The True VTMB Patch

Обзор патча

This is an extensive repair patch for "Vampire - The Masquerade: Bloodlines," a wonderful

RPG created by the Troika studio and published 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.

The True VTMB Patch was constructed entirely from scratch by Acrimonious and Tessera. It is not based upon *any* previous works which may have been created by other parties. Not even a little bit... as the beta testers from tessmage.com can definitely attest to. We began with a clean, unmodified version of Bloodlines and then proceeded to uncover and repair as many critical bugs and glitches as we could find within the original game. In fact, the entire procedure of unpacking and repairing VTMB was very well chronicled on the tessmage.com Forums during the painstaking development of the True VTMB Patch version 5.04AT and those threads have been archived. Let us reassure you that no packets of code or snippets of data have been copied or "borrowed"

from anyone else's work. That is a guaranteed fact. In every sense, this patch represents a truly original work by Acrimonious and Tessera. It is in fact the most stable, reliable and bug-free third-party patch available for Bloodlines to date.

Where as other third-party "patches" have managed to introduce almost as many new bugs as they have fixed, along with a slew of arbitrary, unwarranted and highly questionable changes to items, gameplay and quests, the True Patch is entirely free of such controversial issues. Our patch will do nothing except fix what was broken and/or missing from the original game. No other changes have been made, primarily because no other changes are warranted. This is why the True VTMB Patch is so compact in its overall size: it just fixes critical bugs in VTMB, period... and nothing else.

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.

*** UPDATE -- HOTFIX #6 ***

This version of the True VTMB Patch has been updated to include several minor fixes. Also, we have included within this hotfix a few *optional* files in a new folder named "Utility." Those files can be used to update the Bloodlines engine, so that it functions properly with Windows Vista (x32 and x64 versions), as well as enabling the engine's Dx9 shader API's to work properly on systems which have greater than 2 GB of system RAM installed.

Lastly, we have also included a copy of the "VTMB Res Patcher" utility, which will allow VTMB to display properly at high resolutions on widescreen monitors (such as HDTV monitors).

Full instructions regarding these new optional files can be found within the "Utility" folder, contained within this True VTMB Patch package. Please refer to those instructions for further information on their use ("ReadeMe_NOW_Utility.txt").

Список внесённых изменений

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/rewritten in the few cases where it was absolutely necessary.

* Several missing textures have been recreated/restored with custom-made textures by Tessera.

* The restored lockpicking sound effect has been altered by Tessera, after carefully considering complaints from users that it was "unrealistically loud." It has therefore been softened quite a bit.

* 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. ;)

OTHER REPAIRS:

* Several additonal and minor issues have been repaired in the form of a half-dozen "hotfixes" which are included within this version of the True VTMB Patch. These include the restoration of a few missing sound effects, as well as a couple of minor glitches which have likewise been tracked down since the initial release of this patch.