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Thread: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

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    Amphibious Trebuchet Salesman Member Whacker's Avatar
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    Default Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    So I managed to find a budget copy of the game on teh intarwebs, and have been (trying) to play it the past day or so.

    Wow, no wonder Troika went under. This game is rough, and I mean really rough around the edges. Controls/interface are pretty buggy, the in-game interface is extremely rough and not very well done, (reminds me of the god forsaken Deus Ex: Invisible War on PC), and the graphics look decidedly early 2000-ish.

    Before I installed it, I was aware of the two unofficial patches, the one which is "pure" and just fixes bugs and restores a little bit of relevant content, and the other "full" which fixes bugs, restores much more content, and balances some issues. I elected to go with the pure patch which is at version 4.04AT, which is installed post official 1.2.

    Still, this game isn't holding my attention that well at all. I hate the half-baked ported-from-the-console noobish interface, can't seem to get over how aged and blocky the game looks, and the combat is pretty wonky. My machine can more than handle the hardware reqs, so it's not slow. The story seems... ok I guess, haven't managed to get that far into it.

    Any pointers or tips ya'll can help a guy out with? I really, really want to like this game, but so far it's not turning out to be nearly as wonderful as it's been made out to be, even post-fan patches.


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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread

    Well for a start it was rushed, so the mechanichs probably isn't the strongest part. What I think you should concentrait on is the story which is, in my opinion, wonderful.

    I hope you don't mind me asking, but how far have you come yet into the story?

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    Amphibious Trebuchet Salesman Member Whacker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread

    Not very far at all, about 30-45 min worth of play. Did the tutorial bit with Jack who was hilarious, and got dropped into the appt. Wandered around for a bit before I had to head off to bed.

    Most of my trouble was spent getting the @%#% game to work without crashing on me.

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    Ricardus Insanusaum Member Bob the Insane's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread

    Just remember, when you are sent to investigate the old haunted hotel... Do youself a favour and play it a night, with the lights off and the sound up...

    That is a treat...

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    Come to daddy Member Geoffrey S's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Whacker
    Not very far at all, about 30-45 min worth of play. Did the tutorial bit with Jack who was hilarious, and got dropped into the appt. Wandered around for a bit before I had to head off to bed.

    Most of my trouble was spent getting the @%#% game to work without crashing on me.
    Sounds like you're having a lot more trouble running it than I did; there was only one point at which the game crashed on me, the rest of the time it ran smoothly, a number of obvious glitches notwithstanding.

    I can see where you're coming from though. If you don't enjoy the story, the badly balanced and clearly rushed game can easily put you off. I loved the characters, atmosphere and story, but particularly towards the last third of the game my character, all tooled up for talking his way out of things, found himself facing huge amounts of enemies and some right powerful ones that couldn't be handled. The last third is so combat heavy that I had to cheap my way through it using a highly unbalanced stealth approach and cheats to beat one of the bosses.

    An extremely flawed game, but I enjoyed the first two-thirds and the finale immensely.
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    The very model of a modern Moderator Xiahou's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread

    I never even messed with the fan patches- mine ran well enough with the retail patch, although I may have been lucky from what I head from others. I got very occasional CTDs, but no game breakers. The graphics still look decent if you ramp up AA, ect- you have to remember the game is a few years old though (pre HL2).

    Personally, I loved the storyline- played thru it several times with different characters. If it's not your thing, I don't know that I can help ya there.

    Edit: Just an interesting bit of trivia- the guy that voices Jack in game, is the same person who voiced Bender in Futurama.
    Last edited by Xiahou; 09-17-2007 at 16:56.
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    Robot Unicorn Member Kekvit Irae's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    Did the patches manage to fix the framerate issues of the first part of the zombie-infested warehouse yet?

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    Senior Member Senior Member econ21's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    Quote Originally Posted by Whacker
    Any pointers or tips ya'll can help a guy out with? I really, really want to like this game, but so far it's not turning out to be nearly as wonderful as it's been made out to be, even post-fan patches.
    Umm, I fear all I can say is that it is absolutely wonderful. How you can enjoy the tutorial and not find the game to your taste is beyond me - the dialogue in the tutorial is better than that in the entire game of 90% of other CRPGs - but perhaps it is just not for you? However, bear in mind you have done effectively nothing of the main game - it is quite long and has lots of meat to it.

    I am sorry you are having all kinds of technical issues - I don't remember many. It would occasionally crash in combat (answer: save often, of course). And I did have to do something whacky with the console to get through a door towards the end of the game. But otherwise it was unproblematic. It looked absolutely gorgeous - the faces were so expressive and the setting utterly immersive. But we all have different bars for suspension of disbelief, I guess. I would not install any fan patches that change the content. It is worth a couple of play throughs without modding.

    In terms of the gameplay, what I would say is role-play it. Act in character - be good, evil, kind, a jerk, whatever. About the best thing about the game, in my opinion, is the dialogue, voice-acting and characters - enjoying interacting with them and don't worry too much about game mechanics. Talk to everybody and try to find out as much information about everything as you can. It is very non-linear with lots of optional sidequests you will miss if you don't talk to people.

    Don't read any spoilers or walkthroughs. The quests are really inventive and far from the usual fedex stuff (actually, on reflection a lot are fedex but they are wrapped up in wonderfully creative subplots). Don't worry too much about optimising your capabilities - it is not really a tactical kind of game. There is quite a lot of depth and freedom in the character development, but don't worry about "what's the best weapon/power etc". At least not first time through. Just enjoy the story and act like you are a newly infected vampire.

    I was amazed the first time I played it. I really did not want to like the game at all. I am more used to play paladins in the sunny Forgotten Realms than a vampire in a dark modern setting and the idea of feeding revolted me. I was lurking down in the sewers, hunting rats in a fog of self-loathing. But gradually, the game just sucks you in. There is one scene in the mid-game where a friend from your previous life sees you and my reaction was just like my character's was supposed to be: run! No way did I want my new found vampire life disturbed by my old human life. I ended up flinging my legs around foes and sucking them dry with abandon. I don't think any other RPG has immersed me to that extent, except System Shock 2.

    A few pointers (contradicting what I have just said):

    Having said don't worry about optimising combat, do be aware you will have to fight. The first area is quite combat light, but it rachets up until the end is pretty insane. (The quality of the game also falls as it gets more combat heavy - the first area is my favorite). Don't expect to be able to do a Fallout and talk your way out of most situations. Melee is generally more powerful than shooting, although towards the end the balance swings back. Stealth is extremely potent (with obfuscation) due to the "quick kill" mechanic.

    Having said avoid walkthroughs, if you get stuck, gamebanshee has a fantastic one with one page per quest.

    Having said don't optimise your character, here's a minor tip on character creation: I think the points you start with are sort of "non-weighted". So if you put three points in a skill, it goes up three pips. But when the game starts, everything is points weighted - so pips get more expensive in XP as you get more of them. Hence, it makes sense to put all your pips into one valuable skill on start up - it will save you XP in the long run. Also, with the patch, you can enable backgrounds for your character that allow you to vary which groups of skills start off with more points in them (so if you like the look of a particular kind of vampire, you don't necessarily have to start off with their initial point distribution). Finally, the one spoiler-ish thing I do find essential is the list of what kinds of books you get in the game. Reading a book can give you a point in a skill, but they often level specific (for example, the starter area has a shop with a couple of books that can two skills up to about one or two pips, but won't help you if you are level 3 in the skill). It would be waste to put points in those two skills before reading the books.

    Lastly, don't play a Malkavian first time through. Do play one though the second time through. Malkavians, only, get really unique dialogue throughout the game and it is absolutely fantastic. But it is rather metaphorical, so you will enjoy it more if you know what the equivalent normal speech would be. Also, unlike some of the Bioware games, I don't think there are any romance-plots that require your character to be a certain sex, so since you are going to be staring at your character's butt for hours, feel free to pick a character of the sex you would prefer. Once you have played a female Malk, you may never want to play any other kind of vampire.
    Last edited by econ21; 09-17-2007 at 23:23.

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    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    I had no problems whatsoever with Vampire: Bloodlines after installing the official patches only. Quicksave often, as in any game. Vampire is IMO the best RPG ever made, together with Deus Ex, and they will probably remain the best for many years to come. Only downside of Vampire is that the end has a bit too much fighting and too little of the greatness, atmosphere and story parts of the first two thirds, but the ending parts are still quite good.
    Under construction...

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  10. #10

    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    Except you can't join the Sabbat.

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    Amphibious Trebuchet Salesman Member Whacker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    There you are econ, was hoping you'd jump in here.

    And thanks everyone else for your input so far. The game is growing on me the more I spend time in it. I just had a girl tell me she just remembered she's gay when I started to hit on her. Could really use my eyebrow ring of +12 to Sexy Beast about now.

    The game isn't crashing on me anymore, but I did run into one potentially game-stopping bug. During the tutorial where I had to pass the guy by throwing something into the corner, I couldn't pick up the tins. I managed to put him in a trance and sneak-kill him (which is badass), and made it ok, but that was not good. The game looks a bit better when you force 8xAA and 16xAF, but it still appears a bit boxy for it's time. And the interface is miserable, no way around it.

    Also, who'd have realized that in Santa Monica, all the guys look like pro beach volleyball players, and the gals are all VERY top heavy, if ya get my drift. /shrug No complaints here!

    Edit - LMAO @ the dancing
    Last edited by Whacker; 09-17-2007 at 20:25.

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    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    Quote Originally Posted by econ21
    Once you have played a female Malk, you may never want to play any other kind of vampire.
    Under construction...

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    Member Member TB666's Avatar
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    Default Sv: Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    V:BL was a good game that could have been great.
    That said, I love the dialogue options and the characters in the game.
    Jack is a great character as is Venus, the only woman you can't say no too.
    Naturally it's because you keep looking at her cleavage and get distracted but hey .
    And let's not forget the nosferatus.

    Oh and I second the notion that you need to play the hotel level in a very dark room.
    Easily the best level in the game.
    Second best is:
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    where you encounter the werewolf in the forest area. Man that was a rush.
    I tried fighting him at first only to get ripped to shreds.
    But having him chase you around for 2 minutes is alot more fun not to mention scary.

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    Horse Archer Senior Member Sarmatian's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    The haunted hotel quest is probably the best quest of all times, IMHO, and I had my fair share of rpg's.

    You can say that a game is unpolished but it is still great. Too bad that they didn't put little more effort in it. It could have been on par with BG and PS:T.

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    The very model of a modern Moderator Xiahou's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sv: Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    Quote Originally Posted by TB666
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    where you encounter the werewolf in the forest area. Man that was a rush.
    I tried fighting him at first only to get ripped to shreds.
    But having him chase you around for 2 minutes is alot more fun not to mention scary.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    You can kill the werewolf- you have to lure him to the telescope opening and close it on him.
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    Robot Unicorn Member Kekvit Irae's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sv: Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    Quote Originally Posted by Xiahou
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    You can kill the werewolf- you have to lure him to the telescope opening and close it on him.
    You also get extra XP this way.

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    Member Member TB666's Avatar
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    Default Sv: Re: Sv: Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    Quote Originally Posted by Xiahou
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    You can kill the werewolf- you have to lure him to the telescope opening and close it on him.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Interesting. I did not know that.
    Maybe I will try it one day

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    Amphibious Trebuchet Salesman Member Whacker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    OK, so I'm now a good 3-4 hours into the game, made it Downtown and have made some good progress there.

    I like this game now. Is it Deus Ex good? No, not at all. Is it good? Yes, it's good. Not great, but good. It's just not polished enough, and even with the fan patch (I don't even want to imagine this without it), there are still enough problems with the game code that aren't and won't be fixed that it gets on my nerves. The interface sucks, no way around it, it feels like a lame console port, and bad interfaces are one of my biggest pet peeves.

    The story is pretty linear, but I do agree with econ that it's definitely above-average and well executed. There's a good depth of feel to the game in terms of plot and story, which is what I'd expect given the previous game which I also enjoyed, post 1.1 patch.

    Probably give it about an 8 out of 10, and barring any huge problems with the game and bugs down the road, I'll stick with it and finish it. It's a shame Troika went under, with a bit more elbow grease this probably would have been Deus Ex/Fallout quality legendary and taken it's place in the hallowed pantheon of cRPGs, but personally I just can't put it up there for the above reasons.

    Thanks for everyone's input and support so far.


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    Member Member TB666's Avatar
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    Default Sv: Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    Yeah the game is pretty linear.
    There are different paths you can take but it seem to lead you to the same thing.
    But finish your game to the end and then try Malkavians(female if you want).
    It's worth going through the same thing again for the dialogue.
    Also nosfertu can also give you a change of gameplay since you can't interact with people like the others can and you have to stay in the shadows and stealth unless you wanna break the masquerade.
    Certain quests that you simply get from talking to the quest giver doesn't work sometimes and you need to work around it so to speak.

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    Senior Member Senior Member econ21's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    The main plot is linear and you approach each of the four areas in a given order. However, there are a lot of sidequests that are optional and when you progress on the main story quests is up to you (hint: to max your cash, visit Venus between each main story quest). So I think it gives you a decent illusion of freedom. Unlike, say, Bioshock or even Deus Ex, where you are pretty much on the rails.

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    The very model of a modern Moderator Xiahou's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    IIRC, there's 5 different endings that you can get- although some of them are similar. I remember the first time I played thru, things ended very badly for me.
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    I hope you won't mind if I ask which one you picked Xiahou.

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    The very model of a modern Moderator Xiahou's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    Quote Originally Posted by Gurkhal
    I hope you won't mind if I ask which one you picked Xiahou.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    I sided with the prince. Things did not work out for us.
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    Member Member TB666's Avatar
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    Default Sv: Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    I got the
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    The ending where Jack had stolen the corpse and put explosives instead and the prince go BOOM.
    Kinda cool ending

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    Come to daddy Member Geoffrey S's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    Well, yeah, that's always part of the ending.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    The difference is if the crate is opened, and by whom. I sided with the Anarchs, left the tower and the Prince opened it. All possibles are Keui-Jin (LaCroix dies, you're betrayed by Ming and tied to the crate and sink), Camarilla (crate ends up in warehouse), Anarchs (either you or the Prince can open it), Prince (both die when Prince opens the crate) or on your own (either the Prince dies or you open the crate and die too).
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    Robot Unicorn Member Kekvit Irae's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Anarchs and Camarilla are really the only "good" endings in the game, where you survive.

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    Senior Member Senior Member econ21's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    Another spoiler on the ending (Whacker don't read any of the spoilers!)

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    I believe there is a "loner" ending, where you reject all factions. It is identical to the Anarchs ending, except that you brush off Nines and his crew after the tower blows.

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    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    Quote Originally Posted by econ21
    Another spoiler on the ending (Whacker don't read any of the spoilers!)

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    I believe there is a "loner" ending, where you reject all factions. It is identical to the Anarchs ending, except that you brush off Nines and his crew after the tower blows.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    My favorite ending, I thought they were all bloody hypocrites so I picked this in my first play-through (Keu-Jin fascists, Anarchs commies, Camarilla imperialists). However, the first time I couldn't resist opening the sarcophagus out of pure curiosity over finding out what was in that damned box... I reloaded the game before that and immediately watched the alternate version where I just left the key to the Prince)
    Last edited by Rodion Romanovich; 09-20-2007 at 19:46.
    Under construction...

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    Master of useless knowledge Senior Member Kitten Shooting Champion, Eskiv Champion Ironside's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    Quote Originally Posted by Rodion Romanovich
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    My favorite ending, I thought they were all bloody hypocrites so I picked this in my first play-through (Keu-Jin fascists, Anarchs commies, Camarilla imperialists). However, the first time I couldn't resist opening the sarcophagus out of pure curiosity over finding out what was in that damned box... I reloaded the game before that and immediately watched the alternate version where I just left the key to the Prince)
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    It was fairly obvious the you were going to see the inside anyway with that ending. It kinds of hint on that when you don't have the option to leave and keep the key in the end (we can guess that it's one of those cases were your player char knows more than you do). Besides, the game practically screams "don't open it".
    We are all aware that the senses can be deceived, the eyes fooled. But how can we be sure our senses are not being deceived at any particular time, or even all the time? Might I just be a brain in a tank somewhere, tricked all my life into believing in the events of this world by some insane computer? And does my life gain or lose meaning based on my reaction to such solipsism?

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  30. #30
    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines thread (Possible spoilers inside)

    Quote Originally Posted by Ironside
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    It was fairly obvious the you were going to see the inside anyway with that ending. It kinds of hint on that when you don't have the option to leave and keep the key in the end (we can guess that it's one of those cases were your player char knows more than you do). Besides, the game practically screams "don't open it".
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    Yeah, but the curiosity was too big to resist

    Finished second time as Camarilla revolt ending, which was pretty good as well, but there was very little material to be sure the Tzimisce could be trusted. Felt like a chance-taking, but after sweeping so many floors of enemies so easily, I felt it didn't matter if I took a chance like that

    Needless to say, I probably had a funny-looking face after the first time I opened the box
    Under construction...

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