Creating a World - Moving Steam's Game Library

[Gigantus]

Introduction

There are several reasons for moving a game's Steam library to another drive, the specific ones for M2TW have to do with the length of the path and primarily with interference of the Virtual Store mechanics. The path length is known to create problems when it exceeds a certain number of characters to the textures of the battle model's attachment which can be excessively long in a default Steam installation, 139 characters in this example:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total  War\mods\[mod name]\data\unit_models\attachmentsets\[texture  name].texture

It also helps with campaign map lag\AI turn time in some cases. The other reason is the Virtual Store mechanism which has a tendency to copy files into a hidden directory and then ignore any further update, the principle is explained here.
The process is fairly simple and requires a spare drive with sufficient free space to contain the M2TW installation plus some basic files for Steam.

Creating the Library Folder

If you have already a Steam Library folder on a separate drive then proceed with the Moving the Folder part.

Open your Steam interface and click on 'Steam' and then select 'Settings.

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Select 'Downloads' and then click 'STEAM LIBRARY FOLDERS'

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Click on 'ADDLIBRARY FOLDER'

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Select a drive from the drop down list, you cannot select your present drive.

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1. Click on 'NEW FOLDER'
2. Enter a short descriptive folder name, even StLib will do
3. Click 'OK'
4. Click 'SELECT'

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Your new Library Folder has been added. Click 'CLOSE' to exit

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Moving the Folder

Open your Steam interface and select the 'Library' heading, right click the 'Medieval II Total War' game and then select 'Properties'

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Click the 'LOCAL FILES' tab and then select 'MOVE INSTALL FOLDER'

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The drop down list should display your recently created folder (or a choice of previously created folders), make sure to select the correct one and then click 'MOVE FOLDER'

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A window with a progress bar will keep you updated on the process

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Once complete make sure you have a success message and then click 'CLOSE' - else confirm the old Library folder in the drop down and click 'MOVE FOLDER' to reverse the process.

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Updating Desktop Shortcuts

The moving of the Library folder will invalidate all your M2TW shortcuts but it is rather simple to fix this issue.

1.Right click your desktop shortcut and choose 'Properties'
2.Change the redmarked 'Target' entry to match your drive and folder name as displayed in the 'Your new Library Folder has been added' step above, example:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War\mods\my_mod\executable.bat"

3. Change the 'Start In' entry in the same way
4. Click 'Apply' and click 'OK'

Removing Virtual Store Entries

While moving the Steam library prevents future interference from the Virtual Store mechanics there may already be entries in there that could interfere after moving the Steam Library. The credit for the following paragraph goes to SigniferOne.

Unhiding the Folders

• Go to 'My Computer' and then click 'Alt' Key on your keyboard to bring up the Menu bar.
• Then then click on Tools>Folder options (Shown below) and a pop up box will appear.
  

  Path to Folder Options (Click)

• Another fast way to find the 'Folder Options' is to use the search box from the start menu. Simply type "folder options" in the search field and the first result should be the Folder Options shortcut. Click on the it or press the Enter key to open it. Go to the View tab (Shown below) and make the settings you want.
  

  Folder Options Box (Click)

• Select the show hidden files option and press ok

Deleting the Virtual Store Folder

Open your browser and go to the C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files folder and delete the Medieval II Total War folder if it exists.