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The Tropical Stone by misho98

afzalmiah 10 9 8 8
Christian 8 8 8 8
Daffy 10 9 9 8
DJ Full 9 9 8 8
dmdibl 9 9 8 9
eRIC 7 7 7 7
Gerty 8 9 8 8
izzynoodles 8 7 8 8
Jay 10 9 9 9
Jorge22 9 7 8 8
Jose 9 9 9 9
Josey 10 8 7 7
manarch2 8 8 8 8
MichaelP 9 9 9 9
Orbit Dream 8 9 9 8
Phil 9 9 9 9
Ryan 9 9 8 8
sonnyd83 10 9 8 9
TheStig 8 8 9 9
 
release date: 04-Aug-2012
# of downloads: 101

average rating: 8.46
review count: 19
 
review this level

file size: 43.50 MB
file type: TR4
class: South Pacific
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
michael98@abv.bg

Reviewer's comments
"A compact yet complete adventure where things happen fast and even pushblocks aren't boring. Could use more color/contrast in light, a bit more love in texturing and a bit more margin to mask the edge of the map, but everything else is good or even great. Highly recommended to give this one a try." - DJ Full (08-Dec-2023)
"Some interesting puzzles and traps in this South Pacific style adventure. I admire being shown in the beginning that your overall goal is to get into the big temple instead of the usual 'find the key to move onto the next area', it made it a nice change to the norm. I also liked the contrast of brightly coloured tones of the outdoor areas in comparison to duller greys and browns inside the temple rooms. My one complaint is the timed run through the fire - that was VERY tough unless you use up medpacks and hop into the water. Took 2 hours to play" - izzynoodles (04-May-2022)
"This is another entertaining and substantial adventure that I found to match my raiding skills very nicely. The start is quite simple and basic (more in looks than gameplay), but from then on the puzzles, traps, jumps and timed runs become more challenging and entertaining to get through, and I especially enjoyed the crate and torch puzzles. The settings are also more pleasing and the six secrets are nice to go for as well, as you can then access a sixth just before the boss fight. There are mentions of bugs, but I only encountered one mildly annoying crash and I started a new game, then loaded the iffy save to solve the issue. Recommended without a doubt." - Ryan (01-Oct-2017)
"A solid level here. I must admit my initial impressions weren't great as the outdoor space feels a little shallow. Once you get past this though the majority of the tombs are well lit and nicely crafted. Gameplay is nicely balanced though I did find the jumping flame timer quite frustrating (in the end I used a large number of medi-packs just to get past it!). There's plenty of raptors ready to nibble at you, but overall I think the balance is well done. The most notable gremlin was a flying shark which was a bit of a shock! All in all I netted just under 2 hours from The TropicalStone1. Not perfect, but recommended, Stiggy :)" - TheStig (19-Feb-2015)
"The important lesson (again) is let your level get tested before releasing as I still encountered some bugs. Not sure if there is a revised version as I played the one I got when it was released. Not that I couldn't play the level to the end but it does irritate me a bit. Although I have to admit the flying shark was quite funny, I did feel a bit sorry for them to be cooped up. For the rest it is rather a nice level to play as well, as some areas were pleasing to the eyes. Not so much in favour of a multitude of enemies but I still could kill them with Lara's trusted guns. I got all the secrets and it is well worth to go hunt for them, as the last one is a nice prize Lara took back with her in her backpack." - Gerty (10-Oct-2014)
"This is a wonderful and quite long level at 90 minutes and will please the heart of every classic raider among us. There are so many things to do and they are nicely varied, so that it never gets boring. All the elements are there - block puzzles with torch, timed runs, mirror room, tree branch jumping, jumps and levers combined into puzzles and a boss fight at the end. There are actually rather many enemies throughout to keep you busy and I liked how the 5 secrets were added and gave you secret number 6 as a reward if you found them all. Especially at the beginning, the builder nicely looks you in an area until you have solved it, which makes progression focused and avoids frustration. Later on, maybe the occasional extra camera hint could have been useful. But all in all the friendly and solidly textured and lit areas keep you in a good mood throughout this entire adventure and I can only recommend it. Looking forward to Part 2 very much!" - MichaelP (10-Feb-2013)
"This is a long Adventure (1 hour 30) in a Tropical setting that resembles a bit to Peru, but it may takes place on an island. The author makes you sure you will be busy all along this raid , there are many levers and doors to open, varied puzzles , traps , nothing on the heavy side. Many enemies too. The objects and enemies fit well in the setting with the big exception of the sharks , and those were quite useless ( except for the place where Lara has to pull 2 underwater switches , but how these have managed to get into the cages ? ) as they were often stuck immediately and you just shoot them from above. I saw a funny bug with a parrot on fire in the trees area, I saw this fire strangely placed on a branch previously , then the parot came and took the fire :] Another bug is after solving the multi movable blocks to get access to the upper switch, I moved it again to the other way to get above the waterfall I missed , but it was not climbable anymore. The secrets are placed well generally. Good textures , and good decoration of the rooms , for example I like much the greenery on these pink/grey textures. The texturing could be improved a bit , by rotating them when needed or segmenting the blocks which are neither square nor triangular. The lighting is imo the main point where the author should concentrate for his next level to improve the atmosphere , as there were many rooms without any, however the level manages to look rather nice except for the outside area which looks too amateurish. Many rooms are not spacious , and you need to kill enemies in those , the last section of the level is the best , rooms are more spacious and I felt more at ease here. [ Plus intricate areas of small rooms can bring more problems, for example , Lara burned because there was a flame emitter in the room just below ! ] I like quite much running up that ramp with the boulders , and the MP5 is a great weapon ; with that , raptors skeletons or natives are quickly get rid of. A good and recommanded level , not difficult , with plenty of things to do. I would maybe have prefered less but in more spacious rooms , but that's maybe just me and anyway the end section is promising in that aspect." - eRIC (29-Sep-2012)
"A wonderful south-pacific-atmosphere, a lot of colourful tropical fish are welcoming the player. The central structure at the beach will be opened after quite a lot of tasks and collecting items. Gameplay up to this point is characterisized by (in my opinion too) many sequences following the procedure of pulling a switch to open a door with the next switch opening the next door with a switch behind....But all in all it's an exciting adventure in a well created atmosphere." - Christian (21-Sep-2012)
"I had some of the funniest bugs while playing this game (a flying blue shark, warriors disappearing into walls to reappear later on or to a lesser extent the final lightning shooting lady firing at everywhere except for Lara) and a not so funny bug that made me have to load the game dozens of times until it finally didn't crash all the time when starting again. Other than that, I did enjoy the sceneries which were built basically correctly and interestingly if not perfectly and the whole adventure with its well balanced actions including puzzles, traps, exploring... Let's just say I'm looking forward to part 2 despite the bugs - that, I suppose, means I deem it recommended." - Jorge22 (04-Sep-2012)
"For me, a level like this approaches the ultimate in raiding. It provides gameplay that's not too easy or not too frustratingly difficult, the surroundings are well lighted and skillfully crafted, and it leaves the player with a sense of accomplishment and a desire for more when it's finally over. Despite its high scores, I'm surprised there have not been more reviews after nearly a month following its release. Moreover, no one else stepped forward to do the walkthrough, so that was my primary motivation for playing it. This is one of those rare levels that I could play on my own without resorting to the stuck threads or someone else's walkthrough, and I found that everything is laid out with foresight and care, but the builder does require the player to keep his eyes open and do some thinking on his own. Vimmers helped me locate a few of the secrets (and I stumbled across one that was not doucumented anywhere else), which are not really necessary for any purpose other than the satisfaction of finding them. The objective for most of the game is to find and retrieve two red gems in order to open a gate that you see when the level begins. When you accomplish that, you assume the game will be over, but I was delighted to find an additional and substantial segment beyond that gate. There are many points of favorable comparison between this level and the one I played previously, Lost Temple of Zeus. The main difference is that the download for Tropical Stone is less than one fourth the size of the Zeus download. For my money, less is definitely more. You'll enjoy both levels, however, so play (and review) them." - Phil (02-Sep-2012)
"I really enjoyed the balance of gameplay in this level - for me, there was just the right amount of everything. Puzzles, agility tests (loved the timed run with the torch) and enemies (good, even if the sharks did seem just a bit out of place) just seemed to come together in a neat and fluid way that made the game flow smoothly and the time pass quickly. It's always a good sign when a level leaves you wanting more and, since this is entitled part 1, I really am hoping for more. The only slight problem I had with the game was the tendency for savegames to crash from time to time, but luckily starting a new game and then reloading did the trick, apart from one occasion when I had to use quite an old savegame as it was the only one that functioned. It you can possibly play the game in one go I really would recommend doing so. Great fun." - Jay (10-Aug-2012)
"I enjoyed this, and had no problems playing when using the new download. Unlike other reviewers, I found the level a little uneven. There is an obvious start to search for the first red stone, and this was the route that Lara took. This leads to a secession of rooms where the solution to continue is always local, perhaps a bit of a set piece, so in some ways I wanted things to move a little faster here. The route for the second red gem (starting with the pillar jumps) showed more flair, both in design and gameplay. After the two red gems are placed one might think the level will end, but it continues, and for me this part had a more involved layout and ideas that got still better. So if one judges more on one's impressions at the end, this level would merit higher scores. Again, since other reviews have mentioned errors, I never encountered a single glitch, or any odd sharks. After placing the two red gems, there was a crocodile that insisted on hogging the passageway that Lara has to swim through, but this takes only patience to lure him out. I didn't think the secrets were as simple as the author claims they are, in his comment about just looking around for side passages. In fact, I thought the secrets were well done, with just the right amount of difficulty, and helped to keep players engaged. There could have been a few more camera shots for a couple switches, just to reassure players. All in all, good fun, nice puzzles, and a great start for a continuation. Two hours of play. I hope we get to see more of the TR3 coastal environment." - dmdibl (10-Aug-2012)
"This raid begins in a beautifully created enclave, separated from the rest of the world by high cliffs. The water contains exotic fish and really draws the player in. Of course, we soon realise this is inspired by TR3 when we hear the distinctive echoing soundtrack from that game. The gameplay starts almost immediately, you'd of thought so many tasks could not be squeezed into one room! Here, doing one thing opens a door, which gives you access to a push block, which triggers something else, all resulting in a key to open another door. The texturing is almost immaculate with very few mistakes if any to spoil it, it does feel more like a coastal level should feel, not like the TR3 levels, which looked a lot like they was set too far in land. I like how goodies don't just look like they've been left there deliberately, rather it's next to a skeleton which makes it more realistic. I also like how the switches are framed nicely with an appropriate texture, sometimes builders just have switches on a solid wall. I couldn't find a crowbar after a long search, but found an area with some tribesman instead, they're rather difficult to outrun though, and one of them got trapped underwater! I assume this is the intended route. There's plenty of tests of Lara's acrobatic skills here, and solving several puzzles gives you access to another puzzle. I do like how the architecture changes when you've finished one bit, allowing you to get back where you came from. All leads to a couple of ancient stones which then allows you to collect a red gem. This level is almost like a Russian doll in that every small task you carry out is part of a slightly bigger one and so on, I like that. After reading on the forums, it appears the area with the crowbar is blocked off by mistake so downloaded a revised data file and everything worked ok. There's a couple of keys to collect here, all protected by traps, there's a timed run to enjoy too, through deadly flames. I'm not all that keen on mirror rooms, as I never think to look in there, in this case Lara doesn't appear in the mirror so it's more confusing. There's also a minor bug in a room with water and dinosaurs in it, Lara can walk or float under water. I enjoyed climbing up the giant tree and enjoyed the views, that is until I climbed back down again and found an unpleasant surprise waiting for me! Another red gem for your collection. After quite a long time, you find your way into your intended destination. There's a problem with the water current further on so you need to copy the old data file back in. If you thought it couldn't get any better, there's a great final showdown, just remember to save your bullets up, then sadly you have to leave this paradise, but you have a tropical stone to take home. You certainly get a lot of gameplay for your time. There are plenty of opponents in this level, including baby dinosaurs, larger dinosaurs, crocodiles, sharks, bats, shivas and tribesman, spices things up a bit. This new interpretation of the Coastal Village style levels has much to offer, especially the graphics and atmosphere which are more detailed than the TR3 coastal level, all coming from a young level builder, I'm very impressed. Net gameplay 2 hours 15 minutes ." - sonnyd83 (09-Aug-2012)
"(My first review in a LONG time) I enjoyed this level a lot. It was quite a lot longer than I expected but that's a good thing because it's a great level. I found the gameplay very great, I loved everything about the gameplay. However as the reviewers previoiusly mentioned, I did find quite a few bugs. This wasn't a big bother to me though as solving them was easy or they were very small bugs that did no trouble at all. There were quite a few enemies are traps in this level and some of them made me jump. There were 6 secrets in this level but I only found 1 :/. Anyway I thought this level was a big improvement from the builder's previous levels and I'm very looking forward to the next part." - afzalmiah (09-Aug-2012)
"This is a solid 80 minute raid and surely the best level of the builder up till now. The atmosphere is very diverse - from the warm hub area to the rather darkish cave/temple settings Lara has to explore. I think even if the setups of the level repeats itself pretty often (finding one item each in two different paths to place them and proceed) I really enjoyed the game most of the time and the different riddles in the sub areas were quite fun with block puzzles, torch usage and trap rooms. However the game suffers from a few rather obvious mistakes the builder has made, e.g. I had to switch between two different tr4 files to finish this level because one let me being stuck completely and the other one contained only black objects. There were a few sound issues as some objects like doors didn't have sound when they opened; I missed at parts a few camera hints; texturing at parts felt a little crude and there were odd end-of-the-world moments in the outside areas. Elseway this level was really enjoyable and the side quest for the five well hidden statues and, when all are found, a "super secret" was quite a nice gameplay enhancer, only make sure that next time that the level is playable and free of game-stopping bugs before you release it. I don't know if you let your levels beta-test, but be sure that the ultimate result, if there are small differences or larger in comparison to the penultimate level files, gets tested again..." - manarch2 (06-Aug-2012)
"As Orbit Dream said, perhaps this level was not properly tested before the final release, 'cause I found a couple of bugs (not serious): in the forest area a shark went out of the water and attacked Lara from midair; another bug in the five moveable boxes puzzle room, one of the boxes got stucked in the niche and I was not able to take it out, also another boxes got stucked in certain places an Lara refused to move them in certain directions. Fortunately you don't need all boxes to solve the puzzle. Evenmore the game crashed a couple of times when Lara return to the starting area. Except for this, the game was quite entertaining, full of action, fresh puzzles and easy to play with variety of tasks and a nice and well worked environment. Recommended. Good work misho!" - Jose (06-Aug-2012)
"A very enjoyable game, thanks! From other reviews and the forum, I understood that other players have found some serious bugs; but I found only the "flying shark" one mentioned by Jose, and considered so funny that crazy shark jumping to the sky and going for Lara, that my Gameplay & Puzzles score remained the same: 10 - for I loved both, and considered them a very good display of creativity. On the other hand, the game lacks beauty (except for those colored little fishes), the lighting and textures could be better in some underwater and closed places, and some more camera hints would be welcome. Still, a very recommended game if you want real fun." - Josey (06-Aug-2012)
"I started this level of curiosity and I finished it without realizing the time, took in the game, I really wanted to go after. This is for me the sign of a very good game or you do not get bored for a minute, There is always something to do and it's very varied. For the enemy could be found curious to find sharks in a temple in Peru but hey, why not as it is fun. For decoration, it is fairly standard and the author still some small way to go to the lighting and textures. You still have to point out a great improvement over previous levels, clearly misho98 is on track and should be commended and encouragement for his work, it's a level playing without a doubt!" - Daffy (05-Aug-2012)
""A salutary lesson for this builder: make sure your level actually plays properly before submitting it for upload." This the opening sentence from my review of this builders first release.I repeat it here because this salutary lesson has apparently not been learned,as this level (as originally released) is unplayable without the relevant updated tr4 file - which then prevented it to be completable without reverting to the original tr4 file! It is for this reason that I have deducted two points from what would otherwise have been a perfect 10 for gameplay.For heaven's sake,please don't let this become a habit - HAVE YOUR LEVEL PROPERLY TESTED before releasing it.The gameplay is otherwise brilliant - beautifully devised and inventive;satisfying and engrossing;never too difficult nor challenging (a fine line to attain) but always entertaining.Interiors are well textured,although more could have been done with the lighting in order to create a rather more potent atmosphere;while enemies were highly entertaining and varied (although is it me,or have those raptors become easier to kill?)The original TR3 music was well incorporated,and the secrets were not only well concealed but a requirement for a bonus prize.The only visual disappointment was the opening outdoor area,which was rather too obviously a room with sky textures applied to the ceiling. Nonetheless,this is a superb level.I only hope that Part 2 will be bug free - as I'm certain it will be equally brilliant!" - Orbit Dream (05-Aug-2012)