Blood
Updated: 2022-08-29 - added a Spanish fan site.
Note: This is not the final form of this page, it will get continous updates.
Blood is a first person shooter from 1997, made with the Build engine. Probably the most bloody and violent FPS games ever made.
I think this is one of the most atmospheric FPS, not just from the Build engine games, but in overall. Nice environments - very dark themed - and excellent voice acting both for the main character and enemies. Sound design is detailed, and the gunplay is amazing, as we have wide variety of weapons which is all very satisfying to use. I urge everybody to practice dynamite throwing, since it can clear rooms, and very good against multiple enemies.
One of the best features of the game is its arsenal as it has non-conventional weapons, like dynamite, voodoo doll, etc. The gunplay is excellent, there is not a single useless weapon, indeed the pitchfork is also a useful weapon. We could also say that the fire based weapons are overpowered, unless you met a certain enemy… hahhahah
Where to buy Blood?
In recent years Blood got an official source port from Nightdive - called Fresh Supply - and you can buy it from GOG. This version also contains the original One Whole Unit files, which is the original DOS game files, and can be used with the variety of source ports (see below). Fresh Supply is also available on Steam.
I will always support GOG, since it's DRM-free, and most stuff are very playable on Linux.
What is "Fresh Supply"?
Fresh Supply had a rough start, but the devs quickly patched the major bugs, and now it's a very good remaster. It works with DirectX, OpenGL and Vulkan too. Tons of options for audio and video as well. Widescreen support, sensible FOV, and many others. There is even a weapon wheel - optional - when you change weapons. Works perfectly with Wine on Linux.
It has multiplayer support both online, or split screen! And since it has gamepad support, it can be a good time.
If you find the game hard, you can set up your own custom difficulty! If you are a Kotaku or Polygon journalist you can even disable enemies!
This version also has a fully featured console (use ~). One of the shortcomings of FS is the 10 save slots. You don't have this kind of limitations with BuildGDX though.
Note for Linux players: you need 64-bit version of Wine to play Fresh Supply.
Other source ports
There are many source ports that you can try with the game files. Most notable are NBlood and BuildGDX (formerly BloodGDX), and Raze. Fresh Supply is the official source port, but it uses Nightdive's engine, called Kex.
See comparison on the Blood Wiki.
Note for Linux players: all the source ports work on Linux, however Fresh Supply doesn't have official support for it, but works via Wine. All the other ports probably are available from your distro's repository (certainly from AUR) or from their website.
Mods
- Blood on Freeminded: maps and tools with ratings.
- ModDB - you can find bunch of mods here. I will post individual mods, when I try them out. Most stuff are easy to install, just follow the instructions in the readme.txt file.
- ModDB: Blood Fresh Supply - mods for the official source port. Note: on the normal Blood page you will find many "Fresh Supply" compatible mods too.
- List of Mods from Blood Wiki: list of websites for mods and maps.
- A few mods for Blood
- A guide for using NBlood
How to install maps?
Fresh Supply
You have to unpack (preferable with its own directory) the maps into your blood/addons directory.
BuildGDX, nBlood, Raze
Just unpack into your Blood folder. Mods can go into an autoload folder (make it, if you don't have it), episodes and maps can go into their own folder (highly recommended if you like to play many maps).
How to load maps?
Fresh Supply
In-game go to Options/Manage Addons, and select the episodes/maps you want to play. Then after the game reloads, you can start new game as usual, or load your save game.
BuildGDX, nBlood, Raze
In-game menu, go to New Game and then User content then choose the map or the directory they are in. If there is a multiple episode mod, you can choose the ini, like dw.ini, then you proceed as usually.
Mods I tried out
- Smooth Blood: this mod gives the player better, much smoother animations. You can use it with Fresh Supply, or any other source port. Really great, it adds a smoother experience to the gameplay. Hehe.
- Fresh Meat: it's a map pack of 9 maps. Just put into in your addons directory and load it in game.
- Out for Blood: beware, the first map, starts out with a bang, hehe. Only 6 maps, but big and detailed according to the author.
- Death Wish: according to many people (and Civvie), this is one of the best addon for Blood. You can even call Blood II if you like. DW is so good that when Fresh Supply was developed, Nightdive made sure that DW works with their version.
- Blood Voxel Pack: this replaces sprites with voxels. There is different version for BuildGDX (formerly BloodGDX), nBlood, Raze and Fresh Supply. Put it into your autoload folder (and enable in your source port).
- Bloodlines: Out of the Grave: this is a restart of the Bloodlines mod. It's weirder than most mods, worth a try.
Other resources
- Blood Wiki: detailed site about the Blood universe, from fan fiction to custom mods and maps, and other useful stuff.
- Original Blood website: still available through Web Archive.
- Civvie's "Pro Blood" series: the guy is insanely funny and good FPS player, he loves Blood and Build engine games. His "Pro" series is a bunch of tips and tricks about enemies, maps. Highly recommended if you want to play this game on higher difficulty, and if not, his style will sure make you smile! He used BloodGDX for his run.
- Cheat codes
- Blood Fresh Supply - PCGamingWiki: for tweaks and tips for FS.
- Blood (BloodGDX) - 4K, All Secrets Playthrough by pagb666. If you need an all secret guide (secret levels too), without a commentary, this is your video series. He played this on "Well Done".
- Blood Hispano - a nice Spanish Blood fan site!
Tips and tricks
How to take screenshots?
The game has a dedicated screenshot key, see the options/input menu.
How to skip intro movies for Fresh Supply?
Go to Options/Display setup menu, and turn off "Show splash movies".