Frequently Asked Questions

[Ybbon]

A New FAQ. Please PM me if there are any questions you want answered that aren't on this list.

Installations Issues

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

1. Can I install Roma Surrectum with Other Mods?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   No. Roma Surrectum is "mod-foldered" but it does not work with other mods.
   
2. Does Roma Surrectum work with BI/Alex?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   Yes. You can use any of RTW, BI (Barbarian Invasion) or Alexander(Alex).
   
3. Which Exe is best?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   There is no best per se, it is your own preference. Some of the developers use BI, some use Alex and some use RTW. BI has a supposedly more aggressive AI, Alex the AI will attempt more naval invasions.
   There is no best as far as the mod is concerned, all work equally well.
   
   With RTW BI you get units that can swim and the shield wall ability. Also the AI tend to do more naval invasions. There were naval invasions with RTW but these were quite rare.
   With RTW Alex you don't get these (swim / shieldwall) but the AI is supposedly better
   (in the battlefield, as well as retraining units if it can) and they can still do naval invasions. Some issues with memory leaks are supposedly fixed. RTW is sufficient for RSII, but if you have BI or Alex, use them.
   
4. Why have I got white unit cards?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   It happens sometimes probably because of the number of units used in the mod. You can resolve it most of the time by closing the window and going to another unit then re-opening the erroneous one.
   
5. How do I install the Forced Diplomacy mod?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   It is already included with the mod. You activate it by clicking on the advisors portrait and then the help button.
   
6. Does the Mod work with Steam?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   Yes. See the video guide here
   
   Or a guide here:
   http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=583277
   
7. What is the current version?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   The launcher version should show 1.2.2 - The current version is 2.5b which is an open beta, however, this is pretty much what will be released with minor tweaks.
   
   Note that the launcher may show 2.2b, this is OK. The version number wasn't changed there. It should be correct in the next release.
   
8. How do I modify my preferences?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   Either use the preference editor included in the launcher, edit preferences.txt in the <RS>\preferences folder, or edit it in the faction folder. If you have played a faction, that faction will have it's own prefences file and this can be used. If you haven't played then just use the preferences folder version.
   
9. Will this be ported to MTW2/STW2
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   No. That may be an option for a whole new team who are familiar with modding those engines (mod teams please contact DVK901 or Tone if you want to try that). There may be further updates but likely as contained campaigns rather than a complete update to 3.x or anything like that.
   
10. The RAR has a virus according to Norton
    
    Spoiler for answer: 

    It doesn't have a virus, Norton is giving a false positive (or any other AV that reports that). Turn the AV off then install and turn it back on afterwards.
11. Why is there only one quote per faction?
    
    Spoiler for answer: 

    There is a CTD than can occur with too many messages. This was discovered by another team but the way to avoid it is to reduce the number of messages. The easiest way to accomplish this was just to reduce the messages to one per faction.
    
    And for the longer answer from DVK:
    
    I was a bit surprised as well that the quotes would cause after battle CTD's, but it has been confirmed without question that they are 'at least' part of the problem. Our own testing has confirmed this, and when I shared this info with the RTRVII team, they implemented it and a persistant CTD they were having with a city disappeared. So it has an effect of some kind, even though I have no clue why it would. It just may be that at that 'moment in time' when the game is transitioning from battlefield to Strat UI, there is just too much going on for the game to handle. There are hundreds of after battle trait triggers firing, unit loss calculations, settlements changing hands, determinations of where any remaining armies should go and what is left of them, messages about deaths....a lot of stuff going on. So removing the quotes was our effort to make RS2 as CTD free as possible.
    
    Now, that said, I see above that a few people are having CTD issues. The thing is, we did enough testing to know that RS2 with this patch is probably as stable as RTW\BI can ever get....ASSUMING your PC can handle the load that RS2 invariably puts on it. If you are used to playing TW games that are largely unmodified 'environmentally', or don't use the same level of quality textures as RS2 does, then it's possible you'll have to scale down you settings. For example, I know a lot of people like to play on 'Huge' unit settings. And you can do that in a lot of mods without too much trouble. But you need to be careful when you start coupling that with a new highly detailed trees, ground textures, building textures, vegetation and the like. Some textures in RS2 are literally 4 times their original size in Vanilla in order for them to look right, and you are doubling the stress on your system when you play on Huge settings.
    
    Personally, my own system is a 'middle of the road' one. People on this team have better systems than I do. I 'could' play on HUGE settings, but I know it would cause issues because my system just can't handle it. I have also had video cards that were at the time 'top of the line'....but they had crappy video drivers. The result was artifacts, weird things being displayed, transition screens not showing up, etc. This is likely a video driver or a heat issue (I burned up a very good Nvidia card with RS2)....so I'm just saying......experiment a bit with your system and find a setting or combination of settings that works well for you. Don't just assume you can crank everything up and not have trouble.
    
12. Is there a MacOS version of Roma Surrectum?
    
    Spoiler for answer: 

    Most mods for PC can be ported to a mac fairly easily, you'll just need to extract the contents of any exe on a PC first and then copy it over. Any mod thats in zip/rar/7zip/etc format can be used directly on a mac.
    

Gameplay

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

1. How do I select the 1-turn mods?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   See the guide here
   
2. What should I set my taxes to?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   It depends. There is no one size fits all, we do recommend you review the tax settings in all your settlements frequently. As ever, aim to keep green or yellow faces, but by maximising your revenue.
   
3. Why are my generals not getting stars?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   They need to fight in person to improve their rating, and it is better to focus on one General fighting as many battles as possible and getting involved in the action directly to improve his traits. Some Generals are naturally better, and some will struggle no matter what you do. The intent is not to have all your generals as supermen.
   
4. Why do my Generals persistently rebel even if I take them out of the city?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   A new message should added in game to explain this now. The idea is that the Governor has banded together along with a number of others in this area who think that the current leadership needs "updating". They are going to revolt and create an Empire of their own and nothing you can do will dissuade them. You are best advised as to consider this a settlement that now needs reconquering. Moving them in and out of the city will have no effect as they are going to rebel.
   
5. Why does the AI cheat and put units in a besieged settlement
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   This is the garrison script. The AI will defend it's settlements by recruiting emergency stacks both to defend the city and they will also appear near major cities. You should have to work to take a settlement not just walk in. This is deliberate and while there will be a modification to allow no garrison, the intent of the mod is to be a challenge.
6. Why can't I build <building> in <city>?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   Check the building browser to make sure you have fulfilled it's requirements. This will be true for any settlement but you may find some cultures do not lot have certain building trees.
   
7. Do H/VH taxes lead to corrupt governors?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   No. There is no penalty to having H/VH taxes to your governor's stats, but his abilities will determine how the population will take to his tax regime.
   
8. How do I make my General into a Governor?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   They must stay in a settlement for 2 turns.
   
9. Why are there so many election messages?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   Yes, these are a bit annoying, but remind you to get those characters back to a settlement regularly - otherwise 'bad' things might happen. Senatorial elections occur every year and Censor ones every 18 months - so you'll get a turn occasionally without a message! Only Senators can become Propraetors, so it is useful to get some of them elected.
10. Why can't I merge fleets?
    
    Spoiler for answer: 

    As part of the new traits system, Admiral's are now like General's - once created, they can't be 'deleted' (ie they won't give up their flagship). So, only create the fleets you want to have. You can still transfer ships between them, but not get rid of the fleet entirely. Just takes a little more management, so you can create large fleets, but your best bet is to do them all in port.
    Note, see 2.6, this should be fixed.
    
11. What is the recommended difficulty level to play on?
    
    Spoiler for answer: 

    There is no recommended level, whatever you feel comfortable with. VH battles are thought to be buggy, although it might just be that the AI gets insane bonuses such that every unit is a Spartan on steroids, however, we do not recommend VH battles.
    
12. Is this version save game compatible with 2.1a?
    
    Spoiler for answer: 

    No. Each versions (1.6, 2.1a and 2.5b) saves only work with that version.
    

Unit Questions

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

1. Why can't I recruit mercenaries in X barracks?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   You must have the right build tree for the highest barrack level to be built. Do not forget you may need to build Army Rations to get the next level.
   
2. How do I get the reforms?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   You need a population of 24,000 in Agrakas. Note when you play as another faction, the same rule does not apply to the AI so it may have post-reform legions before Agrakas is fully developed. They need the right population in any one of the Roman Cities.
   
3. Why can't I recruit the Polybian units?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   You need to have the right buildings in the right order.
   Because each legion has its own particular Area of Recruitment (AOR), is unique to itself, and can only be recruited after the Marian Reforms, people often ask that one question: How/When can I recruit the legions? Rest assured, this is a simple guideline to to facilitate you in recruiting the legions.
   You initiate the Marian Reforms by building an imperial palace in Akragas (located in Sicily). This allows you to recruit non-named and non-numbered legions.
   

   • To set the basework for recruiting numbered and named legions, you must build a Supply of Army Rations in the city you wish to recruit from
   • To be able to recruit the Hamata or "Republican" legions, you must build a Roman Fortress in the city you wish to recruit from.
   • To be able to recruit the Segmentata or "Imperial" legions, you must build a Curia Hostilia in the city you wish to recruit from.
   • To be able to recruit early Praetorian legions, you must build the Praetorian Guard Training Ground in Rome.
   • To be able to recruit late Praetorian legions, you must build the Castra Praetoria in Rome.

   
   
4. How do I cover up the naked units?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   There are 2 models directories in \IMPORTANT_STUFF\modesty. You need to use the censored version models to replace the ones in models_unit.
   
5. Why won't my units line up properly?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   In short it is the engine, however, you might try the different types of formations (for both player and AI) in the _important_stuff folder under 'alternate_formations'. I had a try at fixing that problem, but TBH, with the surrent RS2 formations I could not. But, I have included PLAYER formations by Sinuhet, Darth, RTR and Athenagorus and AI formations by Sinuhet and Darth. Now, RS2 uses a modified version of Sinuhet's formation AI, but the alternate I'm talking about is a 'pure' Sinuhet 7.0 version that has only been modified so that the right factions use the right formations.
6. I'm sieging and my units won't enter a tower?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   It's a known RTW bug that has never been fixed. You can try to resolve it by getting the units to go in and out until they fully climb but this might not work. There is nothing the mod can do to prevent this, just ensure you have tunnels, ladders and multiple siege towers.
7. Why does the AI have more than 20 units in an army?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   It doesn't. For the player, an army is shown as 2 rows of 10, for the AI it is shown as 2 rows of 9 and 1 of 2. Discuss with CA as to why this is.

Everything Else

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

1. Why are the years counted in AUC and what the heck is it anyway?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   You can use various converters which are detailed in this thread to convert from AUC. AUC stands for Ab Urbe Condita which basically means from the founding of the city. AUC is used because the RTW game engine has a long-standing bug that cause an unavoidable CTD somewhere around 67BC, by using AUC, as the mod starts in 537 AUC, it fools the engine that the timeframe is way beyond that date, and no CTD.
   
2. Why is the name Roma Surrectum?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   It's a mistake but an honest one. It is not quite correct and should be Roma Surrecta but once it was realised, it was too late to actually change it - and frankly we like it.
   
3. Which is the best barbarian faction to play?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   There is no best. They have been updated equally so it is personal preference.
   
4. What's the difference between 0-turn and 1-turn?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   In 1 turn, it takes 1 turn to recuit 1 unit. In 0-turn you can fill a city with 9 units and recruit all of them in 1 turn, in 1 turn you only recruit 1 of those units. Note that the mod is balanced for 0-turn, but that can lead to a lot of stacks which some players may not like for whatever reason. They may prefer to play a 1-turn campaign.
   
5. Why am I getting forest_elephant (or similar) errors?p
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   Please see the Technical Help threads where these questions are answered.
   
6. Can I use my own music?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   Yes. See this post.
   
7. I can't save or enable the script
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   See this thread.
8. When i take a settlement from an enemy, should i destroy all of their buildings? Do I get any negative effect by having them in my settlement?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   If its from a different culture they give Culture penalties which means increased unrest, so yes it is advisable to remove anything that has a culturally negative impact on you.
9. Why are there so many traits?
   
   Spoiler for answer: 

   Individually the traits can have quite an effect on the character; in Vanilla, simply by building a few buildings in a settlement, Governors would get better and better; by fighting a few battles, General's stars would appear to light up the sky.
   
   What the Team have done is review everything, but maintain a balance. The reason there are so many traits now is to maintain that balance. Now, most people will be decent and good at what they do. Leave a Governor in a settlement until he dies and he will often have 10 (max) Management points and the settlement will be producing loads of income, his replacement, however, will often see a dramatic fall until the new Governor learns the ropes. Generals will take longer to achieve all the stars.
   
   Some characters, however, will be outstandingly good, and others monumentally bad - but not that many in the scheme of things (in 85 years I have only sacked a handful of Governors for cause so far, likewise some Generals have been removed from command, but not many). The great raft of traits facilitates that. If players do keep an eye on the summary stats for each character, however, they can monitor for change and then review the long list to see why. It does mean that, particularly if characters become 'bad', that it also takes time too.
   
   For the statistically minded - in short, the large number of traits assists in creating a pseudo-bell curve/normal distribution and results in not too many outliers.
10. Are there any RS signatures and avatars?
    
    Spoiler for answer: 

    Well yes of course! Try here http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=382351
11. Are there any playing guides?
    
    Spoiler for answer: 

    http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=387184
    
    Also try Aristotle Follys guide which was written for 2.1a but is very applicable and very good as a starting point
    http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=396194
    
12. Where is the printable map?
    
    Spoiler for answer: 

    Here http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=462198
    

A helpful Guide to problems with RTW\RS2 that are not the mod's fault.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...7#post11430847

Custom Battle Units

Added by Brusilov - 18th April 2013

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

There is a limit to how many units can be shown on the Custom Battle unit selection screen.

when playing a faction (e.g. Rome) you will find that there are many units that clearly belong to other factions in the list. I would guess that the units shown include other factions units because if you have a settlement in that area (and the appropriate baracks or mercenary building) then you should be able to recruit those units.

There is a way to exclude units from custom battles but it needs some editing.

In the EDU (export_descr_unit.txt) you need to remove the units that you don't want appearing in custom battle by adding the 'no_custom' attribute.

The following is an example of such a unit:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

type aedui cavalry
dictionary aedui_cavalry
category cavalry
class missile
voice_type Medium_1
soldier celtic_medium_cavalry, 30, 0, 1
officer east_heavy_standard
mount medium horse
attributes sea_faring, hide_forest, cantabrian_circle, very_hardy, can_swim, no_custom
formation 1.5, 4, 3, 6, 4, square, wedge
stat_health 1, 11
stat_pri 8, 34, javelin, 50, 8, thrown, simple, piercing, spear, 25, 1
stat_pri_attr no
stat_sec 10, 34, no, 0, 0, melee, blade, piercing, spear, 25, 0.418
stat_sec_attr no
stat_pri_armour 4, 12, 3, leather
stat_sec_armour 1, 1, flesh
stat_heat 1
stat_ground 0, -2, -2, 2
stat_mental 21, normal, trained
stat_charge_dist 45
stat_fire_delay -180000
stat_food 60, 300
stat_cost 0, 567, 220, 87, 115, 71
ownership thrace, romans_brutii

When I was doing some screen shots of the unit previews I followed the above (by adding no_custom). Beware that it can be a lenghty process and at times you can't find the units that you want to include (as they may be named differently).

Also - take a copy of the EDU before you make any changes and also keep copies of the ones that work so you can go back one step of modding (if for some reason it causes an error).