*Important* Tutorials, FAQ and more

This thread is for tutorials.
Please do not post in this thread this is for viewing only.
If you want to post a tutorial please pm me the whole tutorial and ill post it in this thread.
Reasons for creating this thread:
To keep the forums clean and easier to find tutorials.
Again Please do not post in this thread.

1) TRNG - Triggering an FMV
2) TRNG - Spinning Objects on a pedestal
3) TRNG - creating a Trap with Flimaps
4) Usefull Programs
5) Usefull Websites
6) Missing or wrong lara animations
7) How to change laras outfit
8) Known causes of game crashes
9) Fast, out of control, spinning LE in 3d view
10) starting a game with crowbar already in your inventory

Use the editor that comes with TRNG Its the only one that has the FMV trigger

1) Trigger an FMv

I've seen afew threads now, asking how to trigger an FMV. Like...A video.
This tutorial will show you how...

THINGS YOU WILL NEED:
A video in .avi or .wmv format.
NGLE
NG Scripter
And excitement .

Ok first off you have your video which is in avi or wmv format so copy it into your TRLE folder. You can create a new folder if you want title it FMV. Since you don't want to clutter your TRLE folder.
Right click on the video you copied into the folder and click on RENAME.
Call it FMV1.


Now you have your video in there but How to trigger it?
Well go into your NGLE and select the square you want the FMV to start. (if you want the video to play right as you click new game trigger it under LARA) Set your trigger box like this:

Now if you go into the game and step on that trigger it wont play so go into NG Center now.
You should see (at the top) a section like this:

;--------------------------------------
; Platform Definitions
;--------------------------------------

[PSXExtensions]
Level= .PSX
Cut= .CUT
FMV= .FMV

[PCExtensions]
Level= .TR4
Cut= .TR4
FMV= .BIK

Change the FMV line in the [PCExtensions] so it looks like this:

FMV= .WMV

OR if your using an AVI file it should look like this:

FMV= .AVI

Now add this line to your level section of the script.

[Level]
Name= Playable Tutorial Level
FMV= 1,1
Legend= The year 2000, somewhere in Egypt...
Horizon= ENABLED
Layer1= 160,160,192,7
PuzzleCombo= 3,1,Cartouche Piece 1, $0000,$0400,$0000,$0000,$0000,$0002
PuzzleCombo= 3,2,Cartouche Piece 2, $0000,$0400,$0000,$0000,$0000,$0002
Puzzle= 3,Ba Cartouche, $0000,$0400,$0000,$0000,$0000,$0002
Puzzle= 5,Eye Of Horus, $0017,$0500,$0000,$0000,$0000,$0002
PuzzleCombo= 5,1,Eye Piece, $0017,$0500,$0000,$0000,$0000,$0002
PuzzleCombo= 5,2,Eye Piece, $0017,$0500,$0000,$0000,$0000,$0002
Puzzle= 6,The Hand Of Orion, $0000,$0400,$8000,$c000,$0000,$0002
Puzzle= 8,The Hand Of Sirius, $0000,$0400,$8000,$c000,$0000,$0002
LoadCamera= 0,0,0,0,0,0,255
LoadCamera= 11088,-1100,28896,11119,-1399,31486,0
Level= DATA\TUT1,107

Add the bold part.

on the second number 1...
That means you can hit ESC to stop the FMV. If you dont want that put 0 there.

The first number (1) is the number of the FMV.

Hope this helps.
I want to thank Matie for teaching me this. You rock!

If you have a level with something about magic and want your object that you have on a low pedestal then continue to read .

You have to use the TRNG level editor. I don't think the TRLE has an action trigger .

First off open up the LE.
click the object you wish to be spinning and click the sqaure where you want the object to start spinning when lara steps there.
Now open up the trigger window and make sure the trigger window looks like this:

in the OBJECT TO TRIGGER<#> part the PUZZLE_ITEM3_COMBO1 is my item im using in the tutorial.
If you want to object to spin faster you can choose (in the (E)xtra) clockwise fastly, or you can choose "Inverse clockwise slowly" or "inverse clockwise fastly.

I hope this helps PM if you would like another tutorial requested that is hard to find .
Happy Level editing

Well its not a great trap but its pretty fun to play around with, you can try and find some effect or something but this is just to give you an idea...
OK!
So im using a crawlspace area (its what im using you dont have to you can use whatever).
Theres a big room with 3 crawlspace's, 2 are deadly and 2 is good...
Go to the room you want the trap in...
Heres my crawlspace:

The nullmesh is an earthquake, ill get to that in a second..
that trigger under the nullmesh is the trigger for the flipmap. Once in your room texture/light it, then click on the F button next to the "roomX" textbox. This will create a flipped room, the background color will be black! watch for the black and DO NOT CLICK THE F BUTTON AGAIN!, in the white textbox next to the F button it has a 0, in that box put a 1. But if you already have a flipped room with 1 in it then put 2 in there or 3 or 4, depending on how many flipped rooms you already have in your level.
Now that we are in our flipped room, push the DMG button right by the F and COLD button. This will make lara lose health once shes in the room...
Now hold down ALT and press F (F on the keyboard) now your back into the non flipped room. right where you want lara to trigger her health to go down, put a trigger there and make it look like this:

now to the earthquake nullmesh.
This is optional, you don't need it..
Find "earthquake" in your objects list, place it on the trigger for the flipmap, then trigger the nullmesh on the same square as the flipmap trigger, open up the trigger box and in the timer feild, put how long you want it to last for. now once again hold down ALT and push F (on the keyboard) and your back in your flipped room. Now do something to cover up the way out, Slant the ceiling, bring up the floor, place and object whatever you think would fit. Test ingame and repeat for other rooms .

4) Usefull Programs
(written By Titak, Edited by Me. I only added afew programs.)

Over the years several people have created a number of usefull programs that allow you to customize your own levels.

These programs can be downloaded from Lara's Level Base and TR Search Engine.

Here's a list of some usefull ones:

- WADMerger
This is a very usefull toll and it has many features. It enables you to transfer objects from one WAD to another and it also lets you rip WADs from other TR games.
But it also has:
- Animation Editor to create custom animations
- Switch Editor to assign OCB code bit numbers to certain switch animations,
- Sound Manager to assign soundFX to your WAD
- Sprite Editor to export and import the sprite textures
- AI Editor to edit AI features
DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.trsearch.org/Tools/22/

- TRWEST
This WAD Editing Studio allows you transfer objects from other wads into your own WAD.
DOWNLOAD LINK:

- WADMerger WADs and TRWEST WADs are not compatible! Using both programs to create WADs will cause bugs! -

- STRpix
This tool is mainly used to retexture the objects in your WAD, such as Lara's outfit.
But it also allows you to export meshes in DXF format for editing in a 3D drawing program, like AutoCAD or Metaseqouia.
It can also be used to light static objects and to adjust the collision box of static objects.

- ReStrText
When re-importing an edited mesh into STRpix you will have lost all your texture data. Fixing something small on the object therefore takes lots of time due to retexturing the whole thing all over again. ReStrText restores the textures after you made a few tiny changes.
Saves you a lot of work!

- Metasequoia
This is a 3d drawing program you can use to edit meshes, including those of Lara.
It is available for free.

- Fexanim and TRupdate
Fexanim is used to adjust the collision of animating objects. It only works with TR4 files. To transfer the new collision data back into the WAD you need to use TRupdate.

- TRViewer
Used to import and export custom animations created in 3d Studio Max.
It only works with TR4 files. You will need to use Fexanim and Trupdate to transfer the new animation data into the WAD.

- TBuilder
This program is used to easily edit TGA texture sets. It also allows you to export the sky textures.

- TREP
Well, this program is used to patch the tomb4.exe to add more possibilities to it.
Changes can be graphical, but also gameplay things can be changed.
This wondefull tool keeps getting improved, so make sure you check the TREP Homepage regularly.
DOWNLOAD LINK: http://trep.trlevel.de/en/downloads.html

- Leikkuri/Cutter
This allows you to edit the TR font, to make more detailed lettering in whatever font you want.
It is also developed by the author of TREP and van also be found on the TREP Homepage

- Madplay
This is a very, very useful program. If you have audio in an MP3 file. you can put the mp3 file in the madplay folder to convert it to a wav file so you can add it to your level.


Other usefull programs include paint programs and audio programs to customize textures and audio.

5) Usefull websites
(written by Titak Edited by me. Addeed acouple websites.)

Besides the usefull programs described above you can also download loads of other usefull stuff, like objects, textures, audio, etc for your custom level.

-- Tomb Raider Chronicles --
- LevelEditor and patches
- New Wads released by Eidos
- Texturesets from other TR games
- Custom levels

-- TRLE --
- More than 1700 custom levels!

-- Lara's Level Base --
- Wads
- Textures (TR and other games)
- Objects (including enemies and traps)
- Outfits for Lara
- Custom Levels

-- TR Search Engine --
- Same as the site above

-- trep.croftmanor.de/]TREP Homepage ---
- Here you can find the latest updates on the wonderfull tomb4.exe patcher program TREP!

Don't forget skribblerz!
--Skribblerz.com

6) Missing or wrong Lara animations
(this was written by titak and edited by me)

If your Lara refuses to perform certain animations it means that those animations are not included in the Lara-object of your wad.

You can fix this by downloading the Updated Wads.

I also suggest you download the other wads available on that download page. They contain extra wads released by Eidos.

7) how to change Laras outfit
(this was written by titak and edited by me)

Retexturing
The easiest way to change Lara's outfit is to retexture the original outfit. You can use STrpix for this. Strpix lets you export and import the outfit textures. You can then edit the textures using your favorite paint program.

Remodeling
It becomes a bit more complicated if you want to change Lara's meshes.
- Use Strpix to export the meshes (in .dxf format)you want to change.
- Then use Metaseqouia or another CAD type program to edit the meshes.
- Import again in Strpix and retexture the mesh.
- Sometimes joints get messed up when a skin mesh has been modified. Eg with the head: if you import a new head mesh the ponytail gets messed up.
To fix this you need to remap the vertice points of the hole where the joint or ponytail connects to the mesh. This can also be done using Strpix with the Remap Vertices feature. Don't forget to also run the Recalc Normals option after remapping! This fixes the lighting of the mesh. If you don't run this option you might get weird shadows.

IMPORTANT:
Maximum number of vertices (points) per mesh is 255. Exceed that and the outfit will not work properly and it can even crash the level!

8)Known causes of game crashes
(written by Titak and goerge maciver edited by me)

Known causes of game crashes.

Does your level crash when you are playing/testing it? Does it crash when you try to load it from the menu?

A game can crash due to several causes, depending on when it crashes.

Below are a few of possible crashes. Many of these possible crash solutions were taken from ***Skribblerz Tutorials ***

- Your level is randomly crashing in game.

1/ One possible cause is having objects lost in cyber space. Check the Error text file in the TRLE root folder. If it says objects are in a room but they're not in that room, it means you have bounded a room (cut it down in size) while there were objects in the deleted part of the room. The editor unfortunately doens't bin these objects from the level, it loses them, and they cause random crashing. The only fix I know is to go back to a previously saved PRJ file before you bounded the problem room and rebuild from there.

BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL THERE ARE NO OBJECTS OR LIGHTBULBS IN THE CUT PARTS OF ANY ROOMS YOU WILL BE BOUNDING.

2/ Another cause could be that you have placed too many objects in the level. At the bottom of the LE screen you can see how many objects you have placed, although static objects don't seem to be counted they do matter! It says that the max number of objects can be 256. This isn't so: you need to stop at around 246. This is needed because animating objects need that extra 'space' somehow.
As Piega pointed out, the above only counts for animating objects. So the number of animating objects can be no more than 246. But beware: doors, the number of rooms and the numbers of lights also count for a number too! I dont know exactly the number but you can place more than 2000 static ones


- Your level crashes when you try to load it from the menu
1/Make sure that Lara is placed in your level! This might sound obvious but you really don't want to know how often this actually happens! (I'm also speaking of myself here!

2/ It can also crash at loading when the level has become too large, especially when you have many rooms with lots of broken triangles.

-Your level crashes randomly but mainly when you step on triggers that worked okay before
This can be caused by having used too many different textures in your level. Not only TGA set textures but also the amount of WAD textures counts. The more textures you use the more memory the game needs and the engine has its limits.
The only solution in this case is to reduce the amount of different textures (so use a smaller TGA set). Or split the level somehow.

(written by Titak, edited by me.)
9) Fast, out of control, spinning LE in 3D view

This problem occurs when you run the LE under WindowsXP, but it also depends on the speed of your computer.
It can be fixed by changing some XP settings.

1/ Go to Controlpanel/System/Advanced
2/ from the Advanced window go to the first option: Performance and click the Settings button.
3/ Click Advanced and check the Backgroundservices box of the first option, Processor use.
4/ Click Apply and close Controlpanel.

The LE should stop spinning now.
This new setting can slow the computer down a lot, depending on which programs you run so it is best to return to the original settings after having used the LE.

Originally posted by Tony the Loon:
I was able to try the above suggestion, but I figured out another way to access those settings because, I don’t have a “system” icon in my control panel. So, in case anyone else is reading this, here’s how I accessed those settings on my version of WinXP:
1/ Click on “Start”.
2/ Right-click on “My Computer”.
3/ Choose “Properties” from the menu.
4/ Click on the “Advanced” tab in the system properties window that just came up.
5/ Click “Settings” under performance.
6/ Click the “Advanced” tab in the newly opened performance options window.
7/ Under processor scheduling, check the button next to “Background Services”. Now click “Apply”, “Ok”, close those windows and try the LE again.

Originally posted by QRS:
And don't forget the old trick of right clicking while using the arrows etc. It feels a bit strange first, but it helps a lot on fast computers (especially with fast graphics cards!)

Originally posted by Tony the Loon:
As long as I hold down the right-click in the white space outside the room, and I don't rotate the room under the mouse cursor, this trick works great.


Note 1:
I (Titak) have a Dutch version of XP so I don't know if the English names will be exactly the same as the above translations.

Note 2: LE might still react very fast to a slight touch of a key after having changed the settings. This seems to depend on the CPU speed of your computer.

Slowing down your computer - CPU Grabber
A very usefull little program can now be donloaded to slow down your computer temporarily while running the LevelEditor and older games: CPU Grabber.
Many thanks to BeciMester for posting a link to this program!

10) Starting a game with the crowbar already in the inventory
Written by Unkown edited by me.
It is possible to have Lara start a game with the crowbar already in her inventory so you won't have to place it in the level anymore!

The solution is simple but not very widely known, so I thought the subject may deserve its own thread. Also, I want to add some credits for the discovery and a cautionary note as well.

The solution is: Enable "DemoDisc" in the general options of the script. That is all. When you run the game with the new script, the crowbar will be in Lara's inventory from the start and thus does not need to be picked up.
This script command was apparently used for the TR4 demo level The Lost Library, in which the crowbar does not appear as a pickup but is already part of the inventory (since Desert Railroad).

As far as I know, this is the only effect of the command DemoDisc= ENABLED, but it hasn't been tested thoroughly, so you should be careful when you use it; there may be some unwelcome effects, too—like not being able to load the next level, for example (since the command was used for a single level).

Credits for this discovery go to Dark Death of the Levelbase. I noticed that in his level "Peaceful City", the crowbar was part of the inventory from the start, and when I asked him just how he did that he replied he had no idea at all. However, after some inquiry into the matter, he found out that after experimenting with the various script commands, he had accidentally left the DemoDisc= ENABLED command in the script for this level. All credits for this discovery therefore should rightfully be his.