zStudio

Map editor and source-project tools for Zipper Interactive's RECOIL.

zStudio is a Windows desktop application. It unpacks RECOIL's retail game files once into an editable source project (the developers' original data\ and gamegen\ tree: text resources, glTF models, PNG textures, WAV sounds and build scripts), lets you edit the maps in zStudio or in Blender, and exports new game files from the sources. AI agents can work in the same workspace through local MCP.

Download zStudio v0.9.7 for Windows x64.

zStudio tells you when a newer release is out: Update available appears in the status bar; click it for the release page. zStudio asks GitHub's public release API at most once a day and sends nothing but its version; Help → Check for updates asks now, and Help → Check for updates automatically turns the daily check off. Running zStudio 0.9.6 or older on the same Windows account turns the daily check back on, because older versions drop settings they don't know.

Releases · Report a bug or request a feature · Contribute · Changelog

Quick start

1. Download zStudio-<version>-win-x64.zip from Releases, extract it and run zStudio.exe, a single program file (.NET is included); the Blender extension, LICENSE and THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md come beside it. It needs Windows 11 x64 and a Direct3D 11 graphics device.
2. On the welcome screen, under Work with source project, choose Initialize, enter the game's zbd folder (the one holding image.zbd and the mission folders m1, m2, …) as the Retail ZBD folder and an empty project folder, and choose Initialize and open.
3. Pick a map. Select objects in the view or the World tree and edit them in the Properties pane; Apply accepts an edit, Undo/Redo take it back.
4. Save writes the changed source files.
5. Export → Export all ZBD files… builds new game files into a folder outside the project, such as the zbd folder of a copy of the game.

Keep an untouched copy of the original game files. Reconstruction needs them, and an export into the game's zbd folder replaces them for good.

Documentation

zStudio's Help menu opens these guides as they are for the installed version.

Guide	Covers
Source projects	initialize and open a project, its layout, saving, check and export, build profiles, texture dithering, editing source files by hand
Map editor	the map workspace: objects, pickups, AI vehicles and networks, VTOL drop windows, zones, terrain, overlays
3D navigation	mouse and keyboard, fly camera, views, Hide UI and fullscreen
Blender extension	editing a project's models in Blender
MCP	connecting an AI agent
Compiled files	inspecting and exporting compiled game folders through MCP

Blender

The download includes the zStudio RECOIL extension for Blender 5.2 LTS (zStudio-Blender-extension-<version>.zip, beside zStudio.exe). Tools → Edit in Blender… checks out a model with every file it references; Tools → Update from Blender export… applies the Blender export as one undoable edit. See the extension guide.

AI agents (MCP)

Enable Tools → MCP integration…, copy the configuration it shows into your agent, and the agent connects through zStudio.exe --mcp. Access is off until you enable it, works only for your Windows account on this computer, and the agent uses the visible workspace with the same undo, drafts and save checks as you. See MCP.

Compatibility

Game	Support
RECOIL (1998 and 1999 releases, September 1998 demo)	Source projects: reconstruct, edit, export
RECOIL July and August 1998 demos	Read-only inspection through MCP (Compiled files)
MechWarrior 3	Read-only inspection through MCP (Compiled files)

Game files are not included; use your own copy of the game.

Limits

• Exported files work in the game but are not byte-identical to the shipped ones (differences). Not every kind of edit has been tested in the game.
• Some edits are available only through MCP, such as adding a model to a world or moving an object to another parent.
• Previews show each mission's starting scene; they don't simulate gameplay.
• zStudio.exe is unsigned.
• On the first start of each version, zStudio unpacks WPF's native files (about 8 MB) to %TEMP%\.net\zStudio\. Where a policy blocks programs in %TEMP%, set the environment variable DOTNET_BUNDLE_EXTRACT_BASE_DIR to another writable folder. Folders of older versions there can be deleted.

Contributing

Bug reports, feature requests and pull requests are welcome. Use the issue forms and read CONTRIBUTING.md. Include the game version and zStudio version in reports, and don't upload game files or extracted game assets.

License

zStudio is licensed under the MIT License, copyright © 2026 Vorta. Game content retains its original ownership. zStudio is independent of Zipper Interactive and is not an official game tool. Dependency notices are in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md.