OpenZ 1.3

Unzip ALL parts into the same folder: the Windows game comes in three parts, the Mac version in two and the Linux version in two.

OpenZ 1.3

OpenZ is a free remake of the original Z (The Bitmap Brothers, 1996), the real-time strategy game where flags and territory decide the battle and time is the only resource. Version 1.3 brings level 7, the Volcano, with lava that burns robots, erupting volcanoes, lava dragons and its own briefing scenes; General EvilZod as a hero for the blue side; a nuke in the Unit editor; and many changes and fixes.

Highlights

• Level 7, the Volcano (Pyro Technics) in 3D: lava that bubbles, pops and burns robots, erupting volcanoes, lava dragons, raptors at the lava nests, and its own briefing scenes.
• General EvilZod, a playable hero for the blue side: an oversized shotgun and a power dash, and in the levels he steps in to save the blue fort.
• A nuke in the Unit editor, a smarter computer that mans empty guns, and shots that fly over fort walls.
• New vehicle sizing: a smaller jeep, bigger robots at the wheel and on the guns.
• Two Windows versions: the normal one (Mono) and a faster one (IL2CPP, experimental), about 20 % faster on weaker PCs.

Downloads

• Windows 10 / 11, 64-bit: OpenZ_1.3_win64_part1_of_3.zip, OpenZ_1.3_win64_part2_of_3.zip and OpenZ_1.3_win64_part3_of_3.zip. Download all three and unzip them into the same folder.
• Faster Windows build (IL2CPP, experimental): the same game built a different way, about 20 % faster on weaker PCs. Start with the normal Windows download above (Mono), which is the tested one; if it feels slow on your PC, try this one, and if anything feels wrong in it, go back to the normal one. Files: OpenZ_1.3_win64_FASTER_EXPERIMENTAL_part1_of_3.zip, OpenZ_1.3_win64_FASTER_EXPERIMENTAL_part2_of_3.zip, OpenZ_1.3_win64_FASTER_EXPERIMENTAL_part3_of_3.zip; unzip all three into the same folder, a different one from the normal game.
• Mac, EXPERIMENTAL (Apple chip and Intel): OpenZ_1.3_mac_EXPERIMENTAL_part1_of_2.tar.xz and OpenZ_1.3_mac_EXPERIMENTAL_part2_of_2.tar.xz. Download both and unpack them into the same folder.
• Linux, EXPERIMENTAL (also for the Steam Deck): OpenZ_1.3_linux_EXPERIMENTAL_part1_of_2.tar.xz and OpenZ_1.3_linux_EXPERIMENTAL_part2_of_2.tar.xz. Download both and unpack them into the same folder.
• Source code: OpenZ_1.3_source_part1.zip, OpenZ_1.3_source_part2.zip and any further part. Unzip all parts into the same folder.
• Checksums: RELEASE_SHA256.txt has a SHA-256 checksum for every download.

How to start

Windows: put all three parts in one folder, then unzip every part into the SAME folder (right-click, Extract All, and pick the same folder each time; Windows suggests a new folder for each part: change it). READ_ME_FIRST_ALL_PARTS.txt in part 1 says the same. Then run OpenZ.exe in the folder OpenZ_1.3. No installer, no account, no launcher.

Mac (experimental): unpack both parts into the same folder with Terminal: cd ~/Downloads and then tar -xf OpenZ_1.3_mac_EXPERIMENTAL_part1_of_2.tar.xz && tar -xf OpenZ_1.3_mac_EXPERIMENTAL_part2_of_2.tar.xz (double-clicking the parts in Finder would give two folders). Then right-click the app and choose Open the first time, because it is not signed with an Apple certificate. On macOS 15 and newer: System Settings, Privacy & Security, Open Anyway. It runs natively on Macs with an Apple chip and on Intel Macs. HOW_TO_START_ON_A_MAC.txt in the download explains every step.

Linux (experimental): unpack both parts into the same folder: tar -xf OpenZ_1.3_linux_EXPERIMENTAL_part1_of_2.tar.xz && tar -xf OpenZ_1.3_linux_EXPERIMENTAL_part2_of_2.tar.xz (or Extract Here on both, in the same folder), then start OpenZ.x86_64. If it is not allowed to run, run chmod +x OpenZ.x86_64 once. On a Steam Deck, start it in Desktop Mode; it is a Linux game, so no Proton is needed. HOW_TO_START_ON_LINUX.txt in the download explains every step.

The Mac and Linux versions were made on a Windows PC and have not been tried on a real machine yet. The Windows version is the tested one. If you try one of them, please tell us how it went.

What is new in 1.3

New

• LEVEL 7, THE VOLCANO: Pyro Technics returns in 3D on both sides, as the card after level 2 on the battlefield screen: a central road between two forts, a maze of rock on either side, ash-dark ground, glowing lava that bubbles and pops, and volcanoes round the map, some of which erupt with fountains, smoke and lava bombs. Its own music, day and night sounds, a loading picture of its sunrise, and an empty medium tank in two corners to capture.
• LAVA BURNS ROBOTS (OPTIONS, on by default): on your direct order robots walk into the lava, slow down, glow from the feet up and melt if they stay about 12 seconds. One of them complains as they go in, and left in the lava with no orders they walk back out to the nearest shore. Vehicles and the computer never go in. Off, lava is a wall as in the original.
• Level 7's own scenes: in Zod's briefing Alan and Brad soak in a hot tub among the volcanoes while a blue robot wades past; in EvilZod's briefing he marches BS-01 straight through the lava; winning as red, Alan and Brad toast the win in their hot tub with a clink of their cans.
• Volcanic wildlife: lava dragons fly over level 7, their flame burns robots under it (a healthy robot never dies of one pass) and they hate flying shuttles; the huts are lava nests with a glowing cave, home to raptors, mini raptors, pig dinos and yellow worms.
• GENERAL EVILZOD, a hero for the blue side in the Unit editor: nearly twice a robot's height in team-coloured armour with a cloak and an oversized shotgun, a power dash that skids to a stop, his own voice lines, and electric arcs when he falls. In the levels he steps in for blue: a blue player's RETRY after a defeat starts with him by the blue fort, and against a red player he comes out once as the blue fort's last defense when blue holds nothing else after 10 minutes.
• UNIT EDITOR: NUKE in the dock's extras (drag it onto the field and the bomber drops it there: everything within 30 m is destroyed and everything up to 45 m badly damaged, both teams alike; one every 30 seconds), and two light floors in BACKGROUND, Snow field and Desert dunes.
• The computer mans empty guns it passes or finds near its border, and units shelled by a fort tower gun move to a spot from where they can shoot back.
• New voice lines: complaints about the lava, help calls under fire, wipeout lines on a big boom, more menacing pyros, and Alan and Brad's remarks after a hard shuttle landing.

Changed

• The jeep is drawn 8 % smaller than the other vehicles. Robots driving a jeep and robots on the guns are drawn bigger, and vehicles leaving a factory or the fort shrink much less in the doorway.
• Fort cannon: a strong armoured neck with two heavy chrome rams lifts the head, and the head rises and drops together with the barrel.
• Shots between the ground and a fort tower or a platform deck fly over the wall to their target, both ways.
• The nuke's shockwave is a soft, half see-through ring that stays one smooth curve over hills and mountains.
• Grunts carry gun-metal grey rifles instead of yellow ones.
• Flags: the cloth turns to face the camera, and level 7's grey flags send out a soft ring so they are easy to find on the dark ground.
• Medium tank: it reloads 15 % slower, so a heavy tank wins a straight one-on-one again.
• Grenades hit 15 % harder, and their blasts are drawn bigger, closer to the area they hurt.
• A destroyed factory stands again after 10 to 11 minutes, empty and idle.
• Shuttle: about one crash landing in three is a really hard one; it costs a quarter of the ship's health but never destroys it.
• FRAME RATE LIMIT has two new choices, 40 and UNLIMITED (VSYNC), and GRAPHICS has new rows for slower PCs; every row starts on the usual look.
• The camera feels the same at any frame rate, and the game runs smoother on slower PCs with the same picture and the same rules.

Fixed

• Car Park: the stop signs face the camera and read STOP, and the car park warning comes only once an enemy robot has really climbed into a vehicle there.
• Destroyed guns on fort towers burn dark and fall apart like other gun wrecks, and vehicles and wrecks no longer end up stuck in the ground.
• The help call's portrait stays up long enough to click, and a cut-off call ends with SIGNAL LOST.
• Linux: the main menu's flybys play, and the RESOLUTION row reaches every size the screen offers.

Experimental

• Touch screen and gamepad input (the TOUCH and GAMEPAD row on the ADVANCED tab of OPTIONS).
• Mac and Linux versions, as separate downloads.

CHANGES & UPDATES in the main menu lists every change, those of 1.2, 1.1 and 1.0 included, and opens with the main additions of 1.3.

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OpenZ is an unofficial, free, non-commercial fan remake, not for sale and not affiliated with or endorsed by Rebellion. Z and its names belong to Rebellion; the game was created by The Bitmap Brothers in 1996. The code is under the GNU GPL v3; the art, sound and all other assets are under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.