Differences between the True Patch and the Basic Patch?

[Zenoseiya]

I'd like to compile a list of differences between the True Patch Gold and the Unofficial Patch Basic (NOT Plus) for the purposes of providing proof during patch debates.

Any assistance?

[Tessera]

The easiest way would be to just do a play-through using one patch at a time whilst keeping notes during gameplay... and then compare the differences that you encountered.

The Gold Edition patch makes absolutely no changes whatsoever to any of the items, quests, weapons, etc. So you can consider that to be a baseline and then just see what the differences are within Wesp's patch.

Or... if you are feeling especially ambitious... you could dissect both patches individually, by opening up their item files, quest files, map files, etc. using the appropriate tools and then see where all of the specific differences are. There will no doubt be -hundreds- of differences to be found that way.

Regardless of which method you employ, you will discover that there are quite a few unnecessary and purely arbitrary changes introduced by Wesp's so-called "basic patch" which do not exist within the True Patch Gold Edition. That's a fact. Conversely, you will also discover that there are several legitimate repairs within the Gold Edition which do not exist within Wesp's "basic patch."

Wesp and I have completely different philosophies regarding the important difference between a "patch" and a "mod," and his so-called "unofficial patches" reflect the major flaws within Wesp's philosophy. Wesp feels that it is within his prerogative to make any and all alterations to the game that appeal to him personally... regardless of whether or not the end user would approve. He has made that attitude quite clear during the course of the various exchanges that he has had with Bloodlines players, on various game-related forum boards. His attitude is, in fact, quite dictatorial at times and he has received a large number of complaints about it over the years. That flawed philosophy likewise applies to his inappropriately named "basic" versions. Thus is it impossible to install -any- version of Wesp's patches, without being forced to accept a large number of unnecessary alterations to the original game which may or may not be to your liking.

Happy hunting. I look forward to your report.  

[Zenoseiya]

Happy hunting. I look forward to your report.  

The problem is that I have other commitments right now, and I don't currently have Bloodlines installed on my computer.

[beetle]

The patch notes of both are a good place to start as well.

[Schu]

Not to scary anybody off because it's a Good idea, but you would have to go threw hell.

First, you would have to go threw the True Patch 504AT plus the 6 hot fixes, then go threw the TPG and the 2 hot fixes there. OK, not to bad, 3 to 4 pages, maybe more, and copy, paste is your friend 

Now go threw the UP, remember you'll have to start back when Dan Upright started it and end at (I think it's at) 7.2. There are over 50 different patches in between with 1 to 2 pages listing so called fixes not to mention hot fixes, most of which are things Wesp broke himself. That is a lot of work.

OK, I shouldn't add this , but I will. A broken or buggy single player game realistically should only need a few patches and some hot fixes to get the game playable for everybody, mostly because of different systems and bugs not caught or fixed during testing. Yes there will most likely still be some bugs, but they'll be minor or computer (hardware) specific, which shouldn't hurt actual game play. Now VTMB is not your average game, it was released in bad shape, and needed a lot of fixing, but that doesn't justify Wesp patching the hell out of it, adding things, making changes or moving things and NPC's around. So that everyone knows, he has done just that in his basic version, with him justifying his changes by stating that it was already in the game disks.

This analogy alone should show people that what Wesp is doing is modding the game, not fixing bugs (unless of course you want to count the bugs he created).

[Tessera]

OK, I shouldn't add this , but I will. A broken or buggy single player game realistically should only need a few patches and some hot fixes to get the game playable for everybody

I quite agree... and that is why there have only been three significant versions of the True Patch released during the course of the past four years. Just three... that's all. And only two of them (5.04AT and the Gold Edition) are actually worth installing.

It is true that Bloodlines was released in a broken and buggy state. But it wasn't buggy enough to warrant the release of a new patch every second Tuesday for the past six years in a row. No game is THAT broken... but try telling that to Wesp and his groupies.

And therein lies the most significant difference between the True Patch and Wesp's whatever-the-fuck-it is: Wesp indulges the whims of others and "fixes" a slew of things which were not actually broken at all. The True Patch, on the other hand, restricts itself to legitimate bug fixes ONLY. My "purist philosophy" has always been a simple one: the True Patch will fix the most important bugs... and nothing else. Anything beyond that should be handled within optional MODS... not by mandatory patches.

The goal of any legitimate patch should be to establish a working baseline for a given game, which does not significantly alter the intentions of the original developers. The only exception to that rule would be if the developers themselves decided to make a significant alteration to their own work, via a patch that they themselves have produced. Well, neither Wesp nor I are members of the original development team for Bloodlines, thus it is not within our prerogative to incorporate arbitrary changes within our patches. And yet, that is precisely what Wesp has been doing... ever since 2005, when he took over the UP project from Dan Upright.

A patch is a patch and a mod is a mod. I am well aware of the difference. Wesp, unfortunately, is not. Hence the existence of the True Patch: Acrimonious and I created it so that Bloodlines players would have a viable alternative to Wesp's "patches." The True VTMB Patch is a legitimate patch, in that well over 90 percent of its content consists of legitimate repairs to the parts of the game which were actually dysfunctional. Wesp's work, on the other hand, can only be classified correctly as a mod... due to the exceedingly large percentage of completely arbitrary and unnecessary alterations which it contains. I have stated this fact numerous times and I will continue to say it, whenever the subject arises. It is important for everyone to understand the basic differences, before they make their eventual choice.

There is nothing wrong with wanting certain parts of the game to be different. But those desires should be handled by mods... not by patches. That way, each user will always have a choice.

[Zenoseiya]

All that is fine and dandy, but the Wesp groupies continually complain that our statements have no proof behind them. Hence why we need a list of comparisons to show that our argument is valid.

[Tessera]

Dear Zeno,


I DON'T CARE WHAT LITTLE BABIES THINK.
AND NEITHER SHOULD ANY OTHER ADULT.


Love,

- Tessera -

 

[Zenoseiya]

Those little shits are stealing the game experience from newcomers to the game. You said that yourself. You can't just abandon the Bloodlines community. You owe it to the newbies to make sure that Troika's legacy isn't destroyed by Wesp and his gangs of whining faggots.

Adults use debates and substantiated statements. If we just sit back and do nothing we're just aiding Wesp in his perversions.

[Schu]

Zeno, you're failing to see that they aren't interested in proper debates and substantiated statements, they just want to pick a fight by taking what others say out of context and argue about how godly Wesp is for giving them all of the toys they want, just for the asking early in the game, instead of making them work for them. Besides that he doesn't even call one of the weapons by its proper name in the game, he calls it a Glock not a Brock.

[Tessera]

Those little shits are stealing the game experience from newcomers to the game.

Zeno... it's group-think.  

Arguing with them is like trying to argue with a bunch of Catholics. They know that their position is essentially indefensible, yet they also know that they have strength in numbers. Hence their refusal to capitulate, even though they are well-aware that their opposition is making a stronger argument. The more facts you throw in their faces, the more angry and hostile and abusive they become.

We've been seeing that same phenomenon with the ongoing "VTMB patch war." We have made dozens and dozens of very solid arguments against Wesp's ongoing bastardization of Bloodlines. But every time we do so, Wesp's followers circle their wagons and then start shooting at us like desperate lunatics. They know that we are right... they know that their position is weak... they know that what Wesp has been doing is undermining the integrity of Bloodlines. And yet they are so afraid of losing an internet argument, that they somnambulistically cling to Wesp and his horseshit... regardless of the facts.

You may as well fight with Pavlov's dog, in other words. I've fought harder than anybody with those nitwits, over the course of the past four-plus years. I have cited specific examples of Wesp's poor judgment and called him out on his deliberate acts of sabotage. I have raised hell on almost every single VTMB-related forum board on the web. I have even posted a line-by-line dissection of one of Wesp's "patches," way back in 2007. But it didn't matter. The more sense I made and the more truth I revealed, the more vicious Wesp's followers became... and the more rapidly I got banned from those other gaming sites. The easiest (and most cowardly) way for them to avoid having to respond to my allegations was to sweep me under the rug. Out of sight -- out of mind.

Let them have Wesp's garbage. They deserve it. I didn't create the True Patch for little babies who can't handle the real game... I created it for mature players, who prefer to play Troika's game and not some dumbed-down kiddie version from Wesp. Thousands of Bloodlines players are using the True Patch. A few thousand more are using Wesp's garbage. Well when you think about it, it always seems to be true that within any given population, the majority of people will have bourgeois tastes... while only a small minority will be true connoisseurs.

Or to put it another way: most people prefer to eat Big Macs instead of Filet Mignon. I know that seems idiotic... and it -is- indeed idiotic... but it is nevertheless quite true. Wesp produces Big Macs. That's why more people cling to his work than to ours. It is simply because they are unsophisticated, group-thinking Neanderthals with short attention spans... and their ongoing behavior makes that fact about them quite clear.