alt.games.tombraider FAQ - ver. 5.3 (Chronicles version) -------------------------------------------------------- Maintained by snark^ (who snark(at) wrote and edited lotsa stuff) paradise(dot)net(dot)nz with major contributions from: Kaldar (who wrote all of the kaldar(at) technical soundcard section). mailexcite(dot)com and Adam Gardner (who supplied agardner(at) the section on graphics cards). ix(dot)netcom(dot)com Many many thanks to all those others who have contributed paragraphs here and there, often filling glaringly obvious gaps, most notably; Stellalune, Joe Citt, Richard Lebus, Ivans Chou, Vangelis, Symeon Jacobson, Klaus-Dieter Herklotz, Aaron Snyder, John Jones, Bart, and Nobody in particular. ||>>> This FAQ has been filmed in a M O N O S P A C E D font <<<|| and wrapped at 72 columns using plain text only, no hyperwhotsits whatsoever. No endangered species were harmed in the making of this FAQ and only the freshest, cleanest, lean and green, recycled electrons were zapped in its manufacture.... It is also available online at the following sites: http://trinity.westhost.com/tomb/misc/questions.html http://www.tombraiders.com http://www.3dactionplanet.com/tombraider Contents. --------- New or changed sections are marked with an *. 1.0 alt.games.tombraider, an introduction. 1.1 This newsgroup and how to survive it. 1.2 Something To Talk About. 1.3 Rumour Control. 1.3.1 Any info on the next game? 1.3.2 I've heard that there's a way to see Lara in the nude in the game! What is it please?... 1.3.3 When is the movie due out? 1.4 Info about the games. 1.4.1 Available platforms. 1.4.2 What is it that person X says in cutscene Y? Can someone please explain the plots to me? 1.4.3 What's that piece of music called in TR2? 1.4.4 Who does Lara's voice? 1.4.5 What are Unfinished Business and TR Gold? 1.5 Is it Lara or Laura?.... 1.6 Tomb Raider Fan-fic. 1.7 It's gone 'gold'? * 1.8 Chronolgié de Lara Croft. * 1.9 The Tomb Raider comics. * 1.10 The TR Level Editor [unfinished]. 2.0 Technical stuff. 2.1 Minimum Requirements for PC's / Game Info. 2.2 I've got no sound! Heeelllppp! 2.2.1 Basic Sound Solutions. 2.2.2 Specific Sound Card Help. 2.3 Problems with your Graphics Card? 2.3.1 Does TR1/UB work with Voodoo2? 2.4 The game runs really slowly? 2.5 How do I stop the menu ring from endlessly spinning? 2.6 Why does Lara move when I'm not pressing any keys? 2.7 Can I see the movies without playing the game? 2.8 Are there any savegame editors? 2.8.1 Can someone please give me a savegame for level x? 2.9 I'm getting Visual C++ runtime errors! What's wrong? 2.10 The Win95 startup key keeps dumping me out of TR1... 2.11 How do I take screenshots? 2.12 Problems with changing resolution in Win2000 3.0 Playing the games. 3.1 How can I keep Lara alive? 3.2 Other general hints and tips. 3.3 How do I complete the [insert name here] level? 3.3.1 Hey! I followed the walkthrough instructions to the letter but I still can't do... 3.4 Why bother collecting all the secrets? 3.4.1 What happens if you complete the games with all the secrets? 3.5 Did you know that Lara can?... 3.6 I'm having trouble controlling Lara -- the game sux! 3.6.1 All the special moves... * 3.6.2 Gameboy special moves. 3.7 Warning: Beware woman driver -- Lara and vehicles. 3.7.1 Fun with boating accidents (TR2 & TR3). 3.7.2 Death by snowmobile (TR2). 3.7.3 Kanoodling with kayaks (TR3). 3.7.4 Hooning around on the quadbike (TR3). 3.7.5 Going bloopu with the UPU (TR3). 3.7.6 Mine Carts and how to survive them (TR3). 3.7.7 Roving the lands (TRLR). 3.7.8 Motorcyclemania (TRLR). 3.8 Cheat codes. 3.8.1 How do I get all the weapons and ammo? 3.8.2 How do I skip forward to the next level? 3.8.3 Additional PSX Codes for TR3 and TRC. * 3.8.4 Gameboy cheats. 3.8.5 Someone please tell me the nude code!!!!! 3.9 How do I get into the basement and outside the front gate and into Lara's trophy room and... 3.9.1 An ascii map of the maze (TR2). 3.10 Can anyone please tell me how the game ends? 3.11 Where's the key for the door next to Lara's bed in TR2? * 4.0 Other TR-like games * 4.1 Other games. * 4.1.1 Alone in the Dark * 4.1.2 Deathtrap Dungeon * 4.1.3 ODT * 4.1.4 Drakan: Order of the Flame * 4.1.5 Infernal Indy * 4.1.6 Outcast * 4.1.7 Metal Gear Solid * 4.1.8 Heavy Metal FAKK2 * 4.1.9 Oni * 4.1.10 Recommended FPS games * 4.2 3rdPP characters' moves 5.0 Appendices. 5.1 Appendix 1: Finding online help for the TR games. 5.1.1 The Official websites. 5.1.2 Walkthroughs. * 5.1.3 Other TR related sites. 5.1.4 Utilities. * 5.2 Appendix 2: Acronymphomania. 5.3 Appendix 3: Kaldar's Guide To Specific Sound Card Settings. 5.4 Appendix 4: Specific Graphics Card Solutions. The FAQ's. ---------- 1.0 alt.games.tombraider, an introduction. 1.1 This newsgroup and how to survive it. alt.games.tombraider is a medium-volume newsgroup that enjoys world-wide participation on the subject of the Tomb Raider (TR) games. Any discussion related to any the TR games is welcomed whether it be about the TR plot, the game's difficulty level, the "Jeeves for Prime Minister" campaign, promoting your TR website, or even arguments over what kind of designer label socks Lara stomps around in. All such discussion is welcome here. We occasionally make use of obscure acronyms in this ng. A full list of the more common ones can be found in the appendices. Spam, large inappropriate binaries, non TR-related arguments, and moronic flames/trolls are not. May I please refer all newcomers to a.g.t (and usenet in general) to one of the netiquette FAQs available at: http://www.primenet.com/~vez/neti.html or the slightly satirical version located at: http://www.templetons.com/brad/emily.html Both are worthwhile reading. This FAQ however concerns itself solely with alt.game.tombraider. So please peruse the information contained herein if you should require an answer to your burning query. Who knows? -- 5 minutes of reading here might save you a few flames and many days of waiting for a reply. Note: In line with common usenet policy special mention must be made of binaries -- we don't want 'em here. Your best to either place the program/picture on a website or a specialist binary group (such as alt.binaries.games or alt.binaries.lara.croft) and then post a quick message here telling us where we can find it. 1.2 Something To Talk About. Now, if we're not helping, flaming, trolling or spreading vile rumours about each other, what is it we actually talk about here on a.g.t? Well the threads can be anything from; Who's Going To Play Lara In The Movie?; Jeeves For Galactic Overlord; Can You Do The Great Wall Level Without Guns?; major announcements of minor changes to websites; demands made of the programmers; etc.... We haven't yet actually had a thread on what designer brand of sock Ms. Croft wears, but you're more than welcome to start one. We in no way condone software piracy and do not wish to see any discussion relating to the ripping off of Core or Eidos -- or any other software company for that matter. Finally: don't be afraid to jump into the discussions as we're a very friendly bunch who rarely pull the legs of(f) newbies - if at all.... 1.3 Rumour Control. An enormous amount of threads on a.g.t concern the endless rumours that the games seem to attract. The discussion of them is very welcome provided the info you produce is new and/or relevant. 1.3.1 Any info on the next game The next generation of TR game is under development. Check out the screenshots at www.gamespot.co.uk to see more. It might not be named 'Tombraider' though as characters other than Lara are apparently under the players control. 1.3.2 I've heard that there's a way to see Lara in the nude in the game! What is it please?... Firstly - there is NO NUDE CODE! Not in any of the games on any platform. Secondly - actually the nude question as stated above is rather simple. If you want to see Lara in the nude you have to take *your* clothes off..... Alternatively, if you REALLY are that pathetically desperate, there are patches available on the net. Do a search for 'nuderaider' on the web, BUT be warned. These are patches, ie., new executable code. They MIGHT be Lara in the nude, or they MIGHT be a program that thinks erasing your hard drive is a jolly good wheeze. 1.3.3 When's the movie due out? Sometime next year. Filming with Angelina 'Lips' Jolie is currently under way at Shepparton Studios in the UK. Several familar aspects of Lara's background have been changed to make it fit into a more traditional (read; "clichéd") action-movie plot. The appearance of a very mechanical looking robot in the trailer didn't please too many of the purists on this ng. 1.4 Info about the games. All the Tomb Raider games are currently only available for the Sony Playstation (PSX) and IBM compatibles (PCs) platforms at present. some games re also available for the Mac however (giving you something to do with those nice new shiny and see-through iMacs). As a side note originally TR1 appears to have been originally released on the Sega Saturn (albeit with an almost 'unplayably slow framerate' according to some posters on a.g.t). See the chart in section 1.4.1 for more. All the games contain warnings about the violence inherent in the gameplay (the level of the warning may differ from country to country). They also have a nifty little health warning about how to avoid the ill-effects of playing the game for too long. I've only just noticed this and it's come much too late for me... Fab quote regarding the violence in the game from the Tomb Raider Republic site: "Guns don't kill people, Lara does!" 1.4.1 Available platforms There seems to be some confusion about which games are available on each platform. The following table should clear things up a bit: TR1 - PC, Sega Saturn, PSX, Mac TRG[1] - PC, Mac TR2 - PC, PSX, Mac TR2G[1] - PC, Mac TR3 - PC, PSX, Mac TR3G (TLA) - PC, Mac TRLR - PC, PSX, DC, Mac TRC - PC, PSX, DC, Mac [1] For those people who have the original TR or TR2 release the add-on levels are available as a free download. For more on any confusion regarding TRUB/TRG read section 1.4.5. 1.4.2 What is it that person X says in cutscene Y? Can someone please explain the plots to me? Some of the dialogue in the cutscenes and fmv's can be very hard to follow, due to either obscure plot points or bad accents - or sometimes a combination of both. Full transcripts for all the dialogues in the games have been placed on the web at the Tombraider Travellers Guide (URL in section 5.1.3 below). Select the guide for the game and click on the 'backplot' link. Ivans and his helpful 'Igor', Brian C, have also written up their take on the plot holes and filled in some large gaps in the background stories - these additional sections being clearly marked. It should be noted that Ivans and Brian had the help of the TR scriptwriter (Vicky Arnold - she sent them the original scripts for the games) in this task. [End blatent website plug here.] 1.4.3 What's that piece of music called in TR2? All the music in the TR series are original works written by the game's composers. That Venetian chamber tune written by Nathan McCree was based on the music of the period though and it does sound very authentic. 1.4.4 Who does Lara's voice? One Judith Gibbins was the voice of Lara in TR2 and TR3. In real life she's a ballet instructor who's favourite party trick is to creep up behind people and say, "No, that's not right. Go back to the beginning and try again." Chilling words to anyone who has tried the assault course in TR2. The younger sounding girl who did the voice of Lara in TR1 is unknown to us, as is the new girl doing the voice in TRLR and TRC. 1.4.5 What are Unfinished Business and TR Gold? Unfinished Business is the name given to the 4 add-on levels for TR1. Apparently the plot (in so much as there is one) involves Lara returning to Egypt, and then Atlantis, for further adventures. The two Egypt levels are collectively called "Shadow of the Cat" and the two Atlantean levels, "Unfinished Business". Somehow the UB name stuck to all four as a group. The repackaged TR1; known as 'TR Gold' (TRG) in the US, and as 'TR with Unfinished Business' elsewhere (TRUB); comes as 2 CDs, one disk with the original TR, the other with the 4 add-on levels. The 4 extra levels are also available free for download from the Eidos web site (see section 5.1.1) and you can run these using the original TR1 CD. These extra levels are only available for the PC of course and there are currently still no plans to release them for the PSX. The sets of additional levels for subsequent games have been labelled for that game (ie., TR2 Gold, TR3 The Lost Artifact). 1.5 Is it Lara or Laura?... It's _Lara_ you heathen! Pronounced Lah-rah or at least something sounding like that depending on your regional dialect... 1.6 Tomb Raider Fan-fic. "Everybody has a great novel inside them" -- or so it is said. If you want to read TR stories which your fellow TR fans have created then I suggest you look at The Croft Times for a start and work your way through the rest of the unofficial sites listed in the appendix. It tends to vary in quality from "Bwah???" to "Neato!" and doubtless prolonged exposure to it will result in your own attempt sooner or later. Just remember that other old writers' quote (which is usually directed at the readers): "I've suffered for my writing... now it's your turn." 1.7 It's gone 'gold'? This has nothing to do with sales (like in music CDs) -- it merely means that the master CDROM has been made from which all the duplicate copies are made and then packaged for us to buy. 1.8 Chronolgié de Lara Croft. I'm often being asked what happens and when in Lara's life so hopefully the following will clear up a few things. If you want a more detailed look at the Divine Ponytail's life then I suggest a visit to the Tomb Raider Travellers Guide site (URL in Appendix below) and look at what Ivans Chou and BrianC came up with with the help and notes of Vicky Arnold from Core Design. Note: this only includes the game and backgrounds gleaned therefrom; I've not added (or do I wish to try) and fanfic, movie or Top Cow comics material. TR/Lara Chronology ------------------ 1968: Lara is born 1979: Enrolled at Wimbledon High School for Girls 1984: Cambodian expedition with Professor Werner Von Croy (TRLR) 1984: Investigation of haunted Irish castle (TRC) 1984: Sent to a boarding school at Gordonstoun, Scotland 1986: Enrolled at a Swiss Finishing School 1989: Plane crash in Himalayas 199?: Inherits the mansion and butler from Great Aunt 199?: Sets world record time driving from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego 1995: Rome mission to buy Philosophers Stone (TRC) 1995: Successful hunt for Bigfoot 1996: Chase for the Atlantian Scion (TR1) 1996: Shadow of the Cat (TRUB/TRG) 1997: The Dagger of Xian (TR2) 1997: The Golden Mask (TR2G) 1997: Stealing the Iris from Von Croy Industries (TRC) 1998: Adventures of Lara Croft (TR3) 1998: The Lost Artifact (TR3G) 1998: Hunt for the Spear of Destiny on sunken U-Boat (TRC) 1999: Unearths Set in Egypt for the Last Revelation (TRLR) 2001: Next generation of TR game 1.9 The Tomb Raider comics. Published by Top Cow the comics are completely independent of the games and pit Lara against dinosaurs, various bad guys with guns, and even her own [*spoilerspace*] butler [/*spoilerspace*] at one point. They're not in keeping with the chronology above however as several details appear to have been 'smudged' to give her a more traditionally clichéd comics style super-heroine background (the ubiquitous 'parents died in plane crash driving her to seek danger in the unknown' type mush...). The artwork is very nice however... Often makes appearances in crossover comics with Sara Pezzini from _Witchblade_. 1.10 The TR Level Editor. [This section coming soon] 2.0 Technical stuff. [Disclaimer: Kaldar and myself only have PCs so there's not lot of technical help for the PSX here. I don't think this is much of a problem anyway as I've been told that even a finite number of monkeys typing away on a finite number of typewriters can produce software for the games consoles.... -- snark^] Basic rule No.1 for any technical problems: Get the latest device drivers from thy manufacturer. Every soundcard, graphics card, etc., is only able to work with your machine via a particular program known as a _device driver_. If you're experiencing trouble with the sound and/or vision in TR then I suggest updating your machine's drivers as your first port of call. Download the latest drivers from the manufacturer's website (the URL will be listed in the documentation somewhere) and also grab the latest DirectX version from Micro$loth as well. The newer the driver the better it'll work (usually). If you continue to have problems after this, then read on... 2.1 Minimum Requirements for PC's / Game Info Computer games are requiring more and more from the hardware as the years go by. Whereas a 486dx2-66 could handle anything the gaming world could throw at it a few years back, today it sadly is barely able to shine the electronic shoes of a brand new P266 with a voodoo2 or agp graphic cards. Please be aware that the games you buy might be beyond the ability of your computer to play them, so always check the minimum requirements first before handing over the dosh. If you're not sure then look at the absolute minimum and remember that anything higher is generally better. Game Minimum Recommended ---------------------------------------------------------- TR1(PC): DOS 6.0 or Win95 Pentium 60Mhz Pentium 90MHz 8MB RAM 20MB HDD space Double speed CD-ROM drive SVGA graphics card TR2(PC): Windows 95/98 DirectX 5.0 Pentium 90MHz Pentium 133MHz 16MB RAM Quad speed CD-ROM drive SVGA graphics card a 3D graphics accelerator TR2(Mac): PowerMac PCI PowerMac (3d accel.) 24MB RAM 20MB diskspace TR3(PC): Windows 95/98 DirectX 6.0 Pentium 166/133[1] Pentium 200 16MB RAM 32MB RAM Quad Speed CD-ROM drive 4MB SVGA graphics card a 3D graphics accelerator TR3(Mac): iMac or G3 a 3D graphics accelerator MacOS 7.5.3 16MB RAM 32MB RAM Quad Speed CD ROM drive TRLR/TRC: Windows 95/98 DirectX 6.1 Pentium 266/233[1][2] Pentium 266 16MB RAM 32MB RAM Quad speed CD-ROM drive 4MB SVGA graphics card a 3D graphics accelerator The stats for the Gold edition add-on levels are the same as for the original game. All the games support most major brands of soundcards, graphics cards and game controllers/joysticks. TR3 supports any card that is 100% DirectX compatible. [1] Pentium 133 w/ 3D accelerator card and Pentium 166 w/o 3D accelerator card. Same thing with TRLR - the higher speed is needed without the accelerator. [2] We think these are a bit high for the PC req. A number of us had the game running comfortably on a P166 with a 3D graphics accelerator. The only reason for having them this high is the bink-encrypted FMVs -- slower spec computers will have problems playing them. Ivans Chou has done a little more research and he's come to the conclusion that you really need a PII minimum to play the bink encrypted videos at anywhere near normal playback speed/quality anyway. A Pentium I is nowhere near fast enough. 2.2 I've got no sound! Heeelllppp! This document provides solutions to the most common sound problems encountered when playing any of the Tomb Raider games. Many thanks to KalDar for compiling this list of solutions. You are free to use these instructions wherever you like so long as credit is given to the author. Warning: Any instructions found on the internet may be rubbish. You are responsible for your computer and it's operation. I believe these instructions to be correct, however, I assume no liability for anything that happens to you or your PC as a result of using these. In short: Use at your own risk. 2.2.1 Basic Sound Solutions. Before you get into specific problems associated with Tomb Raider, make sure your system meets the basic requirements. Ensure that your sound card is installed correctly. Do you hear sounds in other applications? Other Games? Go to the volume control in the system tray. It's the speaker looking icon (the same functions can be found in Control Panel). Make sure all of the volumes are turned up and none of the effects are muted. Slight variations in these settings can produce profound results when playing in Win95. Make sure that the audio cable from the CD Rom to the Sound card is installed correctly. Can you insert a music CD into the CD player and hear it over your speakers? If not, plug some headphones into the front of the CD player and listen for music (may need to turn up the volume). If you can hear it over headphones but not in the speakers, your audio cable is not installed correctly and you won't be able to hear "Cut Scene" dialogue and some other stuff played from the CD. Most computer literate folks and any computer store will know how to install a CD audio cable. Install the latest Sound drivers for your sound card. Frequent your sound card website and download current drivers for YOUR specific card. Follow installation instructions located there. Disable Flex CD. This is a PowerToy created by Microsoft. You may have this installed and not know it. If you have it, it's in the system tray. Hover your mouse over tray icons to get a description of each. You can right click on Flex CD to disable it temporarily. (Kaldar's note: This program has some neat functionality. But I think it's pretty useless and causes more problems than it's worth. Get rid of it unless you REALLY need it). 2.2.2 Specific Sound Card Help. There are many different brands of soundcards out there. KalDar provided a mountain of help on many common brands, which is all now contained within the Appendix to this FAQ (section 5.3). 2.3 Problems with your Graphics Card? The TR games have the ability to use most 3D graphics cards. For TR1 you'll need to download a new tomb.exe file from: http://www.eidosinteractive.com/techsupp/tr1/tr1-patches.html that is specific to your graphics card. Patches to TR1 exist for graphics cards that use chips from the following manufacturers: 3Dfx (i.e. Voodoo Graphics, Voodoo Rush, Voodoo 2). Matrox (i.e. Matrox Mystique). PowerVR (i.e. Videologic (Apocalypse3D, 3Dx, and 5Dx), Matrox m3D). Rendition (i.e. Canopus Total 3D, Creative Labs Graphics Blaster, Diamond Stealth S220, Hercules Thriller, etc.) S3 (i.e. Almost any card with an S3 Chipset that has 4MB RAM or more on board, for example, S3 Virge based cards). [snark^note: There is no patch for cards with nVidia based chipsets] These graphics card chip manufacturers worked closely with Core Design to produce these patches (which hopefully would increase sales of cards using their chips, and promote brand loyalty). There are no specific 3D graphics card patches for TR2/3/4. They exist in the form of a single program only, which allows support for most 3D graphics cards on the market today. TR2 supports any 3D graphics card which is compatible with Direct3D. Direct3D is Microsoft's application programming interface. That is, Direct3D is a way for an application, such as TR2, to communicate with your operating system (Windows 95/98), which in turn communicates with your 3D graphics card. The result is that your 3D graphics card allows your monitor to display a nicely rendered Lara. Direct3D can be thought of as a special way to write code in programs and in the operating system. In order for TR2, and any Direct3D enabled application, to take advantage of your 3D graphics card, you will need a "driver" from the manufacturer. A "driver" is software that acts as the messenger between the operating system and your 3D graphics card. You probably have these drivers already installed on your system. Also, the TR2 PC CD contains DirectX 5, which should contain drivers for most 3D graphics cards in use today. If you are unsure, then contact the vendor where you bought your 3D graphics card. You could also see Appendix 4 for links to some 3D graphics card manufacturers. When you run the TR2/3/4 CD you'll see an option labelled Setup on the splash screen. Choose this and then click on the Graphics tab and you'll see a multitude of options relating to how the game displays itself on screen. For your 3D graphics card you should select 'Hardware 3D acceleration' and then pick your card from the 'Graphics Card' box rather than use 'Primary Display Driver' as that's what those poor souls who don't have a decent 3d card have to suffer with (pity them)... If you are using a combination 2D/3D graphics card (e.g. an nVidia Riva-128 based card), then your only option under 'Graphics Card' may be 'Primary Display Driver' In this case, you will still benefit from hardware 3D acceleration. From here you can select all the little extras you want such as Z buffering, dithering, bilinear filtering etc. Some of these options might not work with some cards so it's really just a matter of trial and error in finding out what suits your machine. If you're after finding the correct settings for your card try Dracman's 3dfx help page at his Shotgun City site (URL in Appendix below). 2.3.1 Does TR1/UB work with Voodoo2? While there is no specific voodoo2 patch for TR1 the original 3Dfx patch *should* work if you know how to tweak the Voodoo2 card environment variable settings. The following is an excerpt from 3Dfx's tech support web page: >Voodoo Graphics/Voodoo2 transitional environment variables > >Older Voodoo Graphics-specific games based on Glide versions >2.1 or below are not officially supported to be able run on >Voodoo2. However, many of these games will run properly with >the following environment variables set: > > set SST_GRXCLK=90 > set SST_FT_CLK_DEL=0x4 > set SST_TF0_CLK_DEL=0x6 > set SST_TF1_CLK_DEL=0x6 > set SST_VIN_CLKDEL=0x1 > set SST_VOUT_CLKDEL=0x0 > set SST_TMUMEM_SIZE=2 Dracman's site (URL in section 5.1.3) contains a page showing the settings he uses to run TR1/UB - and includes nifty batch files with which to run TR1 using these settings. His settings also address the 'purple Lara' syndrome. 2.4 The game runs really slowly? This problem usually occurs because the CD-ROM drive is constantly being read by the game (you should see a light constantly flickering on your CD-ROM drive). A patch is available from Eidos's site that can solve this (see Appendix for the Eidos URL). Also please check your machine against the requirements as stated in section 2.1 above. 2.5 How do I stop the menu ring from endlessly spinning? This problem is usually caused by an uncalibrated joystick that is connected to your machine. It can be solved by either unplugging or recalibrating the offending device (I recommend recalibrating it with a large sledgehammer -- joysticks are only good for flight sims). 2.6 Why does Lara move when I'm not pressing any keys? This problem is caused by the same circumstances as the moving menu ring above. Unplug or recalibrate any control devices you might have attached to your machine. 2.7 Can I see the movies without playing the game? Yes, for TR1/2/3 there's an viewer for the .rpl files called Escapeplay available at the Eidos site. The in-game cutscenes however can still only be accessed by saving the game at strategic points and playing on from there. For TRLR/TRC a new fmv file type is used called 'Bink'. To view these files you'll need to grab the Radtools program from the URL in the Appendix below. For the Macintoshians: Move the "FMV" folder to your hard drive. Using ResEdit or another similar resource editor, use the "Get File/Folder Info..." under the "File" menu and change each movie's creator type to "MooV" and the file type to "TVOD." You will then be able to view the movies with MoviePlayer. 2.8 Are there any savegame editors? Yes there are (PC only), a older one called TombEdit which works on TRs 1-3 and Paul Walton's equipment and position editors which work on all the games; allowing you to change the items you have, 'artificially enhance' your ammo count, etc. It's fun to do TR2's Great Wall with an M16 -- the T-Rex's don't seem to be half the problem they were first time around... There are no saved-game editors presently for the Macintosh versions of any of the Tomb Raider games. 2.8.1 Can someone please give me a savegame for level x? If you've suffered a disaster and saved where you should have loaded (or vice versa - and don't worry about it, we've all made this mistake at one time or another) then never fear for all is not lost. There are a number of options. You can either go to Andy Clay's Tomb Raider site (see Appendix) where you can find savegame files for the start of every level, or you can ask on the ng for a savegame from a specific part of a level. Andy's site contains instructions on how to place the files in your savegame directory. Also be aware that you can use TombEdit to set yourself up at the start of the desired level with any amount of gear you want.... 2.9 I'm getting Visual C++ runtime errors! What's wrong? Either re-install DirectX or download and install the latest DirectX version. If that doesn't solve it then please check to see if your system's date is set beyond the year 2035, and change it back if it is. 2.10 The Win95 startup key keeps dumping me out of TR1... TR1 is a DOS game; as such, any accidental use of the win95 keys now included with most PC keyboards will cause the computer to stop the game and go to the win95 desktop. These keys are unfortunately located between the and on both sides of the spacebar, making life difficult for the Tomb Raider player (thank you Bill... thank you very much...). To stop this you will need to download a keyboard 're-mapping' utility (either Doswinky or Kernal Toy - see section 5.1.4) which will re-map the Win95 startup key to any function you want (other than launch the startup menu) leaving you able to press the offending key while playing TR1 and have nothing untoward happen. If you don't want to go to all the trouble above and like the idea of committing a bit of vandalism here is another solution; just remove the offending keys from the keyboard by levering them off with a knife or screwdriver... (they can be replaced afterwards). 2.11 How do I take screenshots? In the UB levels ONLY of TR Gold: Press the forward-slash key, '/', and the game will start dumping screenshots (in .pcx format) into your TR directory. Press the slash key again to stop it. The limit is 1000 according to some of our newsgroup research-scientist types; it does not keep accumulating pictures indefinitely, but writes over the oldest as it goes. In TR2: The 's' key takes one screenshot at a time, saved to your TR2 directory in .pcx (or .tga if in 16.7 million colour mode) format also. In TR3/TRLR/TRC: The " (or ') key takes the screenshots in .tga format only. For European layout keyboards it's the @ key I believe. I've been informed that you can't take screenshots with the original release of TR1. Your best option, if you must have a record of Lara in action, is to use a specialised 3rd party screenshot grabbing program. You'll find a list of some useful screen grabbers in the Utilities section of the Appendix below. A few people also seem to be having trouble viewing the Targa (.tga) files -- it's just another picture file format and all the better shareware graphics programs should be able to view these files (Paint Shop Pro and IrFanView come highly recommended). 2.12 Problems with changing resolution in Win2000 A few people have reported problems with TRLR and TRC when trying to change the resolution from the default 640x480 in Win2000. An unofficial patch has been released to combat this and the perpetual crashing problem and is available at the Tombraider Chronicles site (URL in Appendix section 5.1.1). 3.0 Playing the games. Vangelis asked "Need some TR advice...Stat!" in alt.games.tombraider: > I just bought TR and I can't figure out how to open the box...HELP!! > I'm dying to play this game but I'm stuck at the part of the top flap > where it looks like it flips up then flips sorta over I think. > There's a large tab that seems to go into the box but I can't reach > it from where I am. I've tried some walkthroughs but none list this > initial brain-bending conundrum. I think I can see the instructions > below but I can't get the flap up to get to them. Help! The above is satire (I hope). What follows is a basic guide to playing the TR games. If you're after specific answers to the various puzzles in the games you're better off either searching the walkthroughs (URLs in the Appendix) for a solution. The advice we most often used to give to aspiring TR players was the archetypical: Kill everything[1]. Pick up all the items. Push all the switches and blocks[2] Pull all the levers and blocks. Use all the keys. Exit the level. It works best if you chant it like a mantra while playing... Anyway, read on for the real help. [1] Though not on TR2's Barkheng Monastery level. [2] Though don't do this in TR1's Cistern level. 3.1 How can I keep Lara alive? The TR games are basically adventure games. They're not just shoot 'em ups like Doom, Quake or Duke Nukem, they take a little thought, patience, and time before you can complete them. During all that relaxed contemplation however the game does its best to kill our heroine off... repeatedly... in dozens of memorably horrible ways. The following is a list of ways to help achieve a certain longevity for poor Lara. * Conserve ammo: use the pistols whenever possible. Never waste the heavy stuff (ie. grenade launcher) on the smaller creatures (ie. rats and spiders) - sure it's lots of fun, but it's also very very wasteful. Keep the big stuff for the opponents who deserve it. * Sometimes you have the range on your opponents with the right weapon (the M16 for example has a very long range). Use this advantage to its _utmost_. * Move around a lot while shooting. Having Lara stand still makes it too easy for the Blastable Nasties to hurt her. Jumping from side to side is better than backwards and forwards. The one handed weapons, such as pistols and uzi's, can be fired while flipping and generally have a wider field of fire than the rifles and bigger stuff. * On the underwater levels be aware that Lara can outswim the sharks, and that the best overall method of dealing with the fish and frogmen is to hop out of the water and shoot them from dry land. Unsporting we know - but it works! * Walk when near edges - it's really frustrating falling from great heights when you last saved the game about 20 min ago.... * The safety drop: If the drop from a particular height looks too big then fall backwards off the edge pressing the action key as you do so. Lara will grab hold of the edge and reduce the distance you fall (and therefore any damage you might take) by her body length. * If possible try to kill the BNs from a position of absolute safety; T-Rex's can't fit down tunnels and dogs can't follow you up on to blocks. Again we know this is demonstrating a great degree of unsportsmanlike behaviour, but just put your conscience aside and keep your finger on the trigger -- you know the bad guys deserve it... * (TRs 1-4) Remember that Lara remains 'autolocked' on the target whether it's in view or not (not true in TRC though). Take advantage of whatever cover you can find. Keep your finger down on the Fire key, leap behind some cover (finger still down) and then back out again. Lara's guns will remain locked on the target and fire immediately when the target is visible again. * In TR2 and TR3 there are hotkeys (TR2: 8 & 9, TR3; 9 & 0) that can be pressed to use the small and large medpacks respectively. This makes it much faster to heal rather than going to the menu ring. * Lara can move forward slightly faster if you jump while running (but not as fast as she sprints in TR3 and later). * Save games often. It's not cheating to save before you have to make a tough jump or take on a nasty opponent. I had well over 300 saves before I completed TR2, and nobody has ever completed either of the games without resorting back to a saved game as we know of. 3.2 Other general hints and tips. If you think you're stuck and you don't want to resort to using a walkthrough then.... * Just be aware that, while she remains breathing, Lara can never be stuck at any point in a game (unless you've encountered one of the later games' savegame bugs). There's always some way of extracting her from the predicament most perilous. * Try pushing or pulling a box or a section of wall that looks different. AFAIK there's only one section of 'secret' wall in the games that's perfectly blended with the solid wall. * Shoot out a window. Sometimes vandalism is the only way to progress. Or if you have no weapons get someone to shoot out a window for you.... * Are you sure you can't make that jump? Sometimes the impossible can be done. This is The Divine Ponytail we're talking about after all. * TR3: Look up at the ceiling often to see if there's some grippable rock that Lara could use to monkey swing across the chasm/river. This one takes a bit of getting used to after playing the two previous games. * TRC (tower block level only unfortunately): Look for places on the ceiling which you can fire the grappling gun at. 3.3 How do I complete the [insert name here] level? Don't despair. Every puzzle in the game is solvable. Please don't just blurt out your question on the ng though as we see the same problems being posed over and over again; the Venice clock, the start to 40 fathoms, the pyramids.... There are many walkthroughs available for both games - all the sites with such walkthroughs are listed in the appendix (section 5.1.2 of this FAQ). If you're still stuck then by all means please ask your question but PLEASE provide us enough info to be able to help you; which game, which level, and a recognizable description of your problem will go a long way toward ensuring your eventual success. Be polite also. We have many helpful people posting to the ng who seem to spend their spare time answering every newbie's most inane query and at the very least they could be thanked rather than abused. So please be polite ... (or else...) 3.3.1 Hey! I followed the walkthrough instructions to the letter but I still can't do... Some of the walkthroughs might miss something because the author wrote them from memory or the instructions provided in them aren't very clearly written. Don't give up - keep trying other walkthroughs until you finally hit on the solution. 3.4 Why bother collecting all the secrets? For the extra ammo and equipment! In TR1 and TR3 you get a little gift with every secret you find but in TR2 you have to collect all of the 3 dragon shaped secrets in each level before you get a cache of extra ammo (and occasionally weapons) to assist in the annihilation the bad guys. Contrary to many other TR players beliefs I personally consider secrets very much worthwhile collecting - I wouldn't have been able to complete TR2 without all the additional ammo I gathered from them. 3.4.1 What happens if you complete the games with all the secrets? In TR1 & TR2 nothing special happens. No nude Lara, no special 'easter egg' or anything like that; all it means is that you've picked up the extra ammo and medkits. In TR3 and TR2 Gold however collecting all the secrets allows you to play the extra secret level. In TRC there's some sort of special thing you can access in the main menu for getting all 100 secrets. 3.5 Did you know that Lara can?... ...do a handstand? ...a swan dive? ...roll in mid-air? Yes we are aware of all these features so please think before posting a claim that you've discovered something new. Many of these extra moves actually have some use - the handstand allows you to climb up onto the top of a block when it's covered in broken glass or other spikey bits, and rolling in midair is a necessary skill on the later levels of TR2.... see section 3.6.1 for more details on these moves. We also know about bugs such as the playstation controller appearing on the Floating Islands level of TR2; and secret locations such as the basement in Lara's mansion (and the hidden part of the maze) -- that's all covered in section 3.9. 3.6 I'm having trouble controlling Lara -- the game sux! All the TR games come with a training level that allows you to learn how to perform most actions. Use this level to further your understanding of the basic game moves and have some fun exploring Lara's mansion -- practice makes perfect .... and you'll need to be so by the time you reach the final levels of the games. Also, if you're wondering about there being any way of making Lara jump higher, run faster well here's a couple of hints for you (which might have been covered above in section 3.2): It has been discovered that Lara moves forward a little bit faster if you make her jump while running; and if you want to get to those hard to reach places there exists the 'corner bug' (aka "Bugsie") - a nifty bug in the game that allows Lara to magically leap up the sides of walls and appear at the top. Use of Bugsie is quite complicated and instructions on how to make it happen are detailed on most TR fan sites. 3.6.1 All the special moves... Beyond the normal running, walking, shimmying, and jumping movements, which can be practised on the assault course, Lara can also perform a few special maneuvres involving fancy key combinations that are worth learning. The swan dive/forward roll: When jumping forwards press the walk key and Lara will execute either a fancy swan dive or a forward roll depending on how far away the floor is. In TR2, on the Great Wall level try a spectacular swan dive off the crenelated wall into the pool of water below. This swan dive is a necessary maneuver on one of the later levels of TR2 -- unless you like swimming in lava. The 'forward roll with one-half somersault' dive: Pressing the roll key after making Lara swan dive off a high ledge will make her perform somersaults while she plunges toward the water (hopefully) below. This the only move for which we have not found a distinct useful purpose. Looks cool though. The mid air flip (TR2/3 only): This one allows you to reverse the way you face while leaping. Press the roll key when in flight and Lara will land facing in the opposite direction from the one she first leapt from. This works with both the forward jump and backflip. Combined with an instant grab it is an essential skill on the later levels of TR2. The handstand: Not as useless as suggested on some gaming sites. When hanging from a block press action + walk + forward and Lara will pull herself up to the top with a fancy handstand. It's useful if the top surface of the block you're climbing onto is covered in sharp spikey objects, because you'll take no damage getting on top this way. The fence bug: When facing a corner or a seam in a fence, you can get Lara through it by holding down forward + action, or forward + look to go through the fence. Can be used to circumvent large parts of some levels... The slide stop (TR3 only): Lara can sprint in TR3 for a short amount of time (too short according to some of us). If you hit the back button while she's sprinting you'll see her come to a sliding stop. You might find this useful in timed puzzles when Lara needs to stop directly above an object in order to make for a quicker pickup (hello there Dr Willard...). Entering crawlspaces from ladders (TR3): There is a slight problem in TR3 that stops Lara automatically climbing up into a crawlspace off a ladder texture. At some points in the game this is a major requirement, especially if you want all the secrets. The way to do it is; 1) position Lara so her hands are at the top (edge of the crawlspace), 2) Let go the action key for just a split second and then grab again immediately, 3) Lara should no be hanging as though from a cliff, haul her up now before she changes back to the ladder climbing mode (only takes a second before she does this). The forward tumble (TRC): When crouching at a ledge Lara can be tumbled forward onto the floor below by pressing the jump key. This is very useful on the Old Mill level if you find that you can't back into that crawlspce at the end. 3.6.2 Gameboy special moves. [With many thanks to Bart] Rolling: You can roll and face the other side when you are using your weapons, extremely useful when attacking multiple enemies! To do this press A + B at the same time. Diving: I think this is more of an easter-egg because this move can only be performed at ONE place in the whole game and that is at the very beginning of Temple B -- just before the pool having walked to the edge. Press A + B, and then the up arrow. Handstand: Lara must be hanging on a ledge; while hanging by holding B, also press the A button. Then press up and Lara will perform a handstand. 3.7 Warning: Beware woman driver -- Lara and vehicles. In TR2 & TR3 Lara can use a number of different vehicles to aid her in her quests. You keep control of the TR 2 vehicles in much the same as you do with Lara - forward, back, turn left, turn right (and remember not to bump into things or fall off high ledges). In TR3 some vehicles use the action & jump keys to accelerate/ deccelerate. 3.7.1 Fun with boating accidents (TR2 & TR3). To get in a boat simply walk or jump into its side from the dock, or, if in the water you can climb into it using action + the forward key -- much as you do climbing out of the water onto dry land. To exit the boat in TR2 press jump + left or right; in TR3 press roll + left or right. In TR2 the boat can be used to travel faster through Venice as well as sink the gondolas blocking your way. Pressing the action key while in the boat makes you go faster and allows you to run it up ramps and so on... but note that Lara takes damage from hitting walls when travelling this fast. The dinghy Lara can roam around with in TR3's Antarctica level uses the action and jump buttons to go forwards and backwards with. Be careful when climbing out of the boat as it appears she can only do so when next to completely flat surfaces -- any attempt to make her climb out onto a block with a diagonal half will fail and might result in giving her a dunking. Ditto with any sloping surfaces I believe. 3.7.2 Death by snowmobile (TR2). Fun and mayhem on the piste! To get on a snowmobile walk up to its side and press action. Getting off is the same as the boat above, press jump + left or right. The snowmobiles are fun. There are two different types in the game; the shiny red go-faster version, and the black Bartoli special with the built in machine guns. Pressing the action key with the red machine will give you a burst of speed which is useful for jumping big gaps..... (but the same damage penalty occurs as with the boat if you hit walls), whereas on the black snowbikes it will fire a burst from the twin machine guns instead. PS - The snowmobiles can also help you conserve ammo. They're big, heavy machines and any opponents you come across on foot are considerably rather soft and squishy in comparison (but be aware that running someone down does not count as a kill on the end of level stats screen). 3.7.3 Kanoodling with kayaks (TR3). Get into the Kayak by pressing action + forward (as with the boats you can climb in from the water too). Exit the Kayak by pressing roll +left or right. Annoyingly you can't appear to climb out onto land directly from the Kayak.... There are two kinds of turns you can make with the paddle. The first is the standard paddle on one side only job (left or right key) - which produces a nice slow turn. Then there's the 'paddle turn' (walk + left or right) - which produces a sharper swivel on the spot. Lara can also backpaddle and turn while doing so. Please be aware that Lara can paddle her way *upstream* if the current isn't too strong. 3.7.4 Hooning around on the quadbike (TR3). Now for the machine with the broken handbrake... To get on the hoonmobile (be it painted orange, green or red/white) walk up to its side and press action + forward. To get off press roll + left or right. Once on the action key will accelerate and the jump key will apply the brakes - left and right do their usual things. From a standing start you can rev the machine up to top speed instantly by first pressing the handbrake key (which is the '?' key on PCs -- some manuals are printed wrongly) and hold that down while pressing forward. The quadbike should hold in place while the wheels spin furiously underneath. When you take your finger off the handbrake key the machine will then leap forward at top whack. Disappointingly this is all the handbrake is used for. As with the snowmobile be aware that running squishy things over with the quadbike will not have the 'kill' register on the end of level stats. 3.7.5 Going bloopu with the UPU (TR3). The Underwater Propulsion Unit is available during the Lud's Gate level in TR3 - but isn't actually necessary to complete it, which is a bit of a shame really. Being a completely underwater device[1] the controls are a little different to other vehicles. To grab hold press action when facing it (you must be up close). To let go press roll. It has no reverse and only one forward gear (press jump to move forward with it) but it does have a neato harpoon gun built in; just press action to use it. Please note that the UPU's harpoon gun doesn't have Lara's autolock aiming feature - you can only hit whatever's directly in front of the machine. The upside is that there is no slow reload time - you can blaze away without remorse (I just hope you have a lot of harpoons). The UPU is just a little bit faster than Lara's top swimming speed so I support its use. [1] It is possible to actually fly up out of the water and defy gravity with the UPU. Lara sort of hangs in the air behind it though still in the water. She can then explore the airy parts of the level while suspended in midair behind the UPU. Details on how to achieve this amazing feat can be found on Theresa's Tombraiders.com and Harvey's Stupid Lara Tricks page. 3.7.6 Mine Carts and how to survive them (TR3). Indy Who? The mine carts provide a sense of welcome relief from the other vehicles Lara has used. They were all easily controllable by The Divine Ponytail and offered a fun diversion to the usual run and shoot gameplay. The mine carts however are just plain scary - they're an extremely dangerous way to travel from one part of RX-Tech mines to the other. To enter a cart press action and forward, to exit press roll + left or right. You can only do this when the carts are at a complete stop. Now start screaming then - because that's all the control she has over this vehicle... Once in these hellbent suicide machines Lara is faced with a limited number of options: duck (usual key), brake (press jump; but be very sure you time it right...), and the large spanner; which can be used to change the track Lara travels down by banging it on a junction lever as she flies past at suicidal speeds. Timing the spanner blows is essential for our girl's continued survival as some tracks lead to instant, and even irreversible, death (irreversible except by booting up the last savegame of course). A quick rant on the architecture of RX-Tech mines: What weirdo places wall-supporting horizontal stanchions at around the exact height required to knock a passengers head off? Only through liberal use of the duck key will Lara be able to survive a crushing blow to her head or recieving a large drill in her earhole. The maintenance of said mine is awful too -- the track is missing in some places and the only way to progress is by allowing the cart to build up enough speed to make the required jump. Despite their modern forward-looking quick 'job evolution' program RX-Tech are obviously a fairly slipshod operation when it comes to employee safety. 3.7.7 Roving the lands (TRLR). Before TRLR was released the game's programmers were kidnapped by mutant orange martians and their android replacements made a few changes to the way in which the Land Rover behaved. Rather than stick with the traditional control method, which seemed somewhat logical, it was given a more realistic approach with the addition of a gearstick key. The controls are thusly; action = accelerate, jump = brake, walk = gear shift up (forward), sprint = gear shift down (reverse), left and right performed their usual duties as did the jump + left/right for exiting the vehicle. It's a lot harder to learn to control this vehicle compared to the others. The level it's set in doesn't help either, being one of TRLR's more boringly designed, textured and executed. 3.7.8 Motorcyclemania (TRLR). Lara's motorbike & sidecar combo (well, to put it more accurately, Jean Ives's motorbike...) is also a difficult beast to control. Not the least of which is its steadfast refusal to reverse easily -- with Lara having to exhert herself to inch it backawards slowly. Same control as the jeep above: action = accelerate, sprint = nitro boost, left and right doing their thing as usual thing. To dismount the surly beast you must press jump + right (when it's on level ground only). 3.8 Cheat codes. The following cheat codes aren't recommended as they tend to take away most of the enjoyment that comes from playing the game. If you're that bad a TR player however the following codes will provide you with the desired effect - just follow the steps as directed. Please note that there are no cheat codes for the PC version of TRC (and wasn't it great). 3.8.1 How do I get all the weapons and ammo? PC TR1: Using the walk key take a step forward and a step back. Spin around in place 2 or more times (either direction will do). Now backflip. You should end up with all the weapons and a healthy looking ammo count. PC TR2: The same as TR1 except light a flare first and hold it while performing the procedure. Failure to do so will result in The Divine Ponytail exploding in glorious 3D technicolour. Please be advised that this weapons cheat will not work on the last level ("Home sweet home") of TR2 - there it's just you, the shotgun and lots of target practice..... PC TR3: Draw her pistols (number 1 weapon). Step back, step forward. Squat down, then stand and then turn around three times. Jump backwards. PC TRLR: Make Lara face exactly north (compass needle turns transparent when she does so). Go to inventory and select the large medipack. Press and hold down W, E, A, P, O, N, S and all the weapons will appear in her inventory. For the equipment do the same except select small medipack and press G, U, N, S. PC TRC: No cheat. PSX TR1: Goto the inventory screen and press L1, TRIANGLE, L2, R2, L2, R2, O, L1 (Lara will moan). Now press the X button, go back into the inventory screen and you should have all the goodies. PSX TR2: Hold walk and sidestep left, sidestep right, sidestep left, step back, and step forward. Release walk, turn around three times in either direction, jump backward and roll in mid- air. PSX TR3: Quickly press L2, R2(2), L2(4), R2, L2, R2(2), L2, R2(2), L2(2), R2, L2(2), R2 during game play. Lara will scream to confirm correct code entry. PSX TRLR: Make Lara face exactly north (compass needle will blink when she does so). Go to the inventory and select the large medipack. Press L1, L2, R1, R2, Up, Triangle for all the weapons. For the equipement press L1, L2, R1, R2, Down, Triangle. PSX TRC: No cheat. Sega Saturn TR1: Pause the game and go into the last page of the passport. Once there, press Z,Y,Z,Y,X,X,X and Start; then press A button and Up on the directional pad. 3.8.2 How do I skip forward to the next level? Please remember that when you use this cheat that Lara misses the secrets and pickups when she gets taken to the next level. PC TR1: Using the walk key take a step forward and a step back. Spin around in place 2 or more times (either direction will do). Now jump forwards. Lara will be taken on to the next level. PC TR2: The same as for TR1... and remember to light that flare first or create an icky mess. PC TR3: Draw her pistols (number 1 weapon). Step back, step forward. Squat down, then stand and then turn around three times. Jump forwards. PC TRLR: Make Lara face excactly north (compass needle turns transparent when she does so). Go to the inventory and select 'load game'. Press and hold down H, E, L, P. PC TRC: No cheat. PSX TR1: While playing, call up the inventory screen and press the following key sequences: L2, R2, L1, O, TRIANGLE, L1, R2, L2. If you done it right you will hear Lara moan, then hit the SELECT button to skip to the next level. PSX TR2: Hold walk and sidestep left, sidestep right, sidestep left, step back, and step forward. Release walk, turn around three times in either direction, jump forward and roll in mid- air. PSX TR3: Quickly press L2, R2, L2(2), R2, L2, R2, L2, R2, L2(4), R2, L2, R2(4), L2 during game play. Lara will say "No" to confirm correct code entry. PSX TRLR: Make Lara face excactly north (compass needle will blink when she does so). Go to the inventory and select 'load game'. Press and hold down L1, L2, R1, R2, Up, Triangle. PSX TRC: No cheat. Sega Saturn TR1: Pause the game and go into the last page of the passport. Once there, press Z,Y,Z,Y,X,X,X and Start; then press C. 3.8.3 Additional PSX Codes for TR3/TRC TR3: All secrets: Quickly press L2(5), R2, L2(3), R2, L2, R2, L2(2), R2, L2(2), R2, L2(2) during game play. Lara will say "No" to confirm correct code entry. Enabling this code will also unlock the "All Hallows" bonus level. TR3: Racetrack key in Lara's mansion: Quickly press R2, L2(3), R2, L2(6), R2, L2(5), R2, L2(2) during game play. Lara will sigh to confirm the code has been entered correctly. TR3: Full health: Quickly press R2(2), L2, R2, L2(6), R2, L2(3), R2, L2(5) during game play. Lara will sigh to confirm the code has been entered correctly. 3.8.4 Gameboy cheats. [Section provided by John Jones] These cheats work only with the Blaze Xploder for the gameboy pak. Users should refer to their manuals for information on programming these codes into their cartridges. It is recommended that you enable cheats on a level by level basis as unexpected things may happen. Currently I have managed to trap codes for the first three levels. Users are advised to try the blaze web site but I dont think they have any further codes. GENERIC CODES Infinite Dynamite: 0101B0C1 Infinite Health: 01FF89C1 Max Rapid Bullets: 01FF8DC1 Max Heavy Bullets: 01FF8EC1 Max Small Medipaks: 01FFACC1 Max Large Medipaks: 01FFADC1 TEMPLE A CODES All Blue Doors Open: 010142C1 010143C1 All Trapdoors Open: 010144C1 010149C1 01014AC1 Activate Ledges to walk on: 010145C1 TEMPLE B CODES All Blue Doors Open: 010142C1 010145C1 All Trapdoors Open: 010144C1 Activate Ledges to walk on: 010147C1 Disable firing darts: 010143C1 First Door Key already in Inventory: 0101AEC1 Underwater Switch already flipped: 010146C1 TEMPLE C CODES All Blue Doors Open: 010145C1 01014CC1 010148C1 All Trapdoors Open: 010142C1 010143C1 010144C1 010149C1 010146C1 010147C1 All Handles Collected: 0107B6C1 3.8.5 Someone please tell me the nude code!!!!! This question gets a little boring when asked for the 30,000th time. Read my typing. There is NO NUDE CODE for any TR game! There are some 3rd party patches that can be downloaded and used to alter Lara's appearance but there is no magic one touch button or complex 'dance' like in the two cheats described above. The patches are 100% unofficial and badly done to boot. Before you claim that there is one because somebodies friend of a brother's mothers' uncle told you so please consider this; why would Eidos open themselves up to possible prosecution by including a cheat that would have little Johnny Doe's eyes glued permanently to the monitor and his parents reaching for their lawyer's business card? The moral minority (who're already a little uptight over the violence and sexual overtones in the games) would have the programmers hides for including one. Apocryphal story time: The question was presented on alt.folklore.urban in April 1998 about the urban legend status of the TR nude code -- and why so many want to believe in it. One of Core's programmers actually responded on the thread and said that it's their unofficial policy never to deny it outright because it makes it "so much more fun to watch". B*st*rds! In all seriousness it makes you wonder if and by how much this rumour increases the game's sales though... In addition to all the above, Hywel Jenkins suggested the following codes for TR2: Always treat Lara like a lady. Make sure she's as safe as possible. Don't try to undress her. Don't make her dive on to the ground from a high platform. Don't let crocodiles eat her. Don't shoot the monks. 3.9 How do I get into the basement and outside the front gate and into Lara's trophy room and..... There are several things that have been discovered about some of the TR games that were undocumented in the literature. Chief amongst these was the existence of the hidden basement in the TR2 training level. It can be reached by flipping the switch in the secretive part of the hedge maze and then running back to the house before the secret door under the stair closes. The hidden part of the maze is reached by a tunnel whose opening is near the wall farthest from the maze entrance. There is very little margin for error when trying to reach the basement before the door closes -- you might be able to get away with bumping the walls once or twice but no more. What is actually in the TR2 basement I'll leave for you to discover.... In TR2 to get outside the house grounds you need to know about the corner bug (the Croft Times site has a good description and 'How to' page so I recommend going there). To get outside the front gate use the corner bug from the tower on the assault course where you get on the flying fox -- after using the bug you should find yourself on top of the tower and able to leap onto the wall surrounding Lara's house and grounds. From there simply walk around the top of the wall sightseeing until you reach the front part and then safety drop down outside the front gate. Please note that there is no motorcycle here no matter what Jeeves the Butler says (see 'The Butler's Tale' in section 5.1.3). In TR3 there are even more things to do in and around Lara's newly redeveloped mansion. To get into Lara's new trophy room you must first press the key behind the diving board in the pool. This opens up a secret room in the main entrance hall. In this room is a timed switch. Press it and the wall behind you opens up to reveal Lara's new trophy room. Immediately after flicking the switch press roll and run towards the open door. Just before you go past the main door press sprint (if you sprint sooner than this she'll run out of steam before the door closes and won't make it) and when getting close dive (usual jump button) through the rapidly closing door to enter her own treasure chamber. Also in TR3 Lara's hedge maze has gone! So what's there now? Barring your path to where the hedgemaze used to be is a locked gate; the key to which is liquidly located in Lara's old treasure chamber under the stairs. I'm not going to completely give the game away here -- reaching the key provides some useful basic TR exercises. Though I will suggest that doing some research in her upstairs library might yield a clue or two. 3.9.1 An ascii map of the maze (TR2). The following is a simple ascii diagram of the hedge maze to aid you in your attempt to reach the basement in TR2. The entrances to the underground are connected by an 'L' shaped tunnel. # = hedge or wall s = statue _ = basement room switch u = underground entrance #################################################### #################################################### ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## #### ######## ## ## ## ## ############ ## ## #### ######## ## ## ## ## ############ ## ## ##uu ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##uu ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ######## ########################## ## ## ## ## ######## ########################## ## ## ## ## ## ## ss## ## ## ## ## ## ## ss## ## ## ## #### ## ######uu _## ## ## ###### ########## #### ## ######uu ## ## ## ###### ########## ## ## ## ss## ## ## ## ## ## ## ss## ## ## ## ## #### ## ########## ## ## ## ########## ## ## #### ## ########## ## ## ## ########## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ######################################## ########## ######################################## ########## / / To Mansion Many thanks to Symeon Jacobson for the use of his map. 3.10 Can anyone please tell me how the games end? No. Find out for yourself. Oh, OK then... the ending for all the games is the same. First the screen goes dark and then... the credits appear. I hope this hasn't spoilt it for you. 3.11 Where's the key for the door next to Lara's bed in TR2? If you're on the training level it doesn't exist, yet. That door can only be opened with a key that's already on Lara's person when the final level of TR2 begins. Inside the cupboard you'll find some survival gear she needs to complete the game. 4.0 Other TR-like games Are there games other than Tomb Raider worth playing? Hopefully this section will answer that question for you. Please note that the comments below are mainly my own personal opinion and that your own enjoyment of the game will probably be based on values different to my own. 4.1 The games Most of the games below have drawn comparison to Tombraider at some point or other. Most are similarly presented 3rd Person Perspective (3rdPP) adventure games like TR although some differ and/or blend several other gaming sub-genres together. A TR review for comparison: Tombraider (all five games) [3rdPP action-adventures, Core Design, 1996-2000] PROS: Great atmosphere of open exploration. Very smooth and precise responses from Lara. Great themey soundtracks. CONS: Lame autoaim. Lego-block type level construction -- levels mostly linear in design as well. Very dated graphics/character models. Bad Enemy AI. See all the above sections for the description... If you want to see a list of things we think should be included in the TR games then hunt down and read a copy of the TR Wishlist (posted to the newsgroup often). A lot of the items on it include elements from the games below. 4.1.1 Alone in the Dark [Fixed camera 3D adventure/horror, Interplay, 1995] PROS: Excellent Cthuloid ambience. No autoaim... CONS: Far too short (the sequels did better in this regard). Virtually no enemy AI to speak of. Fantastic graphical adventure which was followed by two sequels which, while very good, never managed to top the original for ambience and horror. Gamestyle since copied for the dire Resident Evil series on the PSX. 4.1.2 Deathtrap Dungeon [3rdPP action-adventure, Eidos, 1998] PROS: Better graphics than TR. 'Chalk mark' feature. CONS: Still blocky level construction. Bad enemy AI. Loosely based on the Fighting Fantasy book of the same name with a slight 'steampunk-fantasy' feel. You play one of either two characters; the hulking Chaindog or more svelte Red Lotus, who must survive the Dungeon to win the grand prize. Actually featured some improvements which should have made it into the continuing TR series but it felt like an inferior copy at the time. 4.1.3 ODT [3rdPP action-RPG-adventure, Psygnosis, 1998] PROS: No autoaim. Nice-ish graphics. CONS: Slight feeling of displacement with characters. Bad AI. Lousy control system. ODT = 'Or Die Trying'. Four explorers travelling on a dirigible are lost in the 'forbidden zone' of a strange techno-magical world and must fight and find their way out ODT. You get to play one of the four characters (a priest, engineer, soldier, or female cartographer) during the adventure. Very nice appearance and features a neat weapon/equipment handling system which is only beaten by FAKK2, but the way the characters appear in the maps just doesn't look right -- it's as though they're floating an inch off the floor or somehow 'displaced' from the surroundings. Lousy enemy AI too; you can tell when the game gets harder because the bad guys can fire their weapons slightly faster than the last ones could... and that was it as far as increasing difficulty goes. 4.1.4 Drakan: Order of the Flame [3rdPP action-adventure/lizard flight-sim, Psygnosis, 1999] PROS: No autoaim. Great graphics and large exterior levels. Aerial battles with dragon are good. Good inventory system. Decent enemy AI. Conanesque soundtrack. CONS: Lousy voice casting (valley girl-medieval?). Rynn is worse than Lara so far as bodyshape goes. Eventual empty feeling in level design -- too short overall? Uses DirectX. The flying lizard. It's a lot of fun. Rynn isn't. Her voice is as annoying as hell and she looks like a famine refugee on a diet. She doesn't have many of Lara's moves either, being she's limited to just running around and swinging her sword to explore. The game itself plays very well though with nice graphics, good sound and neat control -- with it's best advantage over TR being the mouse-aim (no simplistic llama autoaim here). The demo gave me an empty feeling eventually, and reports of the full game say it's too short as well. 4.1.5 Infernal Indy [3rdPP adventure, LucasArts, 1999] PROS: Great graphics. Indy well animated with a large number of moves. Good AI. Chalk mark feature. CONS: Autoaim. Indy's sluggish response time. Uses DirectX. Real name: Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine (Infernal Indy just sounds a lot better). A very TR-like game in feel (quid pro quo really given that the Divine Ponytail's adventures bare more than a passing resemblence to the Indy movies) which although far superior in all the technical aspects; graphics, sound, plot, etc., fails because Indy's responses are far more sluggish than Lara's are; press a key and there's a feeling of resistance (slight lag) before he moves (hence 'Infernal Indy') and some of the fancier moves require obscure combination keypresses. His walking action when swimming on the surface is funny. Otherwise the game is a reminder of what TR should be like. 4.1.6 Outcast [3rdPP action-RPG-adventure, Infogrames, 1999] PROS: Huge levels with utterly open exploration. No autoaim (or even crosshairs...) Good solid plot. Good AI. Fantastic orchestral musical score. RPG-like interaction. CONS: Very low resolution graphics. Limited moves. Uses DirectX. Epic is pretty much the only way to describe this one. From the huge level sizes to the plot the game is very well polished and presented. As Cutter Slade you are sent to an alternate earth to stop some sort of energy flux from destroying both worlds. It has a very RPG-like feel with its quest-based subplots and weapon upgrade system, but the action sequences are pure shooter, albeit in 3rdPP -- camera control during which is fantastic. Probably a bit too short in the end and despite the excellent anti-aliasing techniques the low res graphics still look awful. But the sequel should be worth looking out for... 4.1.7 Metal Gear Solid [Overhead 3rdPP action, Konami/Micro$oft, 1996/2000] PROS: Strong plot, well presented. No autoaim. CONS: Pretty awkward controls regards overhead view. Uses DirectX. I've only played the demo of the PC version. Nicely presented intro in a movie-style method highlights a strong, if typically anime-style 'stoic lone hero saves us all', plot. As Snake you must save the world before the Terrorists destroy us all with their killer virus, or something to that effect... Like Indy he has a cool walking action when 'swimming' too... ;) 4.1.8 Heavy Metal FAKK2 [3rdPP slasher-adventure, Ritual Games, 2000] PROS: Great Quake3-based graphics and character animations. Excellent weapon handling system. No autoaim on big guns. Some new moves. Stonking soundtrack. Average AI (they're all out to get you). Uses OpenGL. CONS: Autoaim with handguns. Levels very limited in size -- not enough of them (or plot) anyway. Julie can't swim. Based on the Heavy Metal comic of the same name so basically the overt sleaze has to be taken at face value. A lot of fun although I couldn't help wondering where the rest of the game had gone upon finishing it -- entire plot elements went missing such as the psychic little girl, Gith's ship, Julie's sister, who sent the warning message -- the entire ending had a distinct feeling of loose ends being quickly cobbled together in the face of an impending release deadline. So half of a game though it is it's still what TR should be like had Core and Eidos bothered to keep up with the technical side of things. The way the weapons are handled (you can have different combos of swords, guns, shields in each hand) is particularly magnificent. Slightly disappointing is that despite adding a few new moves Julie still can't match The Divine Ponytail for sheer volume of moves available -- swimming being the chief loss. 4.1.9 Oni [3rdPP combat-action, Bungie, 2001] PROS: Great fighting moves. Excellent camera control system. Good AI. Large levels. CONS: Slight autoaim on gunplay. Complete lack of Lara-like 'exploration' moves. Uses DirectX. More of a beat-'em-up really. Oni follows the adventures of a female police officer called Konoko who is out to bring down an organised crime syndicate. It's based very heavily on the excellent epic manga _Ghost in the Shell_ and does capture some of that movie's ambience quite well. Despite some fantastic fighting moves Oni really falls down in the exploration department -- it comes down to just wandering around the large emptyish levels beating people up in a certain order -- even the gunplay is deliberately kept limited due to the seriously low ammo situation. Otherwise Konoko can't climb, vault, swim, shimmy along ledges, etc... and as in TR all the fun-looking fancy action is kept to the pre-scripted cutscenes. 4.1.10 Recommended FPS games [FPS many genres, Assorted gaming developers, since 1994] PROS: No autoaim. CONS: Limited 90-degree vision. Lack of the exploration type moves. Often just run the mazes and shoot everything gameplay. It'd be hard to say that you haven't at least played one, even it was just one of the basic early run'n'shoot games. The advantage FPSes have over 3rdPP is the freedom of aim really; beyond that they tend to lack the involvement that TR gives in seeing your character actually perform the moves (rectangular screen jumps up and down, rectangular screen runs climbs ladder, etc). The more recent ones have been adding plot and humour (since Duke Nukem) and successfully mixing the genres with much RPG input and strategy/enemy AI improvements. It's not as if you don't get to see your characters anymore either -- both NOLF and Deus Ex feature many cutscenes in 3rdPP. Recommended FPS games (all PC unless stated): Half-Life (even if just for its multitude of 3rd party mods), System Shock 2, Deus Ex, No One Lives Forever, Marathon (Mac), Operation Flashpoint. 4.2 3rdPP characters' moves Just for interests sake the following table highlights each character's ingame abilities (with a typical FPS setup included for comparison). As you can see Lara still leads the way regards total number of moves and exploratory abilities though FAKK2's Julie runs her close. It'd be great to play a game which has them all... (any developers reading this and the wishlist?...). :) Moves Indy Rynn Cutter Snake Lara Julie Konoko Julia~ FPS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Run (duh) X X X X X X X X X Walk X X X X X X X - X Sidestep/Strafe X X X X X - - - X Crouch/Crawl X X X X X - (L) (L) X Crouch Tumbling (L) X X X X - X - - Prone/Crawl - - - - - X - X (S) Swimming (surface) X (J) - - - X - - X Swimming (underwater) X X - X - X - (J) X Underwater 180 Roll X - - - - - - - - Diving X X - - - (L) - - - Jumping (forward) X X X X X X X - X Jumping (side/back) X X X X X - - - (S) Aerial Acrobatics X+ - (J) - X - - - - Flying - - - (D)+ - - - - - Vaulting X X X - - X - - (S) Climbing X X X - - - X - X Ledge (hang/shimmy) X X X - - - - - - Ledge (hug) - - X - - - - - - Pipe Shimmy - - X - - - - - - Monkey Bar Swinging X - X - - - - - - Ropes (climb/swing) X (L) X - - - - - (S) Tightrope Walking X - (M) (M) (M) (M) - - (M) Flying Fox/Zipline X X - - - - - - - Forward 180 Roll X - - - - - - - - Cartwheel - - - - X - - - - Slide (L) - - - X - - - - Handstand X+ - - - - - - - - Graffiti Skills - X - - - - - - X Hand Signals - - - - - - - - (S) Gibs Football... :) - - - X - - - - (S) Shgliek Handling - - X - - - - - - Free Revolving Cam. - - X X - X - - - Freelook View X X X X X X - - X Non-autoaim - - (L) X X X X X X Melee Weaponry (J) X X+ X - - - - X Hand2Hand Combat - (L) (L) - X+ - X X (SL) Use Vehicles/Rides X X - (D) - X - - (S) Object Push/Pull X X X - - - - - (S) Char. Interactivity* - - (L) - (L) X - - (SL) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Key: X = Can do. - = No go. + = Major plus; the game handles this particularly well. (D) = Dragon. (J) = This is a joke surely? :) (L) = Limited in this regard; eg., Indy's whip is rope-like enough. (M) = Mouse control allows you to run along narrow paths anyway. (S) = Some FPS games can do this (e.g., Half-Life Firearms has a prone position). ~ ODT featured four characters; a cartographer (Julia Chase), an engineer (Maxx Havok), a soldier (Ike Hawkins), and the priest (Solaar). All had slightly different attributes and moves IIRC? * Can they interact with other characters ingame (beyond shooting them) and not just in the scripted cutscenes. Object interaction just refers to pushing and pulling things only around as most games allow for opening doors, keys, locks, switches, levers etc. 5.0 Appendices. 5.1 Appendix 1: Finding online help for the TR games. 5.1.1 The Official websites. Eidos's Site: http://www.eidosinteractive.com/ Core Design: http://www.core-design.com/ Tomb Raider site: http://www.tombraider.com The Official Lara Croft site: http://www.eidos.co.uk/shklara.htm (shockwave enhanced) http://www.eidos.co.uk/lara.htm (non-shockwave) Tomb Raider Chronicles: http://www.tombraiderchronicles.com/ 5.1.2 Walkthroughs. Cat's walkies: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/5002/walkthrough.html Croft's Gate Online: http://www.3dactionplanet.com/tombraider Sinjin Solves: http://www.sinjinsolves.com/ Stellalune's Walkthroughs: http://www.tombraiders.net/stella/ Theresa's Tomb Raider Walkthroughs (comprhensive TR Site): http://www.tombraiders.com The Tomb Raiders Traveler's Guide: http://trinity.westhost.com/tomb/ 5.1.3 Other TR related sites. 3Pilot TR: http://www.3pilot.com/tombraider/ The Croft Times: http://www.cubeit.com/ctimes/ Eep's Tomb Raider Utilities page: http://tnlc.com/eep/tr/utils.html Frank's Tombraider pages: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/5002/ Gallery of Fictional Beauty (pictures of Lara): http://network.ctimes.net/gfb/ Jeeves, The Butler's Tale: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~alexk/jeeves/ Lara Croft on the Mac: http://network.ctimes.net/mac/ Lara in Chains (dubious pictures of Lara): http://network.ctimes.net/LiC/ The Many Deaths of Lara Croft: http://www.wsu.edu/~kgrytdal/lara_dies.html Paul Walton's TR Editors: http://www.letocetum.fsnet.co.uk/ Shotgun City (+ Dracman's 3dfx help page): http://www.smokeypoint.com/tomb.htm http://www.smokeypoint.com/3dfx.htm Slyngels Tomb Raider Site: http://www.slyngel.dk/tomb/default.html Stories of Beauty and Power (fanfic): http://network.ctimes.net/tales/ Tombraider Custom Levels: http://www.tombraider-customlevels.fsnet.co.uk/ Tomb Raider News Channel: http://www.tombnews.com/ Tomb Raider Republic: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Labyrinth/6489/ TombEdit Homepage: http://home.t-online.de/home/NWiesinger/ TR Level Leaven: http://www.envy.nu/trlevels/ 5.1.4 Utilities. Bink/Smacker FMV viewer: http://www.radgametools.com Doswinky (for disabling the windows startup key): http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~proteus/download/doswinky.zip Escapeplay (rpl file player): http://www.vvm.com/~hfowler/tombraider/rpl_player.zip Kernel Toy (remaps win95 keys): http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/contents/PowerToys/W 95KeybdRemap/ Level Viewer by Fastbyte (must have a 3dfx card): http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/lab/8572 Screengrabber for Win 9X/NT (grabs 3Dfx Glide, DirectX): http://www.hyperionics.com/www/snap32.htm Screengrabber for Win9X/NT (running Glide 2.1.1 or later): ftp://ftp.univ-lille1.fr/pub/3dfx/glide211/suprgrab.zip Screengrabber for DOS (grabs any EGA/VGA graphics board): ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/graphics/pcxdmp93.zip Screengrabber for Win9X (interface to SuperGrab): http://3dfiles.com/utility/snap3dfx.shtml Wave file extractor (to extract sounds from the exe file): ftp://tnlc.com/pub/xtrwavs.zip 5.2 Appendix 2: Acronymphomania. The following primer is a both a glossary and a list of commonly used acronyms on a.g.t and in this FAQ. :) - a smiley or 'emoticon'; there are many different types. 3rdPP - 3rd Person Perspective game. a.f.l-c - alt.fan.lara-croft a.g.t - alt.games.tombraider BAB - Bimbo Actress Banality. - Big Grin. BN - Blastable Nasties; the men and monsters that Lara shoots. Bugsie - Colloquial anthropomorphic name for the TR 'corner bug'. CGI - Computer Generated Image. cutscene - A cutscene is an ingame scripted sequence using the game engine itself to render the scene. DC - Sega Dreamcast; a gaming console. Divine Ponytail, The - Suitable nickname for Lara Croft. FAQ - Frequently Asked Question. fanfic - Fan fiction; stories written about TR by fans. FMV - Full Motion Video; in between some levels in the TR games you get a beautifully rendered movie using an external video file. Can be viewed straight from the CD using the appropriate fmv player if you want (Escapeplay for TR's 1-3, Bink for TRLR - see section 5.1.4). FPS - First Person Shooter; games like Half-Life, Quake, Unreal, Doom, System Shock 2, Soldier of Fortune, etc. flame - a post containing nasty abhorrent abuse of another poster. JBS - James Bond Syndrome; a contagious disease that entails the fine art of being captured by the badguys in every adventure the hero(ine) has. Lara suffers from this disease, or at least she did up until TRLR. - Grin. lunchbox, or, the TARDIS - terms used for Lara's teeny tiny, yet oh-so-spacious, backpack. Mac - A computer with training wheels you can't remove. N64 - Nitendo64; another gaming console. ng - newsgroup. PC, PeeCee - A real machine; IBM/Compatible personal computer. PS2 - Playstation 2; Sony's latest gaming console. PSX - Original Playstation console; now only good as a doorstop and/or paperweight. spam - Unwanted junk mail advertising that infests newsgroups. thread - A thread is formed by a post and all the subsequent followups. TR - Tomb Raider. TR1, TR2, TR3, TR4 - The games: Tomb Raider 1, Tomb Raider 2, Tomb Raider 3, Tomb Raider 4. TR2G - Tomb Raider 2 Gold. TR3TLA - Tomb Raider 3: The lost Artifact (aka TR3G -- the 'gold' levels for TR3). TRC - Tomb Raider: Chronicles (aka TR5) TRG - Tomb Raider (1) Gold. TRLR - Tomb Raider: Last Revelation (aka TR4) TRUB - Tomb Raider: Unfinished Business. troll - a post by someone who deliberately wants to incite nasty arguments within a particular ng. UB - Unfinished Business; the add on missions for TR1. 5.3 Appendix 3: Kaldar's Guide To Specific Sound Card Settings. Below is a list of sound cards and settings you may need to manually set. Most systems will not require any changes. If you do make changes, backup the original files. Changes here may affect other applications. Most name brand computers sold today do not have Creative Lab Sound Blaster sound cards. You will need to know which sound card that your computer has. You can find this information in Device Manager in Windows 95 or contact your computer manufacturer. Below are listed the most common sound cards and their settings. If you cannot hear sound if you have set the sound, you need to run the game in DOS mode. Sound Blaster PnP Sound Cards For all Sound Blaster type sound cards, any model, use the following setting as defaults: Address/Port: 220 IRQ: 5 DMA: 1 Tomb Raider may not auto-detect your Sound Blaster sound card successfully. You will need to insure that all DOS drivers are installed for your sound card. If you are unsure as to how to do this you should contact your computer manufacturer or Creative Labs. If you have DOS drivers installed, make sure that you have the following line in your Autoexec.bat file; Set Blaster=A220 I5 D1 T6 If the game locks up in Window 95 restart your computer in DOS mode and follow the DOS installation instructions in the game manual. If problems persist with the Creative Labs Plug and Play Sound card and Windows 95: You will need to install the DOS drivers for the Sound Blaster 16. To obtain these drivers, do a web search for Creative Labs. If you don't have Internet access, call Creative Labs Technical Support at (405) 742-6622. ESS audio drive Many Compaq and Dell computers use this sound card. Tomb Raider will incorrectly detect your sound card as a Sound Blaster 16ASP/ AWE32. You need to go to the sound setup in the game and manually select the ESS Audio Drive from the list. Use the same settings that were auto-detected, usually Port 220, DMA 1, and IRQ 5. Try test, if you hear Lara say; "Right, Let's go adventuring!" choose continue and then choose save settings. If the game locks when you try test, Press CTRL, ATL, and Delete and End Task on instr. If Windows says that it can't close DOS program just click yes. Now click on Start, Shut Down and the Restart computer in MS- DOS mode. Then click yes. Follow the DOS installation instructions found on page three of your manual. Mwave sound card Most IBM Aptiva and Acer Aspire computers have this sound/modem card. You may not be able to set the game up in Windows. When you get the sound setup, you will want to select Manually Select Sound Card. Choose the first Sound Blaster Option, Your Port 220, DMA 1, and IRQ 5. After you hear Lara say, "Right, Let's go adventuring!" select Continue and then select save settings. If this is not successful you will need to Shut Down and Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode. Once you are in DOS follow the "DOS Installation Instructions." When you get the sound setup, you will want to select Manually Select Sound Card. Choose the first Sound Blaster Option, Your Port 220, DMA 1, and IRQ 5. After you hear Lara say, "Right, Let's go adventuring!" Select Continue and then select save settings. You should exit the game and restart Windows. Once you have restarted Windows you should be able to start the game normally. Crystal Sound device. This sound card is use by many computer manufacturers. When you get the sound setup, you will want to select Manually Select Sound Card. Choose the Sound Blaster Pro, Port 220, DMA 1, and IRQ 5. After you hear Lara say, "Right, Let's go adventuring!" Select Continue and then select save settings. If you get no sound or the game locks at test, then Shutdown and restart in DOS mode and follow directions on page 3 of the manual. Yamaha OPL3sa This sound card is use by many computer manufacturers, such as Hewlett-Packard and Sony. When you get the sound setup, you will want to select Manually Select Sound Card. Choose the Sound Blaster Pro, Port 220, DMA 1, and IRQ 5. After you hear Lara say, "Right, Let's go adventuring!" Select Continue and then select save settings. PCI Sound Cards PCI sound cards were not available at the time of the release of Tomb Raider, subsequently, it is very likely that some of these cards may have some trouble with Tomb Raider and other DOS based games. If you are having such trouble, it is recommended that you contact your sound card manufacturer on how they suggest setting up the game and sound card drivers to work with DOS games. Compaq Computers using SoundBlaster 16/AWE32 Set to SoundBlaster Pro., SoundBlaster 16 PnP or AWE PnP, manually set the sound card. (We highly recommend you get the DOS drivers from Creative Labs.) NEC Ready Series Computers Use Soundblaster. IBM MWave DSP Sound Card/Modem, Add this line to your config.sys: device=c:\mww\manager\dwcfgmg.sys (directory path may vary) Applies to Acer and IBM Aptiva Computers. 1. From Windows 95, choose START. 2. Choose "Run." 3. In the "Open" box, type SYSEDIT and press ENTER. 4. Click on the Window that says CONFIG.SYS. 5. Add the following line, if it isn?t present: device=c:\mww\manager\dwcfgmg.sys 6. Click on file|exit and save when the programs asks you. 1. Click on START|Shutdown|Restart Computer and then click YES. 2. Select Restart Computer in MS DOS Mode and then click YES. 3. Once you are in DOS change to your CD-ROM drive to D: or G:. 4. When you have a D:\ G:\ prompt type INSTALL and press the enter key. 5. When Tomb Raider Setup menu comes up choose Set Up Sound. 6. At Sound Setup chose manually select sound card. 7. Chose Sound Blaster , Port 220, DMA 1, IRQ 5. Then chose test. 8. If you heard Lara say, "Right, Let?s go adventuring!", chose Continue. 9. Chose save settings. At this point the game will load. After you go through the introduction exit the game. Once you have the DOS prompt, type exit and press enter. Windows will now restart. After Windows has started, double click on My Computer Icon, then double click on the CD-ROM drive the game should now start with no problem. HP computers using Yamaha sound cards in Win95 In the Autoexec.bat file, REM the SET BLASTER line and reboot HP Pavilion PC with the Yamaha OPL3-SA Shut down to DOS, manually select the Sound Blaster. PACKARD BELL COMPUTERs Use Sound Blaster. YAHAMA OPL3 Sound Card Use SOUND BLASTER setting. Yamaha OPL3sa audio device select: MS Sound System Port 530 DMA 1. COMPAQ computers with ESS AUDIO Select ESS AUDIO using similar Sound Blaster settings. SONY computers Use Sound Blaster. RAP 10 sound cards Be cautious when you configure the setting, the game does not support this card. Dell Latitude Laptop Computer Your sound card is most likely the ESS Audio Drive. "Manually Select Sound Card" and use ESS Audio Drive Port: 220 DMA: 1 IRQ: 5 Gravis Ultrasound Card After you have installed the game, either from DOS or Win95, edit the HMISET.CFG in the Tombraider dir. Under the [DIGITAL] section, look for the line: DEVICEID = ... If you manually set or autodetect the sound card for Gravis Ultrasound, this number should be 0xe024. Change this to the following: DEVICEID=0xe023 (changing the number from 24 to 23) Do not run sound setup anymore but you must run the game from DOS. Soundblaster PCI 128 When playing TR(1,G,2,2G,3) with the Soundblaster PCI128 and Cambridge Soundworks bundle, and the sound cuts out, users can simply turn the volume knob higher, or turn the Windows volume control panel up and the speaker volume knob down. There's also some jumper you can set in side the bass amp, but I'm pretty sure that voids the warranty. This is a hardware 'feature', called "low power standby mode", not a software, driver, or configuration problem. 5.4 Appendix 4: Specific Graphics Card Solutions. [Hheeeeeellllllppp!!!! required here..........] Major solve: "Install latest DirectX drivers!" seems to be the best solution to most problems here... Rush 3dfx card: Blinking screen during play? Select triple buffering in the game setup and/or install latest Direct X drivers. Matrox Millenium G200 8MB AGP: Ivans Chou really recommends the following: If you own a Matrox Millennium G200 and have problems, feel free to install the latest version of DirectX (6.1) but *DO NOT* install the latest G200 drivers (v 4.51). Instead install the last WHQL Certified drivers (v 4.12).