What is a choom?

[Pierre]

Is that something in spanish or english or it was just invented for the game? Same goes for Nova.

[Silverbane7]

Opprinnelig skrevet av zegisa:

Opprinnelig skrevet av MajorBarf:

Goon has two meanings, one is for someone who is crazy and/or stupid (which is the meaning used in the BBC radio comedy "The Goon Show" from the 1950's) and the second is a thug or guard or enforcer (usually violent).

So a "Gangoon" is a conflation of "gang" and "goon" - which could use either meaning of goon depending on your perspective.

I first saw "Choom" used in the original Cyberpunk TTRPG from back in the late 1980's and, as observed previously, it is an abbreviation of "Choomba" (male) or "Choombatta" (female) which is an African-American term for a close friend or relative. I guess that is Mike Pondsmith, the designer of the Cyberpunk TTRPG series, drawing on his personal heritage.

It's possible it is entirely made up, but I've seen "choom" used in sci fi by Heinlein in The Moon is A Harsh Mistress, and it has existed in Aussie/NZ slang since 1918. If it was recorded in 1918, it probably had been used a good few years before that.

It could be Pondsmith wanted to use choom, but rebrand it to make the term seem like it belonged to Cyberpunk instead of being drawn from the real word.

from what i can tell, he (Mike) wanted a friendly word to be used by everyone.

Choomba and Choombatta are still used by the tabletop, and were always used by the tabletop for male and female
in the newest entry (Edgerunners folio box set) they yet again, changed it up.
now Choom is short for Choomba, which was short from Choombatta.
tho Judy uses choomba in her tutorial
'his own choomba shot him'

[Death Approaches]

we always shortened it to one-syllable, "choo" when playing... but choom is also one-syllable too, just isn't what we came up with, cause, it's a tabletop you play with humans, not get on reddit and ask... oh wait, reddit didn't exist. the internet barely existed. it was BBSes and you were probably 2400 baud unless you were rich and could swing a brand-name 9600 baud in the late 80s, which all your favourite pirate warez boards had. even though games could fit on a few floppies, it still took days of downloading, tying up the house phoneline if you didn't have a dedicated modem line and always getting interrupted when someone picks up a handset and hears the squealing static of data transfer! DEATH!! GET OFF THE PHONE!!

so just for your own understanding of why CDPR made this this way, even made their own ruleset too, CyberpunkRED, they're as much fanbois as we are, and they included the 2020 sourcebook, if you want to know where it's coming from... not as good as the 3-book set for the original, but in some ways streamlined for those who aren't good at game management and GM'ing...

it's right there in your library...
steamapps\music\Cyberpunk 2077 Bonus Content\sourcebook\

[Quarex]

Haha, that post speaks to me. I definitely learned about Cyberpunk originally on a BBS (probably 14.4 though! I started in the early '90s) and thought it sounded like the coolest thing in the world. Just found my character sheet from like ~1997 the other day and wished I had found it before playing this game the first time.

Though I guess now it can be my goal to play through a third time as a V inspired by that old tabletop character?!

Also are you really even a Cyberpunk fan if you have not started calling your friends "chooms" in real life in the last few years

[Silverbane7]

CDPR didnt 'make' Cyberpunk RED.
R Talsorian inc did (and does)

https://rtalsoriangames.com/

things just happened at the right time.
Mike wanted to make a new version, WAS making a new version of the tabletop. but he needed some funds to be able to print em and ship em ect.
and along came these devs from a middling sized indie studio, CDPR. they loved the tabletop and wanted to make a computer game of it.

thats why Cyberpunk RED dropped December 2020.
because it was co ordinated that way so both things would work together.

Opprinnelig skrevet av Quarex:

Haha, that post speaks to me. I definitely learned about Cyberpunk originally on a BBS (probably 14.4 though! I started in the early '90s) and thought it sounded like the coolest thing in the world. Just found my character sheet from like ~1997 the other day and wished I had found it before playing this game the first time.

Though I guess now it can be my goal to play through a third time as a V inspired by that old tabletop character?!

Also are you really even a Cyberpunk fan if you have not started calling your friends "chooms" in real life in the last few years

apart from only finding your old char sheet *after* playing your first run (and using a modem in the 90's XD i was too poor to do any of that, only had a Spectrum lol) thats me too.

i couldnt buy the game back in 2020, but i watched a no commentary playthru on ps4 Pro the day it dropped.
knew i wanted to play along, so i dragged my 2020 paperback copy out and rolled up my own V (or V's, plural. rolled 'twins' on the lifepath lmao. he rolled up as nomad childhood while my main rolled up as a streetkid)
had enough fun making her that i kept her and used her when my input bought me the game for a birthday/christmas gift.

and yeah, the game has a knock on effect with language (at least for me)
Choom, Delta, Nova and Gonk all made their way into my language pretty quickly.
as did the clothing.
2020 and 2021 were the years here (UK) where rolled up bomber jackets and biker leathers came back.
now, apparently, leather bombers are getting popular in the larger fasheon world again (way to be late to the party, girls... we got there 4 YEARS before you did XD)
and i was ahead of the curve for once lmao.
those couple of leather jackets in my garage were/are now good to go again, and i got a couple more from charity (thrift) to paint the back of...those places are fantastic, if you can find a little local one, for 2nd hand leather or pleather to cyberpunk up :)

[UFO]

This is me guessing, but Delta from physics, as in a change in something (for instance DeltaV for velocity/speed, commonly used if you play KSP or build actual space rockets) or, more close to home, perhaps from Hardwired (and by extension Cyberpunk 2020) where a Delta is a type of off-label jet aircraft used by smugglers to run contraband across state borders?

[Silverbane7]

Ok...

Streetslang some common terms of the 21st century. (Page 34 of your 2020 sourcebook)

AI: Artificial intelligence; a computer with full self awareness.
Booster: any member of a gang that affects cyberware, leather clothing and random violence.
Combat Drugs: any one of a series of designer drugs related to increase speed, stamina a d reflexes.
Chilled: to be cool; to be together.
Chippin' in : to buy cyberware for the first time. To cast your lot with a group. To connect with a machine.
Choombata (Choomba): Neo-Afro American slang for friend, family member.
CHOOH2 ("Choo") streetslang for alcohol, as used in vehicle power plants. The vast majority of vehicles in the 2000's are fueled by an advanced for of alcohol with a higher burning temperature than normal methanol.
Chromer: 21'st century heavy metal rock fan. See also Chromatic rocker and Chromatic rock.
Chromatic rock: a type of heavy metal characterized by heavy electronics, simple rhythms and violent lyrics.
Cybered up: to get as much cyberware implanted as possible before you go over the Edge.
Data Term: a streetcorner information machine, with a screen, Net inputs and a keyboard.
Disk: record, recording; a laser disk.
'Dorphs: streetslang for synthetic endorphins, a designer drug that increases healing powers, limits fatigue, and produces a "rush" similar to a second wind.
Exotic: a human biosculpted with non-human elements; fur, long ears, fangs ect.
The Face: The Interface. Jacking into the Net.
Flatline: to kill. A dead person or thing.
Go LEO: to make the trip into Low Earth Orbit; i.e., to visit one of the inner space stations.
Gyro: small one or two man helicopters, used mostly in police work and Corporate strike operations.
Handle: a nickname; a working name you are known by on the Street.
Hydro: Streetslang for hydrogen fuel, used to power a sizeable number of vehicles in the 2000's.
Input: girlfriend.
Keyboard: Streetslang for a computer interface deck with manual keys. Also a terminal.
Netrun: to interface with the Net and use it to hack into Data fortresses.
Output: boyfriend.
Polymer one shot: any cheap plastic pistol, usually in the 5 to 6mm range.
Power gang: any group whose members all effect a specific look, style or bodysculpt job.
Ripperdoc: surgeon specialising in implanting illegal cyberware.
Ronin: a freelance assassin or mercenary. Usually considered to be untrustworthy.
Rockerboy/girl: a musician or performer who uses his or her art to make political or social statements. Rockerboys are nit the same as rockstars, who are usually "owned" by recording mediacorps and are apolitical .
Samurai: a corporate assassin or mercenary, hired to protect Corporation property or make strikes against other Corporate holdings.
Slammit On: to get violent; to attack someone without reason.
The Street: wherever you live, late at night. The Subculture; the Underground.
Stuffit: to have sex. Also to forget about something.

As you can see, they swapped boyfriend and girlfriend around.

Changes and new entries from the Edgerunners mission kit. (Pages 32-33 Edgerunners handbook)

AV: Pronounced "ay-vee." An aerodyne vehicle: a flying automobile-like vehicle powered by ducted jet fans.
AI: Artificial Intelligence. It can be used to refer to both non-aware systems and truly sentient artificial constructs.
Badlands: The desolate space outside of Night City. Decades of climate change and resource exploitation habe transformed this area into a desert.
Blackwall: A mysterious construction allegedly created by NetWatch to block access between the Old Net and the new.
Booster: A type of drug that enhances physical or mental performance.
Borg: Someone who has undergone Full Body Conversion (FBC) by implanting their brain and a few other choice biological bits into a fully cybernetic body.
Braindance (BD): A technology allowing a user to experience another person's recorded memory, including their emotions and physical reactions. Darker and more illegal XBDs allowing someone to experience death are sadly common, but without limiters in place, it can be harmful.
Chippin' in: To implant cyberware for the first time. Taken from the title of a Samurai song.
Choom: Friend/family member. Shortened from choomba, which itself is shortened from choombatta.
CHOOH2: Pronounced "Chew-Two." A brand name for a biofuel fuel commonly used to power vehicles. Not the actual chemical formula.
Chrome: Another word for cyberware, even if it isn't actually made of metal.
Combat Zone: An area of a city more or less abandoned by the authorities, where violence rules.
Corpo: An executive-level employee of a corporation.
Cyberdeck: A device used by netrunners to connect their brain to a computer system.
Cyberpsychosis: A popular term deriving from the idea that too much cyberware will transform a person into a rampaging monster (aka a cyberpsycho).
Cyberware: A device implanted into or onto the body.
DataKrash: The event leading to the collapse of the Old Net, orchestrated by Rache Bartmoss.
Delta: To leave a location quickly.
Eddie's: Slang for Eurodollars, the most common form of currency in Night City. Also called eds.
Enemies: A miniscule amount of money.
The Edge: The fringe of society outside of the borders of the legal.
Edgerunner: A street mercenary. Someone who chooses to live outside of society's normal bounds.
Fixer: A deal maker and information broker. They often provide jobs for edgerunners.
Flatline: To die or to kill.
Flick: To send something, usually digitally.
'ganic: Another term for organic.
Ghost: To leave someone's presence. Vanish from someone's life. Synonymous with "get lost".
Gonk: A fool. Something stupid.
Handle: A name someone is known by on The Street.
Holo: Short for holophone. Used for visual and voice-based communications.
Hustle: Hired muscle, usually employed for guard duties or illegal jobs.
ICE: A program designed to attack, eject, or kill a Netrunner who intrudes into a system.
Input/Output: A short-term love interest or hookup.
Kibble: Processed food. Dog food for people. Common before the Unification War but less so now. Only the poorest of the poor live on it.
Joytoy: A sex worker.
Highrider: Someone who lives or spends most of their time in space.
Klep: To steal. A reference to kleptomania, a psychological condition in which the sufferer is driven to steal by uncontrollable urges.
Mainline: A term for your partner when in a long, serious romantic and/or sexual relationship.
Meat: Flesh. The opposite of cyberware. Some netrunners refer to the physical world as "meat space".
Netrunner: Someone who plugs their brain directly into computer systems, allowing them to hack as high speeds.
Neuroport: The most common piece of cyberware in the world - a central processing unit required for the installation of all other cyberware.
Nomad: A member of one of a number of wandering nations. The most common nomads in Night City belonging to the Aldecaldo Nation.
Nova: Awesome.
Preem: Derived from the word "premium". Cool.
Proxy: Someone controlled by an external entity, such as an AI or another person, via an implant known as a doll chip. Proxies employed in sex work are known as dolls.
Ripperdoc: Originally a term refering toa medical professional who specializes in installing cyberware, it has expanded to include any surgeon.
Sandevistan: A form of cyberware that enhances reaction time and slows perception of reality. Also known as a Sandy.
Scop: A form of moldable protein used in many foods, it originally referred to single-celled organisms grown for the purpose, but the term now includes all processed imitation food. Informally used to describe any low-quality foodstuff.
Scroll: To record a braindance.
Scroller: Someone who records a braindance.
Shard: A chip containing data or programs. Can be slotted into an external device or a shard slot of a neuroport.
Solo: A mercenary who specializes in combat and fights for cash. A solo who works primarily for megacorps is sometimes known as a samurai.
Static: A somewhat derogatory term used by nomads to describe non-nomads.
The Street: The underground subculture of violence a d illegality.
Wreath: A device used to experience a braindance.
Virtu: An abbreviation for virtual. Used to refer to both braindances and virtual experiences stored on shards.
Zero: To kill or murder.

As you can see, they have expanded the terms and slang.
Choom changed from a gendered term to ungendered (hardly a surprise these days lol)
Input and output now is just a lower term, tonight's date lol. While mainline became the term for your long term lover (partner, husband/wife slang even)

There are more from Cyberpunk RED too, slang like Docking, which is another term for sex.
These are 'official' slang direct from the cyberpunk sourcebooks for the tabletop.

[valium]

There are two kinds of people in the world:

1. People who can extrapolate meaning through context.

[Titan Awaken]

Opprinnelig skrevet av zegisa:

[
It's possible it is entirely made up, but I've seen "choom" used in sci fi by Heinlein in The Moon is A Harsh Mistress, and it has existed in Aussie/NZ slang since 1918. If it was recorded in 1918, it probably had been used a good few years before that.

It’s “possible” that the word was made up???

Brother, ALL words are made up. This does not warrant a 8+ month necro to state something as obvious as this.

Opprinnelig skrevet av zegisa:

It could be Pondsmith wanted to use choom, but rebrand it to make the term seem like it belonged to Cyberpunk instead of being drawn from the real word.

Did you just independently discover etymology? Not much to say except… impressive.

Yes, the meaning of words change over time. This is not a novel concept. “Moron”, “idiot” and “imbecile” were once upon a time psychologically acceptable terms to describe intellectually disabled people. Nowadays it’s just an insult and nothing more.

Again, this does not warrant a 8+ month necro to state something obvious, although independently discovering etymology through a video game word is at least somewhat impressive (and amusing).

[zegisa]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Titan Awaken:

Opprinnelig skrevet av zegisa:

[
It's possible it is entirely made up, but I've seen "choom" used in sci fi by Heinlein in The Moon is A Harsh Mistress, and it has existed in Aussie/NZ slang since 1918. If it was recorded in 1918, it probably had been used a good few years before that.

It’s “possible” that the word was made up???

Brother, ALL words are made up. This does not warrant a 8+ month necro to state something as obvious as this.

Opprinnelig skrevet av zegisa:

It could be Pondsmith wanted to use choom, but rebrand it to make the term seem like it belonged to Cyberpunk instead of being drawn from the real word.

Did you just independently discover etymology? Not much to say except… impressive.

Yes, the meaning of words change over time. This is not a novel concept. “Moron”, “idiot” and “imbecile” were once upon a time psychologically acceptable terms to describe intellectually disabled people. Nowadays it’s just an insult and nothing more.

Again, this does not warrant a 8+ month necro to state something obvious, although independently discovering etymology through a video game word is at least somewhat impressive (and amusing).

I dont know what you mean by "necro" and I definitely don't know what your problem is. Words are made up, but there's a difference between borrowing an old one and making a brand new one. I'm just sharing some information that isn't obvious to everyone. Am I hurting anyone with this info? No. So no need to waste your time sounding like sanctimonious ass. Who are you helping with your comment? What does it contribute?

[Silverbane7]

Necro, short for necromancy.
To necro a thread is to bring it back from the dead, like it's a zombie.
Some people don't like 'old' threads being resurected.

(Maybe that explains the salt. But then, that means the one who raised it should be the one to put it back into the ground, I guess)

[Peter34]

Wasn't a lot of the made-up slang actually made up long ago, in the 1980s for the Cyberpunk 2008 RPG, though?

[Titan Awaken]

Opprinnelig skrevet av zegisa:

I dont know what you mean by "necro" and I definitely don't know what your problem is.

You dug a 9 month old dead thread from the grave to post what essentially amounts to a tautology.

“The word “choom” could’ve been invented or borrowed from somewhere else.”

Well yeah, obviously. There’s no other possible explanation is there? You don’t suppose that words can independently and randomly pop into existence out of thin air, hm?

Opprinnelig skrevet av zegisa:

Words are made up, but there's a difference between borrowing an old one and making a brand new one. I'm just sharing some information that isn't obvious to everyone.

No.

Etymology makes no distinction between a brand new made up word like “gyatt” (Gen Z brainrot slang for a big butt) or an old, existing word that has had it meaning changed over time like “gay” (old meaning: cheerful/carefree vs. new meaning: a homosexual male). It’s called semantic shift and it is a part of etymology.

It is obvious to everyone because again, words can be made up by people or adapted from pre-existing words/languages. Those are the only two options. 50-50 chance; literally a coin toss’ chance of getting it right even if somebody had absolutely no idea of Mike Pondsmith or the Cyberpunk genre at all.

And besides, is it not possible that Mike Pondsmith independently came up with the word “choom” after an episode of late night inspiration or something? It’s all supposition in the end unless you’re the man himself.

[NUKINGFOOBS]

chum

[Kishero]

"Delta" to leave or escape comes from Delta V, or change in Velocity>in other words acceleration, commonly used in rocketry in terms of the delta v needed to reach escape velocity and get to orbit.

Always liked that one. Mainly because experience will show that escaping our character ( Deltaing V) is impossible which would fittingly make NC a black hole.