A virtual reality mod for Tomb Raider: Legend (PC, Steam or GOG), adding stereoscopic rendering, 6DoF head tracking and motion controller support, a VR third-person camera, and an optional first-person mode where you climb, shoot and swing with your own hands.

It runs as a Direct3D 9 proxy (d3d9.dll) beside a small fork of DXVK, with a launcher that makes the game large-address-aware.

Note

This mod was made with heavy AI (Claude) assistance. I want to be upfront about that.

Warning

This is a preview. It is playable from start to finish in third person and most of the way in first person, but expect rough edges. Bug reports with logs are very welcome; see Troubleshooting.

Important

Windows may block this mod from running.

Smart App Control (Windows 11) refuses unsigned code outright. This mod is unsigned, so on a machine where SAC is enforced the game will start and the VR mod will not load. SAC has no exclusion list; the only option is to turn it off: Windows Security → App & browser control → Smart App Control → Off.

Ordinary antivirus may also object. What this mod does, replacing a system DLL name and patching a running game's code, looks a lot like what malware does. An exclusion for the game folder fixes that.

About the game

Tomb Raider: Legend (Crystal Dynamics, 2006) rebooted the series with a new engine, fluid traversal and a grapple. It has no VR support of any kind: one camera, a flat HUD and a renderer built for a 4:3 or 16:9 monitor.

It turned out to be a good fit anyway. Its traversal (ledges, poles, vines, swinging bars, grapple swings) maps naturally onto your hands, and the third-person camera works as a comfortable way to watch Lara from just behind her shoulder.

Requirements

Tomb Raider: Legend for PC: the Steam or the GOG release
A SteamVR-compatible headset with two tracked motion controllers
SteamVR installed and running
A GPU with Vulkan support (DXVK translates the game's Direct3D 9 to Vulkan)
Windows

Developed and tested on an HP Reverb G2. Bindings ship for Oculus Touch, Valve Index, WMR and Reverb G2 controllers. Nothing is specific to one headset: field of view, IPD and render resolution are all read from the runtime at start-up.

Features

Rendering

True stereo, both eyes every frame. Each draw is issued once per eye into a side-by-side target. No alternate-eye rendering or reprojection tricks.
Per-eye asymmetric projection from the runtime, so geometry is correct rather than approximated.
Automatic render resolution. The game renders at SteamVR's recommended size, so SteamVR's per-game resolution slider is the control.
VR-correct culling. The game's object and terrain culling is rebuilt around the wide headset view, so nothing pops out at the edge of your vision and nothing behind you is drawn for nothing.
Level horizon. The game camera's pitch and roll stay out of your view; only your head moves it.
A stable compositor hand-off. The image given to SteamVR is pinned in video memory (the lesson from the SiN VR mod's NVIDIA crash).

Third person (default)

Three camera styles: classic (the game's camera, smoothed, no auto-centring or shake), shoulder (close behind Lara at life size) and board (Lara a few inches tall on a tabletop world).
Camera collision keeps the view out of rock and walls.
A 3D gear cross of the game's own item icons floats in front of you with immersive controls; grip an icon to use it.

First person (optional)

Your own hands: Lara's hands follow the controllers, with an optional full body (first_person_body = full) that bends her arms to reach them.
Holsters: reach to a hip and grip to draw the pistols; grip again to put them away. Grip over a shoulder for the long gun.
Belt and pouches: grab the grapple and fling it, lift the binoculars to your face, take a grenade or flare from the belt, and bring a medipack to your mouth.
Two-handed long guns: the off hand on the foregrip steadies the aim.
Accurate shooting: shots go where the gun points (no random spread in first person), with a VR crosshair at the impact point, recoil and haptics. Lock-on targeting follows your head and is widened for VR.
Hand-over-hand traversal: grip ledges, vines, chains and swing bars and pull yourself along them; alternate hands quickly to shimmy fast; pull down with both hands to climb onto a ledge. A one-hand catch is secured by grabbing the hold (or automatically, with auto_secure_catch = 1).
Jumps go where you look off chains and poles; on vines the stick works relative to your view.
Physical crouch: crouch for real to crouch.
Holster setup in game: Pause menu → VR Holster Setup lets you place the holsters, belt items and pouches where they suit your body.
Left-handed mode, akimbo or single pistols, and three aiming styles.

Interface and comfort

HUD on its own layer, drawn at a comfortable size with a gentle head follow; menus are world-locked panels you can look around.
World markers (caution icons, grapple targets, lock-on) are placed at their real position in the world, not on a flat screen.
Prompts speak VR: tutorial and context prompts name the VR controller button instead of the keyboard key, including for left-handed play.
Smooth or snap turning, an optional comfort vignette, and movies and loading screens shown on a world-locked screen.

Installation

1. Prepare the game

Run Tomb Raider: Legend once normally, reach the main menu, and quit. In the game's Setup dialog turn off:

Setting	Why
Next Generation Content	Its separate renderer gives a black scene in VR
Fullscreen Effects	Flat-screen post effects smear the two eyes into each other

Depth of Field is switched off by the mod itself (depth_of_field).

2. Copy the files

Copy everything inside Main - Copy these into the base game folder into the folder that contains trl.exe. Steam's default:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Tomb Raider Legend\

File	What it is
`d3d9.dll`	The mod (a Direct3D 9 proxy the game loads)
`d3d9_dxvk.dll`	The DXVK fork that renders through Vulkan
`openvr_api.dll`	OpenVR, 32-bit
`trlvr_launcher.exe`	The launcher (see below)
`trlvr_actions.json`, `bindings_*.json`	The SteamVR action manifest and controller bindings

Important

GOG release: GOG ships its own D3D9.dll (a compatibility wrapper) in the game folder. Rename it first, for example to D3D9.dll.gog-dxwrapper, then copy the mod in. Any other d3d9.dll belongs to another graphics mod and must be moved aside too.

3. Start through the launcher

Steam: right-click the game → Properties → Launch Options:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Tomb Raider Legend\trlvr_launcher.exe" %command%

Adjust the path if your library is elsewhere, then launch from Steam as usual.

GOG: start SteamVR, then run trlvr_launcher.exe from the game folder.

Why a launcher?

trl.exe is a 32-bit program without the LARGE_ADDRESS_AWARE flag, so it is limited to 2 GB of memory: not enough for headset-resolution, two-eye render targets. The launcher writes a patched copy, trl_vr.exe, with the flag set and starts that. The original trl.exe is never modified.

Controls

A fresh install uses the classic layout: the VR controllers send the game's own keyboard and mouse controls, so everything the game can do has a button. Defaults for Oculus Touch-style controllers (Reverb G2, Quest, Rift):

Control	Action
Left stick	Move
Left stick click / double click / hold	Pause / recentre the view / health pack
Right stick	Turn
Right stick click / hold	Switch weapons / binoculars
Left trigger	Action, interact, pull the grapple
Right trigger	Fire; select in menus
Left grip	Throw the grapple
Right grip	Combat lock-on
A	Jump, surface; select in menus
B	Dive, crouch, roll; back in menus
X	Accurate aim
Y tap / hold	Grenade or flare / personal light

Index, WMR and per-controller details are in release/VR CONTROLLER BINDINGS.txt. The keyboard keeps working alongside the controllers, and F1 recentres.

Immersive controls

With immersive_controls = 1 the grips become your hands. In first person: holsters at the hips and over the shoulders, gear on the belt, pouches on the chest, the light on a left-hand grip at the left chest, and climbing with your hands. The action trigger aims with a gun out and acts otherwise. X, the long press on Y and the long press on the right stick give way to gestures.

Developer keys

Mostly for diagnosing problems. Each writes what it did to trlvr.log.

Key	Effect
F1	Recentre
F2 / Shift+F2	Object / terrain culling: headset frustum ↔ open (for comparison)
F3	Time the next frame on the GPU (`gpu profile` lines)
F4	Log every draw of the next frame
F5	Reload hand offsets from `trlvr.ini`
F9	Capture the interface textures
`[` / `]`	Nearer / farther convergence of first-person world markers

Configuration

Settings live in trlvr.ini beside the game, written on first run. Every key is explained in the file itself. Missing settings are added on start-up; values you chose are never replaced. Edit the file with the game closed.

Third person with the classic layout is the default, because it is the safest place to start. To try first person:

[vr]
first_person = 1
first_person_tracked_hands = 1

[controls]
immersive_controls = 1

The settings most worth knowing

Setting	Default	What it does
`first_person`	`0`	First-person view through Lara's eyes
`first_person_tracked_hands`	`0`	Lara's hands follow your controllers (first person)
`immersive_controls`	`0`	Hand gestures: holsters, belt gear, pouches, hand climbing, gear cross
`first_person_body`	`hands`	`full` draws Lara's whole body below the view
`third_person_mode`	`classic`	`classic`, `shoulder` or `board`
`left_handed`	`0`	Main hand on the left; swaps the triggers' roles
`pistol_mode`	`akimbo`	`single`: each hip draws its own pistol, fired by that hand
`aim_mode`	`hand`	`hands` aims between both pistols; `hands_head` mixes in the headset
`two_handed_mode`	`auto`	Long-gun foregrip: `auto` (bring the hand close), `toggle`, `hold`
`turn_mode`	`smooth`	`snap` turns by `snap_turn_degrees` (30)
`comfort_vignette`	`off`	`jumps` or `full` darkens the edge of view while moving
`physical_crouch`	`1`	Crouch for real to crouch
`auto_secure_catch`	`0`	One-hand catches secure themselves (no grab needed)
`first_person_no_spread`	`1`	Shots go exactly where the gun points
`camera_collision`	`1`	Third-person view stops short of walls
`ui_scale`	`0.6`	Size of the HUD and menus
`hud_follow`	`0.85`	How closely the HUD follows your head (1 = locked)
`msaa`	`4`	Anti-aliasing cap when FSAA is on: `0`, `2`, `4` or `8`
`first_person_object_culling`	`frustum`	`open` draws every object in a visible room, at a large CPU cost
`terrain_culling`	`frustum`	`open` draws every terrain strip of a visible room
`depth_of_field`	`off`	`on` or `game` (keep the launcher's setting)
`world_scale`	`291`	Game units per metre. Raise to feel smaller, lower to feel larger

Performance

The game is old but the work is doubled for two eyes, and some of it runs on the CPU. In rough order of effect:

SteamVR's per-game resolution (Settings → Video). The mod reads it at start-up, so restart the game after changing it.
Keep the culling settings on frustum (the default). open costs a lot of CPU in busy rooms.
msaa: 2 or 0 frees GPU time.
Turning off Water Effects, Reflections and Shadows in the Setup dialog.
If 90 fps is out of reach, a fixed half-rate with Motion Smoothing in SteamVR usually feels smoother than a frame rate that keeps jumping.

trlvr.log gets a perf: line every 5 seconds: frame rate, GPU and CPU time, and the costliest objects. It says why an area is slow.

Building from source

Prerequisites

Visual Studio 2022 (or Build Tools) with the C++ x86 toolset; the scripts find it with vswhere.
The Vulkan SDK installed under C:\VulkanSDK (headers and glslangValidator).
Python 3 with meson and ninja: py -3 -m pip install meson ninja.
OpenVR is included in third_party/openvr.

Everything is built 32-bit: trl.exe is a 32-bit process.

Build

build_dxvk.bat      :: the DXVK fork  -> dist\d3d9_dxvk.dll  (slow the first time)
build.bat           :: the mod and launcher -> dist\d3d9.dll, dist\trlvr_launcher.exe
mathtest.bat        :: tests for the VR maths
test.bat            :: loads the proxy in a test host

build_dxvk.bat clean reconfigures the DXVK build from scratch.

Install or package

install.bat dxvk ["<game folder>"]   :: copies the build into the game folder (Steam default if omitted)
package.bat                          :: the drag-and-drop release in %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\TRLVRmod

The DXVK fork (dxvk-trlvr/) adds Direct3DCreateVR9 (src/d3d9/d3d9_vr.*), which hands the Vulkan image behind a Direct3D 9 surface to OpenVR, and a DXVK profile for trl_vr.exe. The shipped d3d9_dxvk.dll is a modified DXVK build; report problems with it here, not upstream.

Layout

Path	Contents
`src/proxy`	D3D9 and swap-chain proxy, MSAA cap, GPU profiler
`src/vr`	VR session and submit, cameras and first person, culling, input and gestures, UI, water
`src/common`	`trlvr.ini` settings and the log
`src/launcher`	`trlvr_launcher.exe`
`src/test`	Maths and proxy tests
`input`	SteamVR action manifest and controller bindings
`release`	Player documentation shipped in the package
`dxvk-trlvr`	DXVK fork
`third_party/openvr`	OpenVR header and runtime

Known limitations

Next Generation Content is not supported. Its renderer gives a black scene. Keep it off.
Water looks flatter than on a monitor. The game's water reflection and full-screen water effect only exist for one eye, so they are skipped.
Changing anti-aliasing in the in-game options crashes the game. Change it in the Setup dialog before starting.
Cinematics play in third person on a world-locked view.
Some wet-rock decals flicker by view angle. The flat game does the same.
Performance dips in a few busy scenes, for example animal attacks. The perf: lines in the log help pin these down.
No hand collision yet. In first person your hands pass through walls and through Lara's body.

Uninstalling

Clear the Steam launch option, then delete from the game folder:

d3d9.dll   d3d9_dxvk.dll   openvr_api.dll   trlvr_launcher.exe
trlvr_actions.json   bindings_*.json
trlvr.ini   trlvr.log*   trlvr_crash.dmp*   trl_vr.exe
trlvr_launcher.log   trl_vr_d3d9.log

On GOG, rename D3D9.dll.gog-dxwrapper back to D3D9.dll. The game's own files were never changed. The game saves its settings when it quits, so Depth of Field may show as off in the Setup dialog afterwards; turn it back on there if you want it.

Troubleshooting

The game runs on the monitor but nothing appears in the headset. Check trlvr.log beside the game. It records the headset, every hook and the controllers, and says plainly when something fails. Make sure the game was started through trlvr_launcher.exe and that SteamVR was running.

The view is offset or facing the wrong way. Double-click the left stick (or press F1) to recentre.

Controller buttons do nothing, or the wrong thing. SteamVR may have kept an older or custom binding. Open SteamVR → Settings → Controllers → Manage Controller Bindings and select the supplied Tomb Raider: Legend VR binding.

Performance is poor. See Performance. The perf: lines in trlvr.log show whether it is the GPU or the CPU and which objects cost the most.

The game crashes. Send the files beside the game: trlvr.log and trlvr_crash.dmp, plus trl_vr_d3d9.log. If you have started the game again since, the previous run is kept as trlvr.log.prev and trlvr_crash.dmp.prev. The crash report names the module and the SteamVR or DXVK call in progress, and the dump holds the rest.

Licence

This project's own code (src/, input/, the scripts and the documentation) is released under the Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE and NOTICE.

Not covered by it, see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md:

DXVK (zlib/libpng). The release's d3d9_dxvk.dll is a modified build.

Tomb Raider: Legend is © its owners. This mod is unofficial, not affiliated with or endorsed by Crystal Dynamics, Eidos or their successors, contains no game data, and needs a legitimate copy of the game.

Important

Thanks

This mod exists because other people solved harder problems first and published their work.

Philip Rebohle and the DXVK contributors. DXVK's Direct3D 9 to Vulkan translation is what makes a 2006 D3D9 game reachable by a modern VR compositor at all.

chreden, for TRAWindowed, the D3D9 wrapper this mod's proxy grew from.

Valve, for OpenVR and SteamVR.

Crystal Dynamics, for making Tomb Raider: Legend.

Any mistakes in this mod are my own, not theirs.

In Loving Memory

Sophie 2010-2026