Vapourware Core Design's original Tomb Raider: Anniversary leaked

[A horse of course]

This isn't totally fresh but I didn't see a thread on it. As most of you already know, after Angel of Darkness flopped, Eidos took Core Design off the the series and handed it over to Crystal Dynamics. A bit less well known is that even after Tomb Raider: Legend's release in 2006, Core Design were working on a new Tomb Raider title for the PSP. It was meant to be a 50/50 remaster/remake of the first game, with different controls and acrobatic abilities, as well as a multiplayer mode where one character controlled Lara's cousin, Melissa. There's a lot of interesting titbits behind the development of this reboot, including allegations that Eidos had been falsely dangling the possibility of giving TR back to Core if they proved themselves, or that Toby Gard collaborated with Crystal Dynamics to fuck Core Design over. In any case, Tomb Raider 10th Anniversary Edition was cancelled, but elements of it would go into Core's final title, Free Running https://www.mobygames.com/game/free-running

Now, a lot of this information didn't come out until many years later of course, via leaked trailers and interviews with ex-Core staff. But the game itself was presumed lost. However, an alpha build of the game was acquired by fans in the past year and several levels hammered into a workable state:




You can find the public release here: https://www.tomb-of-ash.com/trae-indy-build/ Obviously it isn't perfect - one of the problems is that this build of the game was actually from a point in time at which Core knew Eidos had pulled the rug out from under them. Apparently this version of TR: 10th Anniversary Edition was in the process of being converted to an Indiana Jones (?) game, hence the weird animations, the torch and all that. Still, the project is in active development, with the most recent update posted a few days ago https://twitter.com/TombofAsh/status/1434199688106975233 Interesting stuff!

Here's an older video about TR10th Anniversary, before the public release:


More up to date video:

 

[Echo Mirage]

I really miss old Tomb Raider.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Ultimately, it was the whiny fans that killed Core Design, with their constant tantrums over reusing their outdated engine.

 

[A horse of course]

Ultimately, it was the whiny fans that killed Core Design, with their constant tantrums over reusing their outdated engine.

False. Core Design were sick of making the same thing over and over in an eternal crunch mode for over 5 years straight, and had wanted to go in a new direction long before they started focus testing for nextgen. Angel of Darkness was built for the Playstation 2, but the devkit they were using was substantially more powerful than the final machine (according to Core it was almost a PS3), and they had to change everything to make the levels and renderer work on much weaker hardware than it was built for. Eidos then got tired of the delays (especially in the context of the Tomb Raider movie) and forced them to release it unfinished.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

So Core Design was killed by a console then. Hmm...

 

[A horse of course]

So Core Design was killed by a console then. Hmm...

AoD was killed by a console. Core was arguably killed by Eidos due to how it reacted to AoD flopping, and (closely related) Rebellion's interest in purchasing Core.