Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines Hands-On Preview

[-Lord Ebonstone-]

Im glad I did'nt try Redguard or Battlespire though..from what I heard on them Bethesda woulda struck out

I actually enjoyed Redguard the most of all of Bethesda's games... it was the only one that had a soul, in my opinion.

[Balshazaar]

Don't forget that Troika is a relatively new studio, too.  While there's no excuse for releasing a buggy game, there aren't a lot of small studios that get perfectly polished product out the door, much less big studios.  Speaking from experience in QA (at Impressions and Stainless Steel), it takes enormous effort for an established studio to get a bug-free product out the door.  Impressions was known for having one of the only permanent (and large) QA teams in the industry at that time (not Sierra guys, but Imp guys), and we still had our failures, though we tried harder than you can imagine to eradicate them.  Troika will get there if they're given the proper time and support.

[Balshazaar]

By the way, shouldn't this be in Road to Gold?

[Butterknife]

By the way, shouldn't this be in Road to Gold?

Oh yeah, now you worry about that.

[farley2k]

Well the game is gold so it is no longer on the road to being gold...but it isn't out yet in stores....so we have a thread in both sections!

[farley2k]

Unfortunatley all the quick takes, previews, etc. won't answer the real questions about bugs.  Those things are always controled by the developer so the people playing don't get to have unrestricted access.

It won't be until people actually start playing it that we find out about bugs.  So I just can't bring myself to pre-order - even though GoGamer is selling it for $39.99  ifyou pre-order.

[ioticus]

Well the game is gold so it is no longer on the road to being gold...but it isn't out yet in stores....so we have a thread in both sections!

Do you have inside info on this?  I don't see the announcement anywhere.

[Knightshade Dragon]

How fast twitch is it? I suck at FPS.

It really isn't bad.  Your health doesn't fly down really fast and neither does theirs so it isn't click-click dead if you aren't paying attention.  (might be so with bosses though, I dunno)

When the npcs speak, is it voice only or is there readable text?

You have an option to turn on txt for their speech.

Is there a dvd version available?

Nope, its looking like 3-4 CDs on release for the game.

Is there a heavy emphasis on puzzles?

Didn't see a heavy emphasis on puzzles as much as interactions.  Dealing with the right people and how you deal with them seemed to be more the focus.

Is there an auto map system, or waypoints?

We only got to play in one hub, but at the bus stations there are city maps like the ones you might see in a mall.  As far as 'waypoints' its not set up so much like that.  You start off in the one hub but as you get reason to visit other hubs you can go there as well.  I was pretty leash-free to explore anywhere I wanted though...

BTW, RPGdot mentioned you.

Cool!  Thanks for the heads up.

[Knightshade Dragon]

It won't be until people actually start playing it that we find out about bugs.

Players will figure out new and interesting ways of exploiting and otherwise breaking the system...its always been that way.

[Vidiot]

What about the size of the hub you were in?

How big was it?

It might be hard to quantify, but for example, to explore most of it how long do you think it would take?

Most reports seem to say the game is going to be pretty long; I just want to make sure it isn't going to be long because you are running a lot of circles around the same areas.

[Knightshade Dragon]

Well, I played in the hub I was in for two and a half hours and ended up walking past a lot of shops and skipping a lot of side quests to really try to get a taste of the overall game.  There is a lot going on in these areas.  Yea, there is some back and forth, but thats RPGs for ya.

[Victoria Raverna]

Why is it every topic that mention HL2 got moved to the  Road to Gold, but this Vampires topic can stay here? Is it because the console gold's boss started it here and no moderators are brave enough to move it.

[AgtFox]

General unwritten rule (this rule was also in place on another forum I used to moderate) is that the boss, staff and mods can start a thread in a forum it doesn't necessarily belong in...professional courtesy if you will.  Ron is fully capable of moving this to RTG, but he has obviously chosen not to.

[Knightshade Dragon]

Or because Ron typically doesn't see why we segregate titles that are released from those that are not, but opened Road to Gold because you guys asked me to.  

[DrunkenPirate]

This game sounds awesome! I can't wait.

[Baron Of Hell]

Does the copy protection use some kind of online madness like HL2 is using.  What I mean is do you have to be online each time you play the game?

[Gryndyl]

Does the copy protection use some kind of online madness like HL2 is using.  What I mean is do you have to be online each time you play the game?

You don't have to be online each time you play HL2. Only once, the first time you play, for however many seconds it takes to validate your CD key. That's it.

[Knightshade Dragon]

Haven't heard anything on the copy protection yet.

[Calvin]

Hey Ron!!!

Is this still looking like an 11/15 release?

[JayG]

I loved Arcanum, in spite of all the bugs. Fallout was a far buggier game for me,  but I also thought that it was brilliant. And this was before I had Internet access so everyone could tell me what to think about the games I play.

Ron has a dream job. Plays Thief 3, Vampire and probably Half Life 2 before all us plebs. Not bad for a console site.

[Turtle]

No, it won't use an online activation scheme.  Unless they're completely crazy, making people activate online for a single player only game is a sure fire way to alienate anyone who might have bought your game, and they're on shakey ground as it is.

[farley2k]

Hey Ron!!!

Is this still looking like an 11/15 release?

According to Bluesnews it will be released on the 16th as well as HL2

Santa Monica, CA – November 9, 2004 – The bloodletting begins on November 16, 2004 with the shipping of Activision, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Vampire®: The Masquerade – Bloodlines™ for the PC.

An all-new RPG adventure, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is filled with rich character development, an intriguing storyline set in White Wolf’s World of Darkness®, and mind-blowing graphics powered by Source™ - Valve’s next generation engine technology. It will take a vicious array of vampire disciplines and a healthy penchant for blood, for players to survive the dark and gritty undying world of modern day L.A. Selecting from one of seven clans, gamers will interact with other characters, decide with whom to ally themselves, and watch as darkness takes over their soul while a mysterious plot unfolds.

[Knightshade Dragon]

Yea, I'm in the process of posting the same PR piece.  I can confirm that.

[Kevin Grey]

The press release mentions "shipping" so I'm guessing Vampire won't be in store until the 17th.  For whatever reason I'm under the impression that Half-Life 2's nos-shit in store date is the 16th.

[Calvin]

This is awesome. I cannot believe I am going to have to finish HL2 and Vampire from the 16th to the 23rd when WoW comes out. OMFG. I will never leave the house.

[Fellow]

Holy crap, I was NOT expecting Bloodlines to ship so close to HL2. But, I'm not complaining either.

Except for the fact that there has been a ridiculous amount of releases lately, and I don't even want to know how much I've already splurged on games.

...Yeah. Except that.

[belfong]

I'm sorry but I can't find the preview in consolegold main page. Can someone please provide a direct link? Thank you.

[dangerballs]

I'm sorry but I can't find the preview in consolegold main page. Can someone please provide a direct link? Thank you.

http://www.consolegold.com/shorttakes/bloodlines.php

It was in the same news posting as the date  

[CeeKay]

huh, I didn't even see a gold announcement for it.  100 bucks in one fell swoop.....