BloodBath HowTo

[DustyStyx]

First, this howto is ment for mid to high end computers. I've tested it out on two processor types, a P4 2.6 GHz and a 1.6 GHz Core Duo. Blood seems to run fine on both of them, however your millage may vary depending on the version of DOSBox you choose to run.

The programs you'll need:
1. Blood
2. DOSBox
3. Hamachi

[DustyStyx]

DOSBox

I will go over some of the simple basics of DOSBox here, but you will find a lot more about it on their forums at Vogons.

Initially I wrote this tutorial using YKHWong's 02.09.2007 .66rc1 build. Currently, the DOSBox team has officially released version 0.73. I would recommend that you download and use the latest version from http://dosbox.sourceforge.net.

After installing DOSBox, you will want to make a few changes to your dosbox configuration file. This can be found in your user profile folder: %userProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\DOSBox\dosbox-0.73.conf* (depending on your installed version of DOSBox)

Addendum: DOSBox v0.73 no longer installs with DOSBOX.CONF within the DOSBox installation folder, but rather, generates a user, and version specific copy within your %userProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\DOSBox folder (XP) or %userProfile%\AppData\Local\DOSBox (Vista/7)

Editing the dosbox-0.73.conf

Open dosbox-0.73.conf up with notepad or some other text editor and make the following entries:

Near the top you will find a listing for [DOSBOX]. Under that group, change memsize from 16 to 31.

**Blood will address up to 36 MB of RAM. Previous versions of DOSBox had problems addressing more than 26 MB, but this seems to be fixed with version 0.70. So feel free to give it the full 31* MB (2 for DOSBox 36 for Blood).

Addendum: DOSBox v0.73 warns that using more than 31MB of RAM can cause stability issues. And since Blood seems to run just fine on 31 MB, I would now recommend using this rather than the previously stated 38 MB

• 

Now, at the very bottom you will find entries for [ipx] and [autoexec]. You will want to enable IPX networking by changing the value to "true".

You might also want to add in a few lines that will automatically execute when you run DOSBox, just so you don't have to retype things each time. You can do that under the [autoexec] entry.

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Now, once you have your dosbox.conf file saved, launch DOSBox.

You should be greeted by two Command Prompt like windows, DOSBox Satus Window and the DOSBox Command Window.

DOSBox Satus Window will eventually display some of the IPX server information but for the most part you wont have to worry about it. The DOSBox Command Window should be familiar to most people as a DOS command prompt.

Establishing the IPX network

At this point you will want to decide if you are going to run the IPX server or if you are to be a client. Windows XP's built in firewall may be a problem at this point for some people. If you are running XP as a user without sufficient rights, XP's firewall will block the incoming UDP/IP data necessary to establish a connection. However it doesn't block outgoing packets, so you should still be able to connect as a client.

To start a server, you will want to run the command:

• IPXNET STARTSERVER
  
  

The DOSBox Command Window, should notify you that the IPX Tunneling Server has started. As others connect to the server it should notify you of the connection in the DOSBox Status Window (the other black console window)

To connect as a client, you will want to run the command:

• IPXNET CONNECT #.#.#.#
  
  
  
  Note: #.#.#.# is the IP address of IPX server you wish to connect with. The server's IP should be listed next to whoever is acting as the server in the Hamachi group. If you are running a game on a LAN you will need to find the IP address of the computer acting as the DOSBox host. To do this run the command, IPCONFIG in the normal Windows Command Line.
  
  Once you've run the IPXNET CONNECT command, it should either say you've connected to the server or that the connection failed. If your connection failed, in Hamachi, double check the IP you are connecting to. If your ping is high, it may take a few times to connect successfully.

That should be all you have to do setup a DOSBox environment friendly for a Bloodbath. Again your millage may vary depending on your CPU, but hopefully it will work well. Now onto the good stuff.

[DustyStyx]

BLOOD

A couple obvious things you may have forgotten over the long absence of BloodBath.

• Pick your version but remember you'll need the same version as whoever you want to play against. 1.0 vs 1.0, 1.11 vs 1.11 etc.
  
  There may be issues with echo-crash patched versions of Blood vs. non-echo crash versions (what you did if you happened to go through the Build on XP guide) but I'm not 100% certain on that, you can always try your luck.
  
  Also be sure you are running the same INI file... if you've changed it to run a certain map or mod... be sure your opponent is running the same thing.

That said....

If you've not already done so, mount your Blood directory as the C drive in DOSBox by runing the command:

• MOUNT C C:\GAMES\BLOOD
  *Where "\GAMES\BLOOD\" is the path to where you have Blood installed.

Now change to the C drive by typing C: and press Enter

Once at the C:> prompt, type Setup and press Enter

You should be greeted by the Setup: Main Menu

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Using the arrow keys on your keyboard, scroll down the list to Network Game and press Enter

In the Network Game menu, you can:

• Change the number of players that are to connect to the game ( up to 8 )
  Change the network socket number
  Setup Macros (not covered in this tutorial)
  Change your player name
  Launch Blood

Change Number of Players

All players should modify the number of players who are to connect to the game. If some one their Number of Players set to high, the game will not launch.

Setup Network Socket Number

Note: You should NOT have to change this that often, BUT if there is more than one game going on the same IPX network server, you will probably have to change this. The number can be hexadecimal meaning: 0-9+A-F

• 

• 

Change Player Name

Should be self explanatory

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Launch Blood

Once you select Launch Blood you should be ported off to the DOS screen once again where COMMIT establishes the game connection.

• 

Once in Blood you can setup the game and map you want.

• 
  

GO PAINT THE TOWN RED!

[DustyStyx]

Hamachi

This step is actually optional. If you are on a LAN and if you can punch proper holes need by DOSBox in your firewall, you can easily get around the issue. However, Hamachi makes things possible if you don't actually have access to your router or whatever you need to do a port forward. Note, you may still have to punch holes in your firewall if you have a 3rd party firewall like Norton, McAfee, ZoneAlarm or Comodo, but the default Windows XP firewall should pose no real issues.

The down side is that your opponent also needs to be on Hamachi. You can't pass out your Hamachi internal IP address and expect some one outside the Hamachi network to connect with you.

Hamachi is available for Linux, OSX and Windows 2K,XP,2K3 & Vista. Unfortunately, there is NOT a version available for Windows 9x, ME or NT. I've not had a chance to test this out on Linux or OSX, so fore the time being this tutorial is Windows only.

If Hamachi does not work for you, you may try your luck with another VPN solution like OpenVPN.

Hamachi Setup

Get and install Hamachi: http://www.hamachi.cc/download/list.php

Run the setup program, it's pretty much a "click-through" process. You can check the "Block vulnerable Microsoft Windows services" if you wish, it did not prevent DOSBox from connecting though it's IPX tunnel, nor do you need to sign up for the premium service.

When you launch Hamachi for the first time, it should present you with a quick guide to the program. I'd recommend going through it if you're not familiar with Hamachi, it's only a few short windows with explications about how things work.

Once your connected to Hamachi and everything is resolved you should have been issued an IP listed at the top of the main Hamachi window.

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Hopefully you've gotten this far, if you are having troubles here, you are probably having issues with your firewall. You'll probably want to checkout the Hamachi help pages at this point.

Now to connect to a network group.

Setting up a network

Click the network icon at the bottom of the window.

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A popup menu should appear with choices allowing you to either Create a new network or Join an existing network.

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If you are setting up a network, click Create a new network and fill out the information in the Create a network form:

• 

Then just share the network name with whoever you want to play with.

If you are going to connect to an already established group like TchernoDOS click Join an existing network and fill out the group information in the form:

• 

Once you are connected, players who are online should appear highlighted with a green star.

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Note: Because DOSBox's IPX tunnel is a little ping sensitive, you might have to try to the IPX network a number of times if your ping is much over 200ms. To check the ping of your opponent, double-click on their name, or right-click and select Ping from the menu. This should invoke the command line "ping" utility.

• 
  

I've connected to a game with a ping as high as 300ms, however things start to get laggy at much over 200ms
If you receive the "Request timed out." multiple times you may have trouble connecting through the DOSBox IPX tunnel at all.

Now that you have Hamachi up and running it's time to start DOSBox.

[DustyStyx]

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