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The 1.5 Patch is an unofficial patch for Battlezone created by Ken Miller, resolving several longstanding issues and implementing new features.

Origins[]

Miller began working on the 1.5 patch in mid-September 2007 after an e-mail containing a copy of the 1.4 source code allowed him to replace the copy of 1.3.1 he already possessed.[1] He almost immediately began repairing the engine, as exposure to a more modern compiler than the original Visual Studio 5.0 helped expose several bugs which had a major impact on the game's functionality.[2] Within days, Ken's changes had become significant enough to require version control.[3]

The project lay fallow for two years until early November 2009, when Ken compiled his changes into an experimental build which he released on BZUniverse. As an experimental prototype it had several serious issues still unresolved, but it was met with great enthusiasm.[4] Despite this, Ken was still debating whether to continue developing the patch due to the difficulties he had in getting the game to function with hardware rendering; he even went as far as to consider making the source code publicly available, an offer he later rescinded.[5]

Come December 5th he had resolved to create another experimental build focused on updating the game to use Direct 3D 9. The experimental builds continued for another five months, then regular releases continued until Ken started to produce release candidates for 1.5 in September 2011. The final build of 1.5.0 was released on December 6th 2012.[6]

Version History[]

1.5.2.27 Update 1, which would become the final release of 1.5, was released on December 17th 2014.[7] While Miller took a break from developing the patch to work on other projects, British developer Rebellion Developments announced their intention to release a remastered version of the original game. This was to build on Miller's work, and he was involved in its development in an advisory capacity.[8]

Credits[]

Miller's website provides special thanks to several members and groups from across the Battlezone community, without whose direct and indirect contributions he maintains 1.5 may well never have come into existence at all. Listed by name are Dx, Tug, Sporkinator, and Mr. Spock, and specific communities thanked are battlezone1.org, Battlezone Club, the Battlezone forums on bzforum.matesfamily.org, and Battlezone Universe.[9]

Notes[]

  • Some republished versions of Battlezone have been noted as claiming to carry the a "1.5 patch", though this is likely a typographic error; these versions do not contain any discernable differences from 1.4 and are compatible with it in multiplayer.[10]

References[]

Version History
Battlezone Overview (1.1 · 1.2 · 1.3 · 1.4 · 1.5)
Battle Grounds Overview (1.1)
The Red Odyssey Overview (1.1 · 1.2 · 1.3)
Battlezone II Overview (1.1 · 1.2 · 1.3)
Battlezone 98 Redux Overview (2.1.192 · 2.1.201 · 2.2.301)
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