# How OPEN//77 works

The platform, the architecture, and the creator toolkit — documented in the open as the pre-alpha evolves. Design intent, not shipped software.

## Overview

OPEN//77 is an open platform that brings community-run multiplayer servers to Cyberpunk 2077 — the way FiveM opened GTA V. Not one server: an ecosystem of them, each with its own game mode, rules and community.

### OPEN//77 is not

- One official multiplayer server run by us
- A fixed game mode you have to play
- A peer-to-peer co-op session mod
- A product of CD PROJEKT RED

### OPEN//77 is

- The infrastructure that lets anyone run a Cyberpunk 2077 server
- A client that discovers and connects you to community servers
- A creator toolkit for building custom game modes and systems
- Common ground for players, server owners and developers

## How it works (for players)

1. **Own the game** — OPEN//77 requires your own legal copy of Cyberpunk 2077, at build 2.31, with Phantom Liberty DLC. The platform never distributes game content — it builds on the game you bought. Pirated or cracked copies are not supported and not welcome.
2. **Install the client** — The OPEN//77 client runs alongside your installation. Your single-player game, saves and mods stay untouched.
3. **Browse the servers** — Open the server browser, filter by game mode or language, read a server's page, and pick the world you want to live in tonight.
4. **Connect & play** — The client fetches that server's resource set, verifies its signature and content hashes, and drops you into Night City alongside everyone else on that server.

## Requirements

Two of these are stricter than the usual "you need the game" line, so they are worth stating plainly: the client is built against game build 2.31 specifically rather than that version or newer, and Phantom Liberty DLC is required rather than recommended. One more thing is not negotiable: OPEN//77 does not accept piracy. You buy Cyberpunk 2077, or you do not play on it.

### To play

- **Your own legal copy of Cyberpunk 2077** — OPEN//77 never distributes the game or any of its assets. It builds on the installation you already own — bought, not pirated. Cracked copies are not supported and not welcome.
- **Game build 2.31** — This exact build, not a minimum. The client hooks the game engine at addresses established for it and refuses to load when they do not match.
- **Phantom Liberty DLC** — The expansion ships as EP1, and the client needs it: the world it loads when you connect to a server is an EP1 save.
- **Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit** — The client is a native Windows plugin that loads inside the game process.

### To host a server

Hosting is a different list. A dedicated server is a normal server process and has no relationship with the game at all.

- **The game is not needed** — A dedicated server runs independently of Cyberpunk 2077, REDengine and the client plugin. It never loads game content and never needs a copy installed.
- **Windows x64 and .NET 10** — The server is a standalone .NET process with a native networking layer. It is the machine you keep online, not the machine you play on.
- **Your players still need all of the above** — Everyone who connects needs Cyberpunk 2077 2.31 + Phantom Liberty DLC on their own machine. Hosting changes nothing about that.

## Dedicated servers

OPEN//77 is built around real dedicated servers, not peer-to-peer sessions. A server is a persistent process that a community operates — it holds the authoritative state of its world, and players connect to it.

- **Persistent worlds** — The world keeps running when you log off. Economies, factions and stories continue — the server remembers.
- **Authoritative state** — Positions, inventories, vehicles, loot, time and weather: the server decides what is true, and clients render approved state. That is what makes real economies and fair PvP possible.
- **Operated by communities** — Anyone will be able to run the server software — on their own hardware or a rented machine — and set their world's rules, resources and moderation.

## Resources and scripting

A server is only as interesting as what runs on it. Gameplay is packaged as resources: self-contained directories with a manifest, Lua scripts, declared permissions, dependencies and optional web interfaces. The server picks the resource set for a session; connecting clients download it, verify its signature and content hashes, and activate it before entering the world.

Documented systems:

- **Vehicles** (/docs/vehicles) — network identity, streaming, authority leases, seats, doors and damage
- **NPCs** (/docs/npcs) — server-owned templates, streaming, task queues and life state
- **Loot** (/docs/loot) — authoritative ground drops and validated pickups
- **Time and weather** (/docs/weather) — synchronised session time and weather presets
- **Elevators** (/docs/elevators) — server-authoritative native lifts with late-join catch-up
- **Interactions** (/docs/interactions) — contextual world and NPC prompts with action keys
- **Custom UI** (/docs/notifications) — WebUI pages, toasts, blips and map pins
- **Identity and ACL** (/docs/server-acl) — durable player ids, whitelists and restricted commands

Resource manifest (`resources/hello/cyberm.lua`):

```lua
resource "hello"
version "1.0.0"
auto_start true

client_script "client/main.lua"
server_script "server/main.lua"

permissions { "network.events", "world.loot" }
```

Server entry point (`resources/hello/server/main.lua`):

```lua
RegisterCommand("hello", function(source, args)
    print(("player %d said hello"):format(source))
end, false)
```

That is the real API, not a sketch — every registered function is listed in the Lua API reference at /docs/api, separated by runtime so a client projection is never mistaken for server authority. The surface will still change while the project is in pre-alpha.

## Roadmap

OPEN//77 is in pre-alpha. There is no public build, no live server list, and no release date — and we will not invent any. Here is the honest shape of the road.

### NOW (PRE-ALPHA) — Core multiplayer foundations

Client/server architecture, session handling, and synchronizing players inside the same world — the unglamorous groundwork everything else depends on.

### NEXT — Dedicated server & resource system

The self-hostable server build, the resource format, and automatic resource delivery to connecting clients.

### THEN — Server browser & creator SDK

Public server discovery, server pages, and a documented scripting API so the first community worlds can open their doors.

### BEYOND — The ecosystem

Featured communities, server reputation, resource sharing between servers — the parts that only matter once real worlds exist. The community will shape these.

## FAQ

### Is OPEN//77 official? Is CD PROJEKT RED involved?

No. OPEN//77 is an independent community project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by CD PROJEKT RED. Cyberpunk 2077 is the property of CD PROJEKT S.A. — we build alongside the game, not on their behalf.

### Do I need to own Cyberpunk 2077?

Yes, always. OPEN//77 never distributes the game or its assets. You need your own legal copy of Cyberpunk 2077 on 64-bit Windows, at game build 2.31, with Phantom Liberty DLC installed. The platform adds multiplayer infrastructure on top of it.

### Does OPEN//77 work with pirated or cracked copies?

No — and it never will, as a matter of principle, not just engineering. This project exists because we love Cyberpunk 2077; buying the game and its expansion is how the studio that made it gets paid, and it is the baseline for being part of this community. Pirated and cracked installations are unsupported, receive no help in any community channel, and server operators are expected to turn them away. If you cannot buy the game yet, wait for a sale — do not pirate it.

### Is Phantom Liberty DLC required, or only recommended?

Required. The expansion ships as the EP1 content set, and the world the client loads when you connect to a server is an EP1 save — without the expansion installed there is nothing for it to load. The base game on its own is not enough.

### Do I need Cyberpunk 2077 to host a server?

No. A dedicated server runs independently of Cyberpunk 2077, REDengine and the client plugin — it is a standalone .NET process on 64-bit Windows and never loads game content. Everyone who connects to it still needs their own Cyberpunk 2077 2.31 installation with Phantom Liberty DLC.

### So is this one big multiplayer server?

No — and this is the core idea. OPEN//77 is the platform underneath many servers. Communities run their own independent worlds with their own game modes and rules; the client lets you browse and join them. If FiveM's model for GTA V is familiar, that is the shape.

### Can I play it right now?

Not yet. The project is in pre-alpha and there is no public build. We publish development progress openly rather than promising dates — when a build is ready for testing, it will be announced through the project's channels.

### Will I be able to host my own server?

That is the whole design. The dedicated server software will be self-hostable, so you can run your world on your own hardware or a rented machine, moderate it your way, and list it in the public browser.

### What can server creators actually customize?

Servers run resources: packages of server-side and client-side Lua with a manifest, declared permissions and optional web interfaces. The documented systems today include vehicles, NPCs, loot, time and weather, elevators, contextual interactions, chat, notifications, blips and visual effects. A pure racing server and a hardcore roleplay city can both be OPEN//77 servers.

### Will it break my single-player game or saves?

The client is designed to run alongside your installation without touching your single-player saves or mod setup. Multiplayer state lives on the server you join.

### How much will it cost?

OPEN//77 is a community project, not a storefront. The platform itself is intended to be free to play on. Beyond that, honest answer: sustainability decisions come after a working platform, and they will be discussed in the open.