The ToolBox - The Universal Mod Launcher v1.204 (Latest Steam Update Compatible)

[RuleBritannia]

A quick overview of this thread makes it look like the launcher is pretty damn buggy.

Why use this when you can just rename the mod folders into Kingdoms folders and launch it that way? Does that cause problems?

[Gigantus]

I'm having a problem I use the launcher it launches, then shows the loading screen for a split second then closes, it does this every time.

This is the log:
[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on 27/04/2016 20:08:42.92]
[20:08:42.92] Steam version of Medieval II was detected.
[20:08:42.92] Configuration checking was succesfully executed...
[20:08:42.92] Configuration file exists. (If the .cfg file is any name other than Configuration.cfg, it has been automatically renamed to Configuration.cfg in order to make this program work.)
[20:08:42.92] Directory changed to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War. Beginning to launch game in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War.
[20:08:42.92] Proceeding to start Steam version executable
[20:08:42.92] Steam Version of Medieval II was launched through the merged Medieval2.exe. If problems were encountered, check the log for errors
[20:08:42.92] ENDING LOG...

If the loading screen shows then the mod has started. It would seem the problem is with the mod itself.-

A quick overview of this thread makes it look like the launcher is pretty damn buggy.

Why use this when you can just rename the mod folders into Kingdoms folders and launch it that way? Does that cause problems?

The launcher works just fine provided it is installed properly.
Renaming folders is an option - it does however restrict you to 4 mods at a time and then you will have to remember which mod the crusade button will launch
The even easier method would be to make a copy of medieval2.exe and rename the copy to kingdoms.exe - then start the mod with the mod provided batch file.
This launcher is basically designed to be included already with mods (my mods all have it) - thereby removing any necessity for editing be it for disk or steam.

[paulha1195]

[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on Sat 10/29/2016 19:25:04.22]
[19:25:04.22] ERROR - Medieval II installation (Medieval2.exe or Kingdoms.exe) was not detected in D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War\mods...
[19:25:04.22] ENDING LOG...



Why is it looking for my Medieval2.exe file from \mods? there is no exe file in \mods, and even if I copy paste it into there, it obviously won't work!
How do I change the directory to just D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War ??

[paulha1195]

[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on Sat 10/29/2016 19:25:04.22]
[19:25:04.22] ERROR - Medieval II installation (Medieval2.exe or Kingdoms.exe) was not detected in D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War\mods...
[19:25:04.22] ENDING LOG...

Okay. I moved the launcher file so that it can find the appropriate directory. But now, it just launches vanilla.
Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on Sat 10/29/2016 20:54:57.08]
[20:54:57.08] Steam version of Medieval II was detected.
[20:54:57.08] Configuration checking was succesfully executed...
[20:54:57.08] Configuration file exists. (If the .cfg file is any name other than Configuration.cfg, it has been automatically renamed to Configuration.cfg in order to make this program work.)
[20:54:57.09] Directory changed to D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War. Beginning to launch game in D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War.
[20:54:57.09] Proceeding to start Steam version executable
[20:54:57.11] Steam Version of Medieval II was launched through the merged Medieval2.exe. If problems were encountered, check the log for errors
[20:54:57.11] ENDING LOG...



Why is it looking for my Medieval2.exe file from \mods? there is no exe file in \mods, and even if I copy paste it into there, it obviously won't work!
How do I change the directory to just D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War ??

[Gigantus]

You are supposed to add the file to the individual mod directory, eg Medieval II Total War\mods\MyMod

[isa0005]

So I have gone through ALL the instructions posted throughout the forum, including the suggestions that Gigantus has made, yet I continue to get the

"Medieval 2 encountered an unknown error and will now close"

I've also noticed that the launcher itself seems to stuff up my base game as well, as after using the launcher, I get the same error when lauching the game via Steam normally. The only the that seems to fix it is verifying my game cache, which generally states that between 10-18 files are missing.

This is the most recent log entry from the launcher

[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on Sun 01/15/2017 12:15:03.26]
[12:15:03.26] Regular version of Medieval II was detected.
[12:15:03.28] Configuration checking was succesfully executed...
[12:15:03.29] Configuration file exists. (If the .cfg file is any name other than Configuration.cfg, it has been automatically renamed to Configuration.cfg in order to make this program work.)
[12:15:03.29] Directory changed to F:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War. Beginning to launch game in F:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War.
[12:15:03.30] Proceeding to start regular version executable
[12:15:03.38] CD Version of Medieval II was launched with Kingdoms.exe. If problems were encountered, check the log for errors
[12:15:03.38] ENDING LOG...

Now I assume this has something to do with the mod I'm trying to play i.e. the Two Thrones 1.1 submod for La Guere de Cent Ans, but I wanted to ask here none the less, to see if anyone has an idea of how I might fix the problem.

EDIT:

It would now seem my copy of MTW II is broken, as now, no matter weather I verify the steam cache, I get the CA_LIB "Medieval 2 has suffered a fatal error and will now close" plz help.


Cheers
isa0005

[Gigantus]

My guess: you installed this tool into the main directory of the game instead of into the mod's directory.

Check in your common\Medieval II Total War folder for a CFG file. You should have one called medieval2.preference - if it doesn't exist then you should have one called Configuration. If it is the latter then rename it to the name of the first.

And then check my tutorial here, check the error solving section as well.

[TallestDavid]

Universal Launcher Log ~ Please refer to this log if you experience any problems running the launcher.
Submit a copy of this log when requesting for support at http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?661279



[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on Thu 03/16/2017 0:24:32.32]
[ 0:24:32.32] Steam version of Medieval II was detected.
[ 0:24:32.32] Configuration checking was succesfully executed...
[ 0:24:32.32] Configuration file exists. (If the .cfg file is any name other than Configuration.cfg, it has been automatically renamed to Configuration.cfg in order to make this program work.)
[ 0:24:32.34] Directory changed to D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War. Beginning to launch game in D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War.
[ 0:24:32.34] Proceeding to start Steam version executable
[ 0:24:32.43] Steam Version of Medieval II was launched through the merged Medieval2.exe. If problems were encountered, check the log for errors
[ 0:24:32.43] ENDING LOG...


[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on Thu 03/16/2017 0:40:49.39]
[ 0:40:49.39] Steam version of Medieval II was detected.
[ 0:40:49.41] Configuration checking was succesfully executed...
[ 0:40:49.41] Configuration file exists. (If the .cfg file is any name other than Configuration.cfg, it has been automatically renamed to Configuration.cfg in order to make this program work.)
[ 0:40:49.41] Directory changed to D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War. Beginning to launch game in D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War.
[ 0:40:49.41] Proceeding to start Steam version executable
[ 0:40:49.41] Steam Version of Medieval II was launched through the merged Medieval2.exe. If problems were encountered, check the log for errors
[ 0:40:49.43] ENDING LOG...


[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on Thu 03/16/2017 23:49:20.11]
[23:49:20.14] Steam version of Medieval II was detected.
[23:49:20.15] Configuration checking was succesfully executed...
[23:49:20.20] Configuration file exists. (If the .cfg file is any name other than Configuration.cfg, it has been automatically renamed to Configuration.cfg in order to make this program work.)
[23:49:20.22] Directory changed to D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War. Beginning to launch game in D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War.
[23:49:20.23] Proceeding to start Steam version executable
[23:49:21.08] Steam Version of Medieval II was launched through the merged Medieval2.exe. If problems were encountered, check the log for errors
[23:49:21.09] ENDING LOG...


[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on Thu 03/16/2017 23:56:45.04]
[23:56:45.04] Steam version of Medieval II was detected.
[23:56:45.05] Configuration checking was succesfully executed...
[23:56:45.05] Configuration file exists. (If the .cfg file is any name other than Configuration.cfg, it has been automatically renamed to Configuration.cfg in order to make this program work.)
[23:56:45.07] Directory changed to D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War. Beginning to launch game in D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War.
[23:56:45.07] Proceeding to start Steam version executable
[23:56:45.08] Steam Version of Medieval II was launched through the merged Medieval2.exe. If problems were encountered, check the log for errors
[23:56:45.10] ENDING LOG...


[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on Fri 03/17/2017 0:28:04.48]
[ 0:28:04.48] Steam version of Medieval II was detected.
[ 0:28:04.50] Configuration checking was succesfully executed...
[ 0:28:04.50] Configuration file exists. (If the .cfg file is any name other than Configuration.cfg, it has been automatically renamed to Configuration.cfg in order to make this program work.)
[ 0:28:04.51] Directory changed to D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War. Beginning to launch game in D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War.
[ 0:28:04.51] Proceeding to start Steam version executable
[ 0:28:04.53] Steam Version of Medieval II was launched through the merged Medieval2.exe. If problems were encountered, check the log for errors
[ 0:28:04.54] ENDING LOG...

[Gigantus]

The launcher appears to be working fine - are you getting a splash screen of the mod you are playing before the crash? If so then please post your game's error log (usually in in the logs sub folder) in the forum\thread of the mod you are using.

[General Gordon]

Hi, using this for the mod Guerre de Cents Ans for my MTW Steam version. It works great so far EXCEPT I have no sound at all. I even copied all the sound files from vanilla over to the sounds folder of the mod, but still nothing.

The launcher Log:

Universal Launcher Log ~ Please refer to this log if you experience any problems running the launcher.
Submit a copy of this log when requesting for support at http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?661279



[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on 04-May-17 19:57:56.12]
[19:57:56.12] Regular version of Medieval II was detected.
[19:57:56.12] Configuration checking was succesfully executed...
[19:57:56.12] ERROR - Configuration.cfg was not found... If this is a personal modification, please create a configuration file to make your mod work! Please refer to tutorials at TWCenter.net on creating this file.
[19:57:56.13] Directory changed to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War. Beginning to launch game in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War.
[19:57:56.13] Proceeding to start regular version executable
[19:57:56.44] CD Version of Medieval II was launched with Kingdoms.exe. If problems were encountered, check the log for errors
[19:57:56.44] ENDING LOG...


[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on 04-May-17 20:26:15.16]
[20:26:15.16] Regular version of Medieval II was detected.
[20:26:15.16] Configuration checking was succesfully executed...
[20:26:15.16] ERROR - Configuration.cfg was not found... If this is a personal modification, please create a configuration file to make your mod work! Please refer to tutorials at TWCenter.net on creating this file.
[20:26:15.16] Directory changed to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War. Beginning to launch game in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War.
[20:26:15.16] Proceeding to start regular version executable
[20:26:15.18] CD Version of Medieval II was launched with Kingdoms.exe. If problems were encountered, check the log for errors
[20:26:15.18] ENDING LOG...


[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on 04-May-17 20:38:14.89]
[20:38:14.89] Regular version of Medieval II was detected.
[20:38:14.89] Configuration checking was succesfully executed...
[20:38:14.89] Configuration file exists. (If the .cfg file is any name other than Configuration.cfg, it has been automatically renamed to Configuration.cfg in order to make this program work.)
[20:38:14.89] Directory changed to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War. Beginning to launch game in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War.
[20:38:14.89] Proceeding to start regular version executable
[20:38:14.91] CD Version of Medieval II was launched with Kingdoms.exe. If problems were encountered, check the log for errors
[20:38:14.91] ENDING LOG...


[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on 04-May-17 20:39:34.68]
[20:39:34.68] Regular version of Medieval II was detected.
[20:39:34.70] Configuration checking was succesfully executed...
[20:39:34.70] Configuration file exists. (If the .cfg file is any name other than Configuration.cfg, it has been automatically renamed to Configuration.cfg in order to make this program work.)
[20:39:34.70] Directory changed to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War. Beginning to launch game in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War.
[20:39:34.70] Proceeding to start regular version executable
[20:39:34.70] CD Version of Medieval II was launched with Kingdoms.exe. If problems were encountered, check the log for errors
[20:39:34.70] ENDING LOG...


[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on 04-May-17 20:40:22.69]
[20:40:22.69] Regular version of Medieval II was detected.
[20:40:22.71] Configuration checking was succesfully executed...
[20:40:22.71] Configuration file exists. (If the .cfg file is any name other than Configuration.cfg, it has been automatically renamed to Configuration.cfg in order to make this program work.)
[20:40:22.71] Directory changed to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War. Beginning to launch game in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War.
[20:40:22.71] Proceeding to start regular version executable
[20:40:22.71] CD Version of Medieval II was launched with Kingdoms.exe. If problems were encountered, check the log for errors
[20:40:22.72] ENDING LOG...


[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on 04-May-17 20:58:27.74]
[20:58:27.74] Regular version of Medieval II was detected.
[20:58:27.74] Configuration checking was succesfully executed...
[20:58:27.75] Configuration file exists. (If the .cfg file is any name other than Configuration.cfg, it has been automatically renamed to Configuration.cfg in order to make this program work.)
[20:58:27.75] Directory changed to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War. Beginning to launch game in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War.
[20:58:27.75] Proceeding to start regular version executable
[20:58:27.75] CD Version of Medieval II was launched with Kingdoms.exe. If problems were encountered, check the log for errors
[20:58:27.75] ENDING LOG...


[Universal Mod Launcher by Guan Ziyang - Copyright 2014] started on 04-May-17 21:07:16.61]
[21:07:16.61] Regular version of Medieval II was detected.
[21:07:16.61] Configuration checking was succesfully executed...
[21:07:16.61] Configuration file exists. (If the .cfg file is any name other than Configuration.cfg, it has been automatically renamed to Configuration.cfg in order to make this program work.)
[21:07:16.61] Directory changed to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War. Beginning to launch game in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War.
[21:07:16.61] Proceeding to start regular version executable
[21:07:16.63] CD Version of Medieval II was launched with Kingdoms.exe. If problems were encountered, check the log for errors
[21:07:16.63] ENDING LOG...
*


Please note that even if it says CD Version of Medieval II, I do have it on Steam, but I do use the Launcher.exe to launch it from my desktop.
Also my kingdoms.exe is a copy of medieval2.exe file renamed

[Gigantus]

CD Version of Medieval II was launched with Kingdoms.exe

This usually means that you have done a copy\rename of the medieval2.exe file if you are using Steam. Which means you do not need any launcher but can use the mod's original BAT file to start the mod. Simply create a desktop shortcut to the BAT file if it doesn't already exist.

I am however a bit confused as the Steam version does not have a launcher.exe file, only the CD version has.

No sound at all - my guess would be it's a bad generating of the events DAT\IDX files. But then you have copied over the default files and still have no sound. In this case I would suggest to check the audio settings of the mod, you may have ticked the mute option by accident. Otherwise it's possible the CFG file you have newly created has a mute setting for audio.

[Gigantus]

Just some feedback - I have been refining the BAT file for my mods and by now the one used for my Bare Geomod set up looks like this:

@echo off
cd ..\..
IF EXIST kingdoms.exe (start /affinity 1 /high kingdoms.exe @%0\..\Configuration.cfg) ELSE (
IF EXIST medieval2.exe (start /affinity 1 /high medieval2.exe @%0\..\Configuration.cfg) ELSE (
    echo.
    echo ERROR: Cannot find the M2TW or Kingdoms executable.
    echo You probably installed Bare Geomod into the wrong folder.
    echo.
    pause
  )
)

The affinity setting gives priority use for the executable on core one, thereby increasing performance, had reports of increased FPS.
The custom error message will require adjustment for other mods.
Last not least don't forget to make sure that the CFG file name is correct.