CounterBite: Bloodlines Multiplayer Design

tim-cain vampire-bloodlines multiplayer cut-content game-design counter-strike

Abstract

Problem: Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines shipped as a single-player-only game, but what was the multiplayer mode that Troika designed but never implemented?

Approach: Tim Cain located the original design document (Chapter 9 of the Bloodlines design doc, dated September 2003) and reads through it on his YouTube channel, explaining each system.

Findings: "CounterBite" was a fully designed Counter-Strike-style team multiplayer mode featuring vampires vs. hunters, four game scenarios, a Numina faith-power system for human players, Masquerade enforcement mechanics, and an economy/progression system — all of which was cut when Activision pulled multiplayer away from Troika.

Key insight: CounterBite represents a rare case of a complete game design that was never implemented at all — not merely cut content, but an entire multiplayer framework that existed only on paper.

1. Background

Tim Cain was not on the Bloodlines team for the first two years of development. The original Bloodlines design for Activision, using Valve's Source engine, included a multiplayer mode as part of the plan. When Activision grew concerned about the scope of the single-player game, they pulled the multiplayer component from Troika and gave it to another team (possibly in-house at Activision, possibly external). That team created a completely new design but didn't get very far — the effort was eventually cancelled, and Bloodlines shipped as single-player only.

Tim eventually found Troika's original multiplayer design document. He had trouble locating it because it wasn't called "CounterBite" — that was his informal name for it. In the document it's simply labeled "Multiplayer" and appears as Chapter 9 of the Vampire Bloodlines design document, dated September 2003. Some code artifacts existed (UI elements for dialogue and haggling), but the mode was never built.

2. Core Design Philosophy

From the design document: the multiplayer experience was designed to be entirely unique and separate from the single-player game, intended to appeal to a wider market and leverage the strengths of Valve's engine. The mode was explicitly modeled after Counter-Strike-style cooperative team combat.

Key design pillars:

  • Two competing teams per match
  • Players choose to play as vampires (any of the seven clans from single-player) or humans (Society of Leopold)
  • 5-minute rounds with money earned based on performance
  • Money spent on armor, weapons, and ammo between rounds
  • Experience points awarded at map rotation for character development
  • Maps set at least partially in populated areas, making Masquerade enforcement a core mechanic — breaking the Masquerade costs points

3. Four Game Scenarios

3.1. Team Elimination

A traditional clan war mode. The round ends when all members of one team are eliminated. Points awarded based on kill-to-death ratio and Masquerade infractions.

3.2. Blood Hunt

The highest-rated character is marked as "the Chosen" and placed at the opposite end of the map from everyone else. Their objective: escape to one of three possible exits (e.g., reach the subway). Two opposing teams start on the other side with instructions to kill the blood-hunted player. Maximum points for killing the hunted, but points also given for killing opposing team members. Round ends when the hunted escapes or is killed.

3.3. Kine

Each team has five human NPCs ("kine") they must protect. The goal is to capture the opposing team's kine and return them to your Haven or Safe House. Kine can be captured multiple times per round. Bonuses given for each kine in your team's Haven on top of usual kill points. Round ends after 5 minutes or when a team is eliminated.

3.4. Embrace

Vampires vs. Society of Leopold only. Three humans have been chosen to receive the Embrace, and the Society has sworn to protect them. The vampires' goal is to embrace all the humans. Once embraced (completely drained), a human falls to the ground, and after 45 seconds rises as a vampire fighting for the vampire team. The Society of Leopold has special potions that can counteract the Embrace — but only during the 45-second window before the human rises. Round ends when time expires, two humans have been embraced, or one team is eliminated.

4. Numina: The Hunter's Power System

Since mortals can't purchase vampire disciplines, human hunters were given Numina — holy powers fueled by Faith. Human players start with 15 Faith points, replenished by praying at fixed crucifixes placed throughout the level. Praying leaves the character vulnerable (similar to vampires feeding), with the camera jumping from the body during the act.

Four Numina abilities were defined:

  • Shield of Faith — Each Faith point spent gives +1 to soak (max 5) for 5 seconds. Requires holding up a crucifix (1 second to raise, 1 additional second per point, 1 second to put away)
  • Divine Vision — See auras of all creatures, living and undead. Each level increases visual range by 5 yards
  • Holy Light — Flash of light that blinds undead and causes vampires to frenzy. Each level increases area of effect by 10 yards
  • Mind Shield — Fortifies the caster's mind against vampire mental attacks and mind control

5. Economy and Progression

  • Players start with 1,000 points
  • At round end: $500 base award, plus $100 per point earned that round
  • Comeback mechanic: If a team loses twice, they receive an additional $500 per round until they win (capped at $1,500 per player to prevent hoarding)
  • Points awarded/subtracted for: eliminating enemies, breaking the Masquerade, killing innocents, killing the blood-hunted, blood hunter escapes, embracing targets, kine captured, and more
  • At map rotation (default: every 4 rounds, configurable up to 12), remaining money converts to experience points with 1 minute to adjust character stats

6. Game Flow and Server Configuration

  • Grace period: Players frozen at round start, can purchase equipment but cannot move
  • Rounds last 5 minutes; if no winner, outcome depends on scenario-specific tiebreaker rules
  • Dead players enter observer mode with three options: Ghost mode (free movement), Locked Chase Cam (follow a chosen player), and Freelook Chase Cam (orbit around a chosen player)
  • Late joiners placed into observer mode until next round
  • Team colors configurable (default red/blue), with colorblind options planned
  • Full server settings including map lists, map cycles, and C-vars for control

7. Multiplayer Deviations

The document included a section on how multiplayer rules would differ from single-player. The key example: Celerity (the speed discipline). In single-player, Celerity was represented as slowing down the world. In multiplayer, it would instead speed up the player — with a server option to disable Celerity entirely, since the designers weren't sure how well accelerated movement would play in competitive multiplayer.

8. Tim Cain's Reflections

Tim notes that most or all of the CounterBite design was not his work — he believes his only contribution was the "CounterBite" name, which never appeared in the actual document and was never used officially. The document is dated September 2003, around the time he switched from working on Temple of Elemental Evil onto Bloodlines.

He emphasizes this is more than typical cut content — it's a complete design that was never implemented at all, existing only as a design document. Some UI code was found in the Bloodlines codebase (for dialogue and haggling systems), but the multiplayer mode itself was never created.

Source: CounterBite: Bloodlines Multiplayer Design — Tim Cain's YouTube channel

9. References