Atlantis Native
Return to Atlantis, on today's machines.
A native port of Atlantis: The Lost Tales (Cryo Interactive, 1997) and
Atlantis II (1999), written in Rust, for Windows, macOS, Linux and your
browser.
▶ Play in your browser (your own copy of the game needed)
繁體中文 · 简体中文 · Download · Quick start · Features · Controls · Player's guide · Technical notes
Seth, the queen's new guard, wakes up in Atlantis just as Queen Rhea
disappears. Atlantis Native brings back the whole adventure: the 360°
panoramas, the cinematics, the talking heads with their 3D mouths in time
with the voices, the seventeen puzzles and the end credits. It plays from
the first screen to the last.
Its sequel Atlantis II (Beyond Atlantis, 1999) plays from start to
end too, on Windows, macOS, Linux and in the browser: Tibet, Ireland,
China, Yucatán and Xibalba, Shamballa and Atlantis, with every puzzle (see
Atlantis II).
It is the original game, pixel for pixel and sample for sample: the
engine is a translation of the Atlantis engine written for
ScummVM's CryOmni3D engine, itself rebuilt by
reverse engineering the original executable. Each behaviour is traced to an
address in the original code. On top of that come optional fixes of the
original's bugs and an optional HD mode.
Screenshots
From top to bottom: the player screen (macOS, HD mode); a dialog with
its 3D talking head drawn at the window's resolution; the same view in
the original's 640x480 and in the HD mode; widescreen; Atlantis II's
Shamballa in the HD mode, widescreen; the game library.
The game's pictures and text are © Microids (Cryo Interactive
Entertainment), shown here to illustrate the engine; Atlantis Native
contains none of them.
Features
- 🖥️ Windows (x64 and ARM), macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Linux and the web: one engine, the
same game everywhere, even in a browser tab.
- 🎯 Faithful: the scripts, dialogs, music, 3D heads and puzzles run the
original's own logic. The heads are drawn with the original's arithmetic,
so the pixels match on every platform.
- ✨ HD mode (optional): the panoramas and 3D heads rendered at your
window's resolution, sharp subtitles, and the interface art upscaled with
xBR. With Widescreen on, the panorama fills the whole of a wide
window, the projection carried on past the original's edges; beside
the videos, black bars, the frame's edges blurred, the frame zoomed to
the width (easing in and out of a move), or (for the moves) the
panoramas of the places left and reached (up to a 2.4:1 picture, black
beyond on wider screens).
- 🐞 Bug fixes (optional): seamless music loops, talking-head overlays
drawn correctly, and other fixes of the original's bugs, each with its
own switch (F10, "Choose the bug fixes...", which lists those of the
edition played and what each one changes). One switch turns them all off
for the game exactly as it shipped.
- 💾 Your saves, compatible: the game saves at every chapter, in the
original's own file format. An existing installation's players and
checkpoints are taken over on the first start.
- ⚙️ Options menu (F10, or O): graphics, HD settings and enhancements,
changed at once while you play.
- 📚 Game library: several editions (GOG.com, CD, DVD, disc
images...) of both games in one list, to choose the one to play at
start-up or switch from F10.
- 🪟 A modern window: resizable, the picture kept in its 4:3
proportions, the mouse captured while you look around; full screen at
a key, and on the desktop kept for the next start (F10, "Start in full
screen").
Download
The latest release
holds the builds of the current version; the
nightly release
those of the latest commit:
| System | File |
|---|
| Windows 10 and later, 64-bit | atlantis-native-windows-x64.zip |
| Windows 11 on ARM (Snapdragon PCs, Surface) | atlantis-native-windows-arm64.zip |
| macOS 11 and later, Apple Silicon | atlantis-native-macos-arm64.dmg |
| macOS 11 and later, Intel | atlantis-native-macos-x64.dmg |
| Linux x86-64 (glibc 2.35+, ALSA) | atlantis-native-linux-x64.tar.gz |
| Linux 64-bit ARM, such as a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 (glibc 2.35+, ALSA) | atlantis-native-linux-arm64.tar.gz |
| Web (a static site to serve over HTTP; on the nightly release) | atlantis-native-web.zip |
The web version of the latest commit is also online:
https://ripleyxlr8.github.io/atlantis-native/ (Chrome, Edge, Firefox
or Safari), for both games (Atlantis II not yet tried in Safari). Pick
your game folder there: its files are read inside your browser and never
sent anywhere; the saves stay in that browser.
Windows: the program is not code-signed (a certificate costs money
each year), so Windows SmartScreen may warn that it "protected your PC"
the first time. Click More info, then Run anyway. It opens
normally from then on. Download Atlantis Native only from its
releases page:
the builds there are made by this repository's public workflow.
macOS: the app is signed ad hoc but not notarised by Apple (that
needs a paid Apple Developer account), so macOS blocks it the first
time. Since macOS 15 a right-click is not enough:
- Open Atlantis Native once (macOS says it cannot verify it).
- Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and click
Open Anyway next to the message about Atlantis Native.
- Confirm with Open. It opens normally from then on.
Or, in the Terminal:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Atlantis Native.app"
You need the game
Atlantis Native contains no game data. Bring your own copy:
| Release | Languages | What to point it at |
|---|
| CD (2001 build) | English | the folder with atlantis.exe and BIGCD1.BIG … BIGCD4.BIG |
| CD, retail release (May 1997 build) | English | the folder with atlantis.exe and BIGCD1.BIG … BIGCD4.BIG |
| CD, US retail release (Interplay, August 1997 build, 4 CDs) | English | the folder with atlantis.exe and BIGCD1.BIG … BIGCD4.BIG, or the four disc images |
| CD, retail release (August 1997 build, 4 CDs) | French | the folder with atlantis.exe and BIGCD1.BIG … BIGCD4.BIG |
| CD, retail release, first pressing (May 1997 build, 4 CDs) | French | the folder with atlantis.exe and BIGCD1.BIG … BIGCD4.BIG |
| CD, retail release (August 1997 build, 4 CDs) | German | the folder with atlantis.exe and BIGCD1.BIG … BIGCD4.BIG |
| CD, retail release, first pressing (May 1997 build, 4 CDs) | German | the folder with atlantis.exe and BIGCD1.BIG … BIGCD4.BIG, or the four disc images |
| CD, retail release (June 1997 build, 4 CDs) | Dutch | the folder with atlantis.exe and BIGCD1.BIG … BIGCD4.BIG |
| CD, retail release (June 1997 build, 4 CDs) | Swedish | the folder with atlantis.exe and BIGCD1.BIG … BIGCD4.BIG |
| CD, retail release (August 1997 build, 4 CDs) | Spanish | the folder with atlantis.exe and BIGCD1.BIG … BIGCD4.BIG |
| CD, retail release (July 1997 build, 4 CDs) | Italian | the folder with atlantis.exe and BIGCD1.BIG … BIGCD4.BIG |
| CD, Czech release (Bohemia Interactive, 2000; also GAME4U Speciál 2, 2001; 4 CDs; Cryo's 1999 patch 1.01 program) | Czech subtitles and menus, English voices |
Each build plays as it shipped: the May 1997 English, French and German
CDs and the Dutch and Swedish CDs, for one, draw their subtitles in their own 8x8 pixel font (see Game builds).
The Czech CD's subtitles are read in the Central European code page, as
on the Czech Windows it was sold for (č, ř, ů and the other Czech
letters, not the Western letters a Western Windows shows there); its
player screen keeps the French NOUVEAU JOUEUR row of the program it
ships.
The May 1997 German CD's program also answers four keys its developers
left in (T, R, F1, F3: a panel of the engine's variables, and
others); Atlantis Native does not reproduce them.
The Chinese CDs' subtitles are drawn with your own Windows mingliu.ttc
(Traditional) or simsun.ttc (Simplified) when you put it in the game
folder, else with the bundled Noto Serif TC or SC.
The DVD's Dutch and Swedish subtitles show, as on the DVD, punctuation
signs in place of their accented letters (their texts are the CDs', which
the DVD's program reads as Windows text); a bug fix of the options menu
shows the letters.
The DVD's Japanese subtitles are drawn with MS PGothic when you have
msgothic.ttc (in the game folder, or among your system's fonts, as on any
Japanese Windows), else with the bundled Noto Sans JP; its SUBTITLES
option switches between Japanese, English and none. The Japanese version
starts by looking for two logo films the DVD does not hold: as on the DVD,
two "file not found" boxes show (OK closes them), unless the bug fix of the
options menu skips them.
For Atlantis II:
| Release | Languages | What to point it at |
|---|
| CD (1999, version 1.00) | French | the folder of the installed game (with atlantis2.exe), the images of its four CDs (or copies of the CDs) in it or in a folder inside it; in the browser, copies of the CDs (folders CD1 to CD4, say, each holding the disc's DATAS_A2): it reads files, not images |
| CD with the official patch 1.01 | French or English (one executable for both; tested with the French CD) | the same, with the patched atlantis2.exe |
| GOG.com (version 1.01; the builds of 2018, June 2022 and July 2022) | English, French, German, Spanish (one executable for all four) | the installation folder |
Another executable is refused with its identifiers, so that it can be
added. The web version plays both games: see
The web version.
How to get the files from your CD or GOG.com: see
Getting the game files.
The game you chose is shown in the window's title and at the foot of the
options menu, e.g. GOG.com, French (1999 build).
Quick start
- Download and unpack the build for your system.
- Double-click atlantis-native (on macOS, Atlantis Native).
- The first time, choose your game folder (an installation found on
the computer is offered first). It is remembered.
With more than one edition or both games, the
game library lets
you choose the one to play (hold Shift at start-up to open it).
That's it: the Cryo logo plays, create a player, and Atlantis awaits.
From a terminal you can also pass the folder:
atlantis-native /path/to/game. More options (--original, --hd,
--new-game, …) are in the player's guide.
Atlantis II (1999) is found and opened by the game library too: its
GOG.com installation (which holds everything; GOG's edition is version
1.01, and plays as 1.01 does), or the folder of its CD installation with
the images of its four CDs (or copies of the CDs) in it or in a folder
inside it. From the terminal, give that folder (the CD images may stay
elsewhere with --discs <folder>). See
Atlantis II.
Controls
| Action | Control |
|---|
| Look around | move the mouse, or the arrow keys (or F5 / F6 / F7 / F8) |
| Go somewhere, talk, use | left click where the cursor animates |
| Next dialog line | left click |
| Skip a talking head's lines | Escape |
| Inventory | right click (the bar's edges scroll it) |
| In-game menu (load, options, quit) | Escape in the panoramic view |
| Port options (graphics, HD, bug fixes, game library) | F10 (or O, for a keyboard without function keys), at any time; the game pauses |
| Full screen | F, F11 or Alt+Enter |
| Diagnostic overlay | F9 |
On the player screen, click the last row to type a new name, then Enter
or OK.
Build from source
cargo build --release
cargo run --release -- /path/to/game
On Linux, install the ALSA headers first (libasound2-dev or
alsa-lib-devel). The web build is made by web/build.sh; see the
technical notes.
Learn more
- 📖 Player's guide: command line, where the saves and
settings live, known differences from the original.
- 🔧 Technical notes: the engine's layout, the
enhancements, how the HD mode works, subtitles, the web build, tests,
roadmap.
- 🔍 How the Atlantis engine was reverse engineered,
an article on RetroReversing.
- 🎮 Atlantis Native on the R36S,
by Klaas Van den Broeck: a frontend that runs Atlantis Native on RK3326
handhelds, with the gamepad as the mouse.
Code signing policy
Windows builds are to be signed with a free code signing certificate
provided by SignPath.io, certificate by
SignPath Foundation (in progress: until then
the builds are unsigned).
Only the executable built by this repository's GitHub Actions workflow
from its own sources is signed; every release is approved by hand.
Privacy: this program does not transfer any information to other
networked systems. It only reads the game files you point it at and
writes its saves, settings and log to your own user folder (in the web
version, to your browser's storage: the page is downloaded from GitHub
Pages, the game files and saves never leave your computer).
AI use
Atlantis Native was written for the most part by an AI (Anthropic's
Claude, through Claude Code), directed and reviewed by its maintainer:
the commits it wrote carry a Co-Authored-By: Claude line. The engine
follows the original game's code, reverse engineered and checked against
it: the tests compare the port's results with the original's own code run
under emulation (subtitles, talking heads, puzzles, tables), pixel for
pixel where it matters, on every edition supported. Reports of anything
that differs from the original are welcome.
Support the project
Atlantis Native is free. If you enjoy it, you can
buy me a coffee ☕: it helps keep
the work going (more editions, fixes, the HD and widescreen modes).
The link is also in the game: "Buy me a coffee..." in the F10 menu,
and at the foot of the game library.
Now and then (rarely, never more than once a week) a small thank-you
screen at start-up offers the same links; "Don't show this again" turns
it off (see the guide).
Licence
GNU General Public License, version 3 or later (see LICENSE). The code is
derived from ScummVM's CryOmni3D engine, Copyright (C) the ScummVM team.
The program's icon (assets/icon/, drawn by make_icon.py) is the
project's own, under the same licence.
The subtitle font, Liberation Sans Regular
(assets/fonts/LiberationSans-Regular.ttf, Copyright (c) 2010 Google
Corporation, Copyright (c) 2012 Red Hat, Inc.), is licensed under the SIL
Open Font License, version 1.1 (see assets/fonts/LICENSE-LiberationSans).
The Chinese subtitle fonts, subsets of Noto Serif TC Regular and Noto
Serif SC Regular (assets/fonts/NotoSerifTC-Subset.otf,
NotoSerifSC-Subset.otf, from the notofonts/noto-cjk release
Serif2.003, Copyright (c) 2017-2024 Adobe), are licensed under the SIL
Open Font License, version 1.1 (see assets/fonts/LICENSE-NotoSerifCJK).
The Japanese subtitle font, a subset of Noto Sans JP Regular
(assets/fonts/NotoSansJP-Subset.otf, from the notofonts/noto-cjk release
Sans2.004, Copyright (c) 2014-2021 Adobe), is licensed under the SIL Open
Font License, version 1.1 (see assets/fonts/LICENSE-NotoSansJP).
Noto is a trademark of Google Inc. The fonts are built into the program
(the web version fetches the Chinese and Japanese ones from its fonts
folder, for a Chinese or the Japanese release only); every package carries
their licence files, LICENSE-LiberationSans, LICENSE-NotoSerifCJK and
LICENSE-NotoSansJP, beside LICENSE.
Atlantis: The Lost Tales and Atlantis II are trademarks of their owners. This project is not
affiliated with them.
