Beginner's Scripting Guide

[Killerbee]

Hello all . With this post , i hope to get a lot more players/modders interested in scripting . Most people get lost in scipting immediatly , and then say that it's way to hard . I used to do this too , until i kept trying again , and now i really like scripting ..

It's all about the way you approach it . Some tutorials for scripting just ask to copy-paste a certain script in the appropriate folders and teach you almost nothing . Others start off good , but become to complicated at the end .

I'll try to come off as gentle as possible with this tutorial . We'll take it step-by-step , and i'll try to make it easy to understand ..

But at first , we need a background script . I won't give any further comments about this , since HouseOfHam already has an excellent post about it . Check it out here :

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=169689

Step 1 : How to make a script

Step 2 : Basic conditions and commands

Step 3 : Making more complicated scripts

Step 4 : Some other stuff

Step 5 : What if's and counters ?

[Killerbee]

Step 1 : How to make a script

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Once you have a background script , open the file in your data/scripts/show_me folder called background_script (so the folder in wich you made your background script) . If you took it from HoH's tutorial (HoH = HouseOfHam) , then it should look like this :

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

script

; Anything following a semicolon is a comment.

; Remove the adviser portrait from screen.
select_ui_element advisor_dismiss_button
simulate_mouse_click lclick_up

; Wait for it to go away.
while I_AdvisorVisible
end_while

suspend_unscripted_advice true

; Open the adviser message bubble automatically whenever advance_advice_thread is called.
; I recommend using this method instead of the select_ui_element + simulate_mouse_click approach.
; Do NOT mix both methods, though, or the advisor will show and then immediately close before
; you get a chance to read the text.
declare_show_me

; Very useful for debugging - uncomment to use
;console_command toggle_perfect_spy

;;;
;;; --- Forced shutdown ---
;;;
;;; Press 'Esc' on the campaign map, then click on the '?' button in the
;;; menu scroll to terminate the script.
;;;
;;; When would this be useful? -- When you are already in a game and
;;; exit back to the main menu to restart the campaign, or reload a saved
;;; game, RTW does not automatically terminate the script, so you have
;;; to do it yourself. If you leave the old script running, you'll have all
;;; sorts of weird problems with the script in the new game.
;;;
monitor_event ScrollAdviceRequested ScrollAdviceRequested end_game_scroll
    terminate_script
end_monitor

; Handle saved game reloads
monitor_event GameReloaded TrueCondition
  terminate_script
end_monitor

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;; Start script
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

while I_TurnNumber < 99999
  suspend_unscripted_advice true
end_while
end_script

Alright , let's get started with scripting .. If your mod uses some small scripts , you can put all scripts in the 'background_script' folder . If you try to get a heavy scripted mod however (like LOTR-TW) , it might be better to make multiple files , to sort everyting out . For instance , Bardo (the LOTR-TW scripter) made for his 'palantir script' 3 new entries in 3 different folders . the palantir script is based on the 'Palantir' in the LOTR-trilogy , and shows the world for 10 seconds .. I'll show you where he pu all entries , so you could understand :

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

In the background_script.txt file :

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

;**********************************************
;PALANTIR trigger:
;**********************************************

monitor_event CharacterTurnStart CharacterIsLocal
   and not FactionType romans_julii
   and Attribute Electability = 10
   and RandomPercent < 10
advance_advice_thread UsePalantir_Thread
end_monitor
monitor_event FactionTurnEnd I_FactionNearTile slave 0 248,211
   console_command move_character SpecialGuy, 249,212
end_monitor

Take a look at the underlined line . It targets to another line , that's inside the 'export_descr_advice'.txt file . Now , if we take a look at that file , and search for 'Palantir' , we see the following :

Inside the export_descr_advice.txt' file :

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

;------------------------------------------ LOTR-TW
AdviceThread UsePalantir_Thread
    GameArea Campaign

    Item UsePalantir_Text_01
    Uninhibitable
    Verbosity  0
    Threshold  1
        MaxRepeats  0
        RepeatInterval  1
        Attitude Excited
    Presentation Default
    Title UsePalantir_Text_01_Title
    Script scripts\show_me\palantir.txt
    Text UsePalantir_Text_01_Text1

And here again , take a look at the underlined line . it targets us to the data/scripts/show_me/palantir file . And if we take a look there ... :

In the palantir.txt file :

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

script

   zoom_strat_camera 1
   inhibit_camera_input true
   console_command toggle_fow
   console_command toggle_perfect_spy
   wait 20
   console_command toggle_perfect_spy
   console_command toggle_fow
   inhibit_camera_input false

   console_command move_character SpecialGuy, 248,211

select_ui_element advisor_dismiss_button
simulate_mouse_click lclick_down
simulate_mouse_click lclick_up

end_script

... we see the actual script , or what happens when all previous "triggers" are activated

So , this was just to show you , that when you make lots of scripts , you better organize it . here , we saw a 'loop' , that goes from the background_script.txt file , to the 'export_descr_advice.txt' file , and ends in the 'palantir.txt' file .

Alright , now , lets take a look at how most (or the basic) scripts are made :

script

monitor_event 'conditions'

'commands given to the game'
end_monitor

end_script

Some experienced modders may say that that's not totally true , but as i mentioned , we'll start of as easy and gentle as possible .. now , you can put this in your backround script , but it must be between the 'loop' :

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

while I_TurnNumber < 99999
  suspend_unscripted_advice true
end_while
end_script

and the previous stuff :

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

script

; Anything following a semicolon is a comment.

; Remove the adviser portrait from screen.
select_ui_element advisor_dismiss_button
simulate_mouse_click lclick_up

; Wait for it to go away.
while I_AdvisorVisible
end_while

suspend_unscripted_advice true

; Open the adviser message bubble automatically whenever advance_advice_thread is called.
; I recommend using this method instead of the select_ui_element + simulate_mouse_click approach.
; Do NOT mix both methods, though, or the advisor will show and then immediately close before
; you get a chance to read the text.
declare_show_me

; Very useful for debugging - uncomment to use
;console_command toggle_perfect_spy

;;;
;;; --- Forced shutdown ---
;;;
;;; Press 'Esc' on the campaign map, then click on the '?' button in the
;;; menu scroll to terminate the script.
;;;
;;; When would this be useful? -- When you are already in a game and
;;; exit back to the main menu to restart the campaign, or reload a saved
;;; game, RTW does not automatically terminate the script, so you have
;;; to do it yourself. If you leave the old script running, you'll have all
;;; sorts of weird problems with the script in the new game.
;;;
monitor_event ScrollAdviceRequested ScrollAdviceRequested end_game_scroll
    terminate_script
end_monitor

; Handle saved game reloads
monitor_event GameReloaded TrueCondition
  terminate_script
end_monitor

So in the end , it looks like this :

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

script

; Anything following a semicolon is a comment.

; Remove the adviser portrait from screen.
select_ui_element advisor_dismiss_button
simulate_mouse_click lclick_up

; Wait for it to go away.
while I_AdvisorVisible
end_while

suspend_unscripted_advice true

; Open the adviser message bubble automatically whenever advance_advice_thread is called.
; I recommend using this method instead of the select_ui_element + simulate_mouse_click approach.
; Do NOT mix both methods, though, or the advisor will show and then immediately close before
; you get a chance to read the text.
declare_show_me

; Very useful for debugging - uncomment to use
;console_command toggle_perfect_spy

;;;
;;; --- Forced shutdown ---
;;;
;;; Press 'Esc' on the campaign map, then click on the '?' button in the
;;; menu scroll to terminate the script.
;;;
;;; When would this be useful? -- When you are already in a game and
;;; exit back to the main menu to restart the campaign, or reload a saved
;;; game, RTW does not automatically terminate the script, so you have
;;; to do it yourself. If you leave the old script running, you'll have all
;;; sorts of weird problems with the script in the new game.
;;;
monitor_event ScrollAdviceRequested ScrollAdviceRequested end_game_scroll
    terminate_script
end_monitor

; Handle saved game reloads
monitor_event GameReloaded TrueCondition
  terminate_script
end_monitor

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;; Your script
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

;script Note that the 'script' lines , are already listed in this file . if you take a look at the top of the file , you'll see the word 'script there , meaning that it's already listed in this script . Scripts must have only 1 'script' , and 'end_script' "word" .

monitor_event 'conditions'

'commands given to the game'
end_monitor

;end_script Same as above

while I_TurnNumber < 99999
  suspend_unscripted_advice true
end_while
end_script

Alright , now we've put up the base , we'll start with some basic commands and stuff

[Killerbee]

Step 2 : Basic conditions and commands

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Alright , we'll start of with the probably most basic condition : The 'turn start' condition . This condition will be activated whenever it's your turn again . So when you press 'end turn' , it shows all other factions , and then it's your turn again . The "correct description" for this condition is :

 FactionTurnStart FactionIsLocal

Unfortunately , we can't type what we want , so for instance :

monitor_event If i'm at the start of my turn

end_monitor

Now , if we put this in our little 'basic script' , we'll get the following :

monitor_event FactionTurnStart FactionIsLocal

 'commands given to the game'
 end_monitor

Alas , we need the correct description , so double check spelling , so that you don't make silly typing errors like this:

'FactionTurnTsart FactionIsLocal'

Now , the script will activate as soon as it's your turn . only 1 problem : We don't have any commands listed .

So for now , we'll use a basic command : Giving money to a faction ..

console_command add_money 'faction' 'amount'

Now , this won't work , as we need to specify the faction that gets the money , and the amount of cash it gets .. So we get this :

console_command add_money greek_cities 1000

Thus , this will add 1000 money to the greeks .. but when ? That is why we use conditions . Previously , you set up a basic condition , that activates at each start of your turn .. So , if we mix both conditions and commands , we get this :

monitor_event FactionTurnStart FactionIsLocal

console_command add_money greek_cities 1000

end_monitor

This will add 1000 denarii to the greeks , no matetr wich faction you're playin as .

Congratz , you put up a basic script ! You can test it out now if you want .

If you don't know what the 'console_command' is , i'll explain it . Most "cheaters" will already now it ! So cheaters actually have an advantage in scripting ..

The 'console panel' , is a "program" that you can activate during your campaign , by pressing '~' (without quotes) , '²' , or something else . When you opened it , you can type some 'commands' in it , like :

add_money greek_cities 1000

So , then the greek_cities get 1000 denarii .. Already saw it ? In our script , we "opened" the console panel whenever it's your turn , and gave a command to it , just like above . (add_money greek_cities 1000)

[Killerbee]

Step 3 : Making more complicated scripts

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Part 1 :

Alright , you made a script , but with the previous commands and conditions , you won't be able to get some nice results . That's why we'll dig a little deeper .

First of all , I'll show you a new condition . Also a pretty basic one , and it also involves 'Factions' . This is how you should put it in your script :

I_FactionType greek_cities

As you could probably see , this condition looks if you're the stated faction , in this case , if you're playing as the greeks



Part 2 :
However , you can't just use it like our previous condition .. So you can't use it this way :

monitor_event I_LocalFaction greek_cities

However , there are 2 other ways to do it :

Either you use this :

monitor_event FactionTurnStart FactionIsLocal
 and I_LocalFaction greek_cities

-your commands-

end_monitor

or this :

if I_LocalFaction greek_cities

-yourcommands-

end_if

i suggest you use the first options , as you probably don't know what an 'if' is , although you can probably guess it So , if we use our new script :

monitor_event FactionTurnStart FactionIsLocal
 and I_LocalFaction greek_cities

console_command add_money greek_cities 1000

end_monitor

Instead of our previous script , this won't occur each time it's your turn . You also need to be playing as the greeks . So , you need to be playing as the greeks , and it needs to be your turn , in order to activate the command .

Now , we also need a new command . We'll take a very popular , and probably the most used one : The spawn_army command ..

this is how it should be listed in your script :

spawn_army
   faction 'faction' ; (so for instance , greek_cities)
   character "character name" ,'type of character' (for instance , general , named_character , ...) ,age ,coörds
   'list of units' , for instance : 
   unit greek general's guard cavalry early, 'amount of soldiers' 'exp' 'armour' 'weapon_lvl'
   end

Now , this won't work ofcourse .. We need to get some working names , coörds , factions , etc .. So , if we do everyting correctly , it should look like this :

spawn_army
   faction greek_cities ; So this will spawn an army for the greek faction
   character Polydoros, general, age 25, x 123, y 65
   unit greek general's guard cavalry early, 30 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   end

This will spawn a general for the greeks called Polydoros , who'll be of age 25 , and he'll be spawned on the listed coördinates . As for the units , there'll be a greek early general , with 30 units , 5 experience bonus , 2 armour bonus , and 3 wep_lvl bonus .

But i won't go any deeper here , as there are already lots of tutorials about this command :

HouseOfHam's tutorial :
Tutorial

Now , if we use this command in a script , combined with our new conditions , it should look like this :

monitor_event FactionTurnStart FactionsIslocal
 and I_LocalFaction greek_cities

spawn_army
   faction greek_cities ; So this will spawn an army for the greek faction
   character Polydoros, general, age 25, x 123, y 65
    unit greek general's guard cavalry early, 30 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    end
end_monitor

Alright , we now have a more complicated script than our previous one .

There are much more conditions and commands , and they are listed in the docudemons .. Download them here :

http://www.totalwar.org/Downloads/Rt...ad/BI_docs.zip

Just unzip it wherever you want . there should be 4 text files in them .. Just check the appropriate folder to find conitions or commands , or whatever you like .

[Killerbee]

Step 4 : Some other stuff

There are some other basic thingies you can use in scripts .. For instance , the 'not' word .. this can be used in conditions , to trigger when something isn't activated , but for instance :

monitor_event FactionTurnStart FactionIsLocal
   and not I_LocalFaction romans_julii

So , if you're playing as the Julii , this script will not trigger ! If you're playing as another faction , however , it should trigger perfectly This can be used for some scripts (e.g.scripts who add units to weaker factions faction , so they die less quickly) .. For instance :

monitor_event FactionTurnStart FactionIsLocal
  and not I_LocalFaction romans_julii
  and not I_LocalFaction romans_brutii
  and not I_LocalFaction romans_scipii
  and not I_LocalFaction romans_senate
  and not I_LocalFaction egypt
  and RandomPercent < 10 ; This declares a random percent , so that the script only activated 1/10 of ;the time

spawn_army 'blah blah'
   character 'blah blah'
   units 'blah blah'
   end
end_monitor

This script will neither activate for all roman factions , nor for the egyptians , as these are the strongest factions in vanilla ..

[Killerbee]

Step 5 : What if's and counters ?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

In one of my previous examples , i showed you something new .. The usage of 'if' , instead of 'monitor_event' .. Some conditions require an 'if' instead of 'monitor event' , like this one :

if I_SettlementOwner Sparta = greek_cities

- yourcommands  -

end_if

with this example , i showed you how to use the 'if' , and i showed you a new condition .. This condition can be used if you want a certain faction to own a settlement , in order to activate the script .. This is a very usefull condition , and is one of my most-used ones (although i'm not so long into scripting )

This condition can also be used in combination with 'counters' .. What are counters , you say ? Take a look here

this combination can give you some nice results :

if I_SettlementOwner Sparta = greek_cities
set_counter SettlementOwner_Sparta 1

end_if

If I_CompareCounter SettlementOwner_Sparta = 1

console_command add_money romans_julii -1000

end_if

1 Note about this script is that i used a negative digit to add money .. So what will it do ? CTD ? nope , it'll just decrease the amount of denarii the romans_julii get , by 1000

-More will be added later -

[Killerbee]

Some info about counters :

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Counters are quite handy in scripting .. they'll keep count of something , for instance the amount of settlements you own .. Counters can - combined with some basic conditions and commands - come over quite professional and great , and they aren't hard to use .. There are multiple conditions needed in order to succesfully get a counter .. these are :

 set_counter 'target' 1

set_counter .. You'll need this whenever you want to start a counter .. It's pretty obvious that this "sets" or "initiates" a counter , and in this case , the counter in-game will be one .. Here's a sample use of a set_counter , in combination with previously learned stuff :

script

if I_SettlementOwner Rome = romans_julii
set_counter SettlementOwner_Rome 1

end_script

Now , the counter will be set if you are in control of Rome as the Julii .. Note that there's an underscore between the '..Owner' and the 'Rome' , otherwise , the game will actually take 'Rome' as a digit ! Anything followed by a space , is read as a number by the game ..

Now , another counter condition :

 inc_counter SettlementOwner_Rome 1

this will increase our previous counter with 1 . Since it was already 1 , it'll now be two (1+1 = 2 )

A sample use :

script

if I_SettlementOwner Rome = romans_julii
set_counter SettlementOwner_Rome 1

end_if

if I_SettlementOwner Arretium = romans_julii
inc_counter SettlementOwner_Rome 1

end_if
end_script

Ok , now that we used that one , let's go to another important counter thing : The Compare Counter . this condition will actually check the current counter , and gives the game a series of commands , whenever the counter is okay .. You don't get it ? Check out how to use it :

script
 
 if I_SettlementOwner Rome = romans_julii
 set_counter SettlementOwner_Rome 1

end_if

if I_SettlementOwner Arretium = romans_julii
inc_counter SettlementOwner_Rome 1

end_if

if I_CompareCounter SettlementOwner_Rome = 2

   console_command add_money romans_julii 1250

end_if
end_script

So , when you have both settlements , the counter will be "2" . And the 'CompareCounter' looked if the counter was set on 2 .. Wich is the case , so the command will be used in-game .. the 'CompareCounter can also be used in combination with the monitor_event , and other conditions :

script
  
  if I_SettlementOwner Rome = romans_julii
  set_counter SettlementOwner_Rome 1
 
 end_if
 
 if I_SettlementOwner Arretium = romans_julii
 inc_counter SettlementOwner_Rome 1
 
 end_if

monitor_event FactionTurnStart FactionIsLocal
   and not I_LocalFaction romans_senate
   and I_CompareCounter SettlementOwner_Rome = 2

   console_command add_money romans_julii 1250

end_monitor
 end_script

No need to explain any further , i think ..

Important note about counters : Counterscan get messed up when you reload a game (so when you save , and reload it) I will try to post a solution as soon as possible ..

Garisson scripts ?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

How to make a "garisson script ? if we take a look at the docudemons , we don't see a

 If I_SettlementOwnerSettlementUnderSiege 'faction' 'settlement'

; or other things that could trigger a garisson script ? Well , we can , although there can be some in-accuracies . The condition we'll use for this is :

I_CharacterTypeNearTile romans_julii named_character, 10 48,30

This condition will be activated , as soon as a named character of the romans_julii faction is at 10 tiles from the listed coords (48,30) .. Explanation of the docudemon :

Is a particular character type of a faction near a particular tile?

So how could we get from this , to a settlement garisson script ? Well , we can change some values .. first of all , set up a base .. This is how it should look like :

(To get settlement coörds , get HoH's excellent settlement locator) For now , we'll use a garisson script for the Brits (and the Region of Belgica = Samarobriva in-game) Coörds are : x 61 , y 118

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

script

If I_CharacterTypeNearTile germans named_character, 1 61,118

    console_command kill_character "Aneirin" ; to avoid cloning CTD

spawn_army
   faction britons 
   character Aneirin, general, age 25, x 61, y 118
   unit barb british general briton, 30 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit barb chariot heavy briton, 45 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   end
end_if

while I_TurnNumber < 50000
    suspend_unscripted_advice true
end_while

end_script

Explanation ? This script will activate and thus spawn a (big and strong) army , under command of a young (=age 25) general called Aneirin , whenever a german named_character is at 1 tile of the settlement .. If they siege , they are automatically at 1 tile of the city

Some flaws : - The german army must contain a named_character (a family member) , in order to spawn the army ..
- This script will only spawn if a german army/character is near .. So how could we improve this ?
Simply copy-paste the script for a few times , and change the faction to the most common one .. I don't think brits will encounter Seleucids in Belgica .. So , the most frequent ones are (except for germans) imo : gauls , romans (julii) , spain , dacia , scythia ..
- It's also possible that characters siege a city in a "diagonal" (for instance , top right-corner of a city) postion . it is possible that this requires that you list 2 tiles from your settlement coörds (= 1 tile to the right , and 1 tile up). Must need some testing though ..

So , this would be a loong script .. the end-result :

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

script

If I_CharacterTypeNearTile germans named_character, 1 61,118

console_command kill_character "Aneirin" ; to avoid cloning CTD

spawn_army
   faction britons 
   character Aneirin, general, age 25, x 61, y 118
   unit barb british general briton, 30 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit barb chariot heavy briton, 45 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
   end
end_if

If I_CharacterTypeNearTile gauls named_character, 1 61,118
 
console_command kill_character "Aneirin" ; to avoid cloning CTD

 spawn_army
    faction britons 
    character Aneirin, general, age 25, x 61, y 118
    unit barb british general briton, 30 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    unit barb chariot heavy briton, 45 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
    end
 end_if

If I_CharacterTypeNearTile romans_julii named_character, 1 61,118

console_command kill_character "Aneirin" ; to avoid cloning CTD

  spawn_army
     faction britons 
     character Aneirin, general, age 25, x 61, y 118
     unit barb british general briton, 30 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     unit barb chariot heavy briton, 45 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
     end
  end_if

If I_CharacterTypeNearTile spain named_character, 1 61,118

 console_command kill_character "Aneirin" ; to avoid cloning CTD
 
   spawn_army
      faction britons 
      character Aneirin, general, age 25, x 61, y 118
      unit barb british general briton, 30 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      unit barb chariot heavy briton, 45 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
      end
   end_if
 
If I_CharacterTypeNearTile dacia named_character, 1 61,118
 
  console_command kill_character "Aneirin" ; to avoid cloning CTD
  
    spawn_army
       faction britons 
       character Aneirin, general, age 25, x 61, y 118
       unit barb british general briton, 30 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       unit barb chariot heavy briton, 45 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
       end
    end_if
  
If I_CharacterTypeNearTile scythia named_character, 1 61,118
  
   console_command kill_character "Aneirin" ; to avoid cloning CTD
   
     spawn_army
        faction britons 
        character Aneirin, general, age 25, x 61, y 118
        unit barb british general briton, 30 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit barb chariot heavy briton, 45 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        end
     end_if
   
while I_TurnNumber < 50000
    suspend_unscripted_advice true
end_while

end_script

You can experiment with this .. If you want to have the garisson script to appear just once , you must add some extra steps :

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

If I_CharacterTypeNearTile scythia named_character, 1 61,118
set_counter garisson_script 1

end_if

If I_CharacterTypeNearTile germans named_character, 1 61,118
set_counter garisson_script 1

end_if ; and so on for all factions

monitor_event FactionTurnStart FactionIsLocal
   and I_SettlementOwner Samarobriva = britons
   and i_CompareCounter garisson_script = 1

     spawn_army
        faction britons 
        character Aneirin, general, age 25, x 61, y 118
        unit barb british general briton, 30 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit barb chariot heavy briton, 45 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband woad briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit barb warguard briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        unit warband sword briton, 60 exp 5 armour 2 weapon_lvl 3
        end
     terminate_monitor
     end_monitor

Saw the bold line at the end ? The 'terminate_monitor' ? This will 'terminate' a command , so after it activated , it won't activate again .. Can be usefull if you don't want to have to large armies , so that your economy goes down , or you simply get over-powered ..

EDIT : Important note : Do not reload too much , or otherwise the scripts could get messed up !

I suggest the garisson script for factions tha get eliminated quickly , like the Seleucids , Gauls , Armenia , ...

[Killerbee]

Update 16|05|'09 :

Changed the counters bit a little
Changed the garisson script a bit
Added some important notes about re-loading the game ..

With thanks to makanyane :

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

There's a couple of things that could be added that might help even further;
on the garrison stuff if as well as
If I_CharacterTypeNearTile germans named_character, 1 61,118
you also use a duplicate monitor with:
If I_CharacterTypeNearTile germans general, 1 61,118
it'll cover the case where army is there but not led by family member.
- also I've not actually really tested if its right or not, but I was told that you needed to check for characters within 2 and not 1 of settlement or it wouldn't include armies besieging from diagonal directions (would be interesting to double check if that's true or not)

On the counters bit, I think you need to use
declare_counter counter_name
before you use the counter ( that also sets the default value of 0 for the counter)

the real pain with RTW as against M2 is that it doesn't record the value of the counters when you save game and reload... I've been having fun with that lately.... It can be sort of fixed by making sure important events are recorded by creating a building or adding trait to a settlement/character that can be checked next time you load. Similarly the 'terminate_monitor' bit only works for each time the script is loaded, if you rely on that too heavily to stop things happening twice, a user that saves, quits and reloads a lot will get a vastly different experience as the terminated monitors will crop up again on each re-load...

[Killerbee]

Maybe i need more ..

[CPT Worsham]

Great guide!

[The Roman Empire]

Very nice guide, will help me create a nice script. However, I had a question though:

The file that we could download, containing the command line codes. Most of them doesn't seem to be working. I am new to modding/scripting RTW and I have no idea why it won't work. Just get a message that the command is not recognized.

[Squid]

There are many console commands that can't actually be run in the console and can only be run through a script.