The Game — Commander Zod (Z)
In 1996, The Bitmap Brothers from the UK released a real-time strategy game unlike anything before it — Z. A big-time general named Commander Zod commands a bunch of rude robots on weird planets, fighting hair-raising battles against other robots. No hex grids, no dull turn systems. Just intense, fluid territory warfare with humour baked right in.
The first release was DOS-based. Playing under Windows 95 was possible but often problematic. The Bitmap Brothers recognised the Windows platform's rise and produced the 1998 "Z95 + Expansion Kit" — new levels, a Windows desktop theme with custom sounds, and a multiplayer level editor. A Windows 98 patch followed to fix the setup routine. In 2001, "Z: Steel Soldiers" attempted a full 32-bit sequel, but the original Z95 remains the cult classic.
Available today on Steam and GOG. Still 5 of 5 stars.
Press Opinions
- A real-time wargame in a totally free environment, unhampered by discrete turns or dull hex grids.
- A hair-raising race for territory and resources as you attempt to crush your opponent completely before he overpowers you.
- An intuitive control interface — no need to wade through a large and boring manual, just pick up and play.
- Super smooth multi-directional scrolling.
- Twenty challenging levels played over five deadly planets each with a unique terrain ranging from frozen Arctic wastes to nightmarish lands of fire and lava.
- The action in Z described in one word: Intense!
Credits
| Developer | The Bitmap Brothers |
| Producer | Warner Interactive, Laurence Scotford, Graeme Boxall |
| Publisher | Warner Interactive |
| Copyright | © 1996 The Bitmap Brothers |
| Designer | Eric Matthews, Steve Tall, Simon Knight, Martin F. Godber |
| Programmer | Mike Montgomery, Bruce "Nezzy" Nesbit, Steve Tall, Steve Cargill, John Phillips |
| Storyboard Design | Will Jeffrey, Jake West |
| Graphic Art | Dan Malone, Mark John Coleman, Doug Walker, Chris Thomas, Terry Cattrell |
| Sound FX | Chris Maule |
| Music | David R. Punshon, Richard Wells, Chris Maule |
| Addl. SFX & Music | Joe de Man |
| Voice Actors | Brad Lavelle, Allan Marriot, Sharon Holme |
| Lead Testers | Justin "Oz" Halliday, Chris Tudor Smith, Ben Walker, "Techno" Tim Mawson & The Warner Testers |
The ZZone
The ZZone was launched in 2004 by George Lewe as a combination of a main website and a community forum. It soon became the official fan website, acknowledged by the Bitmap Brothers, offering first-hand information for the fan community.
In early 2013, due to technical reasons, George took down the main site while the forum was continued. The forum remained active until today and is the only official Z community left on the web.
Mid 2014, with the release of the original game on Steam and GoG, George overhauled and revived the main site, again providing information, media and other resources about this awesome game.
The story goes on of course. Other fans and developers started to re-implement the game based on new technologies and platforms. DaMarkov was one of them with his implementation of Zed Online. In 2019 he and George started a collaboration for DaMarkov's "Zed Online" installment. Along those activities, George completely revamped the ZZone main site again.
In 2024, the site hadn't seen any updates in a long time and it was closed in favour of our Discord ZZone Server, where the community started to get active again.
Eventually, questions came up on Discord whether George had saved the media files from the original ZZone site. Of course he had — but too many to just attach to a post. So in 2026 the ZZone was refactored as a static website providing media about Z rather than functioning as an article-based site with regular updates.
Links
All links on the ZZone are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only. They do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by the ZZone of any of the products, services or opinions of the corporation or organisation or individual. The ZZone bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links.
Content and Copyright
The content of the main site was created carefully. Where this is not the case it is properly indicated. If you feel that material is used inappropriately, please contact support@lewe.com.
None of The ZZone content, as a whole or in parts, may be reproduced, copied or reused in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of George Lewe.