Disclaimer

This mod just works so well, I love it!

Thank you so much for the update! It's super helpful with the critter pack being included! <3

Comeaves

I've tried to replicate the issue with a clean install including only (Penetrating Damage v2.3.4, Synergy v1.1.3, and BloodTrail v1.2.1 + confglib & vsimgu). Everything works fine. Tested with various weapons and vanilla creatures. The blood particles appears normally and there is nothing unusual in the logs. Both in Solo and on a locally hosted dedicated server.
I'm unfamiliar with both mods, but they also seem to be working fine so maybe I'm missing something.

Usually, this issue comes from either a wrong configuration of the mod (reset the config to default and try again), particles slider being too low in the Graphics tab of the game settings, other mods messing with particles or entity behaviors and lastly pausing the game clock. Hope this helps.

If your issue persist, please include a modlist, logs if possible and the number of player affected if it's a server. You can DM me on (Discord #Aylor) or elsewhere if needed. Thanks, and sorry I couldn't help more.

New version 1.2.1 stopped working on server
no creature mods
using Penetrating Damage and Synergy which could potentialy mess with it but did not on the previous version 1.2.0

Mrozak

Ok thanks for the details, I'll take a closer look at the issue this weekend. For the moment, manually editing the file should work. Sorry for the trouble.
Regarding the Bleed Damage, this config is still in a very early testing phase. It was added only due to popular demand. It is disabled by default and I'm not gonna provide too much support for it. (Execpt if it breaks things of course.)

Hmm... very strange...
I edited the server config manually, setting the "BleedDamage" to 0.01667
Yet when i open the Mod Settings GUI and click on "Restore" (which says it should retrieve values from config, and which i have to do to even see any settings in the GUI),
it shows the Bleed Damage Amount set to 0.200.
Where is it getting that value from?

Aylor (re)
What i mean is:
I connect to a dedicated server with my client, i open the "Mod Settings" GUI, i select "Blood Trail (Server)".
First of all, there are no settings shown, until i click on "Restore" - no big deal i guess, but just saying.
So i make some changes and click on "Save", but it doesn't write anything into the config file - if i open the config after "saving", it still contains the old values.

...if it works fine for you, then i guess it must be something with my server setup.
Strange thing is, i didn't notice same problem with any other mods, but maybe it is exactly that i just didn't notice.
Anyway, no big deal, as long as i can edit the configs manually

DefactoToast

The version is indeed targeted at version 1.22.1 only.  I've adjusted the version listed.

Sorry for the confusion and thanks for reporting this.

says mod works on 1.22.0 but you get a version mismatch when starting up the game.

Mrozak

Configs work fine on my end with the same setup.

I highly suspect that you are editing server-side configs, which often require a full restart to take effect. (This is not always indicated, as it may depend on the current setup, mods, etc.) Otherwise, I'm not sure where the issue could come from.

For missing configs, mixing up client and server files happens frequently.

If the issue persists, please share the exact config you're trying to edit.

Aylor Editing the server config in-game isn't saving the values (btw. same happens with the Footprints mod).
Is there some requirement i missed?
(dedicated server, game 1.22.1, ImGui 1.2.2, Config lib 1.11.1, this mod 1.2.1)

I don't mind editing the config manually, but the default config doesn't even seem to be listing all available settings, so i don't know what to put in there anyway (EDIT: on second thought, i may be mixing in my head what i saw in client config).

Tegotia HuskyInABasket Yurigf

New release available to fix these issues. Happy hunting!

Adding to other comments - getting a patch compatability server error during startup with FotSA mods installed.

Tegotia I am having the same problem. The changes are now animal kingdom based so instead of "caninae:entities/land/cerdocyonina-baby" its now "entities/animal/mammal/cerdocyonina-baby"

Aylor easy fix when 1.22 comes out and all the mods get updated

Mod generates errors on launch with some of the listed compatible mods on 1.22.0-rc.7. I've tested with both Draconis and FotSA and seen similar errors, example from launching with Draconis:

I assume this has something to do with the entity definition changes from 1.22 but I don't know enough details to figure out how to patch it. No crashes as far as I can tell, but affected creatures don't leave blood trails, obviously.

To be more specific, out of the mods I tested I ran into the issue with Draconis, FotSA: Caninae and Machairodontinae. Pantherinae and Capreolinae seemed to worked fine.

Xplosionist
ConfigLib and ImGUI are optional, and they just provide an in-game UI to make config editing easier, along with explanations for each setting. If you don't have them, you can still manually edit the config files, but you'll miss out on the UI and live updates.

If a client has ConfigLib, they can only edit their own settngs, which will only affect their game (ex: making blood blue will only change it for them). Some settings, though, are server-wide and controlled by the server. These settings are in a separate config file and can only be changed by the server host or someone with server authority (like in a single-player world with the UI, where both configs appear).

For clients or singleplayer worlds, I'd recommend using both ConfigLib and ImGUI for simplicity, since they allow for live updates and faster changes. (If you plan on editing any settings)
For server admins, just editing the file at: .../ModConfig/BloodTrail-Server.json is enough. Changes made here will apply to everyone and take effect after a server restart.

I'm looking forward to trying this on my server!  You say that ConfigLib (and ImGUI) are optional.  What changes if I don't install those on my server or clients?  I'd like to require only this on the server for functionality.

If I have ConfigLib on a connected client, can I make changes to config in the client and have it affect the server?  Or, write to the client, then I can manually update config on the server?  (ConfigLib allows for changing them actively, I guess, so without a server restart would be required, but that's acceptable.)

Doesn't seem to work on FotsA wolves for some reason.

thank god you made this mod, the amount of foliage in my world made it almost impossable to to chase any animal.

Oki thx ! <3

Vari_Ares

Maybe as an opt-in feature (Server-Side). I'll see what I can do about it for a next 1.22 update. No promise!

Hi I really love your mod ! Can you add an optional feature so the bleeding effect isn't just esthetic but actually drain down the HP of the animals slowly ? And if too much injured animals can die after bleeding too much ? If well balanced it can be cool !

Aylor
Not your fault! I should know better than to blindly use a mod updater without paying attention.

MagicMoose

Really sorry this happened! I didn't realize this might occur. It seems to have been caused by the versioning issue with Vintage way of handling -pre release version. I've now updated the mod with a stricter version that hopefully should prevent this from happening again. It might give a false warning for version 1.22, but it shoudn't affect earlier versions anymore. Thanks so much for reporting the issue, it will help prevent this from affecting others.
(Edit: The author of the mod has also addressed and fixed this issue.)

RIP, this was auto updated to the new version by the VS mods updater, and it borked my world.

This plus footprints makes hunting and tracking quite enjoyable. TY

this right here should be part of the game. its soo dang usefull 

Ahh, thanks! That's perfect! I should have investigated a little more I guess.

Gorfinhofin

I know the color picker is only half displayed in the preview screenshot of the mod, but you can achieve a similar looking color to the Butchering mod by placing the cursor around (R: 65, G: 0, B: 0). 

Would you be able to add darker reds to the color slider? I'd like to have a more realistic shade, and it would be nice to be able to have it match the blood from the Butchering mod too.

Axebeard
Thanks for reporting the issue. It might be due to one of the mods being updated recently. Could you share your logs or a list of affected mods to help narrow down the problem? I'll work on fixing it for an upcoming update.

This throws a ton of errors on startup regarding Bears and the Prehistoric animal mods.

Luksor
Both mods can work together. The Blood Trail activates after an attack, while Footprints appears whenever an entity walk on a soft* surface.

Is it compatible with Footprints mod? Or is it overwriting/is overwritten by it (I mean you have only blood or footprints?)

Aylor Thx so much ! Take your time ! <3

Vari_Ares

Glad you like it! I'm currently busy working on a major update to make the mod fully client side, but I might add an optional DOT mechanic in future versions, no promises.

Hi, thx for the amazing mod ! What about a mechanic so if the animals are enough injured, they will bleed and die alone (like in a lot of games) ? Because your mod is really cool but it's just visual ^^ Maybe make it optional in the config ! <3

Aylor

That would explain why I can no longer find it. I thought maybe I was going crazy. Thanks for letting me know

RedVanGhoul

The mod you are looking for is "HuntingDebuffs". It had a great feature that paired well with Blood Trail, specifically a bleeding DOT (damage over time). I was hoping we could collaborate to make both mods compatible, but unfortunately, it appears that the mod is no longer available.

There was a mod I remember seeing that would be great to go along with this that applied a bleeding debuff on animals you hurt. I even recall seeing a comment by you on the mod to see if they wanted to make some sort of compatability.

For the life of me I can not find the mod. Searching for "bleeding effect" or anything similar gives me "bloody story" which not only affects the player but also is outdated.

This is a great mod though, helps when chasing deer.

Venator_

Sorry for the delay. I've been working on a solution and recently achieved a proof of concept I'm happy with. I'm aiming for a release in early December, hopefully with full compatibliity for current features and mods.

Thanks for your patience.

Will it ever be client side? it still doesnt work in multiplayer servers unless the server has the mod, the point of client side is I can join any server and it works. 

This mod is VERY useful.  Thank you for making it!

This is a fantastic mod! Not only does it make hunting in VS much more fun, realistic and interesting but, as a hunter in RL, it really bothers me to lose track of wounded animals, even in video games lol! So using BloodTrails is the humane thing to do. :) Thanks! 

BTW I made these changes in the config and it allows ample time to follow a blood trail slowly and carefully without it disappearing on you:

   "BleedTickInMS": 160 

   "BloodDuration": 30.0 

I appreciate the updates and bug fixing. Thank you.

Just want to thank you and say I love the mod, it's making it so much easier to track animals and hunt them down - just like we would in the old days.

Thanks!

Egil_Raud

Привет! У меня все работает нормально (v1.1.5). У вас тоже должно работать. Я не знаю, в чем причина проблемы, но, возможно, это связано с шрифтом или настройками игры/системы. Я почти не нашел похожих проблем в Интернете. Извини, что не смог помочь больше.

Hi! Everything works fine on my end (v1.1.5). It should be working for you too. I’m not sure what’s causing this, but it might be related to your game or system’s font or settings. I hardly found any similar issues online. Sorry I couldn’t help more.

Spoiler!

Qua8ion, у тебя нормально отображается шрифт?

I just wanted to say that this and the footprint mods of yours are truly amazing and game changing.
I just got jumped by a wolf, who decided to be a coward and run away after I got a few strikes in and I just used the blood trail to follow him, where it stopped but I picked up his footprints near by and found him again. 
Meats back on the menu tonight.
Legit makes hunting so much more fun and immersive

Just wanted to drop a thank you!  I am a stroke survivor in my middle 60s with low vision and response time, and this literally saves my bacon (oink!) when I'm hunting. ;)

Kathrynerius

Assuming you’ve already tried the basic steps I mentioned a few messages below for a similar* bug, I’m not sure what’s causing it. I never got feedback from that case, and nothing obvious stands out. Try redownloading the mod on the server side, especially if it works in singleplayer. Otherwise, another mod might be interfering. Logs and/or a modlist would be appreciated so I can test this further. (you can send them privately via Discord). Thanks

Edit: No worries at all! I’m glad the problem is solved. (Solution on the post below)

We figured out the issue! Turns out, I was a bit dumb. We had time paused, (because we were testing mods out and didn't want anyone's food to spoil and the such.) Well, particles couldn't generate if everything was on pause, lol. Foot prints still showed up because they render differently, so we didn't even notice the world was paused until we realized there was no night even once after 6 hours of playing and trying to figure out why blood trails weren't working. I am so sorry, Aylor, lmao. 

Blood trails aren't showing up on my server for anybody. We have the settings at default and have tried changing them, as well. Have restarted the server, too. The settings are there in the config menu and we have particles enabled in our graphics. Any ideas? We're also using the footprints mod. Footprints DO show up.

Edit: We also installed blood trails without footprints, but blood trails still didn't show up on their own. Tried changing the values, too. Like unchecking from player damage, lowering the threshold, increasing the time they're active, particle amount, etc. Particle graphics setting we tried off, 30%, 100%, no particles at any setting. The mod works on our single player worlds with foot prints and alone.

Zora
Most Fauna of the Stone Age mods are already supported, except for aquatic animals. If I missed something, just let me know.

I have a suggestion about the mods from Fauna of the Stone Age(FootSA) they have a lot of mobs to add the blood trail

spacellama

Yes, both mods are compatible. I’m not sure which one isn’t working on your end Blood Trail or Footprints, so here’s a basic debuging list for both:

For Blood Trail:

• Make sure Particles are enabled in your game’s graphics settings. (At least > 30%)*

• Confirm you’re hitting a vanilla or compatible animal with a damage value greater than 1. (Bare hands won’t work)

For Footprints:

• Update to the latest version (some bugs were fixed).

• If the issue persists, post a detailed comment on the Footprints mod page or DM me on Discord (aylor) for further assistance.

For both mods:

• If you’ve changed any configuration settings, try resetting them to default for testing.

• In multiplayer, some config are server-controlled, so check with the server owner to see if anything has been disabled or adjusted.

cant get this mod to work propely with the footprints mod, are the 2 not compatibale ? 

for detales only player footprints are showing all others are not able to be seen 

Hydromancerx
I'll take care of it for the next update, coming within the week.

Please patch for Lichen Continued. They have a White Stag and Gemsbok.
Thanks!

GetSOAP

For now, I want to keep BloodTrail purely cosmetic. I might explore this idea in a separate mod later, but the upcoming "Status Effects System" (in the official roadmap for the next update) could make all of this redundant, so we'll see.
Thanks

Cool idea would be slowing down wounded creature, if its possible to implement

Wooo updates :D Wait why does this mod need localization x_x

Qua8ion

Thanks! I really appreciate the translation. I’ll add it to the mod soon and include you in the credits.

I've made a translation of your mod and wanted to offer it. I couldn’t find your repository, so I’ll just drop the file here

Aylor I hadn't unzipped the mod, but after redownloading 1.1.1 it's not doing it anymore. I'll chalk it up to some freak thing.

Charlistic

After testing, with the default config of the mod, the Particles slider must be at least around 30% for it to work reliably. Between 10% and 30% results in uneven or missing trails of blood.

I'm unsure at the moment if other graphical settings can affect this results.

How far up does the particle slide need to be? I normally have mine set to only like 1/4 or 1/5 to make leaves not tank my fps but i love the idea of this mod

Tahvohck

The mod itself is working fine.
That error happens because the BloodTrail.dll file is missing, which usually occurs when the mod gets unzipped. Please try redownloading it and place the zip directly in your Mods folder without unpacking it.

Version 1.1.1 seems to have a bug:

29.9.2025 16:00:37 [Error] [bloodtrail] An exception was thrown when trying to load assembly:
29.9.2025 16:00:37 [Error] [bloodtrail] Exception:  declared as code mod, but there are no .dll files that contain at least one ModSystem or has a ModInfo attribute
   at Vintagestory.Common.ModContainer.LoadAssembly(ModCompilationContext compilationContext, ModAssemblyLoader loader) in VintagestoryLib\Common\API\ModContainer.cs:line 549

Thank you for the quick reply! Installing the latest version and reloading the game seems to have removed the trails, so that seems to be okay now. It's such a helpful mod especially for hunting animals that I'd hate to stop using it.

Breugpfel

Thanks for letting me know!
(There are no special events or Easter eggs.)
The blood trail is supposed to show up only when a player hurts an animal.
If you’ve turned off the “Damage source is player” option in the config, any damage will trigger bleeding, otherwise I can’t explain it.
I looked at the code and didn’t spot another cause/bug source. It’s probably not a bug, but I'll keep that in note. If it happens again, don’t hesitate to send logs/screens/etc. so I can investigate further.

Thanks again and happy hunting!

Hydromancerx
I'll take care of it in the next couple days.

Not sure if it's a bug or if one of my hogs took damage somehow, but one of my sows (pregnant) has a blood trail coming from it. I don't think that's how hog husbandry isn't meant to work but I'm no farmer.

Been hoping for this exact thing, thanks for making it

Could you add ...
- Haz's Monitor Lizards
- Haz's Jackalopes
Thanks!

RedRockG

Thank you for reporting this. I just launch multiple scans with the available software at my disposal. WIndows defender (Yes I know...), Malwarebytes,Norton Power Eraser, a couple more and of course virustotal. 
Nothing is detected.
https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/aad61728bda5a1259e8aa752e505f07cb56450dd9ad50e9d2c06cca6f0bbeb34/detection
However, I will seek help in the official Vintage's Discord following the post of this message.

If anyone else report the same issue, I'll remove the file(s) to prevent any further damage.

Meanwhile, I'm very interested to see your scan result(s) or any other information that you are able to provide to identify this thread.

(Update, ~3 hours later, most likely just a false positive. Still a good reminder for us all to be careful when browsing online. Stay safe)

Version 1.0.9 is detected as a virus and automatically deleted.

As of now 18 out o 19 FOTSA mods are up to date. Thank you once again for making this mod, I love the blood trials. And thank you so much for your effort to make it compatible with other mods and to update it. Much love from me ❤️

Mantisek

Thanks for your interest, but I'm keeping the source private for the moment. For now, I'll keep updating the mod, but if things get to change, I'll make the repo public to keep this project alive.

However, if you're a fellow modder who needs help, feel free to DM me and I'll be happy to help/explain part of my code. 

SkidInc

Thanks for letting me know! I'll fix the patches and also add compatibility for a few more mods within the next few hours.

Hydromancerx

I'll take care of it wihthin the next few hours.

You might wanna check your patches for FotSA-Bovinae and TheCritterPack, I have both installed and bloodtrail is failing to find the files to patch.

Looking at this folder structure you need: bovinae\entities\animal\mammal\hooved\ and thecritterpack have moved each animal into it's own folder within the species type, so thecritterpack\entities\animal\mammal\squirrel\squirrel-baby.json etc.

Source code for the .dll available?

HAIL TO THE BLOOD KING

Exactly the mod I was looking for.

This makes hunting so much more fun.

Please make comptable with Hieronymus's reptiles collection!
Thank you!

Great mod, can't wait for the next update so I can configure duration etc.!

Thanks for making this mod, it's great and makes finding animals easier through the million birch leaves.
Now we just need animal sounds (better than simplefootsteps) and arrows that stick to moving targets.

JokoJose

I'm glad to hear that you've resolved your issue. Thank you for letting me know how you fixed it. I'll add this information in the description. 

Yes, i just needed the particles high, if you lower particles all the way down, you dont see the blood. Now that I move the setting high, i see the blood. That would be some important info fot those that might be experiencing not seeing the blood hehehe

Thanks for the mod ! I like it a lot !

Hey, thanks for the fast answer! 

I am using a vanilla spear, but i am running like 200+ mods lol. But there is something i am going to check, because I play with everything on low due to my PC not being too good, If your mod uses "particles" settings, that is probably why i dont see the blood. I will try with particle setting maxed out and get back at you with the results. I just tought about that now hehehe

JokoJose

No it doesn't require a keybind to work.

The blood trail effect should apply to all animals except to aquatic and lore related entities. For modded entities, please check the compatibility list in the mod description.

For the effect to trigger, the damage dealt must be greater than 1.

Using just your hand or a flint knife for example won't work.
Additionally, the source of the damage must be a player; if you're using a modded weapon that doesn't register the player as the damage source, the effect will not appear.
If this still isn't working for you, feel free to reach out on Discord. I can take a look at your modlist and help troubleshoot further.

Also, make sure the mod version you're running matches the game version you have. 1.0.4 for 1.20.* and 1.0.5 for 1.21.*

does it need any keyboard key to activate it? it doesnt seems to be working for me. Or does it have conflict with any mod that anyone knows about? 

animatiV indeed. This mod is a very welcome one, I hope some day we will have locational damage, aiming for lungs and such...

Woo updates, thanks :D

Sick mod, great job on making it work with snow. That was all I wanted before I downloaded it.

This is a great mod for the game. Probably the most neglected aspect of the game by the developers – hunting.

Bolkani
No, it's a backport with a minor fixe since I was asked for a 1.20-compatible version.

Update marked for 1.20.12. Isn't it mistype?

Venator_

I'll add configurable options (color, duration, density, size, etc.) eventually, but first I'm focusing on fixing the disappearing particles during winter.
A roadmap wil be added to the mod description.

When time permits, I'll investigate whether a fully client-side implementation is possible and let you know. Though I can't promise anything yet.

Thanks

Can you make a changeable setting for how long the blood lasts?

imo its waaayyyy to short to actually track anything longer then like 3 seconds. I wanna make it so an animal bleeds for a solid minute after being hit. Deer for example are so fast that the blood trail is nearly useless as it stops and they continue running. LOVE THE MOD 

Hey man this is EXACTLY what the game needs to make hunting fun and im curious will this work in multiplayer for the client side? Like will it show up when playing on public servers without this mod? 

If not is there anyway to make it client side? The game needs this so bad, thank you for making it! 

So, the backported 1.0.3, is that compatible with 1.21.0+?

For the issue with the snow, it might be possible to make a white surface texture that lays on top of the snow texture? When the snow melts, the texture breaks off and vanishes over time. Could be one solution, but I'm unsure how to do it. No coding knowledge. Granted, it would persist as long as the snow does but then that's the same in reality as well, since the blood would freeze on the snow.

+1 Hell yeah for the backport. Thank you!

Cool mod but dosent leave trails ontop of snow layers so less useful in winter. Kinda ironic since red blood on snow would probably be easier to see.

Aylor thank you for the backport!

yees YEEEES!!!

what a great idea

Aylor thank you so much :D

This is great, and should 100% be part of the base game!

Lich

I just uploaded a backport for the version 1.20.12 of the game.

Mod Version 1.0.3
Thanks!

Yess, i've wanted this for years!! thank you!!

This works on 1.20 if the patches are adjusted for the old file locations. Would you be willing to make a 1.20 version for us staying on that one till more mods update? :3

Thap

Thanks for the suggestion, I will make some test with this concept. If it works out, I'll give you credit for the idea in the update.

MRGOOSE

I've added the compatibility patch for your requested mods : Equus Wild Horses & Legacy of the Phanerozoic

Thanks for the suggestion, happy hunting!

ChiefKrogan Thanks

Aylor woah that was fast! Thank you so very much!

Floorpills I'm playing on 1.21.0 and it works perfectly fine.

Is this 1.21.0 compatible?

Sianks

Yes it works with Combat Overhaul.
As for the hunter perk and the flying particles. I really like the idea. I'll definitely look into adding it and including a proper config option. I'm still learning about mod-config files, so it might take a bit of time to get everything set up right.
Thanks for the idea.

Open to suggestions? Bloody snow variant, block instead of particles.

Melts normally, if snowed-on also becomes normal again.

add compatability with Legacy of the Phanerozoic (dinosaur mod series)  and Equus, please.

Got suggestion, and a FIX for Snow

Perk for Hunter which will make blood particles more visible, as example blood particles can emit Flying Particles and that is also a fix for Snow and Blood, you dont need to look at blood directly with Hunter, you will see particles flying above it.

will weapons from Combat Overhaul work here?

ChiefKrogan

I've added the compatibility patch for the various mod of the collection "Fauna of the Stone Age", but it might break when they get updated again. I will keep an eye on it.

Also thanks for the suggestion and you comment. I really appreciate it.

Also, on the suggestions: I would love to see it implemented for "Stone Age Fauna" mods as they get updated to 1.21, for now only one is up to date. There is a lot of them tho so no worries if it's too much. Thank you once again!

Looks sick, thank!