more than one installations

how do install more than one MTW VI to play more than one mod???

I'm wondering that too. I speculate that when you install the game a second time you install it in a different folder. Maybe you name the folder MTW2 or something. I havn't tried it yet.

Assuming that you are using Windows OS. Mac users I can't help.

Install the game completely into the default folder. Then install Viking Invasion (if needed) and then download and install the 2.01 update/patch to Viking Invasion.

Make a new folder and call it something like MTW Original in your program files directory. Find your Total War folder in the program files directory. Open it and right click on the Medieval Total War folder. Select "Copy" and then find your new "MTW Original" folder. Open it. Select "Edit" in the upper left then select "paste." This is going to take a while. You are now copying all of your Total War/Medieval Total War files into the copy called MTW Original/Medieval Total War. When the copy is finished you now have two complete copies of MTW on your hard drive. Keep the new copy, MTW Original, as your base copy. Most mods use the Total War/Medieval Total War directory when installing. So if you make a mistake, the unchanged copy won't be harmed since it's named differently. It's a good idea to always have a clean, unmodded, copy of the game, in a folder other than the default name of "Total War" just in case you make a mistake of some kind.

After downloading and installing a mod, it's a good idea to rename the main folder for that mod, so you don't accidentally download some other mod onto it. You have your safe original game in MTW Original. After downloading a mod onto the Total War folder. Rename that folder. For example, after installing BKB Super Mod, rename the Total War folder (the main folder called Total War, not the Total/Medieval Total War sub flder) to BKB Mod.

Now you can make more copies of the game for more mods, even after downloading a mod onto the Total War folder, by doing the above process but using MTW Original/Medieval Total War as the folder from which to copy.
Copy the MTW Original/Medieval Total War folder into a new folder named Total War. Install whatever mod, rename it to the mod name, for example - XL MOD.

You can make shortcuts on your desktop now for each version. Go into MTW Original/Medieval Total War and right click on the file called Medieval_TW.exe and select create shortcut. Rename this shortcut to match the folder name for this version (MTW Original, etc.) then move it to your desktop. Make sure the shortcuts come from and are named the same as the main MTW folder name. If you have your backup, clean copy in MTW Original, then make the shortcut using the above methd from that folder and name it the same before dragging it to your desktop. If you have another copy of the game that is modded, such as BKB Super Mod, create the short cut from that folder, rename it the same as the main BKB folder (the one that used to be called just "Total War"). This way you avoid confusion over which shortcut goes to which copy of the game.


NOTE: there is an alternative method if you insist on installing and updating various copies from the original disks, or if you screw up and mod the original Total War folder without making a clean copy first.

You can install multiple copies of Viking Invasion from the disks using the following method.

Any time you need to install a new version of Total War: Viking Invasion when you already have a copy (modified or not) on your hard drive, do the following. Rename the Total War folder to something else if you haven't already done so. Install M:TW again. You'll now have a new Total War folder (as well as any and all other folders with versions renamed to something else). You can install multiple versions of M:TW (without the Viking Invasion expansion) this way.

Installing Viking Invasion if you already have a version of VI (modded or not) on your hard drive, requires something else. After installing M:TW, go into the Windows folder. Find the file called VTW.ini. Delete it. This is the file which tells your Viking Invasion CD to display "play the game" instead of install the game. Now when you insert the Viking Invasion cd, you'll have the option to install VI on your new M:TW copy. Install VI into the default directory. Now download (if you don't have it saved somewhere) and install the 2.01 patch to VI.

You can install from the Viking Invasion disk multiple times as long as you first rename the Total War folder, then find and delete the VTW.ini file.

Wow, thanks for the very thorough and quick response. :book: :bow: :bow: :bow:

Quite welcome.

Timing is everything. I just happened to see your post right after you made it. And, since I lost a lot of hair in fist-sized clumps figuring out some of the info in that post, it seemed to require a complete explanation. That, and I'm just naturally pedantic and verbose. ~:cool: