True Patch Gold Edition -- OFFICIAL THREAD

[Tessera]

Well there's quite a bit of dialogue mismatching and a couple of texture problems in the game that have been overlooked and for some reason, I don't see anybody leaving in opening scene.  
I'll take a few screenshots and probably a vid to show where and what.

STANDARD QUESTIONS:

(1) Did you start with a clean, fresh installation of Bloodlines before you installed the True Patch..?

(2) Did you completely uninstall your previous installation, including any pesky leftover registry entries that it may have left behind as orphans..?

(3) Did you start playing again with a brand new character who had never been played before..?

(4) If you unpacked the game's VPK archives in order to do any modding work later on, did you make sure to unpack them BEFORE you applied the True Patch..? If not, then you will need to install the True Patch a second time, to make sure that all of your files are up to date.  

(5) Are you using any other third-party mods which may not have been tested for compatibility with the True Patch..?

(6) Which version of Windows are you using to play VTMB on..?


I realize all of those questions sound pretty standard-issue, but the fact is that nobody encountered the errors that you are describing during the two weeks that we were beta testing the Gold Edition. I can't duplicate those errors on my machine, either. So the -most- likely explanation is that there is some sort of problem which is specific to your computer.

Which version of VTMB do you own, by the way..? The original retail edition, or the Steam version..? It might be important, so far as troubleshooting goes.

[Caspa_tfng]

Nobody encountered those errors because either;

a) They weren't looking for them.
b) They avoided playing as a Nossie.
c) They didn't notice them.
d) They did notice, but forgot to say something.

So let's go through the insulting but standard list.

Fresh install of XP64 with no previous Bloodlines installations.  No VPKs unpacked.  Only the Hi-res NPC pack included, Hi-Res Jack from the download page and my Hi-res Nossie pack.
Every bug I mention in regards to the True Patch will be specific to the True Patch Gold and duplicatable on any version of the True Patch Gold.

The screenshot I included was the first girl you meet in Bishop Vics den, with a standard resolution head and unexplainedly low resolution body. 
A mistake that's been ignored in every version of the True Patch.

I'll give a comprehensive, but not finalized list of bugs on my next day off.

[Tessera]

Nobody encountered those errors because either;

a) They weren't looking for them.
b) They avoided playing as a Nossie.
c) They didn't notice them.
d) They did notice, but forgot to say something.

So let's go through the insulting but standard list.

Caspa,

First of all, those questions were not intended as insults. They're the standard questions that I ask whenever someone reports a problem that nobody else has experienced. Sometimes, it is a good idea to remind people of the basics.

Secondly, you had every opportunity to sign up for the TPG Beta, which you decided not to do. And since I did not impose any clan assignments during the beta tests, then it should not come as a surprise that none of the beta testers elected to play the least popular clan in the game (according to our own polls). If you had been that concerned about the Nossies, then you should have signed up and helped us with that clan... instead of bitching about it after the fact. I will mention, however, that during the creation of version 5.04AT, Acrimonious did ALL of his testing and development using a Nossie... because that is his favorite clan to play. In short: the Nosferatu have already gotten quite a bit of attention during the history of the True Patch series, my friend. Case closed.

Every bug I mention in regards to the True Patch will be specific to the True Patch Gold and duplicatable on any version of the True Patch Gold.

Well then, if it is able to be duplicated on "any version of the True Patch Gold," as you are claiming, then I shall assume that "any version" includes my own copy as well. Therefore, it is a simple enough task for me to test your assertion that, due to a problem with the TPG patch, you are not seeing the correct sequences during the opening Intro scene.

And I have just completed such a test -- using a freshly created Nosferatu character on a clean install of VTMB, with the True Patch Gold Edition, and on Windows XP x64. Here's the test video:

http://www.tessmage.com/testvids/TPG_Nosferatu_Test.wmv

CONCLUSION: no problems of any kind whatsoever, as that video clearly demonstrates. The bug report issued by the end user is not being caused by the True Patch.

So once again, we are back to it being something specific to your machine, since it is clearly not happening on anybody else's. I am sorry that you are having a problem with the Intro, but it is most definitely not coming from the True Patch.

Regarding the girl in the L.A. crack house: she has not been "ignored by every version of the True Patch," as you have put it. That's not an error, Caspa. She was simply constructed that way. She's an incidental character and she only appears on our screen for a grand total of perhaps 3 minutes -- hence there was no reason to give her a spiffy paint job. If you would prefer to see her in some other outfit, then perhaps you should re-skin her yourself. You're a talented guy.... so give it a shot.  


TEST VIDEO NO LONGER AVAILABLE -- IT WAS CHEWING UP TOO MUCH SERVER BANDWIDTH AND IN ANY CASE, IT HAS ALREADY SERVED ITS PURPOSE.
THE TEST VIDEO CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED THAT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH THE NOSFERATU OPENING SCENES.

[perez007usa]

Progress report on that "city view in the tunnel" still nothing. Even the Malk is scratching her head, I saw it but now its not their, maybe start all over  with a fresh install.

[Cylnar]

Should we be reporting still-extant bugs here or should we start a separate thread to keep this thread reasonably clean?

Either way I'd recommend that we label all bugs we report in a manner similar to that we (the beta team) did in the beta forum (though not necessarily with separate threads): Dialogue, Graphics, Audio, Gameplay, Other.

Let's also keep in mind the difference between bug reports - which fall into the purview of the True Patch Gold - and mod requests, which do not. Low-res textures, for example, do not qualify as a bug - they're just low-res textures and to fix them requires a texture modification - a mod, in other words.


FROM TESSERA: Caspa doesn't argue for reasons -- he simply argues. In any case, all of his criticisms turned out to be false. 

[Schu]

@ jordi, the cover on my copy does say multi lingual, so with Activision you never know, they may have repackaged it and sold it in NA as is, so it just might be

To Tessera, my computer is similar to your own, so I take user error as being very possible for any issues I may have, that said I'll put up my hardware config in case you know of any hardware issues that I dont, but so far the game is playing great and no major bugs, glitches or mod issues as of yet

mobo=ASUS Crosshair III Formula
cpu=AMD phenom II X4 965 BE
ram=4gb GSkill DDR3 1333mhz
using onboard audio for now
video=XFX Radeon HD 5870
Win 7 HP 64bit
Win XP Pro 32bit

[Tessera]

Should we be reporting still-extant bugs here or should we start a separate thread to keep this thread reasonably clean?

Yup, go ahead and post anything and everything that you think might be a problem. Just try to keep your reports as specific and concise as possible. Also, in the case of any issues having to do with graphics, it will be extremely helpful if you included a screenshot of the issue in question. That way, it will be much easier for me to track down whatever it is that gets reported.

Let's also keep in mind the difference between bug reports - which fall into the purview of the True Patch Gold - and mod requests, which do not. Low-res textures, for example, do not qualify as a bug - they're just low-res textures and to fix them requires a texture modification - a mod, in other words.

That is quite correct.

The character in question is referred to by the game files as "Junky_Girl." It is true that her body uses low-resolution generic textures. There is no actual bug involved... it is more a matter of a late-stage substitution made by Troika. That is the only deduction that I can make, based upon an examination of her actual model file. It appears that originally, Troika was going to use an early Heather model for the Junky Girl in the crackhouse. But later on, they must have changed their minds... because they commented out all of the MDL data regarding her body textures. Which in turn would cause the engine to use generic textures instead, depending on how it was programmed. Hence we end up with a girl who is using some very basic (and rather drab looking) body textures, even though she is technically a unique character.

So this is not a bug... although I would agree that it is an example of an oversight on Troika's part. It would have been nice if they had created a new set of character-specific textures for that model, instead of leaving her at the mercy of the Source engine. But the True Patch does not concern itself with something like this, because it is not an actual bug. It is simply... ugly. But that is the way Troika made her... so she will remain as she is. To do anything else with her would be completely arbitrary on my part.


For the record, the QC file extracted from her model is reproduced below. About three-quarters of the way down, you can clearly see that Troika deliberately commented out the list of materials for this model... which is an unusual thing to do. I can only assume that they may have had some other plans in mind for the "Junky_Girl" when they first created her, but then changed their minds later on. Perhaps it was originally going to be the way that we hook up again with Heather... but who knows. We can speculate all day and night about it, but the fact remains that her model was deliberately edited by Troika -after- it had been created. Thus, her appearance must be considered to be INTENTIONAL on Troika's part.


Junky_Girl MDL QC file follows:

$modelname "character/npc/unique/DownTown/Junky_Girl/Junky_Girl.mdl"
$model "girl" "Junky_Girl_REF.smd" {
     eyeball righteye Bip01 Head -58.534 18.096 3.522 eyeball_r 1.000  0.000 eyeball_l 0.500
     eyeball lefteye Bip01 Head -60.441 18.730 3.522 eyeball_l 1.000  0.000 eyeball_r 0.500
     mouth 0 "mouth"  Bip01 Head 0.000 -1.000 0.000
}
$lod 15
 {
  replacemodel "Junky_Girl_REF" "lod1_Junky_Girl_REF"
}
$lod 25
 {
  replacemodel "Junky_Girl_REF" "lod2_Junky_Girl_REF"
}
$lod 45
 {
  replacemodel "Junky_Girl_REF" "lod3_Junky_Girl_REF"
}
$lod 55
 {
  replacemodel "Junky_Girl_REF" "lod4_Junky_Girl_REF"
}
$lod 65
 {
  replacemodel "Junky_Girl_REF" "lod5_Junky_Girl_REF"
}
$shadowlod
{
  replacemodel "Junky_Girl_REF" "lod6_Junky_Girl_REF"
}
$poseparameter move_yaw -180.00 180.00 360.00
$poseparameter hit_yaw -180.00 180.00 360.00
$cdmaterials "models/character/npc/unique/DownTown/Junky_Girl/"
$cdmaterials "models/character/teeth/"
$cdmaterials "models/weapons/revolver_anaconda/wield/"
$cdmaterials "models/weapons/M37/wield/"
$cdmaterials "models/weapons/striker/wield/"
$cdmaterials "models/weapons/katana/wield/"
$hboxset "default"
$hbox 0 "Bip01-Spine2" 1.000  0.000  0.000  5.000  6.000  6.000
$hbox 0 "Bip01-Pelvis" -6.096  -4.335  -5.392  10.378  4.203  5.392
$hbox 3 "Bip01-Spine" -2.227  -4.857  -4.729  12.191  3.665  4.672
$hbox 2 "Bip01-Spine1" -3.209  -3.933  -5.064  13.496  3.963  6.216
$hbox 2 "Bip01-Spine2" -5.925  -4.019  -5.439  7.779  3.709  6.590
$hbox 1 "Bip01-Neck" -0.537  -1.166  -2.144  3.809  3.397  1.851
$hbox 1 "Bip01-Head" -3.477  -3.770  -3.165  6.905  4.853  3.277
$hbox 4 "Bip01-L-UpperArm" -3.429  -2.240  -2.342  9.729  2.051  1.520
$hbox 4 "Bip01-L-Forearm" -0.177  -2.084  -4.535  16.393  1.468  0.850
$hbox 4 "Bip01-L-Hand" -0.368  -0.563  -2.119  6.646  1.232  1.399
$hbox 5 "Bip01-R-UpperArm" -3.429  -2.248  -1.546  10.329  2.069  2.950
$hbox 5 "Bip01-R-Forearm" -0.178  -2.084  -0.850  16.394  1.493  4.535
$hbox 5 "Bip01-R-Hand" -0.368  -0.563  -3.171  6.646  1.232  2.119
$hbox 6 "Bip01-L-Thigh" -2.113  -4.356  -2.130  19.382  3.441  5.997
$hbox 6 "Bip01-L-Calf" -1.122  -2.975  -1.542  21.531  5.781  2.357
$hbox 6 "Bip01-L-Foot" -1.971  -1.717  -1.521  3.640  5.711  2.060
$hbox 7 "Bip01-R-Thigh" -1.518  -4.356  -5.997  19.382  3.441  2.130
$hbox 7 "Bip01-R-Calf" -1.122  -2.974  -2.357  21.531  5.781  1.542
$hbox 7 "Bip01-R-Foot" -1.971  -1.717  -2.060  3.640  5.711  1.521
// Model uses material "Heatherbody.vmt"
// Model uses material "HeatherHead.vmt"
// Model uses material "HeatherHair.vmt"
// Model uses material "eyeball_l.vmt"
// Model uses material "eyeball_r.vmt"
// Model uses material "upperteeth.vmt"
// Model uses material "molar.vmt"
// Model uses material "lowerteeth.vmt"
// Model uses material "tongue.vmt"
// Model uses material "glint.vmt"
// Model uses material "malkgirlhead.vmt"
$attachment "0" "Bip01-R-Hand" 0.00 0.00 -0.00 rotate -0.00 -0.00 0.00
$attachment "mouth" "Bip01-Head" 1.62 4.15 0.00 rotate -0.00 -0.00 0.00
$attachment "eyes" "Bip01-Head" 3.58 3.55 0.00 rotate -0.00 -0.00 0.00
$surfaceprop "flesh"
$eyeposition 64.678 -4.558 1.133
$illumposition 29.054 -13.000 -13.000
$sequence ragdoll "ragdoll" ACT_DIERAGDOLL 1 fps 30.00

[Tessera]

Well... we already have nearly 800 views of this topic in only five days and so far,
there have been no major bug reports or complaints. Knock on wood.

The server log reports slightly more than 1,000 downloads of the TPG patch since
it was released on July 8th... which is an average of 200 downloads per day.

Good to see. Maybe I should stop biting my nails now.  

[Tessera]

*** Patch Notes Updated ***

The patch notes for the Gold Edition have just been updated, after it was brought to my attention that one of the people responsible for some data that we used during our engine repairs had not been properly cited. I apologize for this oversight and it has now been corrected. The True Patch Gold file currently available for downloading now includes those updated patch notes.

My only defense for this oversight is that I am overworked, underpaid, and I really need to fuck less and sleep more at night. But anyway -- it's been fixed.  

[perez007usa]

Should we be reporting still-extant bugs here or should we start a separate thread to keep this thread reasonably clean?

Yup, go ahead and post anything and everything that you think might be a problem. Just try to keep your reports as specific and concise as possible. Also, in the case of any issues having to do with graphics, it will be extremely helpful if you included a screenshot of the issue in question. That way, it will be much easier for me to track down whatever it is that gets reported.

  Well, I may have some questions. I tweak out the my nvida gf 9400 gt 1gig pci-e card to max, and using your auto and config.exe. OOh! don't get me wrong, I never  seen Vtmb so highly detailed, and I do mean detailed, runs very fast, but I get this strange image that the Malk is box in. Is it to much tweaking or other. Here are my drivers stats;

  Drivers: 197.45
  Cuda core: 16
  Core clock: 550 MHz
  Shader clock: 1375 MHz
  Memory cock: 333 MHz(666 MHz data rate)
  Memory interface: 128 MHz
  Memory 1 gig plus 2 gigs on broad memory
 
  Here are the screen shots.
  

[Tessera]

That first screenshot is awfully dark... so I can't really see what the issue is.

The second screenshot seems to be normal. A little grainy perhaps... but I can't see anything obvious happening there.

So umm... what exactly is it that you are reporting..? I confess that I'm a bit lost here. Is something not being rendered properly..? If so, then you may need to scale back a bit on the in-game video settings. Those optional tweaks that I included with the TPG patch were primarily aimed at players who are using MONSTER video cards, so that they could take full advantage of their rendering power.

But...

Owners of mid-level video cards should probably avoid (or at least adjust) a few of those tweaks, as they may end up overloading such cards. The VTMB Source engine may be six years old, but it is still QUITE capable of pushing your video hardware to the limit... especially if you patch the engine to run the game in anamorphic widescreen. You may need to start playing with individual settings, until you can find a happy medium between quality and performance. If you are unsure about how to proceed, then just ask and I will be happy to give you some suggestions.

I also noticed that you are using my FNMM7 Malk mod. That mod uses textures which are substantially larger than the default versions... which naturally adds extra strain to your video card, as one should expect. All of my Bloodlines mods employ high-resolution textures, so take that into account before you start jacking up the video quality. If you push things too high, then you may very well hit the upper limit that your hardware is capable of. In which case, something or other will need to be scaled back a bit, until you can reach some sort of balance.

Incidentally, I recommend switching to the 190.62 drivers for nVidia. There is no reason to use a newer driver than that with your particular video card. Also, pretty much all of the newer nVidia drivers absolutely suck... especially when they try to render older games such as VTMB and Oblivion. So unless you are running a pair of video cards in SLI, then you absolutely do not need the newer nVidia drivers. Roll back to the 190.62 version and your video performance should noticeably increase.


SOME GENERAL SUGGESTIONS FOR nVIDIA OWNERS:

(1) Turn off transparency anti-aliasing prior to launching Bloodlines. The game will not benefit from it... not even one tiny bit. And in the meantime, it can cause graphical anomalies in many DX8 games.

(2) When playing VTMB, I recommend having both Vertical Sync and 4x Anti-Aliasing forced by the video driver. Which means if either (or both) of those features are set to "Application controlled," then you will need to override them and set each to a pre-set value. And if you force vertical sync, then it might also be necessary to activate Triple-Buffering as well. Try playing the game without triple-buffering first... and if you notice any herky-jerky framerates as you run around from place to place, then exit the game and set Triple-Buffering to "ON."

(3) Play Bloodlines at the exact same resolution that your Windows desktop is set to. It should run a lot smoother that way. This holds true for most 3-D games.

(4) Add the switches "-32bit" and "-heapsize 384000" (minus the quotes) to the shortcut that launches Bloodlines. This can help your performance on systems that have enough memory available. If the game refuses to launch after adding the "-heapsize 384000" switch, then keep adjusting that number downwards in small increments, until the Source engine accepts it.


There are lots of other things that we can tweak... but first I need to know exactly what the problem is.

[Bobkaduche]

i think im an idiot or something because i cant seem to run VTMB wihtout a cd. I have the cd but i wanted to try it without. I see 2 vampire.exe things and when i click on one it says to put in the cd. When i click on the other it says failed to load the launcher  DLL. I instailled the patch correctly i think. PS im a noob at computer systems. Any advice or help to offer?

[perez007usa]

O'Tay, I back, here's the problem, I marked them with arrows so you can see them, like I said, its like she's in a box that moves with her when you move around the screen. In lighted areas you see the it barely see it, but it distorts the walk ways when moving around. Any ideas what it is, or should I get that 190.62 driver in stead of the 197.45, but make no mistake about it, this True Gold Patch is awesome, maybe I need to tweak it more or less?

  PS. I still can not bring up that image of the city inside  the over hang bridge.( maybe it was a fluke or something)but it was cool to see it.

[Tessera]

O'Tay, I back, here's the problem, I marked them with arrows so you can see them, like I said, its like she's in a box that moves with her when you move around the screen. In lighted areas you see the it barely see it, but it distorts the walk ways when moving around. Any ideas what it is, or should I get that 190.62 driver in stead of the 197.45, but make no mistake about it, this True Gold Patch is awesome, maybe I need to tweak it more or less?

  PS. I still can not bring up that image of the city inside  the over hang bridge.( maybe it was a fluke or something)but it was cool to see it.

That screenshot is still frightfully dark, but I think I get the gist of what your problem is. You are seeing a hazy outline of some sort when she moves about. I have never seen such a thing in VTMB, but I have seen similar anomalies in other games.

It is almost definitely coming from your hardware and/or software driver. My first suggestion would be to do what I said, and roll back to the 190.62 nVidia driver. Then test it again.

When it comes to video drivers these days, newer does not equal "better." Especially for nVidia. Their latest drivers are absolutely awful... unless ALL of your gaming is done on Windows 7, and all of your games are brand-new DirectX11 titles, and none of them use OpenGL. Which unfortunately disqualifies 99% of all PC games on the market. WTG, nVidia...  
 
Anyway, I am not aware of any changes introduced by the TPG patch which would account for something like that. It is true that we have changed the way that certain sprites are rendered around point sources of light, but that shouldn't have anything to do with the sort of anomaly that you are describing.

So here is what you should do:

(1) Uninstall your current video driver. If the nVidia uninstaller asks if you also wish to delete all of your current profiles, then say "Yes, you assholes... I want to delete EVERYTHING."  

(2) After uninstalling it, run an application such as Driver Sweeper to remove any leftover traces of your current driver. THIS STEP IS IMPORTANT.

(3) Reboot your computer. Windows will pop up a message saying that it has found new hardware. Just keep clicking "Cancel" until that message goes away.

(4) Now install the version 190.62 nVidia drivers. Make sure that you downloaded the correct version for your operating system (32 or 64 bit).

(5) Reboot your computer again. Now set your desktop resolution to whatever it is that you are most happy with.

(6) Launch the nVidia control panel and adjust your various driver settings. I recommend having Anti-Aliasing and Vertical Sync forced on, but leave Anisotropic Filtering set to "Application controlled."

(7) Play VTMB again and see whether or not that weird rendering error persists.


On a side note, I should mention that certain models of nVidia cards have had problems in the past with VTMB... most notoriously the 8800 series of cards. In fact, the 8800's were causing all sorts of weird shit to happen in VTMB... such as wireframes suddenly being rendered on all of the models, green and purple textures, grey lines on the walls and floors and even total lockups during feeding scenes. It is possible that your 9400 model might likewise have some sort of internal glitch, although I do not have any specific information about that.

[lethargy]

@perez: that box is a driver artifact in the current series of nVidia drivers, dating at least back a year or so.
You'll need to download nHancer to get the full nVidia control panel, and do some specific settings to get rid of it (basically, turn off trilinear filtering and instead force anisotrophic filtering combined with [non-transparency!] aliasing).
I'll post my settings in this thread later today.

[Tessera]

Just a bit of news...

We had a BIG spike in the number of downloads yesterday.
The total number of downloads since the July 8th release
has now reached more than 2200 as of this posting.

Good to see. 

[Bobkaduche]

it turns out i am an idiot and i didnt patch it correctly however i fixed that and now i can play without a cd. although you already know this but your patch is awesome and your site is pretty cool.

[Tessera]

Thank you, sir.