| Z | |
|---|---|
Cover art |
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| Developer(s) | The Bitmap Brothers |
| Publisher(s) |
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| Platform(s) | MS-DOS, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Windows, iOS |
| Release date(s) | PC
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| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: T (Teen) ELSPA: 11+ USK: 12+ |
| Media/distribution | CD-ROM |
| System requirements
CPU 486 66 MHz, 8 MB RAM, VGA videocard (better, SVGA), 2x CD-ROM |
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Z (pronounced Zed) is a 1996 real-time strategy computer game by The Bitmap Brothers. It is about two armies of robots (red and blue) battling to conquer different planets.
A sequel, Z: Steel Soldiers, was published in 2001.
A version for the iPad was published by KavCom in 2011.
Contents |
Combat takes place on several planets, with 4 missions on each. When one is successfully captured, a space ship transports the robot army to another. Worlds are divided into the following types:
There are 2 versions for PC use, one for MS-DOS named Z and another one for Windows 95 named Z 95 & Expansion (that give Zeditor and Extension pack with additional challenging levels from 20 to 31. Each of these level are parallel; so 21 is the same kind as level 1 but with a bigger map and all Units available). The former used to require DOSBox (an open source MS-DOS emulator for various operating systems) to run on a modern Windows XP system.
Ports for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn were released in 1997 and 1998 only in Europe. Both were handled by Krisalis Software and published by GT Interactive. An iOS version is currently under development by KavCom Games.[1][2]
A workaround for Z 95's incompatibility with Windows XP which allows Z95 to run on a Windows XP system without any form of emulation was posted on the ZZone forums. The workaround, named "Z Expansion XP", involves disabling some protected instructions in the Z 95 executable and contains a custom installer since the original Z 95 installer refuses to run under Windows XP. In the concerning forum thread the Z Expansion XP workaround is also reported to work under Windows Vista. The concerning forum thread on the ZZone forums can be found here: Z95 for Windows XP without emulation
There are few differences between the Z DOS version and the Z 95 version. Most of all Z 95 was made much more compatible with Windows 95 which was becoming more and more popular. Also some more levels were added to the so-called Expansion Kit. The Z DOS version has an interface for loading the game as its first step. In Z 95 the interface is still there but modified and is just a normal interface using APIs of Windows 95 without the eyecandy buttons. Z Dos version is much slower, which affects the game play, whereas the Z 95 version improves the speed and lets the game feel like a real time strategy field. Also, a few unit statistics were changed to improve the game's balance.
Z was highly rated by various computers gaming magazines. For instance, it was awarded 92% by the PC Zone magazine, when it described Z as "a brilliant strategy game that is so hard Like all Bitmap Bros' games, there are loads of little touches that will amuse you, from the incompetent piss-head droids in the cut-scenes, flying you from level to level and crashing on the people flagging them in, to the voice which says, when you're struggling, 'You are so crap'. And you probably are. "Z"
The old article is still available online: archived review by PC Zone
The game has been kept alive with the help of an unofficial fan website called ZZone at http://zzone.lewe.com/. This has helped spawn many efforts such as the Windows XP launcher for Z95 support past Windows 95. It has also brewed a lot of hacking efforts to dig out a lot of the original graphic and sound assets from the game as well as editors for tweaking game stats such as unit speeds etc.
The Zod Engine is an actively developed open source remake of the game. Its main focus is to provide a cross platform friendly source base which is multiplayer oriented. Considering that the original is easily available the developers of the Zod Engine decided not to focus their efforts on the single player aspect but instead to make single player merely an option of multiplayer. The Zod Engine currently entails almost all of the original features and gameplay of the original game and is in a Beta stage. It is derived out of the efforts of the hackers at the ZZone website and is available at http://zod.sourceforge.net/
The Zod Engine has had an article written about it by the magazine Linux Format June 2011 - Here