Chivalry Total War - FAQ
... is a historical modification of the game Rome: Total War. Its aim is to recreate the historical period of medieval world from 1072-1453 AD.
(edit: end date overhauled ... it is 1222 AD).
Added important notes...
The original purpose of the mod was to make a small medieval multiplayer mod that tried to capture the gameplay of Medieval: Total War. Since then the mod has tuned into a Total Conversion, meaning that all aspects of the original game (campaign, custom battles, historical battles etc.) are now converted into Chivalry's medieval setting (the exact features are listed below).
The mod is solely focusing on the Early to High medieval period (1072-1222). Because of time constraints we cannot include all the Era's at the moment (High and Late).
Edit: See this thread to theme High and Late era:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=134545
Important notes:
We recommend to save the game at regular intervalls with the manual save function (not quick save). Autosave is disabled in Chivalry due to its responsibility for causing random crashes to desktop (RTW-save-bug).
Edit: Not anymore valid. Decide by yourself how you proceed with the save-function (Chiv not longer gives a pre-defined preferences.txt file).
The script is needed to support certain factions by giving them money under certain circumstances, otherwise small factions would be eaten up too fast by the major factions.
After starting the campaign, please enable the main script in-game by clicking on the face of the female advisor appearing in the top left corner! Afterwards you might click on more to get more information or click on her face another time to make her disappear, do not use X to close the advisor (this will end the script also). After loading a savegame you have to start the script anew by pressing Esc and clicking on the ? in the top right corner of the roll, the advisor will appear again and you can proceed as before.
EDIT: ...this script is removed since version 0.99.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
Technical FAQ
Q: Is this a modification (mod) for Rome: Total War?
A: Yes, Chivalry TW is based on Rome: Total War.
Q: Is this mod for Rome: Total War (RTW) or its Barbarian Invasion expansion (BI)?
Q: What patch version do I need to run it?
A: You may either play Chivalry TW on RTW (patched to version 1.5) or on BI (version 1.6). Chivalry will run the RTW executable by default. If you want to play it with BI you have to right click on the Chivalry executable, then choose properties and replace in the target line "RomeTW.exe" with "RomeTW-BI.exe" without altering anything else (if in the default RTW directory).
Q: Is Chivalry Total War a full mod conversion?
A: Yes it is. All the necessary parts of the game have been (and are still) modded - among others the campaign map, settlement plans, units, 3d-buildings, music, voices, interface, graphics and even the animations.
Q: Is Chivalry Total War version 0.50 a full version or a patch for previous versions (0.34/0.44)?
A: Chivalry 0.50 is a full version of the Early Era, but further patches to fix bugs and add content can be expected.
Q: I get an error about some mount database. What is the problem?
A: This is probably related to changes in the original data folder and due to a wrong installation. Please make sure that you install Chivalry (and all future patches) always in the Rome folder. It should create/overwrite his own chivalry folder and not overwrite any of the original RTW data.
Q: My game crashes to desktop (CTD) whenever I try to play custom battles or start a campaign. What is the problem?
A: Make sure you have installed everything 100% correctly. Please be sure that:
*you already had RTW 1.5/BI 1.6 installed
**the Chivalry setup created its own chivalry modfolder within your Rome folder
FAQ about Chivalry Total War
Q: Has the Mod been released yet?
A: Yes, a BETA version of the mod is released already (current version is 0.50). Once again remember it is a beta, so it is recommended that you post feedback and bugs that you encounter in the appropriate forum topics.
Edit: Current version is a 0.9x version ... a final version will be 1.0.
Q: Is there a website for this mod?
A: Yes, here is the link.
(edit: the SCC-Chivalry website is not active anymore)
Q: When is this mod set?
A: The mod is based in the Medieval period from the years 1072 - 1453 AD.
(edit: now it ends 1222 AD)
Q: Are you going to release the full mod all at once?
A: No, it is planned to release the mod in three parts, partitioned in the medieval periods Early, High and Late. The actual beta contains the Early Era (1072 - 1222 AD). The development of the High and Late Era depends on whether and how much developers will be available, their realisation is currently being discussed by the team and no promisses can be made at this point.
(edit: now it ends 1222 AD)
Q: Does the current version feature a Campaign mode?
A: Yes. This mod is focusing on featuring a proper campaign mode.
Q: Which factions are contained/playable in the mod?
A: The Factions are as follows (click on the underlined faction names to learn more)
The Kingdom of Denmark
The Holy Roman Empire (Germans)
The Kingdom of England
The Kindom of France
The Kingdom of Sicily (Normans)
The Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Hungary
The Principality of Novgorod (Rus) EDIT: Slot changed to Rum-Seljuks since internal v0.97
The Principality of Kievan Rus
The Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire)
The Kingdom of Castile and Leon (Spain)
The Kingdom of Aragon (Spain)
The Moors (Moors, Almoravids and Almohads)
The Seljuk Turks
The Fatimid Caliphate (Egypt)
The Horde (Early Era: Cumans/Steppe People; High and Late Era: Mongols/Golden Horde)
The Teutonic Order (not in early era campaign) EDIT: Replaced with Comune di Pisa (Italians) / Patch 0.60
The Crusader States (not in early era campaign) EDIT: Replaced with Zirids (Berbers) / Patch 0.60
The Kingdom of Cilician-Armenia
Q: Which factions will offer the biggest challenge?
A: Mostly the factions with few starting regions and strategical "dangerous" positions, that are Bohemia, Cilicia-Armenia, Aragon and probably Kiev.
Q: Is it possible to win with those 'minor' factions?
A: Yes, but you will need a clever management of politics and treasury plus good skills in dealing with superior enemy armies. I.e. in one of our Armenia tests the victory conditions were achieved.
Q: Shouldn't the Horde be labelled as Mongols/Golden Horde?
A: No, in Early Era, they reflect the Cumans and other Steppe People. The Mongols will appear in Chivalry first in 1223 AD with the start of the High Era.
Q: Why isn't the faction X (instead of Y) included?
Q: Can you please include faction X?
A: The fundamental Rome Total War engine has a limit of 21 factions (one of them must be the slaves/rebels). The decision which faction to be included in the mod was a reasonable choice of importance and balancing. It wasn't the intention to exclude a nation, but every limit leeds to compromises. We are sorry and hope you will enjoy Chivalry though.
Q: Why is the settlement X not labelled with the name Y?
A: The Chivalry team has tried to find the most important settlements in the related regions at the start of the mod (1072) and further tried to find the most appropriate spelling in its native language without using letters and characters not common to english (everybody must be able to read and spell it).
Q: Are there historical battles included?
A: Yes, but they are currently disabled due to causing crashes to desktop and the focus is on the campaign.
Q: Is there medieval music in Chivalry?
A: Yes and you will like it.
Q: Are the historical noble family names included?
A: As historical as possible with the limits of intermarriaging.
Q: Will this mod be continued on M2TW?
A: Perhaps, the team is currently discussing the future of the mod. Remark for eager or female fans, this "perhaps" is the male uncertain form of perhaps meaning neither yes nor no. 
(edit: a M2TW mod successor is the current 'The Sicilian Vespers' mod, which will get in the end a name switch, that indicates the Chivalry M2 follower)
The known and unsolved bugs:
Q: My spies/armies/diplomates/assassins sometimes disappear on the campaign map. Do I have a bug?
A: It is related to their original Rome animation of kneeing down while hiding or after spending all their movement. Currently we neither have the knowhow nor the manpower to fix this animation on our unique strat models.
Q: I miss new battle sounds or have I messed up my installation?
A: No, due to the fact that we have not the capacity to work on them, the sounds have not changed yet, except that we have a voicemod included (latin speeches only, as yet).
(Edit: Might get an enhancement for version 1.0)
Q: I have noticed pictures of 'grey peasants' in the unit descriptions. Some of my unit icons show other skins than those in the battle mode. Do I have a bug?
A: No, those are placeholder unit icons. The task to implement all those 'unit info cards' is not yet finished.
Edit: Pretty finished (ca. 97,5 %) since version 0.95. Since 0.96: But due to permanent unit developments, it is an ongoing task to finish them.
Q: I have noticed that the trees in battle mode grow bigger if I zoom closer. Is that intentional?
A: No it isn't. We are aware of this and attempting to fix it.
Q: Are there new traits and ancillaries since version 0.44?
A: Sorry, no new traits & ancillaries by now, because our T&A modder left us due to real life.
Edit: Yes a lot new traits&anc stuff, since Patch 0.60. And still much more since 0.9x versions.
What to do if you encounter serious problems:
Q: I experience repetitive crashes to desktop when ... What to do?
Q: I found a very annoying bug with ... What to do?
A: Provide us with as much information as you can. If possible add a picture (thumbnail) of the bug or a savegame before the crash (RAR or ZIP please). If you do so, we will try to find the culprit. Please take into consideration, that if a bug is not worth the effort to describe it accurate, it isn't worth the effort to find and fix it, too...
FAQ about buildings and units
Q: Why can't I train unit X?
Q: Why can't I construct building X in region Y?
Q: What are the requirements to build unit/building X?
A: Certain hidden resources offer determined buildings and units by intention. Capitals and main settlements have always significant advantages.
Please do always look in the building browser if you miss a building or to learn more about the building and unit tech tree. Maybe it isn't possible to build it in that region...
To learn more about the building browser click on the thumbnails below (note: pictures taken from a previous version).
Q: Where are all the chivalric Knights and gothic Halberdiers?
A: The current version covers only the EARLY medieval period, the more hi-tech (and sometimes more classical) units will be added in later versions of the mod. Look at our High and Late era sneak peak topics for screenshots.
(edit: no high or late era planned anymore)
Q: Will there be medieval castles and sieges?
A: Yes, there will be medieval castles for the western and central European factions (since v0.50 included).
Q: There are some construction sites in my cities?
A: Yes, the 3d buildings for the Muslim, Armenian, Rus, Horde and Byzantine cities are work in progress and not yet implemented.
EDIT: The construction sites are removed since version 0.90.
Q: Why are the western/central European settlements smaller in siege battles?
A: Because you do not siege a city, instead you try to capture the mightiest fortress to take control of a western/central European region.
Q: Why are their negative building stats?
A: Due to realism, not all buildings are positive for everyone. Example: Tax buildings will be positve for the treasury, but people do not like to pay more and more taxes.
Q: How does Chivalry 0.50 deal with mercs?
A: The scripted merc hiring system from previous versions is disabled due to bug-liability. Mercs are available mainly via buildings like regular units and in certain regions via pool function (latter known from Rome TW).
Q: Why are the ranged units that cheap compared with other infantry?
A: Because medieval ranged units are much cheaper regarding their equipment and to provoke the AI to train them although they are not as effective as in Rome TW.
(edit: whereas the global balance design is a permanent ongoing work in progress)
Q: Why are the Armenian churches labelled as muslim?
A: That is due to the fact that the Armenians (in game) share their culture with some islamic factions, but they do spread christianity though in the same way as the european churches.
Q: Are arquebus and gunpowder included?
A: Not in the early era of course and neither the High nor the Late Era are released by now.
Q: Why can't I recruit Longbows?
A: They take a break until they have their comeback in the high era. The Longbow is anything but common in the Early medieval warfare.
Edit: Welsh longbow mercs are available in Wales.
Q: Why can't I recruit elephants?
A: They weren't used for warfare in mentionable numbers in that timeframe (1072 - 1453).
Q: Why can't I recruit rocket launcher elephants?
A: *unchain DaVinci* Hold your tongue and run, dude!
FAQ about the menu
Q: Why doesn't the Single Player Menu show the Historical Battle or Quick Battle buttons?
A: They are temporary 'disabled' to avoid usage, as these modes provoke crashes to desktop at the moment.
Q: Does the factions difficulty (in the descriptions) recommend a certain game difficulty setting?
A: No, the factions difficulty is a rating of the chance to reach its objectives, in comparison to the other factions and on the basis of our beta tests. Your difficulty settings will alter the start conditions and aggressiveness of the AI factions. Note that playing Chivalry is intended to be more challenging than playing vanilla (the original) Rome.
Q: Why are there some unhistoric victory conditions, i.e. why must Hungary conquer Malta?
A: Every faction got at least one isle region as objective, to prevent a strong AI faction from winning a game too easy. The victory conditions are made up of historical objectives with some necessary game-play additions.
FAQ about game settings & preferences
Q: Is it possible to get rid of the battletimer?
Q: Is it possible to enable the automanagement?
A: Indeed. You may alter that ingame by pressing Esc, then choose game options and ...
uncheck the box near 'manage all settlements' to let the AI automanage them for you,
check the box near 'no campaign battle time limit' to get rid of the battle timer.
Look at the thumbnails below if you are not sure what I'm talking about.
Q: Is it possible to alter more of the battle settings?
A: Apart from the battletimer (see above) you might check the box near 'arcade battles' to shut off fatigue and moral effects, that will also give unlimited ammo to ranged units. We do not recommend to do so, because that will take the realism out of the battles. You may be able to alter a lot of settings in the preferences.txt, to be found in the chivalry folder (subfolder preferences) of your Rome installation. See below for examples. There is a preferences.txt in the Rome/BI folder also, but it don't affect Chivalry.
Q: My autosave function does not work. Or is it disabled?
A: Yes, the autosave function is disabled in Chivalry due to its responsibility for causing random crashes to desktop. Furthermore it is highly recommended not to use the quick save function due to the same reason, sadly there is no option to disable it. We suggest to use the normal save function for regular saving the game. If this is unacceptable, go to preferences.txt, use the search function to find AUTO_SAVE and replace AUTO_SAVE:FALSE with AUTO_SAVE:TRUE - that's it.
Q: Is it possible to change back the battle interface?
A: Absolutely. Go to preferences.txt, use the search function to find MINIMAL_UI and replace MINIMAL_UI:TRUE with MINIMAL_UI:FALSE - there it is.
Q: How do I disable those battle-cut-scenes (that prevent me from commanding by showing me things I don't care about)?
A: Unquestionable. Go to preferences.txt, use the search function to find EVENT_CUTSCENES and replace EVENT_CUTSCENES:TRUE with EVENT_CUTSCENES:FALSE - godbye dying general.
Q: Is it possible to re-enable the unit-banners in battle?
A: For sure. Go to preferences.txt, use the search function to find SHOW_BANNERS and replace SHOW_BANNERS:FALSE with SHOW_BANNERS:TRUE - there you are.
Q: Is it possible to move the camera without restrictions in battle mode?
A: Granted. Go to preferences.txt, use the search function to find RESTRICT_CAMERA and replace RESTRICT_CAMERA:TRUE with RESTRICT_CAMERA:FALSE - there's an eye-opener, and no mistake.
Q: May I be able to re-enable my beloved green arrow-markers (unit selection)?
A: If that is what you wish for... Go to preferences.txt, use the search function to find DISABLE_ARROW_MARKERS and replace DISABLE_ARROW_MARKERS:TRUE with DISABLE_ARROW_MARKERS:FALSE - never to be missed again.
Q: Please ... is it possible to let my gabbling troops shut up?
A: Of course. Go to preferences.txt, use the search function to find ENABLE_UNIT_SPEECH and replace ENABLE_UNIT_SPEECH:TRUE with ENABLE_UNIT_SPEECH:FALSE - silenced.
Gameplay FAQ
Q: How come I'm losing lots of money each turn?
Q: How can I earn more money?
A: In Chivalry the unit upkeep is higher in general. This balances the basical 0 time recruitment system, but also represents attrition for large armies quite well. There are two general things to keep in mind when you want to keep the upkeep costs down:
1. Managing the treasury has never been an easy task throughout history, and likewise it is intended to be one of your challeges on the way to victory or to utter failure!
2. Only use relatively cheap units (such as urban militia or levies) as garrison units during peacetime or in settlements that aren't near your frontline.
3. When recruiting large armies send them straight to their objective as soon as possible. Once they have fulfilled their objectives disband them immediately, preferably in one of your own settlements to keep the population levels up for the next mass recruitment and your treasury in a healthy state.
(edit: well, the recruitment/construction/economy and global balance design is changed, but it shall be a challenge anyway)
Q: Why are queued units available in the next turn?
A: In Chivalry most units have a training time of 0, except some levies and special units with training time 1. This will hinder the AI from spamming cheap units instead of building expensive but also more effective units. Most of the medieval nations did not keep large standing armies for a long time, but quickly raised them during periods of war and dismissed them in peacetime.
(edit: see above)
Q: Why do some factions have an extreme high income and others don't?
A: Certain factions need this because of their central positions with many borders to potential enemies, if they are controlled by the AI. Otherwise they would be eaten up too soon and in an unrealistic way. It is part of the historical mod design to support the main factions of the early medieval era.
(edit: see above)
Q: Why have my ranged units so low effects on advancing heavy armoured enemies?
A: To avoid the elimination of whole advancing AI amies by the players ranged units. The focus of Chivalry is melee combat. If you want your ranged units to be more effective try this:
As defender use hills, arrows and bolts from above have an higher impact than those coming from the front. Archers should be ordered to fire on advancing unarmoured and crossbowmen on advancing armoured targets, but they are best used to shoot routing or retreating enemies in the back.
Q: Why is the impact of my cavalry that low?
Q: Why does my cavalrymen not lower (couch) their lance?
A: The charge impact of cavalry does have its full effect only, if they start to charge from a pretty high distance, which is realistic. Support your cavalry by giving them room to manoeuver and the needed time to get in the right spot for starting a charge attack and you will have your impact.
Q: Why isn't my catapult able to break the enemies wall?
A: Mangonels (catapults) and Trebuchets will provide the advantage to attack the enemy settlements at once. Please keep in mind that most walls and Castles are build to withstand them as long as possible. It is recommended to use several mangonels for the lower walls of towns/small keeps and several trebuchets for the stone walls of cities/castles.
Q: The AI does stall after running out of ammo for their siege weapons. Is that a bug?
A: Likewise. If you see your AI oppenent attempting to siege your castle with no other siege equipment but a mangonel, we highly recommend that you auto-resolve the battle. For after the AI has run out of ammo, it will simply stall, forcing you to have to exit the settlement to provoke action or exit the battle or wait until the battle timer runs out.
Edit: Issue never happenened in my testgames, probable a solved older bug.
Q: I'm playing with faction X and have conquered regions in the 'Holy Land', do I have to expect an AI Crusade?
A: No, with the utmost probability not! The AI attacks usually adjacent regions first and the European factions that have objectives in the 'Holy Land' are usually located too far away for the AI to manage this. To experience 'Crusades' you will have to play those factions (France, England, Sicily and Holy Roman Empire) probably by yourself.
Q: I'm able to cross some of the sea areas. Is it a bug? Is it a miracle?
A: It is a feature! Those 'landbridges' do neither hinder your fleets (that would be a bug) nor the seatrade routes, but offer the ability to cross the sea at certain points with an army. This helps the AI significant, as it is not very capable of launching naval-invasions.
Have fun with Chivalry Total War 
Teutonic Knight
(the 'edits' are done by DV)
Chivalry I : Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
