The True Patch is a series of unofficial patches for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines created and maintained by Tessera. Unlike the Unofficial Patch it officially follows a strict policy of only fixing bugs and the most obvious shortcomings in the gameplay.
Description
The True Patch is often referred to by Tessera as a "repair patch" due to its strict focus on fixing bugs and completing only the content which was shipped in a broken state rather than completely removed from the release version. While not nearly as widespread as the Unofficial patch it is comparably popular.
Background
The True Patch originated from Tessera's frustration with the nature of many changes in the Unofficial Patch which according to him represent the creative vision of the Unofficial Patch team rather than Troika Games, the game's original developers. He considers the Unofficial Patch a mod rather than an actual patch and thus started his own patch which he considers a "true patch" as the name implies.
Controversy
Tessera has been accused of taking credit for the work of the people behind the Unofficial Patch as the True Patch allegedly contains some fixes from the Unofficial Patch. Some time after the True Patch had been introduced the Unofficial Patch team reacted to accusations of making too large alterations to the game and introduced two separate versions of their patch, "basic" and "Plus", "basic" being the version targeted at purists with a minimal amount of alterations and a focus on fixes.
News and Discussions
Tessera supports, discusses and announces new versions of the True Patch on the Tessmage Forums.