Part 71: Update LIV - Angst 'em Up

Update LIV - Angst 'em Up



♪ BGM: Asgar's Castle - blood009.mid ♫

Alright, so after an uneventful trip back from the pyramid (which involved simply using a Retreat Potion), it's once again time to read some letters! Don't worry about us apparently falling apart or something, we've got nothing better to do anyway.

i don't wanna wait anymore for vd since there hasn't been any news but when the trailer came I just want it more! GO MAKE IT!^^
No, please not another beating! I'm working, I'm WORKIIIIIIIIIING!

When I was playing the version of the VD2 demo, a window showed up with the guest roles and it said the name JAYJAY (these are my initials) Although I'm an enthusiastic fan of VD1 and I was on https://www.vampiresdawn.de very often, I thought you meant me at first. But I don't recall ever saying my name, or ever registering. So now I wanted to ask you wether you were referring to me.
No comment.

hhi marlex i have also registered in the forum as furst dracul just something i wanted to say !
Please don't copy this guy, you guys don't all have to tell me this! I'll see you in the forum, after all

The looooooooooong waiting game: We're all waiting anxiously, for Vd2 honestly, and we're all tired of waiting, we all want it with breath bating, we've been waiting for so long, can't stay forever that strong. The waiting time stretching so far, so we're taking an oath as we are, that we'll always be nice and wait for VD2 and its release date.
I was very delighted by this

In my class, we opened a Marlex fan club. We'll soon have our first meeting, and we also made our own T-shirts. I'm sending you a picture maybe soon.
Unfortunately, I still have no picture!

What's going on where is my GAME!!!!!!!!!
Oh no, please, not another one who keeps whipping me!

How's the beta going? **** and I are currently planning to make a vampires game with graphics of most strategy games, (like empire earth) then there are going to be updates to 2d, 3d, and online multiplayer! the only problem: we need somebody who knows their way around such programs for programming games!
No, I'm sorry, I'm simply too busy as it is...

i am a huge fan of VD and i was thinking of something. would you be interested in making a new RPG after you're done with VD2? Story etc. I can provide, but the problem is, I'm not very good with the RPG Maker, that's why I'm asking if you're interested...
See, what did I say? At least, from time to time, I'm even getting a credit entry for the game I am making...

You monster you crazy FREAK!!!!!!!!!!!! That's animal abuse what you're doing to me^^ I'm slowly turning insane I have played through the VD2 demo for the 7th time now and have found every secret, but what am I gonna do now I'm getting crazy because of all the screenshots. I'm about to snap please tell me how much longer VD2 will take so I don't have to stare at the screenshots all the time.
HARHARHAR. I am a mean little sadist, and I love to torture!

And the woman in Lommbard who you can send to Shannar!!! Is is intentional that you can convert her as often as you want?
Yes, it is And it is also intentional that the final boss of VD2 is unbeatable

Hey Marlex, I'm sure my name won't ring any bells with you but that is not very important. I am the most enthusastic player of VD that ever was. If somebody else tells you that they are, don't believe them one word!!!!!!!!!!!! It took me several months to find out your @-addy, that's not a lie. I want to entrust something to you: not treat me like your boring everyday fan of your game. Please don't try to shake me off. when my time has come, I will come back to you. it is my duty to find out with the most possible clarity where you're gaining your vampiric knowledge from. A big part of the knowledge you implemented into the game comes fairly close to reality. everyone who shares the same disposition as my humble self has only been seven times in his life the permission of the kains children to approach the son of the earthly light in any shape or form. that's why I'm asking for your understanding and your power to grant me this grace. Also, I need two game tips from you that have pretty high relevanse for me personally and my advancement in the game (currently I have valnar, asgar and alaine at level 35): where can i find the entrance to the cave on the jungle island? where is abraxas' tower? It would be more than pleasant if you are able to answer this message quickly and precisely! it lies in your power alone to grant me the grace of your attention...
Hm, I'm never heard of hte 7 rule, but I find the discrepancy between the first and second part of the mail to be quite interesting still. Sometimes I wonder if I hadn't gone too far with Vampires Dawn...

For reference: No, this doesn't make much more sense in the German original. Poor fucking bastard who had to try to translate that.

Hello Alexander Koooooooooooch I have a completely new idea. How about a TOTALLY new and TOTALLY awesome and TOTALLY nonsensical... Vampires Dawn clone. I also have some suggestions for the title like: "Vampires Porn" xD or "Not another Vampire Game" or "Dawn of the Undead Junkies" or (the best) The (not quite fresh and stinking, with vampire teeth decorated) Bread. If you weren't able to read up to this point because it became too dumb to you and you're thinking I'm just a fat nerd without a rl (real life), then you're somewhat correct. If you don't like my ideas ([or find them funny], im sure of it), write me back. my e-mail is "THERE" *pointing*. If you like these ideas... then you are a PORN COLLECTOR!
Give me the story, I'll make the game

Christ.

ok don't mention it aftre all you sit down and make such an awesome rpg like vd 1 and soon there will be 2 as well you're already working on it but then there will be an even better game man that's what i call rad.
Thank you, I'm always trying to achieve absolute radness...

Hi Marlex, since I like the story of VampiresDawn so much, I wanted to write a theater play of it. The biggest blasphemy about this, however, is that it'll be performed in the church.
I haven't heard anything more of this, unfortunately, but I hope it was a total success

i have a question are you the real marlex (alexander koch) if yes please write me back i have questions about vd if you have the time that is
Hm, aside from the fact that EVERY fake Marlex can write back "Yes, I am", I must say that I am the wrong Marlex. And this is not my game. It's actually made by Marlex. Yes, I am only a fake Marlex. The real Marlex is over there. Next to the other fake Marlex. Regards to all Marlex fakes! Especially the one at Knuddels!

OK, that's enough weirdness for now. Let's actually check out this weird shit we caught in the pyramid.



First stop, getting a new werewolf.



Now, we're inflicted with the Decay status. This status will constantly re-inflict itself until we get rid of it permanently. It does 1% of your max HP in damage in battle. It also does 10 HP of damage every five seconds when not in battle. It's not a big deal, but you can not get rid of it except by following the main plot. So you should probably be ready to deal with it when you do the pyramid, which we are. Anyway, it's time for me to make the long trip to the magic chamber again.



On the way, we see that Asgar has set up the gravestone from Asran here in the courtyard.



Looks like a page from a book...
What's written on it?
You won't believe this, but it says "Treatment of magical poisoning: HAM LOS IHM DAR KOL. Requirement is the possession of a Life Rune."
I don't want to say anything, but this is TOO suspect!
Who might have placed this page here? Jinnai?
Hm, no idea. But surely this piece of paper didn't get here on its own.
And as my intuition tells me, it probably tells us WHERE we can find a Life Rune, too...
Yes, indeed. Scribbled on the backside is: "Temple of the Healers, north of Castle Horan."
Do you also feel like a puppet in a bad play? This whole thing is completely fishy!
Whatever it is what's going on here, we need to be careful.
Apparently, someone wants us to visit that temple.
Then we'll play along. It seems we don't have a choice anyway.
I finally want answers...

Well, we have our destination, so let's head out!



♪ BGM: A Truth Revealed - WraithTouch.mid ♫

Now, we've already been here with Nyria. A loooooong time ago.



♪ BGM: Temple Mountains - Naatktha.mid ♫

And now we get to go through that shit again, complete with enemies that don't even remotely threaten us. Let's skip that shit.



♪ BGM: The Temple - ELEGY.mid ♫

So about five minutes later, we make it to the temple.



A group of cannibals, isn't it obvious!?
Oh my God! Brethren, these are creatures of the night! Vampires! The prophet has warned us! We will eliminate them!
Come here, I need BLOOD!

You know, this could have set up an interesting mystery with "who is the prophet if he knows about vampires, which really didn't exist in this world yet", but alas, we already totally know that Jinnai is the prophet. It is kind of interesting that to the player, Jinnai is so incredibly obviously suspicious as fuck on account of playing like three different games at the same time, but at the same time, you have absolutely no idea what he's actually getting at with all this shit.



And thus we get to beat up the healers. They're actually not that much of a threat. Basically, Asgar and Valnar just spam Ultima and everything dies in about three rounds with the werewolf dropping 750 damage crits on the guys (which is about 50% of their health).



With them beaten, it's time for more beheadings, but this time Valnar adds a backhanding to his list of tricks.

Where is the life rune!?
Life rune!? I don't know anything about a life rune...
Wrong answer!



Nice cut, Valnar. I wouldn't have expected that from you.
You shouldn't have killed him so quickly, though. Maybe he still knew something.
Come, we'll search for the life rune.
Provided that there really is one here.
What did he mean by "prophet"? And how was he or she able to warn them about us?

Well, let's head downstairs and check out the loot the healers left for us.



Looks like a lot of neat shit! The right chest has 11000 Filar for us.



And it's just lying around here like that? Hardly a coincidence...
Someone knew we would be coming here because that someone knew that we needed a life rune.
All right, whoever it was, they achieved their goal; we are here and we found the rune.
Then cast the spell quickly, Valnar! I hate this poisoning!
Yes, let's get rid of this disease! All right, then: HAM LOS IHM DAR KOL!



We get a whole bunch of yellow flashes...



...and then black. When we fade back in...



♪ BGM: Mystery Of The Mind - magischerkristall.mid ♫

...we're, well, here. Wherever "here" is.

Asgar? Alaine? Where are you? What's going on here?



Oh, hey, blood text! Old buddy, old pal, how ya been? Our old friend gives us some more insight, like:

LOST
COLD
THOUGHTS
MEMORIES
WITHOUT HOPE

I have to get out of here!

Sounds like a plan. So, where are we?



Well, in some weird ass place, that's where we are. Let's walk around and see what's what.



What sort of game is being played here?

Right, so that GIF basically shows us everything we need to know about this area.

1) There will be ghostly visions.
2) There will be weird crystal things blocking our path.
3) There will be switches that remove those crystal things.

This will go on for a while, so strap in, folks.



Basically, every time we approach a new switch, we get to see a new vision, the vision does something, then disappears, then Valnar gets to angst over things. We also get some visions inbetween switches. Fun stuff.

I love you, Valnar!
I love you, Aysha! From the very first moment.

Gah! Man, Valnar's face just looks weird in non-vampire form now.

I want to always be by your side! For... all eternity...

Damn it, what is this here? Is this a bad joke?



...



But then the Elras just disappears.

Am I going completely crazy now? Was Asgar right? Have I fallen into madness now completely?



A powerful vampire! And you're showing your gratitude by running away like a small child? Pathetic, Valnar, pathetic!

Valnar turns around.

But...

And then the vision of Asgar disappears.

I need to get a grip. This here isn't real!



Not for a single moment have I ever really loved you! You were a wretch! Just a temporary refuge from Abraxas, that defiler of my pride!

...

As a side note, the path at this point is completely linear. You can't get lost right now. Well, I mean, you can, but you'd have to try really hard. There's only one path to a switch and one path that is blocked off that will open up when you hit the switch.



Valnar, how could you disappoint me so much!? I loved you!
I never disappointed you! Never!
Oh, yes, you did! And how you disappointed me! Your existence is so pathetic! I love Asgar! I'm going to stay with him for all eternity! I don't love you anymore!
DISAPPEAR FROM MY LIFE!
Wait, this cannot be! This is a lie!
I love you! Don't leave me alone!

But the vision of Alaine just disappears.

...

Man, Valnar, it's been like a minute since "I need to get a grip, this isn't real". Come on now.



That is the most wonderful thing you could have said to me, Aysha!



Do I mean nothing to you anymore!?
Alaine?
Go away, you bitch! Valnar is mine! He hates you! He only wants me!
Tell me that's not true! Valnar!?
I...

How can this be? A scene like that could never happen! Aysha was dead before I got together with Alaine.
Dead... she was dead. What kind of creature am I!? Is Alaine just a replacement for Aysha? Have I in truth never really stopped loving Aysha?



You are despicable and worthless! Get out of my sight!

No, that's not true! She had left you because YOU were the one who became a bastard!



I went through the trouble to pretty myself up for you! So that you will love me even more!

You only used me! That's why I killed you! Throwing you into the lava!
Oh my God! That's why I killed her! Because she didn't love me! How can something like that be a reason to kill someone? I really am worthless... I am a... MONSTER!

Yeah, don't let get facts like "she was working for the guy that wanted to murder all vampires and she actively tried to murder you" get in the way of your angst, Valnar.



I can't take this any longer! I need to finally get out of here!



I need you! I love you! I want you!
You're right! I was wrong about Valnar! He deceived and betrayed me!
He is a worthless piece of crap! He should rot in hell!
You are much better than him! Let us forget the past and try a fresh start.

No, Alaine would never do that! NEVER!



And thus, we enter the hell zone. This bottom left corner of the map is only this way if you have the option for many puzzles enabled, and it's an actually complex set of switches you need to hit in the right order in order to proceed. I had a guide, but it wasn't 100% accurate and I ended up wandering around confused as all hell for a good amount of time. However, eventually, we make it through. Don't ask me to tell you how I got through, by the way. I can't remember and I probably couldn't figure it out based on the footage with the amount of times I end up hitting switches several times. This part just sucks. At least there's no encounters here.



black hole in her sweet past! She will forever stay by my side from now on! The way I know you, you're going to kill yourself now. And you know what? I like that! Just suffer as a Blood Spirit. You deserve it!

Harsh.

I hate him...



daughter Jayna! Nothing I had ever wished more!
Yes, it couldn't be better! It was a good decision back then to kill Valnar! He was truly a worm...



fun with it for a bit.

All of it, LIES! Alaine would never do something like that to me!

Anyway, with that, we're on to the top left area and back to the linearity.



You are worthless! A failure! I have a new father! A strong father! Asgar is much better than you are ever going to be!

Jayna!

Astute fucking observation, Valnar.



Don't you realize how much you have disrupted our happiness? Worthless trash!
We hate you! GO AWAY!

...



Now, it looks like we've made it to the end of our little journey.



And we get a free save, which is great, because I didn't totally just burn a save stone like six steps beforehand.



What is this here? Who are you, and what are you doing here?
I'm wondering what YOU are doing here. I find it to be inexplicable how you can even be here. But you are never going to destroy me! And now... DIE!
Wait a minute...



FUCK.

Fucking game scaring the shit out of me again. I thought I was past that error, but alas, it wasn't to be. Thankfully, it doesn't happen the second time and we go into battle proper.



♪ BGM: Battle In The Center Of The Mind - FightForFreedom.mid ♫

Surprise boss fight with unique and neat boss music!

Anyway, THIS is what I was preparing for by giving Valnar all those spells. This is a battle you can actually lose, and I don't want to lose it, since that has a particular impact down the line I don't want at all. So let's beat this guy into a pulp.

????:

Recommended level: N/A

HP: 3000
BP: 0
Attack: 500
Defense: 450
Intelligence: 10
Agility: 250

Behavior List:

- Attack
- Tri-Elemental (Fire, ice and light elemental spell, does base 300 damage)
- Shadows of Nihil (Shadow elemental spell, does base 350 damage)
- Attack

This guy is a tough cookie. His spells do about 150 damage to Valnar, which can very much whittle down your health fairly well.



We take Gnome's Compensation for a spin, and like I said, it doesn't really work as probably intended because it doesn't drain the enemy's attack power, just reduces it. However, that's good enough for me.



Because it means 50% of his behavior list is basically worthless now. We spam Tornado, which does about 500 damage, but we actually have to use some healing items here to regain blood points, since the spell chews through them like nobody's business (Tornado costs 112 BP a pop to cast). We even use a healing potion when Valnar gets down to about 700 HP, just in case.



And eventually, this guy goes down.



♪ BGM: Mystery Of The Mind - magischerkristall.mid ♫

I am immortal!



Whoaaaaaaa...



♪ BGM: The Temple - ELEGY.mid ♫

He's finally woken up!
What happened?
You suddenly fainted like a little girl!
It seems the spell was a little too much for you.
No wonder, as a vampire of the third generation...
Are you all right?
Yes, I think so. And you two?
Couldn't be better. The magical poisoning is gone!
I also feel considerably better.
All right. Now that we are all somewhat healthy again, we can go back to taking care of more important things again.



After all, we have defeated all those healers. Then it's only fair if we also claim our reward, or what do you think?
It definitely can't hurt.



So yeah, the magic key we found AGES ago fits in here.

Perfect!
What's inside!?
Hm, looks like a book...
Well, I'm sick and tired of books right now!
Psst, Asgar! All right, what's this book about, Valnar?
Looks like a chronicle. It says something here about how the Clan of Holy Warriors was founded. Apparently it was done to overcome the growing threat of the Elras and Pharaoh Ustra. It seems that both the Elras and Pharaoh Ustra had been abusing and enslaving humans in order to increase their powers. While the Elras brutally slaughtered many humans, Ustra made them do harsh slave labor in order to make them build his pyramid. For the protection of humanity, several castles were constructed, which were then occupied by soldiers in order to protect the population. If one town got attacked, the soldiers swarmed out of their castles to the respective town and drove off the invaders. Hm, it says something here about how the Clan of Holy Warriors got possession of the stone fragments. According to this book, the scouts of the Clan stumbled upon a clue that Pharaoh Ustra wanted to create a stone tablet that he apparently wanted to use to destroy the world. But the Clan interfered...



♪ BGM: The Dark Lord Exdea- ...Elras - death.mid ♫

Oh, for fuck's sake. This scene again.

Never before was I so close to my goal... endless power! The destruction of the Elras! And my rule over this world!
You will never use that spell!
What was that? Who dares?



We, the brave warriors of the Clan of Holy Warriors!
You really dare to do this? I have killed dozens of Elras, and you miserable wretches are bothering me at this very moment? The moment of my triumph!? Flee, or this will be your end!
Do not hesitate, Agaleo! Attack!
You pitiful wretches! Die!
Careful, he's attacking!





Curse you!



ATTACK!



ARRRRRRR...





ROAAAAARRRRR...



NOW, AGALEO!



AAAAAAARRRRRGH...



DIE, YOU HELLISH CREATURE!
NOOOOOOOOOOO!



We did it! He is dead!
AGALEO!
Aaron... this spell must never... be cast... destroy... the stone tablet... don't let my death... be in vain...
Hang on! You can't die now! Not in the moment of our victory.
Destroy... the stone tablet... and take... care of my son Asmos... teach him what you... have taught me... make a... good warrior out of him!
Agaleo!
...



I genuinely don't know if we've seen this variant before, or if we didn't, what exactly is different. Have we not had the combination of the Clan fighting against Ustra with Agaleo? Was the Clan fighting the Elras when we saw Agaleo kick the bucket the first time? This constant retelling of the same story is getting confusing.



♪ BGM: The Temple - ELEGY.mid ♫

I guess this is supposed to be the key information we're supposed to take away from this version.

Apparently so. Provided that the writer of this book is correct.
Is there a name written somewhere?
Hm, yes, here it is: "Sir Aaron".
Doesn't ring a bell...
Same here...
It does also say something about a secret hideout of the Clan.
A secret hideout?
Yes, not far in the southwest, there is a cave that serves as a secret hideout of the Clan.
Hmmm... sounds promising! That's probably the place where all the leaders of the Clan hide! We will obliterate them!
Not far in the southwest? Well, it can't be that hard to find the cave.
So what are we waiting for? My sabre wants to taste blood!

Alright, that'll do it for this time. Next time, we'll go and check out the Clan's hideout, though we already know what awaits us in there.