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20 minutes of uninterrupted gameplay from Vampire: Bloodlines 2
- Thread starter EatChildren
- Start date
Is there someone named Luke working on the game or something? Couldn't help but notice the random Arabic graffiti at 7:43 (لوك).
Shouldn't have that Slugg guy been dusted when he got his head cut off?
Vamps burst into flames when they suffer the final death
Vamps burst into flames when they suffer the final death
Its always so painful to realise that a demo is being done on controller for a game that is primarily for PC. Watching someone slowly turn around and not be able to react properly to anything is just awful. Like watching someone get killed in a slasher flick.
I always get weirded out by games set in Seattle. It's such a different city compared to a lot of other common game settings, like New York City and its umpteenth half-baked clone (Empire City, Liberty City, Chicago, you get the idea). For one, it's more overcast than it is rainy throughout the year, and the entire city is ridiculously hilly. I can't think of many games to get Seattle "right". Even Sucker Punch, who're located in Bellevue, made Seattle into two islands and basically turned it into "New York, but with rain and trees".
This looks... far more promising than that. Like time actually went into making the city look and feel like Seattle, not just "Seattle, except I looked for a second too long and now it's unrecognizable".
It is easy to be critical, but do we know for sure that the player wasn't using a dance mat?
Because if they did ... well it still isn't quite there but it is early in development.
They have so many folks on the show floor to cover as many appointments as possible. In the end, they care more about maximum coverage than they do quality of a few gameplay videos, leading to stuff like this. While it does result in pretty consistently low-quality output across the board during trade shows like this, it does wonders for ad revenue, and in the end, it's more effective in the long-term to cover a lot of games poorly than it is to cover a few games well.
the actual painful part is that the entire gamedesign and gameplay design is produced for such an infuriatingly shit input tool. It doesnt matter if youre gonna use m/kb later on pc. Its just gonna break the gameplay, because its designed for pads.
Reminds me of people saying the latest Division 2 raid is too difficult on controllers. Its a third person shooter, of course it requires the ability to snap your aim around. Good luck doing that on a controller.
I mean it just seems like the person playing is really shit at games, seems to be a common thing with journalists and people who demo these games at conferences. It'd be ridiculous to use this as an argument of games being held back by being designed for controllers. These topics were discussed to death years ago during the resurgence of PC gaming and it was decided that PC elitism is a cancer, don't bring it back.
Otherwise it looks like the game is looking really good.
Otherwise it looks like the game is looking really good.
I thought comments at how bad the guy playing the demo was were a bit exaggerated until the 7-8 minutes mark where he enters combat.
Holy shit.
Holy shit.
What elitism are you talking about? Controllers are extremely ineficient at most everything. And games need an enormous amount of acomodations in order to be playable on controllers. Modern games do a lot of the work for you, so you have the illusion that pads work great. They dont. Theres no elitism involved. Its just how it is.
I was going to say that it could be related to the Assamites, but I doubt they'd be around marking their territory with a spray can.
I have no such illusions, I know that pads are great for playing games.
And this is the elitism I'm talking about, I've seen you pop up spouting this nonsense before. Looking through your post history is kinda sad how often you harp on about it.
Looks rough, multiple repeating NPC and voice lines even in that short demo and encounters being "rooms" of enemies with questionable AI thrown at you. Hand to hand combat and animations need a lot of work as well, though the person playing didn't help matters.
Hopefully it gets worked on and polished leading up to release.
Hopefully it gets worked on and polished leading up to release.
Demo could (and probably should have) been better, but I'm really digging the atmosphere.
Will await launch impressions.
Will await launch impressions.
Pads are great for a lot of games yes. But shooters and especially first-person games is definitely not something they are really good for.
They are so great that games need aim assist, magnetism for almost every action, large window of inaction for enemies, stoping time when you open a menu, wheels that slow time because you need to cicle through everything, large cones for bullet spread when firing a weapon because you cant demand pin point accuracy and so on. They're really great for gaming and im just being elitist for no reason, huh? None of these controller convention would need to exist in a game that would be designed strictly for m/kb.
Oh no, a game has aim assist and slows time when I open a menu, the game has been ruined!
Pads are great for shooters too, I play the majority of FPS games of console if they're available because I prefer it.
Really looking forward to playing this but you can tell it is in alpha, needs a lot of work, animations (both facial and in general, especially facial though) look especially rough.
Still, there is a long time until this gets released so plenty of time to fix these issues.
Looks great otherwise imo.
Still, there is a long time until this gets released so plenty of time to fix these issues.
Looks great otherwise imo.
you dont seem to have an ounce of idea about the subject, do you? I guess we'll leave it at that.
I disagree which means I'm not knowledgeable? Sure, that's a good way to dismiss an argument. You paint all those things as negative, I don't.
Not that I really want an argument as you'll clearly never see the benefits of games being designed primarily for controllers. I'll just continue watching you rant about console games ruining your PC games from the shadows.
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I never played the first one,but that gave me huge Deus Ex : Human Revolution vibes......is that accurate?
Not the worst comparison you could pull.
Bloodlines is dialogue driven, however, and much more of a hardcore RPG.
They need at least a year, i waiting for years i can still wait longer
Ok,interesting.I noticed the dialogue choices and non-speaking protag.Might check this out then because having a voiced protag in Fallout 4 destroyed it a an RPG,that's for sure.
Combat definitely needs some polishing, it's really hit or miss (no pun intended) and some actions seem pretty satisfying while some others look super rough, it may benefit from a soft lock-on system among some other things IMO.
That said, the rest of it looks way better than it has any right to lol, it's oozing atmosphere and the art direction is brilliant, plus the enhanced mobility feels great. I feel that if they truly nail down the combat, it will be a really special game that will resonate with the mainstream as well as long time fans.
That said, the rest of it looks way better than it has any right to lol, it's oozing atmosphere and the art direction is brilliant, plus the enhanced mobility feels great. I feel that if they truly nail down the combat, it will be a really special game that will resonate with the mainstream as well as long time fans.
I assume this "pre-alpha" build is why the combat is terrible and the controller doesn't seem to work right.
The quest design looks good though. Lots of options and not just binary good guy/bad guy ones.
The quest design looks good though. Lots of options and not just binary good guy/bad guy ones.
That goofy ass dancing in the beginning made me smile.
Also, yeah, player needs to turn sensitivity way up. Even with a controller you can move the camera much faster than that. I'm sure they've got an option in the menu.
I used to live in Seattle and I'm happy to be able to recognize places in the game, and this is looking like a way more realistic take on the city than what Infamous: Second Son had.
Can't wait. But these gameplay demos from E3 are funny. It's like when someone played Shenmue for 15 minutes with music turned off. Just why?
Also, yeah, player needs to turn sensitivity way up. Even with a controller you can move the camera much faster than that. I'm sure they've got an option in the menu.
I used to live in Seattle and I'm happy to be able to recognize places in the game, and this is looking like a way more realistic take on the city than what Infamous: Second Son had.
Can't wait. But these gameplay demos from E3 are funny. It's like when someone played Shenmue for 15 minutes with music turned off. Just why?
The atmosphere/environmental design looks great.
I don't mind if the combat is not amazing, since it's a first-person RPG - though the person playing the demo isn't helping.
I agree that facial animations could use some work. While exaggerated, characters in Bloodlines were very expressive, and I'm not seeing that here. Plain expressions and basic lip-sync.
I really, really hope that there is an option to lock the game into first-person though.
Having the game constantly switching to third-person is very distracting - especially for single animations in the middle of combat.
I know that the original Bloodlines was not locked to first-person at all times, as melee combat forced you into third-person, but this seems worse with the way that it jumps back and forth a lot, and some animations like lock-picking are going into third-person for no apparent reason.
Hopefully the "compass" is optional and the game is not built around it.
Waypoint markers/compass quest-indicators are often used as a crutch for bad hub/quest design.
I like what I see, but I'm a little concerned when the game is only ~9 months away. Then again, it's not like Bloodlines was the most polished game, and that didn't prevent it from being great.
Vampyr was a massive disappointment for me. It had some promising ideas, but was not successful in their execution. I never did get around to finishing the game, as I put it on hold while waiting for fixes the devs announced but never delivered on.
I don't mind if the combat is not amazing, since it's a first-person RPG - though the person playing the demo isn't helping.
I agree that facial animations could use some work. While exaggerated, characters in Bloodlines were very expressive, and I'm not seeing that here. Plain expressions and basic lip-sync.
I really, really hope that there is an option to lock the game into first-person though.
Having the game constantly switching to third-person is very distracting - especially for single animations in the middle of combat.
I know that the original Bloodlines was not locked to first-person at all times, as melee combat forced you into third-person, but this seems worse with the way that it jumps back and forth a lot, and some animations like lock-picking are going into third-person for no apparent reason.
Hopefully the "compass" is optional and the game is not built around it.
Waypoint markers/compass quest-indicators are often used as a crutch for bad hub/quest design.
I like what I see, but I'm a little concerned when the game is only ~9 months away. Then again, it's not like Bloodlines was the most polished game, and that didn't prevent it from being great.
You should play the original Bloodlines - it mostly still holds up, if you can accept that it was made in 2004 and how that affects some of the tone of the game.
Vampyr was a massive disappointment for me. It had some promising ideas, but was not successful in their execution. I never did get around to finishing the game, as I put it on hold while waiting for fixes the devs announced but never delivered on.
Bloodlines leans more towards RPG, but it's often described as "Deus Ex with vampires".
Yeh I do want to play it eventually.
I love that era graphics so all good!
Bloodlines 2 is very much my Shenmue 3, even if some of this roughness is still there at release if they nail the core of Vampire, that being the dialogue and atmosphere, then I can forgive a lot of things. Thankfully even in this alpha state, it's incredibly promising that it looks and feels exactly like I would want a Bloodlines 2 to. It oozes atmosphere and the detail they've put into the setting is top-notch, the writing so far seems excellent and the VA work is more than up to par. They've still got quite a bit of time till release so I'm expecting it to get a lot smoother though I don't think it will ever be not slightly rough which is fine as someone that adores Euro-jank.
Edit:Watching the person playing the game, I wish IGN focussed some more on the quality of coverage at events rather than the quantity of it because... oof.
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Yeah... combat needs polishing for sure, the enemy AI is as deadpan as it gets.
I can ignore the combat the setting and story mission sold me. Not getting Deus Ex anytime soon so...
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Combat looks rough and the person playing doesn't seem used to the control scheme. The world seems pretty cool and I like the traversal. I'm hoping there will be significantly more polish before release.
Regarding the woman who was your main quest giver, what is her clan?
Regarding the woman who was your main quest giver, what is her clan?
My impressions based on the videos I've seen.
Pros:
Meh:
Cons:
Pros:
- The game looks beautiful. It's certainly an improvement from B1, at least visually.
- They've absolutely nailed the atmosphere, rooms and the different hub worlds. I'm glad they realized that atmosphere plays a big part on the story they're trying to tell, because it shows.
- Loved Brian as news caster on the radio (I'm so glad they brought that back).
- I'm loving the apartment (again, it's visually striking) and it makes me wonder if we'll have people over at some point (ghoul, perhaps?).
- I loved the fact you can dance again! It looks exactly like the B1 dance and I feel that's an amazing callback.
- I'm glad there are different (and plenty) dialogue options (though I'll come back to that in a minute).
- Characters look stunning, too. I love how they're dressed and all.
- I liked how the character lockpicked. Did it show the difficulty? I couldn't tell.
- I'm glad there are cars this time around! (moving cars, that is!)
- I'm liking the way you find some weapons (like, they're not just on the ground, but maybe you'll find a pipe on the wall and literally rip it out and use it)
- I'm glad NPC's can have conversations like they used to (I noticed this among the homeless people in The Jungle).
- I really liked how dialogue options can trigger events if you're not smart enough (like revealing Slugg's name before he tells you). Also, is that Brian again? lol
Meh:
- The UI. A part of me likes it, but the lower part of it looks kinda ugly. Also, I feel like I don't need to be reminded all the time that it's a "MASQUERADE AREA".
- I personally don't mind quests being shown in map, but I hope it's an option for players who want to play blind (but also have NPC's 'guide' them).
- Not a huge deal breaker for me, but some human NPC's seem like they're just walking aimlessly through the map. I thought they meant to have NPC's going places or doing stuff more than just walk around like robots, but maybe I just imagined that.
- Not a fan of the club music, but I think it can grow on me.
- Also not a huge deal breaker, but I feel like NPC's are too kind, lol. Like, everytime you'd shove someone, they'd react with "Excuse me" or "Pardon me". I haven't heard any drunk guy tell you off or show you the middle finger.
- This is probably more of a question, but during The Jungle quest you could go through the vent (which I really liked), but was there an option not to? Like, could you just get to the same place without using the vent? That'd be pretty cool.
- Combat music is meh.
- I thought it was kinda weird you get to fight Slugg when someone else is straight up shooting at you, and then suddenly the fight stops and you've got Slugg under your control. Like, what?
Cons:
- By far my biggest criticism and biggest concern is facial animation. It looks incredibly empty (almost like Andromeda). B1 had these incredibly expressive characters. Now it just seems like they're reading into a script and there's not magic there (mostly the Tremere woman from the quest; she kept repeating the same animations, too).
- I feel dialogue needs improvement, it feels a bit bland. But it might have to do with the facial animations. Even some of the dialogue options felt really cringy (when you're fighting that guy Lurk, one option is "Here's the thing - I'm a fucking vampire"... Okay?). And when you say "I'd like to see you try", Lurk's response is literally "Oh, okay". Is he the most unimpressed guy ever? Like here's a dude who's challenging you. You'd expect a bigger reaction, right?
- Combat is super clunky. Personally, I don't mind it that much, because it looks as clunky as B1 combat, and I never really minded that (I was far more interested in the story and characters). However, I know people are super interested in combat as well (and also, a bad combat experience might deter people from buying and supporting new VTMB entries!)
- Speaking of combat. I hate the kung fu jump shit show that you do. I hope we can actually disable this or not use it unless we want to.
- Also, lmao that part you shoot someone and she just won't die. Fix that, please.
- I really disliked NPC reactions when getting bit. They're expresionless, make almost no sound. Also, when you're fighting them, all they say is "what is happening?"
- I'm not digging the roaring sound when you bite someone (I'm sure this happens only when you fully drain someone, but still... please let us disable it).
- Why does it feel like it takes ages to turn the camera around?
- I find it really hard to believe that people wouldn't be shocked to see someone jump off a roof or a building and be totally fine by that. There needs to be some sort of penalty (masquerade wise) for doing so publicly. Or at least have human NPC have some sort of reaction to it.
- A few inconsistencies (details) I'm annoyed by:
- when you're in the club, and you're walking up the stairs to the roof, the music just suddenly stops playing. I think they should make it so the music fades away the more you walk up to the roof, right? Like, even on the roof you should still listen to some of the music.
- Also, probably just me, but the music in the club should probably be louder than that right?
- Slugg is a thinblood, yet he looks exactly like a Nosferatu? Is he a Nosferatu or a thinblood?
- The Tremere girl says "this will not sit well with the Pyramid" but the dialogue reads something different (organization).
while the whole 'this controller's apparently been dipped in molasses' aspect of the demo did make it sorta hard to get a feel for the game, i've gotta say, i really dug what i saw. the atmosphere on those Seattle streets is incredible, and the writing is more than solid.
I'm pretty sure there's a Flaw in the most recent edition of the tabletop game where, if you're making a thinblood character, you can choose to have them express a clan's bloodline curse without actually getting any of the advantages that'd come with being part of that clan?
Ah yeah here it is:
Found it at the bottom of this page:
I'm pretty sure there's a Flaw in the most recent edition of the tabletop game where, if you're making a thinblood character, you can choose to have them express a clan's bloodline curse without actually getting any of the advantages that'd come with being part of that clan?
Ah yeah here it is:
Found it at the bottom of this page:
while the whole 'this controller's apparently been dipped in molasses' aspect of the demo did make it sorta hard to get a feel for the game, i've gotta say, i really dug what i saw. the atmosphere on those Seattle streets is incredible, and the writing is more than solid.
I'm pretty sure there's a Flaw in the most recent edition of the tabletop game where, if you're making a thinblood character, you can choose to have them express a clan's bloodline curse without actually getting any of the advantages that'd come with being part of that clan?
Ah yeah here it is:
Found it at the bottom of this page:
Thank you for clarifying!