For complete beginners! Build a full level with Tomb Engine and Tomb Editor, complete with geometry, triggers, objects, lighting, traps, puzzles, scripting, sound, and cameras. Download and install Tomb Engine first. Then…
Download these files for the tutorial:
TEN Playable Tutorial Level Files
Want to play the level first? Just unzip and play:
Full Playable Tutorial Level Itself
Episode 1 #
We start a new project and build our first ever room!
• Create a new project
• Load in textures and use them
• Basic room geometry
• Basic texturing incl. walls
• Lighting – sun bulbs and point lights
• Convert a project into a playable level
Episode 2 #
It’s time to make things look pretty – more advanced texturing, geometry, objects to look at.
• Create a new connected room
• Click between rooms
• Avoid paper-thin walls
• Triangular walls
• Sloped floors and ceilings
• Rotate and mirror textures
• Spot lights
• Load a second WAD
• Placing static objects
Episode 3 #
Gameplay is our focus this time, so let’s throw some doors, enemies, and traps at Lara.They need to be triggered, too, of course. And how about some music?
• Placing doors and flame emitters
• Simple legacy triggers
• Copying rooms and connecting them with “add portal”
• Triggering enemies
• Switches
• Enemies carrying objects
• Boxes (grey squares)
• Traps – rolling ball
• Texturing walls of a sloped hallway
• Playing a music track
• Shadow bulbs
Episode 4 #
Ledges are what make good platforming, and Lara can reward herself with a nice swim.
• Stacked rooms and creating ledges
• Water rooms + reflection effect
• Loading a second texture file
• Animated textures (water surface)
• Toggle Opacity 2
• Double-sided textures
• Monkey swing
• Flycheat (with “O”)
• Item from a pedestal
• Pickup trigger
• Climbable wall
• Fixed camera and target
• Draw untextured in lighting mode (to see cracks and bad lighting)
Episode 5 #
Water isn’t always safe; let’s add a strong current with a sink. But, if she’s clever, she’ll find a secret first. How about a switch, too, but it’s timed?
• Antitriggers
• Sinks
• Secrets
• Ghost blocks
• Quick floor / ceiling geometry tools
• Parallel bars
• Pole (polerope)
• Timed switch
• Activating Lara‘s shadow
Episode 6 #
Flame traps are classic Tomb Raider, and so are flyby cameras and pushable puzzles.
• Bridge flat and bridge tilt objects
• Flame emitter trap (blowing flames)
• Lava, death square and ember emitter
• Fog bulbs
• Diagonal floor
• Pushables
• Raising block
• Heavy triggers
• Trapdoors
• Keys and key holes
• Shatter with pickup (heavy trigger)
• Flyby camera
Episode 7 #
It’s time to add a classic TR feature: the flipmap. But also something new: volumes.
- Volume triggers
- Pad triggers
- Sub-click geometry
- Teethspikes
- Climbable pushables
- Using “bits” in triggers
- Puzzle holes
- Flipmaps
- Bits 1-5 on objects to auto trigger
- Toggle Opacity 1
- Flycheat with keys/puzzles (Shift + “O”)
Episode 8 #
We can’t put it off any longer. Let’s tackle scripting (it’s actually easy!). We can reward ourselves with some more visual and sound effects, too.
- Script – basic level settings
- Scripting object names
- Log (if level does not load)
- Camera tracking Lara
- Effect lights
- Bumpmaps
- Texture sounds
- Reverb
- Distance fog
- Placing sound effects
- Add text on screen
Episode 9 #
She’s escaped the tomb, is now in the desert, and can drive off into the finish trigger on a jeep.
- Outside rooms
- Cliffs and complex geometry
- Animating objects
- Changing ambient track
- Sky, wind and horizon settings
- Illegal slopes
- Glide camera
- Vehicle (jeep)
- Finish trigger