# afritz1/OpenTESArena

Open-source re-implementation of The Elder Scrolls: Arena.

Repository: https://github.com/afritz1/OpenTESArena
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/opentesarena
Language: C++
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: elder-scrolls, mit, sdl2
Last push: 2026-08-13T23:37:40+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 86/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 97, release rhythm 65, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3870, "days_push": 20, "days_rel": 20, "gap_med": 224.0, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1405, forks 87 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:38.154504+00:00)

## What it is
OpenTESArena is a modern open-source engine written from scratch in C++ that re-implements the 1994 DOS game The Elder Scrolls: Arena using a clean-room approach. It requires the original game assets and adds quality-of-life improvements like modern controls.

## Use cases
- play The Elder Scrolls: Arena on modern operating systems
- run Arena with modern WASD and mouselook controls
- experience the 1994 DOS RPG without DOSBox
- contribute to a clean-room reimplementation of a classic Bethesda game
- study how the original Arena engine worked via the project wiki
- play Arena with quality-of-life improvements like fast travel and debug tools

## When to choose
- you own the original Arena assets and want to play it natively on modern systems
- you want modern controls and quality-of-life features while preserving classic gameplay
- you're interested in contributing to or learning from a clean-room game engine reimplementation

## When to avoid
- you expect a fully finished game - quests, spells, and save/load are not yet implemented
- you don't own or can't obtain the original Arena game assets
- you want to play other Elder Scrolls titles like Daggerfall (see OpenTESArena's sibling projects instead)

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: game-engine, graphics, simulation
- domain: gaming-tools, entertainment
- platform: windows, cpp, cross-platform
- tags: elder-scrolls, arena, clean-room-reimplementation, sdl2, retro-gaming, dos-game, open-source-engine, game-development, linux, macos, desktop

## Member repositories
- afritz1/OpenTESArena (main) score 86

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:38.154504+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:38:46.292053+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/afritz1/OpenTESArena (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:38.154504+00:00, sha 4c7ed8cd85d2)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.