A guide to modding the descr_strat file
This file is only called at the start of a campaign, any changes made to this file will not affect a saved campaign.
related files and paths:-
\Rome - Total War\Data\world\maps\campaign\{campaign_name}\descr_strat.txt
\Rome - Total War\Data\world\maps\campaign\{campaign_name}\descr_regions.txt
\Rome - Total War\Data\descr_names.txt
\Rome - Total War\Data\export_descr_ancillaries.txt
\Rome - Total War\Data\export_descr_buildings.txt
\Rome - Total War\Data\export_descr_character_traits.txt
\Rome - Total War\Data\export_descr_units.txt
\Rome - Total War\Data\Text\{campaign_name}_region_and_settlement_names.txt
\Rome - Total War\Data\Text\campaign_descriptions.txt
Sections:-
1. Overview of descr_strat
2. The campaign section
3. The Landmarks Section
4. The Resources Section
5. Sound Emitters and Events Section
6. Factions section
6a. Cash and towns
6b. Characters and Armies
6c. The family relationships
7. The Diplomacy Section
8. The Regions Section
1. Overview of descr_strat
descr_strat is the file that sets up the world at the start of the campaign, and is generally the one with bugs in if you loop back to campaign select screen after selecting your faction and hitting start campaign.
It is the file that sets up who starts with which town, what armies, what family memebers, the famaily tree, basic diplomacy, what factions are available to be played, what factions are available to be unlocked, start gold, AI type, and the position of all visible landmarks and resources.
Notes
As in all of the data files, spacing is very important, so copying what exists is important.
X/Y Co-ords, these go from the bottom left corner (not top left like most graphics programs) and start at 0,0.
As with all files, anything following a semi-colon (; ) is a note, and is ignored when the file is processed.
2. The campaign section.
this is the section below
Originally posted by descr_strat+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td> (descr_strat)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
; Custom campaign script generated by Romans Campaign Map Editor
campaign* imperial_campaign
playable
romans_julii
romans_brutii
.
.
.
.
.
land_owner 20 100
land_owner 20 100
land_owner 20 100
end_win_conditions
[/b]
There are 4 sections to this bit:- the campign description, playable factions, start/end date and win conditions
The Campaign Description
Originally posted by descr_strat+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td> (descr_strat)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
campaign* imperial_campaign
[/b]
This is the pointer that tell the game which faction description to use from the campaign_descriptions.txt file when you are selecting your faction.
eg
If you were playing the Sons of Mars campaign (the tutorial) you get the first description for selecting Julii, if you were playing the imperial campaign you would get the imperial description.Originally posted by campaign_descriptions
{SONS_OF_MARS_JULII_TITLE}The House Of Julii
{SONS_OF_MARS_JULII_DESCR}You are the new leader (pater familias) of a young and upcoming noble (Patrician) family.\n\n You have been given a military command by the Senate and People of Rome (SPQR) and must help forge a safe, strong and lasting empire in Italy.\n\n Your first objectives are to repel a barbarian attack, just near Rome, and then move to take control of the town of Tarquinii, to the north west of Rome.\n\n As your tutor will have told you, It is up to you to "seize the day" (carpe diem).
{IMPERIAL_CAMPAIGN_JULII_TITLE}The House of Julii
{IMPERIAL_CAMPAIGN_JULII_DESCR}Rome is a place where tradition and history count for much. The legends of the city’s founding are important, and the powerful patrician families are directly descended from the first followers of Romulus. These heroic times demanded harsh, decisive action, and this is a tradition that the often-conservative Romans have maintained to this day. The Romans, including the Julii family, are people for whom politics and war are all or nothing affairs.\n\n The Fates have not always been kind to the Julii. They are a patrician family but one whose star has not always been in the ascendant. The family’s fortunes have declined and then risen over the centuries, so much so that they may almost be considered vaguely parvenu: upstarts newly arrived to wealth, power and authority. With the loss of position and status in the past, the other powerful factions of Rome look down (if only ever so slightly) on these ‘new men’ of Rome. The Julii have had to adjust to the realities of politics and power, and have cultivated their popularity with the common people. The rule of Rome may lie with the Senate for now, but the Julii know that the people also have a say in government. The Senate and the patrician classes need the plebeians to at least go along with their actions.\n\n This populist attitude to the common people puts the Julii at odds with the other great families. Which approach will lead to great power within Rome has still to be decided. The Julii have a commanding position in northern Italy that means they will be in vanguard of any struggle against barbarians. Success there can be translated into political power in Rome itself, as the mob always loves winners...
The playable factions
Those in red are playable at the start of a campaign (ie the first time you play it), the blues ones are unlockable after a successful campaign or if you are the faction that destroys them in a campaign (ie if you destroy the gauls in this campaign, the gauls are immediately selectable, even if you havent completed the campaign yet), and the purple ones are never playable in this campaign.Originally posted by descr_strat
playable
romans_julii
romans_brutii
romans_scipii
end
unlockable
egypt
seleucid
carthage
parthia
gauls
germans
britons
greek_cities
end
nonplayable
romans_senate
macedon
pontus
armenia
dacia
scythia
spain
thrace
numidia
slave
end
Note:- the roman_senate and slave faction are not designed to be playable factions (ie would be very hard to play). If you set the roman_senate faction as playable and play it, make sure you never got to the senate pages in game or it will crash.
The Start/End dates
fairly straightforward this negative numbers are BC dates, positive AD dates. Can be followed by summer or winter.Originally posted by descr_strat
start_date -270 summer
end_date 14 summer
Win conditions
Afaik no-one has been able to edit the win conditions yet (someone please tell me if I'm wrong), so leave these as they are.Originally posted by descr_strat
win_conditions
land_owner 20 100
land_owner 20 100
land_owner 20 100
land_owner 20 100
land_owner 20 100
land_owner 20 100
land_owner 20 100
land_owner 20 100
end_win_conditions
3. The Landmarks Section
This quite simply tells the game where the Wonders are located.Originally posted by descr_strat
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; >>>> start of landmarks section <<<<
landmark pyramids_and_sphinx 181, 12
landmark pharos 178, 21
landmark colossus 160, 44
landmark temple 157, 53
landmark statue 134, 49
landmark gardens 237, 46
landmark mausoleum 160, 50
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
4. The Resources Section
This tells the game where to find the visible resources in the game. Note gold and silver have to be a visible resource for you to be able to build mines in the local settlement.Originally posted by descr_strat
; >>>> start of resources section <<<<
resource iron,** 83, 128
resource wine,* 53, 63
resource marble,* 56, 63
resource timber,* 201, 39
resource glass,* 199, 37
.
.
.
.
resource* * * * hides,* * * * ** 74,* * 22
resource* * * * camels,* * * * * 72,* * 18
resource* * * * tin,* * * * * ** 61,* * 99
resource* * * * copper,* * * * * 177,** 61
resource* * * * lead,* * * * * * 176,** 59
resource* * * * grain,* * * * ** 189,** 101
resource* * * * timber,* * * * * 191,** 101*
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
Camels and Elephants also have to be a visible resource for you to be able to build camel and elephant based units.
I'm not sure if the trade resources have to be visible to have an effect on the local towns trade surplus.
I'm not absolutely sure when the slave resource appears (think its tied up with enslaving populations but not sure)
The available Trade resources are:- iron, wine, marble, timber, glass, hides, tin, copper, lead, pottery, silk, textiles, grain, amber, purple_dye, wild_animals, wine, olive_oil, incense
The available mining resources are:- Gold and silver
The available unit resources are:- Camels, Elephants
The special resources available are:- Slaves
5. The Sound Emitters and Events Section
These sections don't appear to do anything (unless anyone knows better, please contact me if you do)Originally posted by descr_strat
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; >>>> start of sound emitters section <<<<
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; >>>> start of events section <<<<
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
6. The factions section
This is probably the most important section for modders. Each faction in the game has its own faction section, and each section has 3 major parts:- Cash and towns, Characters and Armies, and The family relationships
6a Cash and Towns
The first section of a factions details lay out the basics of the faction, its reference, what AI is used if computer controlled, start cash and start settlements and their level.
ok lets start from the topOriginally posted by descr_strat
faction romans_julii, fortified caesar
denari 5000
settlement
{
level large_town
region Etruria
year_founded 0
population 4000
settlement_tax 51
plan_set default_set
faction_creator romans_julii
building
{
* type barracks militia_barracks
}
building
{
* type core_building governors_villa
}
building
{
* type port_buildings port
}
building
{
* type defenses wooden_pallisade
}
building
{
* type hinterland_farms farms
}
building
{
* type hinterland_roads roads
}
}
settlement
{
level large_town
region Umbria
year_founded 0
population 3500
settlement_tax 51
plan_set default_set
faction_creator romans_julii
building
{
* type barracks muster_field
}
building
{
* type core_building governors_villa
}
building
{
* type defenses wooden_pallisade
}
building
{
* type hinterland_roads roads
}
building
{
* type hinterland_farms farms
}
}
faction romans_julii, fortified ceasar
faction is the note that tells the game this is the data for a new faction, romans_julii is the faction reference (as used in all game files incl export_descr_units and export_descr_buildings). Fortified ceasar refers to the AI I came across the descriptors of what the ai options are somewhere, but I can't remember where. If anyone can direct me to the post/file I'll add the notes to the tutorial:/
denari 5000
hopefully obvious, this is the start gold a faction has. Probably the easiest mod in the game to change this
next come the start settlements the faction has in nested form (note if you give a town to a faction, but start a different factions army in that town, the town will belong to the army's faction at the start of the game).
For these to work properley, each open curly bracket ({)must be paired with a closed curly bracket (}).Originally posted by descr_strat
settlement
{
level large_town
region Etruria
year_founded 0
population 4000
settlement_tax 51
plan_set default_set
faction_creator romans_julii
building
{
* type barracks militia_barracks
}
building
{
* type core_building governors_villa
}
building
The first line within the brackets sets the start level of the town and can be (in ascending size order):- village, town, large_town, city, large_city, huge_city
The second line tells the game which region the town is in (note the game uses the region of the town, not the town name, so you may need to refer to descr_regions.txt to get the region name if you know the town)
year_founded not sure what this does, it appears to have no effect.
population:- the towns population, note can be higher than the towns level. If it is set too far below the level of the town, the population will default to the level the town upgrades. Minimun level is 400, if it is set below this the population will default to the upgrade level of a town (400 for village, 400 for town, 2000 for large_town, 6000 for city, 12000 for large_city and 24000 for huge_city.)
settlement_tax:- the base amount of tax a town generates, the higher this is, the higher the tax rewards are.
plan_set:- the layout of the town when you go town view/and or battle view options not sure what the options are for this (think its default_set and default_port_set.)
faction_creater:- any faction reference. this is the faction that created the town, thus will describe the culture the town ascribes to.
This describes the buildings in the town. Each building has a separate building {}. type barracks describes the building branch (taken from export_descr_buildings) eg is it a barracks, or wall, or governors building. The second bit, militia_barracks, describes the level of the building (again take from export_descr_building).Originally posted by descr_strat
building
{
* type barracks militia_barracks
}
NOTE you cannot have a building in a town above the towns level (ie no epic walls in a town), the core_building (governor building) of that level must exist before you can add them.
The red refernce is the building branch, the blue references are the building level.Originally posted by export_descr_buildings
building barracks
{
* * levels muster_field militia_barracks city_barracks army_barracks royal_barracks
* * {
* * * * muster_field requires factions { barbarian, ct_carthage, eastern, parthia, egyptian, greek, roman, }
* * * * {
* * * * * * capability
* * * * * * {
* * * * * * * * recruit "carthaginian city militia"* 0* requires factions { spain, }
* * * * * * * * recruit "barb
Repeat this for each town you want to own.
6b. Characters and Armies
This can be one of the hardest bits to edit, as it is very layout sensitive, reference sensitve and other strange rules sensitive.
Every general, army, navy, spy and diplomat is defined here.
right taking a line at a timeOriginally posted by descr_strat
character Flavius Julius, named character, leader, command 0, influence 0, management 0, subterfuge 0, age 47, , x 89, y 82
traits GoodCommander 2, NaturalMilitarySkill 1, GoodDefender 1, PoliticsSkill 3, GoodAdministrator 2, Austere 1
ancillaries aged_retainer
army
unit* roman generals guard cavalry early* * exp 1 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit* roman hastati* * exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit* roman hastati* * exp 1 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit* roman triarii* * exp 1 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit* roman funtidores* * exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
character forename surname, type, note, command level, influence level, management level, subterfuge level, age, space (god knows why this is here), start x, start y
forename and surname are taken from descr_names and MUST exist in this factions lists within descr_names. If it doesn't exist within the relevant faction the game will CTD with no error message. Characters are the male names and the forename must be male, surnames are also male only.
Only names from within this section of descr_names are valid for Julii characters (and so on for the relative culture names)Originally posted by descr_names
faction: romans julii
characters
* Amulius
* Augustus
* Aulus
* Caius
.
.
.
* Herennius
* Marcellus
* Asinius
surnames
* Acilius
* Aelius
* Aemilius
* Afranius
.
.
.
* Vettus
* Vinicianus
* Volesus
* Vulso
women
* Metella
* Domitia
* Gratidia
* Atia
* Faustina
.
.
.
* Turia
* Ulpia
* Urgulania
* Urgunalla
* Vibia
* Violentilla
* Vipsania
* Vistilia
faction: romans brutii
type is:- named character (aka family member), diplomat, spy, admiral, general (aka captain)
note:- leader or heir, if the character is neither faction leader or faction heir then this bit is missed. You can have more than one leader (the game wont like it though). if you set more than 1 as heir, the last heir in the list will end up as heir, the rest of the heirs will get the disinherited trait.
command/influence/management/subterfuge level:- do nothing (these levels are actually defined by the traits a character has)
age:- the age of the character (as and integer not 47.5). NOTE the age must be 16 or above.
space:- dunno why this is here, it seems to have no effect, but may be best to leave it
start x/y:- the starting x/y coordinates on the game map
These are optional:-
traits(optional) trait traitlvl, trait traitlvl, etc
trait:- trait_ref taken from export_descr_character_traits.txt
traitlvl:- the level of the trait at start (note not threhold) ie Fertile 3 give you Prolific trait
NOTE check carefully that you do not put both a trait and its antitrait in here, they will cancel each other out (even if one trait is at a much higher level)
NOTE hidden traits (such as sane) are added normally here, they just don't show up in game
This is taken from export_descr_character_traits.txt, the bit highlighted in red is the trait_ref, GoodCommander 1 would give you Confident Commander trait, GoodCommander 4 would give you Great Commander Trait. NOTE must be exactly as written (capitals matter)Originally posted by export_descr_character_traits
;------------------------------------------
Trait GoodCommander
* * Characters family
* * AntiTraits BadCommander
* * Level Confident_Commander
* * * * Description Confident_Commander_desc
* * * * EffectsDescription Confident_Commander_effects_desc
* * * * GainMessage Confident_Commander_gain_desc
* * * * Threshold* 2
* * * * Effect Command* 1
* * Level Good_Commander
* * * * Description Good_Commander_desc
* * * * EffectsDescription Good_Commander_effects_desc
* * * * GainMessage Good_Commander_gain_desc
* * * * Threshold* 4
* * * * Effect Command* 2
* * Level Superior_Commander
* * * * Description Superior_Commander_desc
* * * * EffectsDescription Superior_Commander_effects_desc
* * * * GainMessage Superior_Commander_gain_desc
* * * * Threshold* 8
* * * * Effect Command* 3
* * * * Effect Law* 1
* * Level Great_Commander
* * * * Description Great_Commander_desc
* * * * EffectsDescription Great_Commander_effects_desc
* * * * GainMessage Great_Commander_gain_desc
* * * * Threshold* 16
* * * * Effect Command* 4
* * * * Effect Law* 2
* * * * Effect Influence* 1
* * Level Legendary_Commander
* * * * Description Legendary_Commander_desc
* * * * EffectsDescription Legendary_Commander_effects_desc
* * * * GainMessage Legendary_Commander_gain_desc
* * * * Epithet Legendary_Commander_epithet_desc
* * * * Threshold* 32
* * * * Effect Command* 5
* * * * Effect Law* 3
* * * * Effect Influence* 2
ancillaries(optional) ancillary ref
ancillary ref:- taken from export_descr_ancillaries.txt
NOTE if you put conflicting ancillaries in, only the first one will appear. (eg "actor, comedian" only actor will appear) NOTE must be exactly as written (capitals matter)
the character_ref is highlighted in red.Originally posted by export_descr_ancillaries
;------------------------------------------
Ancillary actor
* * Image effete_man_ancillary.tga
* * ExcludedAncillaries comedian, playwright
* * ExcludeCultures barbarian, carthaginian, eastern, egyptian, roman
* * Description actor_desc
* * EffectsDescription actor_effects_desc
* * Effect Influence* 1
army(general, admiral and named characters only)
unit unit name exp lvl armour lvl weapon lvl
unit name:- taken from export_descr_units.txt
The unit name is highlighted in red.Originally posted by export_descr_units
type* * * * * ** barb peasant briton
dictionary* * ** barb_peasant_briton* * * ; Barbarian Peasants
category* * * ** infantry
class* * * * * * light
voice_type* * ** Light_1
soldier* * * * * barb_peasant, 60, 0, 0.7
attributes* * ** sea_faring, hide_improved_forest
formation* * * * 1.2, 1.8, 2.4, 2.4, 6, horde
stat_health* * * 1, 0
stat_pri* * * ** 3, 2, no, 0, 0, melee, simple, piercing, knife, 25 ,0.75
stat_pri_attr* * no
stat_sec* * * ** 0, 0, no, 0, 0, no, no, no, none, 25 ,1
stat_sec_attr* * no
stat_pri_armour* 3, 1, 0, leather
stat_sec_armour* 0, 0, flesh
stat_heat* * * * 2
stat_ground* * * 2, -2, 3, 2
stat_mental* * * 3, low, untrained
stat_charge_dist 30
stat_fire_delay* 0
stat_food* * * * 60, 300
stat_cost* * * * 1, 150, 100, 20, 30, 150
ownership* * * * britons
exp lvl armour lvl weapon lvl (and yes armour is spelt correctly :-p)
exp lvl:- from 0 to 9
armour lvl:- from 0 to 3
weapon lvl:- from 0 to 3
NOTE a named character doesnt have to include a bodyguard unit, the first unit in the list will become the bodyguard unit.
NOTE the slave faction has the option of adding ,sub_faction , to their character definitions
eg
In this case the name must match the subfactions names within descr_names.Originally posted by descr_strat
character, sub_faction gauls, Cynan,* general, command 0, influence 0, management 0, subterfuge 0, age 20, , x 43, y 94
6c The Family Relationships
The last section of the each faction's section is the part that defines the family tree, and any existing children/spouses as the game starts.Originally posted by descr_strat
character_record* Amulius Julius,* male, command 0, influence 0, management 0, subterfuge 0, age 13, alive, never_a_leader
character_record* Manius Julius,* male, command 0, influence 0, management 0, subterfuge 0, age 10, alive, never_a_leader
character_record* Decius Julius,* male, command 0, influence 0, management 0, subterfuge 0, age 7, alive, never_a_leader
character_record* Marcus Julius,* male, command 0, influence 0, management 0, subterfuge 0, age 3, alive, never_a_leader
character_record* Faustina,* female, command 0, influence 0, management 0, subterfuge 0, age 48, alive, never_a_leader
character_record* Poppaea,* female, command 0, influence 0, management 0, subterfuge 0, age 29, alive, never_a_leader
character_record* Alypia,* female, command 0, influence 0, management 0, subterfuge 0, age 29, alive, never_a_leader
character_record* Claudia,* female, command 0, influence 0, management 0, subterfuge 0, age 28, alive, never_a_leader
character_record* Fadia,* female, command 0, influence 0, management 0, subterfuge 0, age 13, alive, never_a_leader
relative* Flavius Julius,* Faustina,* Lucius Julius, Quintus Julius, Vibius Julius, end
relative* Lucius Julius,* Poppaea,* Fadia, Decius Julius, Marcus Julius, end
relative* Quintus Julius,* Alypia,* Amulius Julius, end
relative* Vibius Julius,* Claudia,* Manius Julius, end
The first bit defines the male children, then the female relations
character_record forename surname, sex, command 0, influence 0, management 0, subterfuge 0, age, alive, never_a_leader
forename/surname:- again taken from descr_names.txt and again must be from the factions section. Male children must have their father's surname, or the family tree will draw incorrectly
sex:- male or female (all the males must be listed first then the females)
command/influence/management/subterfuge - again ignored
age:- integer, for males must be 15 or below, girls can be any age. If a male is over 15 and not dead and you click on the family tree button the game will CTD.
alive:- alive or dead (note I can't get the dead option to work it always seems to CTD when you go into family tree)
never_a_leader:- for children and females always never_a_leader
The family tree:-
these lines describe the family treeOriginally posted by descr_strat
relative* Flavius Julius,* Faustina,* Lucius Julius, Quintus Julius, Vibius Julius, end
relative father, mother, child1, child2, child3, child4, end
father:- fathers name as in the Character section (note must be at least 16 yrs old). Must be male
mother:- mothers name as in the relation section (note must be at least 12 yrs old). Must be female. If under 12 years old, will get error and wont be married.
child1/2/3/4:- childs name as in character or relation section (depending on his age), note must be older than any following child (no twins). If there is less than 4 children, place the end after the last defined child. Cannot be more than 4 children. Must be at least 16 years younger than father, it seems though the mother can be as young as you like (I've had a 15 yr old son to a 19 yr old mother)
the characters don't all need to relate to each other (eg you can have 2 completely different unrelated family trees), but any one not on the faction leaders tree wont appear on the in game tree (or at least I can't get them to )
You cannot define multiple characters with the same name at the start (although they can exist in game)
Diplomats, spies, generals and admirals do not appear on the family tree.
A male child must have his father's surname. Girl children do not have surnames.
7. The Diplomacy Section
<!--QuoteBegin-descr_strat@
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; >>>> start of diplomacy section <<<<
faction_relationships* numidia, allied_to carthage
faction_relationships* germans, at_war_with gauls
faction_relationships* numidia, allied_to carthage
faction_relationships* macedon, allied_to greek_cities
faction_relationships* dacia, allied_to scythia
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
[/quote]
this describes the starting alliances in the game. The allowable options are allied_to, at_war_with
see Spartan's Diplomacy Tutorial for more details
8. The Regions Section
<!--QuoteBegin-descr_strat
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; >>>> start of regions section <<<<
[/quote]
This section appears to do nothing