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OpenLara (Tomb Raider) has been ported to Game Boy Advance

stranno

Member


Port has been in development for some time already, but the latest release really improved things to a playable state. Three levels can be completed, I guess this is limited by the 32MB cartridge.

Probably the best 3D graphics ever seen on Game Boy Advance and decent performance.
 

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
accuse the hunchback of notre dame GIF
 

Azelover

Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams, and it was. It really was.
Are you sure this is really running on GBA hardware?
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Some devs like putting limitations on themselves to see how far they can squeeze a system. I'm a dev myself, not as crazy or talented as those who did this port, but I can imagine how gratifying it was to make this work.

Are you sure this is really running on GBA hardware?
Download the ROM and try it for yourself. :)
 

stranno

Member
Are you sure this is really running on GBA hardware?
Video is from Xproger, the OpenLara author. He has ported the engine to many platforms already, including Dreamcast, 3DO, Windows Mobile, etc.

He wants to port it to Nintendo 64 as well.
 
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ShadowLag

Member


Port has been in development for some time already, but the latest release really improved things to a playable state. Three levels can be completed, I guess this is limited by the 32MB cartridge.

Probably the best 3D graphics ever seen on Game Boy Advance and decent performance.


Happy You Good GIF
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Better than the Saturn.
Saturn TR has higher draw distances than PS1 and also water distortions PS1 doesn't have, though it does perform worse overall (but not as bad as some sections here that have even further reduced draw distance).

It did release first on Saturn, maybe cutting those was part of the optimization it would have had to maintain performance if it released later as well (even later Saturn region releases are identical). Saturn @ the top:
tumblr_inline_p2yzfjLUom1s5ihu7_540.png
tumblr_inline_p2yzgzXjBx1s5ihu7_540.png


Bad quality images (photos?) and the PS images are, I think, from backwards compatible PlayStations that enhance the image, but that's not what they're showing here anyway, the draw distance is pretty obvious 🤷‍♂️
 
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stranno

Member


I did a quick playthrough on DS Lite. One of these days I have to assemble the Open Source Game Boy Advance Consolizer. I have all the parts parked for months already.
 

assurdum

Banned
Saturn TR has higher draw distances than PS1 and also water distortions PS1 doesn't have, though it does perform worse overall (but not as bad as some sections here that have even further reduced draw distance).

It did release first on Saturn, maybe cutting those was part of the optimization it would have had to maintain performance if it released later as well (even later Saturn region releases are identical). Saturn @ the top:
tumblr_inline_p2yzfjLUom1s5ihu7_540.png
tumblr_inline_p2yzgzXjBx1s5ihu7_540.png


Bad quality images (photos?) and the PS images are, I think, from backwards compatible PlayStations that enhance the image, but that's not what they're showing here anyway, the draw distance is pretty obvious 🤷‍♂️
Saturn has also the lighting system completely cut off compared the psx. I don't think a further optimization would have improved a lot the actual performance, it's not a real 3d machine, it's already outstanding what they have achieved.
 
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UnNamed

Banned
I saw the 3DO version some weeks ago, it's a very impressive project. Ultimately, Tomb Raider ran on a Ngage, so...
 

stranno

Member
I saw the 3DO version some weeks ago, it's a very impressive project. Ultimately, Tomb Raider ran on a Ngage, so...
N-Gage is a FAR more powerful device tho. ARM9 at 104MHz, instead of ARM7 (with a few extensions) at 16MHz.

And this is a rewritten/improved engine from scratch. N-Gage game is the Playstation game as is, the C code converted into ARM, BIOS calls patched and the GTE stuff into a software renderer.

Ideaworks 3D did a Windows Mobile port as well, more interesting than the N-Gage one I'd say.
 
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SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
Wow, that's crazy impressive. This would have done really well if anyone could have managed it back then.

The name of the port needs some work, though...
 

Elysion

Banned
Ok, that’s kind of mindblowing actually. Not only the 3d graphics, but also the voice-acting and orchestral soundtrack.

This also makes me wonder what kind of magic would be possible with other retro systems. If the GBA is capable of running (close to) PS1 level graphics, does this mean the PS1 or N64 for example could also do things we thought impossible until now?
 
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