Greetings to the Blood Community

[JaceHall]

Hello,

My name is Jason (Jace) Hall and some of you may know of me.

I have been contemplating the idea bringing Blood back and was wondering how people might feel about it or if they were interested in helping me to do it.

To be clear, I am thinking of bringing the ORIGINAL Blood game back as it was, with functionality alterations/enhancements that are similar but superior to ZDAEMON's. I would also make it work on all platforms, and not just PC. There are other things as well...

I have a very specific vision in mind for what I'd like to do, but before I go off and do it - I wanted to speak directly with the Blood community and see what the thoughts are.

My goal of course is for this all to be free, and all about gameplay and fun. You can rest assured that I have the resources to bring BLOOD back properly but like I said, I'm hoping to have the community participate in all this if it wants to so we can all do it together. This site is great and it would be great to see the Blood community grow!

What do you all think?

Jace

[Le Babe]

This... just... ain't... possible...

Personnaly, I think this is an awesome idea, especially if we can concentrate on enhancing the map editor and focus on some point about the multiplayer part of the game (like, the possibility to chose multiple characters, not all Calebs, etc.).

Only, it's hard to believe you're the real Jason Hall and everything.

Pics or it didn't happen ;p.

[Hendricks266]

Jace, here is the thread where I shared what you said on IRC with the community:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1890

[Blood of Nightmares]

I've recently sent a email to Jace Hall to double check if it was really him which is probably the only way to find out:

http://www.jacehallshow.com/contact-us/

As much I hate to say it but there exists the possibility that someone might be professionally bullshitting us...

Update: I just got a response

Yes. I recently joined postmortem to get the blood community's thoughts and ideas in regard to the notion of me bringing Blood back...

I guess we can sigh in relief that it's really him...This is actually great news.

[Le Babe]

Ok cool.

Basically, I have no knowledge about coding and everything. The only things that come up in my mind when I hear about recreating original Blood + enhancement are :

- Keep everything like it was (cutscenes, maps, story, music, gameplay, etc.). Like, nothing has to change, keep the original resolutions, sounds, everythnig for the Single Player.

- Allow a real free mouse look (people already developed that for Blood)
- Make it compatible with windows / MAC
- Allow an OpenGL option to enhance the visual experience (in my opinion this should not be mandatory to play with Opengl, some people just prefer the original look).

Now something I'm thinking about without being sure of what I'd prefer : Would it be a good idea to add mapedit technologies that weren't there when Blood came out ? I'm thinking of some Shadow Warrior tricks for example. In a way I think that could allow for a wider variety of leels and fun in Blood's universe, but on the other hand I'm afraid we might lose the Blood touch in level design... So that's an open question for me. One thing I'm sure about though, is that I think it would be awesome to at least correct the various bug we encounter with Blood's mapedit. Some graphic glitches, etc.

Just my two cents.

Anyway, Mr Jason Hall, under what name is this project going to be made if it ever gets done ? What's the plan, you already have a team or ?

[Dimebog]

Holy crap I thought someone was pulling my leg for my birthday. What a present......

Have a warmhearted welcome to the fold, Jace. We are honoured. I suppose you will be getting an official lengthy welcome from Daedalus as well and perhaps our headmaster Daedolon who founded this place.

I watched the most recent few episodes of your show and your interactions with Jay Shade Wilson were tantalizing to say the least. Having a few seconds of BLOOD gameplay splash on the screen almost gave me an erection. It was funny because I imagined you doing the Tchernie voice and emoting with your fists.

Hopefully some interesting discussion will spark from all this and you can expect any kind of support we as a community can provide. There are several people that frequent these boards who worked (or still are) on at least one project that involved recreating the exact feel and look of the game in order to bring the idea to a more modern medium. In that process some of us have even had to create very elaborate documents describing certain unique effects that involve things like game's intricate physics and randomization which were probably the devil in the detail that makes this kind of unique masterpiece of a game alive. There are indeed some people here who have a very intimate understanding of the game.

But first I suppose we must take a look at some of the more important things like legality issues and availability of the BLOOD source code. Jace, did you know that Atari is the ones that has to give a green light for this to happen? Considering that they really like you lately, do you think you could somehow get to the right person to ask about this? Maybe you could promise them to wear an Atari hat for the next season of the show? But seriously, it only takes them to give their go-ahead. We already know that Matt Saettler has the code in his possession. But I am sure you already know all this.

This thread is now considered important and strict moderation rules will apply.

Enjoy your stay!

Update: I was just informed that apparently you are in possession of the source code as well. As you probably know, Duke Nukem 3D, which is a game that works on a slightly younger version of the Build engine already has fantastic source ports. The most famous of them - EDuke32 was partly derived from EDuke which was actually made by Matt Saettler.

Just throwing that out there as probably relevant.

[meleemario]

Mr. Hall, it is good to see you! As I mentioned in IRC last night, I just want to say again that you have some excellent ideas, and I look forward to getting the chance to test them out when the time comes. I can't wait to see what is in store for us and the entire Blood community in the future!

[JaceHall]

Have some things to do tonight so my message will have to be brief for the moment.

First, thanks for the kind welcome. I had no expectations when coming to this webstie, but its great to see that people here are really cool.

Ok - Please know that you can rest assured that I know everything that needs to be known in regard to the blood rights/legal issues.

If I indeed decide to move forward with my ideas for Blood, I certainly will be able to and will get all the support I need from all/any parties that may have legal interest in the game. You guys don't have to worry about that. There is no problem there. Handled.

One thing to also know is that if I go ahead and attempt to bring Blood back, I will be the one actually paying the bill. It is certainly going to cost money to do this, and I will not likely be getting my money back. It will be all for the fun of it. Just something to know.

I think it would good for the community to beging to create a "dream list" of all the things that they would hope for with Blood. In regard to the source code, I have reservations about releasing it due to it making it that much easier for people to cheat/hack whatever new system I put in place - and part of what I'm hoping to achieve with this potential project is a game that really allows people to build measurable value in their cummulative game accomplishments.

Anyway, I have to go now but hello everyone!
Jace

[Hendricks266]

In regard to the source code, I have reservations about releasing it due to it making it that much easier for people to cheat/hack whatever new system I put in place - and part of what I'm hoping to achieve with this potential project is a game that really allows people to build measurable value in their cummulative game accomplishments.

I did try to address this in the thread that I linked in my post above in this thread. Here is the direct link to the post in question, because I spent quite some time writing it and it would be bad if it was missed because it is in a different thread.

As much as I would love seeing Blood reborn, it pains me to think that all the fun could be hidden behind closed doors. A lot of the things that make the Duke 3D and SW source ports great are the user-contributed features that surprise us, such as EDuke32's "Polymer" video 3D rendering system.

When it comes to cheating and hacking concerns with an open source release, there is a one-sentence answer: If the system is designed thoughtfully, it does not even matter. (To add detail, if the server and only the server is trusted in terms of integrity, then the system is secure. It's hard to summarize... )

I understand this may take some convincing, and I am more than happy to explain and discuss this more. Please don't shut the door on an open source release just due to hacking and cheating.

At the risk of sounding upset, I really am excited about what the future holds, but I am a concerned fan. I wish the best for the project either way.

[pagb666]

Is it wrong if I fap with this news?

Anyway, my main concern with blood is that it is difficult to get it running correctly. Dosbox works, but not even my i7 can handle more than 640x480. A true winx86/x64 port would be awesome. But a couple of bits that I would welcome:

- Dedicated servers + Server browser (also a P2P system should be fine in case no servers are up)
- Fix mouselook so it feels natural to shoot while "tilting"
- OpenGL rendering: Would help with mouselooking, and sprite filters (hello HQ2X). Sadly this means voxels must go.
- Remove engine limits: For example, mirror floors/ceiling causing hall of mirror so many times.

[Le Babe]

Sadly this means voxels must go.

I have the feeling Blood without voxels won't be Blood. Maybe I'm just too much of a purist but, really, if this is to be the original Blood, we should not touch the visuals details.

[nakquada]

Sadly this means voxels must go.

I have the feeling Blood without voxels won't be Blood. Maybe I'm just too much of a purist but, really, if this is to be the original Blood, we should not touch the visuals details.

I'm inclined to complete agree with this too. You start messing with stuff then it ain't Blood no more.

[Dimebog]

Voxels don't have to go, there is at least one Duke sourceport that supports them.

Just a reminder to everyone looking to post in this thread: please do not make off-topic posts in this thread to simply express your awe. If you just joined the forums, it would be nice if you introduced yourself first. Also, there are other threads in the Spare Parts section where you can discuss Jace's presence and whatnot, but let this thread remain strictly on topic so that useful information is easy to find.

The "BLOOD" section of the forums is strictly about BLOOD and other topics will be moved or deleted.

[Dimebog]

A lot of people are trying to register to the forums and just flood this thread to say "hi" without reading the rules or introducing themselves to the forum. Not everything can make it in here, please use appropriate threads and sections.

Also, posts about fan created content that wants to make it's way in will be moved to the "Modifications" section or deleted from now on, since that is very far from the topic discussed. Jace properly placed this thread in the "BLOOD" section and the intention is to gather information about what kind of functionality people would like to see added to the game, especially when it comes to multiplayer and community. This is a project that, as far as I understand, is attempting to not only port the game to other platforms but also provide a platform itself and a competitive environment for players who want to revisit one of the best designed deathmatch experiences. Something like QuakeLive, perhaps.

Speaking of which, I bet Jace is pretty good at Bloodbath... Would be cool if he actually allows top ranked players to challenge him officially (like once suggested in the blood readme file:)).

Come on guys! Keep the thread on topic!

[Le Babe]

I'm afraid I'm am responsible for these newcomers Dimebog and I'm sorry about the mess. I advertised the forums / thread on the Blood's facebook page (over 3500 followers) so...

Anyway, Jason. Perhaps you should tell us a bit more about what kind of opinion you want and what kind of help you are seeking within the community. I mean, if the discussion stays too open we're never really going to progress in my opinion.

Basically, are you in need of help with coding, etC. or do you only want people's opinion about what the game should be like and so on ?