Never played this game, good starting point?

Hi everyone ,

I have never actually played this game (I know i suck...) and I have noticed that there are quite a few patches and mods available. So im just wondering what are the essential patches/fixes to get the game working right and what mods would you guys recommend for a newbe like my self. Since Ive never played the game I was kinda interested in anything that would make it look better (skins and stuff like that).

Ah really new blood *licking my fangs

Welcome to the forum, Kraven Rayne

Well, if it's really your first game i recommend you start with Wesps unofficial patch in the basic version. You can find a link to the download address here on the forum. The most recent release is 7.5.
Wesps patches come in a basic or plus version, to be selected at installation time. While the basic path mostly fixes bugs of the original game, the plus patch also shows restored content that was in the original game files, but not used in the game for one reason or another.

Since you cannot run multiple patches/mods on the same installation, I suggest making multiple installs, if you have the disk space. Install the game, and remember the installation path.
Then make a copy of the bloodlines directory with all files and subfolders for every patch or mod you want to try. Create a dektop shortcut to the vampire.exe file of the copy and name it after the patch/mod you're using (e.g. vampire up basic). Then install the patch/mod on the copy. And remember: never use more than one mod on the same copy, and always start a new game, unless you want unpredictable, and mostly unpleasant things to happen.

For full mods, at the moment, I think there are 4 interesting ones available.
-Companion Mod by Dheu, that allows your character to have some of the npcs as followers. Be careful though. Making them your follower too early in the game can break their quests.
-Clan Quest Mod by burgermeister. this has a new quest for every clan, and some other new stuff. and it offers the option of installing some other mods with it.
-Camarilla Edition, designed by Zer0morph, and now in my charge. This includes bloodloss over time, to give you a better feeling of the craving for blood that being a vampire is all about. And it changes most of the disciplines. In the recent versions, I have added an email college to give the character the chance to do something useful (increase stats) with all the money you get, and a system to include your own music.
-The Final Nights, also by Zer0morph. But you should only play that after you have played a few times with one of the other mods, since it makes a lot of changes to the gameplay.

Then of course there are skins, and smaller mods like arsenal mod, or weapon sounds mod. You can find a lot of that stuff on Planet Vampire. Most of these things are safe to use along with any version of the game.

Hope I could help you
-

Awesome stuff, thanks man !!

Im definitely going to follow your advice and start with the unofficial patch, then move on to the camarilla. Thanks a bunch im sort of back into the PC gaming after being a console fanboy for a few years. Its nice to see such a nice community behind awesome games like this, cant wait to play!

Hi Kraven,
If you meant you have not played the game at all in any way, here is an alternative if you run into trouble.
The first time I tried to run the game with one of the patches (it was around the 4 or 5 level I think), it would just crash the game. I don't know if it was me, my PC, or the patch. It didn't matter, I guess, since the result was the same. The 1.2 patch will allow you to run the game in the way most folks played it at the beginning. It is a great game just like it is (one of the top 5 PC or console games I have ever played).

The patches add a LOT of stuff, but the game is essentially the same. I am currently playing the Camarilla Edition for the first time and it is an astounding piece of work. Here is an example of the kinds of things the patches (after 1.2) do for you. No spoilers, I promise.
The first time you go through the parking garage to the beach, you can pause to listen to two cops talking about the worst crime scene they have ever seen. You can't see them, they are just somewhere nearby and the conversation is just added for fun and atmosphere (again with the great game comments). - The first time I played it with one of the patches, I could see the cops! It made perfect sense that they would be where they were and I wondered why I had not considered it odd that I couldn't see them before.

That's a small thing, but the point is the game is great either way. The Mods do all kinds of stuff, but the patches fix things you might not have noticed were wrong if you'd never installed them.

I'm a bit jealous, btw. I wish I could play this for the first time again.
Enjoy!
Freddish

Freddish,
you're right of course. Even with the 1.2 patch only, it's a great game. And I completely agree that it's best to start with as few changes to the original game a possible. That's the reason I suggested starting with Wesps patch in the basic version, not plus.
And for your concerns with installation problems, the patches have become a lot more stable over time. And they even include some new installers for 64 bit. Also Wesp has removed some of the more obvious changes from the basic, and made plus only in the last versions.

And don't talk to me about wanting to play for the first time again I'd love to be able to temporarily forget all my knowledge about the game and start alll over again with "the blissful gurgling of the freshly lobotomized..."

Oh, btw, Kraven, if you really are completely new to this game, be very careful when you browse the forum. Most people here are veteran players, so we don't care a lot about possible spoilers.

-

Childe of Malkav wrote:

Oh, btw, Kraven, if you really are completely new to this game, be very careful when you browse the forum. Most people here are veteran players, so we don't care a lot about possible spoilers.

-

Ooo. That's a great point! We all talk about almost every aspect of the game...