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Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines - Pop's Difficulty and Enhancement Mod v2.00

This is version 2 of my mod which greatly increases the...

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines - Pop's Difficulty and Enhancement Mod v2.00

This is version 2 of my mod which greatly increases the health of npcs and enhances disciplines among other things. As before you need the unofficial patch version 2.8. It should work with any future patches although some features may be missing.

Installation: Must delete all prior save games before starting or else npcs will be corrupted,and changes will not take affect.

POP'S DIFFICULTY AND ENHANCEMENT MODIFICATION FOR VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE BLOODLINES

Version 2.00

*Change log

-Human hp reduced 50% (better overall balance)

-Killer can no longer be knocked down

-Occult item enhancements

-Shop items: availability and price changes

-Sellable clothing: clothing referred to as clothing not armor.

-Passive timers reduced

-Includes missing cfg files

-Few more weapon and discipline tweaks

-Boss special move damage reduced

-Blood Boil and Vision of Death follow the same rules as other disciplines

-Removed gawdy particle effect from inspection feat (inspection feat now useless)

-Hannah and Tin Can Bill die when scripted now (thanks Owen)

Finish the readme for specific information.

*Non player characters (Npcs).

Are much healthier and more standardized. Humans have 200hp Stronger ones like hunters and

the Giovanni have 300hp,the best such as swat have 400hp (before this most humans had under

100hp). Vampires have between 800 and 900 hp (before this they had under 200hp),while ghouls

are in the middle with 600hp. Also each level of body armor or fortitude decreases damage

done by 5% to a max of 50% with a lesser effect on aggravated damage. No changes to zombies,

rats and dogs. Much harder (better) combat experience. In testing I was happy to find out

that you must actually pick a fighting style and raise it early if you expect to survive

long,enemies just keep getting back up. You'll need to rely on your disciplines much more

now. This mod doesn't make the enemies hit any harder,so fights will be more drawn out but

not frustrating. The Gargoyle's immune to just about every discipline now. Tzimisce ghouls

more resistant.

*Bosses.

Boss types and Tzimisce ghouls have much higher levels of health,6x original. Damage done to

them reduced by armor and fortitude (see above). Obfuscate works on most bosses. Special move

attack damage reduced. Humans can be knocked down.

*Guns.

Altered for better playablity. All gun crosshair bloomage decreases as skill increases.

Increased clip size for some guns. Shop keepers now have a larger variety guns and armor much

earlier than before. Value of guns increased 3 fold,ammo price changes. Most min. crosshair

sizes reduced. Damage,range and overall handling increased. Default ammo is equal to the new

clip size. New sound fx files fit perfectly. Katana stealth kill music removed. Ithaca has

the Same sound as before but with missing pump fx. Anaconda has a whole new sound.

Thirty-eight,Glock and Crossbows handle much better from the start. Alterations done on top

of the 2.8 patch weapon tweaks. Unless stated otherwise the following changes are for both

modes of fire.

Similar firearms now have the same crosshair size.

Hand guns=5

Shotguns=18

Machineguns=10

Sniper rifles=1

Crossbows=7

-Anaconda: Increased range,less bloomage while shooting,running w/skill,new sound fx,dmg +1.

-Crossbows: Much less bloomage from walking,running and shooting,1 dollar per bolt,dmg +1.

-Desert_Eagle: Increased range,crosshairs size and run bloomage,dmg +1.

-Flamethrower: Increased clip size 150 to 200.

-Glock: Quicker firing,increased accuracy,range,decreased bloomage from shooting,run w/skill.

-Ithaca: Less bloomage while running,shooting with skill,2x clip size,new sound fx.

-Katana: New sound fx,removed music from stealth kill.

-Mac_10: Less bloomage while running,shooting with skill,3x clip size,smaller crosshairs.

-Remington700: Smallest crosshairs,expensive rounds.

-Remington700_swat: Smallest crosshairs,deadly while zoomed,expensive rounds.

-Spas: Less bloomage while running,shooting with skill,3x clip size.

-Steyr_aug: 3x Clip size.

-Thirty_eight: Smaller crosshairs,quicker firing,less bloomage due to shooting,run w/skill.

-Uzi: Larger crosshairs,less bloomage due to shooting,running w/skill increase,3x clip size.

*Occult Items.

-Blood star: Increased Blood Buff duration from 200% to 300%.

-Mummy wrap bone: Decreased healing rate timer from 80% to 50%.

-Zharalketh: Increased obfuscate timer from 140% to 150%.

-Galdjum: Increased passive discipline timer from 125% to 133%.

These items are much more useful now, also this helps to round out the timers.

*Stealth.

Sneaking is now harder and enemies will notice you much sooner unless you keep your skill at

a higher level. This can cause a problem in the tutorial when you need to be stealthy. Most

builds can pass it. Trance,Nightwisp Ravens,Hysteria or Obfuscate will get you by. If you're

looking to actually sneak by,you'll need a stealth level of 4;and of course you could just

skip the tutorial.

*Histories.

Minor tweaks to balance them with the new system. More info shows up in game. I wanted to

redo all the histories from the ground up, but after playing with them for a few days I

never want to see them again.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Name Old New

-Blunt fangs -2bp -6 bp

-Perv +2bp,Subterfuge maximal 1 +4 bp,no penalties

-Slut +2bp,Raising Mental costs more +4 bp,no penalties

-Long foot Maximum Dex 1 Maximum Dex 2

-Low born -2bp,Raising Knowledge costs more +4,no penalties

-Chica +1 firearms firearms +2

-Deceptive strength Blood buff Duration 200% Blood buff Duration 400%

-Chupacabra Fortitude max 3 Fortitude max 4

-Doomseer Obfuscate 50% Obfuscate 75%

-Batshit Demetation lasts longer (didn't work) Dementation costs less

-Eldritch Prodigy Thaumaturgy dmg 140%,duration 140% Thaumaturgy dmg 180%,dur 100%

-Infernal Auspex 50% duration,Dominate max 3." Auspex 25% duration,Dominate 5

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

*Disciplines.

Much stronger or more durable than before. Compensating for the fact that the new hp levels

of the npcs won't change the effectiveness of damage-oriented disciplines I've lengthened all

delay timers for offensive spells as stated below, also all damage spells are weaker...I

never liked the way you used to be able to cast Blood strike/Burrowing beatle like a machine

gun..now they seem more like disciplines. All damage has been removed from mental disciplines

and used to increase rate of success in their respective fields. Animations have been added

or cleaned up,some have been altered or taken out but most are unchanged. Example: most npcs

fully play out Blood Purge or Blood suckers communion now,Tzimisce Creation 1 no longer

affected by Mass Hallucination since the effect wasn't designed for something so tall,which

caused the disk-like particle normally on the ground to be at chest or waist level. Most npcs

are immune to effects which they do not have animations for. Example Tzimisce Creations 1,2

and 3 are immune to Vision of death, suicide, etc. Even with all the down-grading,

targeted disciplines are by far the most powerful. It's now obvious if the discipline has

worked or not. Now only damage-oriented disciplines cause damage,while others like Suicide or

Possession do what you'd expect..and are more reliable.

Tweaked discipline changes include the following.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ANIMALISM Old/Bp/New Dam%/Duration Old/Range/New Old/Delay-timers/New

NightWisp Ravens 1 1 Na/4x 600/800 5.0 12

Burrowing Beetle 1 1 50%/Na 600/800 0.3 8.0

Spectral Wolf 2 2 Na/Na 600/600 4.5 45

Blood suckers communion 3 2 50%/Na 600/800 9.0 45

Pestilence 3 3 Na/2x 900/900 12 90

*Notes* The damage disciplines here are much stronger than the ones in Thaumaturgy. Nightwisp

works on boss types at reduced capacity. Spectral wolf works on nearly everyone

including boss types,good for delays and damage. Blood suckers communion: more

efficient (costs less). Pestilence: removed damage (still causes death),doubled

incapacitate timers. This is the only discipline outside of Thaumaturgy that's

self-sustaining.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

AUSPEX

New= 1 minutes plus 30 seconds per level,for a max of 240 seconds (3 minutes).

Old= 20 seconds plus 4 seconds per level,max 36 seconds.

*Notes* Much more useful for ranged combat and sneaking now; uses much less blood over time.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

CELERITY

New= 45 seconds

Old= 14 seconds

*Notes* Extremely useful in all those long fights; works great with guns.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

DEMENTATION Old/Bp/New Dam%/Duration Old/Range/New Old/Delay-timers/New

Hysteria 1 1 Na/4x 600/800 4.0 12

Mass Hallucination 2 2 Na/Na 220/440 4.0 6.0

Vision of Death 2 1 Na/Na 600/800 4.5 45

Berserk 3 2 Na/3x 600/800 10 60

Bedlam 4 3 Na/Na 900/900 12 90

*Notes* Hysteria works on most boss types. Mass Hallucination effect doubled. Vision of Death

(see Suicide). Berserk (see Possession). Bedlam...matched effects as close to

originals as possible. Added disoriented animation (head shake) for all Dementation

resisted effects.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

DOMINATE Old/Bp/New Dam%/Duration Old/Range/New Old/Delay-timers/New

Trance 1 1 Na/4x 600/800 4.0 12

Brainwipe 2 2 Na/2x 250/500 5.5 6.0

Suicide 2 1 Na/Na 600/800 4.5 45

Possession 3 2 Na/3x 600/800 10 60

Mass Suicide 4 3 Na/Na 900/900 11 90

Notes* Trance works on most boss types. Brainwipe has a universal 5 second duration in which

enemies are unable to fight back,works on everyone except bosses. Suicide chance raised

(10-15%) now equal with Mass Suicide,removed damage,its all or nothing now. Possession

removed damage and outright kills,combined and increased chance for possession

accordingly (roughly 10%). Mass Suicide follows same rules as Suicide. Added

disoriented animation (head shake) for all resisted Dominate attacks that didn't have

animations.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FORTITUDE

New= 75 seconds

Old= 25 seconds

*Notes* Life saver.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OBFUSCATE

New= 10 seconds plus 5 seconds per level,max 30 seconds.

Old= 18 seconds plus 2 seconds per level,max 26 seconds.

*NOTES* The most powerful discipline in my opinion. Get this one up as soon as possible,

being able to run basically doubles the timer. Useful during boss fights. 1x damage

per level,max 5x damage

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

POTENCE

New= 75 seconds

Old= 25 seconds

*Notes* Makes fights considerably shorter.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PRESENCE

New= 45 seconds

Old= 16 seconds

*Notes* Get this up..as this is your best defense against crowds.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PROTEAN

New= 75 seconds

Old= 25 seconds

*Notes* More dependable,less chance of shifting back in the middle of a fight.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

THAUMATURGY Old/Bp/New Dam%/Duration Old/Range/New Old/Delay-timers/New

Blood Strike 1 1 10%/Na 700/1000 0.2 2.5

Blood Purge 2 2 10%/Na 180/180 6.0 16

Blood Shield 3 3 Na/Na Na/Na 12 12

Blood Salvo 3 1 10%/Na 500/800 1.2 4.0

Blood Boil 4 3 Na/Na 1100/1100 4.5 24

*Notes* Thaumaturgy now lives up to the hype and is very user-friendly due to the reduced

blood cost,and lowest delay timers of any targeted discipline. Strike/Salvo travel

much faster (roughly 6x faster) and return to you regardless of your position. Also,

Salvo's radius is equal to its range. Designed to act as supplemental offensive

weapons and primary means of feeding,so don't expect it to save you from boss types.

Purge animation works on almost everyone now and is extremely useful. Blood shield

takes twice as much damage to negate. Removed damage and added a slight delay

animation (knock back) to those that survive Blood Boil. Reduced damage by 75% to

those in the blast radius. No more damage floaters without animations or effects.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Key:

Dam%= Approximate strength as compared to orginal values.

Example= Blood purge is roughly 10% as strong as it used to be.

Delay-timers= amount of time you must wait after using discipline to use it again.

Bp= Blood points.

Na= Not applicable.

Duration= A multiple of the orginal number Example 2x is twice as long as the orginal.

Range= Indicates range or radius,depends on the discipline,default is range.

Boss types= Any npc that has a health bar during a fight.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

*Misc.

3rd person camera movable with keypad,also comes with an Autoexec.cfg file that speeds up

load times. Improved xp table. The orginal 2.8 patch gave out 317 xp by game's end,this one

gives out 451. That may sound like alot,but its not. This balances out the reward to mission

type,also somewhat needed with the higher difficulty. Hunger and damage frenzy checks more

common. Npcs' blood pool values changed,standard is 14,prostitutes 8,bums 6. Without this you

could just drain everyone much quicker than you could beat them. This way the option's still

there but takes much longer,also stays true to what Jack tells you about feeding off

different humans in the tutorial. Value for most items increased. Penalty for light leather

armor removed,added new armor I found in the patch to Tseng's shop. Due to the weapon tweaks

enemy gun fire is more accurate.

*Bugs.

I haven't increased the hp of the 2 or 3 vamps you come across in the tutorial this is to

allow the cut scenes to play out correctly. Don't drop the clothing you're wearing as it can

cause problems with your character's model. I have assigned models to clothing (which can be

used as decorations)...still,drop them at your own risk. Best way to do this is to first make

a save game (in case you screw up),then switch to the default light clothing (which you can't

sell or drop),then start dropping. You can sell them or store them in a container without

worry.

*Tips.

Pick a fighting style (brawl,melee) and raise it early. Eventually,get firearms up,some of

the later boss fights are very difficult or impossible without them. Keep blood packs on you

and be ready for all boss fights. Make a permanant save before going on missions,save more

often. Ming is especially hard to beat. Obfuscate has a higher stealth attack and works on

most bosses now,use it. Guns are alot of fun and available earlier,give them a try. Remember

stealth is alot tougher for non-obfuscated players. If you get in trouble, look for a place

to rest and heal. Most problems can be overcome in time,use hit and run tactics if need be.

In a crowd Dominate,Dementation,Animalism and Thaumaturgy help clean up very quickly.

Spectral Wolf,Mass Hallucination and Blood Purge are effective against most Boss type npcs.

In general, physical warriors (Potence,Protean,Fortitude,Celerity) have an easier time with

bosses,while mental warriors (Dementation,Domination,Presence,Thaumaturgy) can decimate

large groups of enemies quickly.

*Installation: First, you must download and install the unoffical patch 2.8. Then, add the

vampires folder (from this mod) to your vampire root directory,default

C:\Program Files\Activision\Vampire - Bloodlines. Last, overwrite and that's it.

To skip the opening cutscenes,extract the file provided in the "Skip Opening Movies" folder to

your Vampire/Python/Theatre directory.

*Credits.

The camera controls and opening scene bypass are both taken from the PnP mod. The experience

table is a modified version of the one that came with the unoffical patch 2.8 and was

inspired by the experience mod,which I used as a template with reduced rewards. Sound files

taken from Narf's weapon tweak mod. Thanks to XehutL for the stealth.txt file I used (saved

me a lot of trouble); Scipoten for getting me started; Owen_twistfield for helping me with

the scripting issue; Little One for proofreading this mess; last but not least, Dan and WeSp

[whose name I couldn't find on the entire readme file and who I had thought was one of the

orginal coders because I kept seeing his name while tweaking :) ] for a great patch.

All discipline work (including cleanup of animations and effects) done by me...Pop...as well

as Npc overhauls,final product with regards to weapon tweaks (not sound files),Occult items,

shop inventory,experience tables and of course this read me.

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