Doing It For The Fame

FAME!

Stuck in your head yet? Excellent, let's proceed.

Every software company I've worked for has had to release a patch almost immediately after a product went live. Usually for something that seemed to work and wasn't given a second glance despite our gesturing at the bug tickets.

I seem to have kept this awful habit.

In this case, I'm talking about the XP system. I slapped down the original XP-for-gold numbers, added a few zeros to account for inflation, and moved on with the task at hand. This vague eye to detail generated a few issues. First, by second level you'd have 2 million dollars. That's enough to retire and be done. Secondly, it's also enough to buy everything in the book multiple times over, as spotted here:

Seems very excessive.

Now, I could adjust numbers and double check everything to make sure it all makes logical, numerical sense...or a could burn everything down, throw out XP-for-gold reasoning, and start over.

That seemed easier, so I went with that one.

Fame

The long and short of it is you get XP based on the type of job you perform. They come in four types: Minor, News Worthy, Headliner, and Media Frenzy.

Minor Jobs
This includes chasing off local drug dealers, retrieving stolen property, shaking down small businesses; you know, minor things. These are worth 100 XP.

News Worthy
This includes bringing down local gangs, disrupting a Yakuza job, break and entering zaibatsu remote sites. These are worth 250 XP.

Headliner
These involve snatch and grabs from megacorp research labs and disrupting operations region wide. These are worth 500 XP.

Media Frenzy
Disrupting zaibatsu operations continent wide and the like fall in this category. They're worth a hefty 1000 XP.

Essentially, the more security you face, the higher the value.

XP in this instance is a measure of the Fame you're generating by your actions. Get an old woman's antique Yamaha 20XX YZF-R1M back from a local Chad Boy chapter? The local community notices. Get hired by the Yakuza to burn down a Zen Security armory? The National News is gonna report on it. Also, Zen Security are gonna be very interested. Which brings me to the next point.

The higher your Fame, the more people will be after you. You know the points in Fallout 3 and New Vegas where mercenary groups start randomly attacking you based on your karma? That. It's that.

Running the Numbers

I made a chart

As you can see, the higher your level gets, the less the minor jobs are going to affect your Fame. This seems good to me; it drives you to bigger and better things. Or, more violent things. The betterness is up to you.

The Pros and Cons
Pros

• It sets apart the XP system from money. You'll still level up, but you won't need 2 Million dollars. 
• Still allows the Face ability "Street Cred" to work as written. 
• Want a faster play? Double the XP and shoot right through the levels. 
• Allows for bonus XP on out of the ordinary jobs. Run into cyberEnforcer at the bodega your shaking down buying a 40? +10 XP to the job. 

Cons

• I might have to reformat the XP section. 

I'm willing to make that sacrifice. For the game.

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