Is Tessera Really An Asshole..?

[Tessera]

Like i've mentioned before we don't see eye to eye on somethings, this is a good exception to that .

Why was it necessary to add that to your post..?

[Drathian]

Its my ineffectual way of giving a compliment, my apologies if I offended you.

EDIT: It was my unwarrented attempt to avoid being "seen" a yes man, I was wrong to include that. Let me explain why I exibit this behavior on a lot of forums, I have issues with authority, people that have more "power" then me..and aren't afraid to exert it...  particularly the power to silence or delete my voice, I would rather they just yell at me or make me feel about two inches tall, just a pet peeve of mine. It is not because you are you, but because you are in charge, really bad habit of mine. Exactly why I usually avoid posting on forums at all.

But really if it did hurt your feelings I am sorry, just my stupid psycho-o-logy working overtime. My literal bad!

back on topic, do you play these anymore?  Do you know the advantages/disadvantages to mariadb vs mysql?

[Tessera]

Do you see me silencing you..? I can boot you out of here any time I feel like it, yes. But have I done so..? Nope... because I don't believe in censoring people. And as long as you don't go out of your way to antagonize me, I could care less what you say around here. Knock yerself out.

But seriously, Drath, stop trying to play it safe.

I am fully aware that there are a large number of people on other sites who seem to detest me, for whatever reason. And when you tag a line like that onto the end of your post, it comes across (to me, anyway) as your way of playing it safe with that crowd.

Listen up: about 20% of the negative things that those nitwits say about me are true. The rest of it is pure gossip and outright bullshit. You should know how people are on the internet... you're intelligent. The web is full of cliques. And when somebody wants to join a certain clique, they tend to jump in and agree with pretty much everything that the clique is saying... regardless of how idiotic or unfounded it is. That's what people do, when they want to belong. Before you know it, there's a hundred little jabbering sheeple... all saying the same stupid crap. They're like mindless fucking herd animals.

Next time you see someone saying nasty things about me or this site, just do what I suggested earlier: tell them to show you some proof that backs up what they are saying. I can promise you that at least 80% of the time, they won't be able to... because it simply didn't fucking happen in the first place.

[Drathian]

Hahahahaha you are good, quite perceptive.  I'll stop bullshitting you then.  While it would be safer for me, at least in theory, if you were a member instead of THE admin... no getting around that.  Anyrate, I was trying to play it safer,  not particularly because I care much what people think of me, more to the point I didn't want to be harassed across the net, esp to the extent that they do to you.  I'm trying to figure you out, so far besides being quick witted, and outspoken I haven't seen why these people make such a big deal about you....so far.  It seems people like to harass you, or maybe you are just polarizing person, either way people on the idiotic interwebs seem to have a bone to pick with you,  I find it moderately fascinating. Dunno... I'm kinda like it here atm though.

[Tessera]

Whatcha see is whatcha get. This is the real me, dude. So unless you feel that I'm some sort of Malkavian monster, then it's a good bet that most of the crap you see posted about me on other sites is a bunch of exaggerated bullshit.

Polarizing..? Moi..? Yeah... I probably do have that effect upon SOME people. I have strong opinions, and I have a strong personality, and I express myself freely wherever I go. I tend to be outspoken, regardless of whether or not it rubs some folks the wrong way. To me, the internet should be a place where people communicate... not a place where people go to impress a bunch of total strangers, join a bunch of phony, childish cliques, and indulge in pretend friendships. I have plenty of real-world friends, so I don't feel any need to get everyone to love me on the internet.

More than anything else, I think that's what a lot of people dislike about me. Most people on the web, it seems, go out of their way to join some silly little online clique and get everybody else to approve of them. But then along comes a guy like me, who could care less about any of that nonsense and instead, I shoot from the hip and buck the status quo. That's a great way to get yourself disliked on the web... but when you really think about it, it's also the most HONEST way to conduct yourself.

Be yourself -- not some artificial, insecure, approval-seeking droid.

Consider the big feud within the VTMB community. Do you know how that really got started..? I joined the Planet Vampire community back in 2006 and then, I started campaigning for quality -- instead of mediocrity. Which of course rubbed the status quo the wrong way, because they had been embracing mediocrity for several years. Was I wrong to insist upon quality..? No, of course not. How can it be wrong to want to improve something..? But the status quo never cares about whether you are right or wrong -- they just hate you for being different. Hence the big feud. And that feud got even more intense when they discovered that ganging up on me had the opposite effect of what they were hoping for: instead of making me go away, I fought back by establishing this community. And then, I started releasing patches and mods that -- in my humble opinion -- are of far better quality than any of the mediocre trash that those idiots have embraced. So yeah -- of course they hate me.

But I can live with that, because I know that I did the right thing. Honestly, I would rather be right than be popular. Somebody has to be.

[jasszczur]

Honestly, I would rather be right than be popular. Somebody has to be.

You are about the only person I know that lives by this 'code'. The world would be such a pleasant place if people at least tried to be a little more themselves and less some clowns that need to be loved by everyone.

[perez007usa]

Tess is Tess. If you have been around in the old days, you will understand.

[Drathian]

I have been around for a while, i've just not witnessed so much aggressive drama towards a person on such a level across the internet as tessera has become a bit of a legend level about it, I'm just trying to figure out what the heck happened.  I know people on the net are douches very often to each other for douches sake, but usually not as organized about it.  Granted in this case its not a constant thing, a new flair up every now and again, but it sure leaves a mark IMHO.

[Tessera]

I'm just trying to figure out what the heck happened.

Good question.

I think it basically stems from two separate incidents, both of which caused quite a bit of undue controversy...

First, there was the Mage Union fiasco that I got myself into the middle of, back in my World Of Warcraft days (circa 2004 - 2007). That incident is actually where my screen name "Tessera" originated... it was the name of my female human fire mage in WoW. Anyway, there had been quite a bit of hatred toward Blizzard coming from players of the mage class in WoW, following a series of patches which progressively nerfed and gimped mages... to the point where that class (at the time) had become nearly useless for anything but soloing.

Originally, mages were the DPS leaders on WoW raids... which is as it should be... but by the time we got around to mid-2006 or so, mages had been nerfed to the point where they were practically obsolete. Meanwhile, other classes like warlocks and paladins, both of whom are far hardier and more durable in raids and PvP situations, had been enormously augmented by the same patches. Patches that had turned mages from being glass cannons, to being glass pea shooters... who could be one-shotted to death by just about anyone in PvP.

So when I saw all of the fighting that was happening on the Blizzard mage forums, I finally stepped in and tried to bring some organization to what had been a totally chaotic situation. I reasoned that by getting organized, as a "union" of sorts, we might be able to actually bring some pressure to bear against Blizzard. In unity there is strength... that sort of thing.

And for a time, it looked like it might work... until Blizzard responded by sending a few of their more amoral staff members in, to undermine us and forcibly eject me from the scene.

As an aside... two of those staff members were later fired and the third ("Tseric") wound up spending a few months in a rehab. Fucking serves them right.

Anyway... when the idiot kiddies saw the Mage Union crumbling, they panicked and then decided to ingratiate themselves to mighty Blizzard -- by demonizing yours truly. In truth, the only thing that I am guilty of was being an outspoken and harsh critic of Blizzard, who was trying to help his fellow players to have a better gaming experience.

...

The only other major incident shouldn't be any secret around here. It has to do with the cult RPG called Vampire -- The Masquerade: Bloodlines. Back at the end of 2006, I was the guy who caused a huge schism to take place within the larger VTMB community, when I rightly accused Werner Spahl ("Wesp5") of doing more harm than good to VTMB with his so-called "unofficial patches." Something which is still true to this day, BTW. Far more than mere bug fixes, Wesp's "patches" were also forcing everyone who installed them to accept a ton of arbitrary and unnecessary content changes... effectively screwing the end user out of playing the actual game that Troika intended for us to play. Wesp's response was to arrogantly laugh at me, and challenge me to do better... if I thought that I could actually do so. Well, I teamed up with another disgruntled (and brilliant) VTMB modder named Acrimonious and together, we began producing the True Patch line of alternative fan-made patches for VTMB.

As the True Patch became increasingly popular, the in-fighting within the VTMB community escalated. Never being one to back down from ANY fight, I myself participated in plenty of those conflicts... some of which became very ugly indeed. I'm not proud of it... but I will defend myself by saying not once... not ever... did I initiate any of those fights. I may have escalated a few AFTER they started... but I was never the one who drew first blood. It's just that on many occasions, I drew more blood than they did... and so they hate me for it.  

So.....

That's pretty much where all of the "Tessera hate" originated. Whenever someone like myself comes along and tries to challenge the status quo, it is inevitable that you will be responded to with waves of seething hatred. It's the price we usually pay for trying to make things better. Hell... plenty of people throughout history have even been assassinated for trying to change things. I'm not trying to place myself in their league or anything... I'm just pointing out that whether it be major or minor, the common denominator is this: if you tell the majority that they're wrong, then they're going to hate you for it... even when you're right.

On this web site, which I own and maintain, you folks are always seeing the real me. I'm not doing an act... this is who I really am. A tough guy, yes... but a fair and helpful guy, too. Why else would I go to all of the trouble to create and release high-quality patches and mods for free..? To thousands of people who I will never even meet..? Well obviously, it isn't because I'm trying to curry some sort of mass approval on the internet (that's a laugh). Nope... it's because I genuinely want to give people a more entertaining gaming experience. That altruistic attitude on my part is hardly consistent with the mythical, demonized version of Tessera that so many idiots out there seem to cling to.

But hey... you be the judge. I am what I am.  

[Drathian]

yeah sounds like an uneccesary mess. I think you are omitting "GVZ" incident though.  I think its unfair, have you thought about Public Relations fixing at all?  I know you say you don't care but doesn't it become a nuisance for you?

[Tessera]

GVZ..?

Oh... you mean Game Virgin Zone..? Those idiotic, wanna-be modders..? THOSE lunatics..? We're talking about the site run by a freak named Trent, who impersonated someone else ("Marcus") on THIS board in order to gain my trust. He was pathetically trying to phish for info over here, probably in the vain hope that he could somehow use it to attack us.

He failed, of course... I saw through that nitwit within two days and after that, I just played along to see how far he would take it. Before long, he ran out of clever ideas and ultimately, he was sending me death threats.

Even better... that site featured someone named "Pepper," who routinely posted nude pics in order to lure young males into joining the site. Problem was... little "Pepper" was actually a revolting demi-tranny (a she-male), with horrible breast and butt implants that were VERY obvious in the photos. But goofy little "Pepper" deliberately deceived the male members of GVZ, claiming to be an actual, real girl. Well, after we exposed "Pepper" the she-male (in retaliation for several derisive comments directed at tessmage.com and posted by "Pepper" over on the GVZ board), I'd estimate that GVZ lost about a third of their members... who no doubt fled that site in disgust. Or horror.  :laugh:

It was at around that same time that Trent aka Marcus started sending me death threats. He also threatened to have this site invaded by hordes of impotent pussies from 4chan. Neither of his threats had anything solid behind them... he was simply talking out of his ass, as usual.

And what did I do to cause all of that hullabaloo..? I refused to allow Trent to host my mods on his worthless site without my permission... that's what. As I recall, it was Trent's blatant theft of my Hellgate: Nude mod in particular that set it all off. I think it's safe to say that his reaction to my insistence that he cease hosting my mods immediately was definitely waaaaaay over the top.

But hey... Trent wanted a war, so I gave him one. Tessera style. Before very long, Trent caved in and ran away with his tail between his legs. Every damned bit of that conflict was Trent's fault, and he knew it.

I told you -- I don't back down from a fight. But just because I happened to win a fight, that doesn't make me responsible for the fight breaking out in the first place. It's important to keep that in perspective.

I know you say you don't care but doesn't it become a nuisance for you?

Honest answer:

No... not at all. The negative opinions expressed by childish, eternally-adolescent douchebags do not affect me. We have our own adults-only haven over here at tessmage.com, and this site has been up and running for nearly a decade. So I'm doing just fine. We all are.  

[Ratcatcher]

Game Vixen Zone, darn that makes me feel old, thanks.   

[Tessera]

No kidding.   :laugh:

That all went down... what... about 8 or 9 years ago..? I can't recall, exactly. I think it was not very long after I released my first Hellgate: Nude mod, which I believe was back in late 2007 or early 2008.

[Tessera]

Here's a blast from the past...

...I found this post sitting among a pile of old, backed-up stuff that I had on a thumb drive from around 10 years ago.

It's a copy of a very old post that I put up on the old PlanetVampire board. This was originally posted over there very early in 2007... right at the time that the "VTMB patch war" was first getting started. It's a dissection of one of Wesp's "unofficial patches" from back at that time (circa January 2007). At the time that I posted this, we had not yet produced any versions of the True Patch... so this is truly a little slice of history here. It shows how that feud got started, and it eventually led to Acrimonious and myself producing the very first True Patch several months later.

The tone of this post is rather scathing, I admit... but as I recall, I posted this AFTER the point where Wesp and his groupies had already become quite hostile and abusive toward me. Prior to this post, I had done my best to remain composed and polite... in spite of their abuse. The following post marks the point where I had finally had enough of their nasty and childish horseshit... and so, I decided to give it back to them, with both barrels blazing.

This post was originally addressed directly to Wesp5, back on the old (and now defunct) PlanetVampire board. The original date of this post would be sometime during January of 2007:





Now that I've had some sleep and I have a few moments, I'm going to address each and every one of Wesp's changes that are listed in his patch notes.

I'm assuming that these are from his latest release..?

Awarded xp when releasing Julius
A very bad change that destroys the intention by Troika that the player make a value judgement and a moral choice.

Added humanity loss for killing innocents in several combat areas.
There are no such things as "innocents" in combat areas. That rule was made very clear by Troika. Such unintentional deaths are considered to be casualties of war. Hey... shit happens. Wesp is flying in the face of reality here.

Modified bad discipline effects for non humans, thanks to Populism.
Sounds like he wants vamp disciplines to do more harm to other vamps. That's a mistake... vamps have greated willpower and a stronger constitution than normal humans, hence their greater resistance to discs. On the face of it, this seems to be another of Wesp's ez-mode bastardizations of Troika's rules.

Gave Colt to Boris.
Why..? Was he lonely..? Or you just wanted a free mega-gun in act 2, instead of waiting to find one legitimately in act 3..? This is frivolous and unnecessary and certainly not a bug fix by any stretch of the imagination. It's another ez-mode "fix" for impatient players who seek to play VTMB as if it were an FPS game, which it clearly is not.

Made Imalia and Mitnick turn better - Turn better?  I'm not sure what this one even means.[/b]
Sometimes, if you don't face them in the right spot, they both turn to face a default direction and they aren't facing you when they speak. It's minor, but sure -- it would be nice if it was fixed. No big whoop.

Unbarred Ming's Temple door - Wesp's final solution to the infamous Ming Door problem was to completely remove the bar that held it shut.  This is probably actually the best solution, as previously the only gauranteed way to circumvent the bug was to quick save and reload until the damn thing would open.[/b]
Simply push the bar with your body until it's out of the way, just as you would in real life. The bar MUST remain in that scene, as it adds an extra source of tension to the entire run through the temple. This is a roleplaying concern... and Wesp obviously doesn't relate to roleplaying very well. He and his ilk just want free, overpowered boom sticks and an easy ride to the endgame.

Turned character screens music off and lowered Venus' cut to $125.
The music is fine and Venus gives us 250 bucks every three days. Why do we need to reduce her cut..? Greed..? This is silly, greedy, self-serving and totally unnecessary. It's also an insult to the Venus character.

Reduced zombie spawning frequency in Hollywood Cemetary.
Yah... because guns were never meant by Troika to be super-uber in this game and that scene is proof of how ineffective they are against undeads. So, along comes Wesp to make it easier for the boom stick crowd. I have a better idea: try using brains over brawn for a change, Wesp. That's what being a good vamp is all about.

Granted humanity for persuading Therese and Jeanette to make peace.
A free Humanity gain..? Why..? For helping a Malkavian vampiress, who threatens to kill us no less than three times... including AFTER we've "saved" her..? How do we get humanity for aiding an INCURABLY  PSYCHOTIC, INHUMAN VAMPIRE..? That's senseless, sorry.

Lowered baseball bat, tire iron and new katana skill requirements.
More of Wesp's ez-mode crappola, for unskilled beginners who can't seem to understand that you have a brain, too. Start using it and stop trying to bash your way through the world with the aid of freebies. Or, just go play another game, because this one obviously isn't intended for such players.

Made Trip sell crossbows
Great... so now, Trip sells a weapon in act 1 that we don't even see (or need) until act 3. More ez-mode bullshit from Wesp and his caravan of newbie followers. This one is BAD.

Tseng will offer the SPAS directly and the flaming crossbow later.
WTF..?! Why, so you can bypass more roleplaying content..? Try being nice to Mercurio... you'll get your SPAS from him, as per Troika's intentions. As for the crossbow, you're supposed to find one, not get it from Tseng. This is WAAAAY OVERPOWERED, as are so many of Wesp's "enhancements" for the FPS crowd.

Made Larry's quest independent of buying
This makes no sense from a roleplaying perspective. Larry doesn't know you from a hole in the ground. It isn't until after he sees what you've been buying from him that he sizes you up as a mercenary. Wesp... learn to ropleplay, dude... this is a ROLEPLAYING game, not a free handout for eternal ultra-n00bs.

Added Julius killed lines - Probably just some extra dialogue lines.  Not exactly a "bug fix," per se, but has no real impact on gameplay either.[/b]
I have no idea what this means. Is there voice acting for it..? Then it may have been intended and unfinished. If not, then it's frivolous.

Removed another warehouse spawning
More ez-mode changes from Wesp, for the legions of the unskilled. You don;t even need to fight in that warehouse... try using the ceiling beams to sneak over to the office if the fights are too hard for you. Once again: LEARN TO USE YOUR HEADS IN A ROLEPLAYING GAME.

Made all enemies drop their weapon when killed
More ez-mode crap. Unnecessary, but Wesp obviously wants everyone to get rich quick. That makes sense for Wesp, because the unskilled players that his "patch" caters to are probably gonna need a LOT of Bloodpacks. The rest of us who actually know how to play properly don't need this.

Lowered .38 ammo price and time when crossbow bolts are available.
More ez-mode crap for the FPS crowd. Repeat after me: VTMB IS NOT A FIRST-PERSON SHOOTER GAME.

Added humanity loss for sending Copper after Nines, LaCroix, or the President
That scene was intended to be comic relief and is a roleplaying perk ONLY. There is no reason whatsoever to destroy that moment with the distraction of Humanity loss. The only thing that Troika wanted you to do in that scene is LAUGH. Leave it the hell alone, it's FINE.

Removed respawning warehouse thugs
More ez-mode crap. Learn to play and this ceases to be an issue -- not only in the warehouse, but throughout the entire game.

Cops now have Glocks and dead enemies will drop somewhat more ammo.
L.A.P.D. beat cops use whatever are prescribed as "standard issue" weapons. I've never heard of them using Glocks, so the only reason Wesp changed this was to let you get a free Glock at a far earlier stage of the game than you would normally encounter one. This is yet more ez-mode crap from Wesp for the FPS'ers who JUST DO NOT GET IT about VTMB.

Made paying angered Vandal easier
All I need to see is the word "easier" in Wesp's notes and I start laughing again. 'Nuff said on that one.

Made Thistle improve Dodge only.
Why..? Was this broken..? Leave it alone, or go argue with Troika. You're destroying their intentions.

Removed the zoom mode of the 'Jamie Sue' and raised damage instead.
Raised damage..? Why..? Once again: MORE EZ-MODE CRAPPOLA FOR FPS-OBSSESSED  NEWBIES. Go play a different game. In this game, "RPG" stands for roleplaying game -- not "rocket propelled grenade."

Moved computers and firearms books from Trip to clinic and Carson.
Why..? To make it easier again..? So you don't have to buy them..? Get a grip, please and leave Troika's game alone. Or, go write your own game, Wesp -- but in this one, the rules of the gameworld are clear.

Added missing xp for plague quest
Prove to me that this XP was actually "missing," instead of dependent upon previous actions and affiliations and I'll grant you this one.

Made Tseng not offer blood as he doesn't even know about vampires.
Did you sit down with Tseng and ask him about vamps, Wesp..? He lives right under the noses of the Kuei-Jin and he has eyes and ears. Furthermore, he could be a ghoul himself, for all you know. Tseng's character is largely a mystery, so he could know all sorts of hidden information. The only thing you know for sure about Tseng is that he's ex-Red Army and that he likes spicy bean curd.

Venus will now give you a constant $250 payment when you visit her.
WHY..?! More ez-mode crappola from Wesp,  for players who don't enjoy roleplaying and who have next to zero patience with RPG's. Go play something else... your greed is getting over-the-top now. The whole point of the payment schedule is to teach you not to be a pest.

Made Mitnick mail his reward already after the first schrecknet hub.
More ez-mode nonsense for unskilled and impatient players, who don't want to actually finish the entire quest chain. This is BAD, BAD, BAD and should not be tolerated by any serious player of VTMB.

Raised chances for Jeanette and Therese peace and Jeanette winning.
Yah... because Wesp wants every kid on the block to have a chance to sleep with Jeanette. This is also flying straight into the face of the roleplaying demands, concerning the Voerman sisters, that were clearly set forth by Troika.

Lowered Persuasion requirements for all Giovannis to the same value
Well, of course you did..! because lord knows, all of them are exactly the same in terms of willpower. Nevermind that they're all of different ages and experience levels. More arbitrary, frivolous and ez-mode garbage from Wesp's little VTMB hack job.

Made it possible for all clans to get the secret info from Johansen.
Of course, because as we all know, every clan is exactly the same and none of them have any speial abilities of their own. Hey... can you make my Malk an expert with Blood Boil, whilst yer at it..? She'd really love to have that, too. THIS IS BAD, Wesp... you've destroyed yet another aspect of the game's replayability value with this one.

You will receive a point of humanity for warning Wong Ho about Ming.
This is idiotic, Wesp. Wong Ho worships Ming Xiao out of fear, gratitude or both. He won't believe you and Troika has made that fact quite clear, via Wong Ho's dialogue. You don't get a reward, nor should you, for something that HE IS IN DENIAL ABOUT. Just leave him to wallow in his ignorance. Roleplaying, Wesp... ROLEPLAYING. Please say that word 100 times, before your next (and inevitable) attempt to hack VTMB apart.

Gaining the Tremere haven is now independent from the quests order.
Why..? Was this broken, too..? Or you just have no patience..? Why is so much of your "patch" biased towards the Tremere clan in the first place..? LEAVE IT ALONE. The rest of us have to work for a living -- so should the Tremere.

Restored Jeanette encounter that somehow got lost in recent changes.
The encounter wasn't lost -- you just wanted extra chances to screw Jeanette. This is gratuitous and childish. Remove it.

Changed conditions and text for entering gallery with Chunk's help.
Show me that it was broken and I'll grant you this one as being legitimate. Personally, I use Dementation, Seduction or Persuasion on Chunk... because THAT's WHAT TROIKA WANTED.

Put ten 'Jamie Sue' rounds in Romero's trunk for the cemetery quest.
More ez-mode crap for the FPS crowd that does not and SHOULD NOT belong in this game. It's not an FPS. Gee, I find myself repeating that fact quite often, as I read through Wesp's notes...

Lowered humanity points gainable during the serial killer dialogue.
Why..? Was it broken..? Or is it because you'd rather just force everyone to kill him instead..?

You'll lose a point of humanity for giving the pendant to Jeanette.
Why..? You already lose humanity for slahing the paintings later on and also, if you give her the pendant, you can't "save" Tourette. Isn't that enough of a penalty..? Oh... I forgot... Wesp doesn't know how to roleplay... because if he did, then he'd understand why that's already enough of a penalty. Besides -- Wesp doesn't wanna save Tourette, he wants to endlessly screw Jeanette... so who cares if this change flies in the face of Troika's intentions.

Stopped VV sending her poster so you won't miss out on Gary's email.
This isn't a fix. The idea is that you'll get the better reward of V.V.'s favor, hence the Gary quest is no longer needed. This is once again a roleplaying choice, not a mechanics problem.

Modified Viktor/Maria Persuasion.
Why..? I'll bet Wesp can't adequately explain this one to us... not without using the word "easier" again.

Included the unused histories so that each clan has seven plus none.
Meh... who cares. Most players will stick with what Troika wanted, anyway. I have no opinions on this issue, unless you added back some Histories that Troika considered to be unbalancing.

Restored welcome lines of Bertram including xp gain
MORE XP..!! Give us MORE XP..!! That way, we don't need to play the entire game..!!! YAY..!!! Maybe one day, Wesp will understand why certain things were cut by Troika from the final release...

You will lose a humanity point when making Ash exchange his clothes.
Why..? Explain this one fully, please.

Restored xp gain for entering the Gallery Noir by befriending Chunk.
This is more ez-mode crap and if Troika had wanted it to be there, then it would be there.

Made Bruno attack on lockpicking the Giovanni Mansion meeting-room.
Why..? Bruno attacks you anyway, no matter how you enter his room... unless you enter along with his bodyguard and that requires actually using your head first -- god forbid.

Removed respawning at Lotus Blossom, Temple, Venture and Giovanni's.
More of Wesp's ez-mode crappola, for unskilled guys who want to always use a gun (a la Half-Life 2) and not run out of ammo. This is garbage, period. Use your heads, some stealth and a sword next time.

Making love to Jeanette is now possible before taking on her quest.
Once again, Wesp is obssessed with screwing Jeannette. Work for it, stallion.

You will lose humanity for taking money for solving the Tawni quest.
Why..? You didn't kill Tawni, she killed herself. You did a job for Imalia. Let her take the humanity loss. We still deserve to get paid, as per our agreement. That's a roleplaying choice again, Wesp. Don't push it.

Lowered additional damage done by all weapons using the zoom modus.
Why..? Was it broken..? Or did it simply become overpowered after you jacked up the numbers on all of the ranged weapons..? LEAVE THE GUNS ALONE, they are NOT the best choice for a vampire in the first place. Troika made that fact quite clear in the tutorial. This is not a bug fix... this is a fix to a NEW gameplay bug that was introduced by Wesp himself, after he self-righteously messed up all of the game's weaponry.

Renamed flaming crossbow 'Kuei-jin' and lowered both bow accuracies
Why..? Betcha can't tell me. "Because I can, Tessera." Riiiiiight.

Added infos for flaming crossbow bolts and made vendors offer them.
Yet more ez-mode, shooter-obssessed, irresponsible and game-unbalancing craptastics from Wesp.

Prevented revisiting Ocean House.
Why..? Did it scare you that badly, Wesp..?

Removed bonus for stealth killing Johnny and made guards more aware.
Riiiight... because we don't want to reward the player for using their heads, instead of a gun. Wesp has already made it clear that he doesn't like having to think when he plays VTMB. Just shoot first and let god sort 'em out, right Wesp..? To hell with incentives.

Moved occult items from warrens and Tseng's to be rewards of Mr. Ox.
Frivolous and arbitrary.

Made everybody lose a humanity point for sending Milligan to Pisha.
I'll grant this one... Malks and Nossies were written before the other clans were, because they needed the most work. I think Troika hadn't decided about the other clans yet, before the game was rushed out the door. It's possible that they wanted the other clans to lose Humanity as well, so you may as well just apply it across the board -- since we really can't be positive about this one.

Swapped damage of Desert Eagle / Colt Anaconda and SPAS-15 / Ithaca.
Why..? Because you like those guns better..? I'll bet it's because they have fun sound effects, huh..?

Made letting Julius go free for money end up with humanity balanced.
Once again, that scene was intended to make you THINK, Wesp and then make a choice between value judgements and the self-imposed constraints of your own personal morality. Wesp has removed that fascinatiing element from the scene, thus Wesp has utterly sabotaged it for true roleplayers.

Lessened damage for frenzy check
Why..? Was it broken..? No, it wasn't. Moving right along...

Stealing charity money will not cost humanity if you know its usage.
Wesp needs to STOP making value judgements for other players. Let them decide for themselves. Wesp's values have already proven themselves to be severely lacking in most of his other changes. LEAVE IT ALONE.

Made vendors sell SWAT rifle bullets and lowered price of fire axe.
Of course you did, Wesp..!! Jeezis, he's hilarious with this ez-mode crap. NEXT...

Removed npctemplate* files, delete those if found in /vdata/system.
Why..? Were they broken, too..? Explain this in detail Wesp, if you can. Or, is this something that you needed to do, once you realized just how much you had irreversibly broken the game for everyone, Wesp..?

Made killing Lu lower humanity.
Why..? He's a serial killer and a former hitman for the Tong. If anyone is inhuman, it's Lu. Consider killing him a public service.

Modified discipline options for Kerri
For who..? Huh..? What..?

Made crossbow bolts purchasable sooner
Yah Wesp, you've already made it clear that you intend to utterly dumb down this game for FPS fans. Please stop, okay..?

Provided baseball bat and tire iron to anyone skipping the tutorial.
Naturally. Nevermind that youb can tear the beach house gang apart with your bare hands and get those weapons the honest way. You go, Wesp. Apparently, impatience is a virtue in your world.

Lessened MAC-10 kickback on firing with increasing firearms skills.
Why..? Was it broken, Wesp..? Or are you just so hell-bent on shooting your way through this game that you refuse to waste anny ammo... due to being a gun-obssessed NUMBNUTS..? Just say no, dude.

Made Empire clerk bisexual, responding to Seduction from either sex.
Why..? He's not bisexual, so why are you making this choice for him..? So that there would be no advantage to playing as a female character..? Get over the homophobia, Wesp. Girls get perks in VTMB, just as they do in the real world... like it, or not.

Relocated Pearl of Dubai
Cut from the original release by Troika. It's intriguing, but unnecessary.

Put Obfuscate and lockpicking powerups in sewer and downtown havens.
Why..? So you don;t have to spend points there..? Stop HOMOGENIZING the game for the legions of the great unwashed, Wesp.

Granted occult hacking powerup as reward for doing Mitnick's quest
Frivolous. Hey, whatever floats yer boat, Wesp. It has very limited use, by that late stage of the game.

Created Justicar guards at Giovanni Mansion
Of course you did, Wesp. NEXT...

Made cemetery quest easier
Of course you did, Wesp. Easier, easier, easier: that's your favorite buzzword. Try using brains next time and bypass the zombies if they're too hard for you.

Lessened the sway of zoomed weapons
More ez-mode crappola for gun nuts. Use other weapons, if you don't like the reality of tele-optics.

Made Yukie give you the Ra blade
Whatever. NEXT...

Provided a xp for keeping Zhao alive
...'k. Enough already, with the ez-mode XP gains, Wesp. If you need an overpowered character that badly, then YOU SUCK AT THIS GAME. Learn to make intelligent choices, when you allocate those precious points. And then, learn to USE YOUR STRENGTHS and AVOID YOUR WEAKNESSES.

Awarded a xp for killing Bruno Giovanni
Of course you did. More freebies from Wesp for the n00bs. No wonder they praise him.

Lowered lockpicking skill needed for chemical substances door to 10.
Wesp... you need to get the door opened with the key. That involves using your head. PLAY THE GAME.

Adjusted damage values of Steyr Aug, SWAT rifle and Ithaca shotgun.
YAh... more damage for guns again. Wesp is clearly not getting it about guns in VTMB and he never will.

Awarded a xp for getting Imalia's magazine to compensate money loss.
More free XP from Wesp. More, more, more..!!! Soon, we won;t even have to THINK when we play..!!! Woooo hoooo..!!!

Provided a humanity point for not telling Hannah that Paul is dead.
Actually... this seems logical to me. BUT... you need to have Dementation, so that she's positive that you're actually Paul -- and that means it's only viable for Malks. Nice try, Wesp. Stop homogenizing the clans.

Adjusted knockback ranges for McLusky, SWAT rifle and the shotguns.
More ez-mode and game-unbalancing "gun nut" perks from Wesp.

Removed illogical placed flamethrower and Ra blade from Hallowbrook
Why was it illogical..? It was intended to give the player a last chance at coping with Andre.

Imalia's magazine quest is now also available after her Tawni quest.
Whatever.

Made CD quest available to all clans as Malkavian lines were there.
That quest was originally intended to be for Nossies and Malks only. The reasons have to do with the peculiar aspects of those two clans and it's a perk for playing either of them. Once again, Wesp is homogenizing the game for ALL clans. Wesp has removed re-playability again. BIG MISTAKE.

Changed damage of blunt weapons to fist < arm < baton < bat < iron.
Why..? Was this broken, too..? Explain, please.

Made Bach drop rifle or sword on defeat
Isn't it enough for roleplayers to know that Bach is dead..? Also, we have only 60 seconds to run to safety after he dies. Who in the hell would stop to look around for goodie drops..? Only an idiot would, Wesp. The rest of us will be running to save our lives -- since a freebie weapon isn't of very much use to a dead player.

Provided two xp for freeing Ash from the Society of Leopold caverns.
More free XP from Wesp -- the anti-roleplayers' hero.

The White Cloud doors in Chinatown will be open from the beginning.
Why..? Every other door is closed. More ez-mode crap for the impatient crowd, from The Mighty Wesp.

Removed Yukies untakeble sword and changed the dialogue accordingly.
Why..? Have you become a better writer than Brian Mitsoda is..? Change it back.


I think my dissection of the above "patch notes" from Wesp are a clear indication that he is causing far more harm than good to VTMB. Now, if he would change the nomenclature on his work to "mod" instead of "patch," then I'd have nothing to say about it. Mods are fine... even if they do dumb down the game so severely that many people like me would laugh at it. BUT... when you continue to mislead the public into thinking that this amateurish mod is a "patch," then you're doing every single VTMB player -- especially NEW players who may not know better yet -- an immense disservice and in fact, you may be ruining the game for them in the long run.

Wesp's patches are irresponsible, frivolous and heavily biased towards ONE and ONLY ONE type of overly-simplistic and impatient playing style. On that basis, they should be boycotted by all truly committed roleplayers. If you wish to enjoy the true experience of VTMB, as originally intended by Troika, then avoid Wesp's work in the way that a true vamp would avoid the naked sunshine. It'll kill your game.


- Tessera -

[caninelegion]

Kind of gave me a headache.

[noppera_bo]

The only things I disagree with is, for one, in the base game guns do far less than what would make any sense in reality. I'm not saying I have a solution to better balance them, nor that such a thing should take place in something called a "patch", but it's hard to fault the idea of wanting guns to feel more realistically powerful, at least to humans, whose organs are very susceptible to bullets.

In my personal experience with an uzi, tbe player character non negotiably handles it like a limp wristed panty waist. Use two hands if you must for fucks sake, but I'm a vampire, so shouldn't I be stronger and more able to handle recoil than a human? Who are incredibly accurate shots, for what that matters, considering I'd have to do something stupid to let them shoot me enough times to kill me. It just kills my immersion that I for whatever reason can't raise the characters firearms skill until he handles the gun like someone who has seen a gun before in their life. I think it might be cool to have a gun revamp mod where ammo is precious and scarce, but the guns do more realistic damage, and my character holds his gun like someone who has seen a gun before.

Also, people dropping their weapons helps with my immersion as well, it's a shame there isn't something like a weapon degradation system, or maybe the stores wont buy it for some reason. I dunno. I hust hate when peoples guns disappear. Even if I don't want their weapons.

And the only other thing, it kinda bothers me that even if I'm not doing something wrong, I lose humanity. Like, it doesn't matter to my mental state if I kill casualities, but it does if I take a vampires lunch money? I just think the humanity system is poorly represented in the first place. In my opinion it's painfully easy to keep your humanity up, and considering taking away the penalty for stealing the charity money would make it easier I can't really fathom what to do. It doesn't matter gameplay wise, but it hurts my immersion being told I did something wrong when in my logic it was the right thing to do. A rather human thing to do at that. Like you said, this is an RPG, and do to a desire to escape my miserable existence, immersion is important to me in my RPG's. I want to be lost in my roll. Feeling their feelings instead of my own droll apathy.

Overall I agree. He should just call it the "Wesp edition mod", for everyone's sake. As a newcomer to VTMB it was hard to tell what the details of everyones patches were, but I needed one to run the game. Then I realized the "patch" changes everything. Some things I can agree with, but I would have liked to mod them in or out at my discretion after I've beaten the game as it was intended.

[Tessera]

The only things I disagree with is, for one, in the base game guns do far less than what would make any sense in reality. I'm not saying I have a solution to better balance them, nor that such a thing should take place in something called a "patch", but it's hard to fault the idea of wanting guns to feel more realistically powerful, at least to humans, whose organs are very susceptible to bullets.

Consider this:

If Troika had made the guns more powerful, then most players wouldn't even bother to use their vampiric abilities... everyone would just grab a Spazz or a machine gun and run around blowing the shit out of everything in sight.

VTMB is a vampire role playing game... we're supposed to immerse ourselves into the imaginary experience of being a real vampire.

My suggestion for people who love to play with guns is to go play a different game. Any good first-person shooter will no doubt be more to their liking. Half-Life 2 comes to mind. 

[noppera_bo]

The only things I disagree with is, for one, in the base game guns do far less than what would make any sense in reality. I'm not saying I have a solution to better balance them, nor that such a thing should take place in something called a "patch", but it's hard to fault the idea of wanting guns to feel more realistically powerful, at least to humans, whose organs are very susceptible to bullets.

Consider this:

If Troika had made the guns more powerful, then most players wouldn't even bother to use their vampiric abilities... everyone would just grab a Spazz or a machine gun and run around blowing the shit out of everything in sight.

I totally understand that, it's perfectly valid from a design standpoint, I just think it feels cartoonish for them to be so useless. And your vampire abilities can help with gunmanship too. If Nines is a testament to anything, it's that a vampire with a pistol should be able to be pretty bad ass. Maybe if it was all around more realistic guns would be able to fit in without dominating playstyle, but options to balance them outside of directly nerfing them seem pretty limited given the source material. At least from my point of view.

Again, not implying such a change warrants being part of a "patch".