A group of modders are rebuilding the original Tomb Raider games from the ground up. The OpenTomb project sees the group working to create an open source version of Tomb Raider 1 through 5 that will work in any web browser.
Attempts to access the source code for the games failed, as Eidos declined to work with the programmers. Despite this setback, the programmers believe that rebuilding the games with newer code will translate into a better gaming experience. For instance, the browser version of the game are not locked to 30 fps, and is able to make the most of modern GPUs. It will also run on any type of computer, since it’s designed to work in a browser.
OpenTomb currently exists the preserve the original Tomb Raider games. The group says that the currently available versions of the game on PC won’t last forever. Compatibility issues will eventually arise, which will make it more difficult for people to run the games. Doubly so as support for the official versions has already ended.
For now, OpenTomb has only completed work on a single level of the first game; and it’s not even the first level. This is after about a year of working on the game; which shows just how long it takes to develop games. That said, it is already available for anyone who wants to give the remake a try and perhaps remember just how bad graphics were back then.
[Source: OpenTomb]
