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Battlezone Demo
BzDemoAd3
Information
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Activision
Date: 1998-02-06[1]
Period: Late 1960s

The Battlezone Demo, released in February 1998 to promote the release of Battlezone, contains the first four Combat Exercises and the first two missions of the Stars and Stripes campaign - all of the game's Lunar missions bar The Playground. All six missions play the same as they do in the release version of the game.[2] Some map files for Misn02 are also present, but as they are not all present attempting to load them will crash the game.[3]

Three fundamental versions of the demo exist; an initial downloadable release, a version distributed in disc format and a later downloadable release based on the release version of the game. Some deviations from these three versions exist, but these primarily are the result of alterations made by the distributor.

First Downloadable Release[]

The first version of the demo is based on version 0.7 of Battlezone and as such has some derivations from the final release of the game. Most of these are similar to 0.8

  • Weapon crates use the Ammo Pod model and make no sound when picked up
  • All weapons cost 1 unit of Biometal
  • Nav Cameras reveal the surrounding 200m on radar
  • Solar Power Plants have lower health and range (the same range as all other power plants)
  • Soldiers are are armed with the standard Minigun and Chaingun
  • The Mobile Unit Factory has nearly double health
  • The Grizzly wields the MAG cannon instead of a minigun and is not equipped with a mortar
  • The Czar similarly wields the Flash cannon instead of a chaingun (if the player steals one)
  • Higher-gauge MAG rounds do less damage
  • Minigun and Chain Gun fire twice as fast but deal half damage
  • Pylons use a primitive cone-and-arrow model

Disc Release[]

The disc release of the Battlezone Demo is occasionally identified incorrectly as a beta of version 0.7. Whilst it, like the initial downloadable version, is based on version 0.7 of the game it is still only a limited demo preview.[4] The playable contents of the disc release are exactly the same as the downloadable, but it does contain an additional 15MB of assets. Some versions also contained a redistributable version of DirectX (versions 4.05 or 5), the Dark Reign missions also included on the retail and Gold Pack discs, or a collection of trailers.[5]

  • Slim version of the disc splash screen and installer (lacking Apollo 15 video, news report, previews and support details)
  • Intro cinematic
  • Early version of the full animated menu (including Mars and Venus animations, early American poster and Battlezone logo)
  • Remnants of the original menu system

Trivia[]

  • Voice files for the Grizzly are included, but unused.

Second Downloadable Release[]

The second downloadable release of the demo, released in June 1998, was based on version 1.3 of the retail game.[6] Most of its content was equivalent to the first demo release, but it also included the Benchmark Demo and was packaged in a branded installer. Cheats are functional in this version, and while the mission list cheat can be used to display all 17 Stars and Stripes missions only the first two can be loaded; the files for the others are not present and attempting to load them will crash the game.[7]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Battlezone: News Archive on Activision.com/battlezone, archived 2000-05-18
  2. Battlezone Demo
  3. Battlezone Demo, misn02.bzn
  4. BZ 0.7beta cd on matesfamily.org
  5. Battlezone Demo (Disc release)
  6. Battlezone Demo (Second download release), README.rtf
  7. Battlezone Demo (Second download release)
Battlezone Series
Games Battlezone (Battle Grounds · The Red Odyssey · Rise of the Black Dogs · Gold Pack) · Battlezone II: Combat Commander
Remasters Battlezone 98 Redux (Battlezone 98 Redux: The Red Odyssey · Battlezone 98 Redux: Odyssey Edition)
Soundtracks Battlezone (The Red Odyssey · Rise of the Black Dogs · Early Test Soundtrack) · Battlezone II (Battlezone II Music Pack)
Demos Battlezone (Instant Action · The Red Odyssey) · Battlezone II
Strategy Guides Battlezone · Battlezone II
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