Note: If you have Gold Edition then the unpacking may happen at another destination such as in your virtual store and not in Program Files e.g. (AppData/Local/Virtual Store/Medieval2) Thanks to Liuon for highlighting this. If I discover that other versions of the game have similar issues then I will add them here. In case you are not aware, I'm playing the definitive edition. ps. A (potentially obvious) note of caution here: Have back up copies of any files you edit because it is very easy to make a tiny mistake. ENJOY!
IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE WHO INSTALLED A FRESH COPY OF THE GAME: The configuration file won't exist/show up until you've booted up the game for the first time, maybe not until you've started a campaign. I've seen some people on steam threads asking how to create the config file, you may not need to do that at all.
Hi! I did all your tutorials here, but in the end, after I executed the unpacker I still can't see any additional/unpacked files in data. Why is that? Thanks!
I've had so much fun with the game since I followed your guide. Thanks again. Just to say that the io_file_first = true tells the game whether to use the exe files or the unpacked files first. Unpacking the game doesn't remove the files from the exe, basically it copies them.
Cheers! And thank you for the clarity there! in the time since I first made this I have definitely developed a much better understanding of such details.
Oh boy! I learned a lesson about keeping regular 'on the go' backups yesterday. Spent 12 hours modding England faction, - stealing swordsmen militia from the Portugal and Spain, Morgannwg, Mathrafal horsemen and Teulu from Wales, (i'm going to wipe them out immediately anyway - they don't need them) renaming units and descriptions, spending absolutely ages in descr_buildings getting rid of troops i don't want and putting the ones i do in all the different buildings and making everything nice and tidy. I was confident in what i was doing as i've done it all before but then after a whole day of modding the darned game crashes and i can't find the problem. Have to start over. What i should have done is make sure all the units work and get built first then make a backup. Then get the units in all the right buildings, check it, and make a backup, and then tinker and balance all the troops i'm using in descr_units, check it and make a backup, then finally do the descr_strat and sort out the towns and troops, traits and agents. - Big lesson learned!
@@ToNerdistoHumanTNH Hi! I did all your tutorials here, but in the end, after I executed the unpacker I still can't see any additional/unpacked files in data. Why is that? Thanks!
I followed these steps and everything worked properly with the exception of the background script in the game. For any reason after using the unpacker tool, if you play the game the descriptions of the menu and the units are missing. This is a pain in the ass becasuse you cannot use the diplomats or see important info in the game. Do you know how to resolve this problem? thank you
This is an excellent overview and introduction, really appreciate you putting this up here. As a novice when it comes to editing game files, I run into trouble when attempting to edit the txt.strings files. Would you consider making a video on what can be done regarding those files? For example names.txt.strings or export_ancillaries.txt.strings
Thanks you very much! I always appreciate suggestions so I can look into that. I myself would not claim to be more than an enthusiastic novice with modding. My mantra with these videos is very much to see if I can make these edits accessible to the general player so hopefully more people can enjoy playing around with these older total war titles.
That's great! after watching your how-too mod, I did some mods thanks to you and improved the fun factor to enjoyable. I had quit playing it some years back. The game always hated my faction, I got sick of the stupid game. The creators must not have played the game. Thanks again, now I can actually enjoy playing the game.
very strange thing happened when i did this so leaving this as a warning for others: the files you move into the tools folder for the unpacker to work: Make a copy of them elsewhere for safe keeping for some reason the unpacker ate them and my game wouldn't run until i reinstalled it and ran the unpacker and then manually added those files back in after the unpacker ate them again, Steam version
I've changed the preference file and unit file to read only but somehow the data I edited is still being reverted back by the game, does anyone know why?
Thanks for this. Clear instructions and everything worked as described. I'm using Steam Definitive Edition - the unpacker.exe didn't run but the .bat files did.
My game files increased almost 10gb by doing this. Is there a way to not increase it? My PC has little space :( Thank you for the excellent video and channel!
A side note for fellow pirates here, I have the gold edition and I did the unpacking like 50 times without noticing any new file in data folder. After like 2 hours I found that the unpacking happend at another destination (AppData/Local/Virtual Store/Medieval2 folder and not in Program Files) and then I performed the actions the mate in the video suggested. Gonna come back here to tell you if that worked. Thanks for the video anyway mate ;)
It appears that it worked, I occupied many settlements and reputation didn't fall at all. I assume that betrayal and random wars can happen, but previously i got rekt every time after certain amount of turns everybody hated me no matter how many diplomats i sent to bear gifts... Thanks a lot my man
Ahhhh! A few people with Gold edition were having odd problems with that. Thank you for the help - hopefully others will gain from that! Pleased you can enjoy your slightly more diplomatic version of Med II. :D
running definitive edition and neither your nor the original solution works, I've tried running unpack_all and unpacker.exe with and without admin but still no mass folders in either location. Any clue at to where it could be?
Hey man , i did everything to the letter , and im still not seeing the changes take place , i added what i needed in the preferences , and made sure the read part of the propertys on the files , what do i need to double check ? Game loades fine and everything is unpacked and were it needs to be .
Well, i'm having quite a dilemma. I've done all there was to do, unpacked the game and done adding the bypass to the checksum and done read only to preferences, and all that but changes still revert. For example i'm trying to unlock the rebels for costum battle. I just cannot, it reverts back to normal even if i removed a faction from costum battle avalability and still does not work... what do i do now?
for some reason i cant get the changes to save in the game. just as an example ive been changing the cogs upkeep but no matter what it stays at 150. i followed the tutorial to the letter and they just wont save. anything i might be doing wrong?>
Thank you so much for this video! I spent hours today trying to unpack these files and you explained everything so well. You made me subscribe to your channel and now I'm watching your other M2TW videos!
Hey man, I'm thinking of making a mod where I swap around and dub over voice lines so every faction speaks their native languages, any tips on how to access the voice lines and switch around/replace them?
An interesting question. This is not something I have looked at before but if I find anything i will let you know. Apologies for the slow response! Try the Total war centre forums. Most modding things come up in there! www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?272-Medieval-II-Total-War-Mod-Workshop
Hey man, I feel like I've made a mistake somewhere. I followed your instructions in the video, but when I click on the game - nothing happens anymore. Sorry to be a pest, but any suggestions?
Hello! Mine runs on windows 10. Though yes, it can get awkward on modern computers. After unpacking, have you moved the application extensions back to where they were originally (the main Med II folder)? That can be an issue as the game expected to find them there.
I could fucking kiss you right now! Thanks to your heavenly smooth and simply instructions, as well as some help from other sources I've actually managed to mod one of my games for the first time. Thank you so ever much. I truly hope all is ever well for you.
Ooooh a good suggestion. Without having done that myself I would assume yes as they are running on the same engine etc... How accessible it is for the casual modder though, I'm not so sure. I'll have to play around and see about that!
Thank you so much for this! I couldn't get this done using internet forums (even tho the instructiosn were almost the same!) Thank you for your tutorial! Finally, I can get rid of the damned occupy settlement bug!
Hey I have a version of the game that doesnt have the preferences.script where i can change the campaign unit multiplier where I used to change the 0.75 default to another number. My other total war games have this script in the appdata folder except medieval 2. Can you help?
I tried to fix pikes using this method and the one in the other video however it does not work. I did everything the way you instructed but the game refuses to listen to the changes i made. I have no idea why though. How did you open the cfg file? I opened it in txt and maybe that's why it failed?
This used to work for me, now when I add in the [io] bit and set to read only, the game crashes instantly. None of my changes have stuck other than a couple of the things I've done to the descr_strat folder. All the .dll files are back in the main folder and all the instructions have been followed to the letter. Any ideas?
You have to delete two files I. The data folder, I forgot the exact names, but search for the keyword geography I. The data folder, there should be two right next to each other. Just delete them and it'll work
How would I go about editing the dlc campaigns such as Britannia? I tried unpacking it and it just broke the UI. I'm so glad you're making these tutorials, thanks!
1:52 if you double click the unpack_Britannia file then it should process the unpacking of that dlc just like it did for the main game in the video. What about the UI broke? Can't say I've had that problem myself.
@@ToNerdistoHumanTNH I'll try it again, but the UI elements became large colored boxes. Any idea why the unpacker might not be giving me all of the files? I don't have the "Export_Ancillaries.txt" file when I try unpacking
@@ToNerdistoHumanTNH The unpacking portion worked, but all the files that I try to edit don't apply into the game, or if they do, it is strangely working and not working. I made it so castles would provide free upkeep of 4, ensured that the units had the free upkeep in the unit file and sometimes only 1 unit in one castle would be getting the free upkeep while the same unit in another castle wasn't receiving the free upkeep. In addition, I tried making forts in the descr_strat, have free upkeep of 4 as well and no units received the benefit. I ensured that the export_unit file and the units I was experimenting with had the free upkeep line. Any solution?
@@ToNerdistoHumanTNH For me, certain Kingdoms campaigns don’t unpack entirely. Britannia did, but Teutonic for instance got about five seconds into the unpacking when it just stopped. No error message, no nothing, it just disappeared. In addition, even where the unpacking did work, there is no unit description under data that could be modded
Here's a video about upkeep: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lc5AW-FPoKA.html Regarding recruitment slots, this video probably covers that! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-A3APXpxg9Zo.html
This is really useful, I love being able to Heal castle units in towns and cities now, really helps the flow of a war don't need to bring the army back to a castle every time they take heavy losses, thanks!
Each of the applications you move to the mod folder will unpack a chunk of files. I imagine those two would be unpacked from the same application but I couldn't tell you which one as I simply unpacked them all. If I find out I will update you!
This was really helpful thank you! Been trying to apply the Diplo bug fix and getting increasingly frustrated at how elusive faction_standing was proving!
almost 15 mins of talking about nothing like my girlfriend and no mention that game will CRUSH every time u enter battle unless the following unpacked files must be deleted before the game is launched: data\descr_geography_new.txt data\descr_geography_new.db
well, for some reason this unpacking process doesnt work. It does unpack smth, but when I check the data folder its still empty as it was before the unpacking process. The funny part, that the place on the hard drive becomes less available, but then restores back to the pre-unpacking level after some minutes. update: Also the game started to crash during the battle every time. Reinstalling the game didn't help. Basically, the game is ruined
Almost all changes will have an ongoing effect on saved campaigns. The descr_strat file being the most notable exception as it's used to create the game start.
If needed you can simply remove the 'mercenary_unit' line from their attributes. Have you tried to edit other things? If other changes aren't happening then it is likely that the files are still reverting back to their original state. Apologies for a slow response!
If you can, please dedicate a video or two to modding the historical diplomatic attitudes of the factions. I found that some factions are overly friendly to each other when they should hate each other's guts. For example, the Byzantines and the HRE entered in an alliance when they both compete for the claim of Romans. Sometimes the Milanese will either ally with the French or HRE when the win condition or even description states that they are enemies sooner or later. Another example is the Moors are often attacked first by the Portugese and rarely by the Spanish whether they entered temporary alliance or not. Also, I would love it if you can make a video about which guilds to build for which towns/castles. For example, I have more incentives to build merchant guilds knowing Milan, Venice, London, Constantinople, Paris... are historical economic, trading, fashion centers. I can concentrate on building religious-related guilds in Jerusalem knowing that they are historically accurate religious synagogue grounds of both the Eastern and Western powers.
Hello everyone. I have M2TW Gold Edition from some copyright web (not official steam version). I did it exactly same like NERD. And none of unpacking working. I just cant unpack anything in my folder if i can say easily. Anyone some advice for me please?
Thank you for this, very helpful indeed! I have one problem though: I unpacked the files and I can edit them, but the unpacked files for the Britannia and Teutonic campaigns don´t show up. I tried unpacking them separately, but the process won´t finish. I tried unpacking all the files again, but the Britannia and Teutonic files still won´t show up. Any ideas how to fix this?
Strange... have you got all the application files from the data file back in the folder with the unpacker? If you miss one then it can sometimes play up. I'm guessing theres no error code coming up when the process fails to finish!?
That's right, no error code there. I tried again with all twelve .dll files that were in the Medieval II Total War folder, with the same results. Thanks for your reply!
@@benjaminbernreiter2283 the folder is in read only mode. Open cmd in administration. Type "cd" and location of bat file. Execute bat file in cmd by typing its name. It worked for me.
In my game files, there is no "tools" folder. It doesn't exist. I have: data, miles and packs. That's it. Mine was installed from dvd, not steam. Would it be somewhere else in that case?
I don't know the chances of this being read it but if you have an answer please tell me. I put in the [io] file_first = true code in and all that happened is my game crashes shortly after starting. I don't know what is wrong or if I missed something. I opened the preference file in note pad but it don't know if that is a problem. I also did the unpacking in the other tutorial video. Edit: I am still trying to get this to work and with some testing found that the crashing problem starts when I save [io] file_first = true in the preference tab. I still do not know how to fix this and do not understand why its still not working.
Could someone help me, when I unpack all to edit the other scripts of the game, when running a battle the game crashes, even with a clean installation, I don't remember what I have to do to fix this, I would really like .
so i was changing things about units, rebel spawnings and other stuff, now the game doesn't open. didn't change anything important and i respected the spaces and writings. someone helppppp!!
So my unpacker doesn't give me an error like yours without the files in the same folder and when I put the files in the folder when I agree to the terms the unpacker just closes and nothing happens
After unpacking the files (to try and sort out the diplomacy bug), the game just won't load anymore. Not even to the start screen. Steam said the game is loading, then kicks me out with no crash dump or anything. I'm not sure what I did wrong
The .dll files that are moved into the mod folder, need to be put back into the Medieval II folder after unpacking. That is most likely the problem. I think I mentioned it a little quickly here and a few people have missed that point before. Hope that is it!
Thank you so much for this 😀 . It worked for me using the Gold CD with Steam linked. Easy unpacking and I tested making the 'cog' upkeep cost 500 and back to 150. Love your video. Thanks again!!!
I have a recollection that the unpacker was added in an early patch and wasn't in the original files so perhaps you have an early version of the game? There's a good discussion of the unpacker on the Total War Centre. It might help: www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?550619-Creating-a-World-Unpacking-the-Game&highlight=unpacker+files
hello man, do you have any idea how to unpack or decode savegame files? ;d I would like to use mod where u can manage more units per army but none of the programs like Save Parser and so on.. doesnt work for me so I probably need manually to overwrite some files :( I did spend whole yesterday trying to make it work cause I really want a lot to run it :(
I'm afraid I don't have any experience with that sort of modding. Have you tried the Total War Centre? They usually have lots of guides for deep modding :) www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?3-Medieval-II-Total-War
Character ages can be fiddly but that might be down to the family members listed under the armies. I assume the ages need to match up (children being 16 years younger at least for example).
If you have gold edition, the unpacking may happen at another destination such as in your virtual store (AppData/Local/Virtual Store/Medieval2) and not in Program Files.
Another great video!! Just one question: is there a way to revert the files to their original state after you save your changes? Such as changing the stats and such without individual having to remember them and changing them again.
Best thing is to just keep copies of the originals and copy/paste it back when you want to revert to the original version. Much much easier than editing it back or having to reinstall.
Mine did the same,but you can go into medieval2.pref file by right clicking,go to its properties and click on the big change button.Here you can change it to notepad.Hope it helps.
Most likely it is because of the age of other family members. children needing to be a certain amount younger etc... Ages can be fiddly so I tend to fix those separately after I complete the rest of my editing.
I done exactly as in vid unpacked then wrote the changes in file so to stop game from preventing my changes to the edit unit file nothing happened I’m using the stream app version not cd is that the reason why it’s not working
I'm using steam too. I recal it being very fiddly to get setup originally. Try reverting the preference file back and start again. Sometimes just fiddling with the read only a few times fixes it.
I changed the preferences with the [io] first = true line exactly as you showed. Then made it read only. After doing this the game will not get past the loading screen, it crashes immediately. What do???
Update of my Issue these are the errors in my logs. 19:20:36.510 [data.missing] [error] mods/crusades/data/ui/shared.sdfile not found 19:20:36.510 [data.missing] [error] mods/crusades/data/ui/battle.sdfile not found 19:20:36.511 [data.missing] [error] mods/crusades/data/ui/strategy.sdfile not found
Shit man, tryed it 3times. Step by step... In cfg [io] file_first = true Just doesent work. Read only. Step by step... 3 times... My game log says sistem.io warning And about 20 files missing... Any idea?
Hello there! Ì can't unpack completely my CD version of original MTW2, and only I need the unit cards of the units (ui/units folder) is there any possibility to pass a MEGA/Google Drive link to download only those folders, please? Thank you very much.
It would certainly be the first step! I haven't got as far as creating a whole faction but there is quite a lot of accessible modding once the files are unpacked!
I did everything you did but here is the issue . I got two files medieval2.preference.cfg medieval2.preference.cfg.BAK I did not get the that one file you showed at the video that opena up a notepad which affects the game .
Good question! Cfg files will usually open straight into text documents without converting. You may simply need to right click the file and click 'open with' then choose notepad. I hope that works. Do get back to me if not.
@@ToNerdistoHumanTNH It does work but i do understand now what is the issue. Unpacker is not unpacking all of the files.It stops at 20000 something out of 36000 .Also i am missing the IDV.dll file you have . I have done everything you did in the video up to that point perfectly. Any help would be sweet
i dont know man, there is no tool folder.. the folders are (data, logs, miles, packs, preferences, saves, temp)... as you can see i have different folder available than you do.... can i fix it?
You are an absolute life saver. I switched to steam edition a while ago and have been struggling to edit the silly unbalanced unit stats of the grand campaign for ages. Thank you!
Pleaseeee replyyyyyy siiiir. So if i have an on going campaign and i do something in data file (fixing bug like in one of ur videos) does it effect the on going campaign? If it not, what i have to do so it will effect my on going campaign :(
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