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First post, by tangodownNZ

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Hi all,

I am desperately trying to get the original Z working on Windows 10. So far I have been unsuccessful.

What I really want to do is get this working on multiplayer. This game is awesome for multiplayer. Its one of the best multiplayer games in the world still in 2018!

I would be happy to contribute towards getting this game going again. We just need some programmers onboard.

I am aware of Z95 and Zod engine but these either don’t work in 2018 or you need to be a rocket scientist to get them to run.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Glenn

Reply 1 of 26, by spiroyster

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Zod engine worked on Windows 10 out of the box, last time I played it, not tried in 2018 though. I did play it about 4 months ago so... Zod engine worked in 2017, no problems 😉

As an ex-Z fan, I certainly recommend Zod engine... even over emulation tbh, although I have never played multuplayer in Zod engine, so don't know how it works in that respect.

Reply 2 of 26, by tangodownNZ

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Thanks for that reply. I am mainly talking about multiplayer. You are right, zod engine does work with Windows 10, but the multiplayer is very confusing. I think you need to activate a paid subscription through www.nighsoft.com and that’s fine but the whole thing seems sketchy. It feels like there is no garantee that the multiplayer will work, and I cant find anybody who says that they are using it and it’s all working fine. Also there are no instructions how to get it all going and how to find players if you do get it to go.

Reply 3 of 26, by ZellSF

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If you've eliminated Z95 and Zod Engine as options then you're asking for how to get the DOS version to run? There's plenty of documentation on that so you'll have to tell us where you're stuck.

BTW, Z95 runs fine on Windows 10 and it's far from rocket science, you just need the XP patch (http://imasters.org.ru/viewtopic.php?id=20) and probably a directdraw wrapper of some sort.

Reply 4 of 26, by tangodownNZ

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Sorry I’m not ruling out either Zod Engine or Z95. Its more that I don’t know how to set them up. Is Z95 like a patch that you can use with the original game disk/files.

I can load and play Zod Engine on Windows 10. I just don’t know how to set it up for multiplayer. I have asked Mike Nigh for a step by step for dummies. Do you need to activate your account by paying the $7 or whatever it is on the nighsoft site and then will it allow you to see who else is online and invite them to play. That is where I am stuck and confused. Does the website then communicate with the app running on your pc.

Thanks very much

Reply 5 of 26, by tangodownNZ

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Hi again ZellSF I'm still trying to get Zod Engine multiplayer to run on Windows 10, which it does but I am still having difficulty with multiplayer.

However I have been trying for hours to get the Z95 patch to run on Windows 10 and it doesnt work. I cant even get the original disk to install. I get an error message from Windows 10 "This app cant run on your PC" : (

Reply 6 of 26, by ZellSF

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The 1.6.5 XP patch includes an installer, you don't need the installer on the disc (you do need the disc inserted though). Install it, update to 1.7 beta 3.

Then you need one of the many workarounds for old games that are slow in Windows 10. I recommend DxWnd. If you go with DxWnd remember the game exe that needs to be hooked is winz.exe, zexp17b3.exe is just a wrapper of sorts.

Reply 7 of 26, by tangodownNZ

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Thank you very much for your help ZellSF.

I only have the original Z disk. I think I need the Z expansion disk, which I didnt know existed. Is there a free copy somewhere online. I checked but couldn't find.

I get this error with the original disk inserted. " Not found CD-ROM Z-Expansion. Insert a CD with the game and try again"

Reply 8 of 26, by tangodownNZ

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Just another note. Mike Nigh says that you can play multiplayer with both Local or Nighsoft server with Zod Engine. Does anybody know how to setup the local one, for playing multiplayer within the same house using the same router.

Reply 9 of 26, by ZellSF

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tangodownNZ wrote:

Just another note. Mike Nigh says that you can play multiplayer with both Local or Nighsoft server with Zod Engine. Does anybody know how to setup the local one, for playing multiplayer within the same house using the same router.

Seems to be fairly simple. Start a local game, uncheck AI players, then start another game and type the address of the computer running the first game in the connect address field.

tangodownNZ wrote:

Thank you very much for your help ZellSF.

I only have the original Z disk. I think I need the Z expansion disk, which I didnt know existed. Is there a free copy somewhere online. I checked but couldn't find.

The Z Expansion disk was never made freeware. And since they're currently trying to sell an inferior remake, I don't think it's happening soon either.

Reply 10 of 26, by tangodownNZ

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Thanks again for that ZellSF! Yes it worked!! Thanks its awesome. Do you know if we can play local even if we are in different cities, like on different routers. Or is that when we need to play using the Nighsoft server.

I dont think I need the Z expansion disk now.

Reply 11 of 26, by ZellSF

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tangodownNZ wrote:

Thanks again for that ZellSF! Yes it worked!! Thanks its awesome. Do you know if we can play local even if we are in different cities, like on different routers. Or is that when we need to play using the Nighsoft server.

I don't know, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

You probably won't be able to get it to work if you don't know how to forward ports (I think Zod Engine uses port 8000) on your router and how to find your public IP though.

Reply 12 of 26, by SpeedySPCFan

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ZellSF wrote:

You probably won't be able to get it to work if you don't know how to forward ports (I think Zod Engine uses port 8000) on your router and how to find your public IP though.

Quick tip for that last bit: you can find your public IP by googling "what's my ip" - I do that all the time when playing games with friends.

Musician & music gear/game reviewer.

MIDI hardware: JD-990, SC-55, SC-880, SD-90, VL70-m, Motif ES, Trinity, TS-10, Proteus 2000, XK-6, E6400U

Reply 13 of 26, by tangodownNZ

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ZellSF wrote on 2018-02-06, 22:54:
Seems to be fairly simple. Start a local game, uncheck AI players, then start another game and type the address of the computer […]
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tangodownNZ wrote:

Just another note. Mike Nigh says that you can play multiplayer with both Local or Nighsoft server with Zod Engine. Does anybody know how to setup the local one, for playing multiplayer within the same house using the same router.

Seems to be fairly simple. Start a local game, uncheck AI players, then start another game and type the address of the computer running the first game in the connect address field.

tangodownNZ wrote:

Thank you very much for your help ZellSF.

I only have the original Z disk. I think I need the Z expansion disk, which I didnt know existed. Is there a free copy somewhere online. I checked but couldn't find.

The Z Expansion disk was never made freeware. And since they're currently trying to sell an inferior remake, I don't think it's happening soon either.

I'm still having trouble with this and can't get any support from Mike at Nighsoft. The project website says, for any questions visit the forum. But the forum website doesn't work and hasn't for a while.

I can get the game to the "Loading" screen. It gets to 100% and thats it, the game does not start, and I need to force close it. Can somebody please see if they can get this game going, and tell me what they put in the boxes. I have put the IP addresses in but the game still won't run. I just want to play a local LAN game. The game will not run even with no other players selected, so just playing against the computer.

Do I need to enter in the engine settings, player name and password ect

Any help would be great.

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Reply 15 of 26, by ZellSF

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I've never any MIDI hickups/slowdowns with the XP patch (and I never got the game running on XP+ without the XP patch).

tangodownNZ: are you running it windowed? because that gave me that problem. Run it fullscreen.

Reply 17 of 26, by Cyberdyne

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Hey guys I found Zod engine from Google easily, but really can not find Z95, a link would be appreciated.

I am aroused about any X86 motherboard that has full functional ISA slot. I think i have problem. Not really into that original (Turbo) XT,286,386 and CGA/EGA stuff. So just a DOS nut.

Reply 18 of 26, by xcomcmdr

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If it's the 90s release, that would a link to an abandonware website, which is a big no-no here.

Unless the GOG version of Z includes it ?

I have Z95 on a real CD.

Reply 19 of 26, by tangodownNZ

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Abandonware has got nothing to do with Zod Engine xcomcmdr. Zod Engine has the support of the original Z game makers.

Now. Cyberdyne. The only way to play Z multiplayer, so playing against your friends ect is by using Zod Engine.

Now please can we keep to the topic. Which is getting Zod Engine to run multiplayer.