The Final Nights Ver. 1.1 Review

I have a question for all of you! Those of you who are playing TFN 1.1, what do you think of it? List some things you really liked about it, and some that you didn't like, and post some suggestions that could make it even better! I'd like to know so I can get some ideas for version 1.2!

Zer0Morph wrote:

I have a question for all of you! Those of you who are playing TFN 1.1, what do you think of it? List some things you really liked about it, and some that you didn't like, and post some suggestions that could make it even better! I'd like to know so I can get some ideas for version 1.2!

I saw a post that someone felt the Jimmy character felt too implanted. Since this is a new edition and the conversation is happening strictly over the phone, I thought quality of dialogue was fine too me and you have a chance to kick more A$$ in Santa Monica. You can't get more "BONUS!" than that. The Obstruction of Justice deal was okay. The new character was a nice addition but I didn't find her very useful. I do get bad sometimes but I'm a very careful monster. I mind my steps. The game already offers redemption quests anyways but I liked her story and her purpose. Very cool. As far as the Baali quest? I have the book and the I convinced Max I'm apart of his clan but that's all I got. Is there more? Have I not stumbled upon the climax of this pyramid quest? I'd like to know what step I missed. All in all the 1.1 is great and I can't wait for 1.2! Also I love the original atmosphere music but I have to give a big plus to the new atmosphere soundtracks of TFN. I found them refreshing as I stalk the streets. mawwwhhahahaha

I do have an idea though that would make the game even more tempting to lose your humanity. What if killing certain types of people awarded you the money and jewelry they had on them. Prostitutes and thugs for example are not innocent. They spread sin and moral disease with their dealings. Their corpses should offer up money and helpful items such as weapons and pill bottles to be used and sold later. Perhaps vigilante quests to take out drug thugs that stalk the alley's and parking garages would offer xp if you can take them out without drawing attention to yourself. Maybe Larry could send you an e-mail asking you to keep an eye out for his competition around the area that takes away from his business and maybe put them out of business. It would keep you busy racking up xp so some players would have a chance to earn more xp without having to cheat to build the character up faster. It seems like it would be simple to pull off. After all, we weren't told to make a ghoul but we do and we get something out of it. Why can't we get something for erasing scum off the streets..even if it's just for fun

On a side note it would cool if randomly you witnessed other vampires in dark areas feeding on victims from time to time. Kind of makes you feel like you're really not alone. These wouldn't have to be characters that you would have to engage with. It just makes for a more realistic world. You shouldn't be the only one out and about stalking the night so to speak. Or as a twist you get approached from time to time by another vampire who's aggravated with you feeding in his area and you two have to "take it to the alley" to settle the issue. Defeating him means more meat to eat for you. Anyways that's all I can think of.

Great game! I could get lost playing it for hours. I get burned out from time to time but not for long. LOL

Thanks for all your hard work,

Annette

Oh hey I just had another idea! Is it possible that Romero can be out patrolling the graveyard when you come in. The dialogue he runs seems to fit that set up to an extent. While you're in the graveyard, you'll come across random zombies but they only spawn out of control if you take him up on the "stay here for 5 minutes while I go get some" quest which you won't get unless you talk to him in his love shack. Anyways you wonder around the graveyard and when you come across one you cut it up or shoot it or whatever. It would be cool to actually see him out doing his job instead of sitting on his butt with no zombies outside at all. Okay I'm done rambling. LOL

If you like the original music, you should like the new one as well. The ambiente music you can hear in the hubs now is also originally composed by Rick Schaffer for bloodlines. So it's not strictly speaking TFN music. These songs are also included in the patch, in CE, and clan quest. But some of them in different places.
What there is in the clubs however is chosen for TFN exclusively, and not related to the original bloodlines game.

For your idea of actually seeing other vampires every now and then, that sounds good. But unless they are Sabbat, they shouldn't mind you feeding in town. After all, your presence downtown is accepted by both, Nines and the prince. Santa Monica has, as Bertram says, only 4 vampires at all. And he still counts the Voerman sisters as two. Plus himself and the serial killer, that's it. So probably no others to be seen there.
Hollywood might have some more, but after you met Isaak, you have his okay as well...

Meeting Romero or the occasional zombie in the cemetery sounds like a good idea. Might even bring a bit of fun into it, if you chose the pimping quest, instead of the zombie fighting. Or if you play a female character and chose to do Romero yourself, and just then, a zombie comes knocking at the door...

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Childe of Malkav wrote:

If you like the original music, you should like the new one as well. The ambiente music you can hear in the hubs now is also originally composed by Rick Schaffer for bloodlines. So it's not strictly speaking TFN music. These songs are also included in the patch, in CE, and clan quest. But some of them in different places.
What there is in the clubs however is chosen for TFN exclusively, and not related to the original bloodlines game.

For your idea of actually seeing other vampires every now and then, that sounds good. But unless they are Sabbat, they shouldn't mind you feeding in town. After all, your presence downtown is accepted by both, Nines and the prince. Santa Monica has, as Bertram says, only 4 vampires at all. And he still counts the Voerman sisters as two. Plus himself and the serial killer, that's it. So probably no others to be seen there.
Hollywood might have some more, but after you met Isaak, you have his okay as well...

Meeting Romero or the occasional zombie in the cemetery sounds like a good idea. Might even bring a bit of fun into it, if you chose the pimping quest, instead of the zombie fighting. Or if you play a female character and chose to do Romero yourself, and just then, a zombie comes knocking at the door...

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That makes sense about the confliction of conflict over feeding domains. But what if you feed on a prostitute who's really a ghoul working for her master and he confronts you. Perhaps in L.A.? Oh how about cleaning house on gun and pill trafficking in the alley's?
Yes I have often wanted the graveyard to be a little more active since it's suppose to be. All that talk about the zombies and not seeing any unless you take the quest is just a little unrealistic. LOL You should encounter them here and there every time you're in the graveyard as the story goes, they don't stay dead unless you put them back in the ground. Oh wouldn't it be cool if you went in to the mausoleum and you heard scratching, thumping and moaning from the walls. OOO I'm getting goose bumps just thinking about it. :0)

I really like the idea of seeing other vamps out eating in the HUBS. I feel like the HUBS are a little to "evil free" where you're just the only vampire in the world unless you go into someone's place. It doesn't seem believable. There are more than a few good spots where you could see someone feeding on someone else. Males and females. I suppose you'd have to redo some of the female pedestrians so they'd be a little more kindred and a little less soccer mom-ish. The female pedestrians are boring looking anyways. I'd like to see some of the white dresses from the Asylum out walking the streets instead of the brown coat chicks with the mom jeans on. LOL I'm not trying to knit pick. I'm just kind of thinking out loud so to speak. :0)

Oh yes the music is fantastic. And I absolutely dig the clubs. Fantastic picks for dance music in all of them. I don't miss the old club music at all. I couldn't have picked better music if I tried! LOL

Suggestion about the Samedi gameplay:
it is possible to upgrade the radius of detection / risk to break the mascarade from the pedestrian?
Not sur i'm clear: i barely can walk under the light, in the middle of the street with full of npc, and nothing happened. NPC are afraid of you, only, if you really get into contact with them.
The radius to detect you when you are feeding is ok, but damn, i'm a walking dead, should be the same in the street! Nosferatu, was ok, you have to get closer to see all the "Curse", but a Samedi, and with you're skin...!!!

The upp of pedestrian npc is awsome, now you really have to be careful when hunting in the street, but the immersion is break when you discover that it's less to be a zombie than kissing in the neck someone. I spend all the ST Monica and half of the downtown map in the sewer and always under obfusca... obscan...ob... the stuff in the world of shadow!
The immersion was awesome (trouble with the lack of blood, no dolls, rat's genocide, etc.) but it break something when i discovered that nonsense.


And always about Samedi, where is the Hat?! I mean, it's the clan's symbol, an armor skin in the tone of ZeroMorph avatar should be great!

last suggestion, any way to include Brass knuckles? Unarmed combat is totally useless if you don't have a discipline to buff your damage. My first toon was an ishtari unarmed, but have to stop it, unable to get the shade out. Even Gimble was not that easy!


Thanks again for all your stuff, and sorry for the english (frenchy inside)

Zer0Morph wrote:

I have a question for all of you! Those of you who are playing TFN 1.1, what do you think of it? List some things you really liked about it, and some that you didn't like, and post some suggestions that could make it even better! I'd like to know so I can get some ideas for version 1.2!

I am nearly done my Baali run. I just have to masacre the Kuei-jin and the Prince and I'm finished. This is my first time through and on the whole I like the changes. The new music was a welcome addition. Fun to hear White Zombie and others playing. And the lack of repetition in songs helped add to the sense of realism. The added threat of Hunters and random mortals walking around kept me on my toes. Losing blood over time was a nice challenge. It forced me to stay stocked up on blood or hit rat bar in the sewers.

I found a flamethrower in Hollywood! Was that new? It came in handy either way. Plenty of changes for where things could be found. I did miss having mystical items as a reward for quests rather than buying most of them in Chinatown but it wasn't a bad change. Just something to get used to.

The Baali as a character was great. I know there were some comments about the effectiveness of Daimoinon. I ended up using it a fair amount. Mostly Conflagration. Shooting fireballs is quite fun. It did feel weird playing an "evil" character and I had to hold on to my Humanity. So as a suggestion I would love -- LOVE -- a quest to become part of the Path of Evil Revelations. I realize Humanity is in the game as a check against your actions but this is a case where having the ability to step outside that would work. I could picture a quest to track down various pieces of info on the Path and if you are successful you can switch over. Something to consider.

I'd also love a demonic-related quest. Maybe collecting sacrifices and at the end you get a mystic item or even an infernal investment. The big thing would be to add more depth and bloodline specific touches to the character. It's a great start though.

The new characters were cool. The voice work fit in decently. I liked the Assamite Vizier especially. Plenty more potential to explore there I'm sure. Never needed to use the masquerade cleaner, Silvia. But nice to have an option.

Some glitches I noticed. I couldn't turn Heather in to a Ghoul. Not sure if that is normal for the Baali or something that didn't work properly. It would keep repeating the conversation with me saying I have plans for her or that I'll get a doctor. Not a huge deal missing out on her but something I have gotten used to doing.

When the Sabbat attack Venture Tower the rubble was gone from the front of the building but when I left the building I could still see it there. So that might be something to look at. I noticed if I tried to feed on rats my melee weapon would come out as a result. Even if I had selected my fists. So I had a criminal offense generated from that. That was a pain but not that big a deal.

Downtown at the night club the blood doll chick was a bit weird. If she was near the bar she'd reject me but when she moved away everything was fine. Later in the game she seemed back to normal and I could feed from her there as well. No clue what that was about.

Occasionally when I had a Discipline end the text would say it was Serpentis when I didn't have Serpentis.

There may have been a few other things I've forgotten but I encountered no major glitches so I view the changes as overwhelmingly positive. I have no idea how much time or effort went in to this but I think it was worth it. Keep it coming! Believe me when I say I could suggest piles of things I'd love in this game. I'm sure you won't be running out of ideas any time soon either.

My next run I am thinking Samedi or Salubri. Thanatosis sounds like it could be fun.

m0rris0n wrote:

I found a flamethrower in Hollywood! Was that new? It came in handy either way. Plenty of changes for where things could be found. I did miss having mystical items as a reward for quests rather than buying most of them in Chinatown but it wasn't a bad change. Just something to get used to.

Depending on your level of inspection, you might randomly find things in the hubs.

m0rris0n wrote:

Some glitches I noticed. I couldn't turn Heather in to a Ghoul. Not sure if that is normal for the Baali or something that didn't work properly. It would keep repeating the conversation with me saying I have plans for her or that I'll get a doctor. Not a huge deal missing out on her but something I have gotten used to doing.

You have to speak with either Knox(Ask how he became a Ghoul) or Mercurio(Ask about 'The Blood') to be able to ghoul Heather.

m0rris0n wrote:

Occasionally when I had a Discipline end the text would say it was Serpentis when I didn't have Serpentis.

Not really an issue. It's just something for the Setites, as you cannot use the offensive powers of Serpentis while obfuscated.

Xoudii wrote:

last suggestion, any way to include Brass knuckles? Unarmed combat is totally useless if you don't have a discipline to buff your damage. My first toon was an ishtari unarmed, but have to stop it, unable to get the shade out. Even Gimble was not that easy!

I believe TCI's Gimble has always been a lot tougher than vanilla Gimble. It forces you to use your Disciplines rather than just killing him in 5 or 6 whacks.

If I recall right, it's not Gimble himself, but the severed arm as a weapon that is a bit stronger in TCI.

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TFN is my favorite mod. It showed me a bunch of new info on the WoD as well as Clans, such as Salubri, being my favorite over Malkavian.

I loved the implements and the new clans, it really did feel different from the vanilla bloodlines.

The only glitches I noticed were the Obfuscate and Serpentis, which arent really major, but it annoys me abit, because I cant put one thug in a trance, then sneak up behind the other, kill him, then nom the other one to death.
But other than that, it's nothing major.

I would love it if there were more histories available for clans, like for a made up example.

Salubri History: "Meek but Gentle": "Overly Polite" might as well have been your middle name. What you lack in backbone you might as well have made up in your kindness. Though the first few nights after your embrace are rough, your spineless yet kind personality have greatly influenced your capabilities.

*Obeah costs less to raise, but Fortitude cost more to raise*

New characters were nice, such as Jimmy, Silvia and Akeem.

SaulottheGentle wrote:

The only glitches I noticed were the Obfuscate and Serpentis, which arent really major, but it annoys me abit, because I cant put one thug in a trance, then sneak up behind the other, kill him, then nom the other one to death.
But other than that, it's nothing major.

I posted this recently in a sticky in the "Bugs" section but I'll repost it here.

Question 6. Whenever activating Obfuscate, instead of saying "Obfuscate (2)", it says "Serpentis Max 0". Does the same during deactivation.
Answer: This is because the Followers of Set clan cannot use aggressive Serpentis disciplines while Obfuscated. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do to eliminate this text at the top left of the window when other clans use Obfsucate. This is a programming limitation but does not effect gameplay in any way.

You should be able to use "Eyes of the Serpent" while Obfuscated. Any Non-Damaging/Offensive powers are usable while Obfuscated, you just can't attack and remain hidden.

Thanks for the positive feedback and as far as more histories, I agree that more than stat-changers are in order.


Edit: Thanks for the wonderful review, Morrison. I appreciate you taking the time to play and then review it. I created the Baali-Exclusive Pyramid quest to give Baali a small taste of a clan specific adventure. So far this is the only One-Clan quest I've made as I prefer to design quests that all clans can partake in, but I'll remember your suggestion when it comes time to develop more content for TFN.

Zer0, Eye of the Serpent shouldn't work with obfuscate activated, IMO. At least the p&p version needs constant eye-contact to hold the target entranced.

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Zer0Morph wrote:

Edit: Thanks for the wonderful review, Morrison. I appreciate you taking the time to play and then review it. I created the Baali-Exclusive Pyramid quest to give Baali a small taste of a clan specific adventure. So far this is the only One-Clan quest I've made as I prefer to design quests that all clans can partake in, but I'll remember your suggestion when it comes time to develop more content for TFN.

No problem, Zero. Seems like the least thing I could do after all the work you put in to re-making the game.

Slight update. I did figure out what was needed to trigger the ghouling of Heather. You need to talk to the doctor and he says he's too busy to get to her. Then it works properly. In the unaltered game I never did that so it was a bit of a hunt to find out what needed to set things in motion.

I started playing the Samedi and enjoyed it for the most part. The character took some time to adjust to. The reactions you get from people when you are talking to NPCs are definitely interesting. I never bothered to play the Nosferatu in the original game so it was my first experience being a disgusting monster. I only finished off Santa Monica and have switched over to a Salubri. Liking the healing option. I'll have more to say when I complete it.

To me, Serpentis disappears entirely while Obfuscate is active.
It returns once the discipline runs out.

Using Obfuscate does set Serpentis to max 0, so I would imagine that it disappears compeltely. If you want Trance to be usable you should probably change it to max 1. But as was mentioned, the way it works now is more lore-friendly.