Doubling the number of soldiers in units

[iliekater]

Hi . Let me ask you something .
For 2 years now I am trying to double the soldiers in units (that is during start-up of the game) , but all these years I haven't managed to do that ...
I have used two different programs , but still didn't manage to achieve my goal .

a) By using PFM 3.5.2 :
- Open the PFM progeam and go : File > New .
- Then go : Files > Add > Files .
- Select the needed startpos.esf file (i.e. the one from "main_rome" folder which I suppose is for the default campaign) .
- Then click on startpos.esf (that is in the tree on top-left) .
- Open CAMPAIGN_STARTPOS
- Open COMPRESSED _DATA
- Open CAMPAIGN_ENV
- Open CAMPAIGN_SETUP
- Select CAMPAIGN_SETUP_OPTIONS
- Change the second number from 1 to 2 .
However - if all this is the right thing to do - then what do I do next ? I guess I save my progress , but then what ?

b) By using EditSF 1.1.1 :
- I simply go : File > Open , and there select "startpos.esf" from "main_rome" folder (which I suppose is for the default campaign)
- Once again change the same value to 2
- Save
But nothing happens ...

Can you please show me the right way ? Because all these years I haven't played the game because I liked it the way it was modded with double , not how it is in its default state .

[iliekater]

I still can't figure out how can I change successfully the startpos.esf file , but it seens I managed something else : I did the same changes as above , but instead of the startpos.esf , I changed my newly created save file . That is I started a new campaign ; saved the game ; exited . used EditSF 1.1.1 and modified the save file ; saved it ; restarted the game .
If anyone is interested , the location of the save files is :
C:\Users\<PC user name>\AppData\Roaming\The Creative Assembly\Rome2\save_games

I hope now everything will go as hoped to .

[~Seleukos.I.Nikator~]

Hey,

Changing unit size is not something that I ever have done myself, but I can give you a few tips, nonetheless.

First of all, your PFM is badly outdated. The current version, as far as I remember, is 5.0 and you need also the latest schamata to go with it. That I hope you are aware of.

When it comes to chaning the unit size you do it via db tables and not the startpos file unless you have particularly in mind editing the units you have on the map at the start of a campaign. If you want to do it for an existing campaign then you need to modify the savegame file, otherwise that's in the db tables.

Just have a look at this tutorial.

Another thing that you also have to keep in mind is that doubling the size of each unit will definitely have a negative impact on the game, resulting in problems with pathfinding, battle AI, etc. Let alone the burden that this will surely place on your computer performance that will make your game unplayable even if you have a decent rig. R2 was just simply not designed for a unit size larger than the ordinary ultra. Please, be aware of that, too.

[iliekater]

Thanks , Seleuke ! In all these 2 years and 2 months , you are actually the only person that ever answered me !
Lets take them in order :
1) Where can I find the latest PFM version ? I got my (3.5.2) by googling it , but it seems Google didn't show me the latest one . May I suppose that this is the latest one :
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...mmer-2-support
2) What is the "schamata" ?
3) It doesn't bother me to change the save file itself instead of the startpos file , so it's OK for me . But let me ask you : does this method going to work for the other campaigns too ? Like on Wrath of Sparta ?
4) Yes , , thanks , I looked at that link . It's there that I found the method that I applied .
5) Doubling the sizes of the units is something that didn't bother me . At least at the past . You see , I played a lot this game (with double sizes) in the past , thanks to a mod . So I saw how it is . There are some path finding problems , but these might also appear on normal sizes . And yes , huge full armies might some times make the game slow down a bit . But this is rare . Of course in battles of 2 vs 2 armies in a city of full garrison , well ... yes , there is a problem ! ... But other than that , it's nice seeing such battles !
6) The above method (of modifying the save file) does also double the artilery ? Up to now I have only seen infantry and naval units , so I don't know what will happen with catapulcts etc .
7) What do I have to do in order to double the sizes in custom battles too ?
8) How do I update a message here ? I mean is there any EDIT button ?

[~Seleukos.I.Nikator~]

All right, iliekater, let's take it step by step;

ad 1. exactly, that's the most recent version of PFM that is currently hosted on the Warhammer forum

ad 2. schemata is a sort of database structure with all its underlying tables. As that structure is always a subject to change, it's important to keep it up-to-date in your PFM. You may find the link to the schemata thread in that PFM thread you posted above. You download it from here. It is, thus, schema 121 that is now most up-to-date. Just download it and put it in your PFM folder.

ad 3. yes, it should work on any kind of save regarldess of whether it is the main campaign, or any of the dlc campaigns

ad 4. good!

ad 5. sure, it is always worth it giving it a try! Some battles, and sieges in particular, may be quite unplayable, but otherwise you should be fine, especially if you turn down the graphics settings

ad 6. I have no idea, sorry! I believe that you should be able to do both somehow, ie. define how many men there are in each unit, plus how many siege engines it features

ad 7. I believe once you manage to modify the unit size it will apply both to the campaign and custom battles. I can't be sure, though.

ad 8. To be able to edit your forum posts you first need to have something like 10-15-20 posts to your account. I can't remember now exactly how many there are.

Another word of advice. One of the most efficient way of learing how to mod is to look at the work of other modders to see how they solved different problems. Check this mod, for example. It does exactly the same thing that you want to do, so just subscribe to it, then open it with PFM and see how it's done. Learn the concept and then apply it in your own mod. That said, that is obviously no invitation to plagiarize other peoples' work. You are just simply learning the method that you then apply in your own work.

EDIT: I've just found out that of one of Magnar's modding video tutorials deals with how to change the unit size. Just see here. You can't possibly get a better source of information than this!

[Daruwind]

There are two different PFM
https://sourceforge.net/projects/pac...2.zip/download
and
https://sourceforge.net/projects/packfilemanager/
I´m using this later it is supporting more different TWs (Wh..)
schemas are:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/pac...iles/Schemata/

You need updated schema in order to read DB and create mods. After game update, changes are decoded and new schema is published

Artillery and ships etc are little different. You have to assign siege engines, artillery piece to the unit and change the number as well. Because changing unit size will only affect number of crew there. There is even option to assign ship(s) however having single unit aboard two+ ships is leeding to funny situation in battles...

Editing previous messages is unlocked once you passed 10-15 comments/posts on forum.

[iliekater]

Thanks a lot !
Let me ask you something related : is there any way that I can set my game in Steam so that it won't get updated ? I think in the past there was such an option for the games , but I can't find it anymore . There reason I want this is so that my current game won't be affected of any eventual updates .

[~Seleukos.I.Nikator~]

Switching Steam to an offline mode would perhaps be the easiest - and only - way to do it.

[iliekater]

Yes . But this would also stop the updates on any other games ...

[Daruwind]

Lately CA is allowing multiple betas/version/patches especially for Rome 2. Navigate in steam to similar location as is on the picture lower, just for R2. But we are speaking about late patches 16,17,18,19 and current betalauncher patch. You cannot go deeper in history but this should be covering the last few years from Emperor Edition.

[iliekater]

Thanks , I'll take a look to see what's available in Rome II .

Let me ask you one more question : is there any such magic number , as above , which to modify in order to directly double the number of units in garrison ?

[iliekater]

Hi . I just watched the video that it linked above , but a have a question :
He added a new table and in there inputted all the data from the vanila game . He made any changes he wanted and then he saved it .
Right . But what do I have to do after that ?

[iliekater]

I guess I found it . It was not what to do next , but what to do before that ! In the linked video it wasn't shown that he was already working on a mod and not modifying directly the default tables (probably because it was shown in a previous episode) .
So , one has to simply create a new mod (File > New) , then load the tables he desires (i.e. from data_rome2.pack) into his mode and then save and load the mod into the game (all through PFM itself) .
Despite being easy , I would never find it myself if you didn't point me some directions . Thanks !
I have one more question , though : Where can I double the number of units in garrison from ? The parameters in the .pack file are numerous !

[~Seleukos.I.Nikator~]

Hey again,

Good to hear that you've made some progress! Modding DB tables is relatively easy once you get the concept of it, but, of course, first you need to lear the basics.

Magnar video tutorials are great for that purpose. There are, obviously, many more of them, not only the one I linked to you before.

Here you have a more extensive list. I would strongly advise that you first watch the first few episodes before you actually start to mod. That will make things much easier for you.

Regarding the garrisons, check episode 22.

[RoninX2807]

what about using SaveParser, there is a function for unit scaling in Rome2...

[♔atthias♔]

moved to the correct location