There is NOTHING Wrong With The True Patch

[Tessera]

I just want to reiterate a couple of things...


The True Patch Gold Edition was created on a computer which has been optimized for Bloodlines. How else would I be able to produce an accurate patch for this game..?

The exact specifications of my gaming rig/test machine are as follows:

Asus Crosshair IV motherboard
AMD Phenom II "Thuban" 6-Core Multiprocessor
ATI Radeon HD5870 (2-GB "Toxic" version) video card
16 Gigabytes of DDR3 system RAM
PC Power and Cooling 1000-watt power supply
Extra large, well-cooled aluminum PC case
Western Digital Caviar Black RAID series 2-TB hard drives (5 total)
Pioneer Blu-Ray DVD burner

Windows XP Professional 64-bit Edition operating system (OS1)  <--- used for testing Bloodlines
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Edition (OS2)  <-- used for testing True Patch compatibility with Win7
Ubuntu Linux x64 (OS3)
Windows 2000 x32 (OS4)

Entire system built, tweaked and tuned by yours truly.


Now that I've finished with the tech specs, let me mention a few things about Bloodlines...

First of all, this game does not get along very well with ANY version of Windows Vista. Nor does any other game which uses the Source engine, such as Half-Life 2 or Left 4 Dead. Vista simply sucks for gaming, period. So if you are using Windows Vista and if you have anomalous behavior with some of your games, then get rid of Vista and get a better operating system.

Similarly, I don't know of a single game that gets along with any version of Windows "User Rights Management." Gamers who are using Vista or Windows 7 are advised to deactivate User Rights Management entirely. It's a bullshit "system security" gimmick created by MicroSoft to sell more copies of Windows. But in reality, it causes far more headaches than it solves. Especially for gamers.

Bloodlines does not get along with the Steam service. End of story. If you bought VTMB through Steam, then you need to move the game out of your Steam folders and into a new folder of its own on your hard drive. And then, you need to create a new desktop shortcut for it (create a shortcut directly to vampire.exe). The True Patch Gold Edition enables you to do so and your performance during Bloodlines sessions will be far more stable as a result. Bloodlines hates Steam... that's the bottom line... and I have oodles of hard data which backs up that statement.

So then... if you are experiencing problems with Bloodlines that nobody else seems to be experiencing, then the problem is on your end... not ours. Over the years, all sorts of people have shown up here whining that there is something wrong with the True Patch -- because after installing it, their game started doing all sorts of strange things. And of course, whenever I try to duplicate whatever it is that they are talking about, nothing happens. Everything is fine. I have even gone so far as to create a test video in many of those cases, showing the user than indeed, there is nothing whatsoever wrong with the True Patch. Not if it has been installed and configured properly, according to its instructions.

The great thing about those test videos is that they tend to shut up the most persistent whiners instantly. That's why I make those videos in the first place... to put a decisive end to any possible arguments. There it is... right in front of you in my test video and working like a charm. So then, the problem is obviously coming from your own machine... and not from the True Patch.

Ever since it was released, I can count the number of legitimate bug reports concerning the True Patch Gold Edition on the fingers of one hand. In almost every other instance, it was a clear case of user error. Well, I can't fix your user errors... only YOU can.

Lastly let me mention that if you install any mods into Bloodlines after you have installed the True Patch... and if you start having problems as a result... then the mods you are using are not TPG-compatible. So then, do not contact ME looking for a fix... contact the author of the mod in question and ask him or her why their patch is not TPG-compatible. It is up to the modders to make mods which are compatible with the TPG. But it is not up to me to make a patch which is compatible with their mods. The patch comes first... and the mods come second. My job is to give you a rock-solid patch... and I have done exactly that. Anything above and beyond that is the responsibility of the end user.

Please keep all of the above in mind, before you post any bug reports on this board. I am ready, willing and able to help you... but if I tell you that no such bug exists, then you are just going to have to trust me on that. In such cases, the problem is most certainly happening on your end.

[kurtis64]

Tessera, a question... Do you think the patch is compatible with Bloodlines translations to another languages?

[Tessera]

I have no idea. It's an American-made game and I'm an American, too. I don't concern myself with any of the translations.

My suggestion would be: if you want to play American roleplaying games, then learn to speak English.  

[Drazgar]

It must be compatible with any translation just as any other patch, or mod... as long, as you know, how to transfer the text part of dialogs, options (and other things) to their original position in patched files. And modify the trackerscheme.res, if the translation uses not the standart font files.

Trust me, this question was pain in my ass for a looong time  and i guess will be again soon, meh.

[Tessera]

The original version 1.2 patch created by Troika was compatible with the original English language version only.

Therefore, the same rule holds true for the True Patch. It is intended to be used with the original English language version of Bloodlines.

There are too many bad translations out there for me to concern myself with any of them. It would become a never-ending ordeal... one that I am simply not willing to get involved in.

My original response still stands. It's an English language game. It was created by English-speaking people in the United States. If you want to play it, then learn how to speak English. Or, convince the people in your own country to create their own games in your language.

This game is American in origin. I am an American, too. So, I make patches and mods for the games which were written in my own native language. It is not my job to be a translator.

Seems pretty simple to me.  

[Drazgar]

The original version 1.2 patch created by Troika was compatible with the original English language version only.

Therefore, the same rule holds true for the True Patch. It is intended to be used with the original English language version of Bloodlines.

There are too many bad translations out there for me to concern myself with any of them. It would become a never-ending ordeal... one that I am simply not willing to get involved in.

My original response still stands. It's an English language game. It was created by English-speaking people in the United States. If you want to play it, then learn how to speak English. Or, convince the people in your own country to create their own games in your language.

This game is American in origin. I am an American, too. So, I make patches and mods for the games which were written in my own native language. It is not my job to be a translator.

Seems pretty simple to me.  

It was never my intention to make you change your opinion. Or be involved in some mess = )
Every game (book/movie/song etc.) has only single origin.

But you can't force all the people on planet to learn and speak another language, just to have an opportunity to play the games. Even magnificent ones.

Bad translation means a bunch of bad translators. But there is no problem, that can't be solved.

[Tessera]

Well then, what is the point in playing Bloodlines AT ALL if you do not speak English..? Think about it for a moment.

Every single bit of spoken dialogue in the game is in American English. Even if you have foreign subtitles, it's even worse than watching a foreign film with subtitles. It would be impossible to get every nuance and intended emotion, unless you understood the spoken words in the game. Talk about yanking you out of the immersion...

I don't think it is wise to play an RPG that features spoken dialogue if you do not speak the language. Another type of game, maybe... but not an RPG, in which just about everything that we are meant to experience hinges upon the spoken dialogue and the voice acting.

Anyway, as I have said previously, translations are not something that I have the time (nor the inclination) to get involved in.