satyrsangre: SO i'm really excited about Cyberpunk 2077's hacking because most open world rpg video games that say you "hack" just make you press a button and you've "hacked" the thing. but i want to actually do the thing, y'know?

"If a Netrunner is a cybernetic magician, then programs are his spells, [they're] at this mental fingertips." -Cyberpunk 2020, The Second Edition

in Cyberpunk 2020 (the PnP game), you have a cyberdeck and programs. the cyberdeck is akin to a deck of cards (think YuGiOh or MtG) and the programs are the cards themselves (think more trap and spell cards). in order to affect things and people, you have to have to have interface plugs (think Ghost in the Shell) that go from you/your deck to the thing you're trying to affect.

cyberdecks are varied but are ruled primarily by memory (how many programs you hold), speed (who moves first in Netrunner combat), and data walls (protection against programs from enemy 'Runners). better cyberdecks mean you can hold more programs.

programs are the things that do the work of the "hacking." the classes are: intrusion, decryption, detection/alarm, anti-system (attack other cyberdecks), evasion/stealth, protection, anti-ic (attack other programs), anti-personnel (attack other people), controller (traditional idea of "hacking," controlling video feeds, opening doors, accessing information, etc), utilities.

then there are Demon Series Programs, the monsters of your cyberdeck. these are programs that can carry other programs as subroutines, but the programs it carries are a little less powerful than the full version you might deploy directly from your cyberdeck.

the most exciting part to me is the idea that i will have to carefully decide what programs to carry and when to deploy them, in a sense of inventory management. if i have one high strength door opening program, several doors to get through, and i know security tightens up the further in i try to breach a location, can't use that program on the first door. gotta plan, gotta be careful. if i have a cyberdeck stacked with super rare, high strength programs, i have to be careful about other 'Runners with anti-ic programs frackin up my fit.

as to your query about combat robots acting autonomously during a mission, i don't see why not, if you have a demon running inside a flathead or some other drone. that would be more the purview of Techies, though most cyberpunks would likely be adept at managing the basics.

all this info is from the PnP game that i have right next to me. i tried to be as clear as possible, but the PnP game's mechanics are pretty deep and i love them. as for how Cyberpunk 2077 might function, probably not too different honestly. i remember seeing a quick image of the character using the cyberdeck in a trailer, which i will hunt for presently. the mechanics in 2077 will very likely be streamlined but i'm fairly hopeful and positive that your cyberdeck, its programs, and its necessity for careful management of what you carry will be present features.