Vampire: Bloodlines v1.2 Patch Released

Activision and Troika have released the first official patch for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, which will take the RPG to version 1.2. Here are the notes:

This document details numerous fixes and changes to Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines in the 1.2 patch. The patch will not affect saved games from the retail version of Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines. It is strongly recommended that you disable any anti-virus software before installing.

Minimum System Requirements:

• 3D hardware accelerator card required - 100% DirectX® 9.0c-compatible 64MB video card and drivers

• 1.2 GHz Athlon™ or 1.2 GHz Pentium® III processor or higher

• 384MB of RAM (512MB of RAM recommended)

• Microsoft® Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP

• Quad-Speed CD-ROM drive (600 K/sec sustained transfer rate) and drivers

• 3.3 GB of uncompressed hard disk space for game files and saved games (plus 1.4 GB for Windows® swap file)

• 100% DirectX® 9.0-compatible 16-bit sound card and drivers

• 100% Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP-compatible mouse, keyboard, and drivers

• DirectX® 9.0c (Included)

Supported Chipsets for 98/ME/2000/XP

All ATI® Radeon® Chipsets
All NVIDIA® GeForce™ Chipsets
Matrox® Parhelia™ Chipset

NOTICE: This game contains technology intended to prevent copying that may conflict with some disc and virtual drives.


FIXES IN THE PATCH

- Fixed C++ Runtime error on launch of the game due to older versions of Python interpreter.

- Fixed Invalid dialog responses due to older versions of Python interpreter.

- Fixed problem where keys and keycards may disappear from player’s inventory.

- Fixed problem where binding either Enter or Right Mouse Button to the Use key would cause the inventory window to immediately close after opening. These bindings are now no longer permitted.

- Added “Inventory Full – Items Dropped” message when player receives items beyond the inventory limit and added inspection particles to the dropped items. This addresses the issue with cameras being lost in the “Model Citizen quest.

- Fixed problem where a player would have both the vampire and warform models stuck together when both Fortitude and Protean (level 5) are activated.

- Fixed crash to desktop when the player returns to the boat after rescuing Johansen from the Society of Leopold.

- Fixed problem where the newspaper would report success in the “Model Citizen” quest even though the player had failed it.

- Fixed problem where the player can log on to the Theater computer before receiving the “Tangled Web” quest from Mitnick.

- Fixed problem with haven mailboxes not receiving award for completing the food critic quest. quest.

- Modified E dialog so that it is easier to receive the “Thinned Blood” quest.

- Modified Regent dialog so that he now recognizes completion of the Gargoyle quest.

- Modified Isaac dialog so that he now recognizes completion of the King’s Way and Gargoyle quests.


IMPORTANT NOTES

If you find that you are not accumulating experience points as you complete quests, this is because you have Auto-Level turned on and the game is automatically spending your experience points to improve your abilities and attributes. To disable Auto-Level, access the Character Sheet and click on the Auto-Level toggle button.

Once you acquire a new haven, your Santa Monica haven computer and mailbox will no longer function. Use the computer and mailbox of your new haven instead.

When you are playing a Nosferatu, your grotesque appearance prevents you from using the taxi that appears after you blow up the Sabbat warehouse. Nosferatu characters must travel between game hubs using the hub map found in the sewers.


IMPROVING GAME PERFORMANCE

Most performance problems reported to Activision Customer Support are due to computer systems not meeting the minimum system requirements or not having the latest video and sound card drivers installed.

If these are not the causes of any performance problems you are experiencing, we recommend that you try some or all of the following suggestions.

• Set your desktop to a resolution of 800x600, 32-bit True Color and play the game at that resolution.

• Shut down all background applications.

• Disable any anti-virus software you are running.

• Set the game’s Game Options to their minimum settings. In particular, disable Environmental Effects.

• This game requires a 1400MB swap file. If you are using Windows XP, 98, or ME, make sure that you have “Let Windows Manage My Virtual Memory” enabled, and if you are using Windows 2000, make sure that you have manually set your max swap file size to 1400MB. In addition, make that you actually have enough free space on your hard drive to facilitate the swap file (1400MB).

bugs...

Unfourtunately, there are still many bugs that have not yet been fixed, even with this patch. Added are also the graphical issues, engine problems, etc.

changes in game with patch...

In response to the new patch and bugs..., I have restarted the game several times, trying to decide which character I would like to be. So far I think I favor the insane Malkavian clan.... Then I installed the patch and restarted the game... and the dialog seems different and in some parts it seems like several of the numbered dialog options are missing. Am I just crazy or has the patch changed the dialog in a significant way? Is this a good or bad thing? not sure if I like these changes...

It's not the patch, it's the Malkavian blood.
Your insane, so you talk like your insane!

Am I the only one with a 'mouse-lag' bug after the patch? My view stalls all the time.

Bugs!

I have installed the patch and i have these bugs:

After finishing the Nosferatu Warrens, i meet a Nosferatu named Imalia , who should give me the Model Citizen Quest, but when i speak with her, she says i have "Buggered it up" therefor not being able to complete the Quest.

During the "Kikinapped" quest in the Lotus Blossom, at the 2nd floor, I noticed that the Doors Handles showed up, on the left hand-side, when the door isnt supposed to have handles, i think

Along with the Game's Lag problem thats all i could think of.

Also just so people know...the game does not support NVIDIA GeForce Chipsets, even though it specifically says it does. Even if you do get the game to run with it, it won't run right and you will not be able to play the game. Your best bet is the ATI Radeon.

I call BS Fenris. I'm running with a Geforce 6800 GT 256 mb and get 40 fps solid at 1600x1200 resolution.

Now, if you mean the Geforce 5 series, then yes, the Source engine has issues with that series of cards. BUT, the game auto-adjusts to look crappier but play better.

So in conclusion: there is no reason to go to really high lengths to get an ATI card to play this game. Your Geforce 4 Ti4600 will suit you just fine, though not fantastic.

You may be right, I only tried one type of Geforce and the game ran for a little while with horribly cut out graphics then crashed.

The patch is crap. It introduces many new types of bugs. You're better off using Dan Uprights unofficial patch.

Again, I call BS. Give me proof, Shodan. I'm using a combination of both, and have no new bugs introduced. In fact, all I've seen are fixes from this patch-- the cutscenes are a lot better now, as are animations, and crashing is much, much rarer. I recommend using Dan's still, for other fixes, but together both work fine.

i observed too some new bad things with the patch but all were because i was playing with an save game from the unpatched version.

After i've started a new game on the patch version, the game was much more stable and lots of bug's disapear ... the cutscenes were a lot better and load time decresed a little (i have only 512 ram) so i am strongly suggest to start a new game after patch cuz it seems that saved games carry some problems with them (at least that is what i've observed).

I personally only experienced one bug with this game and that was the Leopold bug. Guess i'm just lucky!

But the patch fixed alot of problems for alot of people, and let's hope the 1.3 patch fixes the rest of the problems.

Just because some people have experienced new bugs after the patch isnt a good reason not to download it.