launching VanillaMod

[Javolenus]

Hi There,

I just bought MTWII Gold and also installed Vanilla Mod. I copied the mod's Zip folder into the main MTW folder and extracted the files. There was a batch file, which I clicked on but I'm not sure if anything happened.

Basically I just wanted to ask if I had done everything OK? And if so, how do I run the mod?

Apologies if this is a dumb question!

But many thanks for your help!

[FactionHeir]

Hiya,

Glad you managed to install the game!
To run VanillaMod, extract the archive into your main M2TW folder so that you now see a VanillaMod folder in your main M2TW directory along with the cfg and bat file.

You can then run the bat file directly to start the game or you can edit the cfg file. Depending on your specs (I'm running at 1400x900, which may not be compatible), I would suggest deleting the VanillaMod cfg and making a copy of your own medieval2.preferences.cfg and rename it VanillaMod.cfg (case sensitive possibly)

Once you have done that, you can then open the file and add to the very top:
[features]
mod=VanillaMod

Save and exit.
Now run the bat file and it should work and use the game settings you are using for your normal game.

[Javolenus]

Hi FactionHeir,

Many thanks for this reply! Actually - believe it or not - I'm having problems locating the preferences file in the MTWII folder.

There is a preferences folder but no preferences file inside! I have played the vanilla game a few times and expected a preferences file to be generated, but either this hasn't happened or I can't - for whatever reason - find it.

To make matters more complex, when I right click on the preferences folder to access properties, I see that the folder is checked as 'read only'. But when I uncheck 'read only', go back into the game, play a battle, exit and go back to the preferences folder, the 'read only' box is checked again! In other words, although I keep unchecking 'read only' on the preferences folder, it keeps reverting by itself.

I'm suspecting that this is the reason why no preferences file has been generated (though I may be totally wrong).

But the upshot is that I can't access my preferences (for example, I'd like to turn green arrows off etc.) because this file does not, apparently, exist!

Any advice on this welcome!

Meanwhile, does this problem prevent me from installing VanillaMod?

[FactionHeir]

Hiya,

As I said in your other thread, the medieval2.preferences.cfg is found in your main M2TW folder, not in the preferences folder. I f you do not have extensions enabled, it will display as medieval2.preferences

Open that file with notepad to edit.

That problem will not prevent you from playing VanillaMod, but its usually more fun playing under your own settings which are optimal for you rather than my settings, which may not.

Example how it should look like:

In Vista, you may need to enable compatibility files to display in your toolbar.

[Javolenus]

Hi FactionHeir,

Many thanks for this! Your visual helped me work out what to do. I changed my view to 'list' and suddenly the preferences.cfg appeared. I opened it with notepad and made the desired changes.

Then I copied my preferences file into the VanillaMod folder. I deleted the VanillaMod preferences.cfg and renamed my MTW2 preferences.cfg as 'VanillaMod.cfg'. Then I opened this file and added at the top:

[features]
mod=VanillaMod

Then saved and quit.

Then I clicked on the VanillaMod batch file. This file opened for a nanosecond and then closed. Nothing else happened - the game didn't start.

I repeated the process with the same results.

Basically, when I try to open the batch file I see it open for split second and then it closes.

Have I done something wrong? Apologies but I still need a bit more help on this!

[FactionHeir]

Great it worked so far.

You need to have the VanillaMod.cfg in your main M2TW folder rather than in your VanillaMod folder for it to work with the bat file.

[Javolenus]

Hi FactionHeir

Many thanks indeed for this reply. I've now successfully managed to find the preferences file, edit it, and launch VanillaMod - thanks to your help!

Having read the info on VanillaMod I really think this is the best mod for me. I like the sound of your approach and I'm looking forward to playing it.

But I've got one final question - it may sound a bit cheeky, so apologies in advance! Basically, while trying to fix the above problems, I installed another mod called 'Ornamentum'. This mod only affects graphics like loading screens and some skins - it doesn't change gameplay or AI. But I really like the artwork in Ornamentum, especially the loading screens. And so my question is:

Is it possible to combine Ornamentum with VanillaMod? Or at least have the Ornamentum startup/loading screens working with VanillaMod?

This may not be possible, but I'd be interested to know if it is and how to do it. I hope you don't mind my asking this?

Once again, many thanks for all your help.

[FactionHeir]

Hiya, it should work fine unless it modifies files that come with VanillaMod. Even in those cases, some combinations likely can be made.

The approach you could try is to backup your VanillaMod folder first (well, you still have the downloaded archive, so maybe you won't need to ) and then copy all contents of the other mod into the VanillaMod folder, making sure that if the other mod's folder is called say Ornamentum, you don't copy that folder into VanillaMod but only its contents and subfolders so the overall structure remains the same as in VanillaMod. If you are not prompted to overwrite anything, things should be fine. If yaou are prompted for overwriting, press no for now and note down the name of the file(s) and post them here so I can have a look and help you get it to work.

[Javolenus]

Hi FactionHeir,

That's great - many thanks for this - it's really kind of you to help. I'll follow your advice and let you know how it goes. Thanks again. Looking forward to playing your mod!

[Javolenus]

Hi FactionHeir,

I did as you said but didn't get a result. Basically, when I copied the contents of the Ornamentum folder into the VanillaMod folder, I selected the 'do not overwrite' option, so the following folders/files were not copied over:

- Custom
- Data
- Packs
- Preferences
- Saves

That means that only the following folders/files were copied from Ornamentum to VanillaMod:

- Temp
- Config
- Desktop settings

And so, when I launched VanillaMod, there appeared to be no visible trace of 'Ornamentum'.

As I said before, the Ornamentum mod claims only to have changed startup/loading screens, unit cards and some skins.

I guess the thing I like best about Ornamentum is the startup/loading screen graphics.

I'm not sure if it's possible to merge Ornamentum with Vanilla Mod, but I'd be interested to hear more if you can spare the time.

Thanks again for great support!

[FactionHeir]

Hiya, you can overwrite folders, just not actual files. Try it again and press yes for overwriting when prompted for folders, but no if prompted for files and note those down.

[Javolenus]

Hi FactionHeir - you are a hero and a genius! I got a great result following your instructions.

I did as you said above and copied over files except when prompted for duplicates. The files I did not allow to be copied were:

descr_win_conditions
map files
radar_map files
vcs files
vc files
descr_disasters
descr_music_types
descr_terrain
map_FE
map_features etc.

Now, when I run the VanillaMod batch file, I get Ornamentum start-up/loading screens plus unit cards and modded skins.

Also, thanks to you, I am able to edit the preferences file.

I'm really impressed with your help - many thanks again. I'm looking forward to playing VanillaMod + Ornamentum graphics. All the best and many thanks for what looks like a great mod.

[FactionHeir]

No problem, glad it works.
The files you didn't copy are not essential for Ornamentum either I believe, they are jsut the normal files needed to run a mod and they are included in VanillaMod already

Any problems, let me know!

[Javolenus]

That's great FactionHeir - thanks again. Will let you know how the mod runs in the long term. All the best!

[stealingjoy]

Can this work with Steam?

When I run the .bat file (with Steam closed), it loads up Steam and executes the launcher. I'm guessing the mod probably won't work if I select M2TW regular campaign at this point.

Is there a way to make it work with Steam?

Is there a way I can check and see if it's using the cfg file or not (like some unit or ability that I can quickly check that would be different)?

[FactionHeir]

Yes,

To run it with Steam, start Steam first. Then go to Medieval 2's properties in the Steam menu and add @VanillaMod.cfg into the launch options there. When you launch M2TW, it should run with VanillaMod settings.

[stealingjoy]

Thank you, that is much appreciated.

[gardibolt]

Tried installing and it runs but the second I click an army it says "Unspecified error" and it exits the program....

[FactionHeir]

That's odd.
I just tested it on my end and it works just fine.

Have you tried following the steps outlined here?:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=103698

Also, have you ever unpacked your game (in which case you need to find and delete data\descr_geography_new.txt and data\descr_geography_new.db)
Have you changed anything from the VanillaMod installation, like modified a file or added/removed any file?
Have you got both 0.93 and the emergency fix installed?

[gardibolt]

That's odd.
I just tested it on my end and it works just fine.

Have you tried following the steps outlined here?:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=103698

Also, have you ever unpacked your game (in which case you need to find and delete data\descr_geography_new.txt and data\descr_geography_new.db)
Have you changed anything from the VanillaMod installation, like modified a file or added/removed any file?
Have you got both 0.93 and the emergency fix installed?

Yes, tried those steps.
Never unpacked the game. Do I need to?
Haven't changed or removed anything from the VanillaMod.
Have both .93 and a and b installed.

[FactionHeir]

No best not to unpack.

Hmmmm did you use my VanillaMod.cfg or did you convert your own medieval2.preference.cfg to VanillaMod.cfg? I'm thinking that some of my high graphics settings may be incompatible with your system if you used the provided file.

If that doesn't help either, please provide a screenshot of your Medieval2 folder.

[gardibolt]

Where exactly is the mod supposed to be unzipped? Into a new folder or not?

[FactionHeir]

Yes, it must be unzipped into a new folder called "VanillaMod".
Otherwise it won't work and can cause problems.

Please refer to the link I posted to see how it should look like.

[Krator15]

Actually I downloaded 0.92 then combined the data folder with the existing one, and both Vanilla Mod and the original game work fine

[FactionHeir]

That works too of course

[gardibolt]

Got it working now, thanks FH. I added a more detailed how-to on your launching thread to help clear areas that got me confused.

[FactionHeir]

Hi gardibolt,

Thanks for that and glad you got it working. Will add your version into the first post.

[Porter Trill]

I think I have set up vanilla mod ok, per the instructions. The dumb question of the day is:

How do I know I'm playing vanilla mod? Anything on the splash screen or anything? I know the mod is supposed to be more subtle, how can I tell i'm playing the mod?

[FactionHeir]

Hiya,

Please check how many agents you can recruit of each type. You should be able to recruit 2 of each type in each settlement per turn

Thanks for giving my mod a try, hope you enjoy it!

[Porter Trill]

Is there an easier way for me to tell? i just started out.