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

[Nano]

It's also likely intentionally amusing that like many lefties, she goes hard into being sexist and racist when mad.

It's okay for women to use those slurs. And what part of that dialogue is racist?

 

[Roguey]

And what part of that dialogue is racist?

Calling her a demon. Additionally

"I hate those goddamn devils" "skank sushi"

 

[Nano]

Meh.

Edit: wait, I forgot there's a button for that.

 

[Roguey]

Not all Kuei-jin.

 

[Removal]

Speaking of Xiao, I never figured out what kind of weeaboo magic she used to turn into a slug monster. Any basis in the PnP for that?

Kuei-jin can get shape-shifting abilities , with top of the line being able to do pretty much whatever they want with their body

 

[Herald of Durance]

Whose alt is Sailor Woedica?

I read all her posts in Xoti's voice. I don't know if it makes it worse or better.

 

[sser]

Just unironically speaking, a talented writer could do a lot with the fragmentation and self-cannibalism that is endemic with any movement. It'd make for good RPG-style gameplay for sure. This was briefly hinted at in Bioshock Infinite of all places, when the anarchists basically start doing what they're revolting against. But I'd want actual intra-factional conflicts, even over minor differences, that make any political movement historically intriguing. My fear would not be that they SJW it up. The setting actually calls for it if you ask me. My fear would be that they don't flex those internal conflicts like they should, but instead protect it so people on Twitter don't @ them with anger.

 

[LESS T_T]

Bloodlines 2 is number 3 on Steam global top sellers: https://store.steampowered.com/search/?filter=globaltopsellers

Also it is already on the first page of the top wishlist: https://store.steampowered.com/search/?filter=popularwishlist

I expect it will be at least on number 3 there too, next to The Outer Worlds.

And it has already over 18K followers (those who opt in for announcement notification) on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/dlc/532790/Vampire_The_Masquerade__Bloodlines_2/

(For comparison, TOW has 72,303 follwers.)

It's going down on top sellers (a year of waiting, eh?) but now it's #5 on top wishlist, just above other Paradox game Imperator: Rome.

And followers are now over 45K.

Getting close to The Outer Worlds: it's now #3 on the top wishlist, just below TOW. And followers are now over 60K...

And with that, it's now #2 on the top wishlists over TOW.

 

[True Ukrainian]

Speaking of Xiao, I never figured out what kind of weeaboo magic she used to turn into a slug monster. Any basis in the PnP for that?

Kuei-jin can get shape-shifting abilities , with top of the line being able to do pretty much whatever they want with their body

If I remember correctly, its not just shape-shifting powers. Instead of the beast, all kuei-jin have some kind of demon living inside of them. Kuei-jin can learn how to unleash this demon form in combat even if they do not actually study the basic shape-shifting power. By spending points, a kuei-jin can also customize their demon form. Xiao probably bought increased size and tentacles when she leveled up.

 

[udm]

I did not know he was a fan of the original.

Sargon is a man of tastes.

EDIT: Though I think he's confusing VTMB with VTMR

 

[Mastermind]

Tremere and Ventrue have cool suits and coats so they're the best clans.

First time I played through Bloodlines was a Ventrue. none of the other clans really offered a similarly satisfying experience, there's just no substitute for mind control.

 

[Prime Junta]

Regarding level design, I think a lot of the buildings are underappreciated. Bloodlines made urban exploration interesting without the need for a large open-world. Not only are there often a few different ways to get in, but they're sprawling with different floors, crawl-spaces, environmental storytelling, and secrets to discover. I think it's a prime example of what urban exploration should look like, although like you said, some of the later areas faltered.

The buildings are good because of atmosphere, not because of what’s usually called level design. They’re quite simple, repetitive, and there’s not much to do in them. Or just a corridor/obstacle course, like Ocean House, Pisha’s digs, or Grout’s mansion. (And let’s not get into the half-arsed ones, for there are many.)

I can only think of one exception: the clinic/blood bank/morgue. That is a nice, rich level - although nothing that special compared to e.g. Deus Ex which was already... not new at the time.

The thing with the hubs is that they hang together beautifully. Nothing is out of place and the locations feel just right. The diner, the bail bondsman, The Last Round, Skyline ... they form a seamless whole. Great soundscapes too, like the clinic for example.

But it is all about the look, feel, and sound. I think normally when we talk about level design it’s mostly about geometry and what you can do in the level. Bloodlines is nothing special in these respects. As Grunker put it earlier, it’s all in the atmosphere.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

While searching for pronoun usage, I came by this very delicious satirical essay on language policing from 1985 - http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~evans/cs655/readings/purity.html

It sounds like it could've been written today.

That essay by Douglas Hofstadter is a satire attacking those who resisted feminist demands to change the English language by removing gendered pronouns. I'm certain that someone adopting the same tactic today would be condemned as a vicious racist, regardless of his intentions.

 

[Fedora Master]

Speaking of Xiao, I never figured out what kind of weeaboo magic she used to turn into a slug monster. Any basis in the PnP for that?

Kuei-jin can get shape-shifting abilities , with top of the line being able to do pretty much whatever they want with their body

If I remember correctly, its not just shape-shifting powers. Instead of the beast, all kuei-jin have some kind of demon living inside of them. Kuei-jin can learn how to unleash this demon form in combat even if they do not actually study the basic shape-shifting power. By spending points, a kuei-jin can also customize their demon form. Xiao probably bought increased size and tentacles when she leveled up.

 

[Cyberarmy]

Why am I seeing Alicia Silverstone gifs around here? Is she a vampire, a gangrel perhaps?

 

[Fedora Master]

e: Grim is excited for Bloodlines 2. The poor poor bastard.

 

[Rahdulan]

Speaking of Xiao, I never figured out what kind of weeaboo magic she used to turn into a slug monster. Any basis in the PnP for that?

Seems like some made up very advanced level of Flesh Shintai discipline Troika most likely took liberty with for a dramatic boss fight. What's Flesh Shintai? Forget it, Jake. It's Kindred of the East.

Although, for hilarity's sake:

Standard Powers

• [1]
  • Long Neck: The Kuei-jin can stretch his limbs or neck to impressive lengths
• [2]
  • Detach Limb: By infusing a part of his body with Yang chi, the Kuei-jin can animate this part to act apart from his main body
• [3]
  • Gender Change: The Kuei-jin can change his own gender
  • Gentle Yielding: The Kuei-jin can negate impact attacks by commanding his own flesh to give way
  • Lotus Breath: The Kuei-jin exhales a cloud of Yang energy that turns mortals dreamy, giggly and generally incoherent
• [4]
  • Taking what is Given: The Kuei-jin’s body gives way to an attack, but traps the object with his own flesh and constricts it
  • Fur and Fang: The Kuei-jin develops characteristics of a certain animal
  • Pelesit: The Kuei-jin can construct small creatures from his own flesh and send them out for errands. Pelesits usually appear as grotesque insects or homunculi
• [5]
  • Thousand Lice Spies: By spilling a bag of mites, the Kuei-jin can see through their eyes and watch a respective area
  • Ten Thousand Forms: The Kuei-jin can shape his body in any form desired as long as it retains the same mass as his original body
  • Polong: By expulsing a piece of his flesh, the Kuei-jin can shape it into a homunculi-like form, similar to the level 4 power. The creator can see through the eyes of his creation and may use Disciplines through him.

Advanced Powers

• [6]
  • Body of the Mouse: The Kuei-jin can shrink, modifying his own body mass

• [7]
  • Body of the Serpent: The Kuei-jins body becomes as flexible as rubber, allowing him to slide through small spaces

• [8]
  • Bloat: By absorbing masses of Yang chi from the environment, the Kuei-jin can increase his body size

• [9]
  • Unchaining the Form: The Kuei-jin can attain every shape and form he desires, regardless of body mass

 

[Prime Junta]

I did not know that kuei-jin are genderfluid furries. Learn something every day.

 

[Black]

Ming Xiao in her boss form looks pretty much like a modern feminist.

 

[Zero Credibility]

It's an affectionate parody. I'm not sure about particular term, while she provides valid in-game criticism, she does it in an exagerrated manner. I'm pretty sure the first dialogue with her goes along the lines "Fuck you, Camarilla pig". Even some Jucheists I know aren't that autistic in social interactions

Nah, it's "Sabbat chased you in here Cammy?"

And why the hell do I remember that after 5 years, yet I can't recall what the fuck I did yesterday?

 

[Wesp5]

The buildings are good because of atmosphere, not because of what’s usually called level design. They’re quite simple, repetitive, and there’s not much to do in them.

Compared to modern games little is repetivie in Bloodlines and all interior maps are unique. But there are a lot of issues like they not fitting in the building from the outside and similar!

 

[Prime Junta]

The buildings are good because of atmosphere, not because of what’s usually called level design. They’re quite simple, repetitive, and there’s not much to do in them.

Compared to modern games little is repetivie in Bloodlines and all interior maps are unique. But there are a lot of issues like they not fitting in the building from the outside and similar!

All the apartments in Skyline have the same layout. The interiors in the hotel at least /feel/ pretty repetitive. Same for Bishop Vic's digs and most combat areas (the downtown parking garage, the Sabbat nest, the Giovanni basement maze etc).

IMO the interior/exterior mismatch is no problem at all. Sure it's not technically correct but it feels right and doesn't detract from immersion in the least.

 

[Grunker]

Kuei-jin are more like tentacle demons than furries doe

 

[Grunker]

Also Roguey it's not exactly racist to call a Kuei-jin a demon, that's more or less literally what they are, at least partly:

All Kuei-jin begin in Hell and then graduate to a mad cannibal in a human body; it is only through discipline and whipcracks that they can move above that level.

the Mandarin word kuei/gui means "demon" and the Japanese word jin means "person"

A Kuei-jin's stint in the hells of Yomi divides the mind into two Hun and po parts: The Hun, or high mind, that is the seat of rational thought, and the P'o, or demon mind, that exists to satisfy its own base urges (usually at the expense of the Hun). As former wraiths, a Kuei-jin has a splinter of the forces of Oblivion in its soul. While many Kuei-jin see their P'o as a curse, it is important to note that without the P'o, they would never have escaped hell in the first place. Furthermore, Kuei-jin who stifle and contain their P'o utterly become cold, calculating individuals who lack any ideological spark; such stagnancy can be devastating when the weight of karma (spiritual consequences of actions) is on one's shoulders.

So Ming Xiao's shapeshifted form might be closer to her "true form" than her human shape. Kuei'jin lore is insanely complicated and messy, but calling them demons ain't exactly far off seeing as they have a literal connection to Hell

Fedora Master Rahdulan more likely Demon Shintai

The Demon Shintai allows a Kuei-jin to manifest his Inner Demon, transforming his flesh to resemble the servants of Yomi Wan

And Yomi Wan being the Eastern Hell, its demons are mainly of the hentai variety. More dots in the Discipline does nothing but boost some stats and allow you to grow more demonic limbs n' shit:

https://whitewolf.fandom.com/wiki/Demon_Shintai

 

[Jarpie]

Anyone remember this show?



Probably better Vampire the Masquerade than Bloodlines 2.