Tut: How to create a new faction (using the Normans/Saxons)

I already posted this on TWC - some people wanted to know how to do this, so I thought I'd put them out of their misery. :P

Files that will be edited:
descr_strat.txt
export_descr_buildings.txt
*OPTIONAL*
descr_win_conditions.txt
descr_sm_factions.txt
expanded.txt
campaign_descriptions.txt

Make sure you back these files up.

Right, lets get started.

ADDING THE FACTION INTO THE GAME - descr_strat editing
1. First off, go to descr_strat and add 'normans' or 'saxons' to the playable list. Like so:

Code:

---

playable
        england
        france
        hre
        spain
        venice
        sicily
        milan
        scotland
        byzantium
        russia
        moors
        turks
        egypt
        denmark
        portugal
        poland
        hungary
        normans
end
unlockable
end
nonplayable
        papal_states
        aztecs
        mongols
        timurids
        slave
end

---

2. Then, scroll down until you get below hungary's list. Add the following lines:

Code:

---

faction        normans, trader henry
denari        10000
denari_kings_purse        5000

---

3. Now you will need to add a settlement for them. The easiest thing is to take a settlement from the slaves/rebels and add it to them. For example:

Code:

---

settlement
{
        level village
        region York_Province

        year_founded 0
        population 800
        plan_set default_set
        faction_creator venice
        building
        {
                type hinterland_farms farms
        }
}

---

This is found under slaves.
[B]Make sure that this settlement does not appear twice (i.e. under normans and slave factions - delete the one under the slave settlement list).[B]

4. Next, you will need to add characters and armies to your faction. Use another faction's character/army as an example. I.e:

Code:

---

character        Rufus, named character, male, heir, age 30, x 106, y 164
traits GoodCommander 2 , Intelligent 2, VictorVirtue 3
army
unit                NE Bodyguard                        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Spear Militia                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0

---

to this:

Code:

---

character        Robin, named character, male, leader, age 40, x 106, y 164
traits GoodCommander 2 , Intelligent 2, VictorVirtue 3
army
unit                Duke William                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Archer Militia                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Archer Militia                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Archer Militia                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Archer Militia                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Armored Sergeants                        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Armored Sergeants                        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Armored Sergeants                        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Armored Sergeants                        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Mailed Knights                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Mailed Knights                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Mailed Knights                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Mailed Knights                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Mailed Knights                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Mailed Knights                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Armored Sergeants                        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Armored Sergeants                        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Archer Militia                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Archer Militia                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0

---

Make sure that your character's name appears under the faction's name list in names.txt. (This is one of the files that doesnt unpack, download them first)
Paste underneath when done.

Save your file as something other than descr_strat.txt for now. Then, an important step.
You need to load up the game -> start/load a campaign -> Go to the settlement/s that you wish to give this new faction -> Put your cursor over the settlement -> Then open up console (`/~) and type in show_cursorstat -> it will show the co-ords of your settlement, write it down -> Repeat for every settlement you wish to copy, then exit.
Now go back to your modded file and replace your new characters x y coordinates with the settlement's one. Then Search for that same x y co-ord. It might highlight your new character first -> select Find Next. It should show a rebel army. Delete this army's record. Repeat as necessary.

You may choose to add more characters and agents in; however, it is not required.

5. Once you have added in everything you wish, you will need to have a character record list that appears underneath. It is a record of wives, children and the family at the start of the game. It looks like this:

Code:

---

character_record                Cecilia,        female, age 36, alive, never_a_leader

relative        Robin,        Cecilia,        end

---

6. This is an example of how it should all look:

Code:

---

faction        normans, sailor napoleon
ai_label                catholic
denari        10000
denari_kings_purse        2500
settlement
{
        level large_city
        region York_Province

        year_founded 0
        population 11800
        plan_set default_set
        faction_creator england
        building
        {
                type core_building large_stone_wall
        }
        building
        {
                type tower ballista_towers
        }
        building
        {
                type professional_military military_academy
        }
        building
        {
                type port shipwright
        }
        building
        {
                type siege catapult_range
        }
        building
        {
                type smith heavy_armourer
        }
        building
        {
                type sea_trade warehouse
        }
        building
        {
                type admiralty naval_academy
        }
        building
        {
                type hinterland_farms farms+2
        }
        building
        {
                type taverns coaching_house
        }
        building
        {
                type barracks militia_barracks
        }
        building
        {
                type temple_catholic abbey
        }
        building
        {
                type city_hall city_hall
        }
        building
        {
                type market great_market
        }
        building
        {
                type hinterland_roads paved_roads
        }
}

character        Robin, named character, male, leader, age 40, x 106, y 164
traits GoodCommander 2 , Intelligent 2, VictorVirtue 3
army
unit                Duke William                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Archer Militia                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Archer Militia                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Archer Militia                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Archer Militia                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Armored Sergeants                        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Armored Sergeants                        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Armored Sergeants                        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Armored Sergeants                        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Mailed Knights                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Mailed Knights                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Mailed Knights                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Mailed Knights                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Mailed Knights                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Mailed Knights                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Armored Sergeants                        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Armored Sergeants                        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Archer Militia                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit                Archer Militia                                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0

character_record                Cecilia,        female, age 36, alive, never_a_leader

relative        Robin,        Cecilia,        end

---

THE FACTION'S UNITS, AND HOW TO ENABLE THEM IN export_descr_buildings.txt

You will notice that if you start up a campaign with the Normans now, they will not be able to recruit some units that you are normally supposed to be able to e.g. Ships, cannons, trebuchets etc.

You can change this by doing the following:

1. Open export_descr_buildings. You will see information about which factions are able to recruit which units:

Code:

---

recruit_pool "NE Trebuchet"  1  0.4  3  0  requires factions { england, scotland, france, hre, denmark, spain, portugal, milan, venice, papal_states, sicily, }

---

2. Notice that neither the normans nor the saxons are not in this list. To do this, change the line to:

Code:

---

recruit_pool "NE Trebuchet"  1  0.4  3  0  requires factions { england, scotland, france, hre, denmark, spain, portugal, milan, venice, papal_states, sicily, normans, saxons}

---

3. Do this with all the units you want enabled and then save the file.

EDIT: Check here (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=74945) for more help with this. :thumbsup:

*OPTIONAL CHANGE* GIVING YOUR FACTION WIN CONDITIONS
1. Open descr_win_conditions.
2. Notice there are none for Normans/Saxons. You can add them in by putting in the following lines at the bottom:

Code:

---

normans
hold_regions Jerusalem_Province
take_regions 45
short_campaign hold_regions ;Jerusalem_Province
take_regions 15
outlive scotland england

---

*OPTIONAL CHANGE* RENAMING YOUR FACTION

1. Open expanded.txt.
2. Scroll down to the faction you are changing. You should see this:

Code:

---

{NORMANS}Normans

---

DO NOT EDIT ANYTHING THAT IS INSIDE {}. E.g. To change the name to 'English Outlaws', do this:

Code:

---

{NORMANS}English Outlaws

---

3. You will then need to replace every mention of the word 'Normans' in this file, but leaving anything in {} untouched. E.g:

Code:

---

{EMT_NORMANS_FACTION_LEADER}English Outlaws Faction Leader

---

Use the Replace option only if you know what you are doing.

*OPTIONAL CHANGE* ADDING A CAMPAIGN DESCRIPTION

1. Open campaign_descriptions.txt. You will see there is no campaign description for the Normans.
2. To change this, add the following lines

Code:

---

{IMPERIAL_CAMPAIGN_NORMANS_TITLE}Normans
{IMPERIAL_CAMPAIGN_NORMANS_DESCR}Edward the Confessor's death saw England fall into a bitter power struggle. With no heirs to the English throne, three competing powers arose to stake their claim. Harold Godwinson was quick to seize power, with the support of the English Witan. However, the King of Norway, Harald Hardrada, felt the land his birthright and sailed from the North. The two kings clashed at Stamford Bridge in a bloody battle.\n\nBut the late King Edward had promised the throne to the Duke of Normandy, who sought Papal blessing to launch an invasion of his own.

---

3. You can then put in your own faction description in the space given. Also, dont forget to rename 'Normans' to your faction's new name. E.g.

Code:

---

{IMPERIAL_CAMPAIGN_NORMANS_TITLE}English Outlaws
{IMPERIAL_CAMPAIGN_NORMANS_DESCR}After the successful Norman invasion in 1066, King William the Conqueror set in place a system of taxes. Many common folk were against this, and some decided to take action. They formed a small band of outlaws, hiding in the English forests around Sherwood and Nottingham. Their current leader, Robin Hood, ordered the uprising against the new English rulers and successfully manged to grab the town of York from them. Time has passed since then, and these English Outlaws now face tension on all of its borders. To the north, the Scots have ambitions of their own. To the south, the English are now ready to reclaim York. Courage and strength will be needed if the English Outlaws are to survive...

---

I hope you had fun reading the story. :P

*OPTIONAL CHANGE* MORE FACTION OPTIONS

I say again - this is an optional change - it will still work without this.

If you want to change the banner colour of your faction:
1. Open descr_sm_factions, scroll down to the norman/saxon section.

2. Change the RGB primary/secondary values to whatever colour you want. (Use photoshop/gimp to see RGB values -> as colour)

Code:

---

primary_colour                                red 215, green 220, blue 20
secondary_colour                        red 255, green 210, blue 10

---

Adding faction to custom battles:
1. Change the custom_battle_availability from no to yes.
2. You then need to remove another faction to make room for them on the screen.

___

If you want to do this same thing, except for the saxons instead of normans, simply swap the names.
(Make sure first that your characters' names are under the relevant faction in names.txt.)

Heres an example that Ive quickly done:
https://i120.photobucket.com/albums/...nywww/0031.jpg
Britain will be a hotspot for sure. :)
Btw I was using InSaNiTy MiNi mOd --> explains the slightly odd income counts and faction colours. :P

Another example - Created Ireland (For use in Aevum Fidei mod :thumbsup:)
https://i120.photobucket.com/albums/...nywww/0042.jpg

Any questions, please PM me. Hope this helps! :thumbsup:

Very nice. It was definitely time for this ;)

A small problem though: Your faction will always use the defaults for banners, etc. So maybe a short follow-up would be in order.

I wnat to ask something.In file descr_strat.txt next to factions names there is something i dont know what it is.Example :

Code:

---

faction venice, comfortable caesar
faction        spain, fortified mao
faction        england, trader henry

---

What does it mean?

It just shows what type of AI that faction will have. Someone had a list a while ago of what each thing meant.

And does somebody know how to create a new city or castle? :help:

it is not working :help: I done exactly what u said ,then i choose norman in grand campaign and it keep going back to main menu :furious3: ,why ?????

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jhuang

it is not working :help: I done exactly what u said ,then i choose norman in grand campaign and it keep going back to main menu :furious3: ,why ?????

---

You had to make mistake somewhere because it was working for me.

Okay, Im correcting the first post. :)

@ mmarekk11: I think we know by now that you want to know how to adda region, so can you cut it out? ;) (Btw try this thread http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...ewpost&t=73660)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by serenius4tsd

Okay, Im correcting the first post. :)

@ mmarekk11: I think we know by now that you want to know how to adda region, so can you cut it out? ;) (Btw try this thread http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...ewpost&t=73660)

---

Yeah i have read this topic already.And it doesnt work.The game still crashes me and i have to restar my comp still.Cause of it i want some new tutorial.And i am not the only one who the game still crashes.I think there are more people who by that tutorial game doesnt work like those who it works.

Sry if my English is wrong.

I CANT PLAY CAMPAIGN :help: AFTER I DID WHAT U SAID TO MY DESCR_STRAT TXT file :furious3: I NEED THE ORIGINAL URGENTLY ? ANY ONE KNOWS WHERE I CAN FOUND IT:dizzy2:

Reinstall?

Dont blame me though, I did tell you to back up.

Hah! Didnt work for me (although i think i know why:) because (i presume) i tried Normans and Saxons as two new factions.

Because in E_D_B it has them as two different. So i had some wacky unit choics :laugh4: Saxons with pavise crossbows and yeoman longbows. So much fun making it. Of course modding the desc_strat screwed me over in the family thing (read later it has to be in age order) but much fun just modding it.

Thanks for the tut, although it didnt work for me (my fault, unlike some of the other people admit) but i had a blast working on it.

thanks :bow:

Check the error log. It could be a typo or something little. Maybe your map rwm file?

Too much effort right now to correct it, playing Rise of Nations!

How would one create a new faction from scratch?

Kushan

Check the other thread in this forum.

So... i guess this thread is kinda obselete as a result of that.

im going to sound stupid, but i don't know how to unpack the PACK files, can they be downloaded, :-/ New to this, just simply want the saxons in my campaing lol

I got it working, and i modified JUST export_descr_buildings and put JUST that file in my data folder, then made a batch file with the line it says to put in the unpacker readme, but now if i try to start up the game with the batch file, it crashes before it even gets to the company ad's, any suggestions?

I assume this, or a similar method, can be used to delete/replace factions? Say I wanted to replace England with a faction from my mod (the Ilsamiri for example) could I just follow these instructions but delete the England references and replace them with Ilsamiri references?

This worked perfectly. I was very surprised at how easy it was. Now I just need a tutorial on editing banners, etc. Any suggestions?

A banner tutorial would be most appropriate at this juncture. Or at least a reference to the file dimensions and the directory in which replacement textures should be placed. Of key interest would be the campaign map banner symbols.

yeah, an explanation on the colors and the banner symbols would be nice...

I'd like to use this symbol...

https://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i...tin/Dragon.jpg

Anyone like?

Mmmkay, I'm having a bit o' trouble with this. I can get the normans and saxons in game, but, when I try to give them other units, such as longbowmen and etc, it either crashes, or just doesn't work.

Any chance someone could get the files that WORK with extra units, and upload them somewhere or something for me?

Zain - the colours are covered in the tutorial aren't they? If not you need the file descr_sm_factions.txt which you put in mod/data or just in Medieval II/data. The RGB values for the primary and secondary faction colours are given there. The primary colour will be the one which the thicker bands of borders and the campaign army banners are based on. The secondary colour is used for border highlights, and nothing else that I know of.

I figured out the colors...

I'm trying to make the "Praters" from the North American continent. I followed all the instructions, also did some extra stuff I knew was manditory in order for a faction to work. Anyway, the log is telling me that the Faction Leader cannot be created. The game works when I delete him completely. Also my faction doesn't show up as a playable faction... I've got the first and last name of my character "Zain Anduin" saved in the three spots needed for it to work. Anyone have any suggestions?

I've come up with the conclusion that this guide is not near complete. I follow the instructions COMPLETELY and my Pratian faction, which I have relocated to Crete, is not working. Would someone please point me in the right direction for a complete guide?

-Zain

This guide worked perfectly for me the very first time I tried it. So, it's not the guide...

Well, mmarekk11 seemed to have done it. There must be some inconsistency somewhere, whether in the instructions (which seems doubtful seeing as someone got it working) or in your installation or something. Keep plugging away, I'm sure you'll get it eventually :)

I want to make a custom faction with all the works, custom symbols and everything, but this does not give me that option.

This tutorial never claimed to to show you all of that and you'll be hard pressed to find a tutorial that gives you all of that. These things take a long time to write. You just have to do like everybody else. Thank people for what they give you and figure out the other stuff on your own. This guy wrote a really good tutorial that delivered exactly what it promised. There are other tutorials for adding faction symbols, etc. You should try that little search button at the top.

I have man, I really have. I've spent my afternoon about 4 or 5 days in a row plugging in information according to guides, tutorials, and common sense, and still it is not working. I've already wiped my slate clean and started over 3 times and I'm just frustrated. If I get it working I'll let everyone know.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jhuang

it is not working :help: I done exactly what u said ,then i choose norman in grand campaign and it keep going back to main menu :furious3: ,why ?????

---

same thing with me.........if you are able to fix it please tell me how....

never mind, i found out why it's doing it....it's because of a typo

i wonder if you can put armies from the prologue into the Descr_strat

something is wrong, it won't let me play a battle.

please someone help me I really want to play a battle instead of having heavy cassualties from the auto battle

Quote:

---

please someone help me I really want to play a battle instead of having heavy cassualties from the auto battle

---

problems like yours are a bit hard to help with as you have to make a lot of changes all at once to add a faction. there's probably a typo somewhere among your edits but impossible to say where i'm afraid.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nikolai1962

problems like yours are a bit hard to help with as you have to make a lot of changes all at once to add a faction. there's probably a typo somewhere among your edits but impossible to say where i'm afraid.

---

If you post your error log, that might help...

do you NEED to unpack to do this?

never mind, got it to unpack and deleted the geography things...problem solved.

well my main problem is that when I enter the campaign it says Victory conditions failed.
I put my faction in Stockholm and put my army there and naturally deleted the rebel army that occupy that area however still doesn't work.
Any ideas ??

Do i must put Normans or i can put Serbia if i want?

just a quick question though, say if I wanted to create wales and enable welsh longbowmen, how would I do that, because they are a merc unit?

well, mine workd perfectly on campaign map. However I can't play custom battles and normal batles in campaign. It loads up normal but after 2 seconds I am having this message "Medieval TW2 has encountered an error and needs to close"

2. I created a new faction using normans but as we all know they don't have any ships, cannons, trebuchets and they don't have many units. I did everything you said but still I don't have those units.

I've got a question about renaming factions...

I've tried to rename the faction using expanded.txt but there are no apparent changes in the game even after unpacking and going through the whole process of preparing M2 for mods again. Is there something special I have to do to rename the faction?

nevermind, I got it to work.

thanks for the tutorial works fine for me! but I have a few questions..

1) when I added some units to the saxons they turn out white.. on the battlefield. do I need to create textures for them or can I somehow modify the saxons textures to green and red.

2) I've changed the colour but it's only the flags and nothing else, how would I change everything (unit skin clours, banners, flags etc)

any help would be greatly appreciated

Do you have to replace an other faction like in RTW or can you create a qhole new one?

I can't find my export files, i know they got to be there otherwise the game wouldn't work but even the search can't find them. Anyone have an idea? I got mtw2 on steam btw:help: