The Tilde Bible - A Guide to Cheating in RTW

[Calisthenis of Dyrrachium]

This guide is for people who want to cheat, and want to know what cheats work. Because, put "cheats for rome total war" in Google, you will get a mixture of cheats that work in game, and some that don't.

So, let the guide commence!

To use cheats you'll need to open the console. To do this you'll have to press the tilde (~) key on American computers, or on any other computer, the key to the left of "1". To insert cheats, press "Enter". Note: These cheats are for RTW 1.5.

General Tips

Click to view content: 

• The console is very touchy about typos. So make sure you've spelt it all correctly.
• Pressing Shift and the Up arrow makes the console auto-type the last command inserted, even if it was typed in a different session. Pressing up again scrolls through all of the last cheats insterted for that game. Useful for money spam.
• If you're using a cheat with a character's name, be aware that any space other than the first has to be an underscore (_). E.g.
  

  give_trait "Chares of_Athens" Example 1

  For Persian family members in Alexander (e.g. Darius Codomannus), the Codomannus part of the name has one "n" and has an underscore followed by "III". E.g.
  

  give_trait "Darius Codomanus_III" Example 1

• Use windowed mode for RTW so that you can open files such as export_desr_unit.txt in-game. To do this, go to your RTW shortcut, right-click on it and go down to "Properties". Go to the Shortcut at the top if it has not opened there. Go to the "Target" line, click past the ", put a space and type this:

  -ne

  This is a must for any cheater.

Cheat One - process_cq

Click to view content: 

This cheat completes all buildings in the construction queue. It's a very simple cheat, and it's immensely useful.
How to use Type:

process_cq "Settlement"

Cheat Two - add_money

Click to view content: 

Here's a classic cheat. I'm not telling you what this does.
How to use Type:

add_money Amount

This gives money to you, the human player. Notice there are no " around the amount. This is how it should be. Money can go up to 40,000 denari.

add_money "Faction" Amount

This gives the money to the specified faction. The faction name has to be the internal name, not the external name. E.g. Int romans_julii - Ex The House of Julii.
A list of non-obvious internal & external names can be found in this spoiler.

Click to view content: 

RTW: Julii - romans_julii
Brutii - romans_brutii
Scipii - romans_scipii
Britannia - britons
Seleucid Empire - seleucid
Rebels - slave

BI:
Western Roman Empire - empire_west
Eastern Roman Empire - empire_east
WRE Rebels - empire_west_rebels
ERE Rebels - empire_east_rebels
The Sassanid Empire - sassanids

To find the internal names of every faction, go to Rome Total War/data and look in expanded_bi.txt if you have BI, look in shared.txt if you don't.

Cheat Three - create_unit

Click to view content: 

I love this cheat. I absolutely love it. It makes units appear instantly. It's also rather hard to do. Here's why.
How to use Type:

create_unit "Settlement/Charactername" "unit internal name" Amount Experience Armour Weaponlevel

The internal name of the unit is usually hugely different to the name you see. To find the internal name of a unit go to Rome Total War\data and find export_descr_unit.txt and look in that for the unit you're looking for. The last 4 commands aren't necessary for the cheat to work, but the amount is helpful for making big armies of multiple units.
The amount of units can go up to 5, the exp up to 9 and the armour & weapon level up to 3.
Note: do not insert the name of a character in a settlement. Use the settlment name.

Thanks to Chris Death, we have a list of units. This was not made by me, rep must go to Chris Death.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Armenia

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

east peasant - Peasants
east peltast - Peltasts
east archer - Archers
east hillmen - Hillmen
east infantry - Eastern Infantry
east heavy infantry - Heavy Spearmen
east legionary - Armenian Legionaries
east heavy cataphract - Cataphracts
east cataphract archer - Cataphract Archers
east horse archer - Horse Archers
east generals cavalry early - Eastern General
east generals cavalry - Armoured Eastern General

Britons

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

barb peasant briton - Barbarian Peasants
barb slinger briton - Slingers
warband hurler briton - Head Hurlers
barb infantry briton - Warband
warband sword briton - Swordsmen
barb warguard briton - Chosen Swordsmem
warband woad briton - Woad Warriors
barb druids briton - Druids
barb wardogs briton - Warhounds
barb chariot light briton - British Light Chariots
barb chariot heavy briton - British Heavy Chariots
barb british general briton - Barbarian Warlord

Carthage

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

carthaginian peasant - Peasants
carthaginian peltast - Skirmishers
carthaginian slinger - Slingers
carthaginian city militia - Town Militia
carthaginian infantry - Iberian Infantry
carthaginian medium infantry - Libyan Spearmen
carthaginian heavy infantry - Poeni Infantry
carthaginian sacred band infantry - Sacred Band
carthaginian cavalry - Round Shield Cavalry
carthaginian medium cavalry - Long Shield Cavalry
carthaginian general's cavalry early - General's Bodyguard
carthaginian general's cavalry - General's Armoured Bodyguard
carthaginian royal cavalry - Sacred Band Cavalry
carthaginian elephant forest - Elephants
carthaginian elephant african - War Elephants
carthaginian elephant african cataphract - Armoured Elephants
carthaginian onager - Onagers
carthaginian heavy onager - Heavy Onagers

Dacia

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

barb peasant dacian - Barbarian Peasants
barb archer dacian - Archer Warband
warband archer dacian - Chosen Archer Warband
barb infantry dacian - Warband
warband falx dacian - Falxmen
barb warguard dacian - Chosen Swordsmen
barb naked fanatics dacian - Naked Fanatics
barb wardogs dacian - Warhounds
barb cavalry dacian - Barbarian Cavalry
barb noble cavalry dacian - Barbarian Noble Cavalry
barb ballista dacian - Ballistas
barb onager dacian - Onagers
barb chieftain cavalry early dacian - Barbarian Warlord
barb chieftain cavalry dacian - Barbarian Chosen Warlord

Egypt

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

egyptian peasant - Peasants
egyptian peltast - Skirmishers
egyptian slingers - Slingers
egyptian archer - Bowmen
egyptian archer elite - Pharaoh's Bowmen
egyptian nubian spearmen - Nubian Spearmen
egyptian nile infantry - Nile Spearmen
egyptian infantry - Desert Axemem
egyptian elite guards - Pharaoh's Guards
egyptian cavalry - Desert Cavalry
egyptian nubian cavalry - Nubian Cavalry
egyptian cleruch - Nile Cavalry
egyptian bedouin - Camel Archers
egyptian chariot - Egyptian Chariots
egyptian chariot archer - Egyptian Chariot Archers
egyptian onager - Onagers
egyptian heavy onager - Heavy Onagers
egyptian general's bodyguard early - Egyptian Chariot General
egyptian general's bodyguard - Egyptian Cavalry General

Gaul

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

barb peasant gaul - Barbarian Peasants
barb peltast gaul - Skirmisher Warband
warband huntsman gaul - Forester Warband
barb infantry gaul - Warband
warband sword gaul - Swordsmen
barb warguard gaul - Chosen Swordsmen
barb naked fanatics gauls - Naked Fanatics
barb druids gaul - Druids
barb wardogs gaul - Warhounds
barb cavalry gaul - Barbarian Cavalry
barb noble cavalry gaul - Barbarian Noble Cavalry
barb chieftain cavalry early gaul - Barbarian Warlord
barb chieftain cavalry gaul - Barbarian Chosen Warlord

Germania

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

barb peasant german - Barbarian Peasants
barb peltast german - Skirmisher Warband
warband archer german - Chosen Archer Warband
warband spear german - Spear Warband
warband axe german - Axemen
warband dhaxe german - Chosen Axemen
barb naked fanatics german - Naked Fanatics
barb night raiders german - Night Raiders
barb berserker german - Berserkers
barb screeching women german - Screeching Women
barb wardogs german - Warhounds
barb cavalry german - Barbarian Cavalry
barb noble cavalry german - Barbarian Noble Cavalry
barb gothic cavalry german - Gothic Cavalry
barb chieftain cavalry early german - Barbarian Warlord
barb chieftain cavalry german - Barbarian Chosen Warlord

Greek Cities

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

greek peasant - Peasants
greek peltast - Peltasts
greek archer - Archers
greek heavy peltast - Heavy Peltasts
greek hoplite militia - Militia Hoplites
greek hoplite - Hoplites
greek hoplite elite - Armoured Hoplites
greek hoplite spartan - Spartan Hoplites
greek cavalry - Militia Cavalry
greek medium cavalry - Greek Cavalry
greek general's guard cavalry early - General's Bodyguard
greek general's guard cavalry - General's Armoured Bodyguard
greek incendiary pigs - Incendiary Pigs
greek ballista - Ballistas
greek onager - Onagers
greek heavy onager - Heavy Onagers

Macedon

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

greek peasant - Peasants
greek peltast - Peltasts
greek archer - Archers
greek hoplite militia - Militia Hoplites
greek levy pikemen - Levy Pikemen
greek pikemen - Phalanx Pikemen
greek royal pikemen - Royal Pikemen
greek medium cavalry - Greek Cavalry
greek light lancer - Light Lancers
greek heavy cavalry - Macedonian Cavalry
greek royal cavalry - Companion Cavalry
greek general's guard cavalry early - General's Bodyguard
greek general's guard cavalry - General's Armoured Bodyguard
greek ballista - Ballistas
greek onager - Onagers
greek heavy onager - Heavy Onagers

Numidia

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

carthaginian peasant - Peasants
carthaginian slinger - Slingers
carthaginian archer - Archers
numidian javelinmen - Numidian Javelinmen
numidian desert warriors - Desert Infantry
numidian legionaries - Numidian Legionaries
carthaginian medium cavalry - Long Shield Cavalry
carthaginian general's cavalry early - General's Bodyguard
carthaginian general's cavalry - General's Armoured Bodyguard
numidian cavalry - Numidian Cavalry
numidian camel riders - Numidian Camel Riders
carthaginian onager - Onagers

Parthia

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

east peasant - Peasants
east archer - Archers
east hillmen - Hillmen
east infantry - Eastern Infantry
east slinger - Slingers
east heavy cataphract - Cataphracts
east persian cavalry - Persian Cavalry
east horse archer - Horse Archers
east camel cataphract - Cataphract Camels
east elephant - War Elephants
east generals cavalry early - Eastern General
east generals cavalry - Armoured Eastern General
east onager - Onagers

Pontus

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

east peasant - Peasants
east peltast - Peltasts
east archer - Archers
east hillmen - Hillmen
east infantry - Eastern Infantry
east hoplite - Phalanx Pikemen
east hoplite brazen shield - Bronze Shields
east cavalry - Pontic Light Cavalry
east heavy cavalry - Pontic Heavy Cavalry
east cappodocian cavalry - Cappodocian Cavalry
east scythed chariot - Scythed Chariots
east chariot archer - Chariot Archers
east generals cavalry early - Eastern General
east pontic general - Eastern General
east onager - Onagers

Rome (All houses)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

roman peasant - Peasants
roman archer - Roman Archers
roman archer auxillia - Archer Auxilia
roman velite - Velites
roman light infantry auxillia - Light Auxilia
roman city militia - Town Watch
roman hastati - Hastati
roman princeps - Principes
roman triarii - Triarii
roman infantry auxillia - Auxilia
roman legionary cohort i - Early Legionary Cohort
roman legionary first cohort i - Early Legionary First Cohort
roman legionary cohort ii - Legionary Cohort
roman legionary first cohort ii - Legionary First Cohort
roman praetorian cohort i - Praetorian Cohort
roman praetorian cohort urban i - Urban Cohort
roman arcani - Arcani
roman wardogs - Wardogs
roman pigs - Incendiary Pigs
roman light cavalry - Equites
roman cavalry auxillia - Cavalry Auxilia
roman medium cavalry - Roman Cavalry
roman heavy cavalry - Legionary Cavalry
roman praetorian cavalry - Praetorian Cavalry
roman generals guard cavalry early - Roman General
roman generals guard cavalry - Roman Armoured General
roman ballista - Ballistas
roman scorpion - Scorpions
roman onager - Onagers
roman heavy onager - Heavy Onagers
roman repeating ballista - Repeating Ballistas
roman velite gladiator - Velite Gladiators - (Brutii)
roman samnite gladiator - Samnite Gladiators - (Julii/Senate)
roman mirmillo gladiator - Mirmillo Gladiators - (Scipii)

Scythia

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

barb peasant scythian - Barbarian Peasants
barb archer scythian - Archer Warband
warband archer scythian - Chosen Archer Warband
warband axe scythian - Axemen
barb wardogs scythian - Warhounds
barb cavalry scythian - Barbarian Cavalry
barb horse archers scythian - Scythian Horse Archers
barb noble horse archers scythian - Scythian Noble Archers
barb head hunting maidens scythian - Head Hunting Maidens
barb scythian nobles scythian - Scythian Nobles
barb scythian noblewomen scythian - Scythian Noble Women
barb onager scythian - Onagers
barb chieftain cavalry early scythian - Barbarian Warlord
barb scythian general scythian - Barbarian Chosen Warlord

Seleucid Empire

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

greek peasant - Peasants
greek peltast - Peltasts
greek archer - Archers
greek hoplite militia - Militia Hoplites
greek levy pikemen - Levy Pikemen
greek pikemen - Phalanx Pikemen
greek silver shield pikemen - Silver Shield Pikemen
greek argyraspid - Silver Shield Legionaries
greek cavalry - Militia Cavalry
greek medium cavalry - Greek Cavalry
greek royal cavalry - Companion Cavalry
east heavy cataphract - Cataphracts
greek general's guard cavalry early - General's Bodyguard
greek general's guard cavalry - General's Armoured Bodyguard
greek elephant small - Elephants
greek elephant african - War Elephants
greek elephant cataphract - Armoured Elephants
greek chariot scythed - Scythed Chariots
greek onager - Onagers

Spain

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

carthaginian peasant - Peasants
carthaginian peltast - Skirmishers
carthaginian slinger - Slingers
carthaginian city militia - Town Militia
carthaginian infantry - Iberian Infantry
spanish scutarii - Scutarii
barb naked fanatics spain - Naked Fanatics
spanish bull warriors - Bull Warriors
carthaginian cavalry - Round Shield Cavalry
carthaginian medium cavalry - Long Shield Cavalry
carthaginian general's cavalry early - General's Bodyguard
carthaginian general's cavalry - General's Armoured Bodyguard
carthaginian warhounds - Warhounds
carthaginian onager - Onagers

Thrace

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

greek peasant - Peasants
greek peltast - Peltasts
greek archer - Archers
greek hoplite militia - Militia Hoplites
greek pikemen - Phalanx Pikemen
warband falx thracian - Falxmen
greek bastarnae - Bastarnae
greek cavalry - Militia Cavalry
greek medium cavalry - Greek Cavalry
thracian bodyguard early - General's Bodyguard
thracian bodyguard - General's Armoured Bodyguard

Marine Units:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Roman/Egyptian/Carthaginian/Eastern/Greek culture:
naval biremes - Bireme
naval triremes - Trireme
naval quinquiremes - Quinquireme
naval corvus quinquireme - Corvus Quinquireme
naval deceres - Decere

Barbarian culture:
naval boats - Boats
naval large boats - Large Boats

naval pirate ships - Pirate Ships

Mercenaries:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

merc peltast - Mercenary Peltasts
merc illyrian - Illyrian Mercenaries
merc samnite - Samnite Mercenaries
merc cilician pirate - Cilician Pirates
merc thracian - Thracian Mercenaries
merc bastarnae - Bastarnae Mercenaries
merc sarmatian cavalry - Sarmatian Mercenaries
merc horse archers - Scythian Mercenaries
merc spanish infantry - Spanish Mercenaries
merc eastern infantry - Eastern Mercenaries
merc rhodian slingers - Rhodian Slingers
merc cretan archers - Cretan Archers
merc greek hoplites - Mercenary Hoplites
merc libyan infantry - Libyan Mercenaries
merc numidian cavalry - Numidian Mercenaries
merc arab cavalry - Arab Cavalry
merc bedouin - Bedouin Warriors
merc bedouin archers - Bedouin Archers
merc balearic slingers - Balearic Slingers
merc barbarian infantry - Barbarian Mercenaries
merc barbarian cavalry - Barbarian Cavalry Mercenaries
merc elephants - Mercenary War Elephants
cheat oliphants - Yubtseb Elephants

This list may not be 100% bug-free. If any bugs are found, please post them here.

Cheat Four - give_trait/ancillary

Click to view content: 

I don't really use this one, mainly because I have only recently learnt how to use it. It gives traits.
How to use Type:

give_trait "Charactername" TraitInternalName Level

To find the internal name of a trait, go to Rome Total War\data and look in export_descr_character_traits.txt. The level max is dependent on the trait.

For retinue it's:

give_ancillary "Charactername" ancillary

The ancillaries can be found in export_descr_ancillaries.txt.

Cheat Five - auto_win

Click to view content: 

This is simple. It makes someone win in an auto-resolved no matter the size of the armies.
How to use Type:

auto_win attacker/defender

I don't need to elaborate, do I?

Cheat Six - add_population

Click to view content: 

This one can be useful for controlling squalor in settlements and upgrading settlements quickly.
How to use Type:

add_population "Settlement" Amount

The amount can go up to 4,000. If you add a "-" before the number, it takes away the number of people, instead of adding.

Cheat Seven - toggle_fow

Click to view content: 

What this "cheat" does is remove the fog of war, revealing everything on the campaign map. This "cheat" is only called a cheat since it's done using the console and looking at everything is slightly cheating. Anyway, the "purists" (non-cheaters) think this is the only one that should be used.
How to use Type:

toggle_fow

That's all there is to it.

Cheats Eight & Nine - show_cursorstat & move_character

Click to view content: 

Why did I put two cheats in one? Because they are linked. show_cursorstat is absolutely essential to move_character. Unless of course, you have every tile location and number memorised. show_cursorstat tells you what tile the mouse is on, and the region it's in. move_character moves a character. (Obviously)
How to use show_cursorstat Hover your mouse over the desired location. Then type:

show_cursorstat

It comes out like this:

pos x,y, region id x (Region)

How to use move_character Type:

move_character "Charactername" x,y

The x,y stands for the tile number. Because numbers are hard to remember, do show_cursorstat and move_character in the same session.
Do not use move_character whilst the character you are trying to move is in a settlement! This will cause big problems!

Cheat Ten - bestbuy

Click to view content: 

Sim-ple. This reduces all unit training costs by 10%.
How to use Type:

bestbuy

This then has to be followed a a long seires of extremely complicated parameters which have to be defined and typed every single time you use this cheat and then you have to do this and that and....

Cheat Eleven - character_reset

Click to view content: 

This cheat resets the movement points for a character. So you can move as long as you want without having to use move_character, which is time consuming.
How to use Type:

character_reset "Charactername"

Nothing more. Nothing less.

Well, this is the end. If you have any cheats you wish to share, share them! All comments are welcome.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

This is a little extra I decided to put in, courtesy of Fireright.
How to unlock all factions.
This one is for the complete novices. Most people know how to unlock all factions, but some don't . This is for those that don't.
1) Go to Rome Total War\data\world\maps\campaign\imperial_campaign
2) Open descr_strat.txt.
3) In there, you will see the following:

descr_strat.txt code

; Custom campaign script generated by Romans Campaign Map Editor campaign imperial_campaign playable romans_julii romans_brutii romans_scipii end unlockable egypt seleucid carthage parthia gauls germans britons greek_cities end nonplayable romans_senate macedon dacia pontus armenia numidia scythia spain thrace slave end

To make all factions playable, you need to cut and paste all the factions (except one) to the playable section. I recommend leaving slave or romans_senate.

[Fireright]

Good Stuff +rep

Let us not also forget the add/remove population cheat which can be quite useful.

Somewhere in the archives is Superior Console cheats Volume 1 which provides a guide to completing an entire campaign in under 10 minutes.

Join the ranks of the professional console enthusiast

[Calisthenis of Dyrrachium]

Thanks for reminding me of that cheat. And thanks for the rep.

And I am an unbelieveable cheater.

Do you know where this guide is?

[Genius of the Restoration]

You forgot toggle_fow! Every 'Who am I' game would be lost without it!

[Vice]

The only time I cheat in the game is giving my specific faction people the "Fertile" cheat...like if im playing the house of Juli I will give all Julius the fertile cheat...yet half the time those bums dont ever even make any children! I also hate rebels so when I see them on the map usually I just do auto/win...there so annoying! I also sometimes give generals the handsome stat too if they suck really bad heh...

[Calisthenis of Dyrrachium]

Update: Added toggle_fow, show_cursorstat, add_population and move_character.

[Fireright]

Keep em coming Calisthenis The more cheats the merrier, although I prefer to use the term 'console enhancements'.

RTW v1.5 was made for console enthusiasts


edit: quick thought: how about something on unlocking factions? technically its not via console, but might be useful to others

[Calisthenis of Dyrrachium]

Hmmm...Maybe.
EDIT: Added an unlock factions tutorial. I think I've covered all cheats that work, If you have any more, tell me.

[Fireright]

Youre doing a fine job Calisthenis matey and putting some graft in +rep

I reckon you've probably listed all the major console cheats, cant think of anymore. Only thing that comes to mind is a mini-guide on reducing rebel/pirate spawn rates? Technically its 'illegal' as its not a console job, but it might be useful for folks peed off with all the rebel stuff?

All Hail The Glorious Console!!

[Calisthenis of Dyrrachium]

I added a tutorial for unlocking factions, why not one for that as well. I'll add it a bit later though.

[nickod777]

Good Stuff +rep

Let us not also forget the add/remove population cheat which can be quite useful.

Somewhere in the archives is Superior Console cheats Volume 1 which provides a guide to completing an entire campaign in under 10 minutes.

Join the ranks of the professional console enthusiast

Any idea where that Superior cheat volume thing is?

[Calisthenis of Dyrrachium]

I asked the same thing. Also, did you like the guide?

[Hopit]

yubtseb cheat

[Fireright]

I asked the same thing. Also, did you like the guide?

Your Cheat Bible is looking good and will give practical guidance to those seeking cheats

Superior Console Volume 1 is here:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=310801

It's more of a lighthearted guide/thread about fast completion of a sub 10 min campaign, so I kinda dodged your question so as not to mix up your practical guide with the 'console sports' guide.


When you've finished the Bible to your satisfaction, I believe it should be 'stickied' The Console is King

[Reven]

anyone got an example of how to add a trait to a member of the faction? whenever i try it it always says name doesnt exsist or somthin.

say i wanna add the Strategist trait to say Doros of Sparta how would i type it in?

[Vice]

People who have "of Sparta" or Athens or whatever city in their name are quite tricky as I have no idea either to how to give them stats...wish I knew as well heh!

[Darth_Revan]

Yay!! cheats

[Calisthenis of Dyrrachium]

Yes, STICKY PLEASE ANYONE WHO CAN DO THAT!!
Fireright, I do think that your guide is good, but I do disagree with you on a few points, especially this one,

TWC cheating community is respected

That has to be a joke.

@Reven
You need to check in export_descr_character_traits.txt in Rome Total War\data. For Strategic Skill it should be this:

give_trait "Doros of Sparta" StrategicSkill 2

EDIT: Eh, forget what I said. I'm far too nice to be so harsh.

[StealthEvo]

Maybe a loose howto on how to make SUPER traits. Like one trait like gives everyone anyone ever wanted IE char_traits editing since it is the bible of such things

[Reven]

Yes, STICKY PLEASE ANYONE WHO CAN DO THAT!!
Fireright, I do think that your guide is good, but I do disagree with you on a few points, especially this one,

That has to be a joke.

@Reven
You need to check in export_descr_character_traits.txt in Rome Total War\data. For Strategic Skill it should be this:

give_trait "Doros of Sparta" StrategicSkill 2

I will not give too many specific instructions on how to do specific things. The whole point of the Bible is to get people doing it themselves.

ty for the example thats all i needed to know ty,i was just unsure how i should format it when playing lol