Ocean House Items

There should be an axe somewhere.

There should also be either a book or a mystical item.

But the axe was not where it was supposed to be - did you make the inspection needed to find it too high or did you remove it altogether?

And apparently you substituted the mystical items for loot good only to sell for cash.....

I gotta say i am disapointed.... it is one of the hardest levels and i have nothing to show for it? i mean either than the quest item???

I wouldn't exactly say the Ocean House it difficult, perhaps tricky(namely that bloody elevator...*snarl*).

I believe the ax was removed, seeing as how easy it would be to get, either buying it, or having enough inspection to find it somewhere in the hubs. It might make sense to find the ax, but consider this - being a 'murder' weapon, the police would've taken it as evidence, if it was found at all. If it wasn't, that would mean that it burned along with the house(along with meaning that the ax the ghost holds, isn't a real one). So you might find the rusted head of the ax, but not much else.

The magical items might not make sense to be there either. Unless something is added to the story, or wraiths/ghosts might impart some interesting aspects to an item, or even the 'wife' granting you an object for your help.

The Ocean House is the easiest level of all (you just have to move around), but it's the most emblematic one.

As for the items, is your inspection high enough ? I know Zer0 moved stuff around because we all know where items are...

you can die in many ways. the exploding objects inflict damage after all. the exploding kitchen after picking up the diary can kill you. and the phantom fire as well. and then yes the elevator....

but yes calling it difficult....

it is scary as hell, that it is.

no, the worse is, you cannot fight back. there is nothing to fight back. you take damage and you cannot inflict damage back to make the damage stop being inflicted, you passively take damage, you cannot react, you cannot act. at most you can try to avoid it.

but even worse is, you cannot feed. there is nothing to feed from. and with bloodloss it has become a huge issue.

i already said it once, and i will say it again.
in a subsequent update to either TFN or CE, you really should spawn rats in the ocean house hotel.

another thing that gets to me is the climbing the elevator shaft stairs and climbing on ledges. granted a fall doesn't kill you, but it still demands precision.

but i guess.... like i said, it's the bloodloss and the knowing that i cannot feed that gets me. i get cranky when i cannot feed.
i don't feel the leisure to thoroughly explore, for example, and the aspects like walking on the ledges that need precision i do with the resulting stress.

toughest, probably no. but the most stressful for sure.


but i would like zer0 himself the designer to say why the items were not there.......

Yeah, I was unable to find any items myself, although blood loss is a problem, I make sure I'm well fed on rats before I even attempt to enter the house...

You do know you can use blood packs right ? If you're that stressed by it *shrugs* Personally I'm not

This maybe because I know the level but I never used any bloodpacks with CE and I tend to play low stamina characters.
Blood loss never bothered or stressed me in the level. At all. Maybe it's because I actually do avoid most stuff thrown by the husband.. Or because I play with a minimum of awareness ? :-D

i never BOUGHT blood packs in Camarilla. and the first three packs i get i sell to the guy at the beach, the ignorant one. i do have a sort of prejudice against it, i guess i don't like vandal and don't like having to deal with him... a prurience i guess i will have to overcome...

and... stressing... call it overidentifying? equating the abstract data that is a graph for something that is called blood pool in a game with a personal disquiet that could be equated with hunger, which leaves me cranky in the real world? (remember Enemy of the State the movie, Gene Hackman saying he gets cranky when he is hungry?) i never got my bloodpool low enough to care, and indeed it is a level where you don't need disciplines, so no need to worry. and there are no consequences - mind you there are. zer0 said if you go hungry you can frenzy, and actually it is a level where you can die if you frenzy, there are traps that can actually kill you if you loose control of your character.

on the other hand i would like to explore every nook and cranny, and it is a huge level.

what gets to me it's a combination of factors. you cannot feed while there, and you cannot leave it in the middle and go out to feed and come back to finish it, once you are in you can only go out after finishing it, and throughout you cannot feed.

even the sewers into nosferatu land they offer a number of side doors out where you can go to the hub and feed and restock on ammo, and there are rats to feed on.

the sabbat warehouse you can feed on the foes and there are ammo pallets aplenty to restock

grouts mansion you can feed on blood dolls.

this one is.... claustrophobic.


and... i always resented horror movies. and this level is an interactive horror movie. and very good. and probably i mmerse myself too much in the game, in the character, in the setting....

to me i gues it is not just a game... but an imersive experience, Escapism as i have seen it defined.

One thing i will give you Velvet is that the Ocean house is creepy as. Dont get me wrong, i kinda like to ambience but damn, it just puts me on edge which is a weird feeling as a vampire character lol.

First time in the ocean house i got scared like a little girl. I've never played a game that gave me such strong emotions

However, all other playthroughs after i did it robotically, cuz i knew all the "scares" n stuff.

If they randomized a bit, i've might been able to feel scared a littel longer

A part from the elevator and the blue fire, you don't really risk anything. One that is understood, you can playthrough it with a hand in your pocket and while watching tv. Stay away from the moving objects and blood buff your way in the kitchen :-D
I do that, but I do turn on the sound (play with no sound), and trigger every event, watch very little detail and follow the wife everytime (instead of just going to the laundry room, for instance). And I never EVER needed a bloodpack in there.

Maybe I should film a playthrough for Velvet... Even if I only understand half of what she says because of long, unstructured sentences that are just a random flow of ideas Oo)

Ah i am not the only one!

and it never gets old. never. to me it is always as scary as the first time.

i never needed a blood pack either. it is not a question of actually needing it, it is an awareness that i cannot feed period. it is counterclock race, to be sure i am done with it before by blood pool drops too much, knowing i can only replenish it when i play it through. i guess i don't like counterclock.

hey following the woman is FUN! it is the whole point of the level! plus she leads you to relevant points! namely she leads you into the room where the newspaper tirggers the information of where the boiler room key is hidden.
but i do more. on the ground floor, if you follow both the corridors left then right, all the way to the end then turn to follow them to the blind ends, the dead ends, you will be treated to whispers by her saying he is after you and a glimpse of the ax murderer. everytime i play this level i do that, even though it is otherwise, plot wise, wholly pointless.

Claudia i am sorry. i claim two things: stream of consciounsess and having trouble with english being second language. i am sure i am writing english with my native language's gramatical structure, employing in english all the freedom that my native language's gramatical rules or lack thereoff, all the freedom, that allows.

Everytime i have played through it still gives me the creeps but yeah i do tend to just charge through it nowdays and that keeps me relativly sane

Hand in pocket sounds like a good idea though

Velvet, English is my THIRD language, you have no excuse not to put any capital letter and re-read yourself to make clearer, shorter sentences. Don't write like you're talking especially if your native language has nothing to do with English. Subject, verb, complement. Easy grammar !

I don't think you're understanding what we mean, what's beyond the words we say. You have to scratch a little deeper...

I'm not arguing the ambiance of the Ocean House, I'm just saying that you CAN make everything in the ocean house, read everything, trigger everything, follow everyone, not take shortcuts, and get a little lost in there without bloodloss being a problem. You just need to be 3/4 feed. Even with 1 in Stamina only. And without using bloodpacks. EVER.

Of course I go through every bit of it everytime. Follow the ghost arond, up into the dead-ends, listen to her warnings.... And usually I don't have any bloodpack as well, because most times I do the Ocen House after selling stuff to Copper, and before going to Gimble. And I never buy bloodpacks.
Well I must admit, I do feel uncomfortable if my bloodpool drops below 1/2.
As for avoiding damage, staying low helps. Especially upstairs with the steam ducts breaking, and in the Boiler room. If you stay crouched there, most of the rivets fly right over your head, and you don't risk getting damaged, because you run too fast, and run into one of the hot boilers. In the kitchen, just stay near the door, with your right side against the wall, and your back against the shelf, facing the exit, so you can get out fast, as soon as the door breaks. Or stay in the dumbwaiter until you see the door crashing, and then hurry over.

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Velvet wrote:

Claudia i am sorry. i claim two things: stream of consciounsess and having trouble with english being second language. i am sure i am writing english with my native language's gramatical structure, employing in english all the freedom that my native language's gramatical rules or lack thereoff, all the freedom, that allows.

A wild guess: aren't you either Spanish or Italian? I know the problem with transferring your native grammar to other languages. All you need to do is pay attention and proofread. And English is my thrid language, or fourth, if Latin does count Though due to not using them I practically forgot both German and Latin. Shame on me.

As for the Ocean House, I love the level. Especially playing it at night, with lights turned off. I think it would make a great horror movie. Anyway, the only occasion I had to use a bloodpack was when I screwed up pretty well and had to either use Blood Heal or wait for eternity and a day. And I love to explore, follow leads, poke my nose where i shouldn't... And half a snout after it I try to play the game as if I had never played it before in every playthrough.

Of course, poking your nose where it doesn't belong, is what it's all about. Though I'm probably more of a cat than a dog. I simply love playing with Julius on the beach, before I eventually kill him. Or playing all sweets with VV, and then when I finally leave, telling her: Oh by the way, I drained the Hatter. And I'm glad that in the plus patch, and therefore also in CE you can send off that anoying Toreador Ghoul to Vandal. Patty is the only reason for me to accept his quest.

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You can send Patty (and some other girls) to Vandal even if you don't have the quest, just for the lulz, you just need to know about what is going on in the blood bank

I'd rather send him some other really annoying people. Like that guy from the tower...

Childe of Malkav wrote:

I'd rather send him some other really annoying people. Like that guy from the tower...

And get Fried Vandal Snack. Thourette might not like it. Who else could she play Misstres/Dominatrix at? Only a nutty mortal would take her seriously.

As to your previous post, I always let Julius live... Mercy of a predator thing? Dunno.

My biggest problem in the Ocean House has always been the exploding hallway. I've actually died in there a few times, especially if I'm playing weaker, mental-based characters. I have no problem getting to that point, and I'm fine after it, but that part always kicks my ass. I've actually stood in the sunlit room for quite a while (before the CE mod) and let myself slowly heal back up, it's hit me that bad even when I do survive.

My problem too...

I should film myself playing.. Srsly..

What do you mean by exploding hallway? The ruptured steam ducts on the topmost floor? Just go slowly there, wait until the explosion is over, and then crouch down, keep near to the wall on the side where the steam is emitted, and pass underneath. Usually I get through there completely unscathed.

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I get by completly uscathed too. Just crouch and walk slowly. Man now i feel powerful... Oh wait, it's gone.