To unpack, Medieval 2, look in the following folder:
SEGA\Medieval II Total War\tools\unpacker
You should see the following batch files:
unpack_all.bat
unpack_americas.bat*
unpack_brittania.bat*
unpack_crusades.bat*
unpack_teutonic.bat*
Just double-click, hit yes at a few prompts and the game will unpack itself.
*If you have this Kingdoms campaign installed.
The files are unpacked to folder structures which are basically the same as the RTW folder structure (if not the same, I've never modded RTW, just M2TW).
As far as modelling/animations. These should get you started.
For modelling:
If you don't have 3DSMax you can use
Milkshape - which runs about 20 US Dollars or so.
This tool -
grumpyoldman's MESH converter converts the M2TW .MESH files to .MS3D files, which can then be edited in Milkshape.
This
.dds to texture converter will allow you to convert the .texture files to .dds files which can then be edited in PS.
In the alternative, you can use
GIMP which is free to edit the .dds files. To do so, you'll need this
GIMP .dds plug-in
For animations:
The M2TW animations can be
downloaded here
To edit the animations, you'll need
these utilities created by KnightErrant.
In general
If you're new to Milkshape and M2TW modelling/skinning, you should download this
Guide written by Alletun. It's a very comprehensive and in-depth introduction to unit creation using Milkshape.
I may be forgetting a thing or two. But that should be it for the most part. Hope this helps.
Cheers
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