Engine Speculation

[Raster]

The idea that I'm seeing passed around on various TR discussions that this is just the PC version with a bunch of mods is kind of absurd to be honest, especially because this is coming to every platform under the sun.

Clearly, the TR Engine had been rebuilt for this release.

What do you guys think is going on? It's not wholly unreasonable that it was rewritten from scratch, as the internals of the engine are pretty well documented if you know where to look for them, as well as the fact that the original source code _probably_ still exists since we got those mobile ports way back in the day, and even before that things like the N-Gage port.

I speculate that this release might actually be based on something called OpenLara, which is essentially a fanmade open source engine implementation. Not too far removed from the concept of a "source port" we see for things like Doom. A few things push me towards believing this might actually be the case:
- The new pseudo directional lighting effect seems identical to how OpenLara does it.
- OpenLara uses a permissive software license, meaning that the developers aren't really doing anything wrong legally or ethically as the developer of OpenLara kinda chose to allow something like this within reason. And for all we know, they got paid.
- OpenLara was released for nearly every platform you could possibly imagine including many game consoles as a "homebrew" release. Hell, it's the software that powers that whole "Tomb Raider on the GBA" thing we saw explode on the internet a while back. A lot of the work to bring this to consoles is already done.
- The framework for updated controls is already there, as OpenLara has VR support.

Now there are a few reasons why Aspyr and Crystal D wouldn't want to go this route. For one it could cause controversy as any fan savvy enough could have their own "remastered" TR up and running in an afternoon for the cost of the OG releases, and even on console if so inclined. However, same could be said for Doom and most people don't really give a ♥♥♥♥, so who knows.

It's also very possible the TR engine was ported into another engine, this does happen sometimes. The recent Doom release is actually running on Unity, and GTA Definitive (gross ... ) was built on Unreal after all. This would be one of the best ways to explain how they're getting this release on so many platforms so quickly.

What do you guys think is going on?

[Thornok]

my guess would be they add some changes to the original engine and material

a new engine would be different, just like openlara feels different

[Thornok]

Originally posted by SaiMorphX:

IMHO, If it was a "REMASTER" and not just a spit shine, it would look like this, not the video preview show on the store page.
https://youtu.be/py8A6QH6ksg

thats a remake

[Allu13]

Originally posted by SaiMorphX:

IMHO, If it was a "REMASTER" and not just a spit shine, it would look like this, not the video preview show on the store page.
https://youtu.be/py8A6QH6ksg

Dude, it literally says "Remake" in the video title, not the same thing as a "remaster".

Despite them both meaning bringing back an old game to modern platforms, they go about it in very different ways, hence why there's two different terms. They are not one and the same.

[Raster]

Originally posted by SaiMorphX:

IMHO, If it was a "REMASTER" and not just a spit shine, it would look like this, not the video preview show on the store page.
https://youtu.be/py8A6QH6ksg

Why did you feel the need to derail the topic with something so asinine? Your post has nothing to do with the game engine (the actual intended topic) on top of being something that already has it's own thread. It didn't need to reposted, people don't care about that fan game, get it over it. It's also not a remaster, so you just look like you don't know what you're talking about.

I can assume you're either trolling or that somehow this discussion's topic went right over your head and you felt the need to dumb it down.

[jemYZX]

I am very disappointed on unreal engine 5 being for Tomb Raider I-III Remaster. I mean heck launcher in the dual pistols.

Does anyone feel the same or just shut it and goes for EGL(Epic Games Launcher)?

[webcider]

Originally posted by jemYZX:

I am very disappointed on unreal engine 5 being for Tomb Raider I-III Remaster. I mean heck launcher in the dual pistols.

Does anyone feel the same or just shut it and goes for EGL(Epic Games Launcher)?

no idea what you are on about, do you have link that says its unreal engine 5?

[jemYZX]

Originally posted by webcider:

Originally posted by jemYZX:

I am very disappointed on unreal engine 5 being for Tomb Raider I-III Remaster. I mean heck launcher in the dual pistols.

Does anyone feel the same or just shut it and goes for EGL(Epic Games Launcher)?

no idea what you are on about, do you have link that says its unreal engine 5?

THE NEXT TOMB RAIDER GAME IS BEING BUILT ON UNREAL ENGINE 5
Roli 05 April 2022
At the State of Unreal 2022 broadcast Crystal Dynamics' Executive Producer Dallas Dickinson officially announced that the next Tomb Raider game is already in the works and is being built on Epic's impressive Unreal Engine 5.

ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEO

Information on raidingtheglobe.com

[Lanzagranadas]

Originally posted by jemYZX:

Originally posted by webcider:

no idea what you are on about, do you have link that says its unreal engine 5?

THE NEXT TOMB RAIDER GAME IS BEING BUILT ON UNREAL ENGINE 5
Roli 05 April 2022
At the State of Unreal 2022 broadcast Crystal Dynamics' Executive Producer Dallas Dickinson officially announced that the next Tomb Raider game is already in the works and is being built on Epic's impressive Unreal Engine 5.

"Next Tomb Raider game" must refer to the next NEW Tomb Raider game. Devs have already stated that the trilogy remaster is using the same engine and source code from the original games:

https://blog.playstation.com/2024/01/16/tomb-raider-i-iii-remastered-ps4-ps5-features-detailed-new-key-art-revealed/

Why would they use UE5 for a remaster of games from 20+ years old?

[chakkman]

That's about a potential next Tomb Raider game by Crystal Dynamics, not about this game. This doesn't use Unreal Engine.

Looks like they modified and use the original engine, but, not sure.

[jemYZX]

Originally posted by chakkman:

That's about a potential next Tomb Raider game by Crystal Dynamics, not about this game. This doesn't use Unreal Engine.

Looks like they modified and use the original engine, but, not sure.

So is it a Clickbait or a new Tomb Raider base from the Reboot?

It's a bit off putting to be honest.

Originally posted by Lanzagranadas:

Originally posted by jemYZX:

THE NEXT TOMB RAIDER GAME IS BEING BUILT ON UNREAL ENGINE 5
Roli 05 April 2022
At the State of Unreal 2022 broadcast Crystal Dynamics' Executive Producer Dallas Dickinson officially announced that the next Tomb Raider game is already in the works and is being built on Epic's impressive Unreal Engine 5.

"Next Tomb Raider game" must refer to the next NEW Tomb Raider game. Devs have already stated that the trilogy remaster is using the same engine and source code from the original games:

https://blog.playstation.com/2024/01/16/tomb-raider-i-iii-remastered-ps4-ps5-features-detailed-new-key-art-revealed/

Why would they use UE5 for a remaster of games from 20+ years old?

I read it and they didn't specify what engine just this reply on the website "with modern technologies and tools".

What modern technology because Unreal Engine 5 is modern technology though both sites are speculations could be either but one website says so from video of a Crystal Dynamic employer that idk?

[chakkman]

Other articles clearly suggests that it was about a new Tomb Raider by Crystal Dynamics: https://www.pcgameshardware.de/Tomb-Raider-Brands-24881/News/Newsletter-zum-Unreal-Engine-5-Spiel-1427161/

It isn't about this.

[zardozjones]

Originally posted by Raster:

I speculate that this release might actually be based on something called OpenLara,

Nope - they are using the MAC source code from the port they did years ago. OpenLara is ok - but the Entity code is incomplete and does not replicate the original entity code or Lara's complex state machine 100% - you can see this when you play the RTX remix.

[dml!]

I don't see where the speculation is - in an interview with PlayStation ( https://blog.playstation.com/2024/01/16/tomb-raider-i-iii-remastered-ps4-ps5-features-detailed-new-key-art-revealed/ ), the developers say:

"We had a firm belief that the gameplay of Tomb Raider I, II, and III is timeless, and with our use of the existing source code, we had every jump, secret, enemy, and puzzle exactly as the original development team designed and intended."

If they have the source code there's absolutely zero reason to use a reverse engineered fan project like OpenLara and compromise the experience.

[chakkman]

The confusion stems from confusing which game is the talk about. The new Tomb Raider game which is in development by Crystal Dynamics will probably use Unreal Engine 5. Not this one.

[DieSkaarj]

Same ♥♥♥♥, different assets. It's kind of like if someone ports TR5 Lara into a TRIII level using TRLE. I don't think they're scabs trying to officiate and commercialise a FOSS project.

The rendering engine has probably been updated to comply with newer OpenGL/DX standards and hopefully Vulkan has been implemented. The reason the lighting looks the same is because it's just a omnidirectional light source, implemented with a graphics API; it just carries a value along predicated angles.

If I had one criticism it would be that it doesn't look like a 90's comic book anymore, as I had imagined it in my head. It looks kewpie-- and toyish. It looks great, but yeah, that's my opinion.