VtM: Bloodlines 1 Year Anniversary Q&A

[Gabrielle]

The voice acting is the best I've heard in any game so far. Plus the soundtrack is a major plus as well as the background sounds in the game.

[Blodhemn]

Janmanden: My character is Malkavian and I absolutely love the dialogue. Easily my favorite part of the game. At one point I actually started writing down the amusing lines.

 

Surreptishus: I'm not really a hardcore fan of any game genre. I just expect a game's core mechanics to be somewhat of an entertaining experience. And to me, the combat feels incredibly weak & flimsy. It's the same problem I had with Morrowind, although I'm sure I will see Bloodlines all the way through.

 

Spider: That's a drag. I'm really hoping to break away from the Prince soon. I've been his puppet for far too long! As for the quests, some have been refreshing and others just leave me feeling empty.

 

I mentioned earlier of the bad sound, I was refering to the combat and interactive sounds which are just that: bad. You lot are right about the music and ambient sounds. It is indeed good. And that deepens my overall feeling of the game: inconsistent. Anyway, thanks for the replies.

[Child of Flame]

 

:'(

[Darque]

[karka]

Ocean House Hotel part was really cool. Hey, i think i should play that game again.

[Surreptishus]

i laughed when i saw that pic for the first time in the game. But i think it should be in spoiler tags... if possible

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Reminds me of the ink puzzle in Two Memories.

[Hell Kitty]

The hotel was good the first time around, but repeats seem like a chore.

[Spider]

It wasn't to me. It is of course not the same thing as the first time, but the ambience is still so good that I truly enjoy it every time.

[Slowtrain]

Bloodlines is one of the best CRPGs of all time.  It was underappreciated, but it was finally the game worthy of Troika's promise.  Unfortunately, it came too late to save them.  They finally get it right, don't give stupid excuses, have some excellent writing, and then Troika goes out of business?  I'm glad some of the talent ended up at Obsidian.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Amen, Brother Eldar. ALthough for me Arcanum will remain Troika's greatest work, despite its bugs and balancing issues.

 

However, Bloodlines is definitely an overall better product though less ambitious and ultimately less interesting than Arcanum.

 

However, Bloodlines is right there with SS2 and DX as the best first person crpgs ever.

[Slowtrain]

The hotel was good the first time around, but repeats seem like a chore.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I agree, but the first time was awesome. Once you know that nothing is actually going to happen, its loses 99% of its entertainment value. However, the first time...woo! I wet myself. :cool:

[Hell Kitty]

Once you know that nothing is actually going to happen, its loses 99% of its entertainment value.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Exactly, being so scripted it's just not the same again. It was definitely cool the first time around, although it's not on the level of the scary maps from the Thief games.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Maybe it was because I was playing a Vampire, but I never found it particularly eerie. It may have been because it was so overdone in efforts to creepy too.

[Spider]

Once you know that nothing is actually going to happen, its loses 99% of its entertainment value.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Exactly, being so scripted it's just not the same again. It was definitely cool the first time around, although it's not on the level of the scary maps from the Thief games.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Here I definitely disagree. I've only played Thief 3 but the levels that were supposed to be scary were everything but. In fact, the Cradle was one of my least favorite levels of the game.

 

I'll admit it's very atmospheric and I can understand why people would like it (it's just that I didn't). It does stand out in the game. But to me there was nothing scary about it.

[Hell Kitty]

I've only played Thief 3

 

I was actually thinking of the Return to the Cathedral map in the original Thief. The old Hammer Haunts are creeptastic.

[CoM_Solaufein]

The hotel was the best part. The scary ambient music and the story of it was excellent.

[Janmanden]

As I've said previously somewhere, Bloodlines is the game that (imo) totally redeems Troika to the claim of being creators of Fallout. A line on their website that always bugged me until that point was made.

 

It's easy to get the wrong impression of Bloodlines if you don't try the different clans:

 

In my first game I played a Brujah - to pick up from 'Christof' the Holy Crusder from Redemption-alike - and I saw how Disciplines were replaced (as in KOTOR) by level upgrades. And that clan was only a choice of vampire 'race' and sets of disciplines. And there was no group members. And brawling was like some arcad'ish mortal kombat game (can't say which, since I never play such). All things compared to Redemption I felt a big BIG loss of especially Disciplines, due to the limits and fixation of only 3 disciplines = 3 powers...and no feral claws?!

 

Malkavian really changed that view.

 

And the Nosferatu way of dealing with the food critic by sheer presence and the voice acting alone was worth it all. Lots of Value! :D

[Spider]

I was actually thinking of the Return to the Cathedral map in the original Thief. The old Hammer Haunts are creeptastic.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Fair enough. I mentioned the Cradle because in another thread about Bloodlines someone said that the Hotel had nothing on the Cradle in terms of scariness and since I hadn't played Thief 3 at that time I couldn't answer on it. Now that opporunity kinda presented itself I was ready to jump.

[Gabrielle]

I should branch out and play other clans. Isn't playing Nosferatu hard since you are not suppose to be seen by normal people?

[Janmanden]

I should branch out and play other clans. Isn't playing Nosferatu hard since you are not suppose to be seen by normal people?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Gorth could go on and on for hours about how he likes to suck on crunchy sewer rats, but I never really used the sewers except when I had to go between towns and separate areas... If you get to close to non-interactive or 'normal' npc's it's time to move on, except when you are thirsty of course, but most of the dialogue is still open to you, even though initial reactions may be a ... bit special sometimes.

[Arkan]

The hotel part was great. Not thinking, the first time I saw the girl I ran after her...imagine my surprise when....

[Gabrielle]

I should branch out and play other clans. Isn't playing Nosferatu hard since you are not suppose to be seen by normal people?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Gorth could go on and on for hours about how he likes to suck on crunchy sewer rats, but I never really used the sewers except when I had to go between towns and separate areas... If you get to close to non-interactive or 'normal' npc's it's time to move on, except when you are thirsty of course, but most of the dialogue is still open to you, even though initial reactions may be a ... bit special sometimes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I usually stick with Ventrue, Toreador and Tremure clans. I did try Malkavian but didn't finish that game yet. The dialogues are pretty funny for that clan.

[Musopticon?]

I was actually thinking of the Return to the Cathedral map in the original Thief. The old Hammer Haunts are creeptastic.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Fair enough. I mentioned the Cradle because in another thread about Bloodlines someone said that the Hotel had nothing on the Cradle in terms of scariness and since I hadn't played Thief 3 at that time I couldn't answer on it. Now that opporunity kinda presented itself I was ready to jump.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That was me, by the way.

[Hell Kitty]

I found the Cradle scarier than the Hotel.

 

When going up the stairs in the first part of the Cradle,

the knocking on the attic door scared the crapola outta me more than anything, but much like Hotel it was a scripted one time deal

 

 

In the second part of the Cradle, I found the

patients creepy. Basically the Cradle had enemies that could harm me, whereas the only nasties you had to worry about in the Hotel was flying furniture.

 

 

Of course this is all like a pre-school lesson compared to the creepiness of Silent Hill...

Edited December 14, 2005 by Hell Kitty

[Spider]

That was me, by the way.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

By the way, I've been meaning to thank you for helping me to avoid a crash in the game. Not that you'd know you helped, but still..

 

When going up the stairs in the first part of the Cradle, the knocking on the attic door scared the crapola outta me more than anything, but much like Hotel it was a scripted one time deal

 

In the second part of the Cradle, I found the patients creepy. Basically the Cradle had enemies that could harm me, whereas the only nasties you had to worry about in the Hotel was flying furniture.

 

 

 

For me, the Cradle was creepy but not scary. I think it has a lot to do with the nature of the Thief games themselves. Since I moved about at a very deliberate pace, listening, looking, being prepared in every mission, there was nothing about the Cradle that could scare me. I saw the creatures before they saw me most of the time and when they did saw me they acted just like any other opponent in the game (which also was true when they didn't see me). The knocking door did make me nervous for a sec, but nothing more than that.

 

The Hotel on the other hand had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. My character was never in any real danger, but I didn't know that. Every corner I rounded I was nervous something would jump out at me and it really felt like things would take a turn for the worse any second.

 

Personally I think making me fear for the safety of my character when he/she is in no danger is a very impressive accomplishment. (although I did manage to die the first time I played it, I think I got an elevator dropped on my head, but that's me being clumpsy)

 

But even so, the level just oozes of athmosphere, and that, not the scaryness, is what makes me like it so much. I've enjoyed it greatly each of the times I've played it. I got really pissed when I botched the quest to help the poor woman by giving the locket to Jeanette on my first playthrough.