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The Lost Ruby by StormChaser

Ceamonks890 4 5 5 4
DJ Full 6 8 6 5
eRIC 7 8 7 6
Gorty 6 6 6 4
Jay 7 8 7 6
Jorge22 8 8 8 8
Jose 7 7 8 7
manarch2 7 6 7 5
Orbit Dream 6 7 7 6
Phil 7 8 8 8
Ryan 7 7 7 7
Treeble 6 7 8 8
 
release date: 22-Sep-2018
# of downloads: 104

average rating: 6.69
review count: 12
 
review this level

file size: 163.00 MB
file type: TR3
class: Jungle
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
petertedstone@btinternet.com

Reviewer's comments
"A nice and straightforward adventure set in India with elements from the South Pacific levels, such as the kayak and komodo dragons. There's quite a fair share of things to do here, but none of which is anything to write home about (and the two pushblock puzzles, one after the other, became borderline tedious). I like how the author also set up a final boss fight, and by following his suggestion I had plenty of ammo for the MP5 by the time I got to him — so much, in fact, I downed the boss before he even finished his "activating" animation. All in all, this was a nice level, but perhaps not up to the standards we've come to expect from this author. Also, at least one waterfall near the beginning was running uphill, which I thought was funny, but obviously that didn't detract from the experience as a whole. 90 minutes, 3 secrets. 01/20" - Treeble (19-Jan-2020)
"Being lara's fellow, paddling through the yellow, swimming through the muddy, being Lara's buddy, rowing down the sectors, pressing arrow vectors, kayak very stucky in the canyon blocky, found the final item, very very frighten, acceptably blended, kinda recommended." - DJ Full (07-Jun-2019)
"I've had my share of difficulties lately with TR2 and TR3 levels. The most recent TR2 level I attempted to play wouldn't load on one computer and caused the other computer to freeze solid. I was finally able to get it going on one of the computers (but not the other), but I found the graphics aesthetically distasteful, and when I noted this in my review a couple of our esteemed builders took offense. My problems with StormChaser's recent TR3 levels were different, but no less distressing. The game loaded just fine, but the image was displayed sideways on my screen. Not wishing to risk a broken neck trying to play under such circumstances, I was about to give it up until Ryan posted a helpful hint stating that deleting the config.txt from the download could solve crashing issues. I tried that, and the game then displayed right side up, allowing me to play as intended (same with StormChaser's later TR3 release). Moral of story: Technical issues can sometimes be avoided, builders, by not including nonessential files with your level download. Back to The Lost Ruby. I had no problem with the graphics in this game. In fact, TR3 was my favorite commercial release for a long time, and I never had any issues playing custom TR2 levels until recently. But the monotonous green tunnels here became tiring after a while, so my attention waned a bit until things picked up near the end of my two-hour raid. There's a nifty pushblock puzzle that kept me scratching my head, even with the clues provided in trustworthy José's walkthrough. Oddly enough, you pick up a half dozen or more rockets as a reward for finding the secrets along the way, but you never find the rocket launcher itself. At least I didn't. That makes life a bit more difficult when you encounter that boss enemy at the end, but thankfully he's relatively easy to kill. In short, you get a lot of bang for your buck, but I didn't consider this one to be in the same league with StormChaser's earlier TR4 levels." - Phil (15-Mar-2019)
"Nice TR3 level in the jungle format with everything you can expect from it, namely a couple of interesting pushblock puzzles, a short kayak ride, a Sheevah, soldiers, monkeyswinging, trees and temples and an easy final boss (if you have the right weapon) before the fires, the blades, the spiked ceiling, a zip line and whatever else I don't remember right now. Solidly built with the right TR3 atmosphere and on top of it you collect a ruby. Enjoyable." - Jorge22 (21-Dec-2018)
"This solidly built TR3 level offers everything you would expect from the jungle level format. There are friendly monkeys, a Shiva, a well executed jaunt in the kayak, spiked wall traps, keys and even a boss battle against Tony. All of these aspects are presented quite nicely here, but I did find the visual side of things a bit underwhelming. The rooms are textured rather repetitively, the object decoration is a bit lacking and the architecture is a bit too plain for my liking, although I have definitely seen worse under the TR3 engine in terms of aesthetics. I also thought that the enemy attacks, while varied, were a bit too repetitive. Still, if you can overlook these points, it's a valiant and playable effort, and it's always nice to see a builder from the early days of the LE return after so long." - Ryan (24-Oct-2018)
"There are unquestionably fun and creative gameplay elements within this vast level - unfortunately,most of them only turn up once you get close to the end.For the most part,you trudge along via oversized rooms,sliding slopes,and interminable climbs and corridors;wondering how much longer it will be before the Ruby in question ceases to be lost. Gameplay tends to be of the 'find a way to leave a vast area,in order to enter the next' nature;pepped up by the occasional enemy encounter. Objects are used sparingly,leaving each location feeling generally barren and empty;while not much appears to have been done with the lighting.The vintage TR3 textures can only go so far toward creating an immersive atmosphere;especially when the long-winded nature of the gameplay allows the player far too much time to look around with very little in the immediate vicinity to stimulate the interest. If this had been an hour shorter,it would have been far more enjoyable;but,for me,the fun moments were too little,and appeared too late." - Orbit Dream (12-Oct-2018)
"Nice to see the return of one of the old builders. This time with a very complete TR3 jungle level with a lineal and entertaining gameplay. The jungle areas are well ornated with all kind of plantas, but the temple areas are very empty of objects. The first secrets are easy to find, but the last ones are well hidden (I only found 4). Well balanced enemies and no much items to pick up so keep an eye on the inventory and reserve ammo and medipacks for the final areas. The only bad detail I found was the unmarked monkeyswing in one of the jungle areas, and also you can reach the end of the world in another jungle area too. Good use of cameras and musics, the worst was the monotonous texturization in the huge rooms; not badd applied, but repetitive 'cause the big surfaces. All in all a good return from this prolific builder. I hope Peter will continue building soon. Welcome back!" - Jose (08-Oct-2018)
"This is a perfectly serviceable TR3 jungle level, with all the usual elements firmly in place - kayak, Shivas, monkeys you can chose to shoot or not etc. Problem is, we really have pretty much seen it all before and nowadays I find it hard to enthuse about an engine that seems so clunky. Possibly I'm being unfair and certainly if you like TR3 levels then this is a completely blameless offering that does tick all the nostalgia boxes. I will say I liked the rather cool ending with Lara exiting by zip wire." - Jay (08-Oct-2018)
"Another TR3 Indian styled level that offers absolutely nothing new to the player. IT stays true to its roots. Blank, empty and monotone rooms everywhere. I know it’s a TR3 level, but in 2018 you need to give or be 150% better than everyone else to stand out with the old engine, which the author didn’t managed. For a first release its good, but I can’t say I enjoyed it." - Gorty (03-Oct-2018)
"Concerning the gameplay, I thought there was a fairly decent mix with a fun cayak ride at the start, traps in the middle and more puzzle based gameplay towards the end, and even slightly less interesting passages did not disturb the impression too much. There are also some nifty timed runs and a few sneaky openings so indeed a bit of everything. I also liked the usage of enemies, secrets were a bit predictably placed at most. The object design felt a little barren and more could've been done to design the otherwise quite empty halls. The looks are also a bit bland, with a too repetitive colour scheme (though lighting sometimes is technically nice) and wallpapered texturing in the interior areas; the outside parts were overall nicer to look at. There were also several areas where you could easily reach the top of the map. Architecturally there are some interesting ideas and sounds and cameras are also decently used on the whole. A good comeback level from Peter, but there's still some room for improvement, especially in the visuals. 50 minutes." - manarch2 (02-Oct-2018)
"Indian TR3 level with mostly a straightforward progression , rather user-friendly except for a couple of sneaky moments that can cost some time. A long level with good duration the first play time. To sum it up the level can be divised in 3 parts : the first involves the use of the canoe this part is thoughtfully made , then a section with jungle and an underground journey , and finally temples with notably a couple of puzzles with movable blocks of which one is in 3 dimensions and a boss at the end. I fought the last foes with only the pistols , there was not enough ammos for the uzis and shotgun (i did not found the other weapons which were certainly in secrets areas). A few traps and many types of enemies : baddies , vultures , tigers , cobras , a couple of lizards , a Shiva and a boss , also monkeys that are not agressive except if you shoot at them. There are some good things in this level , but it is a bit too much straightforward for my taste , also it is too much dark in the underground section, so the fun factor was moderate." - eRIC (01-Oct-2018)
"I'm sorry, but for the builder's first release under the TR3 engine, this was aggressively mediocre. Gameplay involves plenty of backtracking across unconvincing, lifeless environments that ultimately fail to impress(with uninspired tasks, half-hearted object placement, repetitive texturing & flat lighting effects, which combine to make the mundanity of the general experience all the more painfully apparent). Sure, enemy and music choices are fitting for the India theme as expected. But what's the point when the rest of the game simply doesn't hold up under scrutiny? So in conclusion, best to just skip this one. Hopefully Peter's next level under this version of the engine will better play to its strengths." - Ceamonks890 (25-Sep-2018)