Zak McKracken: Between Time and Space - remastered deLuxe Edition v2.2

WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?

Warning: This game is not political correct and contains some swearing and criminal behavior. The game is not rated. If you don't like it, don't play it. Don't take the game too serious, and you might enjoy it. This is the only warning. Promised!
  • This is a free fan adventure, a sequel to Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders from LucasFilm Games released in 1988. You can read more about that in the manual.
  • Originally, this fan adventure was developed by the Artificial Hair Brothers in 2008. Back then, German was the only supported language.
  • In 2015, the announced English version was released as the Director's Cut. The game has additional cut-scene videos, a new user interface and it was reframed (not chopped off) to a 16:9 aspect ratio. Sadly, most of the known bugs from the 2008 release also made it into this version.
  • When they announced this Director's Cut, I did offer my help in remastering the game. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Until now that is.

I present you:

Zak: BTAS-Logo

THE REMASTERED DELUXE EDITION

The initial motivation to do the remastering was the extreme variations in the audio quality. Furthermore, the Linux version was severely broken. After 4 month of extensive work in my spare time, many more improvements crept in. I think, it was worth the effort, though, thus here it is:
  • About 17 hours audio worked on. No more annoying variations in loudness and tone, flawlessly looped background music. Those 17 hours consist of video sequences, music, sfx and German and English voice acting.
  • Linux version actually working.
  • Furthermore, I fixed many script bugs and graphic errors, some of them existed all the way back to 2008, some were introduced in 2015. There is a detailed, but spoilery list. See Extras/deluxe_edition_edits_en.txt
  • Video sequences got subtitles.
  • Screen language and voice acting language can be selected independently.
  • Subtitles can be disabled.
  • No clueless crawling around: Many more exits can be cut short with a double click now. This includes all automatic doors.
  • It is now possible to play the cut from 2008 again. For the first time, this is even possible with English voice acting. This cut contains fewer video sequences, but on the other hand includes some scripted cut-scenes not included in the Director's Cut. The video sequences still included remain in the enhanced quality from 2015.
  • Those and some more settings can be adjusted in the new deLuxe menu.
  • I also considered the Spanish fans and included their independent fan translation as well.

TECHNICAL SPECS

  • Audio language: German, English
  • Screen language: German, English, French*, Spanish
    *French is as incomplete as released with the 2015 Director's Cut. I'd like to change that with your help, as I don't speak French.
  • Operating system: at least Windows 7, MacOS 10.7 on Intel x86_64 or Rosetta 2, or Linux x86_64
  • at least 2 GB RAM
  • at least 512 MB VRAM
  • at least 3 GB free mass storage or a DVD drive

INSTALLING

  • Just extract the ZIP file.
  • This is a Windows/MacOS/Linux hybrid version.
    Start the game with:
    Windows: ZakMcKracken_BTAS_deLuxe_Win.bat
    MacOS: ZakMcKracken_BTAS_deLuxe_Mac.app
    Linux: ZakMcKracken_BTAS_deLuxe_Linux.sh
  • The savegames and the config.ini is located at:
    Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Artificial Hair Brothers\Zak McKracken BTAS deluxe
    MacOS: $HOME/Library/Application Support/Artificial Hair Brothers/Zak McKracken BTAS deluxe
    Linux: $XDG_DATA_HOME/Artificial Hair Brothers/Zak McKracken BTAS deluxe
      Fallback to $HOME/.local/share/Artificial Hair Brothers/Zak McKracken BTAS deluxe
    No need to edit the config.ini, since all options can be set in the menus in game.
  • Beware that savegames can not be exchanged between this and other versions of the game. They are not compatible to each other. In case you already played any other version of the game, please start over with a new game.
  • Have fun with this remastered fan game.

DOWNLOAD

16-mar-2026:

Seth Paul, the English voice actor for Zak kindly recorded a few lines. One of which were missing entirely from the 2015 version, and two which were previously synthesized due to corrected errors in the text.
Savegames are likely to break with this update.

V2.2: zak2btasdeluxe2.2.zip (2.4 GB). Manual and Walkthrough included.

V2.2: zak2btasdeluxe_update_2.2.exe (2.7 MB). Update from v2.1a to v2.2.

old versions:

14-jul-2025:

This update fixes a typo in a video in German and brings some corrections in the accompanying documents.
Current savegames remain compatible with this update. You can get your currently installed version from the file FILE_ID.DIZ.

V2.1a: zak2btasdeluxe_update_2.1a.exe (395 kB). Update from v2.1 to v2.1a. Use this, if you got the game after the MacOS support was introduced.

V2.1a: zak2btasdeluxe_update_2.1a_no_mac.exe (15 MB). Update from v2.1 to v2.1a. Use this, if you got the game before MacOS support was introduced, or if you applied the update from v2.0 to v2.1.

04-jul-2025:

In addition to Windows and Linux, MacOS is now supported as well. The version is still 2.1 since the game itself has not changed.

04-jun-2025:

V2.1: zak2btasdeluxe_update_2.1.exe (2.7 MB). Update from v2.0 to v2.1. As asked by Matthew Alan Kane in a recent interview, this fixes his name's typo on the TV show's chyron.
Savegames are likely to break with this update.

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