NBlood - Blood port based off EDuke32

[Nash]

Official links:

https://nukeykt.retrohost.net/
https://github.com/nukeykt/NBlood

https://forums.duke4.net/topic/10456-re ... n-eduke32/

According to the post:

Hi there :)
After months of hard working NBlood is finally ready to be released.
NBlood is a Blood port based on EDuke32.
Some features i'd like to highlight:
-High accuracy. NBlood can play 1.21 internal demos accurately
-Multiplayer(not quite stable atm)
-Software & OpenGL(polymost) renderers are available
-CD audio, accurate FM OPL3(SB/AdLib) emulation
-DEF/HRP support

[grouchbag]

Yup, read that and downloaded. I'm going to try it this weekend , I hope. Sounds pretty good.

[Nash]

I just gave this a whirl. It is a DAMN GOOD Blood port. VERY optimized. And unlike that OTHER Blood port, this one is actually open source. This about as good as it gets while we wait for Night Dive's remaster.

[SamVision]

Can't get better than BloodGDX sorry. It's my go-to-boi for Blood now. All others are irrelevant.

[JadedLexi]

I just gave this a whirl. It is a DAMN GOOD Blood port. VERY optimized. And unlike that OTHER Blood port, this one is actually open source. This about as good as it gets while we wait for Night Dive's remaster.

It's good to know there's a better alternative to BloodGDX!

[RiboNucleic Asshat]

Can't get better than BloodGDX sorry. It's my go-to-boi for Blood now. All others are irrelevant.

I don't really see what BloodGDX offers over this, besides security holes and cutscene support.

[Kinsie]

And unlike that OTHER Blood port, this one is actually open source.

It also doesn't seem to have much in the way of comments, and an awful lot of variables and methods with random hexadecimal code for names, so I'm not really sure how useful this being open-source is going to be.

[_mental_]

It also doesn't seem to have much in the way of comments, and an awful lot of variables and methods with random hexadecimal code for names, so I'm not really sure how useful this being open-source is going to be.

This is a normal situation for a source port based on reverse engineering of binaries. When everything is working as expected, developers may shift their focus on making source code more readable.
Even in its current form, NBlood is still much better than Java based source port with deliberately obfuscated binaries.

[Graf Zahl]

Remember: Initially many of ZDoom's Strife functions had similar names. I only changed them later when exporting all the actors to DECORATE where I wanted something meaningful.

[Marisa the Magician]

Hm, neat. It popped up in the AUR today.

[RiboNucleic Asshat]

So, I've been messing around with this a bunch, and for those who don't know yet, it's fully possible to load custom level packs and even TCs without messing with the vanilla files.

First, you have to copy all of the mod-relevant files into a new appropriately named subfolder. Some mods require you to install over your original files; for these, just make a copy of all the game data then put all the modified files into the mod subfolder. When you want to launch the mod, select the proper folder in the "Custom game content directory" box in the launcher.

Second, rename the .ini that came with the mod to BLOOD.INI. Technically this isn't required, because you can specify a custom ini via the command line, but it makes loading mods more convenient.

Third, ART files have to be renamed for NBlood to load them. It won't load any custom ART files using the vanilla numbers of 000-017, so you have to change the numbering on the new ART files to start from 018 and increase from there. For Cryptic Passage, this means that you would name the two files TILES018.ART and TILES019.ART, respectively. I'm unsure if the order matters, but try to preserve it in any case. I haven't noticed any graphical issues from this method yet.

Fourth, if the install used BARF.EXE to add custom sounds or music to SOUNDS.RFF, NBlood won't automatically load it from the mod folder for whatever reason. Instead, you'll have to use the command line argument "-snd path/to/sounds.rff" and point it to the mod's sounds file.

Once all the setup hassle is out of the way, though, it makes switching between mods a piece of cake. Just as simple as selecting the directory and, if necessary, using the command line to launch with a specific SOUNDS.RFF.

[Nash]

So, I've been messing around with this a bunch, and for those who don't know yet, it's fully possible to load custom level packs and even TCs without messing with the vanilla files.

@PermaNoob - any mods/TCs you'd care to recommend?

so I'm not really sure how useful this being open-source is going to be.

You seem to make a habit of missing the point.

Being open source (and on Github too) means it's open to collaboration and therefore better progress will be made. You might see a familiar name somewhere in that commit log.

[RiboNucleic Asshat]

@PermaNoob - any mods/TCs you'd care to recommend?

I can confirm that Deathwish and Bloodlines work perfectly once adjusted. I'm planning to also try getting Rage Against The Machine and Bloody Pulp Fiction working, though don't take my choices as an endorsement of quality; These are just the most well-known mods I could think of.

There's a rather large list on the Blood wiki of levelsets, though I haven't played most of them so I can't comment on how enjoyable they are.

[Graf Zahl]

I see this guy also has a Redneck Rampage port in the works. Now, THAT's something I'm definitely interested in!

[StroggVorbis]

@PermaNoob, is NBlood also compatible with https://www.moddb.com/mods/blood-weapons-mod, or does it work only on DOS? There's an older version tailor-made for GDX, so if the former doesn't work, the latter might.