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I made a free open-source 3D remake of Z (Bitmap Brothers, 1996) for its 30th anniversary (lemmy.world)
submitted 3 weeks ago by to c/retrogaming@lemmy.world
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Remember Z, the original from 1996, not Steel Soldiers? The RTS where time was the only resource: no mining, no base building, just flags, territory and factories that build faster the more ground you hold. It turned 30 this year, so I rebuilt it in 3D in Unity with several of the classic levels. Version 1.1 just came out with a jungle level, a flying shuttle and Alan and Brad as a hero squad.

It's free and open source (code GPL-3.0, assets CC BY-NC-SA), nothing is sold, and it's not affiliated with Rebellion or The Bitmap Brothers.

https://github.com/playopenz/OpenZ

Would love to hear from anyone who played the original. What did you love or hate about it?

z

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[–] 5 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

Oh man, I cannot for the life of me remember if I actually enjoyed that game. I just remember I got it because it was so hyped in the media since its concept was so different from all other games.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

    Either you were crushing it in this game or you were losing and nothing you could do about it. Losing momentum was losing the game.

    I think also the pre-rendered cut scenes were something that impressed me at 10 years old or whatever. Stuff like this aged really badly but believe it or not these were impressive.

    Same with tomb raider seeing real 3d etc. and you would consider it unplayable today.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 2 weeks ago

    The cutscenes were a big deal back then. Half the fun of finishing a level was seeing what Allan and Brad would get up to next. I made several small cutscenes i nthe same style in the game

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    • [–] 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 child)

    Thank you, let me try it up!

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    • [–] 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 child)

    It was either you are on top of everything or on the back foot losing there was nothing in-between

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    • [–] 1 point 2 weeks ago (3 children)

    Looks cool, never played the original Z, just Steel Soldiers. I remember it being not particularly memorable in terms of the gameplay experience (there was a lot to choose from in terms of RTS game options at that time).

    It's also been 25 years or since I played Steel Soldiers, so my memory could be off.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 weeks ago (2 children)

    Steel Soldiers was a very different game. The original is faster and a lot more chaotic, so it might surprise you. Worth a try on a free evening.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 child)

    Steel Soldiers felt like a more typical RTS game from that era.

    Looking at OpenZ, the gameplay feels more distinct.

    I will give it a go one of these days. Seems like it won't be too difficult to get into.

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    • [–] 1 point 2 weeks ago (1 child)

    Thanks for sharing. I played the open source version of Z a few months back and it was a real nostalgia hit :)

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    • [–] 1 point 2 weeks ago (1 child)

    Awesome! Time for a nostalgia hit.

    If I'm understanding the github page right, it currently only has 3 levels? If I'm wrong, just FYI that's the impression it gives to a newcomer.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 2 weeks ago

    Right now it has three of the classic levels, each rebuilt in a lot of detail, and more are coming in the next updates. Thanks for the heads up on how the page reads. There are about 2-3 hours of gameplay inside already!

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    • [–] 1 point 2 weeks ago (2 children)

    I never played the original but loved other Bitmap Brothers games like Xenon and Speedball so definitely will give this a whirl. Thanks!

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