World of Darkness Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 - VTMB sequel from The Chinese Room - coming early 2025

[Roguey]

By the way, what was "Resonance" supposed to mean on the character UI?

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

 

[Wesp5]

The presentation ends, the Paradox producer gets up and leaves without saying a word. The next day, HS receives an email: "You are fired."

The funny thing is, that both Paradox producers connected to Bloodlines 2 already had left Paradox before Mitsoda and HSL were fired...

 

[La vie sexuelle]

By the way, what was "Resonance" supposed to mean on the character UI?

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

Thank you.

It looks like something between JRPG gems and poor crafting.

The presentation ends, the Paradox producer gets up and leaves without saying a word. The next day, HS receives an email: "You are fired."

The funny thing is, that both Paradox producers connected to Bloodlines 2 already had left Paradox before Mitsoda and HSL were fired...

Did they manage to escape the consequences of their decisions or were they simply forced to leave?

Anyway, it does not matter.

I heard that they are going to reveal the clans from January. I wonder if they will change the set. I wonder if the Malkavians are still with us?

 

[Delterius]

JRPG gems

could you be less specific

 

[Storyfag]

I can't find these videos anywhere, do you have a link?

I found this link: https://www.goha.ru/25-minut-igrovo...masquerade-bloodlines-2-do-perezapuska-lWOJKQ

I finally see this gameplay. Huh, even finished, this game would look at best like "House Party" with a bad combat module (and much less fun).

I like the environments. Lots of nice details. Hell, even the lets-play-it-safe-and-make-a-ripoff-of-Ocean-House sequence is ok. However, calling the combat "bad" is being gentle. It is atrocious! The lip sync on that guard in the first vid is terrible as well. If there were no improvements, I can see why Paradox wasn't happy.

 

[deuxhero]

Lip sync is typically one of the last thing done in games since that's likely to change. Indeed, most VA until just before release will typically be team members doing placeholder like this

 

[Moink]

I heard that they are going to reveal the clans from January. I wonder if they will change the set. I wonder if the Malkavians are still with us?

Clan reveals are meant to be between now and the end of the year, at least according to the website:

Between today and the end of 2023, we will reveal all playable clans in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2. In the opening months of 2024, we will reveal gameplay and go into depth on disciplines, playstyles and the experience of playing the game as each clan.

Guessing they will start in October (Halloween).

 

[La vie sexuelle]

I heard that they are going to reveal the clans from January. I wonder if they will change the set. I wonder if the Malkavians are still with us?

Clan reveals are meant to be between now and the end of the year, at least according to the website:

Between today and the end of 2023, we will reveal all playable clans in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2. In the opening months of 2024, we will reveal gameplay and go into depth on disciplines, playstyles and the experience of playing the game as each clan.

Guessing they will start in October (Halloween).

Oh, I messed it up again. You're right.

JRPG gems

could you be less specific

Gems.

I can't find these videos anywhere, do you have a link?

I found this link: https://www.goha.ru/25-minut-igrovo...masquerade-bloodlines-2-do-perezapuska-lWOJKQ

I finally see this gameplay. Huh, even finished, this game would look at best like "House Party" with a bad combat module (and much less fun).

I like the environments. Lots of nice details. Hell, even the lets-play-it-safe-and-make-a-ripoff-of-Ocean-House sequence is ok. However, calling the combat "bad" is being gentle. It is atrocious! The lip sync on that guard in the first vid is terrible as well. If there were no improvements, I can see why Paradox wasn't happy.

Personally, I don't really like the artistic direction they chose. According to the latest trends in technology, we see many, too many streaks of light and flashes. It reminds me too much of cheap horror games on Steam, whose creators want to show what they can do at all costs and end up overdoing it. It still looks okay on the streets, but if the rooms are divided into "white foggy" and "just yellow" then something is wrong.

If I feel any loss from this build, it's that busty lady from the trailer.

 

[notpl]

i also disagree with the notion that bloodlines wasn't an action rpg. the combat wasn't good. but i'm pretty sure that drinking people dry in combat, exploding them into blood, stealth sections, and so much more. people who play bloodlines 1 don't say wow i wish this was a novel instead. they wish it was made with better tech.

Yeah, I've seen multiple people in multiple places hype up Night Road as the best VtM since Bloodlines. But who's actually playing?

11.0 k .. 30.4 k on reviews
~63.7 k by PlayTracker
~16.6 k by VG Insights
~55.0 k by SteamSpy

Like I said, I have extreme doubts that Paradox would take their biggest VtM property and make it more like one of the other less-successful properties (whether Night Road or Redemption).

Night Road is fucking dogshit. Clan reactivity is nonexistent, all the disciplines are just "pay 1 vitae to auto-pass a skill check," you pick one of a couple endings with a single choice at the last moment. It's genuinely less reactive and freeform than Bloodlines itself, a fully 3d action-rpg made in 2004, and all they had to do was write some mediocre prose. Couldn't possibly have taken the author longer than a weekend to crank it out, I kind of admire the brass fucking balls to charge $20 for it as though it were even on the level of a bad indie game.

It barely even has dialogue, really. Comparing it to Bloodlines is absurd.

 

[La vie sexuelle]

i also disagree with the notion that bloodlines wasn't an action rpg. the combat wasn't good. but i'm pretty sure that drinking people dry in combat, exploding them into blood, stealth sections, and so much more. people who play bloodlines 1 don't say wow i wish this was a novel instead. they wish it was made with better tech.

Yeah, I've seen multiple people in multiple places hype up Night Road as the best VtM since Bloodlines. But who's actually playing?

11.0 k .. 30.4 k on reviews
~63.7 k by PlayTracker
~16.6 k by VG Insights
~55.0 k by SteamSpy

Like I said, I have extreme doubts that Paradox would take their biggest VtM property and make it more like one of the other less-successful properties (whether Night Road or Redemption).

Night Road is fucking dogshit. Clan reactivity is nonexistent, all the disciplines are just "pay 1 vitae to auto-pass a skill check," you pick one of a couple endings with a single choice at the last moment. It's genuinely less reactive and freeform than Bloodlines itself, a fully 3d action-rpg made in 2004, and all they had to do was write some mediocre prose. Couldn't possibly have taken the author longer than a weekend to crank it out, I kind of admire the brass fucking balls to charge $20 for it as though it were even on the level of a bad indie game.

11,79 euromoney for text game? Pff!

 

[RagingNomad]

Dev Diary Finally something

 

[Moink]

When we were exploring combat, it started off playing like Dishonored (which we love), but that didn’t feel right for a vampire: players were very cautious and afraid of the enemies they encountered. To us, a Kindred should stalk its prey and strike fearlessly like a predator. We want to build an action experience where players feel confident, almost trolling the enemies with their disciplines. Testers use the phrase “playing with your food,” which we love and illustrates how we think a Vampire: The Masquerade ARPG should feel has come up in playthroughs.

Most action games offer a power fantasy; I like to call ours a confidence fantasy. When you have a supernatural edge and immortality to back you up, there should be a sense of “I know what is going on and, I can control this situation.” We want to give you the tools to do that in combat, conversations, or travelling across the city. When they come together, you should be immersed in the feeling of being a Vampire.

Not sure I like the sound of this honestly.

 

[Child of Malkav]

An imsim VTMB sounds very fun but only Arkane would have been able to do that. Not now though.

 

[Roguey]

BamHam is more appropriate for a vampire game than Dishonored.

 

[Delterius]

indirect burn on the mitsodastans once again as the chinese room meangirls say that we aren't in thinblood county anymore

get in the car loser we are playing with our food

 

[Hellraiser]

BamHam is more appropriate for a vampire game than Dishonored.

WTF is a BamHam?

 

[Delterius]

BamHam is more appropriate for a vampire game than Dishonored.

WTF is a BamHam?

i think its american for sandwich

 

[Cross]

When we were exploring combat, it started off playing like Dishonored (which we love), but that didn’t feel right for a vampire: players were very cautious and afraid of the enemies they encountered. To us, a Kindred should stalk its prey and strike fearlessly like a predator.

Dishonored was already a player fantasy. If they regarded that as too hardcore an experience, it's basically a confirmation that the combat in Bloodlines 2 will be braindead.

With non-combat gameplay, we found early on we were doing the RPG tropes: find a keycard to open a door, turn on a generator to restore power to a lift. We put in a rule that the non-combat gameplay should be about something only a vampire could do; keep it aspirational.

No mention of stealth, lockpicking, hacking or any other non-combat skills. My earlier prediction about this being a glorified action game looks increasingly accurate.

They could do lots of interesting things with the Disciplines, like letting you use Animalism to take control of a rat or insect to scout ahead. I'm not holding out much hope though.

 

[Cricket McBangle]

BamHam is more appropriate for a vampire game than Dishonored.

WTF is a BamHam?

Batman: Arkham series.

 

[Storyfag]

indirect burn on the mitsodastans once again as the chinese room meangirls say that we aren't in thinblood county anymore

get in the car loser we are playing with our food

May Caine smile upon TCR.

 

[La vie sexuelle]

Throughout development, we’ve been regulars in Stockholm at World of Darkness HQ to discuss and align the opportunities for stories, characters, gameplay and crossovers that this IP gives us as creators and fans.

Ha! Finally some control from Paradox. Good.

 

[Roguey]

My earlier prediction about this being a glorified action game looks increasingly accurate.

Saying this in response to a paragraph about non-combat gameplay is very tunnel-visioned.

 

[Cross]

My earlier prediction about this being a glorified action game looks increasingly accurate.

Saying this in response to a paragraph about non-combat gameplay is very tunnel-visioned.

That paragraph described the player pulling a lever and using a keycard to open a door. Is Doom an RPG now?

They could just come out and say something like "stealth is improved and you can now carry bodies, unlike the first Bloodlines". They aren't because all signs point to this being a glorified action game.

 

[whydoibother]

all signs point to this being a glorified action game

All signs being keycards and levers?

 

[Atlantico]

My earlier prediction about this being a glorified action game looks increasingly accurate.

Saying this in response to a paragraph about non-combat gameplay is very tunnel-visioned.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

I hope this will be a good game, but until I try it and find out, there's no way of knowing. Until now we've had exactly nothing solid to base any opinion on, just rumors and speculations. The dev diaries will give more insight, but ultimately it will have to be the final product once released.

Our next Dev Diary will be about the “Narrative Themes and Atmosphere.” You will learn more about our Neo-Noir thriller story and how the World of Darkness threatens to spill over into the mortal world… In just two weeks!