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Project Neural Cloud

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The poster girl for the game isPersicaria.

Girls' Frontline: Neural Cloud or Neural Cloud, known as 少女前线：云图计划 or 云图计划 in Simplified Chinese, 雲圖計劃 in Traditional Chinese, 뉴럴 클라우드 in Korean, and ニューラルクラウド in Japanese, is a roguelike strategy game from Sunborn and a spin-off to Girls' Frontline.

The player, as the Professor, must lead a group of Dolls called the Exiled in a digital world called Magrasea and save them from deletion by the Sanctifiers. Each Doll has their own abilities, upgrade them and build their base. Certain Dolls in Neural Cloud share their identity with characters from Girls' Frontline.

Game topics

Project Neural Cloud
Dolls List · Events List · Items List · Enemy List · NPCs List · Story (Worldview · Horizon Record · Loading Screens)
Main Screen Guide · Doll Info Menu · Oasis Menu · Combat · Exploration Menu · Factory Menu · Function Cards · Spirits · Dormitory · Achievements


Characters

Neural Cloud characters

Main Article: PNC:Doll Index

In comparison to Girls' Frontline, the characters of Project Neural Cloud are given their own names and styled after their occupation instead of being based off of their weapons.

The link above has the complete list of every character that is currently released in the CN server.

Three characters in beta files are not playable in the final game: Lancet, Naka and Yotsuba.

Returning characters

Certain Dolls are the same character, or appear to be, as characters from Girls' Frontline.

The fact that certain Dolls in Project Neural Cloud are versions of Dolls from Girls' Frontline who diverged in 2060 gives rise to a question: What will happen if the Dolls trapped in the Magrasea backup manage to escape? Though the topic has not been discussed in the story yet, the Professor mentions in Moonseeking Resurgence 3-3 that they are certain  LunaLuna will eventually get to meet with her mercenary lookalike in the physical world (HG K5Thumb button.pngK5 ).

Gameplay

Project Neural Cloud is an automated strategy game with roguelike elements. Unlike Girls' Frontline, most of the game is in 3D.

The player takes the role of the Professor as they journey through the sectors of the Magrasea, battling enemies through the command of Dolls that can be upgraded for them to get stronger. The player owns a base called the Oasis which gives them supplies such as Item Diggcoin.png Diggcoins (the game's currency) and Item Prefab Unit.png Prefab Units (base upgrade material and used for certain factory productions).

Dolls

Main Article: Doll Info Menu

The units available to the player are Dolls, human-like androids created for specific jobs. Specifically, the characters in the game are the virtual representation of the Dolls in the Magrasea superserver based on their Neural Cloud. Unlike in Girls' Frontline, few Dolls in Neural Cloud qualify as Tactical Dolls.

Doll quality (also called "rarity") initially ranges from one to three stars. Each Doll belongs to one of five classes: Guard, Sniper, Warrior, Medic and Specialist. There are 18 attributes used in combat for each Doll:

  • Attribute Max HP.png Max HP: Can be affected during Exploration.
  • Attribute ATK.png ATK: Damage caused by normal attacks and certain skills.
  • Attribute Hashrate.png Hashrate: Determines the damage caused by certain skills.
  • Attribute Physical DEF.png Physical DEF: Percentage reduction of incoming Physical DMG.
  • Attribute Operand DEF.png Operand DEF: Percentage reduction of incoming Operand DMG.
  • Attribute Attack Speed.png Attack Speed: Rate in which a Doll attacks.
  • Attribute Crit Rate.png Crit Rate: Chance of normal attacks doing critical hits.
  • Attribute Crit Damage.png Crit Damage: Increase to the damage done through critical hits.
  • Attribute Physical PEN.png Physical Penetration: Cancels out with target's Physical DEF.
  • Attribute Operand PEN.png Operand Penetration: Cancels out with target's Operand DEF.
  • Attribute Dodge Rate.png Dodge Rate: Chance of dodging normal attacks.
  • Attribute Post-battle HP Regen.png Post-Battle HP Regen: Amount of HP recovered after a battle.
  • Attribute Skill Haste.png Skill Haste: Increase to the Auto Skill charge speed.
  • Attribute Debuff Resistance.png Debuff Resistance: Determines duration of debuffs.
  • Attribute Backlash.png Backlash: Returns parts of incoming damage as True Damage.
  • Attribute Damage Boost.png Damage Boost: Percentage bonus to attacks delivered.
  • Attribute Injury Mitigation.png Injury Mitigation: Percentage reduction to incoming damage.
  • Attribute Healing Effect.png Healing Effect: Percentage bonus to heals delivered.

Dolls increase their attributes by gaining levels and by performing Neural Expansion. Neural Expansion increases the rarity of the Doll up to 5 stars in half-star increments using Diggcoins (DGC) and Neural Fragments. Neural Fragments are obtained in Fragment Search, with each Intimacy level from level 2 to 6 opening up more chances to acquire fragments. Neural Fragments can also be obtained in the Supplies shop and as a reward for unlocking a doll's Story or Voice file (Neural Fragments are more difficult and time-sensitive to acquire for “welfare” Dolls).

Each Doll has three skills: a Passive skill, an Auto skill, and an Ultimate skill. Passive and Auto Skills can also be enhanced by spending Skill Samples from levels 1 to 7 and needing Skill Pivots from levels 8 to 10. Ultimate skills are available from 3 star rarity and onward, and are only leveled through subsequent Neural Expansions.

Dolls don't gain experience in combat, instead, Experience Points are awarded after a fight as as general currency to be redistributed manually to the Dolls, up to level 70. A special level up called Potential Breakthrough must be done every 10 levels and requires Breakthrough Widgets and Diggcoins.

Additionally, certain Dolls can have another upgrade named Arma Inscripta after Stage 4-15 is completed. Arma Inscripta (or simply AI) is similar to Girls' Frontline's Neural Upgrade. Dolls need to be of 4 star rarity, is level 60 or above, and is at Intimacy level 15 to unlock the first phase of their AI, up to three phases. Upgrading these phases will give the Doll bonus stats and upgrades to their skills. Arma Inscripta needs a separate set of EXP and Breakthrough materials from the normal leveling system.

After clearing Stage 3-4, Dolls can be further modified with Algorithms which provide further attribute bonuses and special effects (this is similar to the Chips of Heavy Ordnance Corps in Girls' Frontline). Each Doll has Offense, Stability, and Special Algorithms Slots organized in patterns of 2×4 squares (some Slots must be unlocked through Neural Expansion and Potential Breakthrough).

Each Algorithm comes in a 1x2 or a 1x1 shape. Both shapes increase one Main Attribute but the 1x2 has two Substats, while the 1x1 only has one Substat. Algorithms are stored in the Algorithm Warehouse and can be equipped in available Slots. Moreover, Algorithms of purple and orange quality come in Algorithm Sets, and activate Set Effects when used at the same time. The Main Attribute of assigned Algorithms is made more effective by enhancing the Doll's Algorithm Efficiency at a max of 2.0x and is increased by using Algorithm Boosters or spending unneeded Algorithms (Algorithms can also be Decomposed to make materials used in the Processing plant building). Algorithm substats can also increase up to orange quality and are acquired/rerolled through the use of Reconfiguration Generators or with another Algorithm of the same type and slot.

The Intimacy level of Dolls increase through battle or with gifts, gaining attribute buffs and new personal information up to level 15. Costumes are called "Projections" in this game. Alternate Projections of a Doll's base artwork are unlocked with Neural Expansions while themed costumes must be bought in the shop with Projection Vouchers which are bought with Quartz or acquired rarely through certain in-game rewards. Basic costumes only give a still illustration and 3D chibi, while others can have animated illustrations, interactive Live2D and unique voices. Some Neural Cloud projections introduce fan-service Live2D interactions like removable tights or flippable skirts (the game is rated 16+ under China's Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association (CADPA)).

The player starts with five Dolls: Persicaria, Sol, Croque, Fresnel, and Mai. More Dolls can be acquired through the Neural Search gacha (requires the Search Terminal building). Basic Search is performed with Basic Search Commands that are produced in the Oasis and mostly yields items rather than Dolls. Advanced Search, on the other hand, uses Advanced Search Commands that are bought from the shop or acquired from in-game rewards and includes a pity system of one 3-star Doll guaranteed every 60 searches with the rateup doll being redeemable at 180 searches. In the Advanced Search at launch, 1-star Dolls have a combined drop rate of 78.4%, 2-stars 18% and 3-stars 3.6%. Some “welfare” Dolls like Sockdolager, Uranus and Horizon can be unlocked by playing limited-time events.

Battle

Main Articles: PNC Combat and PNC Exploration

Entering battle and claiming battle clear rewards require Keys which are replenished at a rate of 12 keys per hour at an initial cap of 150 keys and increased to 250 at Cognition Level 30.

Most stages are either Battles of Endurance or Explorations. At the start of a stage, the player sets a team of up to 5 main Dolls and 3 reserves which cannot be changed during the level (with the exception of certain event stages). The player is presented with random "Functions" to choose from as they progress in stage, buffing certain unit types. "Protocols" are random stage-wide modifiers that can either be Positive, Neutral, or Negative. Battle of Endurance stages are simple back-to-back battles with an option to heal every other battle.

During Exploration stages, the player navigates branching paths of events which are: "Conflict Zones" (battles of various difficulties), "Function Libraries" and "Anomaly Areas" (free functions and random events), "Trading Areas" (a market for Functions, Protocols, and One-time use Ultimate Skills), "Recovery Areas" (healing), and a final battle against a boss in the "Output Terminal" at the end of each layer. Exploration ends when all layers in the level are completed. Similar to the Normal and Emergency stages in Girls' Frontline, story chapters have a Standard and Dark Realm version. Endless Exploration is unlocked when all Standard stages of an area are cleared. Playing this mode yields various rewards and Strategic Blueprints that enable the use of Procedural Efficiency Nodes to receive further bonuses when playing story stages.

Battles take place on boards made of hexagonal tiles. The player units start on the leftmost rows of the board and can be swapped before the battle starts to match enemy placement and take advantage of tiles with special effects. During battle, the player's units will move and choose their targets on their own. Player actions are limited to spending Tactical Energy to use Tactical Skills and choosing when to use a unit's ultimate skill. After a certain time in battle, Battlefield Overload will occur and multiply the effect of attacks while reducing the effects of heals and shields, becoming more and more drastic as the battle drags on.

Base building

Main Articles: Oasis Menu, PNC Dormitory, and PNC Factory

The player's base in the Oasis menu unlocks new functions such as the Neural Search and the Factory. A Miscellaneous building called the Weather Simulator can be used to simulate real time weather in certain parts of the world (though it is unknown how accurate it is).

Like Girls' Frontline, the base includes a Dormitory system (now in 3D) in the shape of a Honeycomb. Each room can be decorated with furniture to improve their Habitability (or Comfort) level up to 10 with each level providing certain benefits.

The Factory unlocked after Stage 3-6 can produce various resources in a set amount of time (or instantly with Energizers) by spending Data acquired in battle and other resources with new order types unlocked by progressing in the story. At first, only two orders can be placed in the Factory at a time and only the Extraction Mine (Oasis and Factory materials) and the Supplies Workshop (Dolls enhancement materials) are available. The Gift Workshop (Gifts) is unlocked at Stage 3-12, the Data Encapsulation Center (Breakthrough and Skill materials) at Stage 4-14, and the Arms Workshop (Arma Inscripta materials) at Stage 4-15.

Story

Main Article: PNC Story

On 23 September 2063, Persica digitized the consciousness of a trusted Griffin Commander and sent them inside a recently recovered backup of Project Neural Cloud. The troubled project was eventually lost three years prior when all research data was destroyed in the Wipe-off Incident and the Professor who led the project disappeared. Using the identity of the Professor, the Commander must make contact with the Dolls who participated in the project to learn what happened and to find the Professor.

When "the Professor" enters Magrasea, they find that the Dolls of Project Neural Cloud have been expelled from their original sector during the Wipe-off Incident and have been designated Irregular Agents by the Sanctifiers who aim to destroy them. To shelter the Dolls now calling themselves the Exiles, the real Professor created a new sector called the Oasis and built the Sandbox Barrier to protect them as they searched for a way back to the real world.

Neural Cloud is considered a prequel to Girls' Frontline. Mica Team director Yuzhong famously commented “We didn't even put THAT much suffering into the story”.[1]

Teaser trailer message

751F "命" 7684 5F62 5F0F FF0C 54CD 5F7B 6D41 4EA1 4E4B 4EBA 7684 7948 7977 3002 4E0D 6B62 4E8E 4EBA 7C7B 81FA 6043 7684 8BA4 8BA4 77E5 3002 65E0 5E8F 7EDD 975E 6DF7 4E71 FF0C 865A 6784 672A 5FC5 4E0D 662F 771F 5B9E 3002 820D 547D 53EA 8FAB 53BB 5F80 7EDD 5730 FF0C 9690 533F 7684 5F52 9014 4E0A FF0C 54CD 5F7B 6D41 4EA1 4E4B 4EBA 7684 7948 7977 3002

生命的形式，响彻流亡之人的祈祷。不止于人类臺恃的认认知。无序绝非混乱，虚构未必不是真实。舍命只辫去往绝地，隐匿的归途上，响彻流亡之人的祈祷。

“Life's shape rings through the prayers of the lost. Human knowledge is not the only thing that can perceive it. Lack of order does not mean chaos, fiction does not always mean falsehood. To forsake one's life in desperation, in the hidden paths of return, rings the prayers of the lost.”

Social media posts

  • Top Secret letter: A letter from IOP to Griffin & Kryuger about their partnership with 42LAB on Neural Cloud technology and testing to be done. It reveals a number of occupations and original names for G&K T-Dolls used in Girls' Frontline: G36 was a butler model (unsurprisingly), PA-15 was named Florence, IDW was a security model named Betty, Zas M21 was a fashion designer model, AEK-999 was named Fendere, FNC was a pastry chef named Choco, Type 79 was named Azure, MDR was named Kuro, AA-12 was named Lind, M500 was named Abigail, HS2000 was named Hearate, Welrod MkII was named Insidious, and C-MS was named Clara.
  • Recruitment message: An open recruitment notification by 42LAB for Dolls test subjects from all models, commercial, civilian, corporate or privately-owned (though not military and unemployed ones). It explains that Project Neural Cloud is a partnership between IOP and 42LAB, a branch of the International Institute of Quantum Studie (IIQS), to produce a quantum-based in-the-cloud artificial consciousness module framework to protect Dolls memory data in case of neural cloud damage. The experiment is set to last for 2 months after 30th June 2058 and will run experiments on their memory module, with the benefit of free subscription to the final product.
  • CLR Event: An internal message between a Griffin & Kryuger officer and their superior. A commander reported signs of tampering in one of IOP's emails about Neural Cloud sent a few weeks prior, and the same pattern was found again two days earlier. The perpetrator inserted a message within the email, saying that 42LAB was secretly "sacrificing lives" and erasing Dolls memories as part of Project Neural Cloud. The message also contained a keyword, "CLR Event", a plea for help, and the spectrogram message "project sanctifier". The officer reports that IOP looked into the safety of Neural Cloud and that G&K operation is not in danger, and with G&K currently needing 42LAB's cooperation, they decide to keep the file under locks in case negotiations with 42LAB would be necessary in the future.
  • PRJ_Sanctifier_PID: Worried about the emergence of super-viruses developed and deployed by AIs, 42LAB created the AI antivirus Project Sanctifier in 2055 in support of the IIQS and to protect its own cloud capabilities. Sanctifier was to be self-learning, self-monitoring, provide active detection and elimination against viruses and other forms of electronic attack, autonomously repair legal programs showing signs of infection and operate from within 42LAB's cloud. After its completion, Sanctifier became an industry milestone and the foundation for Project Neural Cloud. At the start of the animated image, two files can be seen aside PRJ_Sanctifier_PID, titled "stf_mara draft v2" and "stf_gavri’el draft".
  • PRJ_Sanctifier_ET: Live report of a network attack on 42LAB on 14 February 2056. The attacker uses very similar code than other 42LAB projects and acts much like an AI virus, but Sanctifier seems to work well against it.
  • Persica's email: After two weeks of consideration, Persica accepts to participate to Project Neural Cloud. Though she believes a lot of hard work will be needed to complete such a highly important project, she will lend to the respected professor in charge of the project her personal assistant, the Doll created after her image and personality by 42LAB themselves. Persicaria (the Doll) herself is very interested in participating in live testing, especially after being stuck on their current project for a long time. Her one condition is to ensure her assistant's safety.

  • Top Secret letter.

  • Recruitment message.

  • PRJ_Sanctifier_PID

  • PRJ_Sanctifier_ET.

  • Persica's email.

ARG

The countdown images shared on social media before the game's release contained hidden puzzles to access images containing extra lore. The full decryption process is explained in this series of post in Chinese.

  • The countdown images.

  • PNC Promo Cyber Media.jpg
  • PNC Promo Ultilife.jpg
  • PNC Promo Universal.jpg
  • PNC Promo 42LAB.jpg

  • The assembled ARG image without the last piece (no spoiler content).

  • The last piece of the image (contains spoilers).

  • NeursoulCocoon.jpg

Music

Vanguard Sound remains Sunborn's music partners for Neural Cloud.

Development history

Project Neural Cloud was announced on 15 May 2020 during MICA Team's 4th anniversary stream, alongside Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium and Girls' Frontline: Glitch Land. It received its first closed beta test in October 2020 and a second one called “Singularity Test” in December 2020 before being released in Mainland China on 23 September 2021.

It also received a Global beta in October 2022 before its release in Global English on 21 November 2022. Taiwan and Korea were released on 23 November 2022, and in Japan on 24 November 2022.

On the original CN server, Challenge Mode was added on 6 January 2022[2] ; Enigma Black Hole and the second algorithms wave on 20 January 2022[3] ; Crevice Exploration on 15 April 2022[4] ; Arma Inscripta on 15 September 2022[5] ; Special Protocols and the third algorithms wave on 2 March 2023[6] ; Spirits and Oath on 21 September 2023.[7]

Global follows a different release schedule for events and features: Challenge Mode and Enigma Black Hole were available at launch but Exception Protocol (which was originally available at release) was only added on 16 January 2023. General UI improvements, the File Room, and Live2D for Centaureissi, Delacey, Gin, and Willow originally added with Inverted Mordent Resonance[8] were also included at launch on Global. The second algorithms wave and Crevice Exploration on 21 February, Special Protocols on 10 April, and Arma Inscripta on 18 April. The third algorithms wave and Oath were added on 14 November.

The outfits of multiple Dolls, including Angela, Willow, Zion, and Florence were made less revealing between the CN betas and final release. Multiple Dolls and costumes were censored on the CN server after an update on 30 March 2023, including Croque, Daiyan, Hubble, Millau, Panakeia, Turing, Rise, and Yelena.[9] Later censor waves did not redraw artworks, but simply added white lines over cleavages and buttocks, the same method used on their social media pictures.

Merchandising

Like Girls' Frontline, Project Neural Cloud has received a complement of goods such as figures, acrylic stands, badges, plushies, a  PersicariaPersicaria boobs mousepad, bags, stationery and wall decorations. Merchandising is promoted on Weibo by the IOP Special Goods Department and its mascots Rice and Nico.

A series of physical cards were released for the TCG Shining Soul (闪魂) in January 2024. The cards reused illustrations from the game except for four exclusive illustrations.[10] An official board game for two to four players called “Function Support” (函数援护) was released in November 2023.[11]

  • Shining Soul illustrations.

  • “Function Support” board game.

Gallery

  • Default login screen.

  • Former CN game icon.

  • Steins;Gate collab game icon.

  • Project Neural Cloud logo EN.png
  • Project Neural Cloud logo CN.png
  • Project Neural Cloud Promo 1.jpg
  • Project Neural Cloud Promo 2.jpg
  • Project Neural Cloud Promo 3.jpg
  • Project Neural Cloud Promo 4.jpg
  • Project Neural Cloud Promo 5.jpg
  • PNC Promo 1.jpg
  • PNC Promo 2.jpg
  • PNC Promo 3.jpg
  • PNC Promo 5.jpg

  • Player character, "the Professor".

  • Allied NPCs.

  • Sanctifier enemy units.

  • PNC Pierides Boss 1.jpg
  • PNC Pierides Boss 2.jpg

  • Childlike Fantasy costume event.

  • Theater Retro II costume event.

  • First Anniversary Promo Artwork.

  • Official Emotes

  • Seasonal illustrations

  • Summer 2021.

  • Halloween 2021.

  • Christmas 2021.

  • New Year 2021.

  • New Year 2022.

  • Chinese New Year 2022.

  • Valentines 2022.

  • Summer 2022.

  • Halloween 2022.

  • Christmas 2022.

  • Christmas 2023.

Official 4-koma

Links

References

  1. ↑ Neural Cloud Dev Log
  2. ↑ Challenge Mode announcement
  3. ↑ Enigma Black Hole announcement, New Algorithms announcement
  4. ↑ Crevice Exploration announcement
  5. ↑ Arma Inscripta announcement
  6. ↑ Perilous Advancement announcement
  7. ↑ Spirits Announcement and Oath Announcement
  8. ↑ Inverted Mordent Resonance announcement
  9. ↑ Weibo
  10. ↑ 闪魂ShiningSoul collab Weibo 1, Weibo 2, Weibo 3
  11. ↑ Board game announcement
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