OVERVIEW:
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Version 1.4 update is closer to being a new mod than an update, even the name no longer really applies. So quite a lot of the original information no longer applies.

With this version all of the clans/characters are playable and there are slight variations in the gameplay/quests based on that choice. There are 5 new character choices; Caitiff, City Gangrel, V5 thin-blood, period correct thin-blood, and clanless. And 3 clans from the original game; Malkavian, Nosferatu, and Ventrue.

MOD UNIQUE CHARACTERS:
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CAITIFF:
Your character is illegally sired and begins as an outcast without any knowledge of Kindred life other than what you get from LaCroix if you don't skip the opening cutscene or Jack if you don't skip the tutorial.

The character does not have any disciplines when first starting the game. When XP is available, any discipline listed on the character sheet can be purchased. It is more difficult to learn and master disciplines (more costly) but the character does start with the gift of Insight, which will remain constant throughout the game.

Your background is Caitiff and thin-blooded. As Caitiff you begin the game clanless and inherit no clan disciplines or clan weaknesses. As a thin-blood you have some qualities of an Inceptor and through that eventually develop a set of disciplines unique to yourself. Also as a thin-blood your Insight is expressed as +2 Inspection.

CITY GANGREL:
Very little changed from Gangrel except on the surface is a false veneer of civility and the street smarts to understand how to make the veneer convincing. Street smarts are represented as multiple permanent perks that the character begins the game with. As a counterpoint to starting with these perks the player selects one discipline at character creation and the other two can be purchased during the game.

V5 STYLE THIN-BLOODED:
As the name suggests, an adaptation of a character using V5 style thin-blooded alchemy, which is much more recent than the game. But it does produce an interesting character to play and honestly doesn't feel out of place in VTMB... IMO anyway.

There are a few unique things to be aware of playing this character. Almost the entire characters disciplines and unique traits are programmed in Python, outside of the C++ game engine. So it is not as robust as playing native characters. For example: avoid putting up disciplines while changing maps, or mid feeding, or at almost the same instant as starting dialog... all of these types of things are risking creating issues. Even in the original game these aren't great actions, but even more so with this character.

I have done the best job I could to trap and recover from these situations but there will always be some I can't or simply missed. In that case there is a discipline reset key, bound to the o key by default. In the majority of cases this will recover the character. But the best and most reasonable solution is to be aware and deliberate about starting and ending disciplines.

However, it is still possible for the character to become "stuck" in such a way that the only solution is to reload a save from before they became "stuck". This shouldn't be startling information as even without playing this character that is still valid information for this game: always have saves you can fall back to if the current one becomes corrupt.

It is up to the player, and very important, to recognize the difference between a character's disciplines being "stuck" and simply restricted. There are a very complicated set of rules that define how the various levels of Counterfeit and Profane Hieros Gamos interact and react to each other.

It is up to the player to experiment and work out these interactions as some of them are "blocking" actions and some are "enhancing" actions. It even matters in what order the disciplines and spells are applied whether the action is "blocking" or "enhancing". Hopefully it should be obvious but "blocking" actions prevent a spell or discipline from being put up until the "blocking" discipline or spell dissipates. In this case the character isn't "stuck" it is working as intended.

A "stuck" character is when all the disciplines and spells are down, or dissipated, and some discipline or spell that should be available is still not available for use. Or sometimes "stuck" manifests as the actual physical actions of the spell are dissipated but the spell is still showing on the HUD.

In my last three testing playthroughs using this character it did not become "stuck" one time. However, that could simply be coincidence, or me being more careful, or ... who knows. But it does give me confidence to release the character for public testing/playing.

Another quirk with this character is that it will not function, at all, unless the compatibility is correctly set, or in this case not set. This is covered in the installation instructions but is also checked and enforced during the tutorial. If it is not set correctly the tutorial will print out a message and end. To progress the player needs to ensure the compatibility is set correctly.

PERIOD CORRECT THIN-BLOODED:
Mostly the same but without the V5 unique disciplines. Does have a type of "alchemy" and has access to and uses the alchemy equipment, but in a slightly different way. Also has a weak form of Blood Buff. These changes are because I found it boring playing a character that has no use at all for blood.

CLANLESS:
During the character creation process the player picks disciplines to play from a pool of 6 possible choices. This is the only character that has the possibility of transforming. Their background story is that they want to become a "small town prince" and for that they will need to be accepted into the Ventrue clan.

However, this transform is optional not forced. The character can be played start to finish as clanless without ever being accepted by the Ventrue, it is the players choice.

One of the results from that is this character effectively takes up two character slots, clanless and Ventrue. However, Ventrue can still be played independent from clanless.

CONTENT:
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There are new items, quests, puzzles, restored stuff, and changed stuff, and v1.4 adds more of the same.

The mod is designed to have primarily "intellectual" content and not "superficial" content. What does that mean? There is a new rifle available to the player. If this was "superficial" content it would be added to the vendor list and all the player would have to do is visit a vendor and buy the rifle.

In the mod getting the rifle involves "thinking" about who would be the most likely NPC to offer a new rifle, "thinking" about what would likely "trigger" the quest start, getting the first quest part, which will trigger the second part, which will require more "thinking" about who to contact, etc, etc, etc.

For the rifle, just as in the original games quests, there are multiple ways to successfully "resolve" the rifle issue... and multiple ways to successfully "fail" the rifle issue. But "fail" means the same thing for the rifle as "fail" means for a Toreador "failing" to get the Skyline apartment. Nothing shows up in a log somewhere, the player just misses out on the content.

There are ten variations on the Ming Xiao battle section. The option a player gets is determined by the decisions they make starting as early as Santa Monica. If the player isn't paying attention, they will likely get a variation little, or possible not at all, different from the original. Also should add that not every character has ten variations, some only have three variations.

Another example: if the player saves the Nosferatu in Warrens 4 map he will team with the player and assist them going forward.

And another: in the Hallowbrook Hotel there are multiple shortcuts to be found... and multiple other "puzzles" that can be solved. But yet again, as in the original game design, the further into the game the more subtle and difficult the puzzles are to even "recognize" as puzzles, much less "solve".

Which is what makes this game so special in it's original form, the lack of compromise or dumbing down of the content.

Hopefully that give the player some feel for how the mod is designed and how I wish them to experience it. If a player isn't experimenting and looking for new things such as this, they will miss most of the mod content.

This is a very concious design choice on my part to keep the mod design similar and consistent with the original game design.

There isn't much hand holding, it is expected of the player to explore and discover things based on clues scattered about in the game, just as it is in the original game.

It is especially important to pay attention to quest log, ledgers, notes, journals, and NPC interactions as the clues to most content and quests are spread throughout those things. If a player isn't paying attention to those things they will find it difficult or impossible to understand what is going on.

INSTALLATION:
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This mod must be installed with Game Mod Loader support, which is needed to launch the mod. The base game must be patched to official 1.2 version.

All the digital distributions, Steam and GOG, already come pre-patched to Official 1.2 version and the GOG version also comes pre-patched with Game Mod Loader support. So GOG users are all set to install the mod without any changes to their files. Only players installing from original CDs will have version 1.1 and in that case installing a UP will automatically patch the game to Official version 1.2 at the time the UP is installed.

For non-GOG users the only way to get Game Mod Loader support is by installing some Unofficial Patch prior to installing this mod. The Game Mod Loader files are not being updated or supplied except with the Unofficial Patch. This mod neither needs or uses any of the Unofficial Patch game files, nor any outside game files. All it needs from the UP are the binary files to launch itself, the entire Unofficial_Patch directory can be deleted to save space and it will not impact this mod in any way.

Most users will already have a UP installed and they will not have to do anything further except ensure that this mod is installed into the correct location, which will be the same as where their UP is already installed. This mod will not interfere or interact with any other mod using the Game Mod Loader tool.

It will however interact negatively with mods that do not use the Game Mod Loader tool. These mods are either older mods such as the original Companion mod or simpler mods such as texture/model mods. I can't possibly cover every situation so I'll just make a blanket statement not to combine such mods with this mod unless you are sure of the implications and outcomes.

Any mod based on the UP, Clan Quest, Final Nights, Antitribu, etc will count as being a UP install for the purpose of launching this mod. This is because all modern, large, mods rely on Game Mod Loader support to launch. So if for example, Clan Quest can launch, this mod can also launch because the GML files are already installed and working or CQM would not launch.

Summary:
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1. Extract this mod's 7zip archive into some VTMB install directory (the Vampire.exe must be there) where some Unofficial Patch (UP, GOG already has UP) is already installed.

2. Run the "Undisciplined Caitiff Install" command it places there (by double clicking on it or RMB->Run as administrator if in restricted folders).

3. If the install finds conflicts answer the prompts to resolve them.

4. Launch the mod from the shortcut it creates.

With the instruction on the download page for this mod there is an image file showing the files and folders to verify the archive was correctly extracted. In addition there is a video file demonstrating installation.

Alternate manual method:
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Follow step 1. above but skip steps 2-4 and manually create the shortcut by hand (or by editing the Steam Launcher profile for the game) to add the -game Undisciplined_Caitiff parameter. You will also be responsible for manually locating conflicting files in the Vampire directory and deciding how to proceed, see Full Details below.

Extra Details:
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If you have save flies from playing an un-patched game it is a good idea to move these saves out of <VTMB_Install_Path>\Vampire The Masquerade - Bloodlines\Vampire\SAVE to someplace safe (if you want to use them at some future date), or delete them if not. Otherwise these old and incompatible saves will show up on this mods save menu screen and will cause massive bugs if accidentally loaded. The installer will automatically back up these files if it finds conflicts (and if you give it permission).

If you have a configuration file from playing an un-patched game that has many custom key bindings it is a good idea to leave it, otherwise you will have to re-enter the custom key bindings. If however the configuration file is mostly just the defaults the game picks then it is best to move it to a backup location or delete it.

The config file will be found in <VTMB_Install_Path>\Vampire The Masquerade - Bloodlines\Vampire\cfg\config.cfg. If you decide to keep your custom config.cfg file and experience trouble with this mod then check your custom config.cfg against the mod default.cfg in <VTMB_Install_Path>\Vampire The Masquerade - Bloodlines\Undisciplined_Caitiff\cfg\defualt.cfg.

TROUBLESHOOTING:
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This mod was developed and tested alongside a UP 10.8 Plus install. This mod doesn't need or use any Unofficial Patch files except the binary files necessary to successfully launch and play the mod on a modern computer/operating system. If newer Unofficial Patches change the way Game Mod Loader works it might be necessary to get an older version of the UP for this mod.

When you enter the Warrens and are faced with a gate that will not open it is not a bug it is a puzzle to solve.

If you are playing a V5 style thin-blood character and the Profane Hieros Gamos spell will not activate or the scroll wheel will not select any discipline: pressing the o key (by default) will reset the Profane Hieros Gamos discipline. Opening the console and entering resetPHG() will perform the same function.

If the issue is strictly with the scroll key function, setting up a discipline in the hotkey setup menu and then activating that option will restore the HUD to working.

Opening the console and entering noNPCArmors(1) will prevent the V5 Profane Hieros Gamos spell from using NPC armors. Entering noNPCArmors(0) will allow PHG to use NPC armors again.

If the character is stuck in some cutscene pressing the DEL key (by default) will clear the cutscene and allow the character to move again. Opening the console and entering resetPC() will have the same affect. Warning, don't use this for simple things like character stuck on objects or terrain, noclip function should be used for simple cases like that.

In terms of bugs/glitches there are some in what I considered non-essential areas. In contrast all gameplay bugs that I am aware of are fixed, for example the rotating blades in the Fu-Syndicate do not bug out and stop rotating when loading from a save file, the Prophet in Santa Monica, etc, etc,

However, what some people might consider bugs I retained as I do not consider them so and actually approve of them. An example is multiply spawning enemies in some places. This is a concious design choice consistent with the rest of the base game. As I have continued to work on this mod, and the sister Standard Mod Patch, this opinion has become even more firmly confirmed in my mind.

GAMEPLAY:
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Don't expect this to follow/play as a UP, doing so is a very poor choice for playing this mod. This mod is based off the original Official 1.2 version of the game which is very different from the UP Basic patch in several important and significant ways. And the mod itself adds it's own unique aspects, which also follow the design characteristics of the original game and not those of the UP.

There are lots of exploits and other what I consider non-essential items I do not address. If a player wants to exploit the game I think they should be free to do so. I did make some programming fixes and some programming enhancements that as a side effect might remove some exploit. But the reason for the change was the fix or improvement not to "plug" the exploit.

Some quests from the base game are changed in the way they are played out or the rewards you receive but the player should not be caught off guard if paying attention. Paying attention means listening to NPC dialogue, reading items you pick up, and reading the quest log.

Because listening to NPCs and paying attention is so important it is highly recommended to not play with NPC subtitles enabled. They will only distract you, not help you because you won't have any walkthroughs or guides to fall back on if not paying attention and understanding what is happening. For non-english speaking persons this could be problematic. However, not more problematic than playing the original game, as a lot of information is in slang and idioms where the meaning is far different from what the literal words suggest.

CREDITS:
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These are listed in a separate UCcredits.txt file.