WINTER HEAVY DS README
Created by vandersweater, adapted from "Tomb Raider Underworld" for Nintendo DS; Version 2a
Package contents
WinterHeavyDS.wad2
TR1-Head.wad2
TR2-Head.wad2
TR1-3_Mix.wad2
EnhancedClassic-Head.wad2
crossbow.wav
FILTER_Black.jpg
FILTER_Blue (default).jpg
FILTER_Light.jpg
FILTER_Orange.jpg
FILTER_Pink.jpg
FILTER_White.jpg
PIXEL_Black.jpg
PIXEL_Blue (default).jpg
PIXEL_Light.jpg
PIXEL_Orange.jpg
PIXEL_Pink.jpg
PIXEL_White.jpg
Changelog
- May 10 2023: Version 1 (v1)
- Initial release
- Dec 14 2023: Advent Calendar release, Version 2 (v2)
- Added head mesh options (TR1, TR2/3, Enhanced Classic, Unified)
- Added grenade gun & ammo
- Added enhanced texture option (bilinear filtering optimized)
- Added recolor options
- Eliminated 76 texinfos
- Reduced texture page footprint
- Fixed texture bleeding
- Apr 1 2024: TRSearch release (v2 Rev A)
- Readme updated
Credits & permissions
Please include this line in your readme: Winter Heavy DS skin by vandersweater
- Braid textures created by Horus-Goddess, modified by me. Source: Classics: TR3 (2012 UPDATE)
- 'Gripping' hand mesh created by Po Yu, modified by me. Source: Tomb Raider II&III Jungle Outfit Remake
- Sizing for 'relaxed' hand meshes courtesy of Sponge. Source: Classic TR4 Outfit Package
- Original character model & textures by Santa Cruz Games, ripped by hokubabe. Source: DeviantArt
You may modify and re-release this outfit if you wish, but you must credit me in your readme for my original work. Thank you!
Important installation instructions
NOTE: You must use the included LARA object in your WAD for Lara to appear correctly in-game.
This outfit uses customized mesh offsets, meaning the LARA object is arranged differently than the standard TR4 skin.
If your project has no custom animations, you can simply copy the LARA object in this package to your WAD. However, if you are utilizing custom animations, you must batch export your personal LARA animations and import them over the included LARA object.
To batch export/import animations:
- Open WadTool.
- Load the wad containing your customized LARA object in the Destination panel.
- Expand the Moveables list, then right-click on LARA, then click "Edit animations..."
- The Animation Editor opens. From the menu bar, click "Animations > Batch > Export all..."
- Select a folder to save the animations to. You may want to create a new folder.
- Wait until a message in the bottom right corner of the preview window tells you the animations were exported successfully. Then close the Animation Editor.
- Back in the main WadTool window, load "WinterHeavy_DS.wad2" in the Destination panel.
- Open the LARA object in the Animation Editor, then from the menu bar, click "Animations > Batch > Import..." and select the folder you saved the animations to.
- Wait for the 'successful' message to appear, then close the Animation Editor. Choose "Yes" when WadTool asks if you want to save the changes.
- From the main WadTool window, save your Wad2. Done!
Using alternate heads
Version 2 now includes four different Lara heads to choose from.
From beginning to end: TR1, TR2, TR1-3 Mix, TR4, Classic Enhanced.
The base package, WinterHeavyDS.wad2, features the TR4 style head. To use a different head, first copy the entire contents of the base package into your wad, then load one of the alternate head wads and copy those contents to your wad.
For example, if you wish to use the Enhanced Classic head: first load the base package, WinterHeavyDS.wad2, and copy the contents into your wad. Then load EnhancedClassic-Head.wad2 and copy those contents into your wad. Done!
If you don't copy the base package into your wad, you'll be missing many important extras and the outfit will appear broken.
Applying recolors
In addition to new heads, version 2 also includes two different texture styles and recolors for each style.
"Pixel" is the original texture style. It features a limited color palette which lends itself a distinct retro, PSX look. Looks best with bilinear filtering off.
"Filter" is a higher fidelity texture style. It has more fine detail and an overall smoother appearance. Looks good with bilinear filtering on or off.
A comparison of the Pixel vs Filtered texture style, 500% zoom.
To apply a recolor:
- Open WadTool and load whichever head variant you wish to use (e.g. TR1-Head.wad2) as the destination file.
- Click the arrow next to "Moveables" to expand the list. Right-click on LARA_SKIN and choose "Edit meshes..."
- From the Mesh Editor, locate the texturing panel on the right side of the window. Click the circular arrows icon on the top right.
- Find the recolor you want to apply (e.g. "PIXEL_Orange.png") and double-click it.
- WadTool will warn you about making this change. Click "Yes" to continue.
- Click the "OK" button in the bottom right corner of the Mesh Editor to close and save changes.
- From the main WadTool window, save your wad.
NOTE: After clicking yes, you may notice the textures in mesh preview window have changed, but the image file in the texturing panel stays the same. Don't worry, the texture file has updated - this is a WadTool glitch. Reopening the Mesh Editor will show the updated texture file.
Author's notes
This is my most comprehensive outfit package to date! Every possible "swap hand" is included (torch, crowbar, waterskin, etc) in addition to every weapon.
Underworld for DS only includes four weapons (pistol, uzi, shotgun and rifle), so I included the TR1 magnum as the revolver and TR2 grenade gun. The rifle is placed in the crossbow slot and behaves like the TRC HK Gun in rapid mode out of the box. You could use the HK Gun FLEP patch to expand its functionality, but be aware that some extra animations would be needed.
The included crossbow.wav is a rifle gunshot sound that can be used to replace the crossbow firing sound. The new sound is from TR2013, courtesy of Kubsy's TR 2013 SFX part 1 package. Thanks to Kubsy for providing the ripped sounds.
I made an effort to keep the number of texinfos used low. The current version is better optimized than V1, with 71 less texinfos than the previous release. Why does this matter? TRNG levels can begin glitching when around 10,000 texture infos are used. The average HQ Lara skin uses around 2,000 texinfos, i.e. 1/5 of safely useable texinfos. Reducing the number of texinfos Lara uses leaves more space for object and level textures.
My "enhanced classic" head mesh finally sees the light of day with this release. She started as a Strpix/old school wad project, and that's essentially the same version seen here. If I were to make her now, I'd take advanage of UV mapping to improve her hair. That being said, I'm happy enough with how she looks presently. Apart from the TR4 head, which I left completely stock, the other head meshes are my tweaked versions. I painted new hair textures, touched up a few things here and there, and the bun hair mesh is all new.
Lastly, the positioning of the weapons is optimized for a uniform appearance in the inventory. As pickup items, this makes the positioning for some of the items a little funny, most notably the rifle. This was a trade off, but at least the inventory items look really sharp.
Not related to the outfit - I hope someone out there is enjoying this readme template. It took a long time to create, but I had fun doing it and I think it looks slick as hell.
Contact & social
If you find any issues with this package (or have questions), feel free to contact me. You can find me on the following platforms:
Tomb Raider Forums - Kapu
Discord - @vandersweater (send a friend request!)
YouTube - Occasional TR/TRLE videos
Ko-Fi - Behind the scenes content
Email - vandersweater@outlook.com
Thanks for downloading, enjoy! 🍻
—vandersweater (aka Kapu)