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?
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.
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.
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.
It is pretty easy to get into: grab flags, the more you hold the faster you build. Hope you have fun with it, and the new 1.2 even lets you play the blue side.