News/Updates
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2016
1/18: OMG an update! Not much really; just some editing of the history (which is duplicated on editor). One paragraph used to have "(10/26/98; modified slightly on 6/9/2)" in front but, since I edited that paragraph and more now, I removed that part.
2007
7/21: Restored previously commented-out poll (fixed its links and redesigned layout a bit) and "email campaign" and "Tomb Raider Room Editor NOW!" logo campaign sections for posterity.
6/29: Edited news/updates frame icons.
6/24: Utils: cleaned up HTML and fixed some dead links (but some aren't even in Internet Archive).
6/20: Major update: integrated news/updates, history, and discussion into main page (links to these sections on other pages may still link to their separate pages), fixed various HTML formatting for Firefox, added Wikipedia and Internet Archive links for various things.
2005
7/5: Another year has passed...and I'm still updating this site... Fixed some dead links on unofficial level editor and the main page. There are still a lot of dead links throughout the site so I don't know when I'll get around to fixing them. Try the 
.
2004
6/4: Psst...<looks around>...got a little update here--nothing much; just a few alternate download locations added to some utilities. <looks around again> See ya...
2003
10/19: Huh--what? Yes, I'm still alive...amazingly. Anyway, I added the SoundJack back since Stefan's site no longer seems to carry it (and I recently mentioned it in a Max Payne forum as a way to extract its audio since a compatible RAS extractor has yet to be released).
2002
9/22: Woo, another update...within 2 days! Right, what I did--well...oh, right, nothing much; just fixed some dead links here and there and, oh yes, over there too (still a few left but I tire of doing it but I seem to be in website maintenance mode lately!). Oh and I added a silly little hover link stylesheet thingamabob to everything (well, in theory)--and the background image. Right, I need sleep...Zzzz...oh and I split up the discussion links a bit. Zzz...
9/20: <taps mic> This thing still on? Oh, right, an update. Added a new forum to replace the ucky old one. Fixed some dead links (mostly struck out them).
6/9: Yep, still kicking. Edited the main page (removed polls and Core/Eidos email info). Fixed/removed some dead links. Removed this page's search function since it no longer worked. That's about it for now. No, I'm still not into TR level editing. Maybe TR6's level editor (yea right) will be better, but I doubt it.
2001
3/14: Yes, I'm still alive. Yes, I know the introduction needs changing since Room Editor has been released--perhaps I'll get around to it some eon. Anyway, added TR5 Room Editor blurb.
2000
12/27: Changed Position Editor link, which should work for TR5 soon (as well as the saved game editor by the same author, which I was just testing).
12/26: Added Eidos' level editor forum link to Discussion.
11/17: Room Editor II is being used to create Project Eden's levels.
10/22: Added TR5 Room Editor article link. Core still still can't make a seamless texture; just look at this slop.
10/5: Added forum link to Discussion.
10/4: Added TR5 Room Editor link. JHN seems to be doing a good job keeping up-to-date with amateur TR level editor and utility developments, so I suggest you check out his site for the most current info.
9/17: Changed TR3 Room Editor's "Secret Level" pic title to "St. Paul's Cathedral"
9/7: Added some articles to TR5's Room Editor.
8/29: JHN forum link added to Discussion. JHN level archive added to Levels.
8/20: Added TR5 link to Room Editor.
8/19: Welp, seems the level editor will be released with TR5 after all...yet I'm just not excited about it anymore after all these years. Perhaps because I've been waiting and fighting for so long I am drained of any hope, inspiration, and desire to bother with TR anymore. I'll still check out TR5 to see how little it's changed from TR4, and of course to see if Room Editor truly is released, but there are just so many other better games out there that are much more interesting, immersive, and just fun to play compared to TR. Intro edited.
8/14: Level editor at last?! Just as my interest in editing TR has greatly diminished, ironically, this appears in issue 62 of Playstation Magazine, with Adrian Smith, Core's Operations Director:
'We are going to give away something quite special, but I can't talk about it as we're still working out the logisitics,' reveals Smith, as cryptically as you like. 'It's something that the gameplaying public has been asking us about for a long, long time and we feel comfortable giving it out now.'"
You may have to scale the map down to very small - move about then scale up and repeat to edit the map well - like I said it can edit them but needs a better interface. Since it's GLUT/GL it should run on any platform."
5/30: TREditor updated. See release.txt inside zip for more info. Also, I'm not staying current with TR level editor and utility developments per my discussion forum so if you want something posted in these news updates, email me. Active Worlds 3 beta is taking more of my attention lately.
5/19: Jack 1.3
5/3: TRViewer .42
3/31: This came on the 24th: Lara Position.
3/20: TREditor updated.
3/18: TRViewer and Jack! updated.
3/12: TRueView added.
3/6: TRViewer updated and moved to "Level" category.
2/24: Seems I was too quick to update; apparently Jack! 1.01 can't import textures into TR4 levels...yet.
2/22: Finally found out what happened to TR2 to BMP. I emailed the author, Foxy77, and it turns out: "Yes, long time ago, I have created TR2 to BMP, but due to a crash of my disk, I have lost all sources and I never continued the development.
I don't have time either to begin a new project from scratch..
But I follow with interest the development of the new utilities on your site. Progress is quite simply amazing : )
At this time, the best I can do is giving my help in C/C++ programming for some projects (I'm professional games' developer), but I can't make mush more : )"
2/20: Jack! updated. Also, SoundJack! works fine with TR4.
2/18: Position Editor updated.
2/16: I'd like to have a collision detection bypasser (so Lara can pass through walls and perhaps even floors/ceilings). Anyone up for creating it?
2/11: Position Editor added.
2/10: This came a few days ago (2/6) but I forgot to add it since it was such a minor release: TREditor updated.
2/7: TR3 flight mode patch updated--now works for TR2 & 4.
2/3: How's this for service?: discussion forum. Also trying out a new search engine. Note that it's fairly primitive and you'll still have to do a "find" in your web browser with the keyword/phrase once you get to the page the search engine says your keyword/phrase is on.
2/2: Sheesh...I think I need a message board or something. From Turbo Pascal (edited):
I never had that problem in my PHD reader for any PHD or TUB file. I am curious as to where exactly they found these 2 bytes--after the vertex list, after the rectangles list, or after the triangles list?
I guess that they have a problem with the "triangle list" or with the "sprite list" because some rooms don't have triangles, a lot of rooms don't have sprites, but there are 2 bytes (with 0 in these cases) representing the triangle amount, and 2 bytes (with 0) for the sprite amounts.
So the correct way to read the room meshes is:
At the begining of vertex list,
1. Read 2 bytes and store in amount_of_vertex.
2. Read amount_of_vertex*8 bytes and store to vertex list array.
3. Read 2 bytes and store in amount_of_rectangles.
4. Read amount_of_rectangles*10 and store in rectangle list array.
5. Read 2 bytes and store in amount_of_triangles.
6. Read amount_of_tringles*8 and store in triangles list array (if amount_of_triangles=0 then this step is unnecesary).
7. Read 2 bytes and store in amount_of_sprites.
8. Read amount_of_sprites*4 and store in sprites list array (if amount_of_sprites=0 then this step 8 is unnecesary).
Then read the portals, tiles, lights, static, and flags before starting to read the next room.
If you use a loop to read each vertex, rectangle, triangle and sprite, it will take too much time, so if your programming language lets you, read each list in one step. (Tough luck for Visual BASIC programers, I suspect.)
I will send you this weekend an update for TREditor."
2/1: From John McFarlane (edited): "The guy who wrote earlier regarding loading the mesh data; I had the same problem, and came up with the following solution:
endpos = Seek(1)
If (endpos - startpos) Mod 4 > 0 Then
Get #1, , Meshes(meshloop).dummy
End If
Having checked various PHDs (my editor is for Tomb Raider) I have found that wherever these two bytes are required, they are 0.
Next thing: I have been working on an editor for TR. It currently loads the data, can extract graphics sets, palette info, and individual textures, which can then be edited pixel-by-pixel, then resaved to the PHD. It also has an animated texture viewer/editor and a basic room viewer (plan and elevation views of rooms in wireframe). I will send a work-in-progress version later in the week, but want to remove some bugs first. The major problem, is that it is a bit slow, takes about a minute to load a PHD on a Pentium 200, but I'm sure that if it ever gets finished you would live with that for a TR editor....."
Perhaps...but I'd really like to be able to create levels in 3D (as opposed to soley 2D views) in real-time...
1/31: "I discovered your site few days ago and because TR interests me (I played to all 4 sequels), I decided to try extracting various data from the levels (to begin with). The trosetta stone document is very valuable for this ! I wonder if you had any new infos about this, namely the TR4 file format. And about the author, do you have any informations that could allow me to ask him some questions (email, other) ? I started to extract the rooms / meshes info, and had problems with the mesh structure: it seems that sometimes there are 2 padding bytes at the end of the structure, not described in the trosetta. I could fix this problem (though it's dependent on the parsed file, so I must have a table which tells me how to handle this structure according to the .tr2 parsed), but I would like to know if it's a mistake on my part or really something missing.
By the way: I'm not from Core nore Eidos ! I point this out because you could be suspicious about my wish to contact the authour of the trosetta document. In fact, I "protect" myself too to avoid possible problems in the future: epopov@caramail.com is not my regular email account, but an account I created especially for the purpose on working on TR (it could be psychose of my part, but...) !"
So if you get this, R. Stone, perhaps you can contact this person.
1/29: TREditor updated.
1/26: The Vagrant's "TREditor Project" page back up.
1/23: TREditor updated.
1. You can be sure that this project is not fake, but legitiment.
2. You can review the program and put on your site your opinion.
3. Put the program on your site for people to download.
4. I will not read any e-mail from anyone. I need my limited space e-mail to stay in fluid contact with my official tester The Vagrant.
5. Maybe you can implement in your site a section where I can read the opinion and suggestion from the other "unofficial" testers.
I am sending a copy of the Tomb Raider 1 demo part 2, 'City of Vilcabamba'. Seems that this demo version is special because it plays 'normal' PHD files, I downloaded this demo from PCGamer's site in 1997, and it seems Eidos removed this version from their site.
Use this demo for playing the normal PHD in the CD from the hard disk or the new PHDs created with my program. Just put the level in the 'data' directory and rename it 'level2.phd'."
1/8: TR3 Viewer link dead.
1/5: Sections split into separate pages to make navigation easier and download times faster. Let me know if you find any bad links.