Outfits

In TR1 and TR2 originally, Lara's meshes were taken from the O_LARA object, with mesh swaps being performed as required at runtime using additional objects, such as O_LARA_PISTOL, O_LARA_SHOTGUN, O_LARA_EXTRA etc. TR3 moved to a dedicated O_LARA_SKIN object, but still depended on the additional gun and extra mesh swaps, and these remained tightly coupled with the level's outfit. For example, when putting a shotgun in Lara's hand, the relevant mesh would include an entire copy of her hand, when in reality only the shotgun was required. This meant if customizing Lara's gloves, the builder would need to do so on several different objects.

TRX uses a different skin system, both to allow outfit swaps in-game for players and to remove unnecessary mesh faces where applicable for a more streamlined data setup. Custom level builders can define up to 32 outfits; following is a guide to the data and JSON configuration, and some scenario/workflow examples.

Data setup

The skin system uses the following objects. These are provided in the lara_outfits.bin injection, and are available to download as a separate WAD (see injections).

`O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_1`...`O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_32`

Each of these should contain a distinct Lara model, with the mesh count and bone order conforming to the standard for Lara. Bone offsets are used (e.g. consider Bacon Lara's different structure); animations are not used.

`O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_EXTRA`

This object contains various additional meshes for Lara, such as altered torsos when the TR1 braid is in use, Lara's combat face, and meshes used in extra animations, such as pulling the dagger in Dragon's Lair. It also contains both the TR1 and TR2/3 braid.

`O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_GUNS`

This object contains holsters - both empty and equipped with the various guns - as well as the guns themselves when they are in Lara's hands or on her back.

`O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_LEGS`

This object contains copies of Lara's legs for each outfit, with holster strap textures removed. This allows levels such as Home Sweet Home to swap out Lara's legs when she has no holsters. It is not an essential object to include.

JSON setup

The file cfg/outfits.json5 sets up the available outfits, and how they should behave. The structure of this file is described below.

Top-level overview

Property	Type	Description
`outfits`	Object map	The keys in this map define the available outfits, and these are the keys that should be used in the game-flow. The outfit object is described separately below.
`extra_meshes`	Integer map	This map defines mesh offsets in `O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_EXTRA`, which are required for various events/paths in the engine.
`gun_maps`	Object array	These maps dictate which meshes to use in `O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_GUNS` for a given outfit and gun combination.

Outfits

Show snippet

"tr1_classic": {
  "name_gs": "LARA_OUTFIT_TR1_CLASSIC",
  "mesh_object": "O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_2",
  "is_reflective": false,
  "gun_map": 0,
  "combat_face_offset": 1,
  "braid": {
    "mode": "BRAID_MODE_TR1_FULL",
    "mesh_offset": 10,
    "gold_offset": 16,
    "hair_pos": {
      "x": 0,
      "y": 20,
      "z": -45,
    },
  },
  "no_holster_offsets": {
    "thigh_r": 1,
    "thigh_l": 2,
  },
  "extra_outfits": {
    "LS_EXTRA_TREX_KILL": "tr1_mauled",
    "LS_EXTRA_MIDAS_KILL": "tr1_golden_lara",
  },
},

Property	Type	Description
`name_gs`	String	The game string enum key used for localized UI labels for this outfit (for example, `LARA_OUTFIT_TR1_CLASSIC`).
`mesh_object`	String	Indicates which object contains the outfit's meshes and bones.
`is_reflective`	Boolean	Indicates whether or not the outfit is reflective.
`gun_map`	Integer	The index into the `gun_maps` array to use for this outfit.
`braid`	Object	The braid setup specific to this outfit. If omitted, no braid will be shown. See the braids section below.
`combat_face_offset`	Integer	The mesh offset in `O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_EXTRA` for Lara's combat face. `-1` implies no combat face swap. This mesh is used when Lara is firing a weapon (traditionally, the `O_LARA_UZI` head mesh was used).
`no_holster_offsets`	Integer map	The mesh offsets in `O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_LEGS` to use when Lara's holsters aren't visible. Omitting this property infers no mesh swaps.
`extra_outfits`	String map	Pointers to alternative outfits to use for specific game events. The two supported events are as follows. If these are omitted, no swaps will occur for the events.
		`LS_EXTRA_TREX_KILL`	When Lara is killed by the T-rex - instant full outfit swap.
		`LS_EXTRA_MIDAS_KILL`	When Lara steps on the Midas hand - progressive outfit swap.

Braids

Property	Type	Description
`mode`	String	Indicates special handling when the braid is active.
		`BRAID_MODE_NONE`	No special treatment (this mode is implied if `mode` is not specified).
		`BRAID_MODE_TR1_HEAD_ONLY`	Replaces Lara's head with `EXTRA_MESH_TR1_BRAID_DEFAULT_HEAD` defined in the `O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_EXTRA` object.
		`BRAID_MODE_TR1_FULL`	As per `BRAID_MODE_TR1_HEAD_ONLY`, plus Lara's torso will be replaced with `EXTRA_MESH_TR1_BRAID_DEFAULT_TORSO`.
		`BRAID_MODE_TR1_MAULED`	As per `BRAID_MODE_TR1_FULL`, but the torso swap mesh used here is `EXTRA_MESH_TR1_BRAID_MAULED_TORSO`.
		`BRAID_MODE_TR1_GOLD`	As per `BRAID_MODE_TR1_FULL`, but the swap meshes used here are `EXTRA_MESH_TR1_BRAID_GOLD_HEAD` and `EXTRA_MESH_TR1_BRAID_GOLD_TORSO`.
`mesh_offset`	Integer	The starting offset in `O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_EXTRA` for the regular braid meshes and bones.
`gold_offset`	Integer	The starting offset in `O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_EXTRA` for the golden braid meshes and bones.
`hair_pos`	XYZ	The position relative to Lara's head where the braid will be drawn.

Guns

Show snippet

{
  "LGT_DESERT_EAGLE": {
    "hand_r": 62,
    "thigh_r": 9,
  },
  "LGT_UZIS": {
    "hand_r": 63,
    "hand_l": 64,
    "thigh_r": 10,
    "thigh_l": 11,
  },
  "LGT_SHOTGUN": {
    "hand_r": 65,
    "torso": 72,
  },
}

The map keys must match known engine weapons. See weapons and cfg/weapons.json5 for reference. Any entry may omit hand, thigh or torso, and note that specific gun types will only look for particular entries. For example, defining a thigh_l property for LGT_SHOTGUN is meaningless and will be ignored. Any missing fields imply that no mesh is drawn for that slot.

Property	Type	Description
`hand_r` `hand_l`	Integer	The mesh offset in `O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_GUNS` for the gun to draw in Lara's hands.
`thigh_r` `thigh_l`	Integer	The mesh offset in `O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_GUNS` for the gun to draw against Lara's thighs. This expects the holster to be part of the mesh.
`torso`	Integer	The mesh offset in `O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_GUNS` for the gun to draw on Lara's back.

Custom level use cases

I don't need to customize Lara's outfit, and I don't mind players freely switching outfits.

In this scenario, simply ship your level with lara_outfits.bin and the default cfg/outfits.json5.

I don't need to customize Lara's outfit, nor do I want the player to change it.

In this case, you can simply enforce the outfit option, and continue to ship the standard files as above. Provided your game-flow level has an accurate lara_outfit entry, you can enforce as follows.

"enforced_config": {
  "lara_outfit": null,
},

Using null here means that if your second level uses a different outfit, that will still be honoured.

I don't need to customize Lara's outfits, but I want to restrict the ones that can be selected by the player.

Ship the default injection file, but edit cfg/outfits.json5 by removing the entries from the outfits section that you do not need.

I want to customize Lara's outfits.

Download the provided TRX WAD to access the data included in the shipped injection. Move each of the relevant objects to your WAD. You can then proceed to edit the meshes as required. Ensure that you remove the lara_outfits.bin from your game-flow, otherwise these will override the data in your level.

I want to customize Lara's braid.

Braid meshes and bones are taken from the O_LARA_SKIN_SWAP_EXTRA object, so to customize it you will need to follow the same steps as for customizing outfits i.e. import the TRX WAD, edit the data and remove the injection.