Shagg88 / Athelas

# Athelas
I'm Shagg and I created this project with the help of Claude (Anthropic). This is a free, unofficial launcher for three Lord of the Rings games, so you can play
your own copies on a modern Windows PC from one place. Tolkien created an amazing world that deserves to be lived and experienced in every way possible. I used to play this with my siblings 
and friends for hours on end, day after day and it's an absolute shame they're not distributable today, so that's why I'm here. (Athelas is kingsfoil, the healing herb). 
After the release of the War in the North "remaster" I decided to really take on this project. This is my first ever project of this magnitude so I expect there to be a few bugs. 
I have a Windows PC that I tested this on, that's about it. It's supposed to run on Linux and Steam Deck(Mac and Android maybe in the future) but only time will tell. Mods and Texture 
packs are supported but I have not done any of those. I'll be open to accepting public contributions and pull requests as well.
- **The Return of the King (PC, 2003)**, through **ROTK Fix** (This is the recommended way to play The Return of the King, at least in my opinion)
- **The Return of the King (Xbox)**, through a native PC port
- **The Two Towers (Xbox)**, through a native PC port
Download it from Releases: one zip with the launcher, ROTK Fix and both ports.
> Not affiliated with or endorsed by Electronic Arts, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. or the Tolkien Estate.
> No game files are included. You need your own copy of each game: the PC game installed, or your own Xbox disc as
> an `.iso` or extracted files (US releases). ROTK Fix doesn't change or bypass the PC game's copy protection. The
> Xbox ports skip the console's check for an original Xbox disc, which a PC can't answer as it has no Xbox drive;
> the games' own files are never decrypted or changed.
## Screenshots
*The background pictures in these screenshots are artwork from the games themselves. They aren't included in the
download: Athelas reads them from your own copy of a game, so you'll only see them once the launcher has found one
of your games. Until then, or if you choose "None" under About → Background pictures, the launcher shows its own
drawn landscape instead. All game and film artwork belongs to its owners.*
## In this repository
| Path | What it is |
|---|---|
| `launcher/` | Athelas, the launcher |
| `src/`, `build.sh` | ROTK Fix, for the PC game |
| `ports/two-towers/` | The Two Towers PC port (its README) |
| `ports/rotk-xbox/` | The Return of the King Xbox PC port (its README) |
| `dist-files/README.txt` | The README that comes in the download, with every setting |
| `docs/` | Release notes and engine notes |
| `scripts/` | Packaging the release zip |
| `third_party/`, `licenses/` | Bundled libraries and every licence |
## ROTK Fix: what it does
- **Any screen:** widescreen and ultrawide without stretching (menus and HUD stay at most 16:9), any resolution, borderless/fullscreen/windowe