Back to Sophia's Office

 

Level by Jordan

 

Walkthrough by dmdibl (David Dibble)

 

 

Preparations For Play

 

As downloaded, this level does not allow players to save their games. For those who wish a challenge, this walkthrough will try to warn of danger spots―and there are many. For those who would prefer the convenience of saving, create a backup folder and move script.dat and tomb4.exe into it. Now download a concurrently released level, Larabiker301-GoldenHeartsDemo.zip, from trle.net. From it extract script.dat and tomb4.exe, move both into the folder for Back to Sophia's Office. The script.dat contains the name for the data file, so go into the data folder, and rename cortyard.tr4 to tut1.tr4.

 

Now you can save your games. A drawback is that the original script.dat showed the level name as "Back to Sophia's Office," whereas the substitute script.dat will show it as "Race For the Iris." Pickups will also not be correctly labeled. This walkthrough uses the author's labels.

 

A Costly Secret

 

Sophia attacks from behind. Shooting her has no effect, so turn around and run through the closed door texture from where she came. Enter a room with a water pool in the middle, and also another Sophia. Run diagonally across the room to the NE corner and shoot a little box on the wall (barbwire comes up, which is the best Lara can do, to defuse a spike trap). Dive into water, throw an underwater lever NW, which causes a security card to appear on the bottom. Swim to it, pick up High Level Access Key.

 

Try to draw the two Sophias away from the NW corner. When the way is clear, Lara has to run through barbwire, and use the card in the corner. I found that this could take as much as a large medipack plus a small medipack. (If Sophia starts attacking and pushing Lara around in the barbwire the situation is hopeless.) The adjacent doors open, revealing corner shelves. Search them from in front for Secret #1, Golden Rose.

 

More Goodies

 

Run out of this room and down a corridor to the corner to start a flyby. See a security guard waiting. Take a step back―Lara's back to the wall―in order to search shelves in the corner, find 3x small medipack, 2x large medipack, laser sight, and 2x revolver ammo. The red vials are small medipacks, the blue are large medipacks.

 

De-Fuse Trap

 

Run down the corridor toward the guard. You can shoot him or ignore him, as he will do nothing. Run straight through the door, stop just inside to pick up Knife (crowbar). Use it to remove the center fuse of the three it lay in front of. Skip the next set of fuses, but search the next ones to get two more fuses, a total of three in all. This removes a barbwire trap.

 

Now go around the room to the other side. Here the barbwire is up. Before it was down, and was a trap that Lara couldn't get past. Now she can run through it, although she will take damage, so run into the next room.

 

Computer Spike Trap

 

On the right wall (N) is a place for a card. Around on the close left is a place for a plug (E wall). DON'T go near the computer terminal in the south; it is a barbwire trap. Instead go to its left, into the SE corner. At the back, on a tile that looks like it has a matrix of plates or emblems on it, pick up a Cortyard Access Key, a computer disk. But don't get any ideas about running to the terminal around the corner.

 

Instead pull back the nearby pedestal with the glowing greenish gem on top (i.e. move it once to south). Now look down at Lara's feet, where she got the computer disk there is a security card, High Level Access Key.

 

Second Golden Rose

 

Go to the N wall and use the card. This sets roller blades in motion, but more importantly, it causes blocks to go up in the SW corner. Go to the alcove there and climb up blocks. Go to the left, a wall torch lights for illumination. Drop down in front of it to search shelves from one pace back to find Secret #2, Golden Rose.

 

What Is It With Computer Traps?

 

Pull back up in front. It is sort of safe to approach the computer terminal in the far corner right (NE). That means that Lara places the disk, and then immediately back flips in order not to be killed. After the roller blade passes, jump back to the terminal and pick up a yellow plug, Key of VCI, that appeared on the ground in front of it. An overhead machine gun starts up, quickly drop back, return to the previous room.

 

Go across to the other side (E) and use the plug. Then step back and pick up a computer disk, Cortyard Access Key, at Lara's feet. Now it is finally safe to turn around, go south and use the computer terminal there. A gate to the right opens up.

 

Courtyard

 

Go in the south gate. Careful, as many of the tiles in the back (S) part of this new room are traps. Avoid them for now. Also notice a hole in the ceiling. Lara can climb up there, but she merely reaches areas that she will be seeing later when she comes back, and drops through that hole as an exit.

 

Ready SE Gate

 

Go to the left side to find a gate and a curious red object. Go into the central area, see an ankh on a pedestal. Lara isn't meant to get it; rather, pull back this pedestal. Where it was, pick up Element 115. If you look at the SE gate you'll see that barbwire just sprang up. There was a spike trap there, but now Lara will be able to run through the barbwire (spikes).

 

There is a wooden crate by the ankh pedestal. Jump to the north of the crate, between it and the console. Push the crate south. Get a large computer disk that was underneath it, Key of Back to the Tony's Room. Jump up onto the wooden crate and go straight south to use the large computer disk, hear the gate in the SE open. DON'T go there (remember the fire and barbwire traps here). Instead retrace the route that Lara just took, back to the wooden crate, jump down there and go out of the central area and right. Run through the barbwire and into the SE gate.

 

A Baffling Area

 

Climb up the wall ahead. Lara passes through the ceiling and it becomes solid, she can now stand on it. Look ahead, then turn around (N), pull up there, and go inside to turn a wheel on the right side.

 

Now this part I just don't understand. The screen shakes. When Lara walks out there is a fallen block below her. If she tries to jump onto that block she falls through. There is a monkey swing where Lara uses the wheel, but the monkey swing falls short of reaching the other side. The walls to the side of the monkey swing are climbable, but they also fall short of reaching the other side.

 

So Lara ignores all that stuff. It may be safest to get down and crawl under the block, then Lara ends up sliding down, jumping over a trap to a platform in front. From here she can crouch, look back below the slide she just took, but there is nothing discernible down there, and no hidden crawlspaces. I guess the barbwire below her is only a trap in case she falls.

 

So basically Lara just slides down, jumps to a platform, and climbs a north wall in front of her. Go straight, and out a glowing door on the left. See lots of roller blades.

 

Roller Blade Room

 

Press a wall button on Lara's left as she comes out the door. Then go across the room, middle south, to use a floor lever. Come back N straight to use a switch on a pillar. Climb the ladder in the middle N to reach and pull a jump switch.

 

Come out and go right of the pillar (if Lara goes left she may get run over). Go across to a roller blade that is next to the one at the end. Step toward it and it rolls away from Lara, while the roller blades to its side roll toward her, missing her on either side. Ignore Tony, as he's hung up. Go right into the corner (SE) to turn a wheel.

 

Go to the N side of the central pillar, step inside it and pick up Infada Stone. Now run back to the wheel Lara just turned (SE corner), and to the left of it pass through a wall. Turn to the right and with Lara's back against the wall use Ctrl on the shelves, get revolver, flares, a bonus laser sight, 3x small medipack, and 2x large medipack.

 

No Way Out?

 

Well, too bad. Lara is trapped permanently, and the game had just started....Or have Lara stand back by the wall she came through. Look up to the west using the headset to see what looks like a glass pane blocking a high corridor. Combine laser sight with revolver, aim up high west to break that glass pane. A chain materializes. Climb up it and back flip into a high corridor.

 

Getting Back

 

Run down to the right bend. Apparently the red corridor is toxic, so sprint through it, the green corridor is safe. Go up to the door and pick up a plug that is in front of it, Key of Back to the Puna's Room, and the door opens. There is more on the opposite side, but that is for later. Climb down carefully into the hole, drop down into the so-called courtyard.

 

West Gate Opens

 

Turn to the outside (W) and drop down to the floor. Use the plug by the gate, go inside. Once more climb up through a ceiling, and it becomes a floor that Lara can stand on. Be very careful here as there is death waiting at every step. Overhead, just beyond the pedestal with the gem, is a crushing block waiting to fall. The entire walkway is spike trapped, and yet Lara has no other way to go.

 

Spike Gauntlet

 

Go around the pedestal and no farther. Push it back onto the brownish face tile that Lara just pulled up through, hear Sophia laugh which seems to indicate that Lara is on the right track. Or is this necessary? Maybe Sophia is just a cheerful person. Now Lara wants to get the pedestal to the other end of the walkway, but first needs to clear it of traps.

 

Run to the middle of the grey grate floor tile, but no farther. Turn around. A crushing block fell, missing Lara. Look west, down at the floor. See the red strip and green strip, left and right borders? Put the front of Lara's boot up against the green strip. If her toes are on it that is too far, as it may set off the spikes. Roll. Lara should roll onto the next tile as barbwire (spikes) shoot up behind her. Repeat this procedure for each of the grey grate floor tiles.

 

Also do the same thing when Lara reaches the brown face tile at the end: don't step on it, but put toes near it, and roll onto it.

 

Pedestal Opens the Way

 

Now go back to the beginning, crawl under the crushing block, reach the pedestal. Pull it backward. Lara will pull the pedestal back through the crushing block and down the walkway to the second face tile. Meanwhile, Sophia seems to be having a wonderful time. Get around to the other side and push the pedestal to the end, onto a pink tile.

 

The wall disappears. Slide down, climb up, drop down on the other side. Dramatic music indicates that squishing blocks are ahead.

 

Moving Blocks

 

Lara can run to the end and jump diagonally to the west wall. Follow the striped path along the wall. Turn right where it turns right. Jump forward to avoid a moving block.

 

Now take the striped path along the east wall. Where it branches, look forward: straight ahead is almost impossible. So go left to follow that striped path. Run along the west wall, stopping at the square next to the corner. Turn to the right (E). When the block ahead of Lara moves away, she wants to make a jump angling left (sort of NE). The north block, the one on her left, may hit her in the back and simply propel her forward. When I did this Lara made it cleanly through.

 

Puna's Room

 

Lara runs through the wall and STOPS. Wait for a roller blade to go by before taking a step forward. Now go left to a seated Puna, and right to pick up his Ora Dagger from the ground.

 

Continue to the NW corner, through the translucent wall, pick up 3x revolver ammo. The next stair up has 3x small medipack, and 3x large medipack.

 

Third Secret

 

Go up the stairs to the hole. There is a secret below, but it is protected by barbwire. Jump over the hole. Turn left, climb the wall, reach and pull a jump switch. Now it is safe to drop down into the hole in the stairs to pick up Secret #3, Golden Rose.

 

Pull out on the low side of the stairs. Jump back over the hole and go up. The roller blade goes away, perhaps to distract your attention from an automatic machine gun overhead. Sprint as if to follow the roller blade. A guard appears, but sprint down the corridor, and pause at the far corner. Wait and shoot the guard as he approaches.

 

Spiked Stairway Trap

 

Make a right, and when Lara nears a series of steps, WALK. Climb the first metal grating on the left, first jumping up the wall, then climbing a minimum of four more times to get higher, otherwise spikes on the stairs will kill Lara as she passes over them (just as she can't make a normal running jump over them). Stay on the wall all the way to the end, and drop off only when Lara is fully on the square with the green card.

 

Drop down, get the green card, Key of Back to Sophia's Office, climb the south ladder. At the top, hop over the hole, the same one she used before. Now descend as Lara did previously.

 

Sophia's Office

 

Hop down east onto a wooden crate, and on down, go to the east gate, use the green card in the slot, go inside.

 

Finally, Sophia's office. Shoot the glass between cola machines, go to a cola machine in the middle, reach up to its top for the fourth artifact.

 

(My game crashes to desktop when Lara gets the fourth artifact, although one can see it is the last of the aquamarine stones. This is an end of level trigger.)

 

 

29 May 2012