Vampire: Bloodlines

[Sky]

I just started a Malk chick for a second go with the game. First time around I played a Ventrue, gotta love kicking ass in a business suit.

The sound stuttering afaik is an artifact of the engine, people got it alot in HL2, apparently. I got it a couple times in each game, though moreso in Vampire, which was oddly buggy for the amount of extra time it should have gotten with HL2's delays.

[Samwise]

The sound stuttering only seems to happen around VV.  Her assets must not get loaded when the level does, for whatever reason, because as soon as she comes into view for the first time in any given level (the courtroom scene is one, Vesuvius is the other), you get the stuttering.  No other character seems to have that problem.  (Insert joke about VV's "assets" here.)

[Llava]

(Insert joke about VV's "assets" here.)

Damnit!

[Megrim]

The sound stuttering only seems to happen around VV.  Her assets must not get loaded when the level does, for whatever reason, because as soon as she comes into view for the first time in any given level (the courtroom scene is one, Vesuvius is the other), you get the stuttering.  No other character seems to have that problem.  (Insert joke about VV's "assets" here.)

That's really weird. It must be some kind of hardware thing because i have not once gotten this issue, and my comp is considerably older than most.

 - meg

[Samwise]

I recall seeing a technical explanation of the stuttering bug on some forum somewhere... it happens when the Source engine loads textures into video memory.  (You can test this from the console by running some dev command whose only function is to load a bit of texture.)  If the problem is the way that Source uses video memory, it could definitely be hardware-dependent.

At least in Vampire it's only in a couple of areas of the game.  It happened a good number of times in HL2 for me, most notably all over the beach levels, every  time I first saw an antlion after a new level loaded.

[kaid]

Both of the computers I have seen halife 2 on have some minor sound stutters usually just when you zone in to a new area and then it plays smooth as silk.

[Morfiend]

I didnt have a single problem with HL2 sounds. While VtM:B it is horrible. Almost unplayable. The sound comes out about .05 of a second faster from my left speaker than my right. Its REALLY wierd. I might reinstall and give the game another go after I hit 60 in WoW.

[NiX]

I didnt have a single problem with HL2 sounds. While VtM:B it is horrible. Almost unplayable. The sound comes out about .05 of a second faster from my left speaker than my right. Its REALLY wierd. I might reinstall and give the game another go after I hit 60 in WoW.

Same here. I had to quit playing because this just annoyed the fuck out of me. It's like a really bad dubbed movie. It also didn't help that the skipping was so constant sometimes I had to reload a save file to understand WTF someone just said.

[Strazos]

Just decided to go out and pick this up earlier today, and I gotta say...Good stuff so far. At this moment I'm in the hotel, and god damnit, that is a hard area to play while alone at night....random items flying at me, floors falling out beneath me, and random women running through the halls screaming or whispering to me...

/shudder

Have the res maxed, and all of the other settings on at least high. Besides some slight slowdown on outdoor maps when it rains, the game runs flawlessly.

Only gripe for me would be the melee mechanics...though I've always had a dislike of FP melee, except in the case of the lock-on Covenant Energy Sword from Halo 2.

[Samwise]

The melee grew on me after a while, actually.  Once I started to learn the "combos" for the various weapons and how to use them to keep an opponent on his ass, rather than just button-mashing, it became much more satisfying.

I also played a firearms-only character for a while, and once I'd finished the game once that way, I was happy to go back to melee and not have to worry about buying ammo any more.   

[Megrim]

Did you ever get the feeling that ranged combat worked far better for the prancy Clans? I'm playing a Toreador at the moment and while i tried to build a melee one (poet's shirt + fireaxe), after a while i promptly restarted and took up a shotgun. It seems the stat allocation seems to benefit them better.

How effective are firearms later in the game?

 - meg

[eldaec]

Later on there are times where firearms are a better solution than melee, but it will depend on the rest of your build, and how you fight.

The pain in the ass sewer section (you'll know it when you see it) is easy with solid firearms skill.

Various 'large room with lots of human opponents' scenarios are good with firearms, though only really if you have crowd control powers (domination/dementation - use possession/beserk/bedlam a few times then snipe away), and these rooms can alternatively be passed with obfuscation, celerity, or just very good melee.

One or two bosses also exist which firearms work well against (as either they are hard to close on, or are melee based and easy to prevent closing on you).

I'd certainly suggest firearms skill for a malk or vent, wouldn't bother on brujah & gangrel, all the others YMMV.

[HaemishM]

I've so far found as a Nosferatu that whether firearms or melee is better is entirely situation dependent, not only on the enemy, but also on what weapons you have available. Against vampires, fiends and other supernatural baddies, you are better off with blades like the knife or fire axe, especially if you get potence. The Tzimice was one of those I tried to take down with firearms (my shotgun) and found myself swarmed over with fiends. When I switched to the knife, I got him. That sewer section I did with knife and fire axe almost exclusively. Against the human tong, I'm finding much better results using firearms, which may be just because I have the .44 magnum now. 2 shots, DEAD. I also find that Animalism 3, the Spectral Wolf, is a one-shot kill on all but the bosses and bigger stuff.

I'm sure as a less feral clan, like the Ventrue or Toreador, firearms works much better.

Despite all the bugs, and there are more than enough even with the 1.2 patch, this is easily one of the best RPG's ever.

[Samwise]

In regards to which skills go best with which clans, it really boils down to which skills your disciplines complement.  For example, Celerity goes well with ranged because it lets you dodge bullets as long as you're at range, and dance out of the way of big melee-heavy bosses.  Auspex also goes well with ranged because it buffs Perception (Auspex + Firearms = Ranged feat of 10+ = lots of death).  On the other hand, disciplines like Protean and Potence only work with melee skills, and some of the crowd-control disciplines (like Presence and Purge) only work at close range, so melee goes well with those.  Tremere with a melee weapon is lethal because between Blood Strike and a good blade, you can handle absolutely anything (and your Ranged feat doesn't affect your ranged disciplines at all, so you can ignore it).  It's all about getting your abilities to complement each other.

Ventrue + firearms seems like an obvious choice, but I'm using melee so far with my Ventrue and it's working pretty well.  My logic is that most of my Domination powers work at range, so I can use those to take care of inaccessible enemies, and Presence+Fortitude are at their best in a melee.

[Strazos]

Damnit, I should have chosen Toredor....I think they get the most versatile buffs, but I went Ventrue....

Somehow, I don't ever see myself using Dominate in conversations....I value my blood too much.

And another thing....was anyone else confused at first with the whole Jeanette/Theresa/Tourette(??) thing?

****Spoiler****


When I first got into the club and the girls were arguing upstairs, I did think it was odd that I could not find Jeanette up there, but I chalked it up to bad design.

Then, once you go back and "they" are "arguing", and the model is looking all around during the conversation, I just assumed that was a bug, and that I was supposed to see the Jeanette model arguing from the bathroom or something....

It makes sense I guess, I just wish they had developed this part of the story better

**** End Spoiler ****

[Samwise]

You're not supposed to be able to see them during that conversation.  You don't see them until after the door slams, indicating that Jeannette has locked herself in the bathroom.

If you noclipped through a wall in that scene to see Therese, don't complain that the game's script didn't take your cheating into account.   

[Strazos]

You're not supposed to be able to see them during that conversation. You don't see them until after the door slams, indicating that Jeannette has locked herself in the bathroom.

If you noclipped through a wall in that scene to see Therese, don't complain that the game's script didn't take your cheating into account.

Naw I know....just that after I listened to that, I went looking for Jeanette...and of course she was nowhere to be found.

**** Spoiler ****

Actually, what I was alluding to is that the explanation that Jeanette and Therese are the Same Person is not properly fleshed out.

No, I did not noclip...cheating is for losers.

Either my game is bugged, or my explanation is correct; they're the same person. The quest log kinda points towards this....

"Sibling Rivalry
You managed to talk the Jeanette personality into 'killing' the Therese personality.  Jeanette has put word out with Tung that the feud is off."

In Retrospect, I kinda wish I did not go the "pick up Jeanette" route....missed out on 2 quests...and I doubt this will really ever pan out into anything interesting.

**** /Spoiler ****

[eldaec]

I liked how the T/J thing wasn't put completely on a plate at the end (though it would have been nice if it wasn't quite so obvious from listening to the argument just what was going on).

The ambiguity of how much is down to T/J being insane, and how much is based on vampire/magic oddness was a good decision imo.

What I'm finding not so good, is the limited dialogue options whenever you talk to the major characters.

Too often I'm finding the options basically boil down to...

1. Up the Camarilla!!!
2. Up the Anarchs!!!

When, I'd much prefer something on the lines of...

3. WHOOO! I'm a batshit Malkavian who'll do whatever I damn well like!!1!

Espeically since  I'm starting to assume no real choice is actually made until that age old rpg staple, 'the stone cold obvious decision point alluded to by every third character you meet in the game but which doesn't arrive until precisely 30 minutes from the end'.

[Furiously]

When, I'd much prefer something on the lines of...

3. WHOOO! I'm a batshit Malkavian who'll do whatever I damn well like!!1!

Espeically since  I'm starting to assume no real choice is actually made until that age old rpg staple, 'the stone cold obvious decision point alluded to by every third character you meet in the game but which doesn't arrive until precisely 30 minutes from the end'.

If you pick the right ending - you can get this.

[HaemishM]

I saw the Jeanette/Therese thing from the first conversation, but that didn't ruin my enjoyment of it. The fact that Therese has the different colored eyeballs common to Malkavians told me she was batshit insane. I couldn't tell which one I lusted after more, the hot, big-breasted chick in the schoolgirl outfit with passive-aggressive tendencies, or the wrapped tight glasses-wearing chick with the big-bosoms. I chose the business chick, so go figure. I still think VV is hotter.

Of course, the fact that every woman under the age of 90 in the game is hotter than hell is a bit purient. But I'm enjoying the fact that the M rating is on this game.

Let's face it, most of the big story points are telegraphed a mile away. The Ankaran Sarcophagus was a dead giveaway the minute I heard about it. I still think it's one of the better RPG's ever.

[MrHat]

I stopped playing this thing the fourth time I went through the ghost house.

See, I have a problem with picking characters.  It's an illness.  The RPGI if you will.

I really want to pick it back up again, but I can't help stopping and making new characters.  Save me Jebus.

[HaemishM]

You're missing out on some great gaming goodness.

[Strazos]

Ah see? I missed out on all the context clues, because I assumed what I thought was odd was due to either bad design or bugs...

I guess it's so weird, it's good..

[Megrim]

I saw the Jeanette/Therese thing from the first conversation, but that didn't ruin my enjoyment of it. The fact that Therese has the different colored eyeballs common to Malkavians told me she was batshit insane. I couldn't tell which one I lusted after more, the hot, big-breasted chick in the schoolgirl outfit with passive-aggressive tendencies, or the wrapped tight glasses-wearing chick with the big-bosoms. I chose the business chick, so go figure. I still think VV is hotter.

Of course, the fact that every woman under the age of 90 in the game is hotter than hell is a bit purient. But I'm enjoying the fact that the M rating is on this game.

Let's face it, most of the big story points are telegraphed a mile away. The Ankaran Sarcophagus was a dead giveaway the minute I heard about it. I still think it's one of the better RPG's ever.

There is also the fact that as a Malkavian (which was what i played the first time through) you refer to her as the daughter of Janus, the Roman two-faced god.

But Haemish, the real question is, did you open the box?

 - meg

p.s.
Oh and thanks for the gun info guys. The first time i played it, my char was all brawl which made feeding really easy, and between the Malkavian's Vision of Death & Hysteria, crowd-control was not really a problem, but i figured i could improve on the two bits which i trouble with; those bloody sewers (which i ran/stealthed throught the first time) and *spoiler* Ming Xao. She just did not take damage from brawl. Gah.

[TheWalrus]

I went full firearms with pretty much all of em. The Lassiter (Uzi) is just ridiculously powerful.

*Semi-Spoiler*
Pick up the flame thrower as soon as you can. It wipes out the Tzimisce in nothing flat as well as ending Grunfeld Bach in record time. Also helps keep the roaming vamps at the Sheriff fight off ya.

[Samwise]

Ming Xiao is a fucking bitch.  Regardless of whether you're with her or against her.

[eldaec]

*Semi-Spoiler*
Pick up the flame thrower as soon as you can. It wipes out the Tzimisce in nothing flat as well as ending Grunfeld Bach in record time. Also helps keep the roaming vamps at the Sheriff fight off ya.

In practice the flame thrower is almost always the best ranged weapon for all occaisions. Downside is the cost of the ammo.

Also, as far as I can tell, your ranged feat does not affect the flamethrower in any way.

[Samwise]

Cost of the ammo is all but immaterial towards the end of the game, especially if you've been smart with your money.  The fact that you can only hold two tanks of it is tough, though.  I'd happily pay for a hundred tanks of that stuff if I could - it'd make the final boss fights ridiculously easy.  (Which is probably why they limit you to two tanks.  They're not stupid.)

[Furiously]

I know there are some 3rd party fixes out there for skipping the intro and such. I wish they made a patch to skip though it though so I was all official like and such.

I enjoyed stealth killing people so much. Or stealth biting.

Next game I might have to make a katana using Malk. Because the Malk is the most fun.

[Samwise]

** Look!  Salmon!

"Yes... must kill salmon!"

[Llava]

Arise, chicken!

So I'm trying to get a friend of mine to play this game, because he never did and I've been replaying it recently.  Unfortunately, he has Vista and it has a very strange tendency to, once the game is started up, give him an "Input Not Recognized" error on his monitor.  Now, the game is running, you can see stuff, you can play, except that this box is floating around the screen blocking your view.

He tried a few things to fix it but came up empty handed.  Has anyone else tried running this on Vista and had problems?  Maybe the problem is familiar to people?

[Samwise]

That sounds more like some sort of funky driver problem than like something wrong with the game itself.

[Reg]

Hmm. I\ve had that problem with a couple of games on XP. The way I ended up fixing it was to go to the next lower resolution.

[Engels]

Oh, I have a good guess as to what it is; the game is trying to play at a resolution the desktop monitor config files aren't used to. Probably best to figure out if you have the right .inf files for the monitor installed, and if you do, then switch the resolution for the game to something the monitor does support.

[Bunk]

He's likely playing on a widescreen monior. I had a bugger of a time configuring it for a 1680 x 1050 monitor the first time. I don't remember all of the details, but I know there were input errors involved. I think I actually found a utility at one of the widescreen sites that configured the game res for you.