The long awaited sequel to one of the RPG greats is announced. It's a direct sequel and releasing Q1 2020.
Sired in an act of vampire terrorism, your existence ignites the war for Seattle's blood trade. Enter uneasy alliances with the creatures who control the city and uncover the sprawling conspiracy which plunged Seattle into a bloody civil war between powerful vampire factions.
Become the Ultimate Vampire Immerse yourself in the World of Darkness and live out your vampire fantasy in a city filled with intriguing characters that react to your choices. You and your unique disciplines are a weapon in our forward-driving, fast-moving, melee-focussed combat system. Your power will grow as you advance, but remember to uphold the Masquerade and guard your humanity... or face the consequences.
Descend into Seattle’s Dark Heart and Survive the Vampire Elite Seattle has always been run by vampires. Hunt your prey across Seattle locations faithfully reimagined in the World of Darkness. Meet the old blood founders present since the city’s birth and the new blood steering the tech money redefining the city. Everyone has hidden agendas - so choose your allies wisely.
Enter into Uneasy Alliances Choose a side among competing factions, each with their own unique traits and stories, in the war for Seattle’s blood trade. The world will judge you by the company you keep, but remember no one’s hands stay clean forever.
Experience the Story Written by the creative mind behind the original Bloodlines, Vampire: The Masquerade® - Bloodlines™ 2 brings the ambitions of the first game to life and sees the return of a few fan favorite characters.
Confused about the naming, VtmB2 exists already, shouldn't this be VtmB3?
Edit: nvm, it's Vtm2B originally, it's just that everyone calls it VtmB2. So this is Vtm2B2 basically.
On March 22 2019 15:19 Starlightsun wrote: Woah made by paradox?
Paradox bought the license from the bankrupt dev of Bloodlines 3 years ago. I think the new developer is the mentioned hardsuit labs, which are a no-name.
Was hoping a bit for obsidian, but the shown trailer gets the atmosphere right for me and going deeper into the first-person/horror isn't really obsidian's forte, but makes sense for a successor.
We get some news finally about the actual game. Right now it looks like for the first few hours of the game or so you'll be playing as the Thin-Blood and then will be able to choose one of the 5 clans (with other clans coming in later as free DLC). Every clan is supposed to have unique locations and pretty big differences, encouraging replayability. Another thing is that some choices that you make very early in the game can have consequences even very late into it. I like it so far.
Tbh I am mainly worried about storytelling. Vtmb's gameplay wasn't exceptional, it was mainly the characters, voice acting and atmosphere that made it special imo. Very similar to old bioware games actually. It's probably good that many of the old crew seem to be onboard. What I've seen so far fits in terms of atmosphere, could be a bit more dirty.
Hope they also get the balance between action and storytelling right, VtmB was pretty slow compared to modern games.
I played vtmb again like 2 years ago with the fan patches and had a blast until close to the end. It didn't feel too slow, atleast after the beginning (i was Tremere). The last quarter of the game still falls off hard tho.
Slow as in the game has more dialogue than fighting and develops npcs a bit. And the story takes some time.
Dunno, liked the last quarter, the Sabbat sewers are the only part that I thought was (way) too long. Overall I'd rate SM>Hollywood>Downtown>=Chinatown, but mainly because Chinatown is a bit short on interesting NPCs barring revenge girl. On the flipside I liked most of the later main quests more than the early ones.
On May 06 2019 18:03 Archeon wrote: Tbh I am mainly worried about storytelling. Vtmb's gameplay wasn't exceptional, it was mainly the characters, voice acting and atmosphere that made it special imo. Very similar to old bioware games actually. It's probably good that many of the old crew seem to be onboard. What I've seen so far fits in terms of atmosphere, could be a bit more dirty.
Hope they also get the balance between action and storytelling right, VtmB was pretty slow compared to modern games.
Cara Ellison is the senior writer for the game. She is very good and it a great pick to write some good, yet trashy/melodramatic vampire story lines.
On May 06 2019 20:38 Archeon wrote: Slow as in the game has more dialogue than fighting and develops npcs a bit. And the story takes some time.
Dunno, liked the last quarter, the Sabbat sewers are the only part that I thought was (way) too long. Overall I'd rate SM>Hollywood>Downtown>=Chinatown, but mainly because Chinatown is a bit short on interesting NPCs barring revenge girl. On the flipside I liked most of the later main quests more than the early ones.
I finnished it once years ago but have played like 5 times till Chinatown. I allways lose interest there, imho it begins to drag towards the end of Hollywood.
Some of the old staff are back (including Brian Mitsoda, writer behind BL1 and Numenera) and it seems that almost everyone in Hardsuit Labs is a huge fan of BL1 so they're pouring their hearts out there. Most of the writers/developers are also from Seattle (BL2 setting), which will definitely help create realistic and immersive environment.
In other news, some of the initial clan predictions (based on pictures on the official website and rumors): Thin-Bloods (confirmed), Brujah (confirmed), Toreador, Ventrue, Tremere, Lasombra.
I think this list makes the most sense for the initial release, seeing how other clans require a lot more work to properly incorporate into the game. Malkavians need additional content and re-writing of large portions of dialogue, Nosferatu need completely new paths and areas for nearly the entirety of the campaign and Gangrel will most likely get released closer to the expansion (if not at the same time as expansion) since they'll make more sense when more wilderness is added for the Werewolves.
I don't mind them holding off on some of the clans (even though they're my favorites) if it means they'll have enough time to do them justice.
No Malkavians would be a bummer :/ I'm less optimistic about DLCs/Add-ons that require large amounts of redoing leveldesign/rewriting, but time will tell.
On May 07 2019 19:10 Archeon wrote: No Malkavians would be a bummer :/ I'm less optimistic about DLCs/Add-ons that require large amounts of redoing leveldesign/rewriting, but time will tell.
I think it's more a case of adding new paths and dialogue. Not redoing what's already there. Makes sense if they want to release the game sooner.
Sure, cutting content makes always sense when people want to release sooner
Most studios do a lot of work pre-release and then add some minor, slightly overpriced content after the release. There are some exceptions, but they usually come with a higher price tag.
Revisiting levels and adding additional areas however seems like a way to throw money out of the window for little gain for the studio. Especially when a lot of people won't have much interest in replaying a RPG again and again. Many of the VtmB players will do a bunch of playthroughs, but most other players likely won't put 10$ on the table to replay of a game they've already played.
On May 07 2019 20:40 Archeon wrote: Sure, cutting content makes always sense when people want to release sooner
Most studios do a lot of work pre-release and then add some minor, slightly overpriced content after the release. There are some exceptions, but they usually come with a higher price tag.
Revisiting levels and adding additional areas however seems like a way to throw money out of the window for little gain for the studio. Especially when a lot of people won't have much interest in replaying a RPG again and again. Many of the VtmB players will do a bunch of playthroughs, but most other players likely won't put 10$ on the table to replay of a game they've already played.
Many of those DLCs make the game better for later buyers. RPGs don't lose playability in the same way COD #10 does. I often get RPGs a year or two in when the bugs are fixed and the DLCs are included.
Definitive editions, final editions and goty editions sell later on after release if you make a great game.
If you make an average game they are likely not worth doing though, agreed on that.
On May 07 2019 20:40 Archeon wrote: Many of the VtmB players will do a bunch of playthroughs, but most other players likely won't put 10$ on the table to replay of a game they've already played.
They've already said that additional clans will be free DLC, not paid ones. And even without them you'll have 5 different clans to choose from which isn't bad. Most likely DLC clans will be Malkavian, Gangrel and potentially Assamites and The Ministry (former Followers of Set) down the road if they stick to the new timeline.
Even though I wouldn't mind if they added some other clans even as paid DLC later on (Giovanni, Kiasyd and Ravnos would all be great to play).
EPT
