Video Games
‘Bloodlines 2’ Devs Explain Adaptations of The Ruleset in Latest Dev Diary
In case you weren’t aware, the upcoming Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is based on the tabletop RPG series of the same name by White Wolf Publishing. The latest version of the rules was released back in 2018. This presents a bit of an issue for those looking forward to Paradox Interactive’s upcoming Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2latest developer diary available on the Paradox forums, lead UI/UX designer Rachel Leiker explains how the team drew on those newer rules for the new game, and some of the places they differed.
For example, in the fifth edition ruleset, blood has four emotional ‘resonances’, each of which can affect your characters’ abilities when drunk. For Bloodlines 2, that was bumped up to five, and the bonuses were reworked. “Delirium, Desire, Fear, Pain, and Rage are all emotions that can be discovered and devoured in the game and act as a secondary XP to unlock and activate Resonance-specific buffs, or Merits,” writes Leiker. “The Resonance and Merits in Bloodlines 2 are more rigid in their implementation, but they allow players to quickly hunt for and manage the resource throughout the game.”
When you start the game, you’re a Thinblood, a vampire without access to normal clan disciplines. For Bloodlines 2, the designers wanted to round out the abilities available to them. Whereas in the tabletop game, the Thinblood Alchemy lets players temporarily counterfeit any other clans’ powers, for Bloodlines 2, the designers chose to focus on three skills.
“The three Thinblood Disciplines – Chiropteran (Affinity to Bats), Nebulation (Mist Form), and Mentalism (Telekinesis) have mostly traversal and defensive applications. Thinblood Alchemy in V5 is much the same way – Thinbloods are at the very very bottom of the food chain, so survival is the number one priority. We maintain the core feeling of what it means to be a Thinblood and use those powers but make it more video game friendly by expressing it in familiar ways. Who doesn’t want to glide across the Seattle skyline, travel as mist with the wind, and move objects without touching them?”
If you’re a fan of the tabletop RPG, then you’ll definitely want to check out just what Paradox has done to switch things up to make it more accessible for the non-tabletop crowd.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 hits PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via the Epic Games Store in 2020.
When Season 7 “Project Boneyard” arrives for The Outlast Trials on July 14, players will be greeted with the return of Prime Asset Sergeant Leland Coyle. And he’s not alone. Launching for PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation, and Xbox, Project Boneyard will include a new Trial, two fresh MK-Challenges, major updates to Escalation and Invasion, new customization features, and a new Ex-Pop enemy stalking the Prison Farm known as The Biter.
Season 7 will see Reagents sent into Murkoff’s latest correctional nightmare in the Prison Farm. At the center of it all is Sergeant Coyle, returning in a prominent new role for the season’s new Trial, Locksock the Warden.
The American prison is a meat grinder, taking in sociopaths and criminals and extruding functioning members of society. But strict routine, severe conditioning, and close quarters create a crucible for power dynamics built on violence, contraband, and flesh.
With the new Trial, you are freedom. The indefinable promise that keeps prisoners at the grindstone that turns authority to profit and back again. Don’t let false authority stand in the way of real capital. Kill the Warden, and set yourself free.
Season 7 also brings with it two new MK-Challenges. In “Bribe the Judges”, you are the master, whose property is the purpose of the law. Salary reminds enforcement that their monopoly of violence only exists for your monopoly of capital. Collect the bribes in order to pay the judges. Meanwhile, “Cancel the Broadcast” has you sabotaging the broadcast and defiling the faithful with blood in order to be let out.
Then there’s the new Ex-Pop stalking the Prison Farm in The Biter. Having had its arms removed to prevent further self-harm, Biters are universal sadists, still capable of grievous harm with their mechanically enforced jaws. Though Biters are kept chained by the neck for safety, you should approach them with caution, as their augmented legs grant them unexpected velocity.
If that’s not enough content for you, from July 14 to August 11, Twitch users who tune in to participating The Outlast Trials Twitch streams can earn rewards through the latest Twitch Drops campaign. You can read up on the full details from the FAQ on developer The Red Barrels’ website.
Lastly, Project Boneyard also introduces a range of new features and improvements for The Outlast Trials, designed to “expand player expression, streamline preparation, and improve the overall experience” across key modes. That includes the introduction of Rig Customization, Knife Customization, Loadout Presets, and Mastery Tasks, giving players new ways to “prepare for therapy” and personalize their approach before entering the Trials. The update will also bring major reworks to both Escalation and Invasion, with significant changes designed to improve the flow, structure, and overall player experience of both modes.
More details on these features, and the full contents of Project Boneyard, will be revealed closer to launch.