Tomb Raider Custom Levels

[Blín D'ñero]

Omegapolis by Eric Claire
The first level is called "Searching the lost city of Omegapolis".
It is better than the previous game.
Still idiotic: at start of level The Edge, in order to open a passage, you have to shoot a little ball that is hanging IN the stone ceiling -not in a crevice, but mysteriously IN the solid stone- en after the shot it moves freely back and forth through the solid stone. Don't think much of this game anymore.
A solid stone coffin, and Lara walks right through it. No gamestopper though, just sloppy.
Skeleton appears out of a solid moveable block. Pushing the block further, arriving in a room with another coffin that Lara walks right through. The game IS intriguing and puzzling, at the same time incoherent and sloppy.

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Yes! From the moment after killing the Demigod until actually obtaining the second Gem, this game has it. Nice!

But then, unfortunately, this one ends here: you cannot run/jump with torch in hand into the square white building (in order to light the vase on the roof). It is exactly a jump/grab distance; the jump is impossible with torch in hand.
So far i am rating it 5 / 10

[Blín D'ñero]

Journey in Togarma.
Oh i HATE it when a game starts with Lara sliding down corridors with breakables and spikepits and dying! It is impossible to survive the first 6 times because you have to figure out how to react. So it starts with death. I so hate that.
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Ok i got over it.
The game looks very nice around the stone-red building.
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Lara walking into solid objects has become a true Eric Claire trademark.

Weird game, another one overly complicated... yes i'm stuck.
I always first blame myself. And give it time to figure out things.
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Oh yeah, that trapdoor was well hidden!

[Blín D'ñero]

In level 2: "Forgotten temples of Togarma" in the room where you get the torches. There i can light up a torch on one of the wall-torches, standing on the statue block next to it.
Then light up the golden bowl with the torch, so the trapdoor in the center of the floor opens.
Needs manipulation but then i can crawl under the floor to find the secret rose. Crawling back is not possible.
Just leave the place right through the iron grating above.
Which seen from below does not exist but you see it when Lara travels through it.
Once up, she can stand on it like a normal grating.
It is obviously not meant this way, but it is funny!

But it seems i went way too early to "Forgotten temples of Togarma" which turns out to be level 3 (not 2).
That you can miss so much so easily is not a good sign.
The bugs aren't a good sign either (although they're friendly, not gamestopping):

Where the arrow is, is a small room where the lasersight is. You can enter this room from the other side easily. From this side you should not be able to get there, you can't crawl and let yourself down there (just not possible).

But you can simply jump right through the solid stone: stand with your nose against the stone and then jump...

get the lasersight and jump the same way back to where you came.

First i discovered this buggy way, later i found there is just an entrance via the other side!
Note: this is a tomb raider edited ("next-gen" or whatever they call it) engine bug, and is also seen in other recent custom levels.

[Blín D'ñero]

Not to mention the grating underwater that Lara swims right through

Or you see a torch but Lara's way is blocked by a... a plant. Yes, a plant.
Just pushing forward jumping finally makes way through the plant-blockade. Get the torch, throw it down through the hole which has a climbing pole, and descend.

i think i was supposed to take the other way around but this level is so confusing, each time a new door opens i don't know where i am next!

Like to get secret rose 6, i got it jumping while the blocks were moving, but there's also another way: stop the moving blocks by pulling the lever again, then jump/push through the solid block, then take your time.

The blocks are out of the way

Half-way, to the right, push-jump through another (formerly moving-) block to get into the adjacent room, from there through the half-height window, etc...

[Blín D'ñero]

Giant swinging blade going through Lara while she pushes a lever.. Ehmmm.

On second level above the pool, to the next secret, jumping OVER the spikes is an instant kill whilst sliding towards then running THROUGH the spikes just costs you half health...

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You can step on a trigger tile too early and get a cutscene that does not make sense yet. So you forget about it. Later, when you are actually supposed to step on the trigger tile, it does not provoke a cutscene anymore. So you keep wondering what it does.
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Builder exhibits a preference for microscopical precision jumps and less than microsecond precise timed runs.

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In certain room with green blocks and a smalll waterskin for grabs, there is a Guardian Key to be obtained, it is seen here through the grating:

...and maybe it's supposed to be hard to get, i will probably know later, because: walk towards the structure, press Ctrl and Lara will grab it from the air:

couldn't be easier!

And then, later, i arrived at an empty pedestal below! I had hoped for an extra Guardian Key...
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A giant moving spikes-wall, moving through two spikes traps, moving through solid stone blocks and finally exiting right through the solid wall! Really.

=== trapdoor that doesn't appear in certain camera-angles so you can easily miss it.....
The game is challenging, confusing, made with much care for detail and complex traps and misleadings. On the other hand i don't like this one very much, it is mostly ugly and sloppy. Nevertheless it is better than the average. But insufficient. Hmmm.
I rate it 6½ / 10

[Blín D'ñero]

Babylon Is Fallen by Eric Claire. I found ^ugly, but the previous is a beauty in comparison. This one actually is really ugly, too coarse shapes and textures, wrong false lighting and shadows, disgusting shapes of architecture and objects like small pillars, tables... Floors are all super clean, palmtrees standing on the floor as vases, there's light where should be shadow, not even the slightest hint to an organic cohesion, there's no ancient tone, no atmosphere...
it's made with the overhauled engine and why they decided to make the looks so inferior boggles me. Lara is styled after Legend Lara, that in itself is fine. But they also edited Lara's deep breath after swimming. And the horrible soundeffects in the menu....

The uglyness, to me has quite a negative impact on this game. The puzzles seem unremarkably boring and stupid, maybe if the game had a more tombraiderish look and feel i would continue but after the two fire shooting lion statues i gave up.

I rate this 4½ / 10

[Blín D'ñero]

The Temple of Time (v2) by Tomo.
Now this one looks good!
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... and it IS.

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Yes, beautiful and well done. Was a joy to play. Good, and inventive. Short but the last part took some time. Still, too short, as a fragment.
I rate this little gem 7½ / 10

[Blín D'ñero]

I just installed and started Hidden Garden Full Series by Jon Heywood
And i recognize it, but this then is the old, non- next generation version. But if i want to replay this marvellous game it will be the NG version.
Next!

King Arthur - Part1: The Time Portal by I.m.
In the ReadMe.doc i see that the game contains serious bugs. OMG. Why would i play it then...
Ok, let's try it.
The Inventory suggests that Lara smokes, Marlboro. I'm sure she does not.

First bug. The big boulder rolled -opening the trapdoor- into the small pit, and since then it stays there, filling the entire pit. Later, while the "Secret" chime sounds, Lara falls into the pit. But she cannot stand there because the boulder fills the entire pit. Solution: she is standing IN the boulder and does not see it. When i move the camera up i see only the boulder in the pit, and no Lara. Moving the camera down i see a medipack where the boulder should be. Lara cannot pick the medipack up. But there is also a crawlspace starting here, so it is important to be able to play on.
Lara can jump out of the pit. Then jump back, into the corner trying to avoid glueing together with the boulder, then get in crouch position and try to crawl into the crawlspace. Nope: even though she is freed from the boulder, some invisible force like antimagnetism blocks Lara from entering the crawlspace.

This shit should not have been released at all.
Next!

[Blín D'ñero]

Matie and Tombraider95 - Crystal Skulls Part 1
It starts beautiful and tricky!
Luckily the buzzard got stuck under a rock so i could easily finish it off!

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Silly friendly bug. After killing the second guy (the first was killed by the tiger) I pull the big Fragile box out of the rocks, and then you can't pull any further, but: i jump through the solid corner between the box and the rock and arrive behind the box at the gate with the lock.
--- Oh wait: now i discovered that i am supposed to use the hidden ladder to travel OVER the box. But since that path does not bring any goodies, just jumping through the corner of the box is the quickest method.
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In the small pool Lara gets stuck with her head in a rock next to the boat. Impossible to get out. Doesn't lose health, bar stays blue. Or completely stuck with the boat in the rocks when turning around; i have not opened the gate yet, but figuring out how to do that is frustrating. I see what to do but builder obviously prefers the utmost tricky jumps.
=== Finally, managed the jump, and it was useless! Turns out when approaching in the boat the gate automatically opens. And the trickyness continues...

Yes: very good game. A little buggy in the graphics department here and there, but nevertheless.
It's a beauty; look at this.

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But THEN i was seriously stuck for hours. Until i managed this:

And again, but with the boat out of the way.
Good game.

[Blín D'ñero]

Just entered the Monastery. Wow this game... you can't get them any better.