diff --git a/src/engine/h2d_file.cpp b/src/engine/h2d_file.cpp
index 6cb58a766e2..e2c4d44d7af 100644
--- a/src/engine/h2d_file.cpp
+++ b/src/engine/h2d_file.cpp
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ namespace fheroes2
         }
 
         for ( const auto & data : _fileData ) {
-            fileStream.putRaw( reinterpret_cast<const char *>( data.second.data() ), data.second.size() );
+            fileStream.putRaw( data.second.data(), data.second.size() );
         }
 
         return true;
@@ -213,8 +213,8 @@ namespace fheroes2
         stream.putLE32( static_cast<uint32_t>( image.y() ) );
 
         const size_t imageSize = static_cast<size_t>( image.width() ) * static_cast<size_t>( image.height() );
-        stream.putRaw( reinterpret_cast<const char *>( image.image() ), imageSize );
-        stream.putRaw( reinterpret_cast<const char *>( image.transform() ), imageSize );
+        stream.putRaw( image.image(), imageSize );
+        stream.putRaw( image.transform(), imageSize );
 
         return writer.add( name, stream.getRaw() );
     }
diff --git a/src/engine/serialize.cpp b/src/engine/serialize.cpp
index 54e703cab3a..05087967e81 100644
--- a/src/engine/serialize.cpp
+++ b/src/engine/serialize.cpp
@@ -416,7 +416,7 @@ std::vector<uint8_t> StreamBuf::getRaw( size_t sz )
     return v;
 }
 
-void StreamBuf::putRaw( const char * ptr, size_t sz )
+void StreamBuf::putRaw( const void * ptr, size_t sz )
 {
     if ( sz == 0 ) {
         return;
@@ -671,7 +671,7 @@ std::vector<uint8_t> StreamFile::getRaw( const size_t size )
     return v;
 }
 
-void StreamFile::putRaw( const char * ptr, size_t sz )
+void StreamFile::putRaw( const void * ptr, size_t sz )
 {
     if ( !_file ) {
         return;
diff --git a/src/engine/serialize.h b/src/engine/serialize.h
index 4ca9fb93c84..ec9bc5ce866 100644
--- a/src/engine/serialize.h
+++ b/src/engine/serialize.h
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ class StreamBase
     virtual void putLE16( uint16_t ) = 0;
 
     virtual std::vector<uint8_t> getRaw( size_t = 0 /* all data */ ) = 0;
-    virtual void putRaw( const char *, size_t ) = 0;
+    virtual void putRaw( const void *, size_t ) = 0;
 
     uint16_t get16();
     uint32_t get32();
@@ -322,7 +322,7 @@ class StreamBuf : public StreamBase
     void putLE16( uint16_t v ) override;
 
     std::vector<uint8_t> getRaw( size_t sz = 0 /* all data */ ) override;
-    void putRaw( const char * ptr, size_t sz ) override;
+    void putRaw( const void * ptr, size_t sz ) override;
 
     std::string toString( const size_t size = 0 );
 
@@ -383,7 +383,7 @@ class StreamFile : public StreamBase
     // 0 stands for full data.
     std::vector<uint8_t> getRaw( const size_t size = 0 ) override;
 
-    void putRaw( const char *, size_t ) override;
+    void putRaw( const void * ptr, size_t sz ) override;
 
     std::string toString( const size_t size = 0 );
 
diff --git a/src/engine/zzlib.cpp b/src/engine/zzlib.cpp
index d103b5cc484..35f7679e90c 100644
--- a/src/engine/zzlib.cpp
+++ b/src/engine/zzlib.cpp
@@ -26,18 +26,21 @@
 #include <algorithm>
 #include <cstring>
 #include <ostream>
-#include <vector>
 
 #include <zconf.h>
 #include <zlib.h>
 
 #include "logging.h"
+#include "serialize.h"
 
 namespace
 {
     constexpr uint16_t FORMAT_VERSION_0 = 0;
+}
 
-    std::vector<uint8_t> zlibDecompress( const uint8_t * src, const size_t srcSize, size_t realSize = 0 )
+namespace Compression
+{
+    std::vector<uint8_t> decompressData( const uint8_t * src, const size_t srcSize, size_t realSize /* = 0 */ )
     {
         if ( src == nullptr || srcSize == 0 ) {
             return {};
@@ -100,7 +103,7 @@ namespace
         return res;
     }
 
-    std::vector<uint8_t> zlibCompress( const uint8_t * src, const size_t srcSize )
+    std::vector<uint8_t> compressData( const uint8_t * src, const size_t srcSize )
     {
         if ( src == nullptr || srcSize == 0 ) {
             return {};
@@ -131,94 +134,94 @@ namespace
 
         return res;
     }
-}
-
-bool ZStreamBuf::read( const std::string & fn, const size_t offset /* = 0 */ )
-{
-    StreamFile sf;
-    sf.setbigendian( true );
-
-    if ( !sf.open( fn, "rb" ) ) {
-        return false;
-    }
 
-    if ( offset ) {
-        sf.seek( offset );
-    }
+    bool readFile( StreamBuf & output, const std::string & fn, const size_t offset /* = 0 */ )
+    {
+        StreamFile sf;
+        sf.setbigendian( true );
 
-    const uint32_t rawSize = sf.get32();
-    const uint32_t zipSize = sf.get32();
-    if ( zipSize == 0 ) {
-        return false;
-    }
+        if ( !sf.open( fn, "rb" ) ) {
+            return false;
+        }
 
-    const uint16_t version = sf.get16();
-    if ( version != FORMAT_VERSION_0 ) {
-        return false;
-    }
+        if ( offset ) {
+            sf.seek( offset );
+        }
 
-    sf.skip( 2 ); // Unused bytes
+        const uint32_t rawSize = sf.get32();
+        const uint32_t zipSize = sf.get32();
+        if ( zipSize == 0 ) {
+            return false;
+        }
 
-    const std::vector<uint8_t> zip = sf.getRaw( zipSize );
-    const std::vector<uint8_t> raw = zlibDecompress( zip.data(), zip.size(), rawSize );
-    if ( raw.size() != rawSize ) {
-        return false;
-    }
+        const uint16_t version = sf.get16();
+        if ( version != FORMAT_VERSION_0 ) {
+            return false;
+        }
 
-    putRaw( reinterpret_cast<const char *>( raw.data() ), raw.size() );
+        sf.skip( 2 ); // Unused bytes
 
-    return !fail();
-}
+        const std::vector<uint8_t> zip = sf.getRaw( zipSize );
+        const std::vector<uint8_t> raw = decompressData( zip.data(), zip.size(), rawSize );
+        if ( raw.size() != rawSize ) {
+            return false;
+        }
 
-bool ZStreamBuf::write( const std::string & fn, const bool append /* = false */ )
-{
-    StreamFile sf;
-    sf.setbigendian( true );
+        output.putRaw( raw.data(), raw.size() );
 
-    if ( !sf.open( fn, append ? "ab" : "wb" ) ) {
-        return false;
+        return !output.fail();
     }
 
-    const std::vector<uint8_t> zip = zlibCompress( data(), size() );
-    if ( zip.empty() ) {
-        return false;
-    }
+    bool writeFile( StreamBuf & input, const std::string & fn, const bool append /* = false */ )
+    {
+        StreamFile sf;
+        sf.setbigendian( true );
 
-    sf.put32( static_cast<uint32_t>( size() ) );
-    sf.put32( static_cast<uint32_t>( zip.size() ) );
-    sf.put16( FORMAT_VERSION_0 );
-    sf.put16( 0 ); // Unused bytes
-    sf.putRaw( reinterpret_cast<const char *>( zip.data() ), zip.size() );
+        if ( !sf.open( fn, append ? "ab" : "wb" ) ) {
+            return false;
+        }
 
-    return !sf.fail();
-}
+        const std::vector<uint8_t> zip = compressData( input.data(), input.size() );
+        if ( zip.empty() ) {
+            return false;
+        }
 
-fheroes2::Image CreateImageFromZlib( int32_t width, int32_t height, const uint8_t * imageData, size_t imageSize, bool doubleLayer )
-{
-    if ( imageData == nullptr || imageSize == 0 || width <= 0 || height <= 0 ) {
-        return {};
-    }
+        sf.put32( static_cast<uint32_t>( input.size() ) );
+        sf.put32( static_cast<uint32_t>( zip.size() ) );
+        sf.put16( FORMAT_VERSION_0 );
+        sf.put16( 0 ); // Unused bytes
+        sf.putRaw( zip.data(), zip.size() );
 
-    const std::vector<uint8_t> & uncompressedData = zlibDecompress( imageData, imageSize );
-    if ( doubleLayer && ( uncompressedData.size() & 1 ) == 1 ) {
-        return {};
+        return !sf.fail();
     }
 
-    const size_t uncompressedSize = doubleLayer ? uncompressedData.size() / 2 : uncompressedData.size();
+    fheroes2::Image CreateImageFromZlib( int32_t width, int32_t height, const uint8_t * imageData, size_t imageSize, bool doubleLayer )
+    {
+        if ( imageData == nullptr || imageSize == 0 || width <= 0 || height <= 0 ) {
+            return {};
+        }
 
-    if ( static_cast<size_t>( width * height ) != uncompressedSize ) {
-        return {};
-    }
+        const std::vector<uint8_t> & uncompressedData = decompressData( imageData, imageSize );
+        if ( doubleLayer && ( uncompressedData.size() & 1 ) == 1 ) {
+            return {};
+        }
 
-    fheroes2::Image out;
-    if ( !doubleLayer ) {
-        out._disableTransformLayer();
-    }
-    out.resize( width, height );
+        const size_t uncompressedSize = doubleLayer ? uncompressedData.size() / 2 : uncompressedData.size();
 
-    std::memcpy( out.image(), uncompressedData.data(), uncompressedSize );
-    if ( doubleLayer ) {
-        std::memcpy( out.transform(), uncompressedData.data() + uncompressedSize, uncompressedSize );
+        if ( static_cast<size_t>( width ) * height != uncompressedSize ) {
+            return {};
+        }
+
+        fheroes2::Image out;
+        if ( !doubleLayer ) {
+            out._disableTransformLayer();
+        }
+        out.resize( width, height );
+
+        std::memcpy( out.image(), uncompressedData.data(), uncompressedSize );
+        if ( doubleLayer ) {
+            std::memcpy( out.transform(), uncompressedData.data() + uncompressedSize, uncompressedSize );
+        }
+        return out;
     }
-    return out;
 }
diff --git a/src/engine/zzlib.h b/src/engine/zzlib.h
index 4b8a3ebb92e..93af925341b 100644
--- a/src/engine/zzlib.h
+++ b/src/engine/zzlib.h
@@ -27,32 +27,34 @@
 #include <cstddef>
 #include <cstdint>
 #include <string>
+#include <vector>
 
 #include "image.h"
-#include "serialize.h"
 
-class ZStreamBuf : public StreamBuf
-{
-public:
-    ZStreamBuf() = default;
-
-    ZStreamBuf( const ZStreamBuf & ) = delete;
+class StreamBuf;
 
-    ~ZStreamBuf() override = default;
+namespace Compression
+{
+    // Zips the input data and returns the compressed data or an empty vector in case of an error.
+    std::vector<uint8_t> compressData( const uint8_t * src, const size_t srcSize );
 
-    ZStreamBuf & operator=( const ZStreamBuf & ) = delete;
+    // Unzips the input data and returns the uncompressed data or an empty vector in case of an error.
+    // The 'realSize' parameter represents the planned size of the decompressed data and is optional
+    // (it is only used to speed up the decompression process). If this parameter is omitted or set to
+    // zero, the size of the decompressed data will be determined automatically.
+    std::vector<uint8_t> decompressData( const uint8_t * src, const size_t srcSize, size_t realSize = 0 );
 
     // Reads & unzips the zipped chunk from the specified file at the specified offset and appends
     // it to the end of the buffer. The current read position of the buffer does not change. Returns
     // true on success or false on error.
-    bool read( const std::string & fn, const size_t offset = 0 );
+    bool readFile( StreamBuf & output, const std::string & fn, const size_t offset = 0 );
 
     // Zips the contents of the buffer from the current read position to the end of the buffer and
     // writes (or appends) it to the specified file. The current read position of the buffer does
     // not change. Returns true on success and false on error.
-    bool write( const std::string & fn, const bool append = false );
-};
+    bool writeFile( StreamBuf & input, const std::string & fn, const bool append = false );
 
-fheroes2::Image CreateImageFromZlib( int32_t width, int32_t height, const uint8_t * imageData, size_t imageSize, bool doubleLayer );
+    fheroes2::Image CreateImageFromZlib( int32_t width, int32_t height, const uint8_t * imageData, size_t imageSize, bool doubleLayer );
+}
 
 #endif
diff --git a/src/fheroes2/dialog/dialog_resolution.cpp b/src/fheroes2/dialog/dialog_resolution.cpp
index 7fa585db7fb..da3b7b602df 100644
--- a/src/fheroes2/dialog/dialog_resolution.cpp
+++ b/src/fheroes2/dialog/dialog_resolution.cpp
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ namespace Dialog
             display.setResolution( selectedResolution );
 
 #if !defined( MACOS_APP_BUNDLE )
-            const fheroes2::Image & appIcon = CreateImageFromZlib( 32, 32, iconImage, sizeof( iconImage ), true );
+            const fheroes2::Image & appIcon = Compression::CreateImageFromZlib( 32, 32, iconImage, sizeof( iconImage ), true );
             fheroes2::engine().setIcon( appIcon );
 #endif
 
diff --git a/src/fheroes2/game/fheroes2.cpp b/src/fheroes2/game/fheroes2.cpp
index bafab3f7e4b..ecae10bf90a 100644
--- a/src/fheroes2/game/fheroes2.cpp
+++ b/src/fheroes2/game/fheroes2.cpp
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ namespace
     void displayMissingResourceWindow()
     {
         fheroes2::Display & display = fheroes2::Display::instance();
-        const fheroes2::Image & image = CreateImageFromZlib( 290, 190, errorMessage, sizeof( errorMessage ), false );
+        const fheroes2::Image & image = Compression::CreateImageFromZlib( 290, 190, errorMessage, sizeof( errorMessage ), false );
 
         display.fill( 0 );
         fheroes2::Resize( image, display );
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ namespace
             fheroes2::cursor().registerUpdater( Cursor::Refresh );
 
 #if !defined( MACOS_APP_BUNDLE )
-            const fheroes2::Image & appIcon = CreateImageFromZlib( 32, 32, iconImage, sizeof( iconImage ), true );
+            const fheroes2::Image & appIcon = Compression::CreateImageFromZlib( 32, 32, iconImage, sizeof( iconImage ), true );
             fheroes2::engine().setIcon( appIcon );
 #endif
         }
diff --git a/src/fheroes2/game/game_io.cpp b/src/fheroes2/game/game_io.cpp
index bf53a164101..b693a92c7c5 100644
--- a/src/fheroes2/game/game_io.cpp
+++ b/src/fheroes2/game/game_io.cpp
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /***************************************************************************
  *   fheroes2: https://github.com/ihhub/fheroes2                           *
- *   Copyright (C) 2019 - 2023                                             *
+ *   Copyright (C) 2019 - 2024                                             *
  *                                                                         *
  *   Free Heroes2 Engine: http://sourceforge.net/projects/fheroes2         *
  *   Copyright (C) 2009 by Andrey Afletdinov <fheroes2@gmail.com>          *
@@ -131,20 +131,20 @@ bool Game::Save( const std::string & filePath, const bool autoSave /* = false */
        << HeaderSAV( conf.getCurrentMapInfo(), conf.GameType(), world.GetDay(), world.GetWeek(), world.GetMonth() );
     fs.close();
 
-    ZStreamBuf zb;
-    zb.setbigendian( true );
+    StreamBuf sb;
+    sb.setbigendian( true );
 
     // Game data in ZIP format
-    zb << World::Get() << Settings::Get() << GameOver::Result::Get();
+    sb << World::Get() << Settings::Get() << GameOver::Result::Get();
 
     if ( conf.isCampaignGameType() ) {
-        zb << Campaign::CampaignSaveData::Get();
+        sb << Campaign::CampaignSaveData::Get();
     }
 
     // End-of-data marker
-    zb << SAV2ID3;
+    sb << SAV2ID3;
 
-    if ( zb.fail() || !zb.write( filePath, true ) ) {
+    if ( sb.fail() || !Compression::writeFile( sb, filePath, true ) ) {
         return false;
     }
 
@@ -221,10 +221,10 @@ fheroes2::GameMode Game::Load( const std::string & filePath )
         return fheroes2::GameMode::CANCEL;
     }
 
-    ZStreamBuf zb;
-    zb.setbigendian( true );
+    StreamBuf sb;
+    sb.setbigendian( true );
 
-    if ( !zb.read( filePath, offset ) ) {
+    if ( !Compression::readFile( sb, filePath, offset ) ) {
         DEBUG_LOG( DBG_GAME, DBG_WARN, "Error uncompressing the file " << filePath )
 
         showGenericErrorMessage();
@@ -240,13 +240,13 @@ fheroes2::GameMode Game::Load( const std::string & filePath )
         return fheroes2::GameMode::CANCEL;
     }
 
-    zb >> World::Get() >> conf >> GameOver::Result::Get();
+    sb >> World::Get() >> conf >> GameOver::Result::Get();
 
     fheroes2::GameMode returnValue = fheroes2::GameMode::START_GAME;
 
     if ( conf.isCampaignGameType() ) {
         Campaign::CampaignSaveData & saveData = Campaign::CampaignSaveData::Get();
-        zb >> saveData;
+        sb >> saveData;
 
         if ( !saveData.isStarting() && saveData.getCurrentScenarioInfoId() == saveData.getLastCompletedScenarioInfoID() ) {
             // This is the end of the current scenario. We should show next scenario selection.
@@ -255,9 +255,9 @@ fheroes2::GameMode Game::Load( const std::string & filePath )
     }
 
     uint16_t endOfDataMarker = 0;
-    zb >> endOfDataMarker;
+    sb >> endOfDataMarker;
 
-    if ( zb.fail() || endOfDataMarker != SAV2ID3 ) {
+    if ( sb.fail() || endOfDataMarker != SAV2ID3 ) {
         DEBUG_LOG( DBG_GAME, DBG_WARN, "File " << filePath << " is corrupted" )
 
         showGenericErrorMessage();
diff --git a/src/fheroes2/game/highscores.cpp b/src/fheroes2/game/highscores.cpp
index 06d80addfc6..6ddaf513ae2 100644
--- a/src/fheroes2/game/highscores.cpp
+++ b/src/fheroes2/game/highscores.cpp
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /***************************************************************************
  *   fheroes2: https://github.com/ihhub/fheroes2                           *
- *   Copyright (C) 2022 - 2023                                             *
+ *   Copyright (C) 2022 - 2024                                             *
  *                                                                         *
  *   This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
  *   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
@@ -128,8 +128,8 @@ namespace fheroes2
 
     bool HighScoreDataContainer::load( const std::string & fileName )
     {
-        ZStreamBuf hdata;
-        if ( !hdata.read( fileName ) ) {
+        StreamBuf hdata;
+        if ( !Compression::readFile( hdata, fileName ) ) {
             return false;
         }
 
@@ -193,11 +193,11 @@ namespace fheroes2
 
     bool HighScoreDataContainer::save( const std::string & fileName ) const
     {
-        ZStreamBuf hdata;
+        StreamBuf hdata;
         hdata.setbigendian( true );
         hdata << highscoreFileMagicValueV2 << _highScoresStandard << _highScoresCampaign;
 
-        return !hdata.fail() && hdata.write( fileName );
+        return !hdata.fail() && Compression::writeFile( hdata, fileName );
     }
 
     int32_t HighScoreDataContainer::registerScoreStandard( HighscoreData && data )
diff --git a/src/fheroes2/maps/map_format_info.cpp b/src/fheroes2/maps/map_format_info.cpp
index abc6295532a..5a1e37ee49f 100644
--- a/src/fheroes2/maps/map_format_info.cpp
+++ b/src/fheroes2/maps/map_format_info.cpp
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 #include <type_traits>
 
 #include "serialize.h"
+#include "zzlib.h"
 
 namespace
 {
@@ -152,15 +153,56 @@ namespace Maps::Map_Format
 
     StreamBase & operator<<( StreamBase & msg, const MapFormat & map )
     {
-        return msg << static_cast<const BaseMapFormat &>( map ) << map.additionalInfo << map.tiles << map.standardMetadata << map.castleMetadata << map.heroMetadata
-                   << map.sphinxMetadata << map.signMetadata << map.adventureMapEventMetadata;
+        // Only the base map information is not encoded.
+        // The rest of data must be compressed to prevent manual corruption of the file.
+        msg << static_cast<const BaseMapFormat &>( map );
+
+        StreamBuf compressed;
+        compressed.setbigendian( true );
+
+        compressed << map.additionalInfo << map.tiles << map.standardMetadata << map.castleMetadata << map.heroMetadata << map.sphinxMetadata << map.signMetadata
+                   << map.adventureMapEventMetadata;
+
+        const std::vector<uint8_t> temp = Compression::compressData( compressed.data(), compressed.size() );
+
+        msg.putRaw( temp.data(), temp.size() );
+
+        return msg;
     }
 
     StreamBase & operator>>( StreamBase & msg, MapFormat & map )
     {
         // TODO: verify the correctness of metadata.
-        return msg >> static_cast<BaseMapFormat &>( map ) >> map.additionalInfo >> map.tiles >> map.standardMetadata >> map.castleMetadata >> map.heroMetadata
-               >> map.sphinxMetadata >> map.signMetadata >> map.adventureMapEventMetadata;
+        msg >> static_cast<BaseMapFormat &>( map );
+
+        StreamBuf decompressed;
+        decompressed.setbigendian( true );
+
+        {
+            std::vector<uint8_t> temp = msg.getRaw();
+            if ( temp.empty() ) {
+                // This is a corrupted file.
+                map = {};
+                return msg;
+            }
+
+            const std::vector<uint8_t> decompressedData = Compression::decompressData( temp.data(), temp.size() );
+            if ( decompressedData.empty() ) {
+                // This is a corrupted file.
+                map = {};
+                return msg;
+            }
+
+            // Let's try to free up some memory
+            temp = std::vector<uint8_t>{};
+
+            decompressed.putRaw( decompressedData.data(), decompressedData.size() );
+        }
+
+        decompressed >> map.additionalInfo >> map.tiles >> map.standardMetadata >> map.castleMetadata >> map.heroMetadata >> map.sphinxMetadata >> map.signMetadata
+            >> map.adventureMapEventMetadata;
+
+        return msg;
     }
 
     bool loadBaseMap( const std::string & path, BaseMapFormat & map )
diff --git a/src/fheroes2/maps/map_format_info.h b/src/fheroes2/maps/map_format_info.h
index 81d08732beb..63cd889808a 100644
--- a/src/fheroes2/maps/map_format_info.h
+++ b/src/fheroes2/maps/map_format_info.h
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 
 #pragma once
 
+#include <algorithm>
 #include <array>
 #include <cstdint>
 #include <map>