Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.
TR1X and TR2X require original game assets, but are designed to ensure the 1990s Tomb Raider preservation is playable on future hardware.
While the original Tomb Raider games have been remastered and ported to current hardware, the first two titles in the series can now be found as open source ports, ensuring the longevity of the titles for games preservation.
Tomb Raider (1996) and Tomb Raider II (1997) were originally developed by Core Design and published by Eidos. Legal copies of the games — whether from the original media or a modern re-release — are required to play these new open source re-implementations, as these versions don’t include the assets (for copyright reasons). If you need them, they’re on Steam and GOG.
TR1X features
The open source Tomb Raider I features the following improvements over the original game:
- Smooth 60 FPS and modern rendering
- Rich settings and improved UI
- Photo mode
- Restored braid and skyboxes
- Jump twists and other TR2+ goodies
- Developer console and debugging commands
- Cross platform
Moves and other Tomb Raider II elements are particularly welcome!
TR2X features
- Smooth 60 FPS
- Revamped audio and windowed mode support
- Rich settings and improved UI
- Photo mode
- Developer console and debugging commands
- Cross platform
Where can you find the Tomb Raider preservation project?
If you opt to install these open source game preservation versions of Tomb Raider, spend some time on the documentation page on the website to learn the command line options for running the games under different conditions — activating expansion packs, for example.
To learn more about this project, you can visit the preservation project’s website at lostartefacts.dev. Further information is available, meanwhile, on the project’s GitHub page. To play these open source versions, hit the download links on either site — they’re designed to run on Windows, Linux and macOS. Other platforms may arrive later, along with additional features.
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.
