Creating Buildings in BI with descr_items.txt

I'm working on some building and settlement designs for Middle Earth Total War and currently have hit a small snag :wall:

In RTW creating a new item entry was relatively easy using vercingetorix db_edit but that doesn't work for BI - you get a runtime error.

Therefore for BI you have to edit the decompiled descr_items.txt and then from that the game creates the item database. The problem is that the original cas files and accompanying resources aren't in the release of BI and so when I recompile the descr_items.db it no longer has the walls and original buildings just my added buildings.

Does anyone know a fix for this, another db editor or has a link to the original model files that I can use?

easiest way is do it on a spare install.

You need alpaca's version of the items.txt file for the old entries so the entries get into the db file. https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=60818

add your new entries to the top of that file and put your models in right folders.

delete / rename the items db file

start game - when error messages come up click through them until you get to buildings you know are below your new entries in the list

copy the db file and the new items into your actual working install



reason for doing it on 2nd version is if you click through too many entries it will start making blank 1kb items for the non-existent cas files replacing the original items (so make sure you don't end up copying those into working version)

Ah so if I've done this in a mod directory I can just delete all the new 1kb item files and it will remove them from the mod directory and force the game to use the ones from the original game? Or have I already screwed up my install? Oh well I suppose the files will be somewhere in the install or the pack files so I should be fine.

Thanks.

All items files have to be in same items folder - so if you have an items folder in your mod-folder all the working .items have to be in it


you can copy the original ones into your mod-folder to fix problem though. If you aren't trying to change anything with the same .item name as existing just copy everything from either the packed items or BI items into your mod-folder (depending on if you are using RTW or BI)

If you have new items with same names as existing just make sure you don't overwrite them.

Okay guys I know its about 9 years ago. But I am still modding now (lol)

I can't get it work as above. The tool isnt available anymore, so I cant edit the .db file. If you guys can help me, please!

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Originally Posted by Dagovax

I can't get it work as above. The tool isnt available anymore, so I cant edit the .db file. If you guys can help me, please!

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TWC reorganized their download section, but it is possible the tool is still there, just under a different address.

I hate to admit it, but our modding fora are practically dead. If you can't find the tool at the TWC, you could try asking over at their modding fora.