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

[Russia is over. The end.]

While Hardsuit Labs are absolute trash, it's not because they pushed the date. Larian was supposed to ship BG3 on Early Access half a year ago. It just wasn't a date that they publicly announced. If they had, it'd be 2 times in a row they pushed it now.

 

[mk0]

They should port this thing to the Nintendo Switch, that's where their main target audience is located and they will have an excuse for why the game looks like ass, less competition too. That's how you salvage this dumpster fire.

 

[waken]

They should port this thing to the Nintendo Switch, that's where their main target audience is located and they will have an excuse for why the game looks like ass, less competition too. That's how you salvage this dumpster fire.

Is blood vegan though?

 

[True Ukrainian]

I wonder how Corona would impact vampires. Everyone sitting home, with polluted bat blood...

Amusingly enough, this scenario would kill off most of the elder vampires. Vampires with high blood potency can't slake their hunger with animal blood at all. So the elder vampires would starve to death while the thin bloods would be largely unaffected.

 

[Storyfag]

I wonder how Corona would impact vampires. Everyone sitting home, with polluted bat blood...

Amusingly enough, this scenario would kill off most of the elder vampires. Vampires with high blood potency can't slake their hunger with animal blood at all. So the elder vampires would starve to death while the thin bloods would be largely unaffected.

Eh, elder vampires would just feed on the younger ones. For the really old ones that's actually the only option - human blood does not slake their thirst any more.

 

[Latelistener]

A bit strange interview with some developers that were not interviewed before and/or has been promoted since: https://www.usgamer.net/articles/bloodlines-2-july-interview-next-gen-seattle

Makes me wonder if there was a shake up at the leads level.

I was expecting a delay but that part about "other organizational changes that will help us achieve this goal" is interesting.

Looks like indeed there was a big shake-up. Director Martin Ka'ai Cluney left Hardsuit as of July: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkcluney

Perhaps hiring Hardsuit Labs for this kind of a game wasn't such a great idea after all. I'm not sure why they thought it was. The game looked like dogshit last year and now it's a money sink for Paradox.

Also, isn't this Martin Ka'ai Cluney guy a friend of Mitsoda from Obsidian? I think he's the one who proposed the project and brought Mitsoda on board.

 

[True Ukrainian]

Cluney seems to be the one with RPG experience, having worked at obsidian before. I don't think Hardsuit itself has any institutional knowledge of making RPGs. If he left, it might mean the project has run aground.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

What's institutional knowledge you're all talking about?

 

[True Ukrainian]

What's institutional knowledge you're all talking about?

The knowledge of making an RPG. Obsidian has done it enough times that they can do it by rote, even if key staff leave. BL2 will be Hardsuit's first RPG and they're clearly fumbling about.

 

[Wesp5]

Cluney seems to be the one with RPG experience, having worked at obsidian before. I don't think Hardsuit itself has any institutional knowledge of making RPGs. If he left, it might mean the project has run aground.

He left?

 

[Wunderbar]

KaaiCluney

 

[Cael]

All thin blooded are non gender conforming. Sex change is a level 1 thin blood alchemy discipline.

Figures, given the V5 rule setting this waste of pixels is built upon.

>old, white males Elder Kindred are drawn to the Middle East/wherever and are systemically wiped out and devoured
>previously very rare, "kept in the closet", oddities like trannies Thinbloods suddenly explode in numbers
>said oddities go from being pushed around by everyone and their grandmas to having access to powers previously reserved for only the eldest and most powerful of Kindred with literally nary a fucking reason or explanation, just because the tranny writer said so



Stunning and brave indeed.

It gets far, far more stupid than that.

Thin bloods can learn one discipline of their choice like a regular vampire. Sounds fair right, because of their weak blood, their load out is reduced.

But then we get into the resonance system, which is set up to benefit thin bloods.

All blood had a resonance, and each discipline is tied to one of the four resonances. Whenever a thin blood feeds, he gains a second discipline at level one, matching the resonance of the blood consumed.

So thin bloods are weak but versatile right? Game balance at work. Wrong.

Thin bloods can also mimic any discipline at one level lower than their skill at alchemy. So thin bloods can have a level four discipline they can change at any time, a level one discipline that can be swapped out with a little work and a regular level five discipline.

Meaning they are not much weaker than a high generation vampire. And they can freely switch two of their disciplines to hard counter their opponents.

The whole set up is for full blooded vampires to be raped by the thin bloods. Nothing else.

That's a load of bollocks my dude. Thin-bloods suck ass.
>Thin bloods can learn one discipline of their choice like a regular vampire.
Nope. One of the three merits thin-bloods can buy is the ability to buy a single discipline out of clan.

>Thin bloods can also mimic any discipline at one level lower than their skill at alchemy. So thin bloods can have a level four discipline they can change at any time
Technically true, but a load of shit. Each discipline power you mimick is bought as a separate recipe. Meaning to mimic a level 4 discipline you first need to buy Thin-Blood Alchemy 5, then you need to buy a recipe (takes a minimum of three in-game years), then you need to cook that recipe (takes a month of in-game time). At which point you have a single use of a single level 4 discipline.

> and a regular level five discipline
Bought at out-of-clan xp costs.

All in all, "a thin-blood with all powers" is like a level 20 wizard. You'll never play a game that lasts long enough for you to be one.

You are forgetting who is making this game. As a thin-blood, you are the equivalent of a black, female, transvestite, lesbian, muslim, *insert every "oppressed" minority in the world added together into one glorious package of oppressedness. Any woke cunt worth his salt will turn that abomination of weakness and deviancy (which is how the thin bloods are viewed in-universe) into a robot ninja zombie Superman Jesus hybrid with kewl supah powahz!!!! dishing out social "justice" to their "oppressors".

In other words, it is the perfect vehicle of escapism for millennials and/or zoomers.

 

[True Ukrainian]

Cluney seems to be the one with RPG experience, having worked at obsidian before. I don't think Hardsuit itself has any institutional knowledge of making RPGs. If he left, it might mean the project has run aground.

He left?

People are saying he left in July.

 

[Wesp5]

Cluney seems to be the one with RPG experience, having worked at obsidian before. I don't think Hardsuit itself has any institutional knowledge of making RPGs. If he left, it might mean the project has run aground.

He left?

People are saying he left in July.

So he left RPGCodex, but not Paradox?

 

[Infinitron]

Cluney seems to be the one with RPG experience, having worked at obsidian before. I don't think Hardsuit itself has any institutional knowledge of making RPGs. If he left, it might mean the project has run aground.

He left?

People are saying he left in July.

So he left RPGCodex, but not Paradox?

"People are saying" = LESS T_T last page https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...nd-brian-mitsoda.126124/page-389#post-6854049

 

[Wesp5]

"People are saying" = LESS T_T last page https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/vampire-the-masquerade-–-bloodlines-2-from-hardsuit-labs-and-brian-mitsoda.126124/page-389#post-6854049

If this is true, it's bad news! Brian Mitsoda often told the story how he and Cluney basically had the idea to pitch B2 to Paradox in the first place because they were friends...

 

[Heroic Liberator]

"People are saying" = LESS T_T last page https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/vampire-the-masquerade-–-bloodlines-2-from-hardsuit-labs-and-brian-mitsoda.126124/page-389#post-6854049

If this is true, it's bad news! Brian Mitsoda often told the story how he and Cluney basically had the idea to pitch B2 to Paradox in the first place because they were friends...

On the bright side, you'll have more cut content to put back in for your authoritative patch.

 

[fantadomat]

"People are saying" = LESS T_T last page https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/vampire-the-masquerade-–-bloodlines-2-from-hardsuit-labs-and-brian-mitsoda.126124/page-389#post-6854049

If this is true, it's bad news! Brian Mitsoda often told the story how he and Cluney basically had the idea to pitch B2 to Paradox in the first place because they were friends...

On the bright side, you'll have more cut content to put back in for your authoritative patch.

More like a cut game.

 

[Dodo1610]

I wonder if Paradox even has the guts to cancel doomed projects like this. We have seen the shit level of quality Paradox and Hardsuit thought was good enough for the E3 a year ago and the game was torn to pieces in the comment sections for good reasons. the game and they were obviously unable to produce a build good enough to be presented since all we got this year was a trailer. So at this point, a producer has only a few options left: continuing the production without any changes and hoping with enough time this will somehow become good, cancel it though it's probably too late for that, or scale it down and start cutting features and levels to at least ship something with an acceptable level of quality.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

I wonder if Paradox even has the guts to cancel doomed projects like this. We have seen the shit level of quality Paradox and Hardsuit thought was good enough for the E3 a year ago and the game was torn to pieces in the comment sections for good reasons. the game and they were obviously unable to produce a build good enough to be presented since all we got this year was a trailer. So at this point, a producer has only a few options left: continuing the production without any changes and hoping with enough time this will somehow become good, cancel it though it's probably too late for that, or scale it down and start cutting features and levels to at least ship something with an acceptable level of quality.

I think the best way to salvage it would be turning it into a CYOA using the game's dialogue system and call it a day. (Also rewrite entire story, hire MCA)

 

[Ol' Willy]

MCA + Wesp + Source 2 = best Bloodlines 2 ever.

 

[Wesp5]

On the bright side, you'll have more cut content to put back in for your authoritative patch.

No, not again !

 

[True Ukrainian]

I wonder if Paradox even has the guts to cancel doomed projects like this. We have seen the shit level of quality Paradox and Hardsuit thought was good enough for the E3 a year ago and the game was torn to pieces in the comment sections for good reasons. the game and they were obviously unable to produce a build good enough to be presented since all we got this year was a trailer. So at this point, a producer has only a few options left: continuing the production without any changes and hoping with enough time this will somehow become good, cancel it though it's probably too late for that, or scale it down and start cutting features and levels to at least ship something with an acceptable level of quality.

I think the best way to salvage it would be turning it into a CYOA using the game's dialogue system and call it a day. (Also rewrite entire story, hire MCA)

That would require scrapping everything that has already been done. Might as well cancel the whole project and fund another of those visual novels.

 

[Semiurge]

Paradox pitches BL2 to CDProjekt, CDProjekt catches and Bloodlines 2 is released in 2025 as a glorious blood drenched masterpiece.

 

[compvet24]

Does anyone think they can cancel it at this point? I think Paradox will want to save face by releasing it regardless.