World of Darkness Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 from Hardsuit Labs

[Ismaul]

it means Paradox are committed to the game

Oh yeah for sure. They're so committed they even fired the devs that cared most about the project, including their core creative team.

Nahhh, you're deluded. The only thing they're committed to is trying to recuperate as much of their investment as possible. They think that the cost of a few extra months of dev time will pay itself back in sales because it'll make it a shippable game instead of an unsellable mess. The fact that they're hiring a lead gameplay designer at this stage of development tells you how much of a mess the whole thing is right now.

 

[Semiurge]

According to my shady gaming-industry contacts, someone working at Paradox recently reported this game as being 'Barely a 7/10', which I'll file under the least surprising revelations of the year.

Is this person a man or a woman? That can really change the meaning.

Did you just assume that the gender of his shady deepthroat will conform to binary?

 

[Justicar]

The game is still coming along nicely, expect a trailer at The Game Awards with Geoff Keighley!

 

[Wunderbar]

Development hell lulz aside, it's actually good news if this game is delayed to late 2021. That's a massive delay and it means Paradox are committed to the game, not just trying to polish and throw it out the window.

And as I've said that makes sense, because Paradox own the World of Darkness IP and they should have a strong interest in not fucking up their first in-house WoD game.

how much do paradox pay to you?

 

[jac8awol]

Guys, trust me on this. The Snyder cut of VTMB2 is really gonna turn things around in 2021. It's like a whole other game, like for realz.

 

[Semiurge]

It might be even worse! Somebody on Planet Vampire discovered that HSL is looking for a new Audio Director. A job presumely filled until now by Rik Schaffer and his wife from Bloodlines 1 fame. Are they gone now too?

https://careers.hardsuitlabs.com/jobs/989831-audio-director

Oh well, an interactive novel needs no music.

 

[Ismaul]

Guys, trust me on this. The Snyder cut of VTMB2 is really gonna turn things around in 2021. It's like a whole other game, like for realz.

Hey man, cool it with the snyde remarks.

 

[Hellraiser]

Scrap Bloodlines, give Harebrained Schemes a V:TM project.

After Battletech I wouldn't trust HBS with any known IP. Also this doesn't get rid of the elephant in the room, Paradox's suits.

 

[Roguey]

After Battletech I wouldn't trust HBS with any known IP.

For what it's worth, Kiva's gone.

Also this doesn't get rid of the elephant in the room, Paradox's suits.

Eh, they seem to be hands-off when it comes to design, this is a mess of Hardsuit's making. It's not like Paradox botched Tyranny, Feargus did that on his own.

 

[Hellraiser]

Eh, they seem to be hands-off when it comes to design, this is a mess of Hardsuit's making. It's not like Paradox botched Tyranny, Feargus did that on his own.

The glassdoor reviews posted ITT mentioned Paradox somehow interfering for the worst. Paradox is funding the projects so they have influence over general goals, timelines or staff decisions. It is reasonable to assume they at least rubber-stamped high-profile firings and thus are partially responsible for the mess, if they were not the ones who took the initiative and forced Hardsuit to fire people in the first place.

I don't trust Paradox ever since they got involved with Battletech and for some reason there was paid DLC not even 6 months after the game was out, with no prior mention and no discount or anything for kickstarter backers. This is one of the other reasons why my opinion of HBS and Battletech is not good, besides that game having design issues which I mentioned in the battletech thread somewhere on the last few pages.

 

[Ezeekiel]

After Battletech I wouldn't trust HBS with any known IP.

For what it's worth, Kiva's gone.

Oh? Just moved on, or did he get fired?

 

[user]

I wasn't following this for the last few months - and now everyone got fired? Why? What happened? Can anyone summarize?

 

[Hellraiser]

I wasn't following this for the last few months - and now everyone got fired? Why? What happened? Can anyone summarize?

High turnover, key people (Mitsoda included) getting fired/leaving, delayed release date. Basically a clusterfuck.

 

[Wunderbar]

I wasn't following this for the last few months - and now everyone got fired? Why? What happened? Can anyone summarize?

Cluney guy mismanaged the project and was fired. Mitsoda was Cluney's friend and was fired too, just to be sure.
Then Paradox realized that there's no one to fix the project, so they have hired some ubisoft corporate drone.
Then Paradox realized that Cara Ellison isn't quite up for the task to do the massive rewrites, so they had her fired too, and got some mass effect andromeda writer as a replacement.

One bad decision after another.

 

[Eli_Havelock]

It was more like - despite her own writing ability - Cara Ellison could see the writing on the wall and quit.

 

[normie]

despite her own writing ability

 

[Eli_Havelock]

As anyone who has survived her masturbating space pirates in Void Bastards knows, that was indeed not a compliment in any way whatsoever. Aside from some jokes thematically lifted from HHGTTG, that game ripped off Alien to blow the concept of humor out the aft airlock.

 

[normie]

a new standard has been set and now the pressure is on to implement customizable genitalia

could have avoided it had they released it before Cyberwitcher

 

[Caim]

Pretty sure Saints Row 2 had a bulge slider for both men and women.

 

[Momock]

Pretty sure Saints Row 2 had a bulge slider for both men and women.

It was Saint's Row 3, and for men only. Women have the boobs slider.

 

[Flying Dutchman]

As anyone who has survived her masturbating space pirates in Void Bastards knows, that was indeed not a compliment in any way whatsoever. Aside from some jokes thematically lifted from HHGTTG, that game ripped off Alien to blow the concept of humor out the aft airlock.

Was tempted to check this out (not because of Ellison), but now I probably will wait until... well, until.

Also heard the game gets repetitive as shit pretty fast, so there's that, too - but again, haven't played it.

 

[Semiurge]

If this means that the blue haired turk Elif gets flushed down with the rest, I'm okay with it. Resetera lowlifes were cumming in their panties because the game featured yet another muslim.

 

[Vincente]

If this means that the blue haired turk Elif gets flushed down with the rest, I'm okay with it. Resetera lowlifes were cumming in their panties because the game featured yet another muslim.

I agree, we need more Assamites.

 

[Grunker]

Bloodlines was all about getting to Story Content or Dungeon Content without a bunch of gamey stuff getting in the way. Seems to be better received than The Outer Worlds which takes the approach you want.

I agree with your overall sentiment but at the same time I think I've finally nailed down what defines the Rogueyism. It's these oddly specific, out-of-context comparisons that elevate peripheral points to the status of central arguments.

Like, I in many cases prefer hub-based games because they free up developer resources and mean you don't have to take the open world into account which unloads a WHOOOOOLE lot of design tension. But... is that really the reason why people like Bloodlines and dislike The Outer Worlds? In fact, is it even *a* reason? Or does that have much more to do with all the stuff Bloodlines does brilliantly despite its flaws while The Outer Worlds doesn't do really much of anything that well?

It's like... if a Roxorism is identifying all the flaws and qualities of something and then letting whether he likes that thing govern whether flaws should be blown out of proportion and qualities understated - or vice versa - a Rogueyism is using hyperspecific comparisons to argue something regardless of whether these hyperspecific examples are all that relevant in the broader scope of why something is true (or not).

 

[Delterius]

Take the hubs from Bloodlines and add more detail, maybe even verticality. Instead of really tiny looking streets in downtown, create a few of life-sized blocks. And so on. No need for an open world. That's already the approach they decided for Bloodlines 2, no?