Playing RTW for the first time

**Nikpalj** · 07-24-2007, 18:39

I'm a STW and MTW vet - will try out RTW today for the first time. Which patch should I apply and any small community pathches / fixes / minor mods?

**Zim** · 07-24-2007, 18:54

You have to install patch 1.3, then 1.5, in that order (Your copy may already be at version 1.3). You can get them here, in the support-Rome section. http://www.totalwar.com/

I think there is indeed a bug-fixer mod here, but I play mostly major mods, and I'm not sure where to find it.

Edit: Forgot to mention, if you have the expansion, Barbarian Invasion, get patch 1.6 instead of 1.5, it will update the expansion and the regular game.

**Shieldmaiden** · 07-24-2007, 19:50

Originally Posted by Nikpalj

I'm a STW and MTW vet - will try out RTW today for the first time. Which patch should I apply and any small community pathches / fixes / minor mods?

Welcome to RTW Nikpalj

Personally I would just Patch as Zim said, and try vanilla RTW before any Mods. How else would you know what to look for?

**Omanes Alexandrapolites** · 07-24-2007, 20:38

Hi Nikpalj, and welcome to the Colleseum,
If you decide to port upto to 1.5, then then this community fix can easily resolve quite a few graphical and technical glitches included within it. It doesn't resolve any major bugs though - they are, sadly, hardcoded into the game's mechanics.

If you wish to see a more balanced game, then the Vannila Essential Pack can help. In R:TW certain factions always rule the map and gameplay is incredibly fast paced - this is more so noticeable by a M:TW/S:TW player. This mod, requiring version 1.5, resolves some of these issues and helps all factions expand more equally. In addition to this, it adds extra mercenaries to regions.

R:TW, unlike the previous Total War titles, comes with an inconvenient faction unlocking system as well as having certain factions disabled. However, this can be negated through careful modification of a certain gaming file:

To play as all factions, simply enter your "C:/Program Files/Activision/Rome - Total War/data/world/maps/campaign/imperial_campaign" folder. Simply select the file name "descr_strat.txt" (or simply "descr_strat" if file extensions are hidden).

This brilliant modding file will currently look like this:

All you have to do is change it to (the spaces at the front are used using the tab keys):

Now you can open up R:TW and play as any faction that was previously non-playable.

This may not be necessary if you install the bug-fixer or the vanilla essentials pack.

Hope this helps, enjoy R:TW, cheers!

**Nikpalj** · 07-24-2007, 22:08

Thanks guys, specially to you Omanes for the effort - you've got a free beer if you ever come here to croatia!

Lol, all that minor modding in order to unlock factions business reminds me of the olden days and the papacy, hungary and what not from M:TW...

Another question, if you please, gentlemen... both the community fix and the essential pack sound good - so, can they be applied together on the same installed copy of the game?

**Omanes Alexandrapolites** · 07-24-2007, 22:23

Sorry, I forgot to mention. The essential patch comes bundled with the community created patch. There's no need to install them separately. Sorry for not mentioning it.