The casting director is an important system in the game. It is in charge of deciding which missions shall be offered to the team, based on past events in the current game.
Game Developer wrote an article about the Casting Director based on an interview with the development team from 2023.
Tags[edit | edit source]
The Casting Director relies on Tags to decide what events will occur on the Timeline. Every Mercenary and every Contact has Tags associated with their history. Some tags are built into the character at the time they enter the game as recruits or new Contacts. Some recruitment dialogs allow the player to select a couple Tags from short lists. Other Tags may be added to a character over the course of time due to events. There are several broad categories of Tags.
Faction Tags denote a relationship with a particular Faction. The relationship may be positive (Faction Insider), negative (Wanted by Faction), or neutral (Faction of Origin). Contacts may have Tags such as Corrupt in Faction, Faction Ally, Tenuous Deal, etc.
Similarly, personal Tags mark a relationship with a person, either a Mercenary or a Contact. All kinds of personal relationships are possible: Old Associates, Friend, Parent, Respects, Grudge, Suspicious, Enemy, etc. Contacts can have relationships with other Contacts, such as Business Partner or Hates. New relationships can be added as time progresses. For instance, a merc may reveal they have a Sibling the rest of the squad hadn't known about.
Knowledge and experience can be represented with Tags. Scientific Research, Street Security, Raised on the Streets, and MilSec Protocols are some examples. Experience can be gained through actions and events a merc experiences, giving Tags such as Under Navigator.
Some Tags represent unique features of the character. Examples include Hidden Identity, Genius Level, Conspiracy Theorist, Money Hungry, From Old Bloodline, and Dreams of Gleam.
Many Tags can be added by Hype Limit Breaks, Stress Limit Breaks, Influence Limit Breaks, and Exposure Limit Breaks. These Tags may have a time limit, typically lasting 30 days, such as Like Lightning, Malcontent, Hi-Mark Up, or Data Flood. Importantly, the Power Play Tag can also be added by an Influence Limit Break.
The Casting Director also considers leveled Traits and leveled Wounds to be Tags. The Services that a Contact provides are Tags. The role of a Contact, such as Corporate VP, Gang Boss, or Hover Operator, is a kind of Tag. All of these things can be a factor when the Casting Director matches Missions, Contacts, and Factions.
Event Generation[edit | edit source]
The Casting Director creates new Timeline events based on the Era, the Tags on the Mercenaries, and the Tags on their Contacts. Many events are limited by Era. Both Storyline Missions and Proc-Gen Missions are generated by the Casting Director.
If a Contact is already involved in a Storyline or in a Proc-Gen Mission, they are ineligible for a different Mission.
There is also a limit by type on Proc-Gen Missions. When a Proc-Gen Mission is generated, it will exclude any other instance of that Mission type appearing on the Timeline. After the Mission is completed, there is a cool-down period before that Proc-Gen Mission type can be generated again.
Co-Conspire can be used to generate new Missions on specific Contacts. Co-Conspire Missions are simply Proc-Gen Missions with a specific Contact. They are subject to the same limitations. If the Contact is already involved in a Storyline or Mission, or if the Proc-Gen Mission types they would be eligible for are already on the Timeline or in cooldown, they will be unable to initiate a Co-Conspire Mission.