Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, Thread 2

[Zoraptor]

It's pretty trivial to avoid Paradox's launcher if you want to. Redirect the shortcut (for non galaxy) to the main game executable rather than launcher.exe or use manage installation-->configure-->features-->custom executable (from the game's page) in galaxy to do the same. 

Edited Wednesday at 09:02 PM by Zoraptor

[melkathi]

The magic of triple A titles on launch

[Hawke64]

6 minutes ago, Zoraptor said:

It's pretty trivial to avoid Paradox's launcher if you want to. Redirect the shortcut (for non galaxy) to the main game executable rather than launcher.exe or use manage installation-->configure-->features-->custom executable (from the game's page) in galaxy to do the same. 

I have tried both, the root folder and the "\Bloodlines 2\Bloodlines2\Binaries\Win64\Bloodlines2-Win64-Shipping.exe", executables with the same result. The "Launch.." shortcut directs to the launcher more clearly. 

5 minutes ago, melkathi said:

The magic of triple A titles on launch

True. 

[marelooke]

2 hours ago, Hawke64 said:

I have the game and here is a screenshot of the only gameplay I have experienced:

The Paradox launcher mildly annoys me, but the firewall is handling it and the issue above is more significant. I suspect it is the usual UE5 thing (kindly, may Lumen and Nanites be gone), so I will try with Steam Deck later (not entirely sure how to install GOG games on it, but will try). 

I'd be more upset about it if I did not purchase it 5 years ago for a fraction of the current price. As is, I am just disappointed. 

---

Found the pre-rendered videos:

 

 

Not sure why but I'm getting Shadow Warrior vibes from this.

[Zoraptor]

2 hours ago, Hawke64 said:

I have tried both, the root folder and the "\Bloodlines 2\Bloodlines2\Binaries\Win64\Bloodlines2-Win64-Shipping.exe", executables with the same result. The "Launch.." shortcut directs to the launcher more clearly. 

Ha, weird. Maybe they've obfuscated the main exe to make the launcher compulsory then. I've previously used custom shortcuts for EU4 to avoid the launcher and (not Paradox, obviously) FO4 to direct to a mod/ ultrawidescreen enabled exe with no problems. I've also used the argument function to skip those annoying long and unskippable startup videos some other games have. I don't have vtmb2 though so can't check my end.

(Since you're having problems running it otherwise I'd suggest verifying the install if you haven't already, it's always possible- not likely though- that something has gone wrong in the download/ extraction)

[Hawke64]

21 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

Ha, weird. Maybe they've obfuscated the main exe to make the launcher compulsory then. I've previously used custom shortcuts for EU4 to avoid the launcher and (not Paradox, obviously) FO4 to direct to a mod/ ultrawidescreen enabled exe with no problems. I've also used the argument function to skip those annoying long and unskippable startup videos some other games have. I don't have vtmb2 though so can't check my end.

(Since you're having problems running it otherwise I'd suggest verifying the install if you haven't already, it's always possible- not likely though- that something has gone wrong in the download/ extraction)

1. You were right and the launcher skip worked. 

2. The game still does not work. Using a username without a space in it changed the error, but then I updated the GPU drivers and the previous error returned.

I have also redownloaded the game's latest version from GOG (the patch was for a newer version than the initial release), with no improvements. 

[melkathi]

And once you get it to work, chances are you get the crash on gender select bug

[Hawke64]

I've got it to run with the -dx11 parameter. The store page explicitly stated that DX12 was the only supported version, so it looks a bit worse than one would hope. The only good thing I can say now is that the controls are rebindable. The on-screen prompts still show the default keys, though. In terms of story, the NPC companion is quite amicable (neither obnoxious nor hysterical), which is welcome, considering that the NPC is likely to be around for the whole game. I suppose, the installation size (~25GB) is good, especially considering that GOG runs installation through the system drive. 

I am feeling adventurous enough to continue, even if it is just an action-adventure rather than an RPG. However, I would not recommend to purchase it for more than £10 and earlier than next year.

Then again, the Eternal Strands devs disabled -dx11 in one of the updates, so it was quite unpleasant to discover after purchasing (thank GOG for the 30 days refund limit). I think, an easier rollback should be possible on Steam via the CLI (because the developers did not offer a beta branch after worsening the system requirements), which would require more effort than I am willing to provide at the moment. 

It was on by default. 

I mean, there were not many articles of clothing in VtMB, but this is sad. 

On a "fun" note, imgur is blocked in the UK. I'd guess the owners chose it while that OSA bs blows over, rather than the local goverment went after the website. 

  

1 hour ago, melkathi said:

And once you get it to work, chances are you get the crash on gender select bug

Given the situation with the human rights for LGBTQ+ and especially trans and intersex people, this is not the angle for humour I would use. 
https://diva-magazine.com/2025/10/13/coroner-trans-wait-times/

Edited Friday at 09:25 AM by Hawke64

[melkathi]

It was more about how early in the game the bugs apparently start

[Hawke64]

1 hour ago, melkathi said:

It was more about how early in the game the bugs apparently start

I apologise for misreading the comment and thank you for the clarification. 

[Hawke64]

I have defeated the first boss and realised that I strongly dislike the combat system. The boss, unlike me, also could block the attacks. 

In terms of traversal and stealth, it is possible to travel via the rooftops, the PC kills really quietly (you can chain-stealth-kill), and the opponents have a relatively low range of vision. 

An early spoiler for the NPC companion:

Spoiler

The companion is playable and his 1 gameplay sequence was closer to a tutorial than anything else, i.e. quite linear. I can't say that I was fond of erasing a random guy's memory over a small debt. 

An early spoiler for the first boss battle:

Spoiler

I am puzzled that I had to remove the bar instead of carefully removing the concrete and carrying the target with me. 

The boss battle itself was not particularly satisfying, though I managed to get into stealth a few times. The lack of target lock was annoying.

The game opened up afterwards, with several quests to choose from across the city. The clan representatives offer to unlock the other clans' abilities for some blood points. 

I have also spent some more time with the GameUserSettings.ini file. Can't say that I've achieved much, though. 

Screenshots:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

Screenshots with some spoilers:

Spoiler

 

 

Edited Saturday at 09:45 PM by Hawke64