The Official ETW Frequently Asked Questions Thread

[Nosjack]

Hi, where I can find my Empire saves? Are they in the Steam directory?

I believe they are somewhere deep in an AppData directory, can't remember the whole file path off the top of my head.

AppData is a hidden folder, so if you haven't already you'll have to go into folder options and "show hidden folders"

[Mutaul]

I have fire by rank and square formation techs researched, but I can't work out how to use them on the battlefield; I can't see any icons for them on the panel when selecting units or anything. What incredibly obvious thing am I missing? Does the unit need to have been recruited AFTER the tech is researched, and be of a certain type?

Only certain units can have the square formation.
Fire by rank should be automatic for line infantry. Although sometimes depending on range and terrain it won't work (bug?). I don't think militia use it, and not sure if all elite units use it.
I think my dragoons use fire by rank, but not sure as I don't really use them.

[Command14]

Is there a mod so that the ai has to complete the colonies mission to claim their colonies?

[Marcatus]

hi...I would like to know how to give my general or characters any traits i want?
Also how can i create a general or make them recruitable?

thanks for any help...

[Waxys]

Is there a mod so that the ai has to complete the colonies mission to claim their colonies?

Don't know, but you can edit the main_script document in your data/campaign directory. (don't remember the exact name of the file but it's something like main_script...).

At the 3rd line (or close, evrything come directly from my memory here ) : you can change the number of turns it take for the AI to gain control of colonies without achieving missions. If I recall well, it's 5 turns, but as it is said in the document (and actually it is true ingame) that is the MINIMAL number of turns before the AI take automaticly control of the protectorates.
Well, if you put 200, they never gain control. I chose 150, to be safe and it works ! I usually destroy the main faction before this number of turns, so the ai hasn't the joy of getting control of colonies

[good4eL]

Hello!

My question is about betrayel of USA when you play for Cheroki at the highest difficulty level. At normal level the USA trades with the player. But at the highest level they betrayes him. I offer them a trade rights, an alliance, and I give them an unlimited right of passage. I even had tried gave them a gift for 2500 gold. And every time they attacked on me. When you start Cheroki campaign an advisor tells about trade between you and USA. But at the highest level it seems doesn't work.

Is there a way to avoid their betrayal?

[Baker2]

Marcatus, you can't select attributes.

[Sgt Demon]

Hi I'm a new Faq(er) and I recently had a strange CTD, I been getting a steady fps of 120 and my graphics are on pretty standard settings, I use a nvidia gtx 660 with standard memory installed in it, and ram is 12gig ddr3 I know I"m not lacking on processor power either, so I'm just trying to figure out why it's so laggy that it crashes. Also!!! when I play empire's sieges, on full 20 stack armies it bogs down to 1 to 3 fps, where the fraps counter says it's at 60 on v sync. Can someone give me a hand here pm me something I don't know what I'm doing wrong v.v

[irishron]

Hi I'm a new Faq(er) and I recently had a strange CTD, I been getting a steady fps of 120 and my graphics are on pretty standard settings, I use a nvidia gtx 660 with standard memory installed in it, and ram is 12gig ddr3 I know I"m not lacking on processor power either, so I'm just trying to figure out why it's so laggy that it crashes. Also!!! when I play empire's sieges, on full 20 stack armies it bogs down to 1 to 3 fps, where the fraps counter says it's at 60 on v sync. Can someone give me a hand here pm me something I don't know what I'm doing wrong v.v

http://forums.totalwar.com/showthrea...s-are-Breached will make a good read.

[Nelsonkiller]

How can i steal technology from other factions?cuz there is a steam achivament of that

[Nosjack]

I believe you have to send a gentleman to their research school. you then have the option to duel one of their gentlemen (if present) or steal technology.

[Hochmeistern]

Is there any issue when running this game on lower graphics. For example, if I ever play this game the combat appears not to look right but that might be because my machine is not great.

[irishron]

Is there any issue when running this game on lower graphics. For example, if I ever play this game the combat appears not to look right but that might be because my machine is not great.

It just not as pretty. Some are in it for the gameplay and play on minimum graphics to achieve it.

[Sar1n]

So, I finally got to try this out, and messing around. For a first, learning campaign I picked Britain on M/M (there's a lot of different things I need to learn). So far, so good...but I could use some advice on how to handle research. Since at the beginning I had only one school, I tried to get more ASAP....but going as far as to build them in America was probably a mistake, although those were first new towns I had spawned. Generally, I'd like some advice on how to handle towns.

AI seems to be very overconfident whwn it comes to ship combat. I had my main battle fleet that devastated Swedish navy attacked by a couple of Merchantmen, Brig and Sloop, only to add one Merchanman into my own navy. An overconfident pirate took his galleon against my colonial fleet (admiral, 2 brigs 2 sloops), although the prize cost me a brig and sloop that got in the way of enemy broadsides and were exploded. Now I'm not sure what to do with the merchant navy I captured. I packed the three merchantmen and galleon into one stack and sent them to the Ivory coast, taking another merchantman and a trade spot from Swedish. I don't know if I should keep my whole merchant navy togther, protected on one spot, or should I split them, and if it's worth keeping the captured galleon as merchant ship or send it to Europe, as France declared war on my ally and I had to stand by them, so now there's a naval war going around the channel and in north sea.

And land war....well, still getting my head around some things. First battle with canister shot, I killed almost hundred of my troops because my cannons were on elevated position behind my troops....but not enough elevated, it seems. Reminds me...gunpowder units. How many ranks actually fire for line infantry, militia and skirmishers? Should I spread them into one or two ranks? And pikemen...can't seem to handle those properly. I know, outdated technology, but still I have a few in my colonial "army" (less than half stack), but still...I messed a bit trying to build mixed pike and shot formation, didn't really work.

Also, a weird thing. My only priest got assassinated a few years ago, and I still don't have replacement (my only "church" town is fully upgraded). How long do I have to wait?

[General Gordon]

Hi, is there a screenshot somewhere in this thread/forum of what the vanilla data folder contains? I am asking because I want to make sure I have just the vanilla files there before applying a new mod (and making sure thus that there is nothing left from previous mods). Thanks


EDIT: OK, solved as I just did I clean install and took my own screenshot which unfortunately cannot upload here as forum seems to have uploading pics disabled or not working.

[Alwyn]

General Gordon, you wrote that you wanted to be able to post a screenshot. Here's how I posted screenshots for my Ireland AAR: I used Paint (or the free software paint.net) to open and crop the pictures and to save them in jpeg format. I then visited tinypic.com (other image sharing web sites are also available) to upload each picture. When I have uploaded the picture, tinypic.com provides a code which I copied and pasted into my AAR chapter - so that, when the chapter appeared on the screen, the picture appeared where I put the code.

[General Gordon]

General Gordon, you wrote that you wanted to be able to post a screenshot. Here's how I posted screenshots for my Ireland AAR: I used Paint (or the free software paint.net) to open and crop the pictures and to save them in jpeg format. I then visited tinypic.com (other image sharing web sites are also available) to upload each picture. When I have uploaded the picture, tinypic.com provides a code which I copied and pasted into my AAR chapter - so that, when the chapter appeared on the screen, the picture appeared where I put the code.

Ok thanks. I was trying to use the picture upload option here in the forum. Will use your method next time.

[ANAS PASHA]

Hey Guys!
I want to ask about a serious problem happened with me inside the game and is really annoying
I'm playing as Barbary States, my income for next turn is 20000 and my treasury is almost zero (356 or something)
after i pressed next turn and waited for AI movement I was surprised that only half of the income has been added to my treasury (10000).
the same happened for the other next turn and so on!
So really this is dangerous because at certain point I will not find enough money for my troops and navies and economic development
the problem started from turn 10 or 11
Anyone has encountered such problem? Any solution?
BTW I got the same problem with ottomans campaign
Thank you already for your help.

[apostrophefz]

Hello.

By investing in a nation (read gifting it with lots of money) will I help it boost its military?
I'm playing Dutch, vanilla, and there are some factions , which I don't want to affiliate myself with but which I want it to fend off the opposition its facing, that I've been handing bags of money for free.
Persia was an example. I donated to it, in the hope that it would survive the maratha and ottoman assault. I didn't watch closely, but Persia is now history.
Does it work?

[Didz]

No! At least not in my experience.

Gifting money to another nation doesn;t have any obvious effect on their behaviour. What it does do is boost their relationship with you slightly. It an essential tactic in Shogun 2 to offset the negative penalty of Shogun influence after the realm divide.