The story behind Bloodline feature

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Is it still possible to create something interesting within a game originally designed to run in DOS?

Posted by RubberTunes on Mar 26th, 2018

Is it still possible to create something interesting within a game originally designed to run in DOS?

This was the question I asked myself early 2015 and started working on Bloodline.

I still remember playing DOOM for the first time back in the early 90's. I was simply amazed and wanted more.

The Fun Fortress VIP blood booth for drinking blood off of dueling demons from the gambling & brawling area.

An outdoor area with a patrol, warming themselves by a burning barrel.

Back in the day I started with WADED, a DOS-based 1995 classic DOOM level editor with only a 2D interface

A popular mod I enjoyed recently is Brutal Doom made by Sgt.Mark.IV. It came with a bunch of high quality custom levels called the Starter Pack Edition/Recurring Nightmare. When I played this and reached level 23 called "Stronghold" I experienced something very strange and interesting...

There were no monsters around and there never came any monsters as I walked carefully through the level! Because of this I had time to see how the level was designed, even though my heart was beating very fast, expecting monsters to attack me at any moment, but they never did...

When I reloaded the level with a simple console command, all monsters were back and I realized it was just a glitch and the monsters never spawned when I played it the first time. Even though it wasn't intended to be an empty map, I loved this unique experience and got inspired.

Your main home somewhere in Sandy's City.

A weird area in Sandy's City.

When I started creating Bloodline I partnered up with Luigi "LuiDeca/ WeeGee" Bonocchi who I met on MODDB. We agreed to team up on this project and he produced all soundtracks for Bloodline to give each level a unique feeling and atmosphere.

A secret passage leading deeper into the bloodline...

I started using more modern level editing software for DOOM II instead of the old DOS-based WADED. It's called GZDoom Builder and is still being maintained and updated. It also has a 3D preview interface that allows you to fly through your levels and make adjustments at the same time. No need to start the game each time you want to preview your map, as was in WADED and similar old editors. GZDoom Builder also allows you to create slopes, multi story platforms, a body of water, custom sound placement, RP (roleplay) features, scripts, 3D objects and lightning, but that's still not in my taste.