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Tomb Raider (1996)

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games

This page is for the original game. For the remake, see Tomb Raider: Anniversary. For the reboot, see Tomb Raider (2013). For the remaster, see Tomb Raider I-III Remastered.

Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider cover
Developers
Core Design
Publishers
1996-2009 Eidos Interactive
2009-2023 Square Enix
2023-present Crystal Dynamics
Virgin Interactive
Sold Out Software
Release dates
DOS November 14, 1996
Windows 1997
Mac OS (Classic) March 1999
Windows (DOSBox) May 30, 2012
Linux April 24, 2015
macOS (OS X) April 11, 2016
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Third-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Action, Adventure, Puzzle, TPS, Shooter
Series Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider (1996) on HowLongToBeat
Tomb Raider (1996) on IGDB
Tomb Raider (1996) guide on StrategyWiki
Tomb Raider (1996) on MobyGames
Tomb Raider (1996) on Wikipedia
Tomb Raider (1996) 1996
Tomb Raider II 1997
Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft 1998
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation 1999
Tomb Raider Chronicles 2000
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness 2003
Tomb Raider: Legend 2006
Tomb Raider: Anniversary 2007
Tomb Raider: Underworld 2008
Lara Croft (series)
Tomb Raider (2013) 2013
Lara Croft GO 2015
Rise of the Tomb Raider 2016
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 2018
Tomb Raider I-III Remastered 2024

Tomb Raider (1996) is a singleplayer third-person action, adventure, puzzle, TPS and shooter game in the Tomb Raider series.

This port (compared to the console versions) adds ambient background noises & higher quality sound effects but has scan lines on its FMV's, blander water colour, removed event-based music & compressed Lara's voice clips during the tutorial. See Essential Improvements to work around those downgrades.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions
Stella's Website - Walkthroughs, workarounds and downloads
TombRaider Forums

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
See Tomb Raider Automated Fix.
DOS
Mac OS
GOG.com
DRM-free
Includes Tomb Raider II and Tomb Raider III (European versions). DOS version pre-packaged with DOSBox.[1]
Windows
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Steam
DRM-free after installation through Steam client (notes may include more details)
DOS version pre-packaged with DOSBox.[2]
Windows
Origin (unavailable)
Origin
Includes Tomb Raider II and Tomb Raider III.
Windows
Free demo versions are available from Archive.org: regular, 3Dfx version.

Version differences

This is an attempt to list the different releases of the game.

Edition Released Region Publisher Media Extra levels Patches Notes
Tomb Raider 1996-11-14 US Eidos 1x CD No No
Tomb Raider 1996-11-22 Europe Eidos 1x CD No No
Tomb Raider 1997-01-19 Japan Virgin Interactive 1x CD No No
Tomb Raider Gold 1998-06 US Eidos 2x CD Yes Yes
Premier Collection - Tomb Raider: Unfinished Business 1998 UK Eidos 2x CD Yes Yes
Premier Collection - Tomb Raider: Director's Cut 1998 DE Eidos 2x CD Yes Yes
Premier Collection - Tomb Raider: Version Longue 1998 FR Eidos 2x CD Yes Yes
Platinum Collection - Tomb Raider Gold 2000 US Eidos 2x CD Yes Yes
Tomb Raider 2000 UK Sold-Out Software 1x CD No Yes Broken CD audio
Lara Croft Tomb Raider Collection 2003 Eidos 7x CD No Yes First 6 games
Tomb Raider + Tomb Raider II double pack 2005-12-02 UK Sold-Out Software 2x CD No Yes First 2 games
Tomb Raider 1+2+3 2012-05-30 WW GOG Digital No First 3 games
Tomb Raider I 2012-11-28 WW Steam Digital No
Tomb Raider 2012-11-28 WW Green Man Gaming Digital No
Tomb Raider I + II + III Bundle 2014-10-14 WW Origin Digital No First 3 games
Tomb Raider I WW Humble Store Digital No
Tomb Raider Gold or the Premier Collection is the most complete edition with four exclusive levels (Unfinished Business, Shadow of the Cat). This version is not sold digitally, however the levels were later released as freeware for those who own the base game.
The releases by Sold-Out software, where the CD has sov. 2.1 printed on it, has corrupted CD audio tracks, which will refuse to play.
Lara Croft Tomb Raider Collection include Tomb Raider I + II + II + IV + V + VI.

Essential improvements

Tomb Raider Automated Fix

Replaces DOSBox and applies TombATI for improved support and graphics on modern systems. Also includes the Unfinished Business bonus chapters, improved cutscenes, missing music tracks, and applies the water color palette from the PlayStation version.
Install the tool:[3]
  1. Download Tomb Raider Automated Fix.
  2. Extract the executable anywhere on your PC and run it.
  3. Follow the installation instructions after pointing to your Tomb Raider 1 installation location.
    • Decide on any of the included improvements, including higher quality cutscenes from the PlayStation or remastered cutscenes.
  4. Complete the installation.
    • Edit tombati.ini and tombub.ini in the Patches folder for advanced settings.
  5. Launch dosbox.exe for a custom launcher that provides a choice between the main game and the bonus chapter, or
    • launch tombati.exe to play the main game directly.
    • launch tombub.exe to play the bonus chapter directly.

Engine reimplementations

An alternative to Tomb Raider Automated Fix is to use a full engine reimplementation.

LostArtefacts: TRX1 (previously Tomb1Main)

LostArtefacts: TRX1 is the result of a decompilation project of TombATI.exe, the game executable for the ATI 3D Rage version of the game. Aims to fix a considerably amount of bugs and glitches that were in the original release, in addition to adding additional cheats and weapons settings.

CroftEngine

CroftEngine is the result of reverse engineering the Steam version while modernizing it and adding new features without breaking the original gameplay, and runs on Windows and Linux.

OpenLara

OpenLara is a more recent project than OpenTomb. As of May 2021 it only supports the first Tomb Raider game.

Contains glitches not present in the original release.[4]

OpenTomb

OpenTomb is an open source remake of the Tomb Raider engine. It overhauls almost all aspects of the game engine, along with adding cross-platform support for modern operating systems and Lua scripting support.

Hide 3dfx splash screen

Only relevant when using the original DOS version (through DOSBox).
Change DOSBox setting[citation needed]
  1. Edit the DOSBox configuration file (dosboxTR.conf for digital versions).
  2. Go to the [glide] section.
  3. Add a new line: splash=false
  4. Save your changes.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
DOS <path-to-game>\SETTINGS.DAT
Windows <path-to-game>\SETTINGS.DAT[Note 1]
<path-to-game>\ATISET.DAT[Note 1]
Mac OS (Classic)
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/224960/pfx/[Note 2]

Save game data location

System Location
DOS <path-to-game>\SAVEGAME.*
Windows <path-to-game>\TOMBRAID\saveati.*[Note 1]
Mac OS (Classic)
Steam <path-to-game>\TOMBRAID\SAVEGAME.*
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/224960/pfx/[Note 2]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy
Origin
Steam Cloud

Video

Detail levels menu.
Detail levels menu.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
Use Tomb Raider Automated Fix.
Multi-monitor
Use Tomb Raider Automated Fix.
Ultra-widescreen
Use Tomb Raider Automated Fix.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Use Tomb Raider Automated Fix.
Windowed
Toggle with Alt+ Enter (when using DOSBox) or use Tomb Raider Automated Fix.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Use Tomb Raider Automated Fix.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Use Tomb Raider Automated Fix.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Use Tomb Raider Automated Fix then force in the graphics card control panel.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Always enabled in dosbox, broken by WDM, use Tomb Raider Automated Fix to force it on at all times. Disabling through control panel doesn't work, nor does the Automated fix includes an option to disable Vsync.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
Frame rate is capped at 30 FPS (PowerVR version was 60 FPS).[5]
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Enable full draw distance

Enable full draw distance[citation needed]
  1. Install Tomb Raider Automated Fix.
  2. Go into Patches and open tombati.ini.
  3. Set draw_distance_override to true.
  4. Do the same for Unfinished Business\patches\tombub.ini.

Notes

This setting can alter the atmosphere in some levels.

Enable PlayStation water color palette

Install Tomb Raider Automated Fix[6]

Input

Tomb Raider Mouse Helper

Tomb Raider Mouse Helper is a utility which allows controlling Lara with the mouse. It also maps the WASD keys to enable a more modern, keyboard+mouse control scheme.
Works with both the original DOS version (through DOSBox) and the Windows version (through the Tomb Raider Automated Fix above).

Audio

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Sound and CD Music.
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
For DOSBox change the priority background value in the DOSBox configuration file.
Royalty free audio
Red Book CD audio
On Windows, CD music might not play correctly; see the troubleshooting guide for solutions.

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
French
Retail only. Can be modded back into the Steam and GOG versions.
German
Retail and GOG.com only; download for Steam version
Hungarian
Fan translations by TombRaiderS, #1, #2.
Russian
Fan translation by «ElikaStudio».
Spanish
Fan translation.
Turkish
Fan translation.

Issues fixed

Menu spins with a controller connected

Change DOSBox timing[citation needed]
  1. Edit the DOSBox configuration file (dosboxTR.conf for digital versions).
  2. Change timed=true to timed=false
  3. Save your changes.

Can't Alt+Tab (GOG.com)

Uninstall[citation needed]
  1. Open Programs and Features:
    • Vista and later: Open the Start screen/Start menu, type appwiz.cpl and press Enter.
    • Windows XP: Press Win+R, type appwiz.cpl and press Enter.
  2. Uninstall DOSBoxnoalttab. You can now use Alt+Tab and other task-switching commands.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
OpenGL
GL Rage and PowerVR versions only
Glide
DOS video modes SVGA
ExecutablePPC16-bit 32-bit 64-bitARM Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Requires a source port.[7]
Linux
Requires a source port.[8]
Mac OS (Classic)

Mods

For game mods visit Core Design.

A port of GliDOS's hires texture packs for TombATI (the "Tomb Raider Fix" at the top of this article) is available here.
Braid Mod adds the strangely longtime missing braid to Lara's hair. Also includes a patch for the final secret in game as it originally wasn't counted due to a glitch. Secret patch available standalone here.
Crocodile Distance Patch fixes the crocodile in the Tomb of Tihocan level so it can't kill you from over a distance or while you're in other parts of the level.
TR1 HD FMV Pack Video Pack provides filtered cinematics with 15 to 30 fps conversion and Upscaled 4K Resolution
Rerendered soundtrack is a high quality rerender of the soundtrack, requires GliDOS or Gidierre's Tomb Raider 1 Advanced Installer.
Unfinished Business with added music triggers makes UB levels more atmospheric with proper music trigger events.
TombATI/GLRage runs ATI 3D Rage on Windows 7 or higher. Requires OpenGL 3.3 or higher. Already included with the Automated fix.
John Capon's textures retextures all levels to much higher details.[9]

Bonus chapters

Two bonus chapters, Shadow of the Cat and Unfinished Business, can be downloaded and added to the game.
Already included with Tomb Raider Automated fix.
Manual download and install[10]
  1. Download Shadow of the Cat and Unfinished Business from Stella's Tomb Raider site (3dfx version) or soggi.org (3dfx) / soggi.org (Software/PowerVR).
  2. Unpack the archive and copy DATA/ and tombub.exe to <path-to-game>/TOMBRAID/
  3. Make a duplicate of <path-to-game>/dosboxTR_single.conf and name it dosboxTR_UB.conf
  4. Edit your newly created dosboxTR_UB.conf by replacing the line tomb.exe with tombub.exe
  5. Make a copy of your Tomb Raider shortcut, open its properties and edit the target-field by replacing the single occurrence of dosboxTR_single.conf with dosboxTR_UB.conf.
  6. Finally, rename the shortcut to something meaningful, e.g. "Tomb Raider - Unfinished Business", and run it.

System requirements

DOS
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 5.0
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 60 MHz
System memory (RAM) 8 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 20 MB
Video card (GPU) SVGA
Windows
Minimum
Operating system (OS) XP, Vista, 7
Processor (CPU) 1.8 GHz
System memory (RAM) 512 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 2 GB
Video card (GPU) DirectX 9 compatible


Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).
  2. 2.0 2.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/224960/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (224960) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References