Vampire: Bloodlines Weekly Update #13

Activision’s Shane DeFreest has sent us another weekly update for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines via email. In addition to Leonard Boyarsky’s Q&A, there’s also an update about a demo they’ll be showing at this year’s Comic Con. Straight from my inbox:

We’ve got a busy schedule of events coming up and some neat stuff to announce soon. For those of you who were not able to check out Bloodlines at E3 we will be showing The 2004 E3 demo at San Diego Comic Con July 22-25. Make sure to stop by the Activision booth and check us out. Also we’ve recently updated out fan site links page so make sure to check out the new members of the Bloodlines Community. And now on with the show. Here is what Leon from Troika had to say this week…

Q: How will melee- combat be handled? Will you merely swing and dodge and such (like in Rune) Or will there be blocks parrys, special attacks, combos? If you have gone with the latter option then are there varied fighting styles (one handed, two-handed, above head, to the side etc.) , or will there be one melee stance for all weapons? Also, can melee weapons break, in accordance with the physics engine? If I hit the Gargoyle with a katana, will the Katana break as it should?

A: Hits misses and damage are all keyed off of the interaction between the melee feat and the defender’s defense feat (and soak, if applicable). The results of that interaction will determine whether the NPC will dodge, block, get staggered, or any other number of possible outcomes. It’s not entirely data driven, however, as the player has to decide in real time which attacks or combos to use and on which enemies (as you are often fighting multiple enemies). The attacks and combos are keyed off the different direction buttons. Holding down (W) (moving forward) will key off a different set of attacks than holding down )A) (left strafe) will.

Q: Is there some sort of monetary system in Bloodlines? If so, what sort of things will we be able to obtain, besides blood and guns?

A: Clothing/armor, occult items, melee weapons, and research manuals. Most of your money is used for buying either blood, weapons and ammo, as a lot of items are given through quests.