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The Lost Idea by Fips

alan 4 2 2 3
Casual Raider 3 2 1 4
Ceamonks890 3 1 2 2
Chel 4 3 3 2
DJ Full 3 1 2 3
dmdibl 4 2 3 4
Ejecta 2 2 2 1
eRIC 4 2 4 4
eTux 3 1 1 3
Gerty 3 1 2 2
Jay 4 1 3 5
Jerry 1 1 1 3
Jose 3 1 2 5
manarch2 3 1 2 2
Mehrbod 2 0 4 3
MichaelP 5 3 3 3
Mortensmor 5 2 4 4
Mulf 3 2 1 1
Nuri 5 1 3 4
Obig 4 2 3 2
Orbit Dream 4 2 3 3
PolishRaider 2 1 3 5
rtrger 3 4 3 3
Ryan 3 3 2 2
Sakusha 4 1 1 2
TheStig 2 3 3 3
Torry 2 2 4 5
totizedger 4 2 3 3
Treeble 2 1 1 1
Xela 5 2 2 2
 
release date: 28-Sep-2000
# of downloads: 101

average rating: 2.61
review count: 30
 
review this level

file size: 22.26 MB
file type: TR3
class: nc
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
ptilgner@gmx.de

Reviewer's comments
"I usually don't bother with the early custom levels, but I wanted to revisit this one after 20 or so years... And it was better than I remembered. Most of the 2000 efforts were simply bad, but this here is fully functional, the ladders and death tiles are placed correctly (and yay, there's even an end trigger!). You get to ride a quad bike and do some nice platforming. Sure, the level has a beta test feel to it and the rooms are monotonous and boxy, but the texturing is okay. I have a soft spot for The Lost Idea, being IMO the first tolerable TR3 custom level ever made." - Mortensmor (12-Nov-2022)
"With several reviews already amounting to a walkthrough, I’ll keep this short (and you’ll be glad to hear that I’ll also abstain from punning on the title): a training level for Lara, a test level for the builder, finished in under 10 minutes. The pool room sequence, brief though it may be, has better gameplay than any full-scale ‘swimming pool level’ released so far. Not much of a compliment, I know; but then, there’s not much of a level here, is there. Still, I’ve played much longer levels with much less gameplay, and this one even sports a few slightly tricky bits for added interest. You could do worse. You could do so much worse." - Mulf (30-Jun-2021)
"Short 5 minute level where you use a zip line (optional) ride the quad bike a do a little platforming. I have no idea what the lost idea was as playing the level provides no clue whatsoever." - Torry (09-Oct-2019)
"Using Lara's Home textures, this could be described like a dreamworld version of Lara's backyard I guess. Plenty of platforming to do throughout oversized boxy and empty rooms and even a small quadbike ride to zoom by a large gap. I got cocky and died twice along the final jumping sequence, so make of that what you will. 5 minutes. 09/19" - Treeble (06-Oct-2019)
"A home assault course level that teases with a few fun spots but never really delivers. There were some texturing oddities (flickers and paper thin walls as well as a few oddly rotated brick textures). The monkey swing puzzle was nice, and so was the sloped pillars in the pool. I enjoyed a bit of the quad bike, but overall kinda underwhelmed. Was hoping the ending was in fact another area to explore." - Chel (21-Oct-2018)
"Now this is the first playable level with the TR3-engine with an actual finish. And I really think it's good. I felt some kind of tomb raiding and experienced a tiny bit of almost everything that the TR3-engine allows to create. This lost idea seems like a wasted level that would've been good." - Nuri (24-Sep-2018)
"That was an enjoyable TR3 level . I really liked it . The element I mostly enjoyed within this game was the variety usage of textures . Also , the quad bike ride was a big fun . Thanks !" - Mehrbod (26-May-2018)
"I'm a little confused about that one. On one hand, the first and the last segments are rather ugly and uninspired, both in terms of aesthetics and gampelay. Even the use of buggy doesn't provide usual kicks and seems rather needless. The middle section, however, with the monkey swiniging puzzle and the pillars submerged in a pool was a pure bliss. Especially, the ancient ornaments covering the walls pleased my eyes. Definitely, a wasted potential. It could've been so much better." - PolishRaider (12-Mar-2018)
"Another short level made with the unofficial level editor. This time is not too bad, decent gameplay with a short ride with the quad, a marked monkeyswing and some jumps in the final rooms. Unfortunately, there are not enemies or pickups, the rooms are empty of objects, no musics to create atmosphere and no worked lights. The best, the texturization." - Jose (03-Nov-2017)
"A fairly monotonous level - there's a monkey swing section which is a bit tricky because the ceiling textures look pretty similar, and platforming straight after in a room with bathhouse textures, which is both a breath of fresh air from the drab brown walls and also extremely out of place.... but really, I wouldn't bother with this one." - Ejecta (08-Aug-2017)
"Short TR3 level with a quadbike, ziplines, monkey swing, jump over columns, movable blocks, a key and a box of flares. I liked the pool room. Maybe the author took the title from the TR3 extension The Lost Artifact, he only replaced the last word for idea, which is maybe his lack of ideas to the level." - alan (20-Apr-2017)
"This old level was very very short, but fun enough while it lasted. A quad bike ride and a monkeyswing and jump exercise and a slide to the end. Worth a look." - Ryan (24-Mar-2016)
"The author wants me to forgive the bugs. This is quite surprising because nobody else ever asked for such thing, at least not in the readme... and what is the definition of forgiveness in case of custom levels? How does it affect the rating if at all? Difficult, existential questions are not welcome as I just wanted to play. But fortunately I didn't find any bugs. None, not at all. Still, the game isn't about anything particular, so the title might either mean the author has formed this build upon his lost idea, or lost that idea outside of the game, both equally likely. The texturing is averagely lookable at, the lighting is totally default but the main problem is geometry consisting of raw trap container rooms which don't form any particular scenery, at least until we reach the mansion... what the heck has happened to Lara's pool? There is, however, a bright light of hope - if you notice two green bushes indicating a crawlspace instead of masking it, know this is what I call creativity. SUMMARY: A bit of jumping, biking and sliding in crude environment. I prefer this than the other way around but I would still like a level to be much more defined." - DJ Full (30-Jan-2016)
"Decided to play some of the older levels. This level actually has it's moments while not being unique or rememberable it atleast offers some fun tasks to do including the use of the "Quad Bike", jump sequence in the water room which i liked and the jump on the right tiles room. It's all over after only 7 minutes which sadly is a bit too short. Texturing is not done very well especially at the beginning with only the same green textures on all of the walls which also affects atmosphere as there is not much of that either. Do i recommend you to play it? Not really unless you can enjoy levels with badly textured surroundings and want a quick raid." - totizedger (14-Jul-2015)
"You know for a level called 'The Lost Idea', there isn't really anything demonstrated here that is really different from the norm or been drastically lost to the mists of time, as we find ourselves having to do rather mundane platforming challenges while traversing from one completely barren room to the next, with unappealing texturing and a generally non-existent atmosphere serving as the main attractions, in terms of visuals. While I'm sure that these issues were clearly not on the builder's to-do list when creating this one, this is simply nothing more than another test level that can be easily skipped over entirely, if you haven't already completed it in the 6-7 minutes required." - Ceamonks890 (02-Oct-2014)
"I think that this level was created more for testing the functionality of level editing, than for actually establishing a complete Tomb Raider level. Regardless of why it was created, there is still some fun to be had here; nothing noteworthy or even that compelling, but at least it's never boring. The slopes in the pool room were entertaining, and the quad bike was amusing. The level fails to engender any tangible atmosphere, but that probably wasn't the intent of the author. A skip-able level overall, but not a terrible waste of seven minutes." - Xela (16-Jul-2013)
"Short, easy level with quadbike ride. Not liked big, empty rooms and plain ground. Liked water room with slides and quadbike jump. Not bad level but it lacks music, atmosphere and story." - Casual Raider (10-Jul-2013)
"Liked some parts of the gameplay (slides, quadbike). But the atmosphere seen here isn't nice and there was nearly a lack of EO&S here. Maybe the author wanted to make something great and lost his idea?" - manarch2 (17-Sep-2010)
"It's looks like a test level or a demo. A but riding on the quad, some minute jumping on columns, and a huge sliding at the end. This. No enemies, no secrets. Empty rooms. No woods, no bushes, nothing." - Obig (30-May-2010)
"Didn't see any innovative or original things throughout that 5 minutes long level. Well, as usual, riding with the quad was big fun, but the texturing is very undiversified. Nothing really intresting." - rtrger (21-Apr-2010)
"Well, I did want to make a play on words on how The Lost Idea was lost on me here, or something along those lines, but failing to come up with anything that people wouldn't be able to blackmail me with in 10 years or so, I figured I'd just stick with a general description of my experience here. With taking a little over 5 minutes to see everything there is in the level on my first run, this illustrates the main drawback perfectly - namely, there just isn't that much to do or enjoy here. True - with a quad ride, some fun jumps on slopes, a semi-disguised monkey swing and 2 zipline rides, this offers a rather fair amount of tasks to occupy yourself with in relation to the game's duration, but why the author just didn't stick with it and make a longer level out of it, is beyond me. The looks have a more functional role here too, so there won't be many rooms that catch your attention, but overall they're not too shabby looking too. Not the worst choice for a 5 minute raid. Fun, but forgettable." - eTux (01-Mar-2010)
"This is the first TR3 custom level (I've tried TR4 custom levels, but until now, I didn't try the custom levels based on the other Tomb Raider games) I've ever played, and I have to say that in some ways, this level wasn't too bad, but at the same time, it was very short and quite bare (devoid of enemies, atmosphere, objects (except for a key)...). The zip lines and the quad bike were fun to use (although it took me quite a few attempts to jump over the chasm), the monkey swing puzzle took a while to figure out with the subtle differences between the ceiling patterns, and the obstacle course was fun. At least the brief gameplay made this level fun to play, in spite of the lack of atmosphere and shades of lighting." - Sakusha (14-Feb-2010)
"This was fun as long as it lasted, which was short. More a training-field than anything else. A pity that the builder didn't do a follow-up though" - Gerty (19-Jan-2010)
"A level by someone learning the basics of the unofficial level editor, and not doing badly. There are push blocks. Lara gets to ride the quad bike and make a jump. The pool room looks nice, and has slope jumps. Takes ten minutes or less. I thought there would be more quad bike riding." - dmdibl (17-Dec-2009)
"As I work my way through the old 2000 levels, this one is the most solid so far. No significant graphical issues, good lighting, sensibly proportioned areas and even a quad bike to play with! Little areas to go off and explore, and nice use of different heights to make you scale up and down the level area. Completed in 10 mins. Stiggy" - TheStig (14-Nov-2009)
"Not such a bad 7 minutes to play indeed, even though the lost idea is till lost on me here. But the linear run, drive, jump, monkey sequence that you make your way through in a relaxed fashion is a fun little diversion and I even managed to screw up that first Quad bike jump half a dozen times before finally getting across." - MichaelP (09-Oct-2009)
"This is really good fun for the 7 minutes it lasts.You do two zip-lines;hunt for a key (obvious);perform a big jump on the Quadbike;solve a monkey-swing puzzle;perform some pleasing jumps in a water room and end with a straightforward 'avoid the nasty columns' sequence. Everything looks basic and un-polished;but the fun is definately there. It just doesn't last long enough!" - Orbit Dream (24-Sep-2009)
"Whilst it lasts, this isn't at all bad, but unfortunately it only lasts just under ten minutes. There's a bit more diversity of gameplay than in the majority of these little TR3 levels, including some quite nice (although very easy) jumping, sliding, bouncing, monkey swinging and quad biking. Plus, there are a couple of completely unnecessary but oh such fun zip lines at the beginning, so I just had to have a go on those of course. No enemies and I didn't find any secrets." - Jay (23-Sep-2009)
"Not much to say about this short level. The title fits as it seems the builder has not had any ideas to put some more gameplay in here. There is only a key to find, a quad bike ride and some jumping to do. I reached the end after 8 minutes." - Jerry (12-Sep-2009)
"A straightforward raid with no enemies for Lara, set with the jungle atmosphere but with the textures of the mansion. I don't know what exactly is that lost idea, there is a few in this level which I hoped would last longer , but all was done in less than 10 minutes. You can use a couple of ziplines at the beginning although they are not necessary , then you get to use a quad and make a very long but not difficult jump over a deep chasm, do a puzzle with monkeyswing, negotiate a good water room with slopes and jumps, and another room with pillars some of which are trapped. I found a secret goodie but no secret. Lighting is missing. Unambitious , and too short but entertaining the time it lasted." - eRIC (05-Sep-2009)