OpenZ
Sobre el proyecto
OpenZ es un videojuego de acci�n y aventura, lanzado en 1996.
Información oficial del proyecto
New in 1.3
- Level 7: the Volcano. Pyro Technics is back in 3D, on both sides: lava that bubbles and pops, erupting volcanoes, its own music, lava dragons over the map, and raptors, pig dinos and yellow worms at the lava nests.
- LAVA BURNS ROBOTS (OPTIONS, on by default): order your robots into the lava and they glow, complain and melt if they stay too long. Level 7 has its own scenes too: Alan and Brad in a hot tub among the volcanoes, and General EvilZod marching BS-01 straight through the lava.
- General EvilZod joins the fight: a hero for the blue side with an oversized shotgun and a power dash, in the Unit editor. In the levels he comes to help: on the blue retry after a defeat, and as the blue fort's last defense when red has taken everything else.
- A nuke in the Unit editor, a computer that mans empty guns, shots that fly over fort walls, harder grenades, a slower-reloading medium tank, hard shuttle crash landings and many fixes.
- New vehicle sizing: a smaller jeep that no longer looks as big as a tank, bigger robots at the wheel and on the guns, and vehicles that keep their size as they roll out of a factory.
- A faster Windows build (experimental): besides the normal download (Mono) there is a faster one (IL2CPP), about 20 % faster on weaker PCs. Plus smoother play at any frame rate, new graphics rows for slower PCs and one Mac download for Apple-chip and Intel Macs (experimental).
Full list: change log.
New in 1.2
- Play the blue side: General EvilZod of Evil Takeover Industries, as confident as Zod, with his small, easily scared sidekick BS-01. Pick your general from two recruiting posters, then play every map from the blue fort, with EvilZod's own briefings and end scenes (the winning one involves a very big blue nuke).
- A new medium tank between the light and the heavy tank, and new looks for the heavy tank, light tank, MLRS, mech and gun. The mech now fires its machine gun at robots between rocket salvos.
- Unit editor: drop both armies onto an empty field, watch them fight and try your own unit stats, then take your numbers into the real levels.
- A smarter enemy that flies squads in shuttles to empty flags, sends damaged vehicles for repairs and guards its borders. Plus new voice lines, easier-to-see flags at night, the free camera on by default, and many fixes.
- Experimental Linux version (also for the Steam Deck) beside the Mac one.
Full list: change log.
New in 1.1
- Level 16: Jungle, a third battlefield: ruins, waterfalls, wobbly rope bridges, rain, crocodiles in the swamp and monkeys on the temples.
- Alan & Brad join your army as a hero squad, and their shuttle is the first unit in OpenZ that flies (double right-click a far spot for a kickflip).
- Sniper headshots, jeeps that run robots over, high scores and army ranks, a smarter enemy with strike groups, new options, and a long list of polish and fixes on every level.
- An experimental Mac version.
Full list: change log.
Trailer (1.1)
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d2f8f14e-e250-4ff4-ae1d-8252bc9c53f5
<table> <tr> <td width="50%"><img src="media/clips/openz_clip_01.gif" alt="Flamethrower fight on the bridge" width="100%"></td> <td width="50%"><img src="media/clips/openz_clip_05.gif" alt="The fort blows up in the Car Park level" width="100%"></td> </tr> </table>The legendary Z is 30. This is the remake we always wanted.
Hi guys! The legendary Z is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and to commemorate it, the community gets the long-awaited faithful remake of the original Z, now in full 3D!
Every single detail has been meticulously recreated and restored with an almost ridiculous level of attention. Every unit, robot, vehicle, building, interaction and gameplay stat has been faithfully reproduced, and then improved with 30 years of RTS game design experience. Even the smallest elements, down to the flora and fauna of each biome, are there.
And that's not all: several completely new ideas and brand-new content have been added, including new units like the Mech and the Electrobot! Every change from the original is listed in the game's Changes & Updates screen.
<table> <tr> <td width="50%"><img src="media/clips/openz_clip_02.gif" alt="OpenZ gameplay clip" width="100%"></td> <td width="50%"><img src="media/clips/openz_clip_03.gif" alt="OpenZ gameplay clip" width="100%"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%"><img src="media/clips/openz_clip_04.gif" alt="OpenZ gameplay clip" width="100%"></td> <td width="50%"><img src="media/clips/openz_clip_06.gif" alt="OpenZ gameplay clip" width="100%"></td> </tr> </table>What's inside
- Pure Z gameplay. Capture flags to take whole territories. More territory means faster factories. Storm the enemy fort, or blow it to pieces. No resources to mine, no base building: just war.
- Four classic levels, fully restored: Level 2 (Desert), Level 7 (Volcano, new in 1.3), Level 16 (Jungle, new in 1.1) and Level 17 ("Car Park"), polished to an extreme level of detail, with day, night and weather.
- The whole robot army: Grunts, Psychos, Snipers, Toughs, Pyros and Lasers, plus the brand-new Electrobot.
- Vehicles and guns: jeeps, light, medium and heavy tanks, APCs, missile launchers, cranes, gatlings, howitzers, missile cannons, and the brand-new Mech. Any robot can board an empty vehicle, and a sniper can shoot the driver out of his seat.
- A real opponent: the CPU is ported from the open-source Zod Engine, with Easy, Medium and Hard difficulty.
- Everything goes boom: buildings break apart, bridges fall, wrecks burn, crews get thrown.
- Modern comfort: smooth zoom from a close tactical view out to the whole map, control groups, production queues, rally points, rebindable keys, game speed, 4K support.
- The humour is back: commander Zod and his robots have plenty to say. Every character, voice and line was re-created from scratch for OpenZ: new designs, new models, new recordings. No original assets or materials were used, and any likeness to other characters or real persons is purely coincidental.
Graphics & polish
OpenZ is built in Unity 6 with the Universal Render Pipeline, and every model was shaped, rigged, animated and painted in Blender. The goal was simple: the Z you remember, at the visual standard of a modern game, in 4K at 60 fps.
- Living battlefields: a full day and night cycle, rain and storms, drifting fog, wind in the flags and palms, heat haze over fire, lamps, searchlights and headlights that light up the night.
- Modern rendering: real-time shadows, anti-aliasing, bloom, motion blur, soft atmospheric lighting, animated water with shorelines, wet ground in the rain, and custom shaders for fire, flames, lasers and electric arcs.
- Physics you can feel: buildings break into pieces, bridges collapse, wrecks burn out, turrets get tossed, crews are thrown clear, debris bounces, shells leave craters and scorch marks, and tracks and wheels leave trails in the sand.
- Animation with weight: inverse kinematics plants every Mech foot on the ground, robots aim, kneel, go prone and climb into vehicles, vehicles lean and bounce, and the camera shakes when the big guns fire.
- The little things: flora and fauna for each biome (palms, cacti, seagulls, eagles, sandworms), base props around every building, team paint and war paint, rust and grime, and idle antics: leave your robots alone and they will find something to do.
- Sound to match: every action has its own sound, and commander Zod and the robots comment on the battle.
Every one of these details was recreated, restored and polished by hand, pass after pass, until it matched the feeling of the original. This is where it started, and where it is now:
<p align="center"> <img src="media/making/making_desert_then_now.jpg" alt="Desert level in Blender: the grey level prototype and the textured scene" width="100%"> </p> <p align="center"> <img src="media/making/making_carpark_then_now.jpg" alt="Car Park level: first pass next to OpenZ 1.0" width="100%"> </p>Day and night
Every battlefield lives through a full day: the sun rises and sets, shadows swing round, and at night the lamps, searchlights and headlights take over. The weather changes too, with realistic rain and storms that leave the ground wet and shining, drifting fog and wind in the flags and palms, while fire, explosions and lava throw their own light across the map. With the free camera (hold the middle mouse button and move the mouse) you can turn and tilt the view and watch it all from any angle, right in the game.
<table> <tr> <td width="50%"><a href="media/screenshots/full/openz_screenshot_78.jpg"><img src="media/screenshots/web/openz_screenshot_78.jpg" alt="OpenZ by day: a red assault on the blue fort on a green battlefield"></a><br><p align="center"><b>Day</b></p></td> <td width="50%"><a href="media/screenshots/full/openz_screenshot_77.jpg"><img src="media/screenshots/web/openz_screenshot_77.jpg" alt="OpenZ at night: searchlights sweep the jungle around the blue fort"></a><br><p align="center"><b>Night</b></p></td> </tr> </table>Behind the scenes
OpenZ is made in Unity, and every model is built in Blender. There is no shortcut behind it: it is a long, hard piece of work, level by level and unit by unit. Each battlefield is laid out, built, played, taken apart and polished again, often many times over, until it feels like the Z you remember. Every unit's stats, timings, sounds and little reactions get tested in real matches, and every bug a player reports goes onto the list and gets fixed.
<table> <tr> <td width="50%"><a href="media/making/making_process_1.jpg"><img src="media/making/making_process_1.jpg" alt="OpenZ running in the Unity editor: a battle on the Car Park level with the debug unit panels open"></a></td> <td width="50%"><a href="media/making/making_process_2.jpg"><img src="media/making/making_process_2.jpg" alt="The Car Park level open in the Unity editor at night: the scene hierarchy, the project folders and the game view"></a></td> </tr> </table>Screenshots
From version 1.2, the free camera is on: hold the middle mouse button and move the mouse to turn and tilt the view, and enjoy the battlefield in full 3D from any angle, right in the game.
<table> <tr> <td width="50%"><a href="media/screenshots/full/openz_screenshot_81.jpg"><img src="media/screenshots/web/openz_screenshot_81.jpg" alt="OpenZ 1.3: level 7, the Volcano, a battle among the lava fields at night"></a></td> <td width="50%"><a href="media/screenshots/full/openz_screenshot_82.jpg"><img src="media/screenshots/web/openz_screenshot_82.jpg" alt="OpenZ: the Desert level, an electro bot attack at the river bridges"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%"><a href="media/screenshots/full/openz_screenshot_67.jpg"><img src="media/screenshots/web/openz_screenshot_67.jpg" alt="OpenZ 1.2: a Desert battle by day"></a></td> <td width="50%"><a href="media/screenshots/full/openz_screenshot_68.jpg"><img src="media/screenshots/web/openz_screenshot_68.jpg" alt="OpenZ 1.2: Car Park at night"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%"><a href="media/screenshots/full/openz_screenshot_69.jpg"><img src="media/screenshots/web/openz_screenshot_69.jpg" alt="OpenZ 1.2: laser fire at a Jungle temple by night"></a></td> <td width="50%"><a href="media/screenshots/full/openz_screenshot_70.jpg"><img src="media/screenshots/web/openz_screenshot_70.jpg" alt="OpenZ 1.2: tanks clash below the Desert cliffs"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%"><a href="media/title.jpg"><img src="media/title.jpg" alt="OpenZ title card"></a></td> <td width="50%"><a href="media/screenshots/full/openz_screenshot_35.jpg"><img src="media/screenshots/web/openz_screenshot_35.jpg" alt="OpenZ screenshot"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%"><a href="media/screenshots/full/openz_screenshot_59.jpg"><img src="media/screenshots/web/openz_screenshot_59.jpg" alt="OpenZ screenshot"></a></td> <td width="50%"><a href="media/screenshots/full/openz_screenshot_37.jpg"><img src="media/screenshots/web/openz_screenshot_37.jpg" alt="OpenZ screenshot"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%"><a href="media/screenshots/full/openz_screenshot_04.jpg"><img src="media/screenshots/web/openz_screenshot_04.jpg" alt="OpenZ screenshot"></a></td> <td width="50%"><a href="media/screenshots/full/openz_screenshot_47.jpg"><img src="media/screenshots/web/openz_screenshot_47.jpg" alt="OpenZ screenshot"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%"><a href="media/screenshots/full/openz_screenshot_10.jpg"><img src="media/screenshots/web/openz_screenshot_10.jpg" alt="OpenZ screenshot"></a></td> <td width="50%"><a href="media/screenshots/full/openz_screenshot_07.jpg"><img src="media/screenshots/web/openz_screenshot_07.jpg" alt="OpenZ screenshot"></a></td> </tr> </table> <p align="center"><b><a href="docs/SCREENSHOTS.md">More screenshots (all 82)</a></b></p>Unit editor (version 1.2 and later)
A playground for every unit in the game, opened right from the main menu. There are no factories, no fort and no winner: drop robots, vehicles and guns of the red and blue teams onto an open battlefield, give orders to both sides, and watch them fight. Add a neutral flag to test captures, holographic obstacles to test lines of sight and paths, and grenade crates for your robots to pick up. Pause the fight at any moment, or speed it up.
On the right, every unit's stats sit side by side: the OpenZ values, the ZodEngine values, the values from the Z Wiki, and your own Custom set that you can edit and test straight away. A balance view compares all units at a glance. Save your setup to a file on your own disk and share it with friends, or send it to us if you find something interesting: OpenZ itself sends nothing anywhere.
Read the full guide to the Unit editor: every button, the stat sets, custom stats, saving and sharing, keys and tips for balance testing.
<table> <tr> <td width="50%"><a href="media/unit_editor/unit_editor_3.jpg"><img src="media/unit_editor/unit_editor_3.jpg" alt="The Unit editor in 1.3: two big armies on an open field, with the stats list open on the right"></a></td> <td width="50%"><a href="media/unit_editor/unit_editor_2.jpg"><img src="media/unit_editor/unit_editor_2.jpg" alt="A huge blue robot army charging a single veteran missile launcher in the Unit editor"></a></td> </tr> </table>How to install
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.
- Download all three parts from the release page:
OpenZ_1.3_win64_part1_of_3.zip,OpenZ_1.3_win64_part2_of_3.zipandOpenZ_1.3_win64_part3_of_3.zip(2.5 GB together). - Unzip all three into the same folder (right click, Extract All, and pick the same folder each time: Windows
suggests a new folder for each part, so change it).
READ_ME_FIRST_ALL_PARTS.txtin part 1 says the same. - Run
OpenZ.exein the folderOpenZ_1.3. That's it.
Windows says "Windows protected your PC"? Click More info, then Run anyway. It only appears because the game is not signed by a company. OpenZ sends nothing anywhere, and the full source code is right here.
You need: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), a DirectX 12 graphics card, about 5 GB of disk space.
Two Windows versions, same game: the Normal download (built with Mono) is the tested one and the one to start with. The Faster download (built with IL2CPP, experimental) runs about 20 % faster on weaker PCs. If the normal one feels slow on your PC, try the faster one; if anything feels wrong in it, go back to the normal one. On the same release page,
download every part whose name starts with OpenZ_1.3_win64_FASTER_EXPERIMENTAL and unzip them all into the same
folder, a different one from the normal game.
On a Mac (experimental): download both parts, OpenZ_1.3_mac_EXPERIMENTAL_part1_of_2.tar.xz and
OpenZ_1.3_mac_EXPERIMENTAL_part2_of_2.tar.xz, from the release page,
and unpack them into the same folder with Terminal (double-clicking them in Finder would give two folders):
cd ~/Downloads
tar -xf OpenZ_1.3_mac_EXPERIMENTAL_part1_of_2.tar.xz && tar -xf OpenZ_1.3_mac_EXPERIMENTAL_part2_of_2.tar.xz
Then right-click the game and choose Open on the first start, 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. See HOW_TO_START_ON_A_MAC.txt inside.
On Linux or a Steam Deck (experimental): download both parts, OpenZ_1.3_linux_EXPERIMENTAL_part1_of_2.tar.xz and
OpenZ_1.3_linux_EXPERIMENTAL_part2_of_2.tar.xz, and unpack them into the same folder (or Extract Here on both, in
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
Then start OpenZ.x86_64 (run chmod +x OpenZ.x86_64 once if needed). On the Steam Deck use Desktop Mode, no Proton
needed. See HOW_TO_START_ON_LINUX.txt inside.
The Mac and Linux versions have not been tried on real machines yet: please tell us how they run. For 1.1 there are also community builds by fenio (unofficial, native Apple Silicon + Intel Mac and Linux).
Want to be sure your download is the original? The checksums are in
RELEASE_SHA256.txt. Check yours in
PowerShell: Get-FileHash OpenZ_1.3_win64_part1_of_3.zip -Algorithm SHA256
New to Z? Read how to play and all the controls, or open CONTROLS in the game's main menu.
Watch real gameplay
Full matches, played and recorded in the game, no edits. Click a picture to watch it on YouTube; more on the OpenZ YouTube channel.
<table> <tr> <td width="33%" align="center"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl7l6SmRt_k"><img src="https://img.youtube.com/vi/gl7l6SmRt_k/maxresdefault.jpg" alt="Beating the Jungle level in OpenZ 1.1, full match"></a><br><b>Beating the Jungle</b> (Level 16)</td> <td width="33%" align="center"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w3KsjZpir4"><img src="https://img.youtube.com/vi/7w3KsjZpir4/maxresdefault.jpg" alt="Car Park night battle, full match"></a><br><b>Car Park night battle</b> (Level 17)</td> <td width="33%" align="center"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMy2Ir6IKEU"><img src="https://img.youtube.com/vi/EMy2Ir6IKEU/maxresdefault.jpg" alt="Desert on Hard, full match"></a><br><b>Desert on Hard</b> (Level 2)</td> </tr> </table>This is only the beginning
Together as a community we can bring Z back to its former glory: more restored classic levels, completely original new levels, new units and maybe even multiplayer. Your feedback shapes what comes next! Play it, report every bug you find, and tell us what you want to see. Every single report gets read.
<h3 align="center"> <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMuZs9-p1pCsRm59CQy4PBuZwE8VbOAJj_2TeER6gD3sf9ag/viewform?usp=sharing">Bug reports, feature requests and ideas: use the feedback form</a> </h3>Have a GitHub account? Use GitHub Issues: you can see every bug that is already reported, add a thumbs up or a comment, and follow the fix. No account? The form works just as well. Screenshots and short clips help squash bugs much faster. We are not taking code or art contributions right now: what we need most is players and their feedback.
Enjoying it? Drop a on this page and share OpenZ with every Z fan you know!
Source code
OpenZ is open source. The source folder holds the game code (C# and shaders) for reading. The complete Unity project
with every model, texture, sound and scene is attached to each
release as OpenZ_1.3_source_part1.zip and
OpenZ_1.3_source_part2.zip. See Building OpenZ from source (Unity 6.3 LTS).
License
- Code: GNU GPL-3.0. OpenZ ports the gameplay rules of the GPL-3.0 Zod Engine, huge respect to its creators!
- Art, audio and all other assets: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0: share and adapt them with credit, under the same terms, never for commercial use.
- OpenZ is free and will never be sold: no price, no donations, no ads, no commercial use.
- No original materials: nothing from the original Z game is used. No sprites, sounds, music, voices, art or logos were taken from it; everything in OpenZ was made new, from scratch.
- No affiliation: OpenZ is a faithful fan recreation built from scratch. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Bitmap Brothers or Rebellion.
Full credits: CREDITS.md.
FAQ
What is new in the 1.3 update? Mind your step, soldiers, the floor is lava! 1.3 brings back Level 7, the Volcano (Pyro Technics) in 3D, on both sides, with glowing lava, erupting volcanoes, lava dragons and its own music. Order your robots into the lava and they glow, complain and melt (LAVA BURNS ROBOTS, on by default). Alan and Brad soak in a hot tub among the volcanoes, General EvilZod marches BS-01 straight through the lava, and EvilZod himself joins the fight as a hero for the blue side with an oversized shotgun. On top of that: a nuke in the Unit editor, a computer that mans empty guns, shots that fly over fort walls, smoother play on slower PCs, an extra faster Windows build and one Mac download for Apple-chip and Intel Macs (both experimental), and many fixes. Everything is in the change log.
What was new in the 1.2 update? Choose your side, soldier! In 1.2 you can fight for General EvilZod and the blue army, with his small, nervous sidekick BS-01, his own briefings and a very big blue nuke when you win. There is a new medium tank, fresh looks for five units, a mech that fires its machine gun, a Unit editor to stage any battle you like, an enemy that flies shuttles and repairs its tanks, new voice lines, the free camera on by default and an experimental Linux version. Everything is in the change log.
What was new in the 1.1 update? Pack your sunscreen and watch your step around the water, soldiers! 1.1 adds a whole new battlefield, Level 16: Jungle, with ruins, waterfalls, wobbly rope bridges and rain. Crocodiles drag robots under in the swamp, and monkeys flee the temples when the shooting starts. Alan & Brad finally join your army as a tough hero squad, straight off their sun loungers, and their shuttle is the first unit that flies: carry a squad over swamps, cliffs and trees, and double right-click a far spot for a corkscrew kickflip. On top of that: sniper headshots, jeeps that run over big robots, high scores and army ranks from Private to General, Pyros that burn buildings, an enemy that sends strike groups, new options and a huge pile of polish and fixes on every level. Everything is in the change log.
Do you have a Mac version?
Yes, an experimental one in two parts: OpenZ_1.3_mac_EXPERIMENTAL_part1_of_2.tar.xz and
OpenZ_1.3_mac_EXPERIMENTAL_part2_of_2.tar.xz on the release page.
From 1.3 it runs natively on Macs with an Apple chip and on Intel Macs. Unpack both parts into the same folder with
Terminal (see How to install). It is not signed, so on the first start right-click the game and
choose Open (see HOW_TO_START_ON_A_MAC.txt inside). It has not been tried on real Macs yet, so please tell us
how it runs for you.
Is there a Linux version?
Yes, from 1.2 an experimental one, in 1.3 in two parts: OpenZ_1.3_linux_EXPERIMENTAL_part1_of_2.tar.xz and
OpenZ_1.3_linux_EXPERIMENTAL_part2_of_2.tar.xz on the release page
(unpack both into the same folder), also for the Steam Deck (Desktop Mode, no Proton needed). See
HOW_TO_START_ON_LINUX.txt inside. Our fan fenio also made unofficial OpenZ 1.1 builds for Linux and for Mac
(native Apple Silicon and Intel): fenio's 1.1 builds.
Thank you, fenio! These builds are made and looked after by him, not by us.
Running a Linux build inside a firejail sandbox and you hear sound but see no picture? Add protocol netlink to
the game's firejail profile. Thanks to our player keelefi for finding this and sharing
his working firejail profile!
Are any original models or resources used? No. Everything in OpenZ was made from scratch: every model, texture, animation, sound, voice line, music track and interface element. Nothing was taken or converted from the original game.
Do you accept donations or plan to sell it? No. OpenZ is a fully non-commercial fan remake. It is free, it will never be sold, and there are no donations, ads or paid extras of any kind.
Does it use models or resources from Z: Steel Soldiers? No. Nothing from Z: Steel Soldiers is used. All models and resources were made from scratch for OpenZ.
Is it a remake of Z: Steel Soldiers? No. Honestly, we were never big fans of Steel Soldiers. OpenZ is focused only on the original Z from 1996.
What are the unit stats and game rules? The same as in the original game, taken from the open-source Zod Engine: unit stats, build times, territory rules and the CPU opponent. On top of that there are some updates and improvements, and every one of them is listed in the game's Changes & Updates screen.
Disclaimer
OpenZ is an unofficial, fan-made faithful remake of Z (The Bitmap Brothers, 1996), created for its 30th anniversary. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Rebellion or The Bitmap Brothers. Z, its names and its characters belong to their respective owners.
All assets are 100% original. No copyrighted material from the original game is used: no original sprites, sounds, music, voice recordings, art or logos. Every model, texture, sound, voice, music track and interface element was newly made for OpenZ.
More about the original Z: Z Wiki · ZZone fan site · PCGamingWiki
Contact: openzhq@gmail.com · Discord (ZZone server) · YouTube