You don't have to have one ounce of scripting or modelling ability to be an ST.

There will plenty of NPC models shipping with the game that the ST can speak through and control directly. There will also be plenty of locations in the game to get mileage from (in addition, I think level design will be the first part of modifying Redemption that people jump into - it's the most accessible).

The ST will be able to drop enemies at will and let their AI take over (and of course the ST can always simply reuse the enemy placement in levels that are already in the game or that others create). You don't need to script EVERYTHING in the game. Enemy AI can be tweaked and changed fairly easily as well, but there is no need to unless you want something different or very specific.

So, in a nutshell, an ST can make it as simple or as complex as they need it to be. Obviously there will be ST's who will want to go all out and create an entirely new chronicle with new locations and new characters, but there will most likely be just as many or more who can craft an excellent NEW story without touching a script or Embrace and just using the models and locations that ship with the game.

The Vault Network has posted the second in their series of V:tMR designer diaries. In this edition, Rob Huebner, lead programmer of Vamp, talks about the development of the game (and games in general) from the developer standpoint. He discusses the beginnings of Vampire, and talks at length about the amount of work that goes into the game engines, and that doesn't just mean the graphics engine. Here's a snippet:

But at the core of all this licensed technology, the basic guts of the game is something we created entirely in-house. When we started the project, we looked around at what was available for licensing, but most of the really state-of-the-art engines were specifically designed for action games or other first-person situations. We knew we wanted to design a game that combined some of the core technologies found in these games, but with an underlying heart that was classic RPG. Even today, there really isn't a generally licensable RPG engine, especially one that would fit our unique design goals. So that meant sitting down, digging in, and starting from scratch.

Doh   Update by Slade
I have been having some connection problems as of late but everything seems to be resolved right now and updates should resume, also don't hesitate to send in V:tMR news if you got it.

November 12, 1999

Codex Info   Update by Kathode
Brent McLeod, Level Designer for V:tMR, made a post to the Nihilistic boards with more info on the scripting language used in the game and accessible to players.

Codex, the games scripting language is what you're referring to when you mention source code. The main difference with the source code for Half-Life that you mentioned is that rather than use Java they chose to use C (C++?) for their game logic. The code that is released for Half-Life isn't the actual game engine source, just the game logic (AI, weapon behavior, etc..). So where they have C source and .dll's, we have .java source and .class files. The control you have in Codex is essentially the same...you can do scripted events, new weapons, new items or disciplines, etc... etc... The language is very powerful.

November 11, 1999

Activision Site Update!   Update by Kathode
The Activision V:tMR site has been updated with a new letter from Lucita!!! Also included are some new screenshots and a new mp3 featuring some hilarious dialog from the bartender.

November 10, 1999

Trailer Info   Update by Kathode
Rob Huebner, Lead Programmer for V:tMR, updated his .plan file with a clarification of the movie file that has been posted here and around the web.

We did the trailer because we use Maya and we think its awesome for games,not because they paid us for it in any way. Well, I think they might havebought lunch that day.. :)

Most of the game footage in the video is pretty outdated now, even thoughthe video just started making the rounds on the net (it was shown at Siggraphand released on a Maya demo CD quite a while back).

Last we heard, the folks at Activision are working on a 'real' trailer for the game based on a mucn more recent build for release to the net soon. So if you're looking for more up-to-date, game-focused footage, keep a lookoutfor it.

J. Heinecke, Brand Manager for Activision, also made the announcement on the Nihilistic boards that a new letter will be up on the Activision V:tMR page "very soon" and a new .avi should be out sometime next week. I can't wait!