Just finished this for the first time. Bloodlines thread?
I had a good time but I definitely let it's reputation on Yea Forums hype me up too much. It's pretty much another "illusion of choice" game where the decisions you make don't really matter much at all. Also turned on godmode by the end because the combat is atrocious and I just needed to Blood Strike my way through the waves of enemies and move on. I also feel like they did a pretty shit job of making all sides compelling. Jack gives you the rundown on all the Anarch stuff and everyone there just wants to help you. Same with the Anarch in Hollywood. But the Prince manipulates you and betrays you and the Tremere Primogeniture is the only other person you really talk to about Camarilla stuff and he hardly plays any role in the game at all. So the only reason you'd have to side with the Camarilla is just because you actually think it's a good idea as the player.
It's definitely a "for its time" game. But stuff like the Nosferatu having to play the same game entirely different is pretty novel still.
Jacob Wood
I never cared that much about the faction stuff I always just liked the atmosphere and general vibe of the game, it's full of memorable locations and characters even though it clearly drops off in quality towards the later third or so of the game.
Daniel Mitchell
>So the only reason you'd have to side with the Camarilla is just because you actually think it's a good idea as the player. It does feel like the game is trying to shove you down the Anarch route, although trying to be an "independent" Nosferatu or Tremere is not a great long-term strategy for survival. I think similarly the Ventrue don't allow non-Camarilla clan members to live all that long.
Blake Martinez
>blood strike Man, the combat was over when I got Blood Theft. Anything else could be gunned down or flamethrowered. The story starts out with a lot of openness and then closes off real quickly around the Chinatown area feeling like "one of those games that started in one place and then budget ran dry and it ended up in a very generic place."
Currently running through as a Malkavian; the dialogue options are a delight though going through the game twice doesn't hold a lot of charm for me for some reason.
Jackson Peterson
See I was hoping for more. Stuff like seeing the Tremere Chantry or the Nosferatu settlement underground was awesome but those characters and areas just seem to come and go so quickly. I haven't seen anything about Bloodlines 2 but I'd love for more fleshed out clans and hubs in the sequel and for your background to mean more. It would have been awesome to move into the Tremere Chantry because I was a Tremere and stuff like that.
Brayden Reyes
>It's pretty much another "illusion of choice" game where the decisions you make don't really matter much at all.
They don't affect the overall story, if that's what you mean. But there's way more variety it the outcomes of the smaller subplots and side-quests than you seem to be giving the game credit for. And both Malkavian and Nosferatu playthroughs are completely different from any other experience you can get in the game.
>But there's way more variety it the outcomes of the smaller subplots and side-quests than you seem to be giving the game credit for. I mean hardly. Most of the choices you make in handling a quest has superficial payoff that doesn't change anything. It's cool for role playing but I feel like the game is so quick to abandon characters as soon as their quest is over that it didn't matter how Therese and Jeanette were handled or if I ratted on Mercurio.
Brody Cook
I've got some wallpapers that I didn't make, but that look pretty cool.
I can't wait for the sequel, and I retardedly preordered it. I'm worried because the same pack of retards that made the first one is still involved with the second, and the first was an unfinished mess. It wasn't until that mod dropped that the game really became playable with anything other than Celerity.
>So the only reason you'd have to side with the Camarilla is just because you actually think it's a good idea as the player. Why would the player have any more reason to side with the Camarilla than their character? Are you playing a faggot who just sides with whoever sucks his cock hard enough? The methods and motivations of the Camarilla are explained in detail. They don't need some random NPC jerking you off to communicate that.
Matthew Barnes
>It's cool for role playing but
nigga what else is it SUPPOSED to be for?
Gabriel Morales
I wouldn't say entirely different. You only get spotted and lose humanity if you actually bump into random passerbies, which doesn't happen all that often. Most of the dialogue is the same besides the random remarks on how ugly you are..
Thomas Bell
>It would have been awesome to move into the Tremere Chantry because I was a Tremere and stuff like that You do do that.
Josiah Hill
Anybody interested in Coteries of New York? They've released a few screenshots.
Just read up on this. Fuck, sad I missed out on it. Had no idea the Gargoyle stuff was related to that.
Bentley Bennett
Its ok I guess. Nothing particularly in there to get excited or mad about.
Samuel Martinez
Love this game, agree with most of your points, OP. A LOT of that game is incomplete, with a dedicated mod community improving it. The first act or so is a taste of what the game could have been, before they had to rush this out to compete with HL2. Those first two acts though are pretty great from what options you can take from a WRPG standpoint.
Regardless, the "illusion of choice" was way better in those first two parts of this game than a lot of modern RPGs, and truly honored the way a player would play. It's a fucking shame it's incomplete.
Regarding the characters - I can't tell if it's the incomplete nature of the game or pretty much all the main players you meet in the game all having a one-sided aspect. Like who the fuck can't like Jack? The Anarchs can go fuck themselves though, with their shitty 90s edgelord bullshit. Bald Matrix looking vamp looked kinda cool, but again - not much there across any playthrough
Jose Thompson
Reminder that they're making a Werewolf: The Apocalypse game and that it has a better chance of actually being good than Bloodlines 2 does.
Yea Forums (and seeth and mandalore) will hype up anything above what it really is.
Still, it was a fantastic experience for me and playing through it the first time as a Malkvian (I didn't know) was a once-in-a-life experiment of trying to figure out what the fuck I was saying.
Adam Miller
Yea Forums has done this to me with a few games and mountain blade was the big one.
Game in vanilla was pretty much barren. You couldn't even execute lords you captured and it was extremely grindy with most of the quests being straight rando-gen ass that wouldn't fly in any other game. The only saving grace came when I tried again with Floris and turned on some cheats half-way through and played a warlord empire hated by everyone with commoners and nobles as my lord choices. It made it really backstab oriented and I hope with the new systems in Bannerlord I get more of that.
Nicholas Reed
I just mean sparing the thin blood instead of killing him or preserving both Therese and Jeanette doesn't do anything game wise. All you get is the satisfaction as a player that you're roleplaying a good guy.
It just feels like that half is underdeveloped. Jack was a total bro. The rest of the Anarchs are constantly talking about fixing society and the problems with the Camarilla. The Anarch that controls Hollywood is a helpful well spoken dude. And then on the Camarilla side of things the Tremere don't interact with you much. You don't deal with the Malkavians at all other than the dead primogenitor. The Nosferatu guy just fucks with you. And the Prince is deceiving you the entire time. So by and large the Camarilla seems lame to dysfunctional while the Anarchs range from bros to well established businessmen that help you out. There's almost no compelling reason for the main character to side with the Camarilla based solely on what happened in the game.
Christopher King
I went to their website and found this description:
>Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York is a unique single-player blend of atmospheric adventure and emotional narration full of choices, set in the rich, licensed universe of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition. The game presents the bitter conflict between two vampiric factions - the Camarilla and the Anarchs – which plays out among the night lights of New York City. As a newly-fledged vampire you have to learn what it means to be one of the Kindred in an enormous, vibrant metropolis. You will meet other vampires, thin-bloods, ghouls, regular mortals... and more.
>You can choose a character representing one of several vampiric Clans, each of them with unique powers, different ethical dilemmas, and dialogues. Your experiences will test your morality and force you to take part in a struggle for power between rivaling factions. You’ll feast on the living and ask yourself about the very nature of humanity while resisting the lure of the Beast inside you. Your choices matter and are reflected during the game as well as in distinctly different paths to the finale. Additionally, character-oriented quests allow you to create your own coterie and shape the relations with your companions.
Carson Roberts
The whole appeal of the game is the NPC interaction and the side quests and subplots. A lot of the things you do also affect your interactions with that character from that point on or whether or not you even CAN interact with them.
Sebastian Thomas
>having to play the same game entirely different Not really, you can run about on the streets all you want as long as you don't make contact or stand still too long in front of somebody. That said it is better to play the role straight.
Aggrosgamer.com's impressions of the behind-closed-doors E3 demo:
>It definitely looks like the World Of Darkness is having a great time with video games as of late as we have had so many shown off and updated on and also why I am here for Werewolf: The Apocalypse — Earthblood. This would be another of the IPs out there in the works, but one that we have known Cyanide Studio has been working on for a while now. So long that it has moved over to a different publisher, Bigben Interactive, but now is back with something more than basic concepts to show off. That is at least what I had a chance to check out while at E3 this year. Even if it was a very early build for this Werewolf game, it is still nice to actually get to see something in motion.
>While Werewolf: The Apocalypse has its roots in a tabletop RPG arena, this version of the game seems to be moving away from that to something a bit more fitting for the franchise. It is more of an action brawler, from what I was able to see, with a few elements of the RPG side mixed in. That is not to say that it is just going to be one big werewolf wrecking everything in its path, Earthblood is still keeping all the setting aspects, but it will be a larger focus due to the nature of the franchise it is all based on. They are making a video game here and not a freeform tabletop game where we are only limited by our imaginations. Keep that in mind when we carry on.
>In the small demo I did get to see here, it looks like we get to take on the role of a Ronin werewolf named Cahal that is being dragged back into the fight against the Wyrm due to his former pack going through something out of their control. Not much more was gone into on this story, even though the developer wanted to, but left it as basic as this to show off the mechanics of the game. The first area being an oil field that was being worked by some "unknown corporation" and Cahal needed to sneak in. This could be done easily by using two of the forms available in the game. Those being the human form and a full wolf form. Homid and Lupus for those fans of the tabletop version of Werewolf: The Apocalypse.
>It looks like these will be our main forms to use during a good portion of the game when not raging out in full Crinos form. Both moving a bit more stealthy and able to get into places where the others cannot. There was also a bit of talk about the upgrade system that would allow for each form to get a few extra abilities along the way. For instance, a super sense for the wolf form that allowed for tracking and such. But as I mentioned, this was only part of the gameplay we have in Werewolf: The Apocalypse — Earthblood with the next being what will help move the game games into our libraries for certain.
Nathan Cox
>After sneaking in and doing a few basic things, we transitioned into the titular form of the game as a full werewolf (Crinos). As you should have expected, this is where the full combat works in and we get to move about as the monster we have inside us. The character had a few combos it was able to use but it hit so hard that it never seemed to get to a stopping point. That is until you saw the Rage meter going up as each hit given and received filled up the gauge. Something that when filled up could spell the end of the character (game over) or the end of others around you (more on that below).
>To reduce the Rage meter, it looked like there were various options along the way. There will be items in the world that will reduce it down, but the main way seems to be using it to fuel special attacks and moves. This added in a feature from the tabletop version of Werewolf: The Apocalypse that is easier to manage than the setting would let on. Think of it like a Mana gauge that if it is full you go nuclear, but almost everything you do fills it back up. This will keep us trying to find ways to reduce it in and out of combat but also make sure we have some in reserve to take on some of the more formidable foes out there.
>The only "bigger" enemy I was able to see in my demo for Earthblood was a fully corrupted werewolf (BSD) and a human in a full mech suit. This is where the balance kept creeping back in as the normal attacks did some damage but being able to leap or charge for extra made quicker work of them both. With an amazing animation for taking down the fully corrupt werewolf to show that Cyanide Studio is not going to shy away from the gore this game should be filled with. Even with some of it still needing some polish along the way. Again, a very early build being shown and still a lot of time before 2020 when they aim to launch the game.
>Now that I have been able to actually see Werewolf: The Apocalypse — Earthblood in action, I have to say it looks like a project of love from people who know the source material extremely well. In fact, I had to leave a few things out here as I was able to pick up on what they were going for without saying it, being a fan of the source material. If you are a fan of Werewolf: The Apocalypse I feel confident that this will be a game you will want to keep an eye on. If you are a fan of turning into a hulking beast while using a fun new mechanic to drive it all, you too will want to keep an eye on this one. This had to be one of the more impressive uses of the IP I have ever seen and it is still in a prenatal state.
Carson Morales
The weirdest was Nines. I felt like I was supposed to feel SOMETHING about him but I could not have given less of a shit
Alexander Sanders
you numbnutts have to be retarded to think that games with true choices and endings exist today, at least the fps or 3rd person kind. I wish this meme could stop
William Anderson
right? all i got from it was a folder full of his facial animations. dude was just edge, nothing of substance otherwise. if i remember right, there was a whole side quest/chain that involved him entirely, have to look for it.
I think the game is just known for having good writing/VA. Makes for a fun world but it really isn't a great GAME
Charles Morris
Nines is a psychopath if you didn't notice. There are a lot of small details people miss. You either are a lefty or you didn't understand everything yet.
James Campbell
it's not just the writing. It's much more. A better word would be atmosphere because it's a combination of all the elements that are done well, which are much more than the writing. People who dislike vtmb don't understand much of what's going on in the game and gaming itself.
Jaxson Price
They updated the website for bloodlines2 and added a factions section, similar to the clans it seems they're going to reveal them in a weekly fashion. not-Christina Hendricks seems to be the head of the Pioneers and she's an old prince.
I haaate the artwork for vtmb2. It's so fucking left it is so disgusting. The dude looks boring as fuck and is the absolute movie poster noir blah type. Oh boy, he will sure be a somewhat good guy smoking detective mystery blah. And that lady face, holy shit no. It tells you NOTHING!!! She looks like she got no brain and no character... fuck how I hate vtmb2, because it looks so bad right now in the most important areas...
Kayden Ward
All the cool shit you can do is fun. The only real serious problem is the combat (which is bearable if you put effort into your build) and the obvious unfinished nature of it (which there's nothing you can do about).
But it's never really the choice in the game to do anything but be the vampire that is hunting the problem, and that's not entirely true, sometimes you can blank out and just be the vampire that knows his place and is finding others and is finding more to do in that, and that part will always change for it to be easier for you to actually create "templates" in the game that will make it fun and or more creative to move around and away from the sorry in impressive ways so you don't actually have to create the story line to yourself, and sometimes doing things later will feel like it fits better. I have nothing to do with the dev end on this game, but some people working on it and that did work on it used a sort of persona of mine to have the character that early on explains that you might have to deal with cops, just before the art gallery deal, and that is not not cool. The character isn't exactly not not a big deal but he also isn't and if you pay close attention, what he says hands you a lot of information without ruining anything and can also actually explain what is happening in the whole towers of this oblivion place and then also let's you grant yourself like a view of the whole thing as like one big exit with no way out so you can encounter the idea behind what makes this game so "modern". It's intense and no one is going to die for people knowing this now. I am actually a federal judge but my skill isn't in playing games, it's in knowing how to make sure people have the right info right up to when things start to go down. A lot like that character. There's more but most of you know and those that don't should die anyway. Just kidding. Lurk moar.
Nolan Williams
>Anybody interested in Coteries of New York? Mildly but those screenshots make it look pretty unexciting. The portraits scream 'every character is a single static image' to me. I mean, no proof of that sure, but that's the feeling I get. Looks cheap as, even for a VN. But we'll see, ay?
Ian Ortiz
>The portraits scream 'every character is a single static image'
That's probably what it is. We're most likely looking at a "conversation based adventure game".
Liam Cook
And that simple can-barely-be-called-gameplay is exactly why you need to bring your characters to life with multiple portraits showing different emotions.
Ayden Lewis
is this a copypasta
what the fuck
Camden Williams
>the same pack of retards that made the first one is still involved with the second, Not really. Just one of the writers and the composer.
John Perry
>they had to rush this out to compete with HL2 That's not what happened. They were just going over budget and missing deadlines, so Activision forced them to release as soon as possible, which was when HL2 released. Troika knew they couldn't compete with HL2 and wanted to wait a while before releasing, but Activision wouldn't allow it.
Isaac Cruz
Bloodlines is my favourite game of all time. What other games can I be a vampire on before Bloodlines 2 is released?
Luis Wilson
Vampire: The Masquerade: Redemption Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (you can recruit Alucard, who then becomes playable) Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Vampyr (this is kind of crap though)
Jackson Collins
Bloodlust Shadowhunter
James Long
nah i did notice. just the way it was presented in the game (cognizant of it being incomplete or not) was complete horseshit and unconvincing. and seeing him get mauled by the werewolf in the park was utterly hilarious to the point nothing he did/said before or after was serious anymore
Parker Cox
What ending did you get on your first playthrough? I roleplayed as a scheming and cunning Toreador who wanted all the power to himself so naturally I got the exploding sarcophagus ending
Joshua Wright
I played a Ventrue that sucked up to Lacroix to get a penthouse early, then betrayed him for the Sarcophagus for myself.
Jose Jones
The fact that not all of the factions are balanced in regards to how they view the player or treat him only shows that the game takes a realistic approach to how factions would work irl. For example it makes total sense that the Anarchs who represent the relatively younger/liberal vampire generations would be more friendly in regards to the newborn protagonist, while the more conservative and snobish Comarilla would manipulate and take a shit on you at every turn. So you're complains are unfounded and retarded, if you want a game that artificially balances everything to the player and makes sure that every faction sucks your dick no matter what your background is, there are plenty of trashcan games for casuals like yourself (e.g. Skyrim).
Kevin Cooper
I'll pirate it, but it'll have to be genuinely outstanding to warrant a purchase at asking price from what I've seen of it. Maybe when it hits 50% off in a sale.
Aiden Price
This is actually not a terrible suggestion
Thomas Cruz
cringe
Joshua Russell
I played it recently and I ended up thinking the same, it has a cool setting, atmosphere and ideas but after the great start it pretty much does anything I also activated godmode during the end
The best part of the game is the researcher that tips his fedora a million times about the sarcophagus potentially causing the end of the world and then at the last minute he somehow changes his mind
