Vampire: The Masquerade® - Bloodlines™ 2

[J1M]

In this case it tracks. An elder waking from torpor is big news, especially when so many of them are far away because of the Beckoning. If you're prince of the region, better have the elder vampire in good favour (and relatively in control).

Making a big question mark into your personal bodyguard would be a mistake. Especially if the previous sheriff isn't final dead.

There are better ways to achieve the goals you mentioned.

I still disagree, sheriff really seems like a nice pick as you can easily send her to extremely dangerous missions. So while you're giving her a position of power to appease her, you're still able to find plenty ways to dispose of her.

If the previous sheriff was extremely loyal like VTMB1 was, he'd understand the issue at hand, and could expect to be back in office soon.

Okay, I concede. It makes sense in the context of the beckoning. Also the beckoning is dumb.

[Tweed]

They'd have had a better time just making a new game in the source engine and they'd be done already.

[Vergil]

I wonder if the people making this know that they are making slop forced out the door with little to no genuine belief in the project from higher ups to try and stop it from bleeding money. Surely there's at least a few poor bastards coming in to work everyday because they have to make a living knowing it's DOA.

[Tweed]

I wonder if the people making this know that they are making slop forced out the door with little to no genuine belief in the project from higher ups to try and stop it from bleeding money. Surely there's at least a few poor bastards coming in to work everyday because they have to make a living knowing it's DOA.

Given how often these studio killers bring the devs to Twitter to defend their bad games to the death, I'd say they're all delusional.

[Hauberk]

"By their fruits you will know them."

Yet another accuarate quote from that good book (no, not the one with vingardium levio-sa in it).

If you are content with creating shit, and defend creating shit, chances are that you are shit.

[gerey]

I wonder if the people making this know that they are making slop forced out the door with little to no genuine belief in the project

That's, in the most literal sense, what this project is. After the first group of incompetent liberals Paradox hired burned millions and achieved nothing, Paradox gave the project over to a defunct studio that all the previous employees had left, staffed it with whoever was available and told them to ship a minimum viable product by a set release date, or else.

And that's exactly what the soulless husks working on the game are doing. You can tell there is zero passion or ambition from the project. Even the voice actors sound bored.

[Ryzer]

I wonder if the people making this know that they are making slop forced out the door with little to no genuine belief in the project

That's, in the most literal sense, what this project is. After the first group of incompetent liberals Paradox hired burned millions and achieved nothing, Paradox gave the project over to a defunct studio that all the previous employees had left, staffed it with whoever was available and told them to ship a minimum viable product by a set release date, or else.

And that's exactly what the soulless husks working on the game are doing. You can tell there is zero passion or ambition from the project. Even the voice actors sound bored.

You can apply this statement to the entire gayming industry tbh, they have passion but it is strictly reserved to the $$$

[maidenhaver]

Making games has nothing to do with love, or curiosity with what can be done, and everything to do with bottombitches doing what they're told and getting slop out the door.

[Rand]

What the fuck did they do to Damsel?

[ArcaneLurker]

Sounds like something an Israeli would joke about too.

[KnightoftheWind]

What the fuck did they do to Damsel?

That's a moment straight out of Oblivion, when a guard confronts you out of the blue
And how does this look worse than the first game?. You'd think with the benefit of newer technology we'd be wow'd, but just compare the two artistically. Which game would you rather play?.

[Roguey]

What the fuck did they do to Damsel?

This version of the game was cancelled years ago.

[Rand]

What the fuck did they do to Damsel?

This version of the game was cancelled years ago.

I'd say that's good, except I expect the new one to be equally bad.

[Anon]

Making a big question mark into your personal bodyguard would be a mistake. Especially if the previous sheriff isn't final dead.

There are better ways to achieve the goals you mentioned.

I still disagree, sheriff really seems like a nice pick as you can easily send her to extremely dangerous missions. So while you're giving her a position of power to appease her, you're still able to find plenty ways to dispose of her.

If the previous sheriff was extremely loyal like VTMB1 was, he'd understand the issue at hand, and could expect to be back in office soon.

Okay, I concede. It makes sense in the context of the beckoning. Also the beckoning is dumb.

Indeed, but anyway, it's unlikely that TCR is thinking that deep. Judging from their dev diary, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they're only putting Phyre as sheriff for the cool factor.

[Oyster Sauce]

Some shit VR game came out a few days ago with better looking combat - including ranged weapons!

[Vergil]

Some shit VR game came out a few days ago with better looking combat - including ranged weapons!

Looks extremely like Dishonored. Shame it's VR slop.

[Red7]

Making games has nothing to do with love, or curiosity with what can be done, and everything to do with bottombitches doing what they're told and getting slop out the door.

unless u are filthy rich guy thats just want to make good game cause he wants to make good fucking game.
thats why poor ppl are quite evil; they cant do anything good pretty much and just do what jews tell em to keep their fag job.

unfortunately most rich ppl dont care about games cause too busy recording instagram "star" they thought its cute that week sucking off a camel.

[rusty_shackleford]

I suspect as younger gen x & millennials get older there will be some wealthy individuals commissioning video games in a similar way to art is commissioned.

[Anon]

I feel extremely hyped to play a dyke in tiktok clothing, amazing job by TCR!




Source: dev diary https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/game ... s-a-brujah

[Vergil]

I feel extremely hyped to play a dyke in tiktok clothing, amazing job by TCR!




Source: dev diary https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/game ... s-a-brujah

"VTMB protagonists but instead of being infected with vampirism they were molested by their uncle"

[Oyster Sauce]

I feel extremely hyped to play a dyke in tiktok clothing, amazing job by TCR!




Source: dev diary https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/game ... s-a-brujah

Silky is eloquent, persuasive, and a man of letters, quoting Milton, Shakespeare, and the Sex Pistols with equal reverence.

Bada$$

[Anon]

I feel extremely hyped to play a dyke in tiktok clothing, amazing job by TCR!




Source: dev diary https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/game ... s-a-brujah

Silky is eloquent, persuasive, and a man of letters, quoting Milton, Shakespeare, and the Sex Pistols with equal reverence.

Bada$$

I give it 90% chance he'll be a faggot

[The_Mask]

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/game ... vabl2_news



Dev Diary #9: What is a Brujah?

For those who are new to the Vampire the Masquerade universe, the Brujah are a Vampire Clan. They are all descendants of the same bloodline that gives them similar strengths and weaknesses. They have access to supernatural Strength, Speed and Charisma. Their curse is that they are easily riled to anger and often use this reputation to their advantage with intimidation and threats. All these traits make them deadly opponents on and off the battlefield.

When we looked to adapt these rebels and philosophers into a video game, we were inspired by real world culture and vampiric fantasies to help you get immersed in their playstyle. Here are some perspectives on building different Brujah from across the studio and an introduction from Karim from World of Darkness on how Brujah was developed for Vampire: The Masquerade fifth edition.

Designing modern Brujah for Tabletop

“With the fifth edition of Vampire: The Masquerade, we wanted each clan to primarily embody a vampire archetype out of fiction and popular culture, rather than looking to their powers and fictional history alone for identity. Fortunately, for the Brujah this was easy.

The Brujah clan represent one of the oldest and most recognizable vampire archetypes: that of the eternal rebel. Brujah vampires identify fiercely with a personal cause, and cannot resist picking fights for the sake of this conviction. Explosive strength — of body as well as personality — thus becomes a defining asset of the clan. In previous editions of Vampire: The Masquerade the Brujah were often overshadowed by other clans in martial acumen, at least in practice, so we now made sure that their unique combination of Celerity and Potence would allow them to dominate most physical altercations.

However, in a game of personal horror, each archetype should be defined by their flaws just as much (if not more) than their powers. The tragedy of the Brujah is that beneath their surface idealism lies a deeper need — an addiction — for conflict. Mortals Embraced into the clan come from all walks of life and champion any number of causes, savory and less savory, united only in their belligerence. While many Brujah would claim to fight for the downtrodden, the perception of “downtrodden” is as varied as there are Brujah. And if a Brujah vampire would ever see their cause triumphant, they often find themselves championing the other side, the cold fire in their dead hearts goading them back into the fray — forever caught in a self-perpetuating cycle of destruction.”

– Karim Muammar, Designer of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition and Brand Editor for the World of Darkness

Simeon Ladock - “Silky”

"Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven, right? Name's Silky. This is my place, these are my people."

“Phyre won’t be the only Brujah in town, if you pick that clan. You can butt heads with several other characters that share this clan. Silky is one that we’d like to share today and you’ll learn more about him in the next post too. He may look like he thinks with his fists, but assumption makes fools of us all. Silky is eloquent, persuasive, and a man of letters, quoting Milton, Shakespeare, and the Sex Pistols with equal reverence. He's solid, is Silky, the one you want on your side, clear-sighted and unimpressed by the posturing and drama of the establishment. He was the only one the Camarilla could name as Primogen for the Brujah because he's the only voice the rabble will listen to. You'll find him holding court in The Dutchman, his beloved bar. Stay on his good side and you won’t see trouble there.”

– Cherish Goldshaw, Writer



Writing the Brujah

“It was important to us when designing our Brujah characters to show the variety of the clan - it’s not all about brutality, and clan members have very different ways to challenge the status quo and champion their causes, yet must still co-exist within Seattle’s Kindred society. Silky came in from one of our writers at the design stage feeling fully-formed and someone we wanted to spend time with. We knew who he was very quickly, and that makes writing him a joy.”

– Ian Thomas, Narrative Director

Combat Discipline Design

“Designing the Brujah's in-game powers, we first had to consider the kind of player that best fits the Brujah archetype. Bloodlines 2 pits the player against overwhelming odds, and while Phyre is exceptionally powerful, these situations are often best approached quietly and carefully to begin with. Most clans have tools at their disposal to sustain and exploit stealth, picking apart large groups of opponents and remaining unseen until the time is just right... But for some players, the time is right now and the tool is blunt force.

These players rebel against the planning and tension of stalking, instead preferring to trust their skills and instincts in the chaotic flow and dance of combat. With that in mind, the Brujah clan gives them the tools they need to get in people's faces and come out on top!

All the Brujah powers are offensive in some capacity. There's no easy way out, no help in staying alive, it's kill or be killed, so you'll need to be aggressive to survive. While that may sound simple, it won't be enough on its own. Each ability is designed to have utility beyond simple damage, so as you get to grips with combat, you'll find yourself using these more as tools to keep the flow of conflict under your control, which is where Brujah's real strength lies.

Your abilities allow you to crash through groups of opponents and drag enemies into a more isolated spot for a fairer fight or a safer feed. You’ve already seen a video of how to quickly deal overwhelming damage to a single target, but an even better tactical use is for bringing multiple opponents to the brink of death for a lethal follow up.

Brujah will also make use of Presence to taunt and enrage opponents, this makes them predictably aggressive, and is great for motivating a heavily armed mortal to try and club you to death with their firearm instead of shooting you! There's also a big explosive use of Potence , which can be used as both a crowd control and combo tool.

With all of the player's powers (and Brujah in particular), we've aimed to give them all a punchy, rhythmic feeling that makes them weave right in with your regular attacks and punctuates the chaos. My favourite's got to be the Presence-based power- Slagging opponents off to weaponise their emotions really puts you in the mindset of a belligerent Brujah troublemaker.”

– Max Bottomley, Senior Gameplay Designer

What does a Brujah look like?

“When it came to designing the look of the Brujah we really wanted to capture their chaotic and rebellious nature. This direction naturally led us to drawing inspiration from many real-world archetypes and movements that equally encapsulate that same vibe; punks, bikers, metalheads for example. All counter-cultural movements that stem from an anti-establishment and anarchic look on life, movements that we felt really captured the same feeling of being a Brujah. The punk and biker culture we wanted to incorporate has that same feeling of rebellion and conviction that is so prevalent within these movements. It was important to capture the unconventional and distressed clothing that punks tend to wear, like the military surplus wardrobe, all the things that really show a disdain for conformity. These things we felt go hand-in-hand with what the Brujah represent, a rebellious and fiercely individual spirit.

We wanted the areas the Brujah inhabit to reflect their anarchic nature too. The Brujah will likely be found in dive bars, shady sections of Seattle away from the other more authoritative clans who also reside in the city. From this, we wanted their world to be messy, chaotic, with furniture tipped over from a recent brawl and graffiti covering the walls. We wanted the Brujah and their environment to reflect other rebellious pieces of imagery from real-life. Scrawled symbols of anger and defiance. Bright, non-conforming colours. A general sense that, at any point, something unpredictable could happen.”

– Jordan Grimmer, Senior Concept Artist


Brujah Outfit Concept Art

What’s Next?

Over the next few months, you’ll learn more about the playable clans through our upcoming Clan Highlights. Following a dev diary much like this one, where the team at TCR lets you in on their approach to create the clan in question, a Clan Highlight will showcase specific abilities and how the clan choice impacts roleplaying in the game.

Every fourth week, you’ll be able to follow TCR in a new dev diary regarding a specific clan. Following each diary, a Clan Highlight with material related to the clan presented in the previous dev diary will be released, with the Brujah Highlight coming in two weeks.

[Nammu Archag]

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/game ... vabl2_news



Dev Diary #9: What is a Brujah?

For those who are new to the Vampire the Masquerade universe, the Brujah are a Vampire Clan. They are all descendants of the same bloodline that gives them similar strengths and weaknesses. They have access to supernatural Strength, Speed and Charisma. Their curse is that they are easily riled to anger and often use this reputation to their advantage with intimidation and threats. All these traits make them deadly opponents on and off the battlefield.

When we looked to adapt these rebels and philosophers into a video game, we were inspired by real world culture and vampiric fantasies to help you get immersed in their playstyle. Here are some perspectives on building different Brujah from across the studio and an introduction from Karim from World of Darkness on how Brujah was developed for Vampire: The Masquerade fifth edition.

Designing modern Brujah for Tabletop

“With the fifth edition of Vampire: The Masquerade, we wanted each clan to primarily embody a vampire archetype out of fiction and popular culture, rather than looking to their powers and fictional history alone for identity. Fortunately, for the Brujah this was easy.

The Brujah clan represent one of the oldest and most recognizable vampire archetypes: that of the eternal rebel. Brujah vampires identify fiercely with a personal cause, and cannot resist picking fights for the sake of this conviction. Explosive strength — of body as well as personality — thus becomes a defining asset of the clan. In previous editions of Vampire: The Masquerade the Brujah were often overshadowed by other clans in martial acumen, at least in practice, so we now made sure that their unique combination of Celerity and Potence would allow them to dominate most physical altercations.

However, in a game of personal horror, each archetype should be defined by their flaws just as much (if not more) than their powers. The tragedy of the Brujah is that beneath their surface idealism lies a deeper need — an addiction — for conflict. Mortals Embraced into the clan come from all walks of life and champion any number of causes, savory and less savory, united only in their belligerence. While many Brujah would claim to fight for the downtrodden, the perception of “downtrodden” is as varied as there are Brujah. And if a Brujah vampire would ever see their cause triumphant, they often find themselves championing the other side, the cold fire in their dead hearts goading them back into the fray — forever caught in a self-perpetuating cycle of destruction.”

– Karim Muammar, Designer of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition and Brand Editor for the World of Darkness

Simeon Ladock - “Silky”

"Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven, right? Name's Silky. This is my place, these are my people."

“Phyre won’t be the only Brujah in town, if you pick that clan. You can butt heads with several other characters that share this clan. Silky is one that we’d like to share today and you’ll learn more about him in the next post too. He may look like he thinks with his fists, but assumption makes fools of us all. Silky is eloquent, persuasive, and a man of letters, quoting Milton, Shakespeare, and the Sex Pistols with equal reverence. He's solid, is Silky, the one you want on your side, clear-sighted and unimpressed by the posturing and drama of the establishment. He was the only one the Camarilla could name as Primogen for the Brujah because he's the only voice the rabble will listen to. You'll find him holding court in The Dutchman, his beloved bar. Stay on his good side and you won’t see trouble there.”

– Cherish Goldshaw, Writer



Writing the Brujah

“It was important to us when designing our Brujah characters to show the variety of the clan - it’s not all about brutality, and clan members have very different ways to challenge the status quo and champion their causes, yet must still co-exist within Seattle’s Kindred society. Silky came in from one of our writers at the design stage feeling fully-formed and someone we wanted to spend time with. We knew who he was very quickly, and that makes writing him a joy.”

– Ian Thomas, Narrative Director

Combat Discipline Design

“Designing the Brujah's in-game powers, we first had to consider the kind of player that best fits the Brujah archetype. Bloodlines 2 pits the player against overwhelming odds, and while Phyre is exceptionally powerful, these situations are often best approached quietly and carefully to begin with. Most clans have tools at their disposal to sustain and exploit stealth, picking apart large groups of opponents and remaining unseen until the time is just right... But for some players, the time is right now and the tool is blunt force.

These players rebel against the planning and tension of stalking, instead preferring to trust their skills and instincts in the chaotic flow and dance of combat. With that in mind, the Brujah clan gives them the tools they need to get in people's faces and come out on top!

All the Brujah powers are offensive in some capacity. There's no easy way out, no help in staying alive, it's kill or be killed, so you'll need to be aggressive to survive. While that may sound simple, it won't be enough on its own. Each ability is designed to have utility beyond simple damage, so as you get to grips with combat, you'll find yourself using these more as tools to keep the flow of conflict under your control, which is where Brujah's real strength lies.

Your abilities allow you to crash through groups of opponents and drag enemies into a more isolated spot for a fairer fight or a safer feed. You’ve already seen a video of how to quickly deal overwhelming damage to a single target, but an even better tactical use is for bringing multiple opponents to the brink of death for a lethal follow up.

Brujah will also make use of Presence to taunt and enrage opponents, this makes them predictably aggressive, and is great for motivating a heavily armed mortal to try and club you to death with their firearm instead of shooting you! There's also a big explosive use of Potence , which can be used as both a crowd control and combo tool.

With all of the player's powers (and Brujah in particular), we've aimed to give them all a punchy, rhythmic feeling that makes them weave right in with your regular attacks and punctuates the chaos. My favourite's got to be the Presence-based power- Slagging opponents off to weaponise their emotions really puts you in the mindset of a belligerent Brujah troublemaker.”

– Max Bottomley, Senior Gameplay Designer

What does a Brujah look like?

“When it came to designing the look of the Brujah we really wanted to capture their chaotic and rebellious nature. This direction naturally led us to drawing inspiration from many real-world archetypes and movements that equally encapsulate that same vibe; punks, bikers, metalheads for example. All counter-cultural movements that stem from an anti-establishment and anarchic look on life, movements that we felt really captured the same feeling of being a Brujah. The punk and biker culture we wanted to incorporate has that same feeling of rebellion and conviction that is so prevalent within these movements. It was important to capture the unconventional and distressed clothing that punks tend to wear, like the military surplus wardrobe, all the things that really show a disdain for conformity. These things we felt go hand-in-hand with what the Brujah represent, a rebellious and fiercely individual spirit.

We wanted the areas the Brujah inhabit to reflect their anarchic nature too. The Brujah will likely be found in dive bars, shady sections of Seattle away from the other more authoritative clans who also reside in the city. From this, we wanted their world to be messy, chaotic, with furniture tipped over from a recent brawl and graffiti covering the walls. We wanted the Brujah and their environment to reflect other rebellious pieces of imagery from real-life. Scrawled symbols of anger and defiance. Bright, non-conforming colours. A general sense that, at any point, something unpredictable could happen.”

– Jordan Grimmer, Senior Concept Artist


Brujah Outfit Concept Art

What’s Next?

Over the next few months, you’ll learn more about the playable clans through our upcoming Clan Highlights. Following a dev diary much like this one, where the team at TCR lets you in on their approach to create the clan in question, a Clan Highlight will showcase specific abilities and how the clan choice impacts roleplaying in the game.

Every fourth week, you’ll be able to follow TCR in a new dev diary regarding a specific clan. Following each diary, a Clan Highlight with material related to the clan presented in the previous dev diary will be released, with the Brujah Highlight coming in two weeks.

It just keeps getting worse and worse

[logincrash]

Since there is no thread for the original Bloodlines, I though I'd post here instead of making a new thread (I can't be arsed).
You know that faggy meme with the little girl daydreaming and the same girl crying titled "thinking about playing the game vs playing the game?"
Yeah, I reinstalled VtMB yesterday. Boy, the atmosphere and the mood of the game is so nostalgic and good and made me remember my brief but potently embarrassing goth/vampirefag phase in high school. But the gameplay is one of the clunkiest experiences I have, well, experienced in a while. The fucking tutorial that failed me for not using Auspex like three times because I took out the tire iron before activating Auspex instead of the other way around alone was infuriating. The floaty and annoying melee combat made me want to bash my own skull in.
Going clubbing to some Chaism after getting a redheaded GF (ghoul flunkey) was worth it, however.

[GhostCow]

I always thought the melee combat in Bloodlines was ok. Nothing great, but not bad. I'd take it over Bethesda melee.

[Vergil]

For years and years I would see people say that guns weren't good in VTMB and for my first playthrough I played as a Toreador exclusively using guns and it was extremely fun.

[Roguey]

For years and years I would see people say that guns weren't good in VTMB and for my first playthrough I played as a Toreador exclusively using guns and it was extremely fun.

The guns in Santa Monica and Downtown are really terrible, but after that it's the easiest way to play.

[Anon]

For years and years I would see people say that guns weren't good in VTMB and for my first playthrough I played as a Toreador exclusively using guns and it was extremely fun.

Yeah celerity + guns is pure Matrix shit, how can somebody not find that fun

[rusty_shackleford]

I liked the power that helped you not miss things because I don't cheat and metagame.