Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

[Daehawk]

Is it time for a replay? Im starting to feel it. I played and finished it new. I remember it being fun but buggy. Today it seems popular and had good reviews. I found my 3 cd rom set but Steam and GoG both sell it for $20. So is there something new in those? I cant afford to rebuy it but if I use my old copy Im afraid Ill miss out on stuff like fixes. Im going to look online for mods and fixes . Not sure Ill reinstall but its a strong contender to go back to to. I might appreciate it more now. All I really recall is the beach, a haunted hotel, and a graveyard.

[Daehawk]

Found this guys patch work. He did this over many years it says.

https://www.pcgamesn.com/vampire-the-ma ... lines-mods

[NickAragua]

There's definitely an unofiicial patch out for it that fixes a ton of bugs (with an optional version to restore some "cut" content). Someday, I'll replay it with that patch, but it ain't gonna be today.

[NickAragua]

http://www.moddb.com/mods/vtmb-unofficial-patch

[Max Peck]

The GOG version comes with the unofficial patch (bug fixes only, no additional/restored content) already applied.

[BooTx]

I'll be the lone dissenting opinion and say that I think the unofficial patches for Bloodlines are the most overhyped mods in existence. I played the game numerous times with the 1.2 official patch alone and I didn't have a problem making it through to the end. It's janky as hell out of the box, but the unofficial patches do nothing to alleviate that. The problem stems from the shitty, undercooked engine the game is built upon, and until the game is at least ported to a modern version of Source, I don't think any mod is ever going to fix it. The patch may fix "hundreds of bugs" or whatever, but I honestly can't recall any off the top of my head, and that says a lot considering I've finished the game probably 8 or 9 times. It basically fixes every bug you'd never notice, and none of the bugs you ever would.

I will say that the unofficial patch did cause a game-breaking bug for me about 2/3s of the way through one of my playthroughs though. They've since fixed that at least, which is nice.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying you shouldn't use the patch (use it for the widescreen fix if for nothing else)—I'm just saying it doesn't fix the major problems with the game. It's still every bit as janky as it was back in 2004.

[Carpet_pissr]

Does it include texture upgrades, or just bug/storyline fixes?

[JCC]

This game is a true shame. The beginning is so good. But, as noted the Source engine used here was not done. So, it's a buggy mess. Also my memory is that about mid way or so through the game basically is reduced to nearly all combat, and became a slog. It's too bad, because some of this game was awesome.

[Daehawk]

Always had a love hate with Troika games. It was founded by ex Black Isle folk Jason Anderson, Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky. The games they made were amazing story wise and just them themselves were cool as heck. They were games others just did not make. But for fucks sake they could not complete a game and when they did it was SO buggy.

Arcanum, Temple of Elemental Evil, and Vampire. 3 games that should have been mind blowing amazing but turned out to be barely playable. It was heartbreaking.

Here is a video of their last game that no one published. It was like fallout 1 and 2 and never got past the post apoc demo and video. I played the playable part. It was nothing to it but held promise.

[Apollo]

I LOVE this game. It is the one PC game that I have played where I really, really enjoyed the storyline. I have played it all the way through at least 3 times, and I can't recall having any problems with bugs whatsoever (and I've never used any mods or unofficial patches). It is also one of the most atmospheric games I have ever played, on top of everything else. Furthermore, I disagree about it becoming "all combat" halfway through. The game, IMHO, is very well paced with a good mix of role-playing, problem solving, and combat and there are multiple endings to the story. I highly recommend it to anyone who would like to play a Vampire CRPG. You won't be disappointed!

[Suitably Ironic Moniker]

Yeah, each of Troika's games have their flaws, but they all do something very well, and I think Vampire is their finest effort. I've played through at least three times over the years without any unofficial patch without any issue.

[hepcat]

Vampire's Ocean House Hotel and Thief's Shalebridge Cradle are two of the scariest damn video game entries to ever make their way to a monitor.

[JCC]

Yes that Hotel level was awesome. Totally creepy atmosphere, and very creepy. I remember playing it and thinking, "Damnit I am a vampire. I shouldn't be scared of ghosts!"