Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

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Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Developers

	Troika Games
Publishers
	Activision
Engines
	Source
Release dates
Windows	November 16, 2004

Vampire: The Masquerade
Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption	2000
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines	2004

Key points

Released in an unfinished and buggy state. As such, installation of either the "Unofficial Patch" or the "True Patch" is highly recommended.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Steam Users' Forums

Availability[edit]

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Amazon.com
GameStop
GOG.com		Includes Normal and Legacy version
Steam

Essential improvements[edit]

Patches[edit]

Patch 1.2 - this patch is already included in the unofficial patch.

Unofficial Patch[edit]

The GOG.com version already includes the Basic version of the Unofficial patch. Legacy version does not.^[1]

Using Unofficial Patches with Steam version^[2]^[3] The fan-made Unofficial Patch removes many bugs and adds multiple features like widescreen support. The Unofficial Patch is available in two flavors Basic and Plus: Install the game from Steam as you would any other game. Run the game once. It's fine if it crashes (this is where an install with a 64 bit OS is likely to give a memory error). Download the latest unofficial patch. Run the executable you've downloaded as an administrator. Choose your installation folder when prompted. Choose a type of installation - Basic or Plus Basic - consists of bugfixes that do not dramatically alter Troika's vision for the game. Plus - makes more significant changes including the reconstruction of cut content and numerous other improvements that go above and beyond what the developers may have intended. Enjoy the game.

Using Unofficial Patches with Steam version^[2]^[3]

The fan-made Unofficial Patch removes many bugs and adds multiple features like widescreen support. The Unofficial Patch is available in two flavors Basic and Plus:

Install the game from Steam as you would any other game.
Run the game once. It's fine if it crashes (this is where an install with a 64 bit OS is likely to give a memory error).
Download the latest unofficial patch.
Run the executable you've downloaded as an administrator.
Choose your installation folder when prompted.
Choose a type of installation - Basic or Plus
- Basic - consists of bugfixes that do not dramatically alter Troika's vision for the game.
- Plus - makes more significant changes including the reconstruction of cut content and numerous other improvements that go above and beyond what the developers may have intended.
Enjoy the game.

Skip intro videos[edit]

Rename/delete intro videos^{[citation needed]} Go to `<path-to-game>\Vampire\media` Delete or rename `activision.bik`, `nvidiabloodlogo.bik`, `troika.bik` and `whitewolf.bik`

Rename/delete intro videos^{[citation needed]}

Go to <path-to-game>\Vampire\media
Delete or rename activision.bik, nvidiabloodlogo.bik, troika.bik and whitewolf.bik

Game data[edit]

Configuration file(s) location[edit]

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\Vampire\cfg

Save game data location[edit]

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\Vampire\save

Save game cloud syncing[edit]

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud

Video settings[edit]

Graphics option	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Use Unofficial Patch.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen		See Ultra-widescreen.
Field of view (FOV)	Default value is 75° (horizontal). See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed	Run a game with `-sw` parameter.
Borderless fullscreen windowed	Use Borderless Gaming or similar software.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)	Can be forced through video driver.
Anti-aliasing (AA)	See Anti-aliasing (AA).
Vertical sync (Vsync)	Enabled by default. Can be forced off through video driver.
60 FPS
120+ FPS	No frame rate or refresh rate cap.^[4]

Ultra-widescreen[edit]

Change the aspect ratio via hex edit^[5] Go to `<path-to-game>\Bin\` Open `engine.dll` with a hex editor (e.g. HxD). Search for the value `39 8E E3 3F` and change it to `B8 1E 15 40`

Change the aspect ratio via hex edit^[5]

Go to <path-to-game>\Bin\
Open engine.dll with a hex editor (e.g. HxD).
Search for the value 39 8E E3 3F and change it to B8 1E 15 40

Field of view (FOV)[edit]

Changing the Field of View^[6] Use the `-console` command line argument to enable the console. Start up the game, close the console and load up a save. Reopen the console using `~`. Input `fov #` (replace `#` with your desired FOV). To get rid of the console, type `showinventory` to bring up the inventory, then close it with `Esc`. Save your game. The FOV is now altered for this save.

Changing the Field of View^[6]

Use the -console command line argument to enable the console.
Start up the game, close the console and load up a save.
Reopen the console using ~.
Input fov # (replace # with your desired FOV).
To get rid of the console, type showinventory to bring up the inventory, then close it with Esc.
Save your game. The FOV is now altered for this save.

Anti-aliasing (AA)[edit]

Use SweetFX^{[citation needed]} Download SweetFX. Extract its contents to a folder. Follow the detailed instructions in the readme file to enable SMAA.

Use SweetFX^{[citation needed]}

Download SweetFX.
Extract its contents to a folder.
Follow the detailed instructions in the readme file to enable SMAA.

SGSSAA (NVIDIA only)^{[citation needed]} Open Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines driver profile via NVIDIA Inspector. Change `Antialiasing compatibility` to `0x000000C0`^[7]^[8] Change `Antialiasing - Mode` to `Override any application setting`. Change `Antialiasing - Setting` to `4x [4x Multisampling]` or `8xQ [8x Multisampling]`. Change `Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling` to `4x Sparse Grid Supersampling` or `8x Sparse Grid Supersampling`. Apply changes. Notes High quality anti-aliasing. Performance demanding.

SGSSAA (NVIDIA only)^{[citation needed]}

Open Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines driver profile via NVIDIA Inspector.
Change Antialiasing compatibility to 0x000000C0^[7]^[8]
Change Antialiasing - Mode to Override any application setting.
Change Antialiasing - Setting to 4x [4x Multisampling] or 8xQ [8x Multisampling].
Change Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling to 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling or 8x Sparse Grid Supersampling.
Apply changes.

Notes

High quality anti-aliasing.

Performance demanding.

Input settings[edit]

Keyboard and mouse	Native	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		An option for Mouse Filtering. Mouse acceleration not present.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		It's possible to enable joystick support via console, but many of the actions (like feeding or crouching) can not be cancelled by pressing the same key, which makes the game unplayable on the controller.

Audio settings[edit]

Audio options	Native	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

VR support[edit]

3D modes	Native	Notes
Native 3D
Nvidia 3D Vision		Use Helix Mod: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines.
TriDef 3D
iZ3D

Issues fixed[edit]

Black screen during intros / movies[edit]

Black intro screen with sound - no logos^[6] Right click on vampire.exe, go to "properties". Flag "disable visual themes" and "disable desktop composition"

Black intro screen with sound - no logos^[6]

Right click on vampire.exe, go to "properties".
Flag "disable visual themes" and "disable desktop composition"

Missing Textures[edit]

Missing Textures^{[citation needed]} Make sure "Bump Mapping" is checked ON in the game settings. Restart the game

Missing Textures^{[citation needed]}

Make sure "Bump Mapping" is checked ON in the game settings.
Restart the game

Unable to run, less that 15mb memory available[edit]

Unable to run, less that 15mb memory available^[6] Install newest version of Unofficial Patch (either Basic or Plus). If this doesn't help, try Application Compatibility fixes

Unable to run, less that 15mb memory available^[6]

Install newest version of Unofficial Patch (either Basic or Plus).
If this doesn't help, try Application Compatibility fixes

Voices and Sound Effects have low quality surround/echo[edit]

Voices and Sound Effects have low quality surround/echo^{[citation needed]} To fix this issue permanently, open `<path-to-game>\Vampire\cfg\autoexec.cfg` and add the following to it: // [Sound Patch] snd_mixahead 0.35 snd_surround 1 snd_gain 2.2 snd_gain_max 1.58 dsp_on 1 dsp_spatial 73 dsp_stereo 1 dsp_dist_max 9999 hisound 1 footstep_pc_vol 0.31 // footstep_npc_use_templates 0 volume "0.930000"

Voices and Sound Effects have low quality surround/echo^{[citation needed]}

To fix this issue permanently, open <path-to-game>\Vampire\cfg\autoexec.cfg and add the following to it:

// [Sound Patch]

snd_mixahead 0.35
snd_surround 1
snd_gain 2.2
snd_gain_max 1.58
dsp_on 1
dsp_spatial 73
dsp_stereo 1
dsp_dist_max 9999
hisound 1
footstep_pc_vol 0.31
// footstep_npc_use_templates 0
volume "0.930000"

Input Lag[edit]

Input Lag^{[citation needed]} If the controls are hitching and unresponsive, particularly when moving and looking at the same time, change the compatibility of the main executable vampire.exe to Windows 98 mode. If this doesn't help, try running a game in Window or Borderless Fullscreen window mode to disable Vsync. Or simply force Vsync off in your graphic card's control panel.

Input Lag^{[citation needed]}

If the controls are hitching and unresponsive, particularly when moving and looking at the same time, change the compatibility of the main executable vampire.exe to Windows 98 mode.
If this doesn't help, try running a game in Window or Borderless Fullscreen window mode to disable Vsync. Or simply force Vsync off in your graphic card's control panel.

Other information[edit]

True Patch[edit]

An alternate to the "Unofficial Patch" is the "True Patch" which aims to only fix bugs and preserve an experience as close as possible to the original game. The "True Patch" can be downloaded here. LINK IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK

System requirements[edit]

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	98, ME, 2000, XP
Processor (CPU)	AMD Athlon - 1.2 GHz Intel Pentium III - 1.2 GHz
System memory (RAM)	348 MB	512 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	4.7 GB
Video card (GPU)	64 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible

References

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