Game News Vampire Bloodlines True Patch ver.4.02AT

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Tags: Troika Games; Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

While it's always nice to see fan communities support developers, the fan efforts of the <a href=http://www.vampirebloodlines.com/entrance.html>Bloodlines</a> community have mostly been unsactioned modifications and arbitrary changes to the game with some bug fixes thrown in. However, it has come to my attention the existence of a true Bloodlines patch that finally does what a patch should do - stick to fixing the bugs and restoring content. Created by a VtmB fan, <b>Acrimonious</b>, and hosted by <b>Tessera</b> at <s>her</s> his <a href=http://www.tessmage.com/main.htm>webspace</a>, the patch aims to restore <a href=http://www.terra-arcanum.com/troikagames/>Troika</a>'s game to its full glory. This True Patch is currently at version 4.02AT and you can find more about it <a href=http://www.tessmage.com/forum/index.php/topic,227.0.html>here</a>:<blockquote>If you've been using the previous "beta" version (4.01AT), then I strongly suggest downloading the latest version of our patch and installing it. Several additional bugs were found, not only in the original game, but also within Wesp's so-called "unofficial patches" (mods). Those bugs have been removed and also, some additional content has been restored/fixed as well. Just as with the previous True VTMB Patch, nothing is included that was not originally intended to be in the game by Troika, nor is anything missing. The True VTMB Patch has been a project with only one goal in mind: to restore Bloodlines to being the game that Troika wanted it to be -- minus the bugs and glitches.
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CHANGES IN VERSION 4.02AT INCLUDE:
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<b>(1) Several bugs introduced by Wesp's "unofficial patches" will now be
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removed, by installing this version 4.02AT of the True VTMB Patch.</b>
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(2) A minor problem with Jeanette was fixed.
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(3) A re-skin of Becket that slipped by us on the previous version
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has been removed. Becket will now appear as Troika intended for him to.
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(4) A couple of scripts were cleaned up.
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(5) Histories are now fully operational for ALL clans. They should
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be working 100% as Troika had intended for them to.
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(6) The FAQ file has been updated by Acrimonious.
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</blockquote>To those who already played the game three years ago, this isn't going to change their minds. But it's nonetheless a good starting point to people new to the game or for those looking to find out how the game was meant to be originally.
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.tessmage.com/forum/index.php/board,48.0.html">Tessmage Forums</A>

 

[Section8]

Interesting. Might have to give this one a whirl.

 

[zioburosky13]

WTH? I click the link of her page and found tons of naked elves and humans? :shock:
Love it

I'm going to give this patch a shot. Malkavian is always fun to play

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Yes well, Tessera dabbles in that sort of thing. Which might be a bonus or a big stopping sign to some around here, but don't let that get in the way of the patch.

 

[crakkie]

Great! Now does someone want to do the same thing to Arcanum, please? (Apologies to Chris Beddoes, but can't someone just fix the bugs and balance without adding a car?)

 

[mister lamat]

i dug wesp's patches. they fixed a tonne of stuff and nothing he changed really mattered all that much.

wtf is up with this 'true' patch shit when it's still unofficial?

 

[Lurkar]

That name sounds really familier, and not from Bloodlines.

 

[Inziladun]

wtf is up with this 'true' patch shit when it's still unofficial?

Probably because it's actually a patch, rather than a mod that just includes bug-fixes.

 

[mister lamat]

isn't it based on the other guys work though?

 

[Rat Keeng]

Yeah, it's a good alternative if you don't want any of the gameplay changes and re-balancing and stuff. I prefer Wesp's patch around version 2.8 to be honest, which is the last time I attempted to play Bloodlines, but I still only ever get so far before I get sick of it, usually somewhere around Hollywood.

 

[mister lamat]

chinatown is only decent for the 'it's china town, boss' line anyways. it's all a gradual decline to one seriously fucking emo ending after hollywood.

 

[Texas Red]

What does the other patch change? Do you recommend it? Quality stuff?

 

[Claw]

Well, it looks like The time has finally come for the one true lord of Brita... I mean, for me to install Bloodlines.

 

[Roqua]

I don't really like role-players slight of the other patch. And the other patch can be viewed as a true patch if you take into account that Troika had a huge crunch and was trying to stay true to the WoD VtM game setting and rules. The mod tried not to just fix game bugs, but setting bugs that Troika probably would have addressed if they weren't in such a crunch.

Troika interpreted WoD/VtM game rules, sometimes incorrectly. The fan patch tried to interpret Troika's interpretation of WoD/VtM game rules. Troika did not develope WoD or VtM or the game rules, etc. They implimented them into an action game as the liscense the got from WW dictated. Same as Co8's fixes to ToEE to make it more accurartely reflext the source books.

Now, a few examples show the went a little more into interpreting bug/dsetting fixes into actually modding, but that is rare. ANd troika did the same by making a fucking action game out of WoD/VtM. Who fucked up more?

And B, if I was going to spend my time fixing shit for you ungratful fuckers I sure as fuck would fix the things I needed to be fixed or wanted to be fixed, and if anyone was going to benefit from my bug fixes, the would need to suffer through what I believed to be game fixes, unless they were going to pay me.

starting point to people new to the game or for those looking to find out how the game was meant to be originally.

Originally, the game had game stopping bugs. And originally, Troika probably figured they'd finish the game. But they didn't, so fans are trying to do it for them.

 

[Elwro]

I recently got to the middle of the game using the unofficial 3.5 patch - I noticed no fuckups, but I think gun names were changed (why?). I'm pretty sure I noticed some added dialogue on quite a few occasions.

 

[Roqua]

That came off more hstile than I wanted, but my point is that people that put in a lot of work to fix a game for our benefit, no matter if their patch includes a couple minor tweaks, deserve to be lauded. And thanks to all the people that came out with the other patch and this one.

 

[Drakron]

The "unofficial patch(s)" made several modifications to the game content that were beyond a "bug fix".

A example that katana that is just lying around ... the mod author did not liked that and moved it a few times ... of course Troika left it there for a reason, it was the part of the game were things became a dungeon crawl and it was kinda of a "idiot proof" way to make sure people had good weapon for the last leg of the game.

That is why its not a "true patch", one thing is making a dialog option to trigger correctly and another is removing a item from a section of the game.

Role-player called it what it was ... the "unofficial patch" was beyond of a patch and delved into what is modding, I never used it for that reason.

 

[mister lamat]

that maybe so, but the 'true patch' just steals all wesp's work. not to say that he didn't inherit it, but at least he's honest about it.

 

[Tessera]

Hello everyone. I'm the person who hosts the True VTMB Patch. I followed a link on my own board to this thread and after reading through it, I wanted to respond to a few comments...

WTH? I click the link of her page and found tons of naked elves and humans?
Love it

LOL... yah, one of my hobbies is to create high-quality nude re-skins for various games -- VTMB and Oblivion, in particular.

i dug wesp's patches. they fixed a tonne of stuff and nothing he changed really mattered all that much.

wtf is up with this 'true' patch shit when it's still unofficial?

I'm sorry to say that your statement is inaccurate. Wesp's mods changed an enormous number of things in VTMB, such as the underlying game mechanics, clan balance issues and the strengths of various abilities and items. Wesp also changed and/or trivialized many of the quests in the game, due to his obvious attempts to convert VTMB into a predictable first-person-shooter game... instead of the supernatural vampire RPG that Troika wanted it to be. It is because of those frivolous and unbalanced changes that our True VTMB Patch was created in the first place. The reason we call it a "True Patch" is because it DOES NOT change any of the content or game balance. Instead, it simply fixes bugs and missing or broken content... just as Troika had originally intended. Wesp's work, on the other hand, changes so many aspects of VTMB that it can not be accurately called a "patch," but is instead most certainly a "mod."

isn't it based on the other guys work though?

No, our work is based upon Troika's design and also, upon a collection of bug reports taken from various forums over the past two-and-a-half years. The reason we had to go through Wesp's mods -- line by line -- was because we wanted our patch to serve a dual purpose:

(1) The True VTMB Patch will fix almost all of the known bugs in VTMB.
(2) The True VTMB Patch will also -remove- any and all changes made by any of Wesp's mods. We are very aware that, up until now, the VTMB community has been forced to use Wesp's mods... simply because there was no viable alternative. We figured that most players would, therefore, already have one of Wesp's mods installed. We decided to set up our patch in such a way that it allows those players to simply install it directly on top of Wesp's mods, without having to re-install the entire game. It is not based upon Wesp's work... it REMOVES all of Wesp's work and restores VTMB to its originally intended experience. We did this as a courtesy to the roleplaying community, but unfortunately it also angered Wesp. That couldn't be helped... we care about the game, not about someone's ego.

And the other patch can be viewed as a true patch if you take into account that Troika had a huge crunch and was trying to stay true to the WoD VtM game setting and rules.

This is incorrect. Wesp's mods have skewed the gameplay enormously towards favoring guns as the weapon of choice, despite the fact that Troika's own tutorial (at the beginning of the game) states that guns are of limited use, but occasionally necessary. Troika wanted you to play as a supernatural vampire -- not as Rambo with a machine gun. Unfortunately, Wesp and his ilk would seem to prefer playing the game in much the same way as you would play Half-Life 2, so he has increased the power of firearms enormously and has also made it far, far too easy to obtain high-powered guns and ammo in VTMB. He also enabled the player to go into "ez-mode," by adding much too much experience gains, as well as allowing players to have access to a few items and quests that were intended to be clan-specific. As a result, many of the more interesting quests in the game became trivialized and overall, the re-playability of VTMB has suffered. The game has also been "dumbed down" considerably in Wesp's mods. The sad fact is that it takes far less skill and patience to play the game if you do it Wesp's way, which is most certainly not something that Troika would have wanted. Our True VTMB Patch eliminates those proiblems. We've restored the game mechanics to the much more diverse, balanced and intriguing setup that Troika had always intended.

I recently got to the middle of the game using the unofficial 3.5 patch - I noticed no fuckups, but I think gun names were changed (why?).

Your question is as much a mystery to us as it is to you and many other players. Wesp's mods have changed the game so radically -- and in such frivolous ways -- that we're frankly stumped about his reasons. Fortunately, we're no longer limited to only Wesp's mods, if we want a bug-free VTMB experience. Choices are always a good thing.

that maybe so, but the 'true patch' just steals all wesp's work. not to say that he didn't inherit it, but at least he's honest about it.

Again, this perception is incorrect and if you read my first entry in this post, you willll have the correct information. Nothing was "stolen" from Wesp. How can you be "stealing" when you are REMOVING everything that Wesp changed about this game..? As stated before, Wesp's mods were carefully dissected by us, so that when our True VTMB Patch is installed, it will REMOVE all of the unbalancing, improper and frivolous changes that Wesp has made to this classic RPG. This was done as a courtesy, to those players who may have already been using one of Wesp's mods. The only things that we retained from someone else's work are the bug fixes originally written by Dan Upright. He has been properly credited for those bug fixes in the documentation that is included with our True VTMB Patch... as has Wesp been credited, for a couple of minor bug fixes that he managed on his own.


It's great to meet all of you and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to respond to some of your comments. If there are any other questions or comments, I can always be reached at my own website. Take care and enjoy VTMB.


- Tessera -
Administrator
www.tessmage.com
...for mature gamers

 

[Dhruin]

How do I know the katana was deliberate? A chunk of the game was pretty unpolished - maybe that was just overlooked. Was the combat drudgery at the end by deliberate design, or just a lack of time -- or was it just bad design? I think it's a bit precious to have someone tell me what the "original intent" was of a developer that clearly never delivered the game they wanted to and didn't entirely finish what they did deliver.

I seem to recall Circle of Eight got quite upset about a "patch" I linked to for ToEE that was based on their work without appropriate credit and permission. They asked me to remove the link. I don't see the credit for Wesp's work for this.

Edit: If you aren't working on Wesp's fixes, why reference Wesp at all? Why not make your own "patch" from scratch that has nothing to do with him? It still sounds based on Wesp's work from here.

 

[Tessera]

How do I know the katana was deliberate?

Because Wesp admitted that it was.

I don't see the credit for Wesp's work for this.

Then you need to download our patch and look at the README file that it contains. Wesp's work has been properly credited, as has the work of everyone who contributed towards our patch.

 

[Dhruin]

No, from Troika's perspective. You're trying to tell me what Troika "intended" when they clearly didn't intend the content exactly as it ended up.

Thanks for the clarification about the readme - I think appropriate credit on that page would still be appropriate.

 

[mister lamat]

when the furries... or whatever the fuck that is... start patching...

 

[Tessera]

No, from Troika's perspective. You're trying to tell me what Troika "intended" when they clearly didn't intend the content exactly as it ended up.

Thanks for the clarification about the readme - I think appropriate credit on that page would still be appropriate.

Wesp has been credited for what he has done: very little, so far as actual bug fixes are concerned.

The vast, vast bulk of Wesp's work has taken the form of arbitary gameplay modifications, many (if not most) of which were responses to poorly thought out requests from various players. As I have explained, our patch REMOVES his mods... it is not based upon his work.

Furthermore, Wesp and his "fans" attacked us viciously when we put our patch together. That was his choice, but it has not exactly left me feeling very kindly disposed towards Wesp. That's a pity... but in the final analysis, it hardly matters.

Anyway, our patch is for those players who wish to play Troika's original vampire game. We have based our patch upon items found within Troika's own scripts, as well as interviews with members of the original Troika team (including Brian Mitsoda -- VTMB's writer). We feel confident that we have produced a True VTMB Patch that Troika would have approved of. As such, it is intended for those players who likewise seek to play the original, fixed version of the game.

Enjoy.

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

I don't really like role-players slight of the other patch.

How am I slighting anything by calling it what it is? Even Spazmo was smart enough to point out that changes were questionable. The unofficial patch has been abitrarily modifying content besides fixing some bugs. At least since v.1.7., there have been pointless changes to weapon names, quest structure and balance changes such as giving XP where there was none to be gained, changing lock or computer access requirements, switched around weapon placements based on the perceived notion that their locations were illogical and so on. It's been common knowledge that most of these changes have been made by input at places like Planet Vampire, where people suggest changes they'd like to see - whereupon the unofficial patch author makes these changes and then also adds in bug fixes.

The mod tried not to just fix game bugs, but setting bugs that Troika probably would have addressed if they weren't in such a crunch.

Probably or certainly?

Now, a few examples show the went a little more into interpreting bug/dsetting fixes into actually modding, but that is rare. ANd troika did the same by making a fucking action game out of WoD/VtM. Who fucked up more?

So someone's fuckup is acceptable because someone else also fucked up? That brand of naivete is always amusing, I guess. It's irrelevant wheter Troika's adherence to the World of Darkness ruleset was correct or took liberties - the issue is that you have a game being not just patched but also modified. It's shamelessly misleading since the author is basically making recurring gameplay modifications, ie, it's gone beyond fixing things and is altering the way the game is supposed to work.

Originally, the game had game stopping bugs. And originally, Troika probably figured they'd finish the game. But they didn't, so fans are trying to do it for them.

Yes, how altruistic of them to change what they feel like.