Freeware v0.9.10. Changes: (1) Sounds for Sentinel/Sentries moving. (2) Improved game balance at Levels 80+. (3) Bug 11 fixed. (4) F1 displays essential keys, F5 displays random hints.

After nearly a year of development holiday, we think it's fair to announce that Zenith will not be seeing any planned development in the near future. This is because the author is dedicated to other projects, not because the author has run out of ideas. In the meantime, enjoy the game!

Applies to Freeware v0.9.9.r3 or later, re. bug 10. The addition of sound using OpenAL has meant that some players have experienced "unexpected Exception" errors when starting Zenith. This is because an old version (or no version) of OpenAL support was found on your computer. Downloading Creative's OpenAL installer for Windows solves this problem.

Freeware v0.9.10.r3. Small bug fix: Variations can now be zero for full replayability of landscapes.

Freeware v0.9.10. Preloaded resources, minimises delays when starting a game.

Freeware v0.9.9.r7.

• Tweaks to Sentinel's pedestal height.
• Faster fade-in.
• More robust application.
• Updated Command Console help files.
• Any errors occurring are reported in the Command Console window.

Testers needed. A bug 10 has emerged on version 0.9.9.r3, and only appears on some configurations, i.e. testing here does not reveal the bug. If you find that the current version does, or does not work, please provide feedback using the Feedback Form

Freeware v0.9.9.r5. More robust detection of sound capabilities, reducing occurrence of bug 10)

Freeware v0.9.9.r4. Landscape colours, new Player Guide, bug fix.

Freeware v0.9.9.r3. Option to lock cursor on mouse look (enabled by default).

Freeware v0.9.9.r2. Atmospheric 'heartbeat' to add tension, and some changes to effects.

Freeware v0.9.9. Sound effects added. Not all effects are yet present, and some sounds are temporary.

Freeware v0.9.8. Minor update: 'Tweaks' tab in New Game box (Change behaviour and speed of Sentries, and available resources).

Freeware v0.9.7. Minor update: Some transition effects, user scripting options, program folder structure. Major improvements held for future release while testing.

Almost everyone has commented that it would be nice to have sound, so audio is being added.

OpenAL and Ogg Vorbis seem to be worthwhile and suitable technologies, and initial tests are proving successful. After this exploration phase, sounds and music will be designed.

Now listed on download.com. Please submit your review there, to help build up a balanced representation of your experiences!

C-NET download.com listing scheduled for mid-October (assuming all is well).

Freeware v0.9.6. Beta label is now actually removed (no new features).

Beta label will be removed with the next release. It has been decided that the current release (0.9.5 Beta) satisfies our requirements for a non-beta product.

Freeware v0.9.5

• Bug 8 solved. Corrects a problem typically seen at levels 50+, where absorbing Sentries sometimes caused an error; Zenith could not recover.
• Bug 2 solved. Robot's view is correctly restored when returning from the Map View.

Beta Builds

To help manage small updates, it has been decided to maintain a 'latest build' that contains the latest features (possibly buggy), and to only update the main download occasionally.

The Latest Build can be found on the Project Page.

Freeware v0.9.4

• After winning or losing a Landscape, simple choices are presented to continue playing (easier, same, harder), Exit or Configure.
• Slight modification to landscape generation, now more likely to generate the same landscape when Variation is 0.

Changes to distribution:

• One of the mirrors has been removed, because it advertised unsuitable content.
• The ZIP file for v0.9.3 (26-Jul to 28-Jul 13:00 GMT) was badly-structured, and only readable by 7-zip

No actual content has been changed.

Freeware v0.9.3 (Beta)

• Bug fix: Landscape Number box now works; it previously did not remember its value, and did not allow all possible numbers to be entered.
• A change to the distribution: Documentation (Player's Guide) is now in a separate download, to help reduce the bandwidth burden on the website. Note that the documentation has not been updated on this occasion.

Freeware v0.9.2 (Beta). Improvements:

• Landscapes and game balance are about right now. Levels 40-70 are mostly possible now (previously the landscapes were too high in the 40-70 range - the starting position was often 'walled-in').

Note: there is a lot of strategy in 'climbing' with limited energy - if you think you can't complete a landscape, have a good look at ALL possible moves - including retreat to lower ground for a better position.

Freeware v0.9.1 (Beta). Improvements:

• Likelihood of 'impossible' landscapes has been reduced.
• Splash screen.

Freeware v0.9.0 (Beta). Improvements:

• Refined rules for absorption.
• Landscape difficulty, and game balance improved.
• Symbols in the energy display.
• Removed non-functional New Game and Configuration options.
• Removed non-functioning console options from Help.
• Persistent 'Hints' switch in Configuration.
• Landscape numbers can be used to replay games.
• Lighting and transitions more realistic and pleasing.

June 2006: Self-complete Freeware release.
July 2006: Licencing terms and distribution methods for an enhanced version.
This roadmap is no longer active.

Dev Demo 7. Control preferences (reverse mouse, reverse zoom). Preferences remembered. Bug 3 solved.

Dev Demo 6. Player Death sequence. Bug 1 solved. Bug 4 solved.

Dev Demo 5. In-game hints added, to get you started. Improved scan warning. Improved game balance (Sentinels and Sentries become much meaner in mid-level play). Bug 5 solved.

Dev Demo 3. Better game balance and difficulty progression between games. Bug 6 solved.

Dev Demo 1. This shows basic gameplay, but has no continuity between games. See Bug list, below.

Development has progressed sufficiently to warrant a project announcement on the website.