, plenty of which have to do with combat and most of which don?t. That strikes me as very appropriate for the setting. I met quite a number of people who were interesting in roleplaying with me and who played their parts very well. I really enjoyed some of the scenes I got to play. I also met quite a few people who were only too willing to go out of their way to help orient the newbie. Lastly, newbies get a few days of grace before anyone can pkill them, provided that they themselves don?t try to attack or steal from anyone, including the mobs. What?s wrong with it: There are too many players on Cybersphere who just want to kill other PCs for no good reason. Even while I was new enough to have my few days of protection, some other players tried very hard to get me to attack them so that they could waste me. Yeah, I know life is cheap in the future, but you have to put a lot of work into a Cybersphere character, including writing up a history, so getting wasted for no reason is no fun. Speaking of death, death comes very easily in Cybersphere. Just wandering around can get you killed very easily ? whether by mobs you can?t escape or by traps you can?t avoid. You have to put too much work into a Cybersphere character to have them killed off so easily. You *can* pay to have clones available, but it costs significant amounts of money each time, and if you take the cheap version, your stats will deteriorate. It isn?t clear what a Cybersphere PC is supposed to be doing and you don?t get much guidance. You start the game with no money and no equipment. If you can find a helpful PC, they may tell you how to get some money from the bank and how to get work delivering packages. By these you... Read More