Mark Rein-Vampire: Hagen’s The Masquerade is one of the few works that evokes our inner desire for bloodsucking animals. This gothic-punk interpretation of our contemporary society is packed with otherworldly beings, including vampires. These inhabitants of the night, who call themselves “Kindred,” are involved in an unending power struggle between clans and groups vying for survival.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, released in 2004, is the second instalment in a series of video games set on the universe of the classic role-playing game. And it is one of the most popular vampire-themed video games ever produced. With the upcoming release of Vampire: The Masquerade 2, now is an excellent opportunity to revisit this classic game. And even if you’ve played it quite a bit already, these VTMB tweaks will provide you with a means to maintain your interest.
1) VTMB Unofficial Patch
Back in the day, patching a game after its release was not the usual. After its hasty release, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines required a great deal of problem fixes and patches.
Here’s where the community stepped in and performed all the grunt work to make the broken mess playable. The project has continued since then. Version 11.2 of the most recent unofficial patch was issued on April 29, 2022.
2) SilentMasqu Mod
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is one of the greatest vampire-themed video games ever developed. However, after more than fifteen years, the graphics are far beyond their prime. The SilentMasqu Mod is a huge, high-resolution texture pack that quietly enhances the scenario by enhancing the appearance of surroundings, NPCs, and weaponry.
The majority of distinctive NPCs, such as Skleter and LaCroix, as well as several of the playable races have received a makeover (Brujah, Gangrel, etc). Some weapon models have been completely redesigned, and even the UI of the main menu has been altered!
3) VTMB Unofficial Patch Plus
The makers of the Bloodlines Unofficial Patch did not stop at only correcting the flaws. Even removed stuff was reinstated in the game.
In order to create the VTMB Unofficial Patch Plus mod, they had to go into the game’s data and reconstruct portions of it from scratch.
4) Vamp Among Us ENB
The Vamp Among Us ENB preset, which reworks the game’s visual effects to mimic those of Telltale’s excellent The Wolf Among Us, is an additional option for enhancing VTMB’s visuals that is rather distinctive. In reality, this translates to much increased colour saturation and deeper shadows.
Additionally, the designer manipulates lighting to increase the contrast between bright and dark. With new ENB, the overall appearance of the game is far more contemporary and appealing. Keep in mind that it utilises various effects that did not exist at the time, and that it may be a little demanding on some less powerful computers.
5) VTMB Atmospheric SweetFX
As the name indicates, VTMB Atmospheric SweetFX improves the game’s texture and rendering quality. Despite being a 2004 game, the graphics are not very impressive. It sharpens textures, warms tones in well-lit areas, and employs HDR to create more realistic lighting.
“Even though the whole game takes place at night, the majority of locales are so well lighted that it is impossible to tell. Fortunately, the creators included very few genuine light sources inside the game environment, and with SweetFX, we can recreate the game’s gloomy, gritty atmosphere “The description is written.
6) Playable NPCs
Playable NPCs is a terrific method to alter your next VTMB session. This version enables you to begin the game as any of over 100 non-player characters, including Nines, VV, Bertram, Damsel, and even Granny Doris.
In addition to the famous Jeanette and Tourette, this excellent character bundle also includes Tourette. This mod is a wonderful addition to your library, regardless of whether you want to use it for role-playing or simply switch things up after playing the game several times.
7) VTM Bloodlines Unofficial Patch Plus
VTM Bloodlines Unofficial Patch Plus is unquestionably the largest fan-made mode ever created for VTMB. The patch not only fixes issues and improves the game’s mechanics, but it also restores stuff that was removed from the original game.
The 2004 release of “Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines” is now available for Microsoft Windows. “Bloodlines 2” will be released on Microsoft Windows, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in 2021.
8) Bloodlines Extreme
Once you have mastered the fundamentals of battle in VTMB, it is rather simple to master. Which may make the game too simple for certain experienced players. If you’re the kind who is constantly looking for a new challenge, the Bloodlines Extreme mod may give VTMB a new lease of life by significantly increasing its difficulty.
However, the patch goes beyond simple stat adjustments. There are several new features, fascinating (and often amusing) speech adjustments, and even some sections with enhanced texturing. It may be rough around the edges, but it’s a great way to see VTMB in a different perspective.
9) Bloodlines Audio Overhaul
There are several modifications, ENBs, and ReShades that aim to alter the visual appearance of VTMB, but just one that attempts to improve the audio quality.
Bloodlines Audio Redesign is an obvious choice here. And one of the most suggested modifications by the community. Once installed, it replaces the sounds of weapons, melee combat, and even certain disciplines with high-quality soundbites that greatly enhance immersion. Additionally, keep an eye on this for future updates.
10) Antitribu Mod
After you’ve tried each of the seven basic vampire clans in VTMB, there’s just one thing left to do: acquire seven more. Seven new clans are added by the Antitribu Mod, including the Lasombra, Samedi, Tzimisce, and Nagaraja. Obviously, they are all completely developed, with distinct specialties such as necromancy, animalism, and more!
In addition to playing through the original game as a member of any of these clans, you’ll get access to additional main quests with unique enemies to battle, areas to explore, and over one hundred new characters.
11) Dev0lved ENB
Dev0lved ENB is one of the most popular ENB settings for VTMB due to its cyberpunk appearance. It is based on the Half-Life 2 settings, which are already superior than the default VTMB settings.
There are neon lights and more vibrant hues that stand out against the darkness. The smoky bloom effects also provide it a really ethereal quality that goes well with the location and plot of VTMB. Anisotropic Filtering will also help your game seem great from a distance, and Lumasharpen will make the game’s basic textures appear sharper than before.
12) Clan Quest
Similar to the Antitribu Mod, the Clan Quest Mod offers an abundance of additional quests, disciplines, and other content. Each of the seven vampire clans receives a fully-realized questline that illuminates its mythology and inner workings.
There are a total of twelve new adventures, including a brand-new Sabbat plot in which you may join forces and wage war against the Kindred of Los Angeles. Even the loading windows and achievement system have been updated. What a level of attention to detail!
13) VTMB Prelude
Assume you have previously experienced the majority of vanilla VTMB’s tale content. In that case, you will love VTMB Prelude, a fan-made addition that takes place prior to the game’s main plot.
You’ll assume the role of a human vampire hunter — a member of the Society of Leopold, a modern-day Inquisition combating Satan’s offspring (Kindred). This prequel has new models, new effects, and a great deal of new speech. It’s intended to be an episodic extension, and just the first portion has been published thus far — but we’ll keep a watch on it.
14) VTMB: Camarilla Edition
The gameplay of The Final Nights is mainly based on a prior version called VTMB: Camarilla Edition, which fundamentally affects how disciplines and other factors interact in VTMB. Its main objective is to redesign the majority of disciplines for a more engaging survival/combat experience.
It also alters the behaviour of bloodpoints, causing you to lose them at an accelerated pace. Now, eating is a necessity rather than a choice. Aside from this, the Camarilla Edition features several upgrades to the game’s visuals, character texturing, and vehicles. Even the controls are made more comfy, and the user interface has never looked this nice.
15) VTM Bloodlines Unofficial Patch
Back in the day, it was unheard of to update your games hundreds of times after release. VTMB features a significant number of “permanent” bugs. Lights that pass through walls, textures that are missing, faulty missions, you name it.
Fortunately, the modding community has always been there to offer a hand, and committed fans aren’t hesitant to look back at earlier games like VTMB and get their hands dirty restoring them. The Bloodlines Unofficial Patch addresses so many issues that it is difficult to list them all. But trust me when I say that playing without this is pointless. After tasting it, you will never return to vanilla.
16) VTM Bloodlines Unofficial Patch Plus
The makers of the Bloodlines Unofficial Patch might have stopped at resolving fundamental issues, but they did not. Instead, they devoted their time and energy to creating the game that VTMB might have been given more time to develop. This Bloodlines Unofficial Patch Plus not only repairs issues, but also restores a large amount of material that was initially eliminated from the game – both by excavating it from the game’s files and recreating it from scratch.
Seriously, that’s commitment. This restoration project contains new weapons, new equipment, new characters, and even new adventures where you will encounter a large number of individuals with unique conversation. This is essential if you want to go further into VTMB.
