Release: "HaHawk's Native Voices Mod" Ver. 1.0

[HaHawk]

DOWNLOADS/LINKS:

Torrent link: Torrent Tracker
GoogleDrive: Direct Link
Mod Preview: Video link

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I. OVERVIEW
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"Native Voices" adds and replaces localized (i.e., foreign language) voice audio for most factions in Medieval II: Total War. The mod appears to be save-game compatible but may cause multiplayer incompatibility (more testing is needed).

Version 1.0 of Native Voices includes the following languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Moorish (Arabic-accented Spanish). Due to the nature of how Medieval II was originally programmed, certain factions may share the same language. In most cases this is historically accurate (for example, Milan and Venice both speak Italian). However, because CA only recorded audio for a small group of languages, some Eastern European factions only speak Russian (i.e., Russia, Hungary, and Poland); likewise, the Danes speak German. While this isn't a perfect representation, I believe it is much better than hearing the Danes speak Russian-accented English!

Finally, some factions retain the original game's "Accented English", namely Egypt and Turkey ("Arabic-accented English"). The Mongols, Timurids, and Aztecs are also unaffected by this mod. The Byzantine faction speaks Italian, and this will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future since The Creative Assembly never recorded other localized languages for the game such as Greek or Latin. Despite these limitations, this mod is a fun way to boost immersion in your campaigns, particularly if you concentrate on Western European factions!

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II. INSTALLATION
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To install, simply unzip the files into your Medieval 2 directory (replace/overwrite all). Based on my initial tests, this mod is save-game compatible.

Detailed installations instructions are as follows:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

IMPORTANT:

Before installing "Native Voices", you are encouraged to back up the files this mod
replaces in case you want to manually restore the original English audio at a later
date. Steam's "Verify Integrity of Game Cache" function may also be used to
replace the mod files (see Section III "Uninstallation" for details). If these files are
not present in your installation, skip to Step 2.


*Step 1.
Back up the following files located in your Medieval II directory:

-> LOCATION: "...\SteamApps\common\Medieval II Total War\data"
battle_event_subtitles_lookup.txt
descr_sounds_accents.txt
descr_sounds_units_confirm.txt
diplomacy.txt
diplomacy_speech.txt
export_descr_sounds_prebattle.txt
export_descr_sounds_soldier_voice.txt
export_descr_sounds_stratmap_voice.txt
export_descr_sounds_units_battle_events.txt
export_descr_sounds_units_voice.txt
prebattle_speeches_subtitles_lookup.txt

-> LOCATION: "...\SteamApps\common\Medieval II Total War\data\sounds"
events.dat
events.idx
Voice1.dat
Voice1.idx
Voice2.dat
Voice2.idx
Voice3.dat
Voice3.idx

-> LOCATION: "...\SteamApps\common\Medieval II Total War\data\text"
diplomacy_speech.txt.strings.bin
diplomacy.txt.strings.bin


*Step 2.
Unzip the contents of the "HaHawk's Native Voices Mod.rar" file into the main directory
where your copy of Medieval II: Total War is installed. The default location for
Steam users is: ...\SteamApps\common\Medieval II Total War\

You will be asked whether you wish to overwrite files/folders. Select "Yes to all".


*Step 3.
After you have unzipped all of the files, boot up the game. Everything should
work immediately without any further setup required.

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III. REMOVAL
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To uninstall this mod, simply copy and paste the files you backed up into their original
location and overwrite all of the mod files. If you did not back up these files, you
can simply delete all of the mod files (see list above), then go to your Steam Library,
right-click on "Medieval II: Total War", go into Properties, then the "Local Files" tab,
then click "Verify Integrity of Game Cache". Steam will re-download the original
files and your game's original audio will be restored. Based on initial tests, installing
and uninstalling this mod does not affect saved games.


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IV. COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK
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This is the first public release, so please let me know if all links work and install as intended. This mod was designed for the Steam version of M2TW; players using the disc version of the game are encouraged to give it a go and report back here. As always, comments and feedback are welcome. Please post in this thread or contact me on my YouTube page. Most importantly, have fun!

Best,

HaHawk

[Frunk]

Awesome work Ha Hawk! I'm downloading this as we speak and will let you know how it goes on my disc version.

[Orkfaeller]

So, I finally got around giving this a try and everything seems to run perfectly, couldn't check all the factions yet though.

I also tested it with Stainless Steel and it seems to work there aswell, with the exception of some oddities - the Danes seem to be speaking Russian for example.

nice work

[Tango12345]

Posting in languages other than english is not allowed outside of the dedicated foreign languages forum.

English only here please.

[Vit2013]

I understand Russian here to discuss? So unfortunately I have this gorgeous fashion poshёl- not hear the music and the units of any strategy or tactics that do not do not say just keep quiet! Why?

[Frunk]

I understand Russian here to discuss? So unfortunately I have this gorgeous fashion poshёl- not hear the music and the units of any strategy or tactics that do not do not say just keep quiet! Why?

Sorry Vit but this doesn't make any sense. Can you try and rephrase, please?

[Vit2013]

I have not worked at all events everyone is silent and that does not say!

[Frunk]

I have not worked at all events everyone is silent and that does not say!

You mean like historical events (gunpowder, etc.)? I don't know if they were meant to be covered in this or not (annoying I haven't had time to try it yet), but it may only be meant to change character voices and battle speeches.

[Vit2013]

in general, all are silent and do not say anything!

[Frunk]

Perhaps there was an error in your installation. Are you using a disc, or Steam?

[HaHawk]

So, I finally got around giving this a try and everything seems to run perfectly, couldn't check all the factions yet though.

I also tested it with Stainless Steel and it seems to work there aswell, with the exception of some oddities - the Danes seem to be speaking Russian for example.

nice work

Thanks for the feedback. I am planning to release a patch (or separate installation) for Stainless Steel soon. I just haven't had time yet to start digging through the SS files.

Based on what you've told me here, it should be relatively straightforward to port over; SS has some new factions that will need separate attention to properly integrate into the Native Voices mod.

It will be worth it, though, because AFAIK more people play SS than vanilla nowadays!

[HaHawk]

in general, all are silent and do not say anything!

Hi Vit--- are you playing the English language version of the game? If you could tell me other details about your installation it will help me identify your issue. BR

[dimpa]

excellent mod thank you my friend ,as for Byzantines you can use the ancient Greek voice from EBII very similar even to today's greek ,greetings from Greece and bravo

[Wallachian]

Fantastic work! Can we get permission to use this mod in other mods?

[HaHawk]

Fantastic work! Can we get permission to use this mod in other mods?

Yes, I only ask that you please tell me which mod it is and to provide proper credit, thanks!

excellent mod thank you my friend ,as for Byzantines you can use the ancient Greek voice from EBII very similar even to today's greek ,greetings from Greece and bravo

Thanks so much for the feedback. This was actually my plan from the beginning, but I am in the middle of a big move overseas and am selling my PC, so I probably won't be able to continue to work on the mod until later this summer. I'll also need permission to incorporate the Greek voice files from EB into this mod. It is also worth noting that certain voices will also remain in Italian (agents such as diplomats, princesses, etc.) due to the limited amount of Greek voices in EB. Since it would be incomplete, I may try to offer it as a separate download option (submod).

[HM Murdock]

Good work! It's a very useful mod

[Solid Sneak]

LOVE IT! this mod is definitely a Must have. the voices are SOOO much better than the original ones!!

[Live2sculpt]

Doesn't work for me. I'm applying it to my M2TW Kingdoms Gold, which I bought many years ago before Steam ever existed. I then tried it with a basic M2TW Steam install, and it seemed to work fine.

[HaHawk]

Doesn't work for me. I'm applying it to my M2TW Kingdoms Gold, which I bought many years ago before Steam ever existed. I then tried it with a basic M2TW Steam install, and it seemed to work fine.

Yeah, this mod was designed and tested for the Steam version of M2TW. However, I'm sure it will easily work with an old CD installation — it might I just take one or two extra tweaks (I suspect only a few minor changes would be required to the installation directory or file name since the Steam version is nearly identical).

On another note, a player commented on my channel about using the Native Voices Mod in an Americas campaign:

When I play in the Americas campaign, the Spanish faction speaks Italian...

Can anyone else confirm whether this is an issue? I don't have access to a gaming PC at this time. While the mod wasn't designed for these expansions, I would like to make them compatible if there is sufficient demand. My first priority will be to make this as a submod for Stainless Steel, though, due to the large number of requests I've had.

[Aneirin]

Just saw this, looks very promising!!