The True VTMB Patch
version 5.04AT 

*** OPTIONAL UTILITY FILES ***

UPDATED SEPTEMBER 18, 2009
WITH "HOTFIX #6"


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Overview:
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The three files contained within this "Utility" folder are optional. Or should I say, they are only required 
by those users who fall into one or more of the following categories:

(1) You are running Bloodlines on Windows Vista and have been experiencing memory problems with the game.

(2) You have a large amount of RAM installed in your machine and you are experiencing texture-based anomalies,
such as missing textures (checkerboard patterns on objects and/or characters), "pink people," "purple people,"
blurry HUD elements (your on-screen display, as well as the main menu look blurred), etc.

(3) You wish to run Bloodlines on a widescreen monitor at high resolutions (such as an HDTV monitor).

Those anomalies are caused by the fact that Bloodlines was compiled back in 2004, long before there were such 
things as Windows Vista, or tri-channel memory configurations, etc. Also, most people did not use a 64-bit
operating system back in those days (most still do not). Essentially, the core engine of Bloodlines is simply
incompatible with many newer system hardware configurations. It therefore needs to be patched with updated
files, so that it can properly address your hardware and operating system.

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The Fix: 
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There are three important files within this "Utility" folder. One of them fixes the "insufficient memory" glitch
that many users have experienced when running Bloodlines on newer computers.

Another file has been included, which fixes the blurry and/or missing texture issue, which has likewise been 
experienced by many users who play this game on newer systems with large amounts of RAM.

Lastly, a utility known as the "VTMB Res Patcher" has been included, which will enable the users of high-definition
widescreen monitors to view Bloodlines in all of its yummy anamorphic glory on such systems. 


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INSTALLATION:
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(1) First, it is STRONGLY ADVISED that you create a full backup copy of Bloodlines, before you install this or any
other patch and/or mod. This is just common sense and it's the best way to cover your own butt... just in case you
inadvertently make any errors during the patching process. Always always always have a backup of your game on hand.

(2) Copy the following files from this "Utility" folder into your main VTMB\bin folder. Note that your own copy 
of Bloodlines may be installed into a primary folder with a different name. I am simply using "VTMB" for reference.
In any case, there is only one folder with the name "bin" contained within your Bloodlines installation and that
is where all three of these files need to be copied to:

engine.dll
shaderapidx9.dll
vtmb_respatcher.exe

When prompted and asked if you wish to overwrite existing files, say "YEs to All" so that these repaired engine files
can replace the original versions.

*** Optional For Widescreen Users ***

(3) Navigate to your VTMB\bin folder and then double-click on the file named "vtmb_respatcher.exe" to launch the 
widscreen resolution patcher. Note that this utility will make permanent changes to your engine files, so once
again... always have a backup copy.

(4) From the VTMB Res patcher menu, select the type of widescreen resolutions you wish the game to be able to display.
For example, if you are using an HDTV monitor capable of 1920 x 1080 resolution, then you would select "16:9" from
the options on the lower left. If your monitor can go higher than 1080 vertical resolution (such as 1920 x 1200),
then you would select "16:10" from the menu options.

(5) Once you have made the correct selection, click on "Patch It!" to apply a permanent patch to the game engine.

(6) Now, open up the file named "config.cfg" which is located within your VTMB\Vampire\cfg folder, using Notepad.

(7) Search for the line which says "r_anamorphic" and change its value from "0" to "1" if it needs to be changed.

(8) We're not done yet. You have just enabled widescreen resolutions, but the engine still does not default to 
displaying the game as such. In order to force Bloodlines into displaying itself in gorgeous widescreen format
and at high resolution, we need to make a small change to the desktop shortcut which launches the game...

Locate the shortcut (icon) for VTMB on your desktop. Right-click on that shortcut and select "Properties" from 
the pop-up menu. A small window will open up. Now, look for the "Target" box in that window. See it..? That's
the actual command line which launches Bloodlines. We need to add a couple of switches to the end of that 
command line, so that the Source engine knows to load Bloodlines in a non-standard resolution and format.

The game's own video menu will not reflect these new changes, because it was never designed that way. So be it.
Simply do not try to set your in-game resolution using that video menu anymore, because it will no longer have 
any effect now that the engine has been altered. We need to FORCE the new resolutions now, using another method.

So... just add the following switches to the very end of that command line in the "Target" box:

-w XXXX -h YYYY

...where "XXXX" is your desktop width and "YYYY" is your desktop height (in pixels).

EXAMPLE:

-w 1920 -h 1080

Note that I am merely showing an example of how to do this. On my machine, I run Bloodlines in 1920 x 1080 HD widescreen.
On your computer, you may be using some other widescreen format. So, simply replace those width and height numbers with 
whatever numbers correspond to your own desktop resolution. Also, note that there is no space between the dash which 
precedes those "w" for width and "h" for height switches. These are standard Source engine switches and they can be used 
for all other Source games too, such as Half-Life 2 and others.

(9) After you have added those two switches, click on "Okay" at the bottom of the "Properties" window to permanently
save your changes and exit.

(10) Play the game... and prepare to be dazzled if you have never seen Bloodlines at super-hi-resolution before. 
The Santa Monica Pier looks especially yummy after applying these changes. Just run up to the Beach House and then,
look across the landscape at the Pier in the distance. Verrrrrrry nice. Other areas will look more impressive, too. :)




*** THIS IS THE END OF THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE BASIC USE OF THESE FILES. ADDITIONAL AND OPTIONAL TWEAKS FOLLOW ***




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ADDITIONAL VISUAL TWEAKS:
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So is it possible to make Bloodlines look even more yummy..? Well yes, to a limited degree. The Source engine is setup to
various defaults... and none of those defaults pushes the engine to its limits, graphics-wise. if you wish to experiment
with tweaking it a little bit more, then you may be able to push it a little farther.

The following lines can be tacked onto the end of your autoexec.cfg file, 
which is located within your VTMB\Vampire\config folder...

fov "70"
cl_ragdoll_collide "1"
lod_Enable "1"
lod_TransitionDist "800"
cl_v_geometric_detail "10"

Note that the above settings do not work on all system configurations. There is even some debate as to whether they make
any appreciable differences at all. I can tell you that on my own system, the game looks "crisper" with those lines added
to my autoexec.cfg file and I have posted screenshots which demonstrate this "crispness." But... your own mileage may vary.
It will certainly do no harm to add the lines, and in any case they can always be deleted if they happen to cause any problems.

Note that each time you do something to add to the visual quality of Bloodlines, whether by tweaking or by adding hi-res mods 
or whatever, you may experience a corresponding drop in framerates. This largely depends upon the strength of your video hardware.


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ADDITIONAL MEMORY TWEAK:
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For those of you who have large amounts of system RAM, your game may benefit from adding an additional switch to the end of
the command line which launches the game. The procedure for adding this switch is essentially identical to the procedure for 
outlined above. Open the shortcut on your desktop, locate the "Target" box and add the following switch to the end of the command line:

-heapsize xxxxxx

Where "xxxxxx" represents how much additional system RAM you want Bloodlines to usurp for its own engine cache. The default is
a rather small amount of memory, by today's standards... which no doubt accounts for a large percentage of the "stuttering"
problems that many players experience when playing Bloodlines. By increasing the amount of cache memory that the game requests
from the system, we can smooth out the performance of the game and alleviate a pecentage of those stuttering issues.

Notge that you may need to experiment with different values, before you find a number that the Source engine is happy with.
If you try to launch the game and it returns a "Not enough memory to allocate such-and-such bytes" message, then you need
to lower the number for "xxxxxx" until you find a comfortable value that the Source engine (and Windows) will accept.

For example, my computer has 4 GB of system memory and a video card with 1 GB of onboard VRAM (the engine looks at both). 
Thus, I have added the following switch to the Bloodlines command line:

-heapsize 800000

The number "xxxxxx" is multiplied by 1000 by the engine. So if you add the number "8000000" as I have done, then the effect is 
that the Source engine will attempt to grab 800 megabytes of system RAM for its own data cache... thus loading more of the game's
core into memory, and resulting in a lot less disk swapping during gameplay. The effect that this has can vary, depending on the
overall speed of your compuer, your hard drive access speed, background processes which may or may not be running, and so forth. 

But hey... every little bit helps.  ;)

Here is what my entire VTMB command line looks like, just to give everyone another example to look at:

K:\VTMB\vampire.exe -console -w 1920 -h 1080 -32bit -heapsize 800000

That command lines tells us the following...

(1) Bloodlines is located on my "K:" drive in a folder named "VTMB."
(2) I have enabled the in-game debug console (-console), mostly for modding purposes.
(3) I am forcing the engine to run Bloodlines in HD widescreen at 1920 x 1080 resolution (-w 1920 -h 1080).
(4) I am making sure that VTMB only runs (threads) on a single core of my CPU (-32bit) to ensure stability on my system.
(5) I have allocated an additional 800 megabytes of system RAM to the Bloodlines data cache, to speed up its performance.


Experienced tweakers may wish to try various settings on their own system. Experiment..!!! :D


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OFFICIAL SUPPORT WEBSITE:
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http://www.tessmage.com 
(adults only, please)

The True VTMB Patch version 5.04AT was initially written and compiled by Acrimonious and Tessera in 2007.

"Hotfix #6" last updated by Tessera on: September 18, 2009
This document was written by Tessera on: September 18, 2009


Public info regarding how to make hex edits to the engine.dll and shaderapidx9.dll files can be viewed at the following locations:


http://www.planetamd64.com/index.php?showtopic=28547


http://iain.cx/articles/bloodlines/index.html?part4


http://forumplanet.gamespy.com/bloodlines_tech_support/b50391/19757206/r19914547/



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