There are tons of on-line multiplayer games (MMORPGs and etc.) which have nothing to do with Steam. Professional developers avoid lock-in and can provide server components not tied to any distributor.

In essence, Valve could easily do the same with opening up Steamworks, but they use it as lock-in bait. I.e. it's an easy shortcut for developers which forces them to use Steam at the same time. They can't release such games in independent way. That's unprofessional.

Here is how I view multiplayer cases, from best to worst:

1. Game provides both server and client components, allowing users running their own servers as they see fit. Open source games obviously do that, but some closed ones as well. In the past running game instance in server mode was common for most multiplayer games. Some dedicated servers can be provided by developers too, to account for more scalable and powerful backend.

2. Game provides only client component to users, forcing them to use only dedicated server made by developers.

3. Game provides only client component to users, forcing them to use only dedicated server that relies on Steam.

I'd say 2 (without 1) is questionable, but not uncommon these days. 3 is unprofessional.

This isn't about DRM, it's about lock-in.

Debian testing, Wine 1.9.8 (PlayOnLinux build).

Hey everyone! (this is -3xA'Lu©κy and some of you might recognize me from the Steam hub of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines)

The first thing I want to say is: I'm really happy even more people get to play this great game here on GOG -- having the basic version of the 9.5 Unofficial Patch included for those who want it was a super cool move too. If anyone has any problems with the game, I'd invite them to look at the Steam guide on the Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines Steam hub called "Fixing V:TM-B (15mb memory, Failed to find Steam & other issues". I'm well aware most people here won't run into Steam-specific issues but if you happen to run into something problematic, there's a good chance this guide addresses it.

The second thing is this: there is a way to get the complete soundtrack and as I stated in that thread... I'm not sure if it's legal or not so if there's any problem with it from the moderators, I'll be happy to take it down (the soundtrack is much better than the mp3 files that are included in the "sound" subfolder of this game's main folder). Unfortunately I can't post links due to my low rep - I'm not really social on GOG - so you'll have to search for it. It's name is " *** Complete soundtrack - DOWNLOAD *** " and can be found on page 1 of the Discussions section of the Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines Steam hub.

> If I can get a higher rep, I can link the Steam guide and repost the info. on the Steam soundtrack thread here... or I guess someone else can do it for me :)

The Unofficial Patch essentially started off as a restoration project similar to TSLRCM (The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod) for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II. Due to feedback, the Unofficial Patch was later split into two versions included in the one download: basic and plus.

Basic was an attempt to be as close to the vanilla game as possible while fixing bugs and bugs alone. Over the years the basic patch has become more basic while the plus version of the Unofficial Patch has included restorations (large and small) and tweaked gameplay in addition to the bug fixes featured in the basic version of the Unofficial Patch.

There's an alternative to the Unofficial Patch called the True Patch and AFAIK it was made in response to the Unofficial Patch not allowing users to choose between basic and plus content. There's still some argument to this day over which patch is better (and thankfully it's a lot more civil from the 2 sides) but both are absolutely fine. I do prefer the Unofficial Patch and that's no secret because it also allows for native widescreen and addresses some annoying issues some Windows 10, 8 and 7 users will face. In addition, the Unofficial Patch has fixed a lot more bugs because the True Patch had ceased development many years ago (I never got to do much of a playthrough with the True Patch sadly). In my honest opinion, the Unofficial Patch is a great vanilla experience and if you want the least technical problems you'll definitely want the Unofficial Patch because of what I just mentioned.

Hope this helps!

I was just thinking about this today..... (I haven't been on in two days)

I looked at that list. Unfortunately it's all in mp3 as well, so the whole point of the lossless source was lost I suppose.

Give it a try if you haven't because I guarantee it's much better quality (a lot have 320kbps bitrate). This is as close as you're going to get I think because a lot of it came from Rik Schaffer himself. The compilation itself was hard to grab because only a few sites had it and it took its sweet time to fully download :)

The "NEW! - additional unused VTMB tracks" are from the Unofficial Patch plus and are a lot lower quality. They're still mp3 but have a 128kbps bitrate (some of them also came from Rik Schaffer). The "VTMB - raw music files soundtrack" is the sound files from the game folder just ordered and numbered by me in a similar fashion to the higher quality compilation. I don't know if anyone wants that, but I provided it just in case.

Are actual WAV sources still available anywhere? I just poked around first 12 tracks, and they are all at 128 Kbps (some as you said even 96). So far I didn't find any track that's 320. Or may be I'm looking at the "raw" ones? UPDATE: yes, I probably looked at original game files version.

But besides the point, the main advantage of the lossless source is not just full range of frequencies, but ability to reencode to other codec without losing quality (if you encode above audible transparency level). Reencoding even from 320 Kbps mp3 (which is transparent but still lossy) to any other lossy codec will degrade it. For instance I always prefer to take lossless source and encode it in Opus for my own usage :)

I have that soundtrack album with my boxed copy . If GOG have distribution rights and want to add them as extras I will send them to GOG :D

Thanks for popping in to the forum anyway. More participation here is welcome :)

If you want to post some dedicated threads about Bloodlines, you can also do it here:
https://www.gog.com/forum/vampire_the_masquerade_series

Lucky4LeafClova gave the context, but let me answer the question. Even the Basic version modifies the game in ways unacceptable to anyone wanting a vanilla experience. Download the unmodified version (to reiterate the official response, you get both vanilla and patched versions upon purchase) and apply the True Patch. I've played through the game twice that way - spent around 80 hours on it - and never experienced any issues - bugs or crashes. This was on Linux using WINE, so YMMV with regards to the latter.

Haha thanks. And thanks for that link as well!

Thanks for being civil even though you share a different view.

I tried to provide an honest and accurate answer which is why I didn't say much about the True Patch (I haven't used it in quite a long time and have played very little with it, so my answer wouldn't be accurate). Neither patch causes crashes as far as I can tell -- I mistakenly blamed the True Patch for a few crashes in the past but it was likely a botched installation or the game itself. On Windows the game doesn't seem to be 100% stable.

Well, sales still seem to be brisk despite the $20 price. :)

Also, anybody else notice this disclaimer on the game card? "Disclaimer: Vampire: The Masquerade-Bloodlines, as distributed by GOG.com, contains third-party technical fixes to ensure compatibility on modern systems. This material is not made, nor supported, by Activision. Furthermore, Activision does not endorse, nor take any responsibility, for the content of the game as distributed by GOG.com. Support for the game under the operating systems, as listed on the product page, is the sole responsibility of GOG.com." Relatively understandable for legal reasons, but does this appear on any other games?

Also, does Wesp5 have a way to donate to him? I assume he's not making any money off the GOG release (though I wish he was).

Hooray!

Was hoping to see this here one day - and here it is :)

I remember this as a flawed yet excellent FP RPG.

Now I won't ever have to dig out my old boxed copy of it to play it again.

Since I have a fairly big queue of games to play, I can wait for a sale, rather than paying the non-discounted release price. So.. wishlisted :)

Glad it's here.