This is NOT schizo shill thread (trust me).Clan poll: https://strawpoll.com/eJnvV579xnvlast: >>723188471
>>723224783i've got a poll for you :^)
>no Tzimisce Sad.
Sorry, I'm buying NG4 instead.Why, yes, VtMB is my favorite game of all time, how did you know?
>>723224783Okay, okay, let's get this out of the way:It's gonna be greatI played it last year at Gamescom and I HAD A BLASTIt truly is a return to form
They just updated the Steam screenshots. It sounds like review codes have already been sent out a few days ago.
>>7232298963 generals in a row lmao.Jannies really don't care about this place huh they just use it for porn and anime
>>723224783pirate day 1? or it has some denuvo shit?
>>723224783No playable nosferatu, no buy. No one gives a shit about the banu to begin with
>>723229896
>>723224783Someone on the Codex has played it.
>>723230331
>>723230371>it's bad because it's a "static open world" like VTMB>it's 2025 now, not 2004I'm not sure which is dumber. That the retard in your image felt the need to write what he did, or that you felt that it was worthy of screencapping and posting here.
>>723230331>>723230375Looks...pretty decent actually. If they managed to nail the holiday atmosphere it would be a great win for them. Atmosphere is half of what made VtmB a cult classic. Music also, though i don't have any great expectations there.
>>723230371Some of that doesn't really make sense because in the first two hours there are multiple times your clan is mentioned, the backstories you told Fabien are mentioned by Lou, and there are multiple opportunities to use clan-specific dialog options. It has more clan-specific dialog and more clan reactivity than Bloodlines 1, which had basically none.
>>723230371All of this was pretty obvious to anyone paying attention.>written by 2025 hacksOf course the writing would be shit.>no choices, no consequencesOf course not, you're playing the story of some millenial faggot, your choices don't matter, what they want to say does.>Fabien doesn't shut up, destroys atmosphere and mysteryMillenial writing just NEEDS to be quippy and ironic, and they put a woohoo so wacky Malk in your head. Put two and two together.
>>723230493Codex seems a bit schizo about the game because they seem to believe that the game has nothing in common with Bloodlines, but they're also upset that it is basically the same as Bloodlines. (Structurally at least.) What this really boils down to is them being upset that the CRPG stuff has been stripped out.
>>723230502>glitzy intro promises things the rest of the game doesn't deliverGood thing we've never seen that before.
>>723230550Achievements confirmed five endings.
>>723230375
Are there player havens in this? Will clan choice affect which one you get? Or are there only clan specific elysiums?
>>723230601Yes, I bet it'll have five endings, the same way Cyberpunk had five endings. Linear game, followed by a single branch picked in dialogue right at the end, with a marginally different first half of the final mission.
>>723230643You mean like Bloodlines?
Okay but where are the sluts? All the girls have corpo approved outfits.
>>723230690God forbid they make any progress in the 21 years since a janky, rushed game by a dying developer came out.
>>723230735It takes place during a snowstorm in the winter which is their in-story justification why everyone's covered up.
Is it still possible that VTMB 2 will end up being good?
>>723230765Those were experienced RPG developers making an incredibly overscoped project. These are inexperienced devs trying to make the most polished game they can.
>>723230801No. At best it's an inferior copy of the original. Except most people haven't even played that one since it's 20+ years old at this point.
>>723230825I know which of those two projects I'd play.
>>723230801More like "good enough" at best
>>723224783Wtf, where did the thread with the plushie go?
>>723230801shoulda just been named VTM: Nomad and it would have gotten way better reactions.
>>723230825So by your standards, their sequel (which is all but guaranteed to have multiple times the budget that VtMB had, even accounting for studio changes) doesn't have to exceed a 21 year old janky, rushed game made by a dying studio?
>>723230643Supposedly (and I could be wrong) the endings are influenced by which characters you allied yourself with throughout the story. That's where the social dynamics come in. Did you side with the anarchs throughout the story? Did you side with the camarilla? Did you listen to Tolly's paranoia? Did you suck up to Lou?There seem to be five primary endings, but apparently the game has 12 endings, and the endings were expanded when BL2 was delayed to 2025.
>>723230889All right, have fun with The Outer Worlds 2 or Clockwork Revolution which is where most of those Bloodlines devs ended up.
>>723224783Did they cut this guy out? I haven't seen him at all considering he was on the box art of the hardsuit labs version>>723230626You do get a haven not sure if you get different ones depending on clan but I think you can customize it
>>723230946Then people would have been mad at being told that VTMB2's assets had been used to make VTM Nomad and no, Bloodlines 2 is never happening, and the storyline of Bloodlines continues in Nomad.
>>723230981Those endings smack of "final dialogue choice right at the end, each unlocked by doing a single, non-exclusive sidequest for each character".
>>723230778Well I hope they don't expect me to pay then. All the politically correct types can pick up the tab.
>>723230953You have to start somewhere. The Outer Worlds had six times the budget as Bloodlines, you'd have to ask Tim Cain what's happening with game development.
>>723230626Same haven you had in the Hardsuit version, oddly. Just re-set-dressed. Not sure what happens later in the game because some of the concept art seemed to imply an attack on your haven.
>>723224783>mfw this is my begrudging day 1 play because I have to see just how bad it is
I never played the first game I might get to enjoy this game
>>723230147>Implying jannoids aren't in on it
>>723231043Yeah, Mr. Damp/Vandal Cleaver is gone, he was Mitsoda's pet character.
>>723224783Big VTMB fan here, not buying this garbage, the combat also looks like your generic ue5 slop >>723230801fuck no lmao>>723230147We dont have active mods, its just a bunch of loser jannies reporting posts and threads that they dont like, literal bottom of the barrel moderation
>>723230569It's a huge misstep.With how popular BG3 was years ago, you'd think retards would learn that people can enjoy CRPG elements if you just give them characters they like to interact with and throw in some token romance trash in there, too. If there's any game ever where the player can seduce a bunch of characters, it's the one where you play a fucking vampire. A Toreador playthrough would be indistinguishable from the exact type of BioWare Tumblromance trash normgroids and trannies eat up, while allowing the rest of us to ignore it and play without that or just romance the qt3.14s we like or rape them for fun as a Nosferatu, but that'll never happen, even though you're playing a literal parasite monster of the night.
>>723230981You can (probably) embrace the leader of the IAO, so I wonder how that factors into the endings.
It's gonna be greatIt's gonna be greatIt's gonna be greatIt's gonna be greatIt's gonna be greatI played it last year at Gamescom and I HAD A BLAST
>>723231208Paradox itself didn't like the crpg elements, they wanted a visceral "you really feel like a vampire and never do anything that doesn't feel vampiric" experience.
>>723231208>With how popular BG3 was years ago, you'd think retards would learn that people can enjoy CRPG elements if you just give them characters they like to interact with and throw in some token romance trash in there, too. If there's any game ever where the player can seduce a bunch of characters, it's the one where you play a fucking vampire. A Toreador playthrough would be indistinguishable from the exact type of BioWare Tumblromance trash normgroids and trannies eat up, while allowing the rest of us to ignore it and play without that or just romance the qt3.14s we like or rape them for fun as a Nosferatu, but that'll never happen, even though you're playing a literal parasite monster of the night.VTM Swansong showed that no, people do not want VTMB to be a CRPG. They want VTMB to be a first person action RPG with perfunctory RPG elements.
>>723230569It's not as irreconcilable as you may think. Basically, it's both too much like BL1 without accounting for the fact 20 years have passed since, but also missing out on things because it was made by devs familiar only with walking sims.
>>723231208>With how popular BG3 was years ago>years ago
>>723231282Paradox didn't give a shit. They just wanted Deus Ex Human Revolution with vampires. When TCR wanted to make BioShock/Dishonored with vampires instead, they were onboard with that, too.
>>723231284thing that swansong showed was that people ONLY care about getting bloodlines 2 out of the entirety of world of darkness games
>>723231294It doesn't explain why they had no issue with Hardsuit's game being more or less the same. It sorta feels like all they cared about was its (completely non-functional, it was all vertical slice nonsense) stat sheets and dialogue skill checks.
>>723231323They were fine with a sequel that played like Bloodlines until they actually got a chance to play it. Incredibly hands-off and then incredibly hands-on.
>>723231360(Swansong admirer here). Swansong showed that Nacon are fucking retards and holy shit I wish Paradox, for all their problems, had published it instead. So much good stuff sullied by so much idiotic bullshit and incompetence.
It's gonna be a blast at gamescom last year I had a goty moment, great
>>723231376>It sorta feels like all they cared about was its (completely non-functional, it was all vertical slice nonsense) stat sheets and dialogue skill checks.Yes? Because those showed they actually cared more for the crunch, stats, ruleset, however you want to call it, side of the game. Of course, this is RPG Codex. They saw a character sheet and got an instant hard-on.
This screenshot lines up with the achievement leaks.
>>723231428>Swansong admirer hereAre you... HIM?
>>723231284>They want VTMB to be a first person action RPG with perfunctory RPG elementsNobody wants this.Nobody is willing to pay for this.It'll sell a few copies because goth gamer nation has nothing to buy this year and enough zoomers have money and only watched videos about the original and don't know any better.
>>723231426Hardsuit's game was so much worse than Bloodlines 1. At least Bloodlines 1 is kinda functional. Bloodlines 2 under Hardsuit was a cluster of vertical slices with no coherent design direction. The leaked footage from Artstation is after the E3 demo, and it paints an alarming picture of a game where nobody involved had any clue what they were making.
VTMB wasn't that good, it was just carried by the VA performances and script. This just need to do the same thing.
>>723231164Mitsoda may be overrated, but them cutting Avellone loose was their biggest mistake. Both of them together could have done something presentable. I blame Hardsuit, they're dilettantes who never did anything of value by themselves. If only a more competent studio was chosen, the whole thing wouldn't have imploded into development hell. But alas...
>>723231574>goth gamer nationda fuq
The fact that main character's name is fucking Phyre just completely kills it for me. It's so embarrassing. It's not even edgy, it's just so incredibly lame, and that's supposed to be your insanely powerful ancient vampire badass? With a name that sounds like a 15 year old fat black chick trying to become a soundcloud rapper? No.
>>723230801I'm worried it's going to be 75% good, 25% "ehh...." The claims that sidequests are filler content concern me because sidequests having interesting narratives is really important. I'm worried that the studio might have been spread too thin. I'm worried that the game might be padded out with combat in a way that feels annoying. I'm worried about its ability to nail the character arcs and feeling of player agency and consequence. I think it looks good, I'm really hopeful, but there are a lot of ways it could drop the ball next week.
>>723231587Yeah, it had multiple issues, both that it wasn't coming together and that Paradox had changed their minds mid-development and wanted a different gameplay experience.>"I actually played Bloodlines 1 quite recently, and it is a good game, but it is also an old game, and there are many things that would not fly today," Lilja said. "But I understand why people were super psyched by it in 2004, because it had a lot of cool [elements], and the feeling of being a vampire is really strong, regardless of other features. But I think people, they remember their feelings about it. And if they replayed it, I think they would see that it's a competently good game by 2004 standards, now that it's patched.>"But mainly we want to clarify that we're making a spiritual successor, not an actual same blueprint type of game, so people don't get disappointed and feel cheated," Lilja went on. "We really don't want that."
>>723231587Their biggest mistake was to show gameplay and to give out review copies.
>>723231661It's not the elder's real name
>>723231731Doesn't really matter when that's the name used throughout the game, is it?
>>723231587
>>723231661>>723231715>>723231758You will be ashamed of your words and deeds.
>>723231681What morons.I went through the trouble of setting up a controller configuration for VtMB1 for my annual replay, and I realized the combat is actually not even bad. You have a special directional attack, and it follow the Japanese principle of rooting the character when attacking, which actually feels good when you're not using a mouse and keyboard to do melee combat.
>>723231284>VTM Swansong showed that no, people do not want VTMB to be a CRPG.They don't want a visual novel.
>>723231508
>>723231635Avellone says that Hardsuit/Mitsoda rejected everything he submitted. They let his contract end without renewal because it would just continue to be a waste of money, they only wanted him on board for "RPG credibility" to get the pitch approved.The idea was all Mitsoda and his buddy Cluney's idea. Hardsuit wasn't set up to make RPGs, but they convinced the CEO it would be a good idea and he got dollar signs in his eyes, squeezed Paradox for as much as he could for five years.
>>723231834I'm gonna go out on a limb and say no, I won't be. I'm pretty confident that this game is going to be shit. Oh sure, it'll get its share of tasteless normies, shit eaters, and contrarians, but that won't change the facts.
HOOLY HYPE
>>723231847Swansong really isn't that. It's on the other end where RPG elements end up being a detriment to the adventure half of the game.
>>723231847Swansong isn't a visual novel. It's an obstuse, "crunchy" RPG with dice rolls and stat sheets for every action. It tries to recreate the tabletop experience... and is completely obnoxious.
>>723231970IT'S GONNA BE GREAT I HAD A BLAST FROM THE ASS AT GAMESCOOOOOOOOM
>>723231909What a shame. Avellone is really good at stories about competing motiviations and the nature of morality/different psychological drives. Now that who gets to work on what is decided to HR ladies with no knowledge of the industry or artform, I doubt any decent writer will ever get hired anywhere again.Guess I have to start traveling to Spain to meet Larian and CDPR reps in person to try getting a foot in the door or something.
>>723224783would just like to applaud your spam as I will now be filtering everything vtmb2 related because of (You)
>>723231995>>723232019Oh wild it looked like a VN.
>>723230331Painfully bland rhomboid UI strikes yet again
Based on interviews and footage, I think the story Mitsoda and the writing team wanted to tell was complete rubbish. But I would very much like to see all the material from it released someday.That version of Bloodlines 2 was going in a kind of grungy urban fantasy direction. The new Bloodlines is extremely disassociated from the "being drawn into the World of Darkness" vibe that really sold HSL's VTMB2 to people.
>>723231947I assume that there's a big Venom Snake-tier twist where everything about "Phyre" suddenly makes sense.
>>723232157HSL's Bloodlines 2 was made before V5 was released. Now every WoD title has to adhere to what V5's established.
>>723232074People see "no combat" and they jump to "VN". The part I find interesting is how Bloodlines 2 ended up leaning so hard into combat, so much so that they reversed course and added Fabien so there would be more walking sim stuff to break up the action. They're a studio known for walking sims. So why was their instinct to make Bloodlines 2 so action oriented? And will it be a problem for reception?
>>723231909Bleak indeed. Any other competent studio with Avellone as the main writer would have been resulted in a good game already released half a decade ago. What a shitshow. They could have even given the game to Owlcat, i wouldn't mind an isometric CRPG in the WoD universe. They're already stepping up to make their own Mass Effect with big budget.
>>723230550It's all so tiresome.
Not gonna lie, this is looking like it could be better than VTMB 1. Surprise sleeper hit vibes.
>>723231639grimCHADS in this thread?
>>723232307It's what the publisher wanted plus TCR had already expressed an interest in becoming "the Naughty Dog of the UK," after they got acquired by Sumo Digital, making action-adventures that sell well and get acclaim.
>>723224783why the lasombra?
>>723232457I think it'll be better in a few ways, worse in others. Different set of compromises. But at the same time I don't see it suffering a huge quality drop in the second half like Bloodlines 1 did. It's crazy that we're talking about the endings of 2 and how much quests might be reactive. Bloodlines 1 is a game where (bless it) people primarily talk about the first 4 hours. Because everything after that goes downhill so fast. The cult reputation is built on the sheer vibes of Santa Monica.
>>723232042CDPR is also tainted, all the talent left after Witcher 3, leaving only DEI hires and women. Larian and Owlcat are the only competent RPG devs left, sadly.
What is the appeal of being a vampire? sounds like a female ass fantasty.
>>723230502It's not that hard to have a game's beginning contain higher levels of reactivity.
>>723231069Having a world of darkness char in your other world of darkness game doesn't mean it has to be a direct sequel anon. This just isn't a bloodlines game and the name is a detriment.
>>723232582Downtown and Hollywood are also good, it all goes downhill once it's time to enter the sewers.
>>723232613I too can lie on the internet
>>723232484I wonder what happens to TCR next. They were so desperate to work on original IP. (Allegedly they were forced by Sumo to work on VTMB2.) But given their current financial state, some people within the company must be hoping they'll get a contract to make Bloodlines 3. Just as Bloober must have been so grateful when Konami approached them to make more Silent Hill.
>>723232647How is it not a Bloodlines game? People seem really wishy-washy about this.
>>723230331There's only 4 ability slots?Meh
>>723232692I don't dislike Downtown and Hollywood, but I always felt that there was a distinct drop in polish, quality, and focus. Downtown begins to introduce obnoxious quests with long stretches of terrible combat. Really, VTMB1 first hits the skids with the first boss fight. It's not terrible, but it's the first time you're really aware of design problems. Santa Monica is this great slice of the game that later chapters never really live up to.
>>723231209It'd be funny if it only made things worse for you. It's not like government goons are hard to replace, you might end up with someone more hardcore
Why don't you all just play the ttrpg instead?
>>723230371This dude leaked his Veilguard impressions a year ago btw, so he's credible.
>>723232891IMO it's better than what Hardsuit did, which was have one ability enabled at a time. That said, I don't know how flexible the options are in terms of what you can have enabled at the same time.
>>723232946Because it's dogshit, and the players are even worse.
Get ready to see trannies spam their female self insert Phyre when the game releasesTroons love avatarfagging ad the woman they wish they were
>>723232704It's public knowledge, retard. There were massive flood of people leaving CDPR after TW3. >>723232708It now depends on how BL2 performs on release. It's make or break. But i can honestly see that they're trying their best, that is however sadly, is not always enough for success. We only can wait and see.
>>723232946I enjoy TTRPGs but WoD attracts mostly very odd weirdos and you can't just start a TTRPG when you have some random, unexpected downtime.
>>723232952He claims there's no interesting characters, but I see Safia and I immediately want to fuck her, so...
>>723231635Mitsoda is fine. I'm tired of the schizo trying to retcon history and make him a villain.
>>723233240Mitsoda was washed up. Not the first celebrity game dev to face this.
how many copies of vtmb2 will i be able to shove up my ass
It's gonna be great
>>723230981The fact you can put Lou "Tremere aren't real vampires" Graham on the throne despite her being a shameless bigot IMO shows that the studio know what they're doing. A studio like BioWare would never let you side with the gleeful anti-reformist who wishes it was the 1920s at all times.
>>723233240If this >>723231909 is true, then he's the one to blame for this whole debacle. Bit more than he could chew, swindled the publisher, butted heads with Avellone, who is much more experienced that he and is a much better writer, hired an incompetent dev team and acted like everything is fine while the money flew his way, until it was obvious that the whole thing is so bad it must be redone from the ground up. Mitsoda is a hack with big ego and nothing to show for it. Fuck him.
>>723232946I have. WoD just gathers a lot of weirdoes, and frankly, I prefer CRPGs to TTRPGs.
>>723232619Stealth is cool. Blood magic and shit is cool. Vampires are sneaky blood lovers. That fantasy is cool.
>>723233665>I prefer CRPGs to TTRPGs.
If Bloodlines 2 is a success it will inspire imitators, which would be great. Good story-driven vampire games, especially ones with hot female protagonists, are rare.
>>723232946Literally no one to play with.
>>723233818Just fucking give the rights to Owlcat along with a good chunk of money, they've proven they can deliver again and again on licensed IPs, their only problem is that their ambitions overshadow their means. But it's a good thing actually, just provide the means and they will deliver. Like Sven pouring all his fortune into BG3's development paid off immensly.
>VTMB2 is good imsim now without any bloated clunky surface level rpg slop of the original while still retaining good writing and atmosphere >this is bad according to boomers
>>723233529Also destroyed his marriage by having sex with the radfem activist he insisted on being his Bloodlines 2 co-writer.
>>723234071I don't want an Owlcat-style game. Look at Shadowrun. I want Shadowrun to be an FPS. I don't want it to be an isometric RPG.
>>723234028Play with me. I only play at nights though, hope that's ok.
>>723233128>SafiaIs it confirmed you can romance her?
>>723234168Eh, it absolutely has im-sim influence, but it's more of a BioShock-style imsim than a Deus Ex/Thief style one. It has a particular fixation on making you kill everyone in order to proceed, and sure, you get to kill people with all sorts of abilities, but you still have to kill them.That said, maybe forcing the player to kill is better than letting them pussyfoot about morality.
>>723234281I do want Shadowrun to be an isometric RPG.I want anything decent with Shadowrun; that IP has been in limbo for years due to licensing.
>>723234317You can flirt with her pretty much immediately, and she gets flustered, but allegedly she is the game's twist villain -- I think she might be The Gardener -- so I doubt there's an ending where she's by your side as your "agreeable companion" as the achievement puts it.
>>723234258who the fuck goes around with leather mittens like some race driver from 1923?
>>723233128Lot of people just aren't going to like Millennial/Young Adult fiction writing. Safia's mannerisms are straight out of a YA book.
>>723234486He says he has social anxiety and that's his armor.
>>723234168We shall see in a week if it's good or not. Writing is certainly wouldn't be up to par with the original VtmB, that much is obviously. Could be good atmosphere and fun combat though, finger crossed.
>>723224783Holy shit that guy got skibidi'd
>>723234430Imagine if they pull a Dragon's Dogma and your "companion" ends up being the character you did the most sidequests for, so half the playerbase ends up with the pawn shop owner showing up at the end.
>>723234168>imsimit is not an imsim
>>723234685Neither 1 nor 2 are true imsims, but they both imitate imsims to varying degrees.
>>723232946I've been the local permaDM for WoD games since V1. To the point I'm now being sent newbies that want to play VtM even when I'm not actively running a game.CRPGS are basically my only chance of being at the other side of the table. Fuck, the last VtM game I played not as a DM was a one shot made specifically by a friend just so I could.>>723233529>If this is true, then he's the one to blame for this whole debacleI think the responsabilities are shared: the HSL head(s) clearly grew their studio too big, too fast, in ways they weren't ready to handle ; Paradox took a hands off approach and let them cook - it was way too trusting and only realized the extent of how bads things really were until it was too late ; Mitsoda took things to heart and made it so personal, so entrenched with his own identity he lost the ability to step back when necessary.If anything, I think the whole mess is a testament to how collective artistic creation beyond being a simple product is hard, and it's a miracle when things don't go south. And we don't appreciate it enough when things do go right.
>>723234646>Writing is certainly wouldn't be up to par with the original VtmB, that much is obviously.I wonder about this. What if the writing is superior across the board? How would we measure that? When you make a game sequel with a different writing style that's always contentious. Like Dragon Age vs Dragon Age Inquisition. Or The Darkness vs The Darkness 2.
>>723234885what makes 2 an imsim? it's looking more like an action game with some dialogue sections. from what i've read most of the gameplay is just forced combat.
>>723230502>bloodlines had no clan reactivityPeople actually believe this? Access to dominate and dementation alone is more reactivity than is in the entirety of 2 but also>nos playthrough is unique because ugly>malks get fun dialogs and foreshadowing, also voiced reaction to their absurdity>characters regularly comment on your particulars>can bring up clans often to your detriment ala tremere gargoyleIt wasn't in your face like>[Lasombra] We skibbidy in the shadowsBut it was there
>>723235013>What if the writing is superior across the board?Wishful thinking. It's Impossible to do in an RPG that has a voiced protag. Show me a single RPG with a voiced protag with writing better than the old-school non-voiced ones? The Witcher 3? Much of the actual writing was done by Sapkowski in the books, they just faithfully copied it.
>>723235108NTA, but there's a modicum of very simple systemic gameplay with the hunting/humours. You can get people in certain moods and then let crowds go crazy.Simple exemple we've seen is getting an NPC in rage mode to attack you in the open streets then let the cops deal with the aggressor.
>>723235108Via osmosis because it mimics games like Dishonored and Dark Messiah. It's about giving players 30+ abilities that can be used in conjunction and interact in different ways. It's a game where you can possess any enemy and make them leap off a cliff. Where you can kiss enemies and make them fight for you, while you freeze time and circle behind to chop of someone's head and then use their head as a projectile via telekinesis. Any NPC can be disarmed and their gun used against them, or others. There's a clear effort put in to make the way combat/stealth/etc. works be reactive and systems-driven to the degree the design allows. You anger a pedestrian. They attack you. The police shoot them dead. That sort of thing.Bloodlines 1 and 2 both imitate immersive sims, but are not really immersive sims themselves. Bloodlines 1 imitates Deus Ex but completely lacks the reactive AI or complex game mechanics required to make a Deus Ex clone actually work.
>>723230331>>723230375looks good
>>723231284>Swansong>crpgLol
>>723230147>anon sees some gay shit>has to suck cocck, can help himselfignore the thread if you're so triggered, faggot
>>723224783I'll just reread the original and superior version of the lore instead
>>723235261>Access to dominate and dementation alone is more reactivity than is in the entirety of 2 but alsoDominate and dementation are not clan reactivity. You have these disciplines in 2, regardless. It's why you can make people forget what you just told them to try again and stuff like that.
>>723230801very possible.
>>723235261It's the same shill that keeps trying to shift focus to "Bloodlines 1 bad, actually" and "Hardsuit Labs version was shit, this is good"Blatantly obvious.
>>723235343Most old school RPGs are not very well written. They're wordy. That doesn't make them well written. Look at something like Dragon Age (baby's first fantasy game) vs Inquisition (for all its flaws, a far more mature and interesting narrative).
>>723235452that doesn't sound like an imsim, it just sounds like an action game with some weapon choices
Is it true that you can use Mass Manipulation and combine it with other disciplines like Cauldron of Blood?
>>723235693That's because it's not. It's the same reason VTMB1 wasn't an im-sim at all. VTMB1 is completely missing the systems-driven part of the immersive sim. It has no consisten
>>723235563Bloodlines 1 isn't bad, far from it. But it isn't flawless either. It's great in spite of it's flaws. Same thing could happen with Bloodlines 2, though the chances are slim. Good enough would be enough, after all this game has been through.
>>723235563Bloodlines 1, like a lot of cult classics, is a set of great ideas wrapped in some dismally executed ones. Fans are overprotective of it. Perhaps understandably.
>>723230371Sounds about right
>>723235609>They're wordyJust read, nigga. >Dragon Age (baby's first fantasy game) vs Inquisition (for all its flaws, a far more mature and interesting narrative).Oh you're retarded. DAO is great, Inquisition is mediocre at best.
>>723235929I replayed Origins recently, and I love Morrigan, I love the dark fantasy tone, but holy hell the game is generic. It's almost childish.
>>723230801Haven't you heard? It's gonna be great
>>723235782nobody was claiming 1 was an imsim
>>723235563Bloodlines 1 is atrocious is some parts, gameplay and sewers section.HL vtmb2 was so bad Paradox canned the entire team, including Mitsoda.
>>723230331>>723230375I like the visual atmosphere here but probably just because I'm biased towards snow
>>723236040A lot of VTMB fans believe VTMB is an immersive sim. It's one of those arguments that never really made sense, but it gained a lot of traction.
>>723235885vtmb fans will readily admit the game is flawed and unfinished and was buggy and whatever you want to say but i guess it mindbreaks some people that the game was still loved and they're not all excited about 2
>>723236118ok but nobody was claiming 1 is an imsim in this thread
>>723235885>Fans are overprotective of ityeah it's really easy to say that about any fanbase ever even when it's not really true since you can stretch the meaning of "overprotective" however you please
>>723236118sounds like they're the kind of "fans" who would probably really enjoy playing it for the first time
>>723236132No, they try to deflect and claim that VTMB1 was rushed and unfinished. They are highly resistant to criticisms such as:>The gameplay isn't good.>None of the RPG stuff is good.>The writing is a mixed bag, and a lot of the characters seem completely one dimensional, and most of the dialogue consists of you saying a line, and then the character infodumping for 3 minutes.>Dialogue options don't seem to do anything. They seem like set dressing over basically identical responses.I've finished VTMB a few times, and I really like it, but fans have always tried to make the game out to be more than it manages to be.
>>723234168>imsim with linear levelsMaybe in the most broad sense
>>723236352>claim that VTMB1 was rushed and unfinishedBecause it was?
>this whole fucking threadthis is going to bomb hard like avowed. fuck leftards, they are a bunch of retards that ruin anything they touch
>>723236414>>imsim with linear levelsIt is open world, to be clear.
>>723235989>It's childish>it's generic That's good. Desire to do something, anything, original just out of spite for the cultural ancestry is a bad, corrupted idea. Post-modernism be damned, it's the entire reason why everything must be le ironic and le randum. It's cultural poison. The poison of the mind.
>>723236352>They are highly resistant to criticisms such as: it's badgee
When I see an old game described as an imsim I assume the person saying was born in 2010 at the absolute earliest.
>>723236437Stop being toxic
>>723236424They try to blame the game's problems on being rushed and unfinished and not on the fact Troika were bad at making games, which is why every single Troika game sucks in the same ways.
They keep showing this version of Phyre instead of the dyke to appeal to chuds (It's working)
>>723236496really nigga?
>>723236521>which is why every single Troika game sucks in the same waysCan you elaborate? They've only made three games and VTMB seems quite a significant departure from Arcanum and The Temple of Elemental Evil, both of which I assume you've played for a considerable amount of time.
>>723236243People literally started crying and seething when they saw the new trailers for the 2nd game because it didn't look like a direct 1:1 sequel to their janky ass 2004 vampire RPG.So yeah, this "fanbase" is pretty overprotective.
>>723236575I'll be playing as a man, though he looks lile a sickly twink. I hope character creation would allow for someone a bit more manly.
>>723233818>Good story-driven vampire games, especially ones with hot female protagonists, are rare.Apparently so, given that this isn't one, either.
>>723236575No it's not. Those piercings are very unattractive.
>>723236589>goes to threads he hates just to seethe>posts RLMYou are the problem.
>>723236589We love VTMB 2 here
>>723236637Every single Troika game is>Overscoped.>Completely unbalanced.Arcanum is completely busted. Just badly thought out at a fundamental design level.
>>723236684>People literally started crying and seething when they saw the new trailersyeah we've see this line literally every time a bad sequel trailer comes out for the past decade. you're running with a pretty generic script here.
>>723236734It's gonna be great
>>723236734"We" shall postpone our judgment untill after "we've" played the game, faggot.
>>723235989And Inquisition isn't? It's borderline on trying to be the avengers, character quips and lack of depth and consequence and all that. Bioware has been like that for a long while though
>>723236720>>723236734this really is the shill thread
>>723236761How so?
>>723236819Liking good video games isn't shilling. VTMB 2 looks great.
>>723236819VtMB2 will be great. Trust me! We're pals, right?
>>723236352>none of the rpg stuff is goodThat's not good faith criticism, it has its issues sure but if it's bad every fallout game is dog too
>>723236637>>723236767Things started getting out of hand when fans started claiming that Hardsuit's absolutely terrible looking Bloodlines sequel that crashed in official demos at E3 and featured combat where the developer playing the game couldn't hit an enemy with a pistol from about 4 feet away looked like a better game than the rebooted version.
>>723236873Liking something you hadn't played yet is retardation akin to being a ninceldo fanboy. Complete brainwashing.
>>723236453The Hub is open world yes but the quest areas are very linear without much going on, having to slaughter everyone kinda feeds into that design
>>723236803Inquisition tries a lot harder to craft complex, three dimensional characters who genuinely believe in their causes. It's one reason why Veilguard is so jarring.
>>723236946Stop posting slurs.
>>723236821The combat is basically not tuned or balanced at all, because they spent so much time dicking around with a lack of focus, and Tim Cain sheepishly admitted as much on his channel.
>>723236906>Things started getting out of hand when fans started claiming>getting out of handWhy are you talking about this like it's an incident? Like you're affected by it?
>>723236521Tropical wasn't bad at making games, they simply had terrible time management which leads to last act rushing and lack of polish, arcane is perfectly decent for a crpg and well written, it just suffers from polish and balance issues
>>723231639>stopped watching his videos when he started putting his leftard politics>go back to see how his channel is>2 hours reviewsholy shit
>>723237007How does the combat compare to VTMB?
>>723236990Make me, emasculated faggot troll.
>>723236902What I mean is that in Bloodlines 1, none of the stat sheet stuff actually makes the game better or more interesting. It just creates a situation where the game gets less fun because you put the "wrong" points in.I often think about the fact that during development, the original Crysis had a complex suit upgrade system where you would scan and integrate alien technology to add features like speed, cloak, armour, and so on to your suit. But they decided to throw all that out and give you access to the speed/cloak/strength immediately at the start of the game, and it was better for it.Bloodlines 1 as a game has an idea of what it wants to be, but it can't executve on that idea well at all, and really should have scrapped or heavily streamlined all the crunchy RPG stuff because it just makes the game worse.
Kill yourself, subhuman shitskin.
>>723237090>trollWe don't use this outdated buzzword here for decades. Go back.
>>723237182it occurs to me this post could truly be directed at anyone in this thread
>>723237253>We
Would any anons like to play the ttrpg vmtb?I could DM altho i dont have that much experience.
>>723237076Arcanum's combat system is split into realtime and turn based, and they're both kind of terrible. (An example of Troika's inability to control scope that defined them as a studio.)
>>723237148I think this is just a form of fomo with needing a charater to be good a everything so that you neither miss out in dialogue anywhere nor get blasted in combat but the game is designed for somewhat specialized characters for replayability. It's a pretty short game, though I agree when it forces you into combat it very much feels like you're being punished for wanting to engage with the roleplay aspects, specifically LA sewers and the museum
>>723236819Someone played it at Gamescom and had a blast, why are you so negative?
If the game is mid I'm gonna be sad because these threads are fun. Imagine if the game is really good and we get daily VTMB1+2 threads for the next 10 years.
>>723237367It's anti-shill anon!
Is it a return to form?
>>723232234I've been thinking that too. I'm willing to bet he's just a straight up Malkavian. The whole Malkavian in your head thing is a double bluff. That's why you can pick any clan to make your character. Just like how the Malkavian bitch in the first one was a Ventrue and a Toreador. Phyre will be a Malkavian + whatever you pick as his two personalities.
>>723237586>>723237367Shill anon x anti-shill anon, The Romance of our Time.
>>723237535Brother, they've shown you more than enough for you to know the game is 100% irredeemable dogshit. You've seen gameplay. You've seen the writing. You've seen the bingo pictures.There is no 'imagining' to do. Just move on.
>>723237719They are the reason why I get into vtmb2 threads. Love to see their schizo ramblings.
>>723237809Stop begging.
>>723230371This Fabien faggot sounds totally insufferable
>>723237340thanks for offering but i feel like new new dm experience with vtm in particular wouldnt be a good one
>>723224783Is the redhead a man or woman?
>>723237994their pronouns are was/were
>>723237809All that stuff looks really good. But sometimes a game looks good initially, but the cracks appear the further you go.
>>723231995>>723232019Swansong doesn't even let you create your own fucking character, the only male literally has gay in his stupid ass name (GAYLEB) and one of the pov characters is of course a hideous fucking negress. Shut the fuck up about that garbage.
>>723231140They have professional video game players for this reason now.You sit down to eat your /v/irgin chow and watch DipshitXtrauma on Twitch play the game for you. He tells you it's great and you should buy it #sponsored, but you've seen the game in action.>>723231284Everyone thinks VTM Swansong is a visual novel. I only realised it had more gameplay than that a few months ago in a VTMB thread here. It's reputation is that and it's even tagged on steam like that.
>>723230375Woulnt even begin to guess this was from a VTMB game, the UI is pure cancer, god this is going to be so shit.
>>723238163It's not a fucking RPG no matter how much idiots try to push it as one. No, I will not choose between retarded preset diversity cast characters.
>>723230801>Is it still possible that VTMB 2 will end up being good?No, fuck no, how do you not understand this at this point.
>>723238078Name a single thing that looks good or you're a the most obvious shill in existence.
VTMB 2 is better than sex.
>>723232260Except rules for playing an Elder don't exist in V5
>>723238163>Everyone thinks VTM Swansong is a visual novel.Where did the idea come from?
>>723230371>>723230371I fukken hate how everyone online, outside of 4chan, has to put on silk gloves to give their 5 cents. Always look for positives in negative aspects, for what? Stop the needless euphemisms and say how it is.If the combat is okayish but suffers from vital factors it isn´t okayish, it´s either mediocre or insufficent.The TLDR is also very fencehopping. Just fucking say it´s boring, shallow or old fashioned.Besides that, It´s exactly what I expected, Fabien is a gay addition for the average normie because they probably couldn´t find the next interactive object to hold triangle for the next round of expostion.Not even sure if i should pirate it but if you´re paying real life money for this shit, you´re the reason why we cant have nice and good games.
>>723238448>Fantastic writing and voice acting.>Combat looks really good. Like a mix of Dishonored and Dark Messiah.>Great music.>Fantastic art direction.>Story seems good, but too early to draw conclusions.
>>723232946VtM LARPers are insufferable in my area
>>723238127There's no relationship between playing a premade or self-created character and playing an RPG. This is just a personal preference. If I play a tabletop oneshot with premade characters, I /am/ playing an RPG, while most PC games with character creation aren't.Which leads to the mess of a genre definition that RPG happens to suffer from in video game forms and ties to the subconversation of Troïka as a dev.Part of the issue /is/ that Troïka made messy games that didn't really knew what exactly they were doing. Other part of the issue is that, as players, there's very different, contadictory hings, things we loved from those games, and the ideal visions we have of what they could have been can vastly vary depending on our preferences.Which is where the old Forge GSN critical tools become useful.
>>723238603You know, when I ask you to name a single thing, I expect examples, not you just saying 'uuuh this is good' to every single facet of the game.Whatever, not sure why I'm wasting keystrokes on an obvious shill. Enjoy your disappointment. You'll learn.
>>723238796What examples do you want? The music is top notch. Not sure what more can be said about it.https://youtu.be/GesFOxic9Q0?si=l-fZSxzEayo8xJnq
>>723230981I'd like to suck up to Lou's big nipples of you know what I mean lol
>>723232946if you think places like discord have a lot of trannies and snowflakes just wait until you meet VTM TTRPG players
>>723238740>There's no relationship between playing a premade or self-created character and playing an RPG. This is just a personal preference. If I play a tabletop oneshot with premade characters, I /am/ playing an RPG, while most PC games with character creation aren't.Wrong. Absolute bullshit. Besides, diversity squad checklist casts like Swansong are NOT better or palatable in any way, regardless of anything else you say. Look at this fucking monstrosity.>Umm akshually it's just personal preferenceNo. Simply, fucking no. Don't even start with that shit when referring to THIS shit.
>>723239076I liked Emem. My main complaint is that she wore the red dress in a single chapter.
>>723238935What is 'top notch' about this?It's a cellist playing a few passages that have no motifs, progression, or real composition to a background of poorly mixed choirs in the back?Are you one of those people that sees 'whoa real instrument whoa music good because real instrument???' like those idiots that insist every track in every souls game is a masterpiece because it's orchestral, even though the vast majority of them are extremely mediocre compositions?
>>723238603>Fantastic writing and voice acting.I could agree with the rest, but no, it's average at best, plus the whole "they/them" thing that really ruins any immersion you might have in the narrative
>>723234168>VTMB2 is good imsim nownigger, neither is it out yet, nor does it look interesting in any way.The modern Rhombus UI fuckery for people who have no artistical talent or vision.The implementation of a yapping NPC commenting every of your steps is absolutely imersion breaking, and you don´t get the option waive on fabien.And then you got the aspect of being a androgynous ancient vampire whos being treated like a greenhorn, very immersive.This shit is the antithesis of good, interesting and deep.
>>723239129This, lol. They made her pretty for exactly one level, what was the point?
>>723224783>borderline cartoonishI fucking hate this new trend of shit just not committing to gore
>>723239016sadly thisi'm still waiting for LLMs to get to the point they can actually enforce written rules so I can have my AI DMor for WoTC/Games Workshop/Paizo to make something like Roll20/Foundry with all the mechanical stuff for maps, character sheets, etc and just have the AI generate/control it all.But I guess all these companies hate money so I doubt there's anything in production, so all we get is indie slop like Greg's Tavern.
>>723239382Anon...
>>723239221>What is 'top notch' about this?It conveys the profound emptiness inside Phyre. It's not an accident that it plays whenever Phyre retreats inside to speak to Fabien, or when she touches the box. She, like the box, is empty. There's a lingering, reverb-filled sorrow.
>>723239256...Do they really not use pronouns? Don't you choose if you're male or female at the start?Fucking hell it keeps getting worse.
>>723239129>I liked Emem.Of course you did.
>>723239256The voice acting is flawless. And the writing is excellent. (At least, it's better than the first Bloodlines.)
>>723239280>The implementation of a yapping NPC commenting every of your steps is absolutely imersion breaking, and you don´t get the option waive on fabien.it'll be like that nu-GoW clip where the game INSTANTLY handholds the player through a task, so far as to say "great! now we can climb up and progress!" when the 'puzzle' was over
>>723239470>Do they really not use pronounsYeah, it's all modern "gender neutral" writing
>>723239408GW doesn't really give a shit about its TRPGs like WFRP or Wang they just outsource it to Cubicle 7, who use Foundry
>>723239280it annoys me that people saw CP2077 do it with Johnny and just assume people want disembodied retards following you aroundthe difference is, CDPR can actually write and Johnny was interesting and didn't just spout quips in your head every 5 seconds
>>723239529Nah, it's not that kind of game. It's more than Fabien goes on rambling anecdotes about chemtrails and stuff.,
>>723239470>identy obsession has taken us from picking male or female and getting a whole game's worth of voice acting specific to that decision...>to picking "type a or type b" and the dialogue is the same awkward bullshit for bothsurely all media being shit will validate the trannies
You know, I usually hate people calling other people shills in 4chan threads because nobody gives a single flying fuck about 4chanBut some of the posts in this thread make me actually believe it. Either that, or the kind of 'people' that can see the material we've been shown about VTMB2 and call ANY of it excellent means this place is legitimately worse than reddit.
>>723239660whatever helps you sleep at night.when the game explicity tells you to shoulder-hover a gun to shoot an explicit target over a locked door or whatever, think of me, won't you please?
>>723230375I am starting to truly despise the "unreal engine look"
>>723239606The Chinese Room literally invented the game genre where you walk in a line and a disembodied voice speaks to you. They didn't get it from Cyberpunk 2077.>Dear Esther. I have burnt my belongings, my books, this death certificate. Mine will be written all across this island. Who was Jakobson, who remembers him? Donnelly has written of him, but who was Donnelly, who remembers him? I have painted, carved, hewn, scored into this space all that I could draw from him. There will be another to these shores to remember me. I will rise from the ocean like an island without bottom, come together like a stone, become an aerial, a beacon that they will not forget you. We have always been drawn here: one day the gulls will return and nest in our bones and our history. I will look to my left and see Esther Donnelly, flying beside me. I will look to my right and see Paul Jakobson, flying beside me. They will leave white lines carved into the air to reach the mainland, where help will be sent.>Dear Esther. I have burned the cliffs of Damascus, I have drunk deep of it. My heart is my leg and a black line etched on the paper all along this boat without a bottom. You are all the world like a nest to me, in which eggs unbroken form like fossils, come together, shatter and send small black flowers to the very air. From this infection, hope. From this island, flight. From this grief, love.
>>723239768samei can't not notice it anymoreeverything looks like fortnite, it's so... weirdly smooth and plastic-y.
>>723239727I'm willing to give the game a chance but some of these posts definitely feel suspect. I doubt its actual shilling and more some schizo trying make posters paranoid with obnoxiously fake posts.
>>723239727shut up schizo.
>>723239759>when the game explicity tells you to shoulder-hover a gun to shoot an explicit target over a locked door or whatever, think of me, won't you please?It doesn't have to do that. There's a circle in the middle of the screen that widens when you are looking at something important. Fabien never comments on puzzles or how to use telekinesis to bring the elevator down or whatever.
>>723239727apologist culture is the fucking worst>project zomboid steam forum has someone ask why there's no online servers despite the in-game player count>community manager claims it's due to private servers>i say that it's probably also because the mutliplayer compatible version is 4 years old and most people are playing the single player beta content>get accused of trolling and being a cunt>get told that because it's 'common knowledge' (the OP had no idea) the game's MP is fucked, the CM doesn't need to mention it>my profile pic and username i've had for 25 years is somehow attributed to being part of my scheme to ruin zomboid discussionliteral mental illness
>>723239076>Umm akshually it's just personal preferenceBreathe down, read what you are answering to. I wasn't refering to Swansong with that, I was refering to the Troïka sub conversation. And that's not what I'm saying either.To use the Forge critical tools,, RPG games come at the confluence of (at least) three elements Gamist design, Simulationist design, Narrativist design. Troïka games were a mess because they were trying to grasp at all three while emulating what it is the (collective) tabletop games do, looking for proper tools to do it in single player computer form. Their attempts ended up lacking, but with some successes.Trouble is, depending on which aspect of the table top design you value most, you can end up with VERY different video games. So people who can conjointly love a design mess of a game that tangled all three aspects can have a very different idea of what the perfected iteration should look like once you scale down design.Sawnsong is a mess of another nature.>Wrong. Absolute bullshit. Nicely peremptory, but perfectly insignificant statements.>diversity squad checklist casts like Swansong are NOT better or palatable in any wayWhich is irrelelvant to whether you're playing them in a game that is a proper RPG or one that isn't.
>>723239893>neverwhich version of the game did you 100% complete
>>723240059Never in the gameplay we have access to, I mean. (First 2 hours + updated warehouse sequence).
>>723239769>see standalone release of praised mod on steam for cheap>still trust the word of the masses, like a fool>buy it>"wtf" for 2 hours and then absolute frustration
>>723240135ah right, like how i was 'never' one shot killed by some metabrained fuck in Destint Beta PvP so i bought the full game. go away, marketer.
>>723239660>It's more than Fabien goes on rambling anecdotes about chemtrails and stuff.,would be unironically way more fun and interesting what we´ll get.I bet, that it will be, like the other anon said, in NuGow."look behind the closet to find hidden key" "i think i´ve heard something phyre, quick hide now" "This dude isn´t telling us the truth, let´s investigate behind this back" .100% it will be guiding players to the next event flag.
>>723240135>it was already updated once so there is NO WAY they can throw verbal yellow paint on it nowi wish i still had trust like you do
>>723239837For me it's the goddamn haze. In that particular image it's snowing yes, but the haze is present in every UE game. Then there's how washed out everything looksThis wasn't present in older versions of UE, compare how UE5 games look compared to Batman Kino City
>>723240316They don't need that. The game has the scent trails and expanding cursor to guide you around. Fabien's comments are generally more disconnected musings and comments about the world around you.
>>723240316which is why, again, it worked in cyberpunk, since johnny only commented to actually say meaningul stuff or to call you a retard or make fun of youhe wasn't a game prop, or giving you quests or hints, he was an actual personand we already know this schizo malk won't even be schizo because oh no, think of the actual schizoids when they find out they've been misrepresented in a videogame they'll never hear of or play!!fabien is literally just a quest compass
>>723240507>and we already know this schizo malk won't even be schizo because oh no, think of the actual schizoids when they find out they've been misrepresented in a videogame they'll never hear of or play!!>fabien is literally just a quest compassFabien is a fairly typical VTMB1-style Malk.
>>723240495Jesus fucking christ
>>723240443it greatly upsets me that gamers eat shit when games looked like this 15 fucking years agoand ran like a dream on top of itit's so fucking tiring
>>723240507Schizo and schizoid are very different things, anon. It's retarded they both use the same word base but schizoid just means shut-in basically
>>723224783Fuck your Vampire clan bullshitWhat changing breeds would you be?For me its werespiders
>>723240567No, he isn't.He sounds completely normal and well-adjusted.
>>723240669Fish Malk isn't allowed anymore in V5 since the writers think it makes fun of mentally ill people
>>723240443>For me it's the goddamn haze. In that particular image it's snowing yes, but the haze is present in every UE game.VTMB2 is deliberately mimicking foggy street photography that has that style of haze.
I've seen quite a few shills in my time but this months-long "we don't need Malks cause Fabien does it!!!" argument is mindboggling
What's the best clan to play as for someone who doesn't like vampires? In the Source game.
>>723240669>>723240726Let me get this straight, though. Characters like Jeanette/Therese talked like normal people. And they're like textbook Malks. So what is the metric for Malks in videogames?
>>723240495>They don't need that.>keeps posting the exact shit i´ve mentionedShillkun, for you "Elevator´s broke as a Monday-night streetwalker" (who writes shit like this btw?) might sound like shizo rambling but for me it´s a quippy way to say that you cannot use the elevator, which is exactly what i expected from this gay shit, a handholding voice for all the normies to know what to do next.>The game has the scent trails and expanding cursor to guide you around.god, so the bamham supersenses or witchervision also made it into to game, didn´t knew but this shit became even more lame than i expected.
>>723240813Brujah>fuck all that vampire shit, I'm gonna beat you up with a baseball bat
>>723240726What did Fish Malk do that Fabien doesn't?
>>723240750right. it just so happens to look like generic UE haze.like when my 'wispy clouds' i drew in grade school happened to be very similar to a hastily scribbled blue sky
>>723240726Yes, that's what I said.And I'm not even saying they have to be a fish malk, but they should have something wrong with them, it's the whole point of the clan. It gives you a mental illness.You speak to Jeanette in the first game and within 2 seconds you know she's a Malk. Or hell, read any of the lines the player Malk says. Or listen to any of the lines the malkavian primogen recorded, who sounds perfectly normal and and speaks normally, but just by the length of his speech and focus, you can tell there's something wrong with him.Fabien literally just makes some vaguely quirky comparisons. He's not a Malkavian. He's a fucking gen-z imbecile.
>>723240813Tremere, since they only exist because one of the writers of VtM wanted to play Ars Magica instead
>>723240836you'll be told what to do in three different ways before you can even turn the camera around fully and see the room you are in fully.
>>723240817>Jeanette talked like a normal personyou could just say you never played the gamethe only malk in the game that spoke normal was Therese and that was because that was her whole shtick, she was the 'normal' to Jeanette's 'crazy'.
Downtown > Santa Monica > Hollywood > Chinatown
>>723240963>Fabien literally just makes some vaguely quirky comparisons.Talking in weird voices he stole from movies he saw while actively claiming not to engage with modern technology like television isn't weird to you?
>>723240878basedpotency and celerity is all i needi am an anime protagonist and yes, i will be throwing a car at you
>>723230801Good? Yes. Great? No. Either way it's gonna have much better launch than the first game.
>>723241039>you could just say you never played the gameNo, explain how Jeanette isn't just a generic cheerleader slut archetype. There's nothing unusual about her speech.
>>723241081How were we supposed to know what voice he is using from your screenshot, shill? We don't have access to your marketing material
>>723241081No, making silly voices of his favorite media isn't weird, it's literally gen-z humor.
I just used that gun with my mindI USED THAT GUNWITH MY FRICKING MIND
>>723241157Buddy. If you're going to shill your sequel, you should at least google a little bit about the original. It would literally take you 5 seconds.You must know some odd cheerleaders.
>>723241201>>723241172Fabien talks to objects, and the objects talk back. It's his entire gimmick. But there's more to it than that because the constant narration and noir detective thing are obviously not real. His lingo, his alleged age, his mannerisms in the flashbacks. It's all a facade.
Rest in peace ArkaneIf they were still around and got the license they would have gigamogged this pile of shit
>>723241383Yea, that is some Not Another Teen Movie-grade dialogue.
>>723241394>Fabien talks to objects, and the objects talk backList all the examples that aren't a pre-order DLC stopsign. You should have a list in your shill materials somewhere
>>723241157>I can tell you and I are going to get along just like fire hosesuh huh, normal speech
>>723241081NTA, but:a) looking at the timeline, he seems old enough to be a contemporary of cinema, if not television.b) Fabien is an unreliable narrator. Everything he says should be taken with a grain of salt. From what we've seen of the released material, the whole "detective" façade is perfectly artificial, built from fiction, and hiding what he really is.
>>723241081sounds like the average zoomer to me.
>>723241437I would 100% have taken a Arkane-made VtM game over Redfall
>>723241467>theatrical over the top nonsense, like a parody movieyeah? you're not selling your side of the argument very well.
>>723240836i can fix her
>>723241486One of the trailers show him talking to a file cabinet. I think that's the only exemple we have. Might have missed some, haven't looked at most of the let's plays.
>>723241467The interesting thing about her character is that she has split personality and she and her sister are the same person as revealed in a twist. If she was just a dumb slut and nothing else I'd agree with you, but that's not why she's memorable.
>>723241467this single line of dialogue has more put into it than the entire game you're shillingi hope TCR pay you well
>>723240495I hated Malks in 1 because they always said lulzrandumb shit. And now you're telling me we're forced to spend the entire game with one in our heads? DroppedJust to clarify, this exact post I am replying to has caused me to NOT buy the game I was gonna buy on release day.
>>723240878>>723240978Cheers, I'll flip a coin. I've been ignoring this game for far too long. But mellowed out towards vampires in the last years, time to check this classic out.
>>723241937Nothing any malk says, including the PC, is 'lolsorandumb', it all has meaning. You're just too stupid to get it.
>>723224783TCR is garbage
>>723241985damn, anon is about to experience some of the finest kino in this pitiful worldI envy youI unfortunately played the game so many times I can recite every single line by heart now, so I can no longer get enjoyment out of itDon't open it
>>723242092boy i sure love playing as androgynous, personality-less cardboard cutouts that looked like they got dressed in the dark
Since VTMB 1 fags are here, seems like a good place to ask.Stanley Gimble is a ghoul, right?>actually has a healthbar boss fight despite supposedly being a normal human>crazy even by your average serial killer standards (cuts off his own hand because he's this obsessed with prosthetics, his weapon of choice is a human arm)>I think his name was mentioned in some of the laptops belonging to a vampire, though I could be misremembering shit
>>723224783>That pollLasombra I get being high, playing an ex-Sabbatt clan is interesting. Tremere look lame as shit in-game and don't even get to have blood magic as a unique starting discipline.
>>723242092>>723242232you can dress phyre yourself
>>723242151Just played the game for the first time last month, you guys have been endlessly meming about the sewers but nobody warned me about that dogshit final boss
>>723224783Is no one gonna point out that the vamp on the left is clearly a tranny
>>723242476all the combat in the game is shit, we did warn you about that
>>723239129I liked Emem as a concept by my God her levels and the way her story was delivered sucked massive dick.>boring fucking empty puzzle dungeon filled with *magical* audiologsMiss me with that shit.
>>723242362>Tremere look lame as shit in-game and don't even get to have blood magic as a unique starting discipline.tbf Blood Magic was never just a Tremere thing since Tzimisce and Assamites always had access to different forms than Thalmalturgy
>>723239769Dear Esther had a narrator. This shit is different. Fabien is literally part of the plot, just like Johnny Silverhand, having a voice in your head the character is constantly having a back-and-forth with.
>>723242408i can dress 'them' in preset outfits that were all designed without a single aesthetic in mind
>>723242539why should we comment when psychotic trannies are fairly common
>>723230375Yeah just pile on more blue and purple to this gay tranny shit. They have absolutely zero comprehension of aesthetic or what makes something look good or memorable.
>>723242408Still ugly shill before you post the toreador phyre. xhe is not sexy.
>>723242408will still look like a teenage boy in a grown up body with no defining features. but thank god and the chinese chamber that we can play dress up in this 1st person adventure. at least we get to see the clothes on the sexless lad/dina in conversations.
>>723242589It's true in the tabletop, and I'm not that bothered about them sticking to that, it's just that blood magic is really the main thing that makes Tremere interesting. They're one of those clans which don't feel too "vampire-y", otherwise, imo.
>>723230375that soulless ui bothers me more than i can articulate and I usually really don't give a fucki hope I can disable all of it
>>723242623yeah same as bloodlines
>>723230801it looks to be decent at best(6-7/10). would be surprising if it was great tier(8-9/10) considering it looks like the world doesnt look like it has a lot of interactivity in it. I'll be cautiously optimistic. world of darkness is such an underitlized IP
>>723242813Bloodlines outfits looked good and matched the clans.
>>723224783Gary's Mod?
>>723242710>xhe>>723242623>'them'stop talking like retarded monkey faggots
>>723242881I'm just getting ready for my immersive roleplaying anon. Can't wait to be referred as they/them and nothing about my appearance mattering in the slightest.
>>723242841They were so aesthetic
>>723241467Yet it's infinitely more memorable than any of the bullshit they've shown off for the dogshit game the company is paying you to shill has shown.People will not remember anything about VTMB2 in 20 years. It will be forgotten in just a year.
>>723236819Go look up in archive. Since September some autismo is basically spamming threads about this game. One time before preview embargo got lifted he even posted unreleased press screenshots which proved hes an actual shill lol.
>>723224783>ThumbnailIs that guy even still in the game or did they completely scrap him?
>>723243061My favorite is whenever he talked about "oh so-and-so is directing it" as if anybody knows the fucking employees of a walking sim dev kek
>>723242881Game refers to the protagonist as such, anons are just being accurate
>>723242841
>>723243061>One time before preview embargo got lifted he even posted unreleased press screenshots which proved hes an actual shill lol.When?
>>723243061Unreleased press screenshots might have been me. I did post them in a thread for both the PC Gamer and Game Informer releases. Got them from a forum that broke street date though.And I can't create threads, so there's at least two of us you paranoid fucks might want to call us "shills".
>>723243293Last month during previews. Cohh and other ecelebs played the game then and that faggot literally posted unreleased screenshots press like IGN released like a day later lol.
post how the whores look in the new game i dare you, i double dare you motherfucker
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-story-for-paradoxs-original-canned-bloodlines-2-has-gone-the-way-of-the-dodo-and-its-fired-narrative-lead-says-no-ones-spoken-to-him-about-it-but-the-good-news-is-hes-working-on-2-games-at-once-right-now/
>>723243760>whores>new gameyou sexist chud how dare you talk about sex workers that way!!
the last ventrue armor fucks so hard
>>723230331>>723230375I like the atmosphere, but Jesus Christ modern game devs can't create a good UI to save their lives. How did such an important thing become seemingly a lost art?
>>723243579>Last month during previews. Cohh and other ecelebs played the game then and that faggot literally posted unreleased screenshots press like IGN released like a day later lol.Without seeing the screenshots, I really don't know, but IGN was using the same screenshots as official press kit stuff, which you could easily find. Game Informer had a bunch of screens in August, too.
>>723243952>easier acceptance into camarilla societyDoes this have any actual effect in the game? Sounds made up
Please just release this piece of shit already so it can get it's mixed reviews and flop and be forgotten, this shilling is insufferable, most pathetic gaslighting campaign I've ever seen on this board >The writing is excellent (better than vtmb1)!>The art direction is superb!>The voice acting is incredible!>Phyre is so hot!>It's gonna be great >I played it last year at Gamescom and had a blast
>>723244009From what I recall LaCroix is much more cordial to you and you get a free Haven during the mid-game.
>>723244269You get the Downtown haven no matter what you do, no?
>>723238960What did he mean by this?
>>723224783We've got a new update or what? We're just talking shit?
>>723230801Depends on ones individual expectations. I for one believe it could be good. Let's wait and see
>>723244269>you get a free Haven during the mid-gameYou get it regardless of your clan unless you're Tremere (you get one in the Strauss' chantry) or Nosferatu (Gary gives you one in the sewers).Just don't fuck up the Elizabeth Dane quest and probably be polite to LaCroix as well (I never actually antagonize him, because I like to get on everybody's good side to see how I could profit from it)Ventrues do get more money from LaCroix IIRC.
>>723244318No you can be dick to Lacroix and not get it at all
>>723244318Pretty sure if you piss off or are antagonitic to him you don't. At least I dont remember getting it as a Tremere.
>>723243760
>>723244554>TremereSee >>723244487You should finish the plaguebearers' quest for Strauss (and not just for Anarchs), Tremeres get their own.I kind of wish each clan had their own unique extra-haven for completing missions, but I'll take what I can get.
>>723244694nice cigarette
>>723242252I don't think Slashers were a thing yet so maybe.
>>723236267The male MC should be bulkier, dude has an Auschwitz resident physique. FemC should be a bit curvier, I'm not saying she needs to be a bimbo or sexbomb. But just some more curves.
>>723230331Hey, I've been there, except it would never snow that hard in Seattle in a million years.
>>723243760Theres no slutty women in the "sequel"
If you can't titfuck Lou this game is shit.
>>723244694>a fucking prostitute so desperate for money she sells her body on the streets>"Umm I don't need saving, okay, chud? I don't need money either. Go away."Leftists have zero conception of reality.
>tranny trying to make somebody a jokerwhat is this shit
>>723244932It's honorable sex work, chud
Seven days.
>>723244163>its a sequel to a game i loved so its good!
>>723232260anon HSL's Bloodlines 2 was written specifically to promote V5, that's why you played a Thinblood
>>723244932I'm pretty sure she's saying that because the MC is dressed up as a priest so she think he's gonna try to proselytize to her and condemn her whoring herself out.
>>723244771Bloodlines 1 had relatively twinkish males
>>723244727The problem with that is that the only clans that are actually present in the story are>Tremmies>Ventrue>Malks>NosEveryone else is an anarch or clearly isn't part of a larger group the way the tremere, ventrue, and nos are, and the Malk primogen had his entire place burn down later after being missing a while. Bloodlines kinda misses out by having so few actual vampires you interact with though I suppose it makes sense with the smallish scope of the hubs
>>723245007can't wait for it to flop
>>723244932it's a Priest Outfit interaction dumbass.
>>723244694ewww wtf is that thing
>>723245301Surely a Brujah could easily get an Anarch haven, but I see what you mean how that's different from having a strictly "Brujah" place regardless of who you side with in the story
>>723245301I'm going to have to do a Tremere run. I've done Gangrel and Malkavian.
i hope the "sire a childe" thing is referring to this girl and not the nigger glowie.
>>723245301I think Beckett could at least give a fellow Gangrel a hideout or something.
>>723244383talking shitlatest actual news is the trophy list
>>723245301Brujah have the Anarchs in Downtown, including Nines and JackGangrel have Beckett and the serial killer to reflect two sides of the clan, which makes sense because the Gangrel got their shit kicked in during LA By Night and left the CamarillaMalkavians have both Grout and the Voermans to see what their madness really is likeNosferatu have the warrens and GaryToreador get the entirety of Hollywood with Isaac and VelvetTremere have Strauss and the ChantryVentrue are stuck with LaCroix as an example of what NOT to beWith the development crunch I’d say they did pretty good
>>723244163>It's a return to form
>>723245501Beckett’s haven is in Europe, he uses Earth Meld otherwise.
Any indication to how scary the game might be? When I think of the horror of Bloodlines, I'm reminded not just of the Ocean House Hotel but also the snuff film and the horrible screeching abominations from the Sabbat that you're fighting
>>723244383Allegedly review codes are out
>>723244163THIS. Seeing "people" discuss the ""lore""" and goon over Phyre is driving me crazy.
>>723245501How would he own one to give out? He's an interloper in the city himself.Gangrel being able to earth-meld would have been a nice touch I guess. If technically useless from a game-design standpoint.
>>723245631What's with writer politics making Ventrue out to be the worst clan all the time? Can't they get off about it for once? Is it going to happen this game too?
>>723230371sounds like cyberpunk 2077
>>723245631>play as a Brujah>side with Strauss/CamarillaI'm a house negro, ain't I?
>>723245501>>723245631Becket is from out of town and Gangrel famously rather hate the city so no luck on that end. Brujah clan not getting something from the Anarchs is lame but I think it makes a bit of sense as they aren't really an upscale org. I completely forgot about the Toreador's but even then it isn't that many Torries. I think there's adequate vampire representation sure but the game sort of misses the whole detail of vampiric society from the tabletop. You hear other characters refer constantly to agents and allies that just don't ever show up. The most you get is the 5 Nos in one area, presumably more offscreen
>>723245417At this time Brujah is still supposed to be a Camarilla clan as well so it's a bit strange, but yeah. I could see an anarch haven had the game been more complete and allowed alternate routes>>723245425Tremere is interesting sure but I think they aren't fundamentally very different from Ventrue. Thamaturgy is a bit of a gimmick and while interesting, I don't think Strauss provides anything particularly unique or new for Tremere though you get more lore
>>723245892authority bad etc
>>723246005No, you're just average antifa. They've always had institutional support.
>>723245892They literally don’t? Bertram Tung tells the player how important the Ventrue are to the Camarilla, and the only reason other clans talk shit about them is because it’s easy to blame the only vampires who are actively trying to clean up everyone else’s messes to keep every clan safe. Most vampires also deride LaCroix specifically, or the entire Camarilla, rather than the Ventrue themselves.>>723246005Brujah champion so many causes you can find them in any organization. LA just has a high Brujah Anarch population because of LA By Night.
>>723245892No LaCroix is just built to be bullied, other games and books actually provide good examples of proper Ventrue. Not redemption though, they're shitters in there also>>723246005I believe at the moment Brujah are still supposed to belong in the Camarilla and they only split after 2004
>>723245892>Is it going to happen this game too?People already like Lou more than Lacroix.
Took a bit to set up but I'm in. All in melee, 2 Int, 3 intimidation. Time to bust some shit up, intelligently.Character models are full of sovl, I love my goofy ass beanie.
>>723230801In 2 years when dlcs add missing content.
>>723224783Vtmb tranny shill general thread No one is gonna buy this woke slopThis is some of the most blatant market viral shilling on this board in awhile
>>723245707>horrible screeching abominationsnigga they're heads with with arms instead of ears.vtmb ain't a scary game, it's a funny one.
>>723246337>beaniehold this bitch down im gonna check if shes a salubri
>>723230778vampires feel cold?
>>723246426are you trying to say everyone out on the street is a vampireor are you saying the vampires among them should go around in unseasonable clothes and attract attention
>>723246426Vampires aren’t alive so their bodies cannot perform homeostasis, meaning they are constantly ambient temperature. Bundling up is to blend in and not feel like an icicle to anyone who touches them.
>>723231323the more I hear about HSL, the more it seems better than this
>>723246415They're so fucking loud they kept startling me.
>>723246521>they are constantly ambient temperaturei mean i guess they could keep stirring their blood to fake it but thatd be inefficient and also defeat the purpose of not having to worry about the cold
>>723246532HSL's game was terrible in every single aspect, though.
damn the shill has actually been gone for the last half of the thread
>>723246724it arguably didnt actually exist
>>723234546He sounds like the most well-adjusted man alive.
>>723246337I could never not put points into social stats, they just feel more rewarding until the sewer segments but then you have infinity bullets>>723246532the game looked like a proper RPG styled after the original bloodlines. It just ran like shit because HSL were hacks. Could they fix the game up enough for it to be playable by the time of the release this month if paradox actually managed them? probably, but I can understand paradox not taking that risk
>>723246890>looked likeimportant distinction
A design decision that may rub some people the wrong way is that Phyre does not give a shit about humans. So there are almost no quests involving humans directly. You don't waddle around town and meet random civilians. Phyre lives in a vampire's world surrounded by vampires. The world of humans is a backdrop.
Always do the opposite of what /v/ says. I'm gonna play it.
>>723247124>You don't waddle around town and meet random civilians. Phyre lives in a vampire's world surrounded by vampires. The world of humans is a backdrop.To clarify, I mean this in a quest sense. There is the blood resonance system, and sometimes humans are involved as quest NPCs. But side quests predominantly come from vampires.
>>723247124Makes sense since he's old as shit so he wouldn't care about humans at all anymore, but still a shame. The quests in the first game where the two worlds interacted/intersected were cool.
>>723247318I think part of why Fabien was made secondary protag is that he goes around town doing detective stuff and meeting ordinary people. But his segments are more linear, more conventionally walking sim-ish.
>>723247124makes sense
The shill loves Fabien so much
>yeah the gameplay might suck and the story might suck and the music is a downgrade and the dialogue is trash and the roleplaying is limited and the pacing is terrible and the animations are wonky... but le heckin snow the vibes bro the VIBES
>>723231282>Paradox is retardedand water is wet.
>>723247506inb4 some autist replies ackchyually water isn't wet
>>723247435I'm gonna play the game lol.
why is there game shilling on my gacha slop porn board?
>>723247124Well, she's an elder vampire who's presumably rather low humanity. It makes perfect sense but it also is rather alien with a big appeal of Bloodlines and Masquerade, with inhuman monsters clinging to their humanity. Just another tasteless part of Paradox's IP approach>>723247506Paradox just saw dollar signs with Bloodlines and didn't think twice really. They weren't wrong either but they heavily missed the appeal of the IP in the hopes of trying to make DnD 5e. Which by itself was sort of missing the appeal of the IP until eceleb shows like critical role hypnotized the masses
>>723247480Gameplay is better.Story is better.Music is better.Dialog is better.Pacing is much, much better.Can't speak for other stuff.
>>723230371literally just sounds like a solid arkane studios game
>>723244694this literally looks like a cheap indie game you'd see on steam made by some russian being sold for like 10 bucksI think it's time to stop blaming unreal engine and start blaming these devs with zero talent or creativity
Where the rub lies is that the way quests are delivered is largely the same between VTMB1 and VTMB2. There are important NPCs that you go and talk to. Everyone else is a prop.The thing is, it's clear some people sorta wanted this to be vampire Fallout, not Bloodlines 2. They wanted an open world where you kinda just walk around at random and stumble onto heaps of sidequests to follow up on. The thing is, Bloodlines 1 was never actually like this. When you break its quest design down, it's very structured. The only difference is that VTMB2 puts quest icons on the map.
>>723244771These critques are giving the entire situation more credit than it deserves. Its looks like a parody image made to mock modern devs, but somehow its real.
>>723244771it's done on purpose since the game has no real 'gender', nobody refers to you by pronouns and it affects nothingi'm surprised they even let you get two very slightly different bodytypes desu, it's completely pointless
>>723247919>solid arkane studios game>with none of the good level design>and no depth to the tools you have availableA "solid arkane studios game" was the Justice VR game, Bloodlines 2 is going for more of an open world Bioshock:Infinite approach to the way the game is
LOL
>>723246337>brujahbased based based
>>723247974You still stumble by random important dudes. You can just go on doing only the main quest and not meet like 75% of the npcs in Bloodlines 1. A big complaint is more that the dialogue and methods of approach you have to the quests got removed in favor of just raw combat
>>723244732It's bugged because they're using some kind of screenshotting tool to hide the hud and record trailers. In the normal gameplay footage NPCs smoke with a cigarette between their fingers.
>>723246426no and they also don't have sex, but it won't stop retarded horny virgins from pretending otherwisedespite jeanette even saying it explicitely for lorelets
>>723248069the only comments ive seen on the levels have been people whining about the streets not feeling very lively, more ambience based critiques. i havnt seen many people comment on the actual gameplay driven level design and enemy placement and how you are guided through the world. just seeing people saying "i wish this were vampire gta and there were more people on the streets doing daily routines", which isnt very important to me
>>723224783Wasn't this from the original reveal trailer way back when? Is it even still in after all the delays and changes?
>>723248080Makes sense. The game is extremely optimized.
>>723248080well, 30 gigs is surprisingly well optimized
>>723245392A mongrel, a subspecies of homosapiens made by cross breeding negros and humans. Normies call them "mixed".
>>723248285the game looks like fortnite, there's no real textures to compress
>>723248281>Wasn't this from the original reveal trailer way back when? Not the original reveal trailer, but the original version of the game.>Is it even still in after all the delays and changes?No that guy's completely gone.
>>723247791I said this in a previous thread but the "mainstream" appeal VTM has is in character creation. Seriously I know none of you ever interact with women but pick an even slightly nerdy one up and show her a VTM clan video, her panties will become soaked and she'll immediately start trying to create an OC and begging you to DM for her.Pushing into that was the key to success for VTMB2, instead they made a tepid action game with set protagonists, a formula that clearly failed with Swansong (which they hilariously blamed on its "rpg elements). So when this game either fails or barely makes back its budget, what will the excuse be this time? I've seen the shill already have cope lined up with "nobody could've made a good VTMB2"
>>723244932the MC is wearing a priest uniform, it's joke dialogue because she thinks the player charcter is going to tell her she's a sinner or some shit. what you're wearing affects how characters respond to you in the game.
>>723248281The game was completely rebooted 3 times.He's gone.
>>723248457>mainstream appeal>vtmvtm has never been and will never be mainstreamnobody played the original except nerds
>>723247996>game is troon propagandaYeah we know its worthless garbage you dont need to remind us.
>>723248235if people aren't raving about cool level design then you can probably guess that the level design is more like linear hallways or big rooms like in bloodlines 1. All the prologue footage I've seen and the trailers do seem to validate that the level design is pretty linear and shallow. This is fine if the setpieces look good or are interesting but even the weakest arkane game had some stellar level design. It's just an unfortunate circumstance of priorities during game development
>>723248483You haven’t played the game, that segment is from a quest using clever wordplay to create a specific sultry atmosphere not seen in casual, safe-horny games most studios shy away from, unlike The Chinese Room which constantly pushes the envelope.
was vtmb this purple red?
>>723236118the only person I've seen claiming that is the obvious shill who keep comparing VTMB to Deus Ex for some reason.
>>723246890>I could never not put points into social statsI tend to pick social, peaceful skills too in RPGs. But I don't know the setting well or even care about it rn much, so it fits better to play a bit of a muscle head for the first time. Will leave me more options to try later on and I won't get stuck in some bs combat sequences I didn't know about.
>>723248457I assume the blame will just be on the market or that players lost interest in the IP after such long delays, instead of anything tangible Paradox could have done. I want more games in the IP so that more have a chance to actually be decent, and I hope this game sells well, but not well enough for Paradox to immediately fund another poopy action game and call it bloodlines 3 or earthblood 2
>>723248654lol
>>723248486tragic, this dude was the only good character design present in the game
>>723248717no that's totally understandable. I just think the dialogue in 1 is too good not to try to experiment with social stats. At some point you will need combat though yeah
>>723246724it felt like VTM though
>>723248596>It's just an unfortunate circumstance of priorities during game developmentI think people severely underestimate how hard it is to do well what Arkane does when it delivers. How hard it is to assemble a team of people that can do well and create the proper context for them to do it well.TCR seems like it has (some) talented people (if only, the sound design so far seems pretty good), but not that kind of talent. So I think it was wise of them to stay away from that kind of level design.
if I like Borderlands and Destiny will I like VTMB2?I liked the first game but ohh the clunkiness ohh
>>723249178tf does borderlands have anytging to do with tgis. nigga this isnt a looter shooter
>>723246724Still better than the TCR
>>723249221could've fooled me with the gameplay trailer britnog.
>>723248565ok but if they wanted a hint of that 5e spice that's what they had to do.>>723248762I doubt it will bomb, it will probably just make back its budget. ig im more interested in the story behind development, because it really seems to me that no one actually wanted to make this game, and every developer had their brains turned off while making it. and of course the shill's behavior is personally disgusting, so I will be glad when his pay runs out and threads can return back to normal.
>>723248457just look at bg3, people spend 3 hours straight in the character creator creating their oc and that game isn't even particularly good at that.
>>723249178No, the gunplay in D1/D2 and Borderlands is probably better and much more refined than the action elements of Bloodlines 2. If you want a story based action game I'm sure Bloodlines is perfectly alright but I wouldn't expect more than a 7/10
>>723249435I thought lolcow developers smacking themselves in the face because of bg3's success would've ended after the game launched. Instead, its like all these AA and AAA studios are pretending like it doesn't exist and hopelessly trying to continue business as usual with their lame uninspired rpgs. Look at Avowed, or even this own game. I know development for those games started before BG3, but even in their more quick to create content...I still remember when the headlines for VTMB2's voiced protagonist coming from a "bioware dev" they hired....they actually thought that headline would be good promotion for the game. completely clueless and blind to the current landscape of the market...
>>723249432>make back it's budgetHasn't the budget ballooned up to past 100 something mill with the game needing to be scrapped 3 times and then TCR's 3 year dev time?As for your other point>hint of 5e spiceI think the games are just vastly different in intent and appeal. You're not going to get the same tier of autism going in a first person game I think unless it's meme-tier like Cyberpunk. BG3 was pretty much the culmination of Larian farming good will with their Original Sin games, 5e being at the height of it's popularity before the ONEDND disaster, and name recognition. I don't think character customization would actually help out much sadly
>>723245007Oh hey, it's the famous they them nomad person
>>723249703Industry is desperately trying to ignore the standards created by BG3, and while it was a pretty exceptional game in some regards, to just dismiss it as "only Larian can do it" despite Larian not being particularly large or making an insanely good story or characters as I'm sure many anons have valid criticisms. It's pretty much a REEEE cycle by talentless hacks with no passion for making fun vidya
>>723249438okay so this entry will be more like Dishonored in a way, rather than gunplay it's abilities leaning
>>723249432>t really seems to me that no one actually wanted to make this game, and every developer had their brains turned off while making it.I think you're being unfair on that one. If only, the recent clan trailers show an attention to details of the setting that someone with no interest wouldn't have bothered to even deal with.Certainly, it was a pot-boiler for the studio, they said it so themselves. But I don't think they went at it lazily or even disrespectfully.They may lack talent, but that's another issue.
>>723249703bg3 is an inorganic trashy jew porn game for children. it's also from an AAA company that had a 300 million dollar budget and 8 years of full time development and multiple years in early access. l*rian is the #3 worst gaming companies in the world after CDPR, nintendo, and in front of fromshit at a solid #4
>>723249845eh, kind of. I feel like dishonored is made by the level design working so well with the abilities, but yeah this is more melee/ability focused
>>723249830yes you are right, its embarrassing that people think only larian can do it. i think the video game industry might be one of the most mismanaged industries in the world currently, so a company having just a drop of common sense is what leads to huge success in this era. just look at what's going on with microsoft's gaming division. just pure retardation on an unprecedented scale, at least in the past 30 years.
honestly I'd consider this a big step up for Chinese Room, this project was way out of their depths and they managed to follow through with entirely new systems they've never done before.going from being a walking sim studio to making an ARPG is no easy task, real growth shown for the studio
>>723249895I don't think they lacked talent per se since some aspects of the game seem to understand why people liked bloodlines, but they also lacked enough vision and backbone to properly argue what the game should be like with Paradox. The head guy said multiple times>We made it exactly to Paradox's specificationsSure they might be fans of the IP but they clearly were just trying to finish their work and go
>>723249895>>723250118perhaps they weren't lazy or disrespectful, but the one definitive thing I can say about what I've seen is that it lacks vision. The first game had a definite mood, a point to it. I've seen some anons say that's because modern culture is less vibrant and interesting, but that sounds like an excuse.
>>723250113>reddit spacingAnyway, I agree it's a big leap for them and somewhat surprising they actually delivered, but they dropped the ball in a lot of areas
>>723249830>despite Larian not being particularly largewhich part of 300 full time staff members and 300 million budget sounds small to you?
>>723250214I think its current fate is a lot sadder, at least if it was a trainwreck it would be a big learning moment in the gaming landscape.Most likely scenario is it releasing and just being a game that people go, "its alright ig" before immediately forgetting its existence. the Mafia: The Old Country of RPGs.>>723250282Now compare to the staff counts and budget of other AAA games. I guarantee that Starfield had double the staff and budget of BG3.
>>723250194Yeah that's sort of my idea. Not so much modern culture but rather modern game dev is so politicized that anything that isn't safe gets massive backlash so games cannot have edge or bite to them, and such an overt focus on inclusivity sometimes just damages the game by soaking up dev time. There's a lot of problems with modern game dev that I think are independent of modern culture. There's plenty of good shit being produced still like Cyberpunk, BG3, John Wick, Oppenheimer or the nu-Dune. It's hard to properly capture what's missing but perhaps the age old adage of >too many cooks in a kitchen is the case here
>>723250282>300 full time staff members>300 million budgetBtw, 70% of those or more were acquired from EA funds after Larian pushed out an early access version that some people would consider better than modern video games. So yeah, the game effectively started with a shoestring budget and then scaled up there after they understood there was good interest in it. Originally they were rather small, but even a staff of 300 working on one game is less than Rockstar or Bioware having like 1000 workers at some point
>>723250429>CyberpunkI like it, but the console version of the game on launch and all the lying they did while marketing the game was inexcusable.
>>723250336Yeah, a lot of times it's better for a game to be bad than to be boring. We'll see when it comes out end of the month though I don't expect to pay for it any time soon
I would bake new thread, but I am afraid of being labeled a shill.
>>723250665you are
>>723250429Its hard to discuss these things because people exaggerate and misunderstand what they actually want, but you have got it I think. Media has become very bureaucratized and sterilized, and I think that's the key poison. It's not neccesarily one element or the other: the rot is deeper. It's very difficult for a sense of humanity to exist in such an environment. BG3 can have a mediocre aesthetic but because it has some sense of vision people love it.For example, on one surprisingly politicized issue, people might talk about sexy game girls like they want every game to be bimbo porn, what they actually want is character designs with a sexual vision that speak to the human condition. That mix of high brow and low brow that makes a pop culture artifact truly stand out. It's hard to put into words but the original VTMB also did this well.
>>723250603Totally right about that but I think it made a decent turn around. Though I think most of the recent reception was more because Phantom Liberty is one of the best independent story arcs produced in video games
>>723248194>they also don't have sexbut they do
>>723250590it's inorganic VC funded trash. tencent owns larian. it's not even a real game because it's not in first/third person.
>>723250429Cyberpunk and Bg3 also sucked btw, they are just "decent" comparatively to modern average. They are the minimum of how games should be by now, with all the knowledge and resources modern companies have.Video games are software, so the problem is the same as what has affected all corporate software these days: it used to be done by 5-10 passionate nerdy guys, now it's done by a rotating cast of 20,000 retarded normies who are constantly job hopping.
>>723250874Phantom Liberty was safe horny garbage that deleted content for straight men to keep things "fair" for fags
>>723250832Yes I see exactly what you mean, people tend to strawman criticisms to an extreme>people want games with edgeI don't mean I want MURDER RAPE GORE KILL BABIES REEEEEE I LOVE KHORNE I LOVE RAPE I LOVE MURDERI mean I want a game that isn't sanitized to game age ratings so that they can market a clearly adult or teenager game to literal children. Or games that shy around heavy topics because they don't want to take a stance. I don't want literal baby killing for no reason. Spot on sexy game girls, I don't mind purposefully ugly characters that serve a reason but generally characters shouldn't be made to look ugly and then push points about body positivity or something
uhhh guys?..
>>723251175Nah, it was good. It handled the themes presented in the game rather well beyond being "safe horny" with no romance options.>>723251120>mimimum of how games should be by nowThe fact that it isn't the case speaks to the decay in the industry but no, CP and BG3 were good comparatively to modern garbage. You'd be hardpressed to find better AAA games, and even on indies you'd probably get in the 10s or so. They're good games, even if the competition sucks
>>723251292It was a different time.
>>723247435Probably a writer they paid more to shill pre-launch.Really is sad.
>>723251292that won't stop me because I can't read!
>>723251201My controversial opinion is that age ratings have harmed more than they've helped, what a child can handle really varies on a case by case basis. And like you said it sucks getting a worse product because managers were worried about a younger target audience.>>723251369BG3 has generally stellar gameplay innovation, you can say CP does as well. Aesthetics are more subjective but you can say they stumble more when compared to the past, but in terms of gameplay...they really did set a new standard (for AAA at least)
>>723251292>do NOT takeOh, oops...
>>723251292The sequel will reference this but in a trans positive way.
>>723251509Yeah I agree with you here on both counts pretty much. BG3 and CP stumble a few times and don't do everything perfectly but you can tell they wanted to make an actual fun game. Sadly that standard will never be matched until Larian and CDPR or their offshoot studio push something out. Maybe not even then, since CDPR hemorrhaged a lot of talent and hired what I can only assume to be diversity hires.
>>723252093Witcher 4 does seem a lot more "paint by numbers", I have hopes for the cyberpunk sequel since PL was surprisingly good.
