Hopes and Concerns for Bloodlines 2?

It is understandably quite easy to believe that modders will flock to the modding scene of essentially any RPG, particularly if it's being titled as a "sequel" to a game that was renown for it's quality of narrative and aesthetic.

Unfortunately, what is often missed in such an assumption first and foremost, (and this is likewise the most crucial part of the matter), is that there even is indeed a sufficiently substantial number of interested, or potentially interested modders existing on the internet altogether who will endeavor to begin significant and time-consuming modding projects for a game being released under such a niche IP. The World of Darkness retains only a very minimally-sized fandom, which is to be expected for a franchise that does not rely on a mass appeal that will draw in wider audiences, and this reflects in the scale of the modding community for both Bloodlines and Redemption, which has always been quite small. In addition to this, modding to any serious extent, especially the extent that it could prolong the life and entertainment value of an entire video game requires extreme discipline and dedication, which is, perhaps unsurprisingly, already immensely rare amongst the modding scene of any game. Talented and dedicated modders should be considered a rare and unusual phenomenon rather than a normal, which is a fact that I can attest to rather personally, having been the lead developer of a total conversion mod for a popular RTS title for the past six years.

If you consider the fact that the World of Darkness fanbase is already quite meager, and that only a fraction of that fanbase had any interest in the Hardsuit Labs version of Bloodlines: 2 to begin with, and that an even smaller fraction of that fanbase is still interested in Bloodlines: 2 after years of disappointment and development hell, and that only a tiny fraction of those fans possess experience in modding or developing games on Unreal Engine 4/5 and that essentially only a handful of individuals (being exceedingly generous), would then possess both the drive and the desire to dedicate their limited free time towards developing any mods for the game, you realize that the odds of even a single one of those individuals being a disciplined, knowledgeable and dedicated modder with passion for Bloodlines: 2 strong enough to the extent that they would be willing to dedicate years towards developing a mod that would drastically improve the experience of the game are virtually impossible.

Are we certain that the game would even inspire the necessary dedication and passion in the first place? It is almost undeniable that the game will fall short of it's predecessor on all accounts save for it's visuals and graphic quality (although the facial animations seem to be substantially more lifeless than those of Bloodlines), and Bloodlines itself, despite it's status as a cult classic, would be utterly dead in regards to modding on any notable scale were it not for the passion and devotion of Wesp5 and a tiny handful of other talented individuals throughout the prior twenty years.

A game that attracts dedicated modders is typically at the very least a game with a memorable story narrative, a game that is widely socially praised, and most importantly, a game that inspires creativity, all of which TCR's Bloodlines: 2 is rather unlikely to possess logically deducing from every fact surrounding the game thus far. It is certainly likely that Hardsuit Labs' Bloodlines: 2 would have presented us with a relatively memorable narrative and story with decent writing overall quality as a result of Brian Mitsoda's participation (he was Bloodlines' lead writer as you may know), but TCR's Bloodlines: 2 was written entirely from scratch by amateur writers who did not even write for any of TCR's previous games, all of which were walking simulators released under the studio's prior incarnation.

We cannot even be certain that the game will be released in a state that is relatively easily moddable altogether and not in a state that is rife with bugs and technical limitations which will make modding both untenable and highly unstable despite being an Unreal Engine title. Considering the release time table and the very limited experience of the Chinese Room's current development team, it is highly unlikely that the game will be released with modding in mind; the Chinese Room is under pressure to release the game as soon as can be reasonably managed in order to recoup Paradox's years of losses on funding it's development under Hardsuit Labs.

I am expecting TCR's Bloodlines: 2 to perhaps receive a Thomas the Tank Engine mod, a few texture mods, a few bug fixing mods, some font mods, a few additional outfit and weapon mods (assuming weapons exist in the game), and internal stat altering mods, but to expect anything else, nevermind total conversions or anything such as the Unofficial Patch, would be extraordinarily unrealistically optimistic to say the very least.

I'd really love to learn more about your mod. What game is it for?

Game isn't out so wait to see.

That would make me a...well...it might not be the most family-friendly term to write here.

VTMB2 will be a 3/10, it's being developed by Paradox and the plot revolves around being a voiced Elder vampire. I didn't have much hope for the game considering the original plot involved being a Mary Sue thinblood that dee-lab-burr-ised their way into vamphood. If they manage to pull it off, I'll lament not buying a lottery ticket.