Vampire Bloodlines Gets New Unofficial Patch

bloodlines.jpgIf you’re as utterly crazy about Troika as I am, chances are you still fire up the developer’s awesome, if buggy, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines for a bit of blood-sucking RPG action.

Thankfully, we’re not alone, and we don’t have to put up with anywhere near as much bugginess as we did in 2004. In fact, there’s a bunch of hardcore players who have continued to pump out unofficial patches long after Troika sunk into the sea and Activision silently erased it from their list of supported games.

The latest in this series of unofficial patches is v5.04TA, and you can download it from GameSpot (requires registration).

Full patch release notes after the jump.

The True VTMB Patch
version 5.04AT

—————————————
Overview:
—————————————

This is a repair patch for “Vampire – The Masquerade: Bloodlines,” a wonderful
RPG
created by the Troika studio and released in 2004 by ActiVision. This patch is
intended
to do nothing but fix bugs that were still present within the game, following
its release.
This patch will not change any other aspects of the original VTMB, other than
to restore
any broken (but intended by Troika) content that the official patch from
ActiVision failed
to repair.

It is the author’s intention to change absolutely nothing about the way VTMB
plays, aside
from repairing and restoring broken parts of the game’s code. To the best of
our knowledge,
nothing else has been altered from the way that Troika had originally intended
for the game
to be experienced.In short: if you would prefer to play an unbroken version of
the original
game, then this patch is definitely for you.

It is recommended that you not install this version on top of any other
“unofficial
patches” or mods. Also, this version of the True VTMB Patch does not support
any previous
versions of our patch prior to version 4.04AT. This is a self-contained,
stand-alone patch
and it must be installed into a fresh copy of VTMB. This is critical..!!! You
can not just
drop version 5.04AT into a pre-existing installation of VTMB and expect it to
function
properly. New users of the True Patch absolutely MUST completely remove and
then re-install
VTMB, from its original installation CD’s. This point can not be stressed
enough, so please
be sure that you fully understand this issue, before proceeding any further.

———————————-
INSTALLATION:
———————————-

FOR VERSION 5.04AT, YOU MUST BEGIN WITH A TOTALLY NEW AND FRESH INSTALLATION OF
VTMB.
Any previous installations MUST be completely un-installed AND totally deleted
from your
hard drive, BEFORE you can install version 5.04AT of this patch. THE ONLY
EXCEPTIONS ARE
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY BEEN USING VERSION 4.04AT OF THE TRUE VTMB PATCH. If
you have
already been using version 4.04AT and if it has been properly configured, then
you do not
need to uninstall anything. Version 5.04AT is fully compatible with version
4.04AT and it
can be installed directly on top of your existing 4.04AT installation.

For new users of the True Patch…

Once you have a fresh, new copy of VTMB installed, you MUST install the
official v. 1.2
patch from ActiVision. This patch can be found in several places on the web,
including
from ActiVisions own official site:

http://download.activision.com/bloodlines/vtmb_1_2.exe

Once the official patch has been installed, please proceed to the next section.
IF YOU
HAVE OBTAINED YOUR COPY OF VTMB FROM EITHER THE STEAM SERVICE OR
DIRECT-2-DRIVE, THEN
YOU CAN SKIP THE INSTALLATION OF THE OFFICIAL 1.2 PATCH. THOSE VERSIONS OF VTMB
ALREADY
HAVE THE OFFICIAL 1.2 PATCH INTEGRATED INTO THEIR FILES.

In general: if you try to install the official patch, and it tells you that it
is already
installed, then you most likely do not need it. Just proceed to the next
section.

Simply unpack this archive to a neutral, temporary folder on your hard drive.
Then, copy
the entire “Vampire” directory within this archive into your main VTMB folder.
Next, when
prompted and asked if you wish to overwrite any files, select “YES to ALL” and
the patch
will thus be installed.

THOSE PLAYERS WHO PREFER TO UNPACK THE “VPACK” (VPK) FILES FROM BLOODLINES
*MUST* UNPACK
THOSE FILES *BEFORE* ANY PATCHES OF ANY KIND ARE INSTALLED (including the
official patch).

It is always wise to create a backup copy of the “plain vanilla” version of
VTMB, before
patching or modifying it in any way. Once installed, this patch can not be
removed without
re-installing the entire game, or overwriting it with a backed-up copy of the
game’s files.
The author(s) assume no responsibility nor liability for any failure to follow
good backup
and installation procedures on your part. Please read and understand fully all
instructions
and warnings before proceeding with this patch. This archive has been fully
tested and all
of its files are known to be in good working order. It is offered
free-of-charge and as-is.

———————————–
NOTES:
———————————–

cHARACTER CREATION:
Player histories are disabled by default. To “permanently” turn them on, edit
the
autoexec.cfg file (open with Notepad)in Vamire\CFG and add the following line:

vchar_edit_histories “1”

Some effects in player histories have been modified to avoid known buggy
behavior.
Added short and penalty descriptions to all histories in use.

SANTA MONICA:
* Restored some missing lines from Heather’s opening dialogue, including
Malkavian lines where appropriate
* Restored dialogue and missing xp for finding Bertrum Tung
* Fixed an inconsistency in Jeanette’s dialogue that caused the Jeanette boink
relay to fire when
it shouldn’t
* Changed some conditions in Therese’s dialogue to make sure the Spritual
Release quest properly updates
when the pendant is given to Jeanette
* Fixed some typos in Therese’s dialogue
* Fixed some typos in Knox’s dialogue
* Fixed some typos in Tourette’s dialogue
* Fixed conditions in Tourette’s dialouge – note that is makes it “harder”
reconcile Therese and Jeanette
* Fixed a starting condition in E’s dialogue that checked to see if the player
is Nosferatu
* Restored missing xp for entering the gallery without killing Chunk and added
an appropriate quest state
* Restored Jeanette’s e-mail and associated dialogue option
* Changed Malcolm’s dialogue so that players no longer say they want a “few
hundred bucks” and then only ask
for 75
* Made sure Knox will no longer appear in the Santa Monica hub if the player
has killed him.
* Restored correct sound scheme for Carson’s laptop and the Keui-Jin’s
* Added some conditions to clean up sloppy code in Santa Monica scripts
* Added some spoken lines to Mercurio’s subtitles
* Fixed some subtitles in Arthur’s dialogue
* Repaired an interesting place conversation node inside the Asylum.
* Fixed bail bond entry in Kalptrick’s computer for Rolf. Should display his
license plate correctly now.

DOWNTOWN:
* Fixed Regent dialogue so Tremere players who have met all requirements won’t
miss out on their haven (not tested)
* Made sewer map available to Nosferatu only.
* Restored use of social and psychic abilites to deal with Milligan for
Pisha.
* Fixed a bug with Kanker not properly updating quest status on death under
certain circumstances.
* Fixed Mudd Hunt quest so players can’t get stuck by doing things out of
order.
* Made abandoned building always show the murder scene when it should.
* Restored parking garage briefcase exchange sequence.
* Corrected a conditional error in Venus’ dialogue that could result in
getting her quests twice
* Fixed some typos in Damsel’s dialogue
* Fixed some tyops in the blood doll’s dialogue
* Made subtitles match the voice over for the bum in the abandoned building
* Removed some duplicate lines from Venus’ dialogue
* sharks will no longer try to hate Jets that don’t exist, and vice versa
* Corrected a condition resulting in duplicate lines in LaCroix’s endgame
dialogue
* Fixed some conditions in LaCroix’s dialogue regarding Masquerade
violations.
* Removed a duplicate line from the abandoned building bum’s dialogue and
ensured that he leaves
when he’s supposed to.

HOLLYWOOD:
* Fixed some sloppy code in Vesuvius scripts
* Corrected some conditional errors in VV’s dialogue
* Made Imalia’s newspaper and inspection node only appear when they should
* Fixed a starting condition that could lead to inconsistency in Imalia’s
dialogue.
* Hid Bertrum’s CD from non Nosferatu
* Fixed dates in Warrens ledgers
* Added some conditions to Isaac’s dialogue so you don’t tell him about the
Gargoyle every time you
speak to him.

CHINATOWN
* Hid Yukie until after you meet Ming Xiao
* Removed some unspoken lines from Ming Xiao’s subtitles
* Restored some Ji Wen Ja/Lu Fang reconciliation lines and added appropriate
quest states
* Added some conditions to Tseng dialogue to prevent some options from showing
up before they should

GIOVANI
* Restored sound to Mira’s dialogue, lines 81, 221, 231, 241, 251, 261, 271,
281, 291, 301, 311
* Nadia’s “They’re after us” line no longer plays when Nadia isn’t present.
NOTE: It no longer plays
at all, now. Will try to make it play only when she’s present in the
future.

SOCIETY OF LEOPOLD
* Gave roof guards sniper and assault rifles instead of shotguns and uzis
* Corrected a python script check on the escape route
* Fixed some subtitles for Johansen

HOLLOWBROOK
* Prevented Lasombra_dead_relay from triggering too soon.
* Made flamethrower a tad easier to find
* Prevented Heather from showing up if she’s already dead.

GENERAL:
* Cleared the theatre after the player’s opening movie trial
* Restored some missing sounds, including missing feeding sounds for female
characters.
* Made VV’s e-mails appear at the correct times.
* Made LaCroix’s payment for Tommy Flayton’s review appear in mailbox when it
should.
* Added zoom sway effect to SWAT sniper rifle, and adjusted its base damage
* Restored Cabbie’s alternative greetings.
* Changed conditions and text for Mercurio’s “Repaid Favors” email
* Fixed some subtitles in Heather’s dialogue
* Fixed the huntersDead[]array in all main city hubs – hunters should now
spawn
correctly when a player violates the Masquerade too many times.
* Removed duplicate $ignorez lines from money envelope inventory images
* Moved Beckett’s downtown spawn point to (hopefully) fix the infamous Beckett
wait bug.
* Fixed some subtitles in Jack’s tutorial dialogue.
* Additional Malkavian dialogue restored whenever it was absolutely
necessary.
* Several missing textures have been restored with custom-made creations by
Tessera.
* Several texture “stamps” have been added to certain graphics in the game, as
a
means of positively identifying our patch from any mods made by others.
These
stamps are *very* well-hidden, so have fun trying to find them all. 😉

———————————–
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
———————————–

Acrimonious: Python script editing, fixes to coding errors, dialogue errors,
item repairs and all of the required map repairs/restorations/alterations.

Tessera: Creative (RP) oversight, dialogue coach, additional Malkavian
dialogue,
special custom texture repairs/restorations, continuity oversight and also the
promotion/hosting of the True VTMB Patch series.

Special thanks to our volunteer 5.04AT beta testers:

Alehezar
Arandie
Erelas
Jordi
Paramecium
Tinman

————————————
OFFICIAL SUPPORT WEBSITE:
————————————

http://www.tessmage.com
(adults only, please)

True VTMB Patch version 5.04AT
Release date: September 29, 2007

– END

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