JRTombRaider
[Saturn] Tomb Raider II (TR1/2 Hybrid Engine W.I.P. | Major 2025 Update)
updated
- TR2 enemy behaviour (for all E3 levels currently)
- TR2 trap functionality
- braid functionality
- save-anywhere system
- improved swimming and free camera (TR2+)
- fly cheat
- TR2 health bar and UI
To do next:
- wading functionality
- wall climbing (huge change)
- breakable windows (expanded object detection system while shooting)
While my approach will never allow for a complete TR2 Saturn port, there are a lot of cool possibilities I'm aiming for, with huge potential to create a unique, new experience for the Saturn community. I've already implemented many features I didn't even dream of, so I'm very hopeful and excited for what the future of this project will hold. Now it's time for a short break, but there should be more to come later this year!
If you'd like to support me and my work, feel free to donate through this donation link: paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=Y2FH4B68S3GBG
After 27 years, Lara Croft has finally returned to the Sega Saturn, in Tomb Raider: Unfinished Business. This expansion to the original Tomb Raider was released exclusively for the PC back in 1998, with lead development by Phil Campbell. It brings Lara back to Egypt, where things will seem familiar at first, but are soon to get more and more mysterious. Lara then returns to where she originally left off, in a highly action-packed Atlantis, where a brutal battle with the last remaining mutants awaits her. Unfinished Business was well-received by fans in particular and is still considered a must-play game to this day. It was ported twice to the PlayStation 1, with the first attempt released in 2014.
A Saturn port was long overdue. I originally started development back in early 2022. Much like the PS1 ports, my Saturn port uses the original Tomb Raider engine. I admittedly had no insight into Saturn's hardware specifications, so I hardly knew what I was getting myself into. Data conversion actually did go pretty smoothly at first, until it was time to import level textures: memory limitations caused all levels to crash, except one. These limits were expected, given that the PS1 ports suffered the same during development. However, it turned out that memory was a much bigger problem on the Saturn, due to different memory management.
In order to prevent the memory from breaching, data had to be seriously optimized. Various tricks and techniques were invented and implemented by me over a long period of time, and proved to be quite successful. Unused meshes and animations were deleted, while duplicate meshes and animations were reused. Required pathfinding data that's used for vaulting enemies was forcefully removed, since none of the enemies in Unfinished Business can vault anyway. Two huge alternate rooms in one level were removed, with the difference being replicated in a much more efficient way. And then there were many, many more tricks applied. Eventually, I managed to make every level work without any noticeable compromises.
There's so much more to talk about, but for now I'll just say it has been such a fulfilling journey working on this project. A very special thank you to Retro dad, who has shown tremendous support and dedication this year, providing all the feedback I needed in order to make this a quality experience. Check out his awesome Sega channel here: @retrodadandmodernlad9857
Without further ado, I hope you enjoy Tomb Raider: Unfinished Business on the Sega Saturn!
*Key features*
- Three different regions: American (NTSC-U), European (PAL-E) and Japanese (NTSC-J)
- Separate expert edition: Atlantis levels first and inventory reset for Egypt levels, based on how it was originally intended by the developer
- Improved texture and SFX quality compared to the OG Saturn releases
- Restored and corrected SFX and sprites
- Correctly rotated/mirrored object textures
- Subdivided meshes (to reduce warping)
- Ability to perform the handstand
- Ambience (wind/heartbeat) tracks playing almost continuously (just like in the original)
- New artwork
- Extended credits (ported from the NTSC-J version and modified)
- Gym loading screen in the PAL version (ported from the NTSC-U version)
- Fixed crocodile distance damage bug
- Improved rendering for certain texture surfaces
*Current issues*
- [PAL] Fatal rendering issue at certain angles near walls. This issue most notably presents itself when getting close to the winged mutants and when getting hit by the boulder right before the third secret in "Return to Egypt".
- [ALL] Temporary corrupted textures after a static camera view is interrupted. To avoid this, don't press any buttons until the camera has refocused on Lara again.
- [ALL] The ambience track in the Atlantis levels might pause when a mutant explodes near you. Open and close the inventory to resume the audio.
*Credits*
Ported by...
JRTombRaider/RetroRaiderJohn: level/object/sound/sprite data conversion and optimization (done with custom-written tools), game executable patching, artwork design and conversion
With special thanks to...
- Retro dad and modern lad: extensive QA, suggestions and support
- RingsOfSaturn (RoS): rendering patch for improved surfaces and additional fullscreen fixes, visual QA and suggestions
- Spyros: artwork help
- Troye: gameplay testing and suggestions
- Cyblitzer: gameplay testing and suggestions
- SuiKazeRaider: Atlantean Stronghold crash fix (PC version)
- Dominik: object modification advice
- Arsunt: crocodile distance damage bug fix (PC version)
- Esppiral & paul_met: fullscreen patch and centering
Download: mega.nz/folder/zMwW3RyD#In5CPXY3up7gBNQhTZ4cAw
To Fenrir users: it is recommended to update to the latest firmware first, otherwise there will likely be CD track issues.
If you'd like to support me, feel free to donate through this donation link: https://shorturl.at/pvDKU
Enemy behaviour was originally not something within the scope of this project, but I've learned a lot about the engine since then and I'm confident that at least partially functioning enemies should be doable (through code injection). I'm also going to implement the fly cheat to allow easier access to inaccessible areas. I might even see if I can get Lara's braid to work. Overall, I have great plans for this project and see huge potential to make this a neat little experience for the Saturn players.
However, don't expect anything more than a demo to come out of this (with a few missing elements, like dynamic lighting). A full port won't ever be made possible by me, because my approach won't allow it. So please keep your expectations realistic.
This video will give you an idea of what an alpha build of Tomb Raider II might have looked like on the Sega Saturn, before Sony got the exclusivity deal and the Saturn port was subsequently cancelled. It gives you a quick look at the Tibet level from the TR2 E3 1997 demo, running on the TR1 Saturn engine.
Mesh data conversion is still in progress, so all objects and static meshes are left out for now. Enemies will be left out completely, as the TR1 engine has no AI for them and it's nearly impossible to add all this back in. However, full exploration of all three E3 levels and interaction with most other objects will still be possible.
This cutscene originally had too much animation frame data in the October 5th build (and in even later builds), causing the game to crash during loading. In order to get it to load properly, the amount of frame data needed to be reduced by increasing the frame interpolation. I was feeling curious about this cutscene and wrote a quick little program to handle the frame reduction. The modified cutscene file can be downloaded here: mediafire.com/file/4k6ytytnym4s0se/CUT3-oct5-fixed.PSX/file
Use a tool like psx-mode2 to replace CUT3.PSX with this file in your October 5th disc image.
The CUT10 file is dated September 9th and is therefore incompatible with the October 5th build. Last year, a TR3 demo leaked, dated August 28th. Selecting new game shows the Nevada quadbike crash cutscene first, before loading Area 51. The fact that this demo has the functionality to display cutscenes is very convenient (and somewhat unusual for a demo). This randomly occured to me today and gave me the idea to swap the cutscene file with CUT10, just to see what would happen. (The motivation being that this build date is a lot closer to the cutscene file date, making the potential for compatibility much higher.) After doing some minor file modification, it loaded perfectly. So there you have it, after all these years. Enjoy!
You can download the Area 51 PSX demo with this cutscene here: mega.nz/file/DUJR1SIY#LeSpnjOrHosNu3Bl3XwLI8w0d4zH8q3-O8kjuyRIr2M
An altered PC cutscene file is now also included, with the CUT10 anim imported.
There are some severe memory limits on the Tomb Raider Saturn engine, making the Egypt levels in particular very difficult to stay within these limits. I've performed a few data optimization tricks and Atlantean Stronghold looks and plays wonderfully now (besides lag, but that's unavoidable). The Hive exceeds no limits at all, so both levels are almost done (after fixing two minor issues).
I had to think of some more drastic optimization tricks for Return to Egypt (with a few more that I've yet to implement) and it's looking pretty decently now, apart from a bunch of textures that I've had to reduce in size. (This also explains why the star-studded sky in Egypt isn't really visible yet.) I'll do my best to keep (most of) these textures in their original resolution, after I've finished optimizing the level and object data. Temple of the Cat will prove to be even more challenging in this regard, seeing as it has more textures and about the same data size in other areas. To be continued, hopefully within the next two months!
Download link: archive.org/details/tr2-e3-psx
Check the Readme in the disc image (.bin) for more info and credits!
I also included some brief footage from an unknown build shown during E3 coverage (Stargame Multishow and Cybernet) at the end. I felt it couldn't hurt to add it in, even though the South Pacific location is vastly different than shown in the actual E3 demo and is seemingly closer to the final build (despite the green TR2 ammo font, which feels rather contradictory).
All used sources can be found below.
E3 demo videos:
1. Tomb Raider III Alpha Version, May 1998
youtube.com/watch?v=fyDMGm97908
2. Tomb Raider 3 at E3 1998 - PC Player SH 01/98
youtube.com/watch?v=B3qrnj3CMmA
3. Tomb Raider III E3 Demo
youtube.com/watch?v=vTB1kvhFGuw
4. Reportage E3 1998 PC Soluces [6:00 - 7:16]
youtube.com/watch?v=HoMmqG83ALQ
5. Emission Consoles News 01 - 1998 [4:19 - 5:24]
http://www.abandonware-videos.org/affiche_vid.php?vid=8&num=426&streaminghtml5=oui
6. E3 1998 Freak's Shop VHS Messevideo (Trade show video) [2:08:16 - 2:09:13]
youtube.com/watch?v=ugYtWnwtkiI
7. E3 1998 Gamers Point VHS Video (Trade Show Video) [43:24 - 44:07]
youtube.com/watch?v=377fEyJ8lvU
8. Gamestar E3 Highlights 1998 [0:10 - 0:28]
youtube.com/watch?v=6o5_IOhOYOA
9. E3 1998 / Pokémon Revealed! - S2:E7 - Electric Playground [8:06 - 8:12]
youtube.com/watch?v=a-48X6mzHqI
10. ER S5E04 - ''Vanishing Act'' Clip (Tomb Raider) [0:07 - 0:11]
youtube.com/watch?v=G9RmNZ4ceZo
11. Tomb Raider 3 PS1 CM [0:05 - 0:07 | 0:20 - 0:21]
youtube.com/watch?v=AUuYZpO2bdE
12. Lara Croft ICONS episode from G4: TV 4 Gamers HD [17:12 - 17:14]
youtube.com/watch?v=2jCDDo_ku18
13. Tomb Raider 3 Accolades Trailer [0:25 - 0:26]
youtube.com/watch?v=1sbIDyCwCAs
E3 coverage videos:
14. Eidos Interactive Demo Reel 1998 [0:32 - 1:47]
youtube.com/watch?v=2YRCgFJBxsI
15. Electronic Entertainment Expo 1998 | E3 98 - Parte 1 | Psygnosis e Eidos | Stargame Multishow [5:09 - 5:16]
youtube.com/watch?v=hKdXnhNI23w
16. Cybernet E3 1998
Unknown link
Screenshots:
17. TRIII Digital Press Kit
Reported by DragonSlayer on Tomb Raider Forums:
http://www.tombraiderforums.com/showpost.php?p=7347736&postcount=1547
LEVEL1.PSX is a short test level, containing 4 rooms. The first room has 3 tiles with triggers, each activating one enemy. There's also a room with platforms and a pit, a small water room and a room where Lara can shimmy.
Interesting notes:
- Tomb Raider 3 shotgun;
- different sound effects;
- unused textures;
- flare glitch doesn't work;
- different binocular view.
Product info:
SLPM 80168
Victor
Japan 1998
More info here: http://www.crimson-ceremony.net/laras/artefact.php?id=tr2-demo1
Not really interesting, but it's the only TLA trailer I'm aware of.
In 'The Trilogy' we are shown 8 minutes & 20 seconds of the inside of a London Police Station where a D.I. (Detective Inspector) & a Psycologist interview the 'ultimate' Lara Croft/Tomb Raider who we find out believes that Lara Croft is real and that she is in danger in Tomb Raider III because of the better A.I (Artifical Intelligence) of the enemy.
Eidos Interactive & Core Design Present
a Silver Films production
The Trilogy
Director Steen Agro
Producer Janey de Nordwall
Director of Photography Howard J Smith
Original Concept Silver Films/The Source
Writer Steen Agro
Creative Consultant Paul Martin
Music Composed by Brian E. Roberts & Carol Donaldson
Casting by Beverley Keogh
CREW
Production Co-Ordinator Andrew Hine
Production Assistant Corrina Bennett
Focus Puller Roberto Contreras
Clapper Loader Ciro Candia
Gaffer Geoff Healey
Sparks Mike Archer & Joe McClean
Sound Recordist Simon Quinn
Grip David Catterall
Hair & Make-up Suzanne Potts
Props Rick Pannone
Props Assistant Jo Richards
Catering Film Cuisine
VT OPerator Kate Miller
Runner Mark Davenport
Production Insurance Bradstock Insurance
Director of Development Jeremy Smith, Core Design
P.R. Susie Hamilton, Core Design
Marketing David Burton, Eidos Interactive
CAST
Sarah Greenwood Esther Hall
Man Marc Goodall
D.I. Murdoch James Masters
EQUIPMENT
Camera VFG Manchester
Lights Webb Lighting
Film Stock The Film Game
Laboratory Technicolor Film Services
Telecine & Grade Framestore
POST PRODUCTION
Film Editor Rob Edney & Scratch
Online Editor Eldon Snelgrove & 4:2:2 Manchester
Dubbing MIxer John Wood & The Sound House
Gameplay transfer by Premier Communications
http://www.tombraiderforums.com/showthread.php?t=148337
A full playthrough of Floating Islands in the late September PS1 beta of Tomb Raider II, minus the ending. The layout of the level is quite different in the beginning, compared to the final version.
At 3:35 in the video, I had to use a shortcut method because the slider thing can only be used once. It doesn't reset after you use it halfway to get to the bridge, hence why I used this way to get to the bridge.
And nearly at the end of the level you can't go outside the gates, because when you land on the floor you die instantly. And since you need to stand on the floor to pull the levers, there's no way to make progress (without the use of hacking).
To finish the level, you need to use the PC cheat, which goes as follows:
Grab a flare, step forward, step backward, turn 3 times around (doesn't matter which direction) and jump forward.
Nothing interesting for the most part. Slightly annoying audio mixup and a few changes in design, but that's about it.


