The Definitive Improvement Guide

The single and most important guide you need for improving your experience with Tomb Raider: Underworld. Options, features, and fixes in regards to gameplay and graphics are covered.

Introduction

When it comes to "old school" classics, I probably not only know of them, but also played them at some point. With that, I've come to face the reality that many of these wonderful titles were not designed with future improvements in mind. Because I have the knowledge (and almost obsession) to go about fixing these games, I've decided to write the "Definitive Improvement Guide" series to improve the experience people have with the games. While I strongly recommend playing the game without any modifications first, it's obviously your choice.

In this guide you will find every aspect covered, whether it be gameplay or graphics, I've tried to include as much as I can.

Unlike my other guides, this one deals exclusively with the Windows Registry. I'm not sure how this transfers over to Valve's Proton system, but I will find out after my move to Linux once Windows 7 support is cut.

Registry entries have a location, marked with a Key, data, and type. You can modify the Windows Registry with regedit, a built-in Microsoft provided utility. Within the start menu type "regedit.exe" and it should be the first option.

The location for the game's configuation is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Crystal Dynamics\Tomb Raider: Underworld

Please enjoy, and comment any improvements you would like to see.

To-Do List/Change Log

Here's my To-Do list. Comment below if I have missed anything.

4:02 PM 04/08/2019

• Revised grammar in several sections.

11:43 PM 28/03/2019

• Added bug notice for "Tomb Raider: Underworld Error - Out of memory".
  
• Added "Other Common Bugs" section.
  
• Added links to Stella's website, with lots of information about the game.

1:59 AM 27/03/2019

• Game completed, will revise guide at later point with more details.
  
• Added note for Nvidia users to first try turning off "Threaded Optimization".

23/03/2019 (Release)

• After some light frustrations with the game, decided to write up the guide.
  
• Combed over some other common issues, most should be included.

Fix: Game Crashes

So far I have yet to get a game crash, but there does appear to be one floating around.

Error out of Table Range / Disc error while reading BIGFILE.000

This is an error in reference to the local game files. Tomb Raider: Underworld has its files packed in a proprietary format called "CDRM". These are compressed files, which contain the actual meshes and textures the game uses. The files contain internal table headers and data which the game loads into memory.

Fixes for this include:

• Verifying the game integrity from Steam.
  
• Checking for Antivirus interference (try disabling it).
  
• Running the game as an administrator (via running Steam as an administrator).
  
• Running the game in a compatibility mode (tru.exe, and a right click).
  
• Updating software/drivers.
  
• Reinstalling it from scratch.

Game Started Once But Refuses To Start Again

A user reported that software may interfere with game startup. Any software that displays an overlay should be disabled to determine if they are causing an issue.

Known software that causes issues:

• Asus Sonic Studio 3

Tomb Raider: Underworld Error - Out of memory

Tomb Raider Underworld has crashed only once with the error "ERROR: Out of memory requesting X bytes". This is interesting since my system has 32GB of RAM.



This appears to be minor as it was a single, one off event. Restarting the game as is worked out alright, and the autosave loaded as expected.

Fix: Gameplay Bugs

There are quite a few bugs, and it's not surprising because the game is a console port. However, they can be addressed.

In this section, the following is covered:

• Flying Blocks / Broken Physics
  
• Unable to Save
  
• Can't Save Game With Proton
  
• Other Common Bugs

Flying Blocks / Broken Physics

This is the first bug you will encounter. The game's physics system uses the frame rate for calculations (likely as "ticks"). This isn't surprising, due to console port nature of the title.

The area in which the flying blocks occur.

There are three major ways to address this:

• Enable V-Sync.
  
• Set a low refresh rate (30 or 60).
  
• Enable V-Sync, and set a low refresh rate (30 or 60).

These can all be done in the game's internal menu, otherwise, delete the registry tree for the game and use the initial setup dialog to change it.

Unable to Save

Some users find that they are unable to save their games, or the save files don't appear.

The root cause of this appears to be Antivirus software. You can either:

• Disable it while playing the game.
  
• Switch to another free vendor that has their act together (such as Avira).

Save files should appear in this folder:

%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Eidos\Tomb Raider - Underworld\

Can't Save Game With Proton

If you are using Valve's Proton solution to play on Linux, you may find that you are unable to save.

A user reported that changing from Proton3.7-3 to 3.7-5 Beta solved the problem.

Other Common Bugs

There were quite a few potential bugs that I was only made aware of by Stella at tombraiders.net. As long as you don't rely on the autosave, you should have a good time playing Underworld. The handful or so bugs are summed up as follows:

• Cut scenes don't stop/start/trigger as expected, breaking level completion.
  
• Critical items go missing due to level triggers, preventing level progression/completion.
  
• Health items go missing on character respawn.
  
• Critical items go missing on character respawn, preventing level progression/completion.
  
• Levels have bugs where once the triggers are tripped, it requires a level restart to reset them.

I've found that some of the PC version bugs described don't seem to trigger. At some points, I've gone out of my way to trigger them, only to find they would never trip. Generally speaking, if you play the game in some sensible way, you will be hard pressed to find bugs (besides poor engine design). If you are unsure that you have come across a bug, I would consult the walkthrough on Stella's website, https://tombraiders.net/stella/tomb8.html.

If you are just looking for a somewhat spoiler-free bug list, Stella's website comes in handy again: https://tombraiders.net/stella/walks/TR8walk/bugnotes.html.

Fix: Graphical/Sound Bugs

So far, the initial frame rate appears to be the only issue. However, if you do find others, make sure you are running a supported graphics card.

In this section, the following is covered:

• Unsupported Graphics Cards
  
• Sudden Frame Rate Drops
  
• Frame Rate Drops From Water
  
• Other Frame Rate Issues

Unsupported Graphics Cards

These cards are known to be UNABLE to run the title:

• ATI Rage series (128, Pro, Fury etc)
  
• Intel (810, V3800)/Intel Integrated video chips
  
• SIS (650/750 etc)
  
• S3 (Pro Savage, Twister)
  
• Matrox (Mystique, Millenium etc)
  
• Voodoo 3DFX (3, 5 etc)
  
• ATI Radeon 7000
  
• Geforce TNT, TNT2 (Ultra, Pro etc)
  
• Diamond Viper

Sudden Frame Rate Drops

I discovered this fairly quickly, with less than a hour into the game.

Turning the water effects off, seemed to fix it. Below I describe how to do this from the game's internal options menu.

NVIDIA USERS: I'd personally recommend turning off "Threaded Optimization" inside Nvidia's Control Panel for the game. By doing that, I could keep the "water effects" setting on, and the game would run well. To do this, right click the desktop, select the Control Panel option, and under "Manage 3D Settings", select the "Program Settings" tab. Search for, or add Tru.exe, and change "Threaded Optimization" to off.



If you find other causes/potential sources of frame rate issues, please comment below.

Frame Rate Drops From Water

It seems some environments with water causes issues, but others do not. Turning off water effects fixes this, and doesn't appear to cause a great deal of change to the game's looks.

You may need to delete the registry tree for the game to bring up the "first time setup" dialog if you can not do it through the game's internal options menu.

Uncheck the "Water Effects" box, and change any other settings you wish.

If you just want to do it in the registry, change the "EnableWaterFX" from 1 to 0 (REG_DWORD) inside the "Graphics" subtree.

Other Frame Rate Issues

Users have reported other issues, and potential fixes.

Within the game's graphics configuration at:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Crystal Dynamics\Tomb Raider: Underworld\Graphics

Change the keys DontDeferShaderCreation and DisableDynamicTextures to 0.

Fix: Widescreen Patch Issues

Widescreen should be supported somewhat out of the box, but in some cases there might be issues.

If you use the recommended patchers, ensure that you:

• Have up to date or required C++ Redistributables.
  
• Aren't trying to set the game to a resolution where the width above or equal to 4096.

Graphical Improvements: Widescreen

The Easy Way

As the previous section indicates, Widescreen should just "work", but if you find this isn't the case, you will have to use a memory or binary patcher.

The two options are Flawless Widescreen or Widescreen Fixer. I personally recommend Flawless as it just seems to work out of the box and works with Nvidia's 3D Vision.

The Second Easy Way

One user reported that disabling Desktop Composition helped with Widescreen resolutions. You can do this by right clicking the game's executatble (tru.exe) ➞ Compatibility➞ Check "Disable Desktop Composition".

The game's executable is located:

~\steamapps\common\Tomb Raider Underworld

Modifying the Registry By Hand

If you don't want to use a 3rd-Party patcher, and have an aspect ratio of 21:9, you can modify the registry entries for the game.

Again, if the display's width is equal to, or above 4096 the game may not run.

With regedit, modify the AspectRatio key under the game's tree:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Crystal Dynamics\Tomb Raider: Underworld\Graphics

If you are using 5040x1050:

• Select 3840x800 in the initial setup screen.
  
• Change the AspectRatio to 48000 (decimal).

Using 5760x1080:

• Select 3840x720 in the initial setup screen.
  
• Change AspectRatio to 53333 (decimal).

In other scenarios, use the formula:

AspectRatio = (width/height) x 10000

Graphical Improvements: Other

In this section, the following is covered:

• High Refresh Rate
  
• Window Mode
  
• Using the Steam Overlay

High Refresh Rate

The game supports a high refresh rate, but be sure to use V-Sync to prevent physics bugs.

Window Mode

This is an interesting one. The game has actual registry keys to support running it in a window, and adding a "-w" to its launch options should be supported, but the Steam version doesn't like it.

Users also sing the false song that running the game in a Window mode isn't possible. This isn't true, as you will see below.


Running the game in a window via DxWnd.

There are a few ways of doing this, but I tend to use DxWnd.

After downloading DxWnd from SourceForge, extract the zip. Run DxWnd from DxWnd.exe, and add a profile for the game by Edit ➞ Add. You will fill out the fields as I have in the screenshot, while changing any values you see fit. After pressing OK, keep the initial DxWnd screen open, and then run the game. You will now see that the game runs in a window.


By specifying the wildcard asterisk (*\tru.exe), DxWnd will wait for that process and then manipulate it.

Using the Steam Overlay

Again, it is possible to get the Steam overlay to work with the game, unlike how users purport otherwise.

This is a little "hacky" because of how Steam works. This is likely to change in the future, when there is a serious update to the overlay. For now, everything seems to work as expected.

First we will need to create a batch file, so open Notepad or your favourite text editor. Paste the following in:

@Echo off & SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion
set "PID="
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\Steam.exe" steam://rungameid/8140
Timeout 5
for /f "tokens=2" %%A in ('tasklist ^| findstr /i "tru.exe" 2^>NUL') do @Set "PID=%%A"
if defined PID "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\GameOverlayUI.exe" -pid %PID% -manuallyclearframes 0

Then save the file as underworld.bat, making sure to change the "Save as Type" to "All files".

As for what the batch file is doing:

• Set some initial options (remove clutter/changing interpretation in the script).
  
• Run steam with the shortcut url that holds Underworld's game ID.
  
• Wait 5 seconds.
  
• Run the tasklist command, and in the output, search for tru.exe and its Process ID.
  
• If it was able to find a PID for it, run Steam's game overlay directly, injecting into the game's PID.

If you run the game like this (a double click on this newly saved file), you will find the overlay works as expected:

Steam overlay working as you will want it.

Gameplay Improvements

These are general "quality of life" improvements that you can try out to your liking.

Turn Off Auto Recenter / Prevent Camera From Continuously Moving

There are two ways to get this done:

• Keep the right mouse button pressed (forcing a lock onto nothing).
  
• Use the mysterious UWESCU5/TR8 utility.

UWESCU5

This utility which seems to be only available from a dropbox link and a portugese website, allows users to modify game memory and acomplish certain things (like changing outfits and locking the camera).

You can find it at the two URLs below, or by searching for "UWE_SCU.zip", "UWESCU5", or "TR8 utility". How clean it is, or how well it works is unknown, so you assume all risk by running it.

• http://www.captain-alban.com/tr8utilitaires.html
  
• http://www.captain-alban.com/tr8scu.html

Mods/Mod Tools

Here are some URLs that have mods, or modding information. Generally speaking, like Mass Effect, texture mods will be applied with "TexMod".

From my understanding, Crystal Dynamics uses its own engine, which fairly little is known about it. Other games follow the same .000 to .003 file structure, where all the game content sits. These are compressed files, split at certain points, and probably passed over with an XOR key. The Nextax link seems to offer a way to open these files, but how clean or how well it works is unknown from my vantage point.

• https://archive.tombraiderhub.com/tr8/modding/index.html
  
• https://www.tombraiderforums.com/
  
• https://forum.xentax.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=10174
  
• https://github.com/Gh0stBlade/cdcEngineTools

Save Game Location

The location for saved games is:

%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Eidos\Tomb Raider - Underworld\

It's important to note that this title does not support save syncing with the Steam Cloud.

Reset Options/Bring Back First Time Setup Screen

Delete the "tree" containing the game's registy keys, see above for that location.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Crystal Dynamics\Tomb Raider: Underworld

[DarK_St3alth]

@baba1 Stella's website did make mention that some levels have a particular order of completion. Some have bugs where you can be prevented from completing them as expected. I personally didn't have this issue but try loading a previous save.

[baba1ka96]

Thank you very much for this guide, but I did not see a solution to this problem: Cut scenes don't stop/start/trigger as expected, breaking level completion. How to solve this?

[DarK_St3alth]

It seems like that's a log file for the shader cache steam uses to speed up shader compilation. It's possible that something went wrong, or somehow the graphics driver you have doesn't support the opengl/vulkan/directx shaders required?

Also possible (especially on newer Windows versions) that by windowing the game, it swaps the gpu rendering the game. This could cause it to swap to an integrated gpu that lacks certain rendering instructions?

Try disabling desktop composition and see if that helps.

You may have to play around with the registry options. I don't have the game installed, but I think there was an option related to shaders hidden there.

[WINSEVN]

I found the shader log file in the Program Files 86/Steam directory and pinpointed the time of when the issue could have occurred, but I am not sure if that is the right document to reference. If you know of a better log file to look at, I am all ears. Event Viewer did nothing.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h0u5urfmcngpm3x/Shader%20Log%20for%20Tomb%20Raider%20Underworld%20Demo%20error.docx?dl=0

[DarK_St3alth]

@WINSEVN
Without knowing more about the context and your system I would think it's an internal game engine bug or lack of video memory. Some games don't particularly handle well on modern systems to begin with. Leaving the game by "alt-tab" or the windows key probably comes into some edge case (especially with the demo). I find in games that exhibit this behaviour, I use the "game mode" function on my keyboard to eliminate accidental presses of the windows key.

It's possible that the game has some issue when it comes to the graphics drawing, where "leaving" the game causes the game's internal render code to glitch out. A great example is with Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. Inside a Virtual Machine the game runs, but there aren't any textures, it's all grey 3D models or backgrounds.

Let me know if you try something and if it works out.

[WINSEVN]

This is an excellent resource and thank you for this. I wonder if you can help me with a crash error that is not on your list.

The error arises when clicking the Windows key on my laptop while in the demo of TR Underworld. It arose because I was trying to figure out how to grapple and I was unable to bring up the overlay because it pauses the game and doesn't show the guides and discussions.

Popup Title -
Tomb Raider: Underworld Error

Popup Message
A problem has occured with your display driver. Your system may not have
enough resources to run the game at the selected settings. You can retry using
the same settings, or adjust them to lower settings. Make sure you have the
latest drivers for your video hardware, and try rebooting your system to help
clear up any issues.

I ran the game just fine under some decent settings (shadows, reflections, high textures) until the steps I mentioned above.

Please help me.

[The Crazy Gringo]

Thanks for all your hard work. The batch file for the Steam overlay is magic.

[kian.zarrin]

I found a lead. there is a discord link here https://github.com/XProger/OpenLara

[kian.zarrin]

How can I write mod for TRU? I want to change walking speed (to match the walking speed in TRA). where do I start? anyone who can help me?

[DiegoScascio]

the patch that should solve the bridge bug,i hope it is also available for steam and not only for the dvd version