Steam compatability

**icydawgfish** · October 08, 2011, 07:12 PM

I tried to install this onto my steam copy of M2TW Kingdoms and upon running the installer, it says it can't M2TW patched to the proper version (it's up to date btw).

**AJStoner** · October 09, 2011, 12:17 AM

Check out the Steam info and Squid's installation editor linked on the tech page HERE. This should get you up and running.

**Seraph07** · October 10, 2011, 01:18 AM

I also couldn't get it to run. The editor looks for .cfg file but there is none

**AJStoner** · October 10, 2011, 06:18 AM

Check these links, they might help: Steam Compatability and Tech Help.

**~~RubiconDecision~~** · October 16, 2011, 01:29 PM

I'm a Steam user, and I can tell you that most mods will run under Steam, and definitely Rule Britannia does so. The installer will even make changes in your registry and that is what allows you to easily see the mod in the Steam launcher. Squid shows you how to do it manually, and you may have to do that if you are installing the game without the installer.

Some users, myself included are having an issue with the 1.6 installer being unable to find their Steam MTW2 installation. If so, read on to see how to do a manual install.

In order to use the Battle Editor, something most users never mess with, I had to install the mod without the installer for 1.6.

If you have any issues with the 1.6 installer, and you need some help with using the mod under Steam, write in what you are seeing specifically, and I'll try to explain the process of a manual install. It's not that hard to do. Basically you download the zipped version found here: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/downl...o=file&id=3489

1) Then once it is unzipped, you might need to rename the directory from Rule_Britannia to rule_britannia.

2) Then you can copy the mod folder to your mod folder in Steam. Mine looks like the attached picture.

3) Then you need to do a regedit to get the Rule Britannia into the Steam MTW2 Kingdoms Launcher. To do that you can follow Squid's link above. I will edit this further to explain the process myself too. Sounds complicated, but then instruction on how to tie your shoes sound complicated on paper, but every six year old can do it by following instructions.

4) Okay, you're a brave sort and willing to learn how to edit the registry. Sounds scary, it isn't really, but pat yourself on the back after doing this successfully. It means you've got the potential to become a modder yourself. These instructions are per Vista 64 bit. Your own may be different, I don't know?

5) Ever wonder, how the heck MTW2 works under Steam anyways, and particularly how do mods load up to the Launcher? Well each of the mods are packed into a compressed form and placed into specific mod directories. You can cheat this using some unconventional renaming of directories, but like all shortcuts, you'll run into issues later which make things worse, so I'll teach you the correct way.

The Launcher looks for registry entries. Those tell it where the mod is located, and if they are official or not, and where to run the modded Kingdom files from. Click on Start, then Run, and a small window will open. See the attached pictures. You'll type regedit in there, and this calls up that program so you can make a few minor editing changes.

6) Okay you'll see the program, and there are only a few main directories, but perhaps thousands, and I'll only show you the ones you are interested for simplification. You'll see HKEY LOCAL MACHINE and want to click on the plus symbol. See the attached picture.

7) You then see more, and for brevity, I will do this faster. You'll then open SOFTWARE and then within that open WOW6432Node and then SEGA then Medieval II Total War then Mods then Unofficial. See the screen picture.

8) Now your unofficial mods may look differently. We'll need to add in the "key". Right click on unofficial mods, and click new then key. This will add a key and you need to name it something, say Rule Britannia 1.6. The version is important as then you'll know which one you are running.

9) Now you will right click on the new key, and click "new" then "String Value". There are a total of nine lines. That's not so bad, right? Each one has two parts, a name and a data value. You'll do this nine times entering the information show. Save the image and zoom in, and you'll see it clearly. The names are commands and the data values tell those commands where to look and what directories and what programs to run like kingdoms.exe. See?

10) The first one is name is (Default) with a (value not set) . The next is Author with A.J. Stoner. The next is ConfigFile with medieval2.Rule_Britannia.cfg. The next is DisplayName with Rule Britannia 1.6. Then FullName with Rule Britannia 1.6. Then GameExe with kingdoms.exe. Then Language with english. Then Path with mods\Rule_Britannia. Then Version with 1.6.

11) Each of these command lines call up functions. You need to use the proper upper and lower case commands exactly as I have typed to call the commands correctly.

12) Now you'll exit out of the regedit. It saves things automatically as you do it. Next you'll reboot the Launcher within Steam, and you'll see the new line for Rule Britannia 1.6. Now click on it and have fun.

**Malcolm** · October 25, 2011, 02:34 PM

When i do all of this, instead of getting two options, i just get an official mods folder. Do i still go to new, key?

**~~RubiconDecision~~** · October 25, 2011, 02:40 PM

Do a screen cap like I did of what you are doing. The way you do that is to hit the PRT screen. Then open MS-Paint (or any program like GIMP) and hit paste. Save the image as a jpg and attach it to the forum post. That will tell me what's going awry since I'm not there watching you do it.

EDIT: Are you not seeing an unofficial mod section in your registry? If you've never installed a mod before, then there might not be a unofficial mod section in your registry. I think you can still add it to the "official" section without errors. The unofficial tag is just a blank folder as you'll see in one of the pic, no commands are being issued from it.

All of this should get cleared up when we issue a new installer.

**Malcolm** · October 25, 2011, 02:48 PM

Here is a post of what i see. I just realised that i havnt installed any mods since i reinstalled medieval kingdoms!

I will just continue with the official folder - since it has my mod folders in it anyway.

**Malcolm** · October 25, 2011, 03:09 PM

So i have followed the instructions but when I try to start the game through the kingdoms launcher, it just starts medieval 2? Any ideas?

**~~RubiconDecision~~** · October 25, 2011, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by Malcolm

So i have followed the instructions but when I try to start the game through the kingdoms launcher, it just starts medieval 2? Any ideas?

You've actually got Rule Britannia in there twice. Once from your original installation, and once making your regedit. See where it says 00006rulebritania ? That's the other registry entry. Attach your cfg file. It will be here. See the attached photos.

Once you get the cfg file correct, then you need to remove the entry you made as it is superfluous.

**Malcolm** · October 25, 2011, 03:47 PM

Do I attach the CFG file to the new Rule_Britannia folder or the old one?

Also, I have just noticed that there are more folders in your version that there are in mine. Could that mean that it was a problem to do with the unpacking?

**~~RubiconDecision~~** · October 25, 2011, 03:57 PM

Originally Posted by Malcolm

Do I attach the CFG file to the new Rule_Britannia folder or the old one?

Also, I have just noticed that there are more folders in your version that there are in mine. Could that mean that it was a problem to do with the unpacking?

No idea why my Steam installation looks different that your own. You shouldn't have to unpack to install the game, generally unpacking is for modding the game and is transparent to users.

I meant attach your cfg as an attachment to the forum so I can read it. Doing this just like you attached the screen cap. You'll probably have to winzip it or winrar it so it can attached to the forum posting. There are limitations on attachments.

EDIT: Do you have a medieval2.RuleBritannia.cfg file in your \rule_britannia mod folder ? You should from the first installation. This is the file that gives instructions to read from the modded files othrwise it will read from the original MTW2 files instead.

**Malcolm** · October 25, 2011, 04:01 PM

Here is my CFG file...

**~~RubiconDecision~~** · October 25, 2011, 04:08 PM

Found it. There's nothing wrong with your cfg file. You've got it installed to the wrongly named directory. Your directory structure has it named \rulebritania but the cfg is looking for rule_britannia instead. That's why it's not working. At least one of the errors.

Just rename the directory to rule_britannia and it should work.

**Malcolm** · October 25, 2011, 04:19 PM

It still seems to get into the game and just after selecting which faction it will crash... My directory is renamed now though.

**~~RubiconDecision~~** · October 25, 2011, 05:02 PM

Did you remove the 2nd registry entry? Does the one registry entry have the correct directory name in it?

Now that you know a little more, and are more aware of the process, you might try installing it again from the zipped version link above. When something is not working, sometimes it's because of little errors that get introduced by an installation, and then attempting over and over to repair those errors becomes futile. I had no issue whatsoever with the zipped version installation.

**Malcolm** · October 25, 2011, 05:06 PM

Yeh i removed the other registry. Thanks for your help anyway. I will reinstall it tonight and hopefully I can get it right this time.

Thanks

**~~RubiconDecision~~** · October 25, 2011, 06:21 PM

Sure Malcolm, you're welcome. We want as many people to play and have fun. I think you'll like it. All of the team members have spent hundreds of hours for the fans.

**~~RubiconDecision~~** · November 27, 2011, 06:21 AM

Just a side note for Steam users. While I originally had difficulty installing RuleBritannia 1.6 and patching it to 1.7, after checking things in the registry, I had no issues whatsoever. It turns out that Steam has made a change in recent months that caused the issue. See the spoiler for a long explanation. Hopefully the next installer will address this, but ultimately you'll need to do a regedit to get it to install well, as well as install any other mods. The spoiler addresses all Steam issues for mods and is particularly an issue with Steam and anyone using Vista 64 bit.

Steam changes that may be causing mod installers to fail

As a longtime Steam user and as a modder and as a user, my experience with Steam and M2TW has been a long irritating one. While Steam does make things faster initially, it is mod-unfriendly. If you've having issues with mod installation or want to avoid having issues with mod installation, I recommend you read this as it details everything that I know that can go wrong and ways to fix it.

All of the following assumes the user has turned off UAC (User Access Control).

Something seems to have changed in the Steam platform. Three months ago I had no issues with the majority of mod installations. Usually by simply installing them in the proper directory, and then making registry changes, the mod both installed and showed up in the Steam Launcher for M2TW. Squid's tool makes this pretty easy for users, and is the easiest way to get that to work. Squid's tool can be found at the TWCenter.

Many mod creators tell their users to do an install only on a pristine copy of M2TW, the reason is simple, many have many mods already installed that were improperly installed to save time with the registry and Steam Launcher, see below. A fresh mod installation will often clear up any issues with renaming directories.

Many mods tell their users to substitute the name of the mod with an existing mod that came with Kingdoms. For example, the Teutonic campaign is a standard Kingdoms mod, and by doing a mod install, and then renaming the \teutonic directory to old_teutonic and then naming the NEW mod directory to \teutonic, this avoids the issues of registry edit. The reality is doing that WILL create issues later as many mods copy from these basic mod directories (like teutonic) and hence this will mix up mod installations in the future. You should never simply rename old original mod directories. If they don't know how to edit the registry, then they should use Squid's tool regardless. Some well made installers will make registry changes so users won't have to use his tool.

Steam users should install it to the recommended directory first. I have a feeling that this is creating some of the issues in case some users have installed Steam to a different partition than recommended. There's a valid reason for not wanting it on the C: directory since you can run out of disk space, but Steam and M2TW SHOULD be installed there. Move something else instead to a different partition.

One thing that should be done first on mod installation, go to the Steam software library, and click on properties, then click on verify integrity of game content for both the Kingdoms and the main M2TW files. I have frequently found issues with discrepancies despite a fresh install. The Steam software will re-download the faulty components, and this may take care of odd CTDs or weird installation issues.

Most often, a mod installation is from multiple files, then revisions, then patches. I heartily recommend downloading these ONE at a time. What often happens is that we get impatient, download several at once, and some of the files are corrupted. I've seen lots of CTDs as a result of this practice, but very few from downloading them one at a time.

Some of the issues have to do with non-friendly Steam installers. For example, previous versions of the Custom Campaign mod were easy to install, placed a registry change in, and loaded to the Steam Launcher with ease. I've seen special notes here and across many websites saying to create a directory to look like the default non-Steam installation such as: create a \SEGA directory with a subdirectory \Medieval II Total War, copy over the kingdom.exe and the medieval2.exe, and then the installer will find it. I can tell you that often that doesn't work and is unnecessary and obfuscates the issue. The installer will still have issues finding it to be a genuine M2TW installation, even if you choose to launch the installer as an administrator. See my later registry issue with the current incarnation of Steam and M2TW.

If a user has done a fresh install from Steam, they need to run a single campaign for one turn, and then exit. After doing this, the registry will get updated, and then the mod installer may work just fine.

Some installers are very Steam friendly. Pro Deo Et Rege ordinarily works when many do not on Steam. It also changes the registry such that it automatically appears in the Steam Launcher. However, now it doesn't work, as I believe there are current issues still with Steam and M2TW and the registry.

The Potential Issue with the latest Steam version and M2TW
I recently looked at PDER 1.0a to see if I could figure out what was the issue. After downloading the components, and forming the exe, I ran the exe and was surprised that it didn't install correctly. I ran a regedit, and found that the AppPath for the Steam Launcher had changed to this:
C:\Program Files (x86)\MyProduct

When it should be this:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\medieval ii total war
On my machine, it's located in the registry under:
HKEY_Local_Machine
Software
Wow6432Node
SEGA
Medieval II Total War

After changing the registry for the Medieval II Total War entry, I closed the regedit program down, then PDER1.0a installed just fine to the correct directory as it found it properly. Ordinarily running the registry entry prgram that Gigantus included with it works, but it doesn't now and I entered it by hand in the registry.

The Custom Campaign installer works now. So did the Retrofit mod, so did the submod Grand Unit Add-on Mod (GUAM) for the Retro mod, though of course you have to follow the screen prompts and install it to the correct directory.

Dave Scarface's Kingdoms Grand Campaign mod 4.3 installed fine too.

None of these would install with the Steam version change without a regedit as detailed above. My conclusion is that something has changed in the Steam platform in the last three or so months, that it mistakenly alters the registry, and that's why installers do not work. In a discussion with Gigantus at the TWCenter, who knows more that I could ever hope to know about M2TW, the installers will always have issues with the 32 and 64 bit OS, and hence there will always be issues with mod installation.

Good luck, if there is interest, I will attempt to help folks who post here, but obviously it's smarter to take a little initiative and figure out how to modify the registry and not to be afraid of it. All it does is "point" the installer to the valid Steam M2TW entry, and if it can't find one, then of course the installer will not work.

If you don't close down the regedit program, then of course the installer can't make changes. My guess is that if people follow this FAQ, then most mod installers will work fine now.

Having played most of the big mods, modded on my own, being on a mod team, all over the last four years, I have a little more experience than several of you.

Anyone can learn how to write the registry entry for a mod installation that doesn't include automatic insertion into the Steam Installer. If there is interest for that, I'll be happy to write that in my next post, but it will of course be geared toward Vista-64 bit as that's my operating system.

Concise answer:
The Potential Issue with the latest Steam version and M2TW
I recently looked at Rule Britannia 1.6 to see if I could figure out what was the issue. After downloading, I ran the exe and was surprised that it didn't install correctly. I ran a regedit, and found that the AppPath for the Steam Launcher had changed to this:
C:\Program Files (x86)\MyProduct

When it should be this:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\medieval ii total war
On my machine, it's located in the registry under:
HKEY_Local_Machine
Software
Wow6432Node
SEGA
Medieval II Total War

This registry change is what confuses any mods from discovering a legitimate M2TW directory. If that's the error message you're getting, then you need to check the registry. This Steam issue affects all mod installation, not just RuleBritannia.

One little annoying leftover in Steam is an error message. Now that the game is older, they no longer are updating the server for polls. After two minutes, it times out since it cannot connect. What I do is load the Steam platform launcher, run the mod, wait for two minutes and acknowledge the error message, then chose a kingdom to play. It's a minor irritation. You may or may not see the error.