Bloodlines 2 - Game Update

[Splorghley]

As someone who has been fairly critical of parts of this game's development, I respect this. Delaying a game to get it right is always better than rushing out some hot mess.

I also agree with the consensus here that calling the game Bloodlines 2 is going to bring in hefty expectations that the game may prove ill equipped to meet. Calling the game something else will help reset expectations, and give the game a better chance at being reviewed on its own terms. Name recognition isn't going to make up for the unnecessary hit to reviews caused by inviting a comparison to a cult classic, nor does it even seem necessary in terms of branding - no Bloodlines 1 fan is somehow going to miss a new mainline VtM action-adventure title.

It may also serve as a useful punctuation mark in terms of the marketing, distancing the actual game release from six years of bad press. If I were Paradox I'd change the name, launch a few ads once there's more gameplay to show off, and basically treat this as a new title. 'VtM: Phoenix', 'rebirthed in blood', etc etc. It's a promotional campaign that basically writes itself.

 

[Ratstranger]

They needed help (especially programmer/technical/engine help), not an axe.

Studio situation with Bloodlines 2 are very complicated.

The Chinese Room is a legit game developer. "Still Wakes the Deep" is a brilliant game.

Hardsuit Labs were.... shady as hell. The only game they did themselves (I think they worked as asssistants on some products) is a super obscure PvP shooter from 2012 or something.

I got a feeling Paradox leadership decided to by essentially dead empty shell of a company, sprinkle it with names and talent like Brian Mitsoda and hope it will work but be super cheap. I had a strong feeling this will not work from get go and I was correct.

Problem with TCR is they have a little experience doing action/rpg. Their games are mostly adventure/'walking simulator" (not sayting this as an insult, it's an established genre term).

RPGs are complex genre with a lots of moving details. Often first RPG from new studio in this field is not terrible but have a lot of issues. Vampyr from Don't Nod s a good example. it's not a bad game, from narrative point of view a really good one, but not great action RPG.

So I kind of understand why devs are triying to reduce ammount of things which could drag the game down if they are not succesfull. Though the end product will, of course, suffer from it.

 

[Zamchaos7853]

They needed help (especially programmer/technical/engine help), not an axe.

Their version of Bloodlines looked like a proper Bloodlines RPG game (yeah, I saw that old leaked gameplay from a dev build).

Character sheet, proper character creator, silent protagonist, deep dialogue options with skill/perk checks etc. I could clearly see Brian's and other Bloodlines 1 devs input too.

I suppose, if you like Dishonored or just want to play some casual action adventure game with vampire theme, TCR Bloodlines 2 will be fun for you.

It's just not a sequel that many old fans wanted.

In any case, we are stuck with that TCR Bloodlines 2, so hopefully they will use their available development time to at least bugfix and optimize the game and maybe add more RPG elements.

I would love to finally see a well optimized Unreal Engine 5 game .

As I understand it, they did try to get technical help and the person they hired said the game was not only unplayable but completely unsalvageable. They couldn't actually deliver what they promised and were nowhere near a complete game.

They wouldn't have axed it lightly because axing it meant losing the millions they already invested into the game, but they chose to do it anyway so it must have been a serious problem.

Paradox was going to cancel the game, but TCR made a pitch that convinced them to give it one more shot.

That's the story as I understand it, at least.

 

[Azar]

As I understand it, they did try to get technical help and the person they hired said the game was not only unplayable but completely unsalvageable. They couldn't actually deliver what they promised and were nowhere near a complete game.

Well not entirely unsalvageable. TCR got graphical assets, character and map design etc that they got to utilize in their version of BL2.

I also agree that Paradox wouldn't have axed the project lightly. Even though we don't know the exact details, HSL project was probably way too amateurish to actually work. Which is why Im so sad people keep getting stuck in the dream that never truly existed.

 

[Bobwoodword]

At this rate it seems like Paradox would have been wildly better off just remaking the OG. Then the only thing they would have needed to do is elevate the garbage combat to average and update graphics to contemporary standards and boom you got a guaranteed ROI with plenty of room for DLC if you wanted to milk it standard paradox style.

 

[Zamchaos7853]

At this rate it seems like Paradox would have been wildly better off just remaking the OG. Then the only thing they would have needed to do is elevate the garbage combat to average and update graphics to contemporary standards and boom you got a guaranteed ROI with plenty of room for DLC if you wanted to milk it standard paradox style.

As I understand it they don't own the rights to the original game, Activision still has it.

Besides, the action wasn't the only problem with it. It was a buggy mess and while its RPG elements were impressive at the time, they don't measure up to today's standards.

Keep in mind that Bloodlines 1 was very on the rails and the only meaningful choice was near the end when you decided which ending you want to go for and that won't go well in today's RPG market.

The first game commercially flopped even back then.

 

[Ratstranger]

Keep in mind that Bloodlines 1 was very on the rails and the only meaningful choice was near the end when you decided which ending you want to go for and that won't go well in today's RPG market.

The first game commercially flopped even back then.

That's not exactly true. Story was the same, but it's true for most RPGs, but you had options between fighting, sneaking, speaking, etc until certain moment after like 2/3 of the game when first speaking fell of, then sneaking and it was combat only. so not-combat builds viable for rest of the game suffered terribly.

Remake of original would actually be worthy endeavour in my opinion, but whoever will do this will have to tackle this issue. It's not impossible, Clan Mod did actually decent job on this. I played it and enjoyed it a lot.

Problem is, remake of VtM Bloodlines has nothing to do with second part with all it's woes. it's would be completely different game with full restart of developing again. Plus right issues, as said above.