Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2

[Silent_Buddha]

https://i.redd.it/10syygtpzmn21.png

quotes from the writing staff and developers

Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual orientations were always a part of the World of Darkness: Vampire RPG off of which the original game was based.

The only thing that concerns me in that post is

I don't believe you can look at both sides of a political argument without understanding both sides.

That's very true, but in practice we're increasingly seeing that on both sides of the political spectrum there is no attempt to truly understand the side with an opposing political viewpoint. Each side believes in their side and then has this caricature view of the opposing side.

So, are the developers actually trying to understand both sides? Or will one side be painted as a caricature?

Regards,
SB

 

[MfA]

AFAICS they aren't talking about any situation with a clear parallel to real world politic hot button topics, ie. immigration, just a rather safe ideological struggle elevated to importance in game.

Really they should just have not given an interview to Kotaku ... what's there to gain by letting them stir the shit?

 

[AlNom]

Sexy vampires

 

[homerdog]

Not like you have to be a queer trans if you don't want to and if you do then it's nice to have the option. I just hope they don't try to cram their sjw message down the player's throat making it feel cheap and exploitative. Gender/orientation should be a thing about your character, not the thing.

There was a lot of butthurt about Solder 76 being gay in Overwatch but imo it works because his character is already well established so he isn't just a token gay. Still it's cringe that they tweeted his coming out. "Solder is the gay, look at us so tolerant and progressive!". Also kinda ridiculous that they make such a big deal about something like that when the game has so many actual problems that need immediate attention :neutral:

 

[Davros]

On a related note:
Modder ‘Ridiculous Death’ has released a new HD Texture Pack for Vampire: The Masquerade Redemption. Ridiculous Death has used neural networks in order to improve the original textures by 4X times and upscales all of the game’s 3147 textures.

As the modder noted, all textures are based on their original versions, meaning that atmosphere is preserved. They were upscaled to 4X resolution with neural networks and then downscaled to meet the 512×512 resolution limit of the engine.

Those interested can download the HD Texture Pack from here. This pack is 1.3GB in size
https://www.nexusmods.com/vampireredemption/mods/2/?tab=files

 

[swaaye]

I saw this texture processing done to Morrowind and some other games too I think. Seems to be all the rage lately.
https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/46221

 

[digitalwanderer]

On a related note:
Modder ‘Ridiculous Death’ has released a new HD Texture Pack for Vampire: The Masquerade Redemption. Ridiculous Death has used neural networks in order to improve the original textures by 4X times and upscales all of the game’s 3147 textures.

As the modder noted, all textures are based on their original versions, meaning that atmosphere is preserved. They were upscaled to 4X resolution with neural networks and then downscaled to meet the 512×512 resolution limit of the engine.

Those interested can download the HD Texture Pack from here. This pack is 1.3GB in size
https://www.nexusmods.com/vampireredemption/mods/2/?tab=files

Thanks Dav! Hopefully my PC can run it with the new texture pack and it's incredible what the fans do so that we can all enjoy the game more!

 

[Alexko]

My reaction to this:

1) Oh, cool, a new thread about Bloodlines, I like talking about that game, it was great! :smile2:
2) HOLY FUCKING SHIT IT'S NOT ABOUT BLOODLINES IT'S ABOUT BLOODLINES 2, THEY'RE MAKING A SEQUEL!
3) Oh, God, I forgot, this game killed Troika, who's going to make it? Paradox? What if they screw it up and it's a huge disappointment? :|
4) Oh, good, they kept the main people behind it. This could actually be really fucking great! My laptop won't cut it, so I guess I'll have to buy a desktop again, but I kinda want to anyway, so this game's a good excuse to do just that!
5) That trailer, though. Lots of fighting and running around and jumping all over the place. It looks good, but that's not what Bloodlines was about. I really hope they stay true to the original game's spirit. :neutral:

 

[digitalwanderer]

Yeah, but it definitely got a strong reaction out of you.

 

[digitalwanderer]

On a relatedish note, a link to a non-subscription based site with the Neural Redemption mod. (Well, at least a free subscription site )

 

[Deleted member 13524]

https://i.redd.it/10syygtpzmn21.png

quotes from the writing staff and developers

To be honest, the only SJW thing I see in there are the pronoun choices, which in actual gameplay elements means very little. You can be a guy and the characters treat you like a girl, or vice-versa. I don't think for a second they're going to record 50 different voice tracks everytime the characters need to mention the character in the 3rd person (he, she, zee, tee, pee, whateveree, etc.). But even if they do, as long as the story doesn't force sjw-ness down my throat (like e.g. Dragon Age Inquisition with the boring long monologues about sexual orientation and gender identity), that's fine by me.

So, are the developers actually trying to understand both sides? Or will one side be painted as a caricature?

Yes. That will be the decisive factor here.
If you put politics in your game, make sure you give the player enough nuance so that he must make an actually difficult choice, and not just THESE POLITICS BAD! THOSE POLITICS GOOD! YOU BE GOOD OR BAD?

The Witcher games are fantastic in that regard. Later bioware games are terrible.

AFAICS they aren't talking about any situation with a clear parallel to real world politic hot button topics, ie. immigration, just a rather safe ideological struggle elevated to importance in game.

Really they should just have not given an interview to Kotaku ... what's there to gain by letting them stir the shit?

Agreed.
The problem here is the resetera gulag and kotaku taking this tiny option inside the friggin' character creation panel (0.1% of the game for most people?) and using it to say "look at how much of a bastion of progressivism this game is! 90/10 score before it's even out!".
Which will obviously be picked up by polygon to post a piece titled "Progressive Bloodlines 2 developers show how much better the socialists are than all the other people (i.e. basically alt-right man-babies)".
Which will then will be picked up by the new york times to post a piece titled "This game tells you why Trump was colluding with Russia".


But to be honest, this was going to happen even if they hadn't given an interview to kotaku. Weaponising everything is a mainstream media/internet problem, not the dev's fault IMHO.

 

[Davros]

 

[Cyan]

On a related note:
Modder ‘Ridiculous Death’ has released a new HD Texture Pack for Vampire: The Masquerade Redemption. Ridiculous Death has used neural networks in order to improve the original textures by 4X times and upscales all of the game’s 3147 textures.

As the modder noted, all textures are based on their original versions, meaning that atmosphere is preserved. They were upscaled to 4X resolution with neural networks and then downscaled to meet the 512×512 resolution limit of the engine.

Those interested can download the HD Texture Pack from here. This pack is 1.3GB in size
https://www.nexusmods.com/vampireredemption/mods/2/?tab=files

that's great! Thanks for sharing. Finally, no more stumps as hands.

The original Vampire The Masquerade: Redemption is one of the most influential games ever for me. The first one had the best and most intelligent dialogue I've ever seen in a videogame and also the best love story I've seen in a game -movie material if they wanted to-.

 

[Davros]

Did you see the tv show based on bloodlines ?
Kindred: The Embraced

ps: Have you played Vampire The Masquerade Redemption ?
You should it also has great quality writing/story although a different type of game (3d isometric)

 

[Cyan]

Did you see the tv show based on bloodlines ?
Kindred: The Embraced

No

ps: Have you played Vampire The Masquerade Redemption ?
You should it also has great quality writing/story although a different type of game (3d isometric)

the original, yes. Bloodlines caught me a bit late. 3d isometric camera? I've never heard of that version tbh

 

[Davros]

I'd say this is isometric

 

[AlNom]

Did you see the tv show based on bloodlines ?
Kindred: The Embraced

Huh. I have vague memories about the show existing. Didn’t realize the connection.

 

[Cyan]

similar video, but with some extras

 

[Alexko]

I'd say this is isometric

No, this is real 3D, otherwise the windows would all have the same shape and size, for example.

 

[homerdog]

No, this is real 3D, otherwise the windows would all have the same shape and size, for example.

I think people get confused thinking isometric just means the camera position is fixed.

An Isometric drawing is a quasi 3d drawing that shows the height width and depth of the object in a single view where the viewpoint is at a 45 degree angle from each of the perpendicular planes of the orthographic view. Isometric differs from a perspective view in that all lengths are shown true length.

Like if you're watching a "3D" movie, no matter where you are in the theater you will always see the same thing, e.g. if an actor is looking straight at the camera you can't move to the far right and see the side of their head.

If you want a good example of isometric vs normal 3D check New Super Mario Bros vs the upcoming 3D World mode in Super Mario Maker 2.