Help with Unpacker

[Sulfurion Blackfyre]

So I want to unpack the "text" folder from Medieval 2 vanilla (the folder that contains files such as names.txt, expanded.txt, etc), but I don't really know how.

I know it is possible to do something like this, because I once extracted the text files in the "data" folder (like export_descr_unit ,etc)

Yet I don't know how to do it, or where I saw how to do it. And I don't want to try and do it myself in fear of doing something terribly wrong.

So, if anyone could tell me exactly how to do it (as in the proper "codes" to put into the unpacker.. you know.. the little details as how to do it).

I would appreciate a lot, and give some rep away.

PS: the exact file I'm trying to get is the expanded.txt one, so if there's a way to extract it without all the rest it would be better, altough having the others would do no harm.

I know not many people answer in this part of the forums, but please if you see this and know something, let me know please!

[irishron]

The readme has all the info for unpacking just a file or a folder.

[Sulfurion Blackfyre]

I'm sorry.. but I don't really understand the readme.. perhaps you could give me a simplified example?

[irishron]

I personally never got into just one file because I mod about all of it in one form or another so I just unpacked the full 36,000+ files, and copy those to my mod when I need one for that purpose. It saves trying to pick the next one out later.

Expanded.txt, you have to unpack expanded.txt.string.bin, then use the string.bin convertor to get there.

[Sulfurion Blackfyre]

Yeah thanks, it worked, +rep : D

[Alpha Zeke]

I spent like, 30 minutes reading that readme full of awful English. Thank god you guys figured it out
And glad to see you back Sulp! GL on whatever your working on!

[irishron]

You're welcome.

[Sulfurion Blackfyre]

So uh.. I've edited the files, and I wanted to try them in Medieval 2 Total War vanilla (by creating a text folder, putting the .txt files in it, and changing the preferences to the file first = true)

But it seems it doesn't work. Something I only realised later, the game appears to read the .txt.string.bin file, not the .txt

So, is there a way to convert my modified .txt files back to string.bin?

I mean, we can open the string.bin files in notepad, but changing it that way would take.. not forever.. but something close to it

Please tell me there's a better way..

[irishron]

Check the time/date stamp of the string.bin. If the game did not overwrite it, delete it and force it to generate a new one.

[Sulfurion Blackfyre]

What? Wait, I don't understand, what I did was extracting the txt.string.bin files as you said, and then I used the converter to convert them to .txt, so that I could edit them.

Afterwards I created a folder in MTW2 vanilla, named text (because there isn't one), and placed the .txt files in there, but the game doesn't read them, it does read the .txt.string.bin.

The question is, how do I create .txt.string.bin files out of the modified .txt ones.. so that the game can properly read my changes.. I didn't understand what you meant with "generating new ones"..

[irishron]

Did you put expanded.txt and expanded.txt.string.bin in the Medieval II Total War\data\text folder?
If not, the game will never find it. The file structure in the game engine is very specific.
If so, delete the string.bin and let it generate a new one.

[Sulfurion Blackfyre]

Yes I put the modified expanded.txt in the \data\text

I don't have any .string.bin that corresponds to the modified expanded.txt (I have the vanilla one)

But when I start the game, everything stays the same, and when I quit and go to the folder, there is just the normal expanded.txt, the game didn't generate anything.

[Ishan]

Make the necessary changes in the expanded.txt file and then when u launch the game, it will automatically save the changes inside the expanded.txt.bin file acquiring the data from the corresponding .txt file.
That's the way i do and i never had any problems with it.

Another work around is directly editing the .bin file itself via bin editor 3.0.

[irishron]

In the medieval2.preferences.cgf, did you put:

[io]
file_first = true

save the file and make it read-only?

[Ishan]

And Did u also deleted the 2 geography files coz if not then u will get CTD on battle maps.
the files are in this path:-

• data\descr_geography_new.txt
• data\descr_geography_new.db

[Sulfurion Blackfyre]

@Ishan
So, I just put the vanilla expanded.string.bin, and it will change automatically? Like, I launch the game, then quit and restart and it will be changed?

@Irishrong
Yes

[Ishan]

@Ishan
So, I just put the vanilla expanded.string.bin, and it will change automatically? Like, I launch the game, then quit and restart and it will be changed?

Yes it will be automatically edited just save all the changes made in expanded.txt.
You need to launch a campaign for it.

[irishron]

Did you start a campaign?

[Sulfurion Blackfyre]

Thanks, it's all done now! +rep to you too : D

I just had to put the files there as you said, but I also had to open them on notepad, change something, before the game could recognize them.

Anyway, it's always something more I learned about modding.

[irishron]

Glad to help.