DJ的古墓丽影自制关卡专栏：最后的启示
　　DJ'S TRLE Corner: The Last Revelation

　　2021年6月18日
　　06.18.2021

　　是的，不止一个。每月都会聚焦基于古墓丽影系列的关卡。因此每月有主线流程直播、古墓丽影自制关卡直播和古墓丽影自制关卡博客。此次作为"最后的启示"月的后续，我将展示以此为主题的自制关卡。有时人们会说古墓丽影4只是"埃及"，然后声称波塞冬是希腊的错误——但埃及曾有众多文化，最后的启示几乎涵盖了所有，提供了古墓丽影系列中最富变化的场景之一。关卡托管网站上的群体反映了这一趋势，尽管规模最大，但也是集体性的——新王国的陵墓与寺庙与千年后建造的托勒密宫殿风格迥异，而古王国金字塔又比它们早千年。以下是一些对比鲜明的例子。
　　Yes there is more than one. They will spotlight levels rooted in Tomb Raider celebrated every month. So there is a monthly mainline stream, a monthly TRLE stream, and a monthly TRLE blog. This time, as an aftermath of The Last Revelation month, I show custom levels rooted in that episode. Sometimes it is said TR4 is "just Egypt", and then claimed Poseidon is a Greek mistake - but Egypt had many cultures and The Last Revelation covers almost all of them, providing one of the most changing settings of all Tomb Raider episodes. The group on the level hosting sites reflects that trend and while being the largest, it's also collective - tombs and temples of the New Kingdom are far in style from Ptolemaic palaces built a millenium after, and Old Kingdom pyramids dated to a millenium before. Here are some contrasting examples.

　　misho98 - 埃及冒险
　　misho98 - Egyptian Adventure

　　首先必须提到两部之前展示过关卡的续作。这是"安德烈亚斯之剑"的续作：
　　Before anything else I feel obliged to mention two sequels of previously showcased levels. Here's a sequel to "Andreas' Sword":

　　eRIC - 安德烈亚斯之剑2
　　eRIC - Andreas' Sword 2

　　还有"地下墓穴塔楼"的续作，和原作一样，这是首批在细节处理上超越官方游戏的关卡之一。
　　And here's a sequel to "Catacomb Towers", and just like it, one the first levels which tend to do things better than in the official game.

　　Piega - 黑色宫殿
　　Piega - Black Palace

　　没错，我说过"倾向于"，但下面这个关卡毫无疑问——Piega的作品是我们上次直播的开篇之作，简直是默认关卡与自制关卡间的完美桥梁。
　　Yes yes, I said "tend", but with this one below there's no doubt - Piega's work we began the last stream with is just a perfect bridge between default and custom.

　　Piega - 火之圣所
　　Piega - Sanctuary of Fire

　　你知道那些让你不介意卡关的关卡吗？这就是其中之一，堪比主线作品中失落的古城。虽然它来自2009年，细节不如当今标准，但你真的能感受到身处沿海城市的感觉，这是现代关卡之前最出色的作品之一。
　　You know those levels where you don't mind being stuck? This is one of them, on par with lost cities features in the mainline titles. Of course coming from 2009 it's less detailed than today standards, but you can really feel like in a coastal city, one of the best predating the modern times.

　　Die Basis - BtB2009 - 马萨马特鲁之谜
　　Die Basis - BtB2009 - The Mystery of Marsa Matruh

　　现在来看对比，可能是目前最优秀的现代城市关卡。如果你预留大量时间进行长线游玩，因为需要大量记忆点，一开始可能会困惑，但关卡集会让你欲罢不能直到通关：
　　Now for contrast probably the best modern city we currently have. If you reserve a lot of time for a long session, since you will need a lot of memory for this one, it might be you will begin troubled and confused but then the levelset won't let you go till you finish:

　　Bigfoot - 托勒密王朝之泪
　　Bigfoot - Tears of the Ptolemaic Dynasty

　　"失落山谷"是编辑器中首批实现开放世界错觉的关卡之一，像古墓丽影3与古墓丽影4的跨界作品。它温和的光照、平静的氛围、舒缓的进度和广阔的隔离感看似普通，却在你毫无察觉时悄然将你带入并保持沉浸。这是最早一批几乎在解锁使用非原版编辑器纹理后立即制作的关卡，也是最早进入"名人堂"（TRLE.net的"最佳中的最佳"）的关卡之一。
　　Featuring one of the first open-world illusions of the editor, "The Lost Valley" is like a crossover of TR3 and TR4. Its mild lighting, calm ambience, toned down progression and vast isolation pretend to be nothing special and that's how you don't notice when they silently drag you in and keep you immersed. It's one of the earliest levels built almost immediately after unlocking the possibility to use textures other than the stock ones provided with the original editor, and also one of the earliest which reached the Hall of Fame ("best of the best" of trle.net).

　　Jeyem - 失落山谷
　　Jeyem - The Lost Valley

　　你认识凯文吧？对，你认识凯文。现在所有人，向凯文致敬！
　　You know Kevin, right? Yeah, you know Kevin. Now everybody, bow to Kevin!

　　Mr XY - BtB2009 - 沉没
　　Mr XY - BtB2009 - Sunken

　　看看凯文向自己致敬的结果。下面的关卡是他在严肃项目"BtB希腊"前的练习作，结果比那个严肃项目更传奇，也超越了当时所有严肃项目：
　　Here's what happens if Kevin bows to himself. The level below was built as an exercise before a serious project, which was BtB Greece - and became more legendary than the serious project itself, and all the other serious projects from that event:

　　Mr XY - 水之圣所
　　Mr XY - Aqua Sanctuary

　　但这一场景并非孤例。有个"经典重现"关卡尝试了类似规模与性质的大型结构，虽然更粗犷、更厚重、更宏伟，因此比凯文的略带超现实的环境更显古老和真实。问题是该玩哪个——答案是：都玩！
　　But this setting is not alone. There's a Create a Classic level which embarked on an adventure to include a superstructure of a similar scope and nature, however cruder, heavier, more monumental and therefore feeling much older and down to earth than Kevin's slightly surreal environment. The question is which one to play - and the answer is YES.

　　ShakiraCroft - 伊西斯神庙
　　ShakiraCroft - Temple of Isis

　　在无数玩家（至少Raildex认为）眼中，这是视觉上最惊艳的古墓丽影4风格关卡。Horus看似轻松闲适的地图却盖过了原版卡纳克的风头，尽管有着相同的限制条件。这可能最适合在孤独的冬夜尝试——绝对不要在现在这样的炎热天气玩（哎……）。
　　Considered by countless players, or at least by Raildex, the most visually stunning TR4-styled level, Horus's suspiciously undemanding and laid-back map casts overshadows the original Karnak despite of having identical limitations. It probably is the best to attempt it on a lonely Winter evening - and definitely NOT in the hot weather as we currently have (oooofff...).

　　Horus - BtB2009 - 梅贾伊继承者
　　Horus - BtB2009 - Heirs of the Medjai

　　另一个在视觉上可与卡纳克媲美甚至超越的关卡：
　　Here's another instance of Karnak which rivals if not surpasses it visually:

　　wrebbit - 考古遗址
　　wrebbit - Archeological Site

　　这个关卡虽未参与"经典重现"竞赛，但完全有资格。它不仅刻意混合资源却不显突兀，还为熟悉物件赋予新用途——这两种技巧既能营造熟悉氛围，又脱离原设定。
　　Here's one level which wasn't part of Create a Classic competition, but it could well have been. Not just deliberately mixing the resources in a way which doesn't disturb, but also giving a new purpose to familiar objects - both tricks useful for creating attaching the familiar mood but detaching it from the original setting.

　　Mystery-King - 凯特尔布-拉废墟
　　Mystery-King - The Ruins of Kaitelbu-Ra

　　我敢说这是目前最优秀的图书馆关卡。开始时你以为它是个普通关卡，随后却抛出你绝想不到在此类关卡中出现的转折。
　　I would risk a statement the following one is the best library level until now. When you begin the game, it makes you treat it like an ordinary level, but then throwing in twists you surely cannot expect in a level of this sort.

　　Ankhrae - 图书馆的寂静
　　Ankhrae - Silence of the Library

　　这个关卡的亮点在于建造者对装饰图案混合的精准把控——细节丰富却从不喧宾夺主。但建议多留些记忆空间，因为镜头提示失效，需要记住远距离目标。
　　This one here is particularly notable for the builder's awareness of how to mix ornamental patterns without making them clash - so it looks very detailed and decorative but never too much. But I recommend to reserve a bit of extra memory for this one, since camera hints don't work and you need to remember far destinations.

　　Gerbil - 阿赫纳顿之墓
　　Gerbil - Tomb of Achnaton

　　很多人记得《古墓丽影：启示录》中劳拉闪回人生片段的时刻。但很少人知道这一创意在更早时期就被使用过，整个关卡集都围绕此展开——通过快速切换场景避免单调，设计非常巧妙：
　　Many of you remember that moment of Tomb Raider Requiem where Lara is getting flashbacks of her life episodes. But not many know this idea has been used in the previous age, and entire levelset has been dedicated just to it - a very neat way to switch settings rapidly so none of them gets boring:

　　JMN - 永恒之谜
　　JMN - Eternal Mysteries

　　关卡建造者是种特殊群体。他们通常离群索居，独自创作。然后参加个人项目为主的竞赛。但突然，他们决定合作。之前提到的"Skribblerz Stonez"类似"回归本源"，但竞争更少，追求团队卓越，偏向定制化却仍受共同理念约束。每个成员从相同初始房间开始建造，随后自由改造周围环境。这一模式延续了五届，从完全经典进化到完全现代。后期甚至有建造者尝试用meta2tr——将整个关卡导入三维建模软件Metasequoia的导出/导入工具，真正实现"手术刀级"切割关卡、应用真实UV贴图和3D细节。但能否保留或破坏古墓丽影的氛围，仍取决于建造者。
　　A level builder is an unusual species. They normally live isolated life, building alone. Then they join competitions which are also solo projects. But then all of a sudden, they decide to collab. In the previous entry I mentioned Skribblerz Stonez, a parallel to Back to Basics, however with less rivalry, aiming for group excellency, leaning towards customization but still bound by a common idea. Each member of the project began the build in an identical starter room, but then they were supposed to morph them and shape the surroundings at will. This idea continued for five editions and evolved from totally classic to totally modern. Near the end, one of the builders even dared use meta2tr - an exporter/importer of entire levels to a polygon modeler program Metasequoia, which literally allows cutting the level into pieces with surgical precision, apply real UV maps and 3D details. However preserving or destroying the Tomb Raider mood is still up to the builder.

　　Leonvdn - 亚历山大之龙
　　Leonvdn - Dragon of Alexandria

　　但在此之前，Leon已打造出首批真正的TRNG关卡，作为技术完美的处女作实属罕见。这也是另一个适合独自在深夜游玩的关卡。
　　But before that happened, Leon has built one of the first truly TRNG levels, and a rare phenomenon of a technically perfect debut, this is another one best played alone at night.

　　Leonvdn - 劳拉克劳馥与被遗忘的抄写员
　　Leonvdn - Lara Croft and the Forgotten Scribe

　　可以说每个社区都有其标志性团队赛事。2005年，laraslevelbase论坛组建团队，撰写了娜特拉重掌权力的衍生故事。虽然剧情类似TR1，但关卡中罕见地充分利用了库存资源中最被低估的场景——开罗，还原了世界上最著名的清真寺之一。
　　You could say every community has its own flagship team event. In 2005 on laraslevelbase a team was formed who scripted a spin-off story of Natla getting back into power. While the plot is more like TR1, the game had one level which was unusually utilizing one of the most underused assets in stock - Cairo, to recreate one of the most famous mosques in the world.

　　Horus - 科尔多瓦
　　Horus - Cordóba

　　2007年，法国社区推出了另一款完整游戏。虽非完全使用古墓丽影4资源，但延续了《最后的启示》的精神——劳拉需击败邪神阻止世界毁灭。包含15个关卡的《奥西里斯的复仇》仍是目前规模最大的单剧情多关卡团队作品。
　　Shortly after in 2007, the French community has pulled off another full-scale game. While not made literally of TR4 assets, it delivers the same spirit as The Last Revelation - Lara is meant to defeat an evil god and stop him from destroying the world. Comprising of 15 levels, "Revenge of Osiris" is still the biggest single-plot, multilevel team effort to date.

　　TimJ - 致命城堡
　　TimJ - The Castle of Corpus Fatalis

　　最新但肯定不是最后的团队剧情项目，是本博客的精神起源——《哈托尔传奇》是我们用默认资源包致敬古墓丽影自制关卡 20周年的作品。这次劳拉不再拯救世界，而是重拾旧习——经历各种挑战与场景，最终夺取终极奖励。由于每个关卡都充满古墓丽影4风格，我可以展示全部：
　　The latest, but I bet not last, team plot project, is a spiritual father to this blog - "Legend of Hathor" is what we made of default resource packs to honor the 20 years of TRLE. This time Lara doesn't save the world but returns to her old habit of going through various stages of challenge and setting, in order to snatch the final prize for herself. And since every level screams TR4, I can show all of them:

　　Klona - 哈托尔神庙
　　Klona - Temple of Hathor

　　DJ Full - 门奈之墓
　　DJ Full - Tomb of Menel

　　Zreen - 二十周年金字塔
　　Zreen - Vicennial Pyramid

　　Sabatu - 波塞冬装置
　　Sabatu - Poseidon Apparatus

　　Niveus - 泰芙努特试炼
　　Niveus - Trial of Tefnut

　　一种特殊的合作类型是家庭项目。最著名的当属EssGee与其子制作的《黄金蝎子传奇》，包含五个关卡，讲述共同剧情。
　　A very special kind of collab is family projects. Among the most notable is Legend of the Golden Scorpion, made by EssGee and his son. It consists of five levels delivering a common plot.

　　EssGee/MiniGee - 黄金蝎子传奇
　　EssGee/MiniGee - Legend of the Golden Scorpion

　　谈到古墓丽影4，不能忽略自制关卡对废弃的古墓丽影4黄金版的重制尝试。所有作品都属上乘，但最突出的是Cowboy和Feder的多关卡发布。
　　When talking about TR4 we can't really overlook several custom attempts to rebuild the scrapped TR4 Gold. All of them were top-notch but the most standing out are multilevel releases by Cowboy and Feder.

　　Cowboy - 消逝之光
　　Cowboy - Fading Light

　　Cowboy - 消逝之光2
　　Cowboy - Fading Light 2

　　Feder - 青春之泉
　　Feder - The Fountain of Youth

　　我聊过剧情补充，但这是场景补充——一个根植古墓丽影4却融入古墓丽影3丛林元素的关卡，营造出古墓丽影4中缺失的绿洲氛围……或许本该有？现在完成了！
　　I was talking about plot supplements, but here's a location supplement - a level which sticks to TR4 but blends in a bit of TR3 jungle in order to supply the mood of Oasis - something we never got in TR4, and maybe we should have... now done!

　　dennis16 - 法尤姆的最后一天
　　dennis16 - The Last Day in Fayyum

　　在Titak开始"Titaking"之前，就有这个作品。它仅用了10%的古墓丽影4资源，但灵魂高度契合。如果你想见证建造者接近"全面自定义"的突破，这是个不错的体验，嘿嘿……注意需与后续的"冥界领域"关联游玩，因为它们本为一体。
　　Before Titak started Titaking, there was this. It only uses 10% of TR4 resources but its soul mostly goes there. It's a nice trip if you wanna witness a builder one step from the breaking point of writing "custom" all over the place, mueheheheheheh... Note you should play this level together with the following "Realm of the Damned" since they were meant to be connected.

　　Titak - 寻找神秘宝石
　　Titak - Search for the Mystic Stones

　　TonyTomb，我在上篇博客提过，需要更多曝光。他创造了多个被后来关卡视为独特的内容。通过几部风格独特的关卡，《太阳岛》讲述了哈托尔与其隐藏神庙的故事。
　　TonyTomb, whom I already mentioned in the previous blog, needs more exposure. He's the source of several things which you might consider unique from much later levels. Through several idiosyncratic levels, "Isle of the Sun" follows the story of Hathor and her hidden temple.

　　TonyTomb - 太阳岛2
　　TonyTomb - Isle of the Sun Part 2

　　当然，关于"游戏是否需要故事"的永恒辩论也存在于古墓丽影自制关卡中。有些关卡高效地贯彻单一理念，让你忽略缺失的剧情。例如这个用TRNG制作但模拟原版风格的关卡，复用托勒密模型来表现各星球特征——地球有水，金星有风暴。手动移动元素的谜题本就出色，而《最后的启示》几乎全由此类谜题构成，若有一半新元素一半旧元素，体验会更上一层楼。
　　Of course, the eternal debate if games even need a story also took place in TRLE. Some levels encapsulate a single idea so efficiently they make you forget about the absent plot. For example here we have a map built in TRNG but simulating vanilla, reusing the Ptolemaic model to exploit main attributes of every planet - e.g. Earth has water, Venus has storm. While puzzles made of manually moveable elements are already great by default, and The Last Revelation could consist pretty much entirely of them, then having one which is half cup old half cup new pushes the experience even further beyond.

　　tombraider1703 - 埋葬的神庙
　　tombraider1703 - The Buried Temple

　　当然，我必须提到那个允许你在巨大鳄鱼雕塑牙齿间游泳的关卡……嗷呜！
　　And of course I wouldn't be myself if I didn't mention that map where you can swim between the teeth of a HUGE SCULPTED CROCODILE... Omnomnom.

　　Aza - 索贝克圣所
　　Aza - Sobek's Sanctuary

　　但我最爱的类型之一是围绕柱子设计的扎实玩法。通常我不喜欢上上下下的攀爬，但这个关卡通过转折化解了单调，且是少数能混合多样装饰风格却不显生硬的关卡之一。它像技能浓缩展示，也是向建造者亲友的致敬之作。
　　But one of my favourites of the kind is this solid chunk of gameplay orientated around a pillar. Normally I would dislike climbing up then down then up, but this level gets away with a twist, and it's also one of very few which utilize eclectic patterns without making them feel like forced to coexist. It's like a compressed showcase of skills, and also a remarkable tribute to a builder's close person.

　　Skyld - 平平无奇的埃及柱
　　Skyld - The Unremarkable Egyptian Pillar

　　与友好的类型相对的是挑战类关卡——忽略剧情，忽略视觉，让你想跳过自己——但若坚持通关，成就感……非常满足！
　　At the edge opposite to that friendly are levels made for challenge - skipping stories, skipping visuals, they make you wanna skip themselves - but if you don't, and if you beat them, the feeling of reward is... well... rewarding!

　　Blacksheep - 寻找护身符
　　Blacksheep - Search for the Amulet

　　Raymond - 巴的挑战
　　Raymond - Challenge of Ba

　　平衡挑战需要技巧，平衡挑战与视觉则是大师手笔。下面是个罕见例子，关卡玩法与视觉表现同样出色。每个房间都充满惊喜与互动。不仅如此，还包含一些特效。
　　Balancing a challenge is skill, but balancing a challenge with visuals is mastery. Here is a rare example of a level which plays exactly as good as it looks. Every room is a surprise and an engagement. While that is enough, you also get some special effects included.

　　Morgoth - 向荷鲁斯献祭
　　Morgoth - The Sacrifice to Horus

　　与上述关卡性格相似但更偏表演风格，展现了后来成为传奇的建造者的创意。
　　Very similar in character to the one listed above but with more of showtime style, it shows creativity of a builder who has become legendary later on the timeline.

　　Lima - 墓之守卫
　　Lima - Guardians of Tomb

　　纯经典玩法，"四"关卡拥有最佳水道房间之一，但需要细心观察——注意别错过补给，否则受苦。
　　Purely classic in gameplay, "Quattour" features one of the best aqueduct rooms but also requires being observant - make sure you pay attention or miss the pickups and suffer.

　　Ghostraider - 四
　　Ghostraider - Quattuor

　　我记得这是我一生中首个参与测试的关卡。Mytly当时有大量测试者，但不知为何选了我，因此有了这个标题。不，其实不是。但确实，这是我人生中首次参与测试的关卡。
　　I remember this was the first level I beta tested in my life. Mytly had a whole galore of people who could do that, but for some reason I was chosen, and hence the title. No, actually no. But yes, I beta tested this and it was the first one in my life.

　　Mytly - 被选者
　　Mytly - Chosen

　　以柬埔寨风格为核心，却融合古墓丽影3与古墓丽影4的跨界，Phabius带来了意想不到的色彩组合。你或许认为这不会成功，但事实相反。此外还有不错的平台跳跃元素。
　　Having Cambodian core but then twisting to a crossover between TR3 and TR4, Phabius gives you an unexpected, unique blend of colors. You wouldn't think it could work that well, but it does. And it has some neat platforming on top of that.

　　Phabius Phodes - 阿斯帕赫护身符3 - 逃亡
　　Phabius Phodes - Asphaeings Amulet 3 - The Escape

　　看来Sabatu不仅将单枪匹马开启新时代，还会以他标志性的速通方式完成——这位我们已知最快的建造者用两周完成了"经典重现"参赛作品，此前还弃置了另一部同样耗时两周的作品。这让人想起约翰·威廉姆斯——同年因《星球大战》和《侏罗纪公园》两次获得奥斯卡，最终凭前者获奖。这是AAA级效率，堪称传奇，不仅创造经典，更创造典范。
　　By now it seems Sabatu won't only single-handedly provide an entire new era, but also will do so his own speedrun way: the fastest builder we know has delivered his Create a Classic entry in two weeks, after discarding another which also took him two. John Williams comes to mind, losing an Oscar for Jurassic Park to himself by winning it for Star Wars the same year. This is just AAA efficiency, iconic, unstoppable, not just creating a classic but also creating a class.

　　Sabatu - 经典重现2019 - 荷鲁斯金字塔
　　Sabatu - Create a Classic 2019 - The Pyramid of Horus

　　趁此机会，必须指出他早期被忽视的作品——因其后期大师之作太过耀眼，但该作拥有最具意义的3D视野应用之一。
　　If we're at it, I need to point out that earlier work which everybody overlooks because of the author's later masterworks, but which still has one of the most meaningful 3D horizons ever applied.

　　Sabatu - 旅程
　　Sabatu - The Journey

　　我发誓这是目前最后一个Sabatu的关卡……暂时，因为在我上传前他可能又发布89个新关卡。我不了解这家伙——他像Minecraft里的改装玩家：我下线、小睡、再上线，他们已经建好了全自动的终局工厂：
　　I swear this is the last level from Sabatu......for now, because before I upload this he might release 89 new ones. I don't know about this guy - he's like those modded players in Minecraft: I log out, I take a nap, I log back in and they have a fully automated endgame factory:

　　Sabatu - 失落金字塔之谜
　　Sabatu - Mystery of the Lost Pyramid

　　目前Opaque最透明的作品不玩花哨或惊喜，专注精心执行每个元素，部分资产的使用方式超越我们对古墓丽影4的记忆。若想学习灯光运用，这个关卡堪称教程。
　　For now Opaque's most transparent work plays without fireworks or surprises, but focuses on carefully executing every element and some assets are used in a way superior to how we remember them from TR4. If you want to learn how to utilize lighting, this level could pretty much serve as a tutorial.

　　Opaque - 寻找黄金铠甲
　　Opaque - Quest for the Golden Armour

　　另一个更早的类似教程的关卡。罕见的优质柬埔寨风格关卡，这一类型仍未被充分挖掘，而焦点已几乎完全转向其"年轻兄弟"——回归本源：高棉帝国，我们之后会聊。
　　Another, much earlier one which could be such a tutorial. A very rare case of a well done Cambodian level, a class still not used to its full potential while the focus is almost completely shifted to its younger brother - Back to Basics: Khmer Empire, which we'll talk about some time later:

　　Verner - 重返贾济米亚
　　Verner - Return to Jazimiya

　　说到教程，这个15年前制作的关卡补充了官方手册未涵盖的特殊设置。虽然标题是"教程"，但它是完全独立的关卡，因教学目的而对新手非常友好。
　　Speaking of tutorials, there's this one made over 15 years ago to supplement special setups not covered in the official manual. I know the title says "tutorial", but it's a fully standalone level, and due to its teaching purpose it's very accessible to beginner players.

　　MagPlus - 埃及梦教程
　　MagPlus - Egyptian Dream Tutorial

　　即将结束这期专注于古墓丽影4关卡的专栏。但请记住，我们只是浅尝辄止。最后，展示一个通过现代重制熟悉地图实现的画质飞跃：
　　I'm about to wrap this episode dedicated to TR4 levels. But keep in mind we barely scratched the surface. For the end, let me show a leap in definition through a modern remake of a familiar map:

　　tombraider1703 - 光明圣所 - 第一部
　　tombraider1703 - The Sanctuary of Light - Part 1

-DJ

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——原文网址：https://tombraider25.square-enix-games.com/en-us/tr4/blog/trle-editor2/