Vampire: The Masquerade® - Bloodlines™ 2

[Rand]

And the writing was so bad it made me literally angry.

[Rand]

love of ... Mafia 1. If you didn't know Mack used to run a dedicated forum and website for that particular game.

Why? that game was okay, but nothing special at all.

[Atlantico]

bloodlines2 isnt much better if its all just a facade and not interactible.

BL2 is disappointing in that regard and I've certainly said as much. A good amount of interactivity would have elevated the game quite a bit. Many low hanging fruits left unplucked in BL2.

But I genuinely hate hate hate the eyesore of an artstyle that TOW has - and Avowed for that matter - so much I cannot stand these games. It's offensive. And as far as I remember, TOW didn't have any interactivity to speak of either. I may be wrong, feel free to correct me. It's been a while since I played suffered through it. I'm just completely uninterested in TOW or any of its offshoots.

BL2 is a veritable textbook example of a dropped ball. The devs could have made it somewhat passable as a sequel to BL1, but it lacks the heart and soul that made BL1 memorable. The music is good though. The few gameplay elements it has is good. The characters aren't made to be ugly. It's woke and bleh but so was was BL1. That's something people really overlook, BL1 was annoyingly woke (for the time), but because it was otherwise a solid experience, I could look past it.

Vampire the Masquerade world or World of Darkness is at its core woke, stupid and gay. But it doesn't have to dwell on it and it's kinda sorta fine if it doesn't. When it is edgy, creepy, and balances the silliness with seriousness, it can be quite enjoyable as BL1 proved. The pen and paper version is just unmitigated faggy **** tho.

[Vaako]

bloodlines2 isnt much better if its all just a facade and not interactible.

BL2 is disappointing in that regard and I've certainly said as much. A good amount of interactivity would have elevated the game quite a bit. Many low hanging fruits left unplucked in BL2.

But I genuinely hate hate hate the eyesore of an artstyle that TOW has - and Avowed for that matter - so much I cannot stand these games. It's offensive. And as far as I remember, TOW didn't have any interactivity to speak of either. I may be wrong, feel free to correct me. It's been a while since I played suffered through it. I'm just completely uninterested in TOW or any of its offshoots.

Its not much explosive barrels, you have smoke areas which are dangerous, you can destroy crab eggs, you have grenades, you can pick up mines, there are some portal rifts I couldnt explore yet. You can make bodies disappear by shooting some goo over them. Its not Baldurs Gate 3 levels with traps or much elemental effect stuff. But its certainly more than BL2 has also way more to loot than just 4 potion types. And it seems you cant kill everyone unless you want that group hostile all the time. Found 2 named npc in the first city which apply there. But except those I havent found anyone in the first area. Even companions you can blast away if they annoy you, just because you killed one of their friends and I have even send him to the ship before, how did he know. meh

[J1M]

More discussion before release than after. Very successful game. Current year classic.

[Havitner]

The pen and paper version is just unmitigated faggy **** tho.

One of the campaign books for the 1st edition VtM TTRPG has you working with an inner city black kid vampire to fight a 200 year old civil war era former plantation owner vampire.

[CheesusCrust]

The pen and paper version is just unmitigated faggy **** tho.

One of the campaign books for the 1st edition VtM TTRPG has you working with an inner city black kid vampire to fight a 200 year old civil war era former plantation owner vampire.

man that's a genius way to make players side with bbeg

[Atlantico]

I don't know if the game bugged out on me or not, but I only heard three or four "Bet of Night" episodes.

[Finarfin]

Bet of Night sucks ***. The one doing those sounded like she just phoned it in.

[Atlantico]

Bet of Night sucks ***. The one doing those sounded like she just phoned it in.

Yes, but I expected one show every night and there were only four shows but many more nights.

Phoned in lmao

[DemoGraph]

I only heard three or four "Bet of Night" episodes.

I went and googled them after your reference, I lasted less than a minute (and not in a good way).

[Finarfin]

Obligatory:
https://debofnight.com/

[Atlantico]

I only heard three or four "Bet of Night" episodes.

I went and googled them after your reference, I lasted less than a minute (and not in a good way).

Yeah they're pretty bad, and this game isn't shy to shove some badly made dialogue on the player, so I expected more of Bet of Night than four episodes

[Bertram_Tung]

i was skimming a playthrough and noticed that the devs recycled Rik Shaffers unused music from the first game (Wesp has been using it for years in plus patch) and that's kind of pathetic

[Atlantico]

i was skimming a playthrough and noticed that the devs recycled Rik Shaffers unused music from the first game (Wesp has been using it for years in plus patch) and that's kind of pathetic

I disagree, I think that's a rare sign of good taste by the developers. They absolutely did not have to use that music. See: Deus Ex Human Revolution, which just did its own thing.

[J1M]

i was skimming a playthrough and noticed that the devs recycled Rik Shaffers unused music from the first game (Wesp has been using it for years in plus patch) and that's kind of pathetic

I disagree, I think that's a rare sign of good taste by the developers. They absolutely did not have to use that music. See: Deus Ex Human Revolution, which just did its own thing.

I wouldn't be surprised if they have no idea and it's just there because the sound guy submitted Rick's work as his own.

[Demonic Fate]

I don't know if the game bugged out on me or not, but I only heard three or four "Bet of Night" episodes.

If you go downstairs, start Bet of Night, then go upstairs and downstairs again the "episode" restarts lol.

If they were so lazy/rushed in coding the triggers I wouldn't be surprised that they bugged out in other ways too. Maybe you walked too close to the wall and didn't touch the magic trigger area.

[Atlantico]

Also it would have been very nice if they put more radios in different buildings, and that you could turn them on and off. Make things just a hair more interactive. This game is very close to being a walking simulator.

Another complaint is the notes and objects you find. The notes are almost always a waste of time to read. Whatever is written on them is usually just completely irrelevant nonsense. That's not good.

Example of notes: a memo to employees at some company telling them they've been doing a great job, a memo for buying some random ingredients that have nothing to do with your story, and so on.

Oddly enough the game does not use recordings like so many RPGs have done through the years, e.g. System Shock.

Items are made in 3D for the game, as you see them in-game, but when you pick them up they become a blurb of text. Can't look at them, can't read them as an item in-game, while it doesn't take me out of the world, it really doesn't drag me into it either.

[Roguey]

I wouldn't be surprised if they have no idea and it's just there because the sound guy submitted Rick's work as his own.

Rik's credited. They own the rights to this music, might as well use it, right?

Originally they weren't going to use any of his stuff at all, but the Fans demanded it. The issue is with dumb fanboys.

[J1M]

Also it would have been very nice if they put more radios in different buildings, and that you could turn them on and off. Make things just a hair more interactive. This game is very close to being a walking simulator.

Another complaint is the notes and objects you find. The notes are almost always a waste of time to read. Whatever is written on them is usually just completely irrelevant nonsense. That's not good.

Example of notes: a memo to employees at some company telling them they've been doing a great job, a memo for buying some random ingredients that have nothing to do with your story, and so on.

Oddly enough the game does not use recordings like so many RPGs have done through the years, e.g. System Shock.

Items are made in 3D for the game, as you see them in-game, but when you pick them up they become a blurb of text. Can't look at them, can't read them as an item in-game, while it doesn't take me out of the world, it really doesn't drag me into it either.

But you can clearly see you got +10 XP, which we all know means your HP increased so that's why detective vision highlighted the grocery list.

[Roguey]

It's only erasing the blue marks that increase your HP. Those are magic bindings that are suppressing your powers, sensible.

[Atlantico]

It's only erasing the blue marks that increase your HP.

'k

Those are magic bindings that are suppressing your powers

'k

sensible.

[J1M]

It's only erasing the blue marks that increase your HP.

Yes, that's the joke. Congratulations!

[Bertram_Tung]

i was skimming a playthrough and noticed that the devs recycled Rik Shaffers unused music from the first game (Wesp has been using it for years in plus patch) and that's kind of pathetic

I disagree, I think that's a rare sign of good taste by the developers. They absolutely did not have to use that music. See: Deus Ex Human Revolution, which just did its own thing.

Those are great tracks, no question, but reusing 20-year-old recordings like this makes it look like they couldn’t be bothered or didn’t have the ability to do anything new. Fans have had access to these exact recordings in the Plus patch for at least the last decade, and it’s not even a new take. Charging for a sequel while just recycling old material is lazy and cheap.

I don't get your point about Human Revolution. That game’s music was completely new and one of its strongest points. It also contained subtle references to tracks from the previous game. Way better approach than just reusing/forcing old tracks from the previous game that would have clashed with the tone/style. Cool that Rik presumably got paid, though.

[Fox1]

I hope noone here actually gave these subhuman devs any of your hard earned money for this trash

[Roguey]

I hope noone here actually gave these subhuman devs any of your hard earned money for this trash

This is the first time in a long while where I felt I got my money and time's worth from buying and playing a new game on release.

[Atlantico]

Those are great tracks, no question, but reusing 20-year-old recordings like this makes it look like they couldn’t be bothered or didn’t have the ability to do anything new.

That is true and they didn't, but it's not the music that gives it away. It's the entire game world that was lifted from HSL and then cut down a bit in fact.

I don't know if you've played BL2 but if you have and you see this video, you realize TCR used 5 years to make a total conversion mod. And a pretty bad one tbqh. They re-use everything

[rusty_shackleford]

Feel like publishers would get more out of just paying modders to work from home at this point

[Atlantico]

I don't get your point about Human Revolution. That game’s music was completely new and one of its strongest points. It also contained subtle references to tracks from the previous game.

Right, sure the game contained subtle references to the previous game.

HR was such ******* **** of a Deus Ex game it beggars belief. Postmodernist garbage that was wearing the Deus Es IP as a skinsuit.

Its devs had nothing but contempt for the IP - and said so - and were just too happy to wipe out any and all connections to the older game and make it a "Ghost in the Shell" game with "references" to DX

Bizarre. This was course corrected somewhat in MD, but HR is a special kind of postmodernist ****. The music is trash for a DX game. That's kind of the whole problem with HR, it's all trash for a DX game. Excellent for a Ghost in the Shell game.

IP as a skinsuit.

[Bertram_Tung]

I don't get your point about Human Revolution. That game’s music was completely new and one of its strongest points. It also contained subtle references to tracks from the previous game.

Right, sure the game contained subtle references to the previous game.

HR was such ******* **** of a Deus Ex game it beggars belief. Postmodernist garbage that was wearing the Deus Es IP as a skinsuit.

Its devs had nothing but contempt for the IP - and said so - and were just too happy to wipe out any and all connections to the older game and make it a "Ghost in the Shell" game with "references" to DX

Bizarre. This was course corrected somewhat in MD, but HR is a special kind of postmodernist ****. The music is trash for a DX game. That's kind of the whole problem with HR, it's all trash for a DX game. Excellent for a Ghost in the Shell game.

IP as a skinsuit.

You would have liked it if the little grey men returned