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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

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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

<p align="center"> <img src="docs/screenshots/macos-player-screen.jpg" width="49%" alt="The player screen on macOS, HD mode"> <img src="docs/screenshots/dialog-hd.jpg" width="49%" alt="A dialog with its 3D talking head, HD mode"> </p> <p align="center"> <img src="docs/screenshots/original-vs-hd.jpg" width="98%" alt="The same view in the original's 640x480 and in the HD mode"> </p> <p align="center"> <img src="docs/screenshots/widescreen.jpg" width="98%" alt="Widescreen: the panorama fills a 16:9 window"> </p> <p align="center"> <img src="docs/screenshots/atlantis2-shamballa-widescreen.jpg" width="98%" alt="Atlantis II: Shamballa in the HD mode, widescreen"> </p> <p align="center"> <img src="docs/screenshots/game-library.png" width="70%" alt="The game library: several editions of the game"> </p>

_{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
Handhelds with PortMaster (64-bit ARM: R36S, RG35XX, RGB30 and the like; Batocera, ROCKNIX, ArkOS, muOS, Knulli), the first game	atlantis-native-portmaster.zip
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:

1. Open Atlantis Native once (macOS says it cannot verify it).
2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway next to the message about Atlantis Native.
3. Confirm with Open. It opens normally from then on.

Or, in the Terminal: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Atlantis Native.app"

PortMaster: unzip atlantis-native-portmaster.zip into the device's ports folder (it holds Atlantis Native.sh and the atlantisnative folder), then copy your game's files (the folder with atlantis.exe and BIGCD1.BIG … BIGCD4.BIG) into ports/atlantisnative/gamedata/, and restart the front end so it lists the port. The zip can instead be put, unopened, in PortMaster's autoinstall folder for PortMaster to install. The gamepad is the mouse, an on-screen keyboard types the names; the controls are in the port's atlantisnative/atlantisnative.md. It needs glibc 2.31 or newer and the system's SDL2, as PortMaster's firmwares have.

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	the folder with atlantis.exe and BIGCD1.BIG … BIGCD4.BIG, or the four disc images
CD, Brazilian release (Atlantis: A Lenda Perdida, MSD Multimídia, 1997, 4 CDs; December 1997 build)	Brazilian Portuguese voices, subtitles and menus	the folder with atlantis.exe and BIGCD1.BIG … BIGCD4.BIG, or the four disc images
CD with Cryo's patch 1.01 (AT1CDINT.EXE, 1999 build)	English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish or Italian CD (French interface)	the folder with the patched atlantis.exe and BIGCD1.BIG … BIGCD4.BIG
GOG.com	English, French, German, Spanish, Italian	the installation folder
Atlantis Collection, Italian DVD compilation (2014; shown as CD, patch 1.01, Italian (1999 build), its program being Cryo's patch 1.01 with Italian strings)	Italian	the folder its installer creates for Atlantis: Segreti di un Mondo Perduto
CD, Traditional Chinese release (1998 build, 4 CDs)	Traditional Chinese subtitles and menus, English voices	the folder with atlantis.exe and the four BIGCD archives, or the four disc images
CD, Simplified Chinese release (1999 build, 4 CDs)	Simplified Chinese subtitles (Traditional Chinese menus, as shipped), English voices	the folder with atlantis.exe and the four BIGCD archives, or the four disc images
Cryo's DVD-ROM (1998 build, one double-sided DVD)	English, French, German, Dutch (side A); Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Japanese (side B: Japanese or English subtitles, English menus and voices); each language its own edition	the DVD drive, a copy of a side (the folder holding FACE_A or FACE_B), or the images of the sides (.iso) in one folder
Perfect Edition (Tgames' 2018 package of the DVD's English version)	English	the installation folder

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 Brazilian CD has a program of its own (December 1997): its menus draw the Portuguese letters of its own fonts at its own widths, and its name entry, as the original's, takes letters up to § only, so a typed ã or ç is left out of the name. The only public dump known (Internet Archive) has unreadable sectors on disc 2; a few films and one panorama play damaged from it. 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
CD, North American release (Beyond Atlantis, DreamCatcher, 2000, 4 CDs; its own program, version 1.01's code)	English	the same as the French CD; in the browser, copies of the CDs
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
Atlantis Collection, Italian DVD compilation (2014; shown as Italian Collection (patch 1.01), its program being version 1.01 patched almost as GOG's 2018 build)	Italian	the folder its installer creates for Atlantis 2 - Beyond Atlantis (with Game.exe and DATAS_A2)

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

1. Download and unpack the build for your system.
2. Double-click atlantis-native (on macOS, Atlantis Native).
3. 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.
• 🐞 Atlantis II notes, by Klaas Van den Broeck (@Klaasvdb): his list of the original's bugs, from which comes the bug fix of the wooden girl in Ireland's book (fix_wooden_girl).
• 🕹️ Handhelds and PortMaster: crates/atlantis-sdl is an SDL2 front end for the first game (the gamepad as the mouse, an on-screen keyboard for the names) based on Klaas Van den Broeck's (@Klaasvdb) R36S front end, whose gamepad and keyboard code he let us bring in; packaging/portmaster/ builds a PortMaster port of it (atlantis-native-portmaster.zip on every release); a pad SDL does not know is read raw, an Xbox-style one (an Xbox Wireless Controller over Bluetooth, for one) without any controls.ini (see the technical notes).

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).

• Committers and reviewers: ripleyXLR8
• Approvers: ripleyXLR8

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.