Injections (.bin files)

In TRX, an injection is a binary patch file (.bin) that the engine applies to level data at load time. Injections are used to fix or extend base game data in a way that stays compatible with custom levels (unless you intentionally replace the same data in your own WAD).

Most builders only need injections for the "default TRX assets" (extra Lara animations, extended fonts, PDA model, etc).

How injections are configured (gameflow)

Gameflow JSON supports injections in two places:

• Global injections: applied to all levels.
• Per-level injections: applied only for that level, optionally inheriting global injections.

By default, injections defined in the global gameflow are applied to every level. If a level defines its own injections, those are merged with the global set when the level loads.

Individual levels can set inherit_injections to false. In that case, global injection files are not used. If such a level defines its own injections, only those are applied; if it defines none, nothing is injected.

Relevant keys (names may differ slightly per gameflow version):

{
  // global
  "injections": [
    "data/injections/lara_extra.bin",
    "data/injections/font.bin"
  ],

  "levels": [
    {
      "path": "data/levels/MY_LEVEL.TR2",
      "inherit_injections": true,
      "injections": [
        "data/injections/pda_model.bin"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Builder workflow: keep the .bin, or bake into your WAD

You can handle TRX default assets in two ways:

1. Keep using injections (recommended for most cases): ship the .bin files and reference them in gameflow.
2. Bake assets into your WAD: import the provided assets into your level's WAD, then remove the related .bin references from gameflow.

Common steps for importing TRX assets into your WAD (WadTool)

1. Open your level's WAD in WadTool.
2. Open the extracted .wad2 file for the applicable game as the source level in WadTool.
3. Move the required assets from the source to the destination, replacing the existing ones.
4. Follow any asset-specific notes in the table below.
5. Update your gameflow to remove references to the asset's .bin file.

TRX provides asset packs intended for WadTool import:

• https://lostartefacts.dev/pub/tr1-assets.zip
• https://lostartefacts.dev/pub/tr2-assets.zip

The zips also include Tomb Editor catalogs (Moveables.xml / SpriteSequences.xml) so TRX object names show up (and to enable cross-game placements like TR2 guns in TR1 levels). See the README inside the zip for details.

Builder note on custom levels

Custom levels should generally not rely on injections for correctness; instead, provide data that is already correct and consistent.

Note however that the injections that relate to Lara can work in custom levels that do not modify Lara's default mesh structure or animations. These injection files are based on the original Lara model.

Default injection files (reference)

The rule of thumb for custom levels is that if an injection file name starts with a level name, it is meant for specific original levels and should generally be removed from your custom gameflow unless you know what you're doing.

Core files useful for most builders

Level-specific files