It basically sounds like it’s everything the flawed Deus Ex 2 should have been. And then some. And then some more.
I just love the way that it seems to be the first RPG that goes ahead and incorporates the usual “stats” of the characters in totally real time gameplay, read the article to see what I mean
It’s also cool how the different “classes” make the experience so unique even in that simple and tiny mission they describe.
Official site: vampirebloodlines.com/
It’s being developed by Troika Games, the creators of the original Fallout if I’m not mistaken…
Don’t know about you all but I can’t wait to get my hands on this baby
Roll on winter 2K4 plz
Edit 1:
Hmm, the poll had another option saying “No, it will suck!” but it wasn’t added for some reason… oh well
Edit 2:
Four Developer Diaries from Gamespot for those who are interested in this:
I’m not very found of the gothvampire concept in general.You could argue that I’m a hueg Legacy of Kain fan but if you played the games than you know the concept is different in many,many ways.
Surely however the gameplay description must have turned your head? It sounds quite interesting and innovative imo… I’d expect even ppl that didn’t really like the concept to vote the 2nd option… oh well
It’s funny : ive talked with a teasing drone about this - I don’t value gameplay that much in a videogame.
Only when I want some fun.Because I don’t have the money to buy videogames when i want them I tend to buy those that I think that are a little bit more than fun.Example - A big and interesting plot
Vampire might be fun but I doubt it’s something more than that.Right now I’m searching for an XBox game and don’t know what to buy…
Well it’s basically a pen and paper RPG brought to the PC with the addition of FPS elements. (Their developer diaries linked at the end of my first post do an excellent job of describing why these elements had to be in and why dice rolls weren’t implemented for some of the actions as well as convincing ppl on this not being a bad thing at all in the end
Their world and character design is some of the best I have seen and the level of immersion with such realistic environments animations, expressions of emotion on the characters and freedom of choice on how to tackle a given situation is unparalleled from what I’ve seen so far.
If that doesn’t qualify as more than just “fun” then I don’t know what does… It’s no Grant Theft Auto for sure if that’s the kind of fun you meant.
Now I don’t want to rush and say it’s going to be the best thing since sliced cheese because Deus Ex 2 was supposed to do a lot of these things but it ended up failing and being a very flawed piece of software.
However from what I’ve seen so far Troika Games is doing things right and I’m deffinitelly excited about this. If half the stuff they are talking about end up working then I’m sure that PC gaming is in for a new golden era if other developers manage to catch up to this style of game…
Oh, I’m also not trying to convince you to like the game really, we are just having a conversation, your opinion/thoughts and mine ^_^… just in case I sounded like I was trying to do that…
I’m afraid you are both correct and incorrect. Some of the developers at Troika helped in the development of Fallout, which is why the Troika RPG Arcanum seems so similar (they share an almost identical graphics engine).
Troika recently developed The Temple of Elemental Evil, an RPG based on the D&D campaign of the same name. I didn’t like it, but its non-stop turn-based combat showed some potential.
I take it Bloodlines is a sequel to Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, which was an RPG set in the same world following the story of the knight Christof? That wasn’t a bad RPG but it was too linear to even call itself an RPG. I loved how Christof began as a mere human crusader who singlehandedly hunted down some powerful vampires, only to turn into the very thing he despised.
[quote=“Al3xand3r”]It’s not a sequel, different developer. Did you read the article(s)?
Also from what I’ve read they didn’t just “help” with Fallout…[/quote]
Well, I was hoping for a spiritual sequel. Even though Redemption wasn’t a huge success, it wasn’t a bad game and doesn’t deserve to be forgotten. The mini-guns rocked.
Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky and Jason Anderson created the graphics engine used in Fallout before leaving Black Isle Studios to found Troika. I know they were responsible for much of the artwork as well.
Well from everything I’ve read it sounds like it’s going to be much more than that game, actually much more than any game that ever tried to bring a p&p RPG to the PC in a way like this (meaning not the standard isometric point & click-athons)
Read the articles when ya have time, they are all a good read. The guy is quite funny at times
Given how popular the P&P V:TM game is, I always knew a new PC game was an inevitability. This will be a true test of Troika’s talents IMO, and hopefully they’ll do a good job because PC RPG developers are growing thin in today’s market especially now that Interplay is focusing on making console games.
The screenshots look great.
Have you played Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, Alex? What did you think of it?
I haven’t played it but from what I’ve heard/read it was good albeit flawed in various ways. One of the problems I seem to remember is it’s collision detection.
Anyway, I have to ask if you read the article(s) I linked to because they actually describe gameplay elements (and they don’t just say “we have dialogue trees and u battle beasts and stuff”) that haven’t really been implemented like that before. The first article I’ve linked to describes a very simplistic quest/mission solved 3 times using a different clan’s member every time. It resulted in a totally different experience everytime and yet this is just the beginning since they also had set up certain stat levels for this demonstration so it’s likely that even someone that uses one of those clans at that point in the game will end up with again a different experience. And there’s also more than just those 3 clans as well ofcourse. If anythin the game sounds groundbreaking in multiple ways. So this is the reason I’m wondering why ppl don’t seem excited about this almost at all when it’s got this huge potential that will propably drive PC gaming into the next level while until now we mostly got rehashes of the same old games.
I also advice you to visit the official site and check out the features section. The clip that shows a character talking alone will convince you of the attention to detail the game has. It made me feel similar to the first time I saw Shenmue in motion. The facial (and not only) animation here is simply amazing to watch with never before seen realism and intricate movements that portray the character’s feelings perfectly. And they also have done a more than decent job with the voice acting.
I hope Troika Games does pull it off unlike Ion Storm with their Deus Ex 2 (grrrr, I’m not believing another word that company says ever again…) because it would be a real shame if this ended up not working in the end since even with the little things I’ve seen it shows that they have put huge ammounts of work and love into this project.
We shall see, Alex. I haven’t felt excited about a forthcoming RPG in a long time. Anything that isn’t a Diablo clone is a step in the right direction, however.
Go to the official site.
Get to the media section.
Click videos.
Watch the trailer and the facial animation system demonstration.
Drool.
Clean up.
Come back and tell me the game is going to suck
Btw the game is due out either this winter or next year, I’m not entirely sure… Too far off for me to hold my breath
Btw, the PC market is “in decline” according to Brian Fargo, which is one of reasons why Interplay cancelled Fallout 3 for the PC, and developed Dark Alliance 2 and the travesty of an Action/RPG that was Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel with a cost efficient 3 year old graphics engine for the home console market. LMAO.
Is the PC market really in decline? Perhaps Troika is wasting their time.
I’d like to hear someone say that after seeing the multimillions of copies that Doom3 and Half Life 2 will sell later this year =)
And if anything perhaps the rpg market isn’t as big now but I’m sure this one will get a fair share of the Half Life community since it will be the first game aside from HL2 that will use the source engine and ppl will want more and more of it
Really though, I think that what’s in decline is game development, not the market itself, when more quality games start releasing then the market will pick up again as well. I know some good games have been practically ignored but well that always happens, it doesn’t mean the whole market is in decline.
Also, I wouldn’t believe what companies say nowadays… Sure they say that’s the reason they canceled it but meh who tells us that’s true?
I mean with all the pre-release developer interviews and such about Deus Ex 2 and how it will have so advanced AI and be so freeform and your decisions and actions will have so huge consequences and it will be so much better than the original etc etc etc etc etc.
And then you get a mediocre game at best released and go wtf? This can’t be the game they were talking about… And all that from a person that was practically worshipped by the gaming community so you’d think he wouldnt grow to be such a well… such a jerk heh… And ofcourse I didn’t expect him to come up and say HEY MY NEW GAME SUCKS!!! But I wouldn’t expect him to stand up for it so much either even now after 80% of the original Deus Ex players have expressed the same opinion about it. And it’s not a good one.
Now they are starting all over again about Thief 3 and while the screenshots look good I find myself unable to fall for it at all. After all Deus Ex 2 original screenshots look nothing like the final game either…
I myself love the Vampire gothic games and hope that this one will out do all others that i have played. Yeah i know just because i am a woman dose not mean i dont like one person shotters, i do, i love them. Thanks to Solo, i played Orta right through with a little help from him in the boss’s ;p. Anyway i hope that with all the hipe over Half life 2 that it lives up to everything it is spose to, cause then bloodline will be everything that i hope and more. =] Well thats my two cents worth go easy on me ;p
By the way, Troika’s Tim Cain said in a recent interview that he’d like to buy the Fallout liscence from Interplay. He said he couldn’t afford it, of course, even if Interplay did put the liscence up for sale, but as an alternative he said he’d love to work with Interplay to finish Fallout 3.
Project Van Buran, otherwise known as Fallout 3, is still under review. Who knows, it could be their next big project after Bloodlines.
