The Lord of the Rings - Total War mod

LOTR-TW is a Total Conversion for Alexander TW based on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, focused to recreate the epic battles seen in the movies. Created by Wlesmana.

In order to simplify the installation of the mod, we have made a new LOTR-TW v3.02 Pack.zip that includes all the necessary files (v2.0 + patch v3.0 + patch v3.02).

Since the release of the lastest patch, 5 years ago, we have not created new content, but there is one modder, CapnDan, who has been working to improve the balance of the campaign, to fix some minor bugs, and to create new provincial campaigns. One of the reasons for this new release was to introduce this addon.

There is another modder, Non-binary Person, that kindly adapted to lotrtw their work on vegetation and battle environments, and it was included here as an alternative.

Another reason for this new pack is that we found a fix/workaround for the crash caused by trolls in some computers, that was the main issue reported by players in the forums.

We wanted the default installation to be compatible with the old installers, thus the new content is optional and can be enabled by using the included tool named JSGME (Jonesoft Generic Mod Enabler). This tool simply copies the addon files to the main folders, but keeping a copy of the replaced files, so they can be restored when you decide to disable the addon:

I) CAMPAIGNS ADDON (by CapnDan)
It includes an improved balance for the main campaign, and some alternative provincial campaigns. I suggest to use it to play new games, because it will surely be used as base for future versions of the mod.

For the full list of changes, see the file:
...\Lotrtw_Readme_Campaigns_Addon.txt

II) VEGETATION ADDON (by Non-binary Person)
It includes alternative vegetation, and some other changes to the battle environments.

It uses resources made by: Non-binary Person (RTR8), Alin/Tux (Europa Barbarorum), Tone (Roma Surrectum), Eorl (Fourth Age Total War), Nobiax/Yughues, Creative Assembly (M2TW).

III) TROLL FIX
It is a workaround to avoid the crashes caused by these Troll units on some computers. It reduces to zero the distance at which these units are rendered in 3d, so they are always shown 2d sprites (with much lower quality), but this way they never cause crashes.
In order to work, the unit detail, in video settings, must be any value lower than "highest".

This patch seems to be savegame compatible, and also compatible online with people who did not enable it (useful because many computers are not affected by this bug).

Fisrt, you must have the game Rome Total War: Alexander installed!

If you have a previous version of lotr-tw mod already installed, it is recommended to uninstall it, and then to remove the whole folder "...\alexander\lotrtw\", in order to get rid of all remaining temporary files. Note this will remove old lotrtw savegames and preferences too.

This mod uses its own folder "\alexander\lotrtw", for most of the files. It uses the folder "\Mods" for the files related to translations and submods. Only one file will be placed in the main "\Data" folder, but it will not overwrite any original file.

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STEAM VERSION ON WINDOWS

1) Extract the content of the LOTR-TW pack to the main game folder where RomeTW-ALX.exe is located.
The Steam version uses to be: "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Rome Total War Alexander\"

2) In your Steam game list, right click on your Rome Total War: Alexander game, click properties, and in the general tab click "Set Launch Options". In the space provided, type in this text:

-mod:alexander/lotrtw

This way, when you launch the game, it will load lotrtw mod instead of vanilla alexander. Delete this text if you want to play vanilla alexander again.

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DISC VERSION ON WINDOWS

1) Extract the content of the LOTR-TW pack to the main game folder where RomeTW-ALX.exe is located.
The original retail Disc location usually is: "C:\Program Files\Actision\Rome - Total War\"

2) Create a short-cut to launch the game:

2.1) Right-click on your RomeTW-ALX.exe and select 'Create Shorcut'
2.2) Right-click on the new short-cut and choose Properties
2.3) In the "Target" window in properties, ADD this line at the end: -mod:alexander/lotrtw so the line looks something like this:

"C:\Program Files\Actision\Rome - Total War\RomeTW-ALX.exe" -mod:alexander/lotrtw

Note that it may not look exactly as that. Do NOT change or delete anything between the quotation marks.

3) Use this short-cut to play the mod.

Alternately, you may also launch the mod using the "lotr-tw launcher.bat" file placed in the main game folder.

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STEAM VERSION ON LINUX (WITH WINE)

It is possible to install the Windows version of Steam, under Linux, by using Wine. This way you can install and play the Windows version of Rome Total War: Alexander. Just use this command to launch Steam:
wine Steam.exe -no-cef-sandbox

The rest is the same as Steam version on Windows (see above).

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DISC VERSION ON LINUX (WITH WINE)

1) Extract the content of the LOTR-TW pack to the main game folder where RomeTW-ALX.exe is located.

2) With Wine v1.8.5, it works for me by simply executing:
wine RomeTW-ALX.exe -mod:alexander/lotrtw

You may also use the file "lotr-tw launcher.sh" placed in the main game folder.

3) Since I updated to Wine v2.2.1, the splash screen is shown, but it crashes just before the intro.
For me, it worked to disable the lib winegstreamer.
Execute winecfg -> go to "libraries" tab -> select winegstreamer -> press "add", then "edit" -> choose "disable".

I have played on Ubuntu this way, even online, and I did not notice any problem, except the response of the mouse being a bit loose.

1) LAUNCHING THE SCRIPTS

The campaign of lotr-tw uses a script file that is automatically executed when you start a new campaign, and it enables several unique features while running in the background.

When you load a saved game, the scripts must be restarted again. In some cases it is automatic, otherwise you need to:
* PRESS ANY BUTTON or select any of your settlements or armies,
* then CLICK ON THE ADVISOR PORTRAIT WHEN IT POPS UP.
(The advisor will show a text message to confirm the scripts are running).

You can verify that scripts are working if there is no winter season. If you see snowy terrain at the beginning of a turn, then the scripts are not active. Try reloading the savegame again and be sure to click the advisor icon when it appears, before pressing end of turn.

Playing some turns with the scripts inactive is not going to break the game, but you might miss some features, and the balance of the campaign might not be exactly the same.

If you want to start a new campaign, it is best to exit the game first to ensure that the old scripts in temporary memory do not prevent the new ones from starting. Also, it is recommended to choose the lowest ADVICE LEVEL (NO ADVICES) because advice messages could potentially block scripted messages.

Detailed info about the features enabled by the scripts can be found at:
...\alexander\lotrtw\Lotrtw_Scripts.txt

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2) DIFFICULTY LEVELS

We have tried to balance the mod so it is well balanced for any difficulty level, though I would like to explain the main differences:

CAMPAIGN: It seems the main effect of higher levels is to make AI more aggressive against the human player, but I think the probability of allies attacking you is similar in all levels.

BATTLE: It seems the effect of battle difficulty is just a bonus to attack: +4 at hard, and +8 at very hard.
In battle, I suggest MEDIUM if this is your first campaign, because the mod already gives some bonuses to AI units (+2 to experience).

The best way to choose the battle difficulty is to start a custom battle, with 12000 gold, flat land, choosing the same faction that you are going to play in campaign. Then play some battles in Medium, High, and Very high (or Easy), until you see the forces are even.

I like to play VH/VH, but most of the testing for the mod was made at M/M, with large unit settings.

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3) CAMPAIGN BALANCE

There is a script that reduces the population to the minimum (400) when an enemy settlement is captured. It has a big impact on the campaign gameplay, because it forces players to wait several turns until they can start recruiting units in conquered cities, and they must rely on the core regions to recruit most units.

Many units require the appropriate resources to be recruited (for example horses, wargs, or trolls), and most factions can only recruit their elite units in their home regions.

Some special units may appear randomly (5%) in certain cities (for the home faction) when there is a named character acting as governor, and the happiness in the city is at green level.
* Urabhaya: trollman
* Hobbiton: hobbit archer, hobbit militia
* Minas·Tirith: gondor fountainguard
* Fornost: gondor ranger dunedain
* Nenuial: gondor ranger dunedain
* Beorn: beorning
* Barad-dur: battle trolls
* Fangorn: ents

In order to make the campaign more challenging, there are several scripts which give bonuses to the AI:
* Extra armies for the main enemy factions, that appear during the initial turns of the campaign.
* Extra money every turn if treasury is low.
* Costs and construction times of buildings are reduced (almost halved). Tax income is doubled for the largest cities.
* Units are recruited with 2 extra chevrons.
* Extra garrison forces might be added to AI homeland cities if they are under siege.

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4) SPECIAL TRAITS

* WOUNDS: Characters may be wounded in battles or sieges. If a character is wounded, you should send him to a settlement and keep him there until the wounds are healed. If the injured character moves or continues to fight there is a chance that the wounds will get worse (which involves losses in command and hit points). If the wounds reach the 3th level (seriously injured), he has a chance to gain the permanent trait "scarred" that reduces his influence progressively until the wounds are healed.
Wounds are better healed in large cities, and better if the city has healing houses.
This rule tries to avoid that players use always the same character for every battle.

There is a special wound produced when you fight against a Nazgul. Dark wounds are harder to heal, and they can remove the movement points of the character if he doesn't reach a settlement soon.

* CORRUPTION: When your character carries items which sum more than 25 burden points, he has a chance to gain a demoralized trait. The chance is higher if the burden points are more than 50 or 100.
To counter this trait, the character must rest in a happy settlement or to reduce his burden points under 0.
This rule tries to avoid that players give all the best items to the same character.

The One Ring also causes a special corruption trait that has no going back. If the corruption of the Ring bearer reaches level 3 (Entranced by the Ring), all the other factions start declaring war on you (except if the Ring bearer is a hobbit).

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5) UNIT BALANCE

In lotr-tw, each unit type has its own characteristics, and sometimes they are hidden. I'll try to list the hidden parameters here so people can evaluate them properly:

Spearmen:
* Slow attack (Kill ratio ~ 0.6)
* They use to have more mass or closer formations to stand better against charges.
* 2 handed spearmen: they get the "spear" attribute, a big bonus to defense against cavalry, and a similar penalty against other infantry.
* Spearmen with shield: they get a plain bonus to attack against cavalry. They are vulnerable to cavalry charges, but they do not get penalties against other infantry.

2 Handed:
* Fast attack (Kill ratio ~ 0.8)
* They do not have "armour piercing", but 2 handed animation is faster than anyone else, so they kill quicker than other units, even if their attack is lower.
* They use to have higher charge and mass values than standard infantry, and at the same time looser formations.

Infantry:
* They use to have the better balance between attack, defence/shield and killing speed.
* Swordsmen: Normal attack (Kill ratio ~ 0.7)
* Daggermen: Slow attack (Kill ratio ~ 0.6)

Missiles:
* Units with arrows have more range and more ammunition, compared to thrown weapons, but they are also more expensive.
* Thrown weapons (like javelins and axes) have an special attribute (rebound value) that makes them more effective than arrows against units with shield.
* Arrows and thrown weapons are equally effective against elephant units (unlike vanilla RTW).

Cavalry:
* Charge values are lower than in vanilla RTW, but in this mod there are no units with bonuses against charging cavalry, so charges are still very powerful.
The best way to use the cavalry is to charge and retreat, keeping the horses always in the move, because they do not last long while engaged in melee.
* Units with spears are a bit better while charging, and units with swords use to survive a bit better in melee.
* The mass of horses is not enough to break close formations. They are better used to surround the enemy, or to attack missile units.
Note that armoured archers in this mod are not killed easily, it is better to use cavalry with heavy armour against them.
* Heavier cavalry has more mass and more charge, but lower speed.
Heavy or medium cavalry can not catch mounted archers. You need light cavalry (or Wargs) to eliminate them.
* Rohan cavalry is the only one with wedge formation, that can be used to attack units in the 2nd line of the enemy army, causing huge damage to the units in the 1st line when they charge through them.

Chariots:
* One chariot alone has not much power, but several units of chariots together can beat any kind of cavalry, and can be used to slaughter loose infantry units.
* If you place your chariots behind the enemy formation and you move them close to the back of the soldiers, the razors of the chariots will kill many soldiers and will cause panic to the others. So, instead of attacking the infantry, keep your chariots moving close to their backs and they will be more effective.

Creatures:
* Trolls, Ents, and Berserkers are powerful in melee, but vulnerable to missiles. They have penalties to attack other creatures, so they are not very effective to kill each other.
* Mumaks and Fellbeasts are powerful while charging, but as other cavalry, they are vulnerable when they stand in melee.
* Mumaks, Trolls, and Ents can break gates in a siege battle, but there is a bug that prevents Fellbeasts from doing it (although they may try anyway).

Detailed info about unit stats, as well as an automatic cost calculator, can be found at:
...\alexander\lotrtw\Lotrtw_Tablas.xls

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6) RECOMMENDED VIDEO SETTINGS FOR SLOW COMPUTERS:

Anti-aliasing = OFF
Terrain = HIGH (MEDIUM looks much worse and I don't notice much performance differences)
Buildings = LOW
Grass = LOW (or OFF)
Unit size = NORMAL (or up to LARGE)
Unit detail = MEDIUM (do not use HIGHEST because it disables the use of 2d sprites)
Effects = LOW (or up to HIGH)
Vegetation = MEDIUM

Battle Shadows = OFF (buildings and vegetation look better if shadows are disabled)
Smoke/Dust = ON (or OFF, but the battles do not look the same without it)
Reflections/Glints = OFF
Desynchr />Unit Shaders = ON (it could reduce performance if disabled)

Please use this thread to make any reports on crashes you had and bugs you found!

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Current list of known causes of Crash To Desktop (CTD), and suggested solution:

1) CTD at the start of a new campaign, just when the campaign map appears.
If campaigns were working and later they start to crash, the cause might be a corrupted "advice" file. It is fixed by removing these two files:
...\alexander\lotrtw\data\world\maps\campaign\Alexander\map.rwm
...\alexander\lotrtw\preferences\advice
(don't worry, the game will generate a new one)

2) CTD at start of a battle, or during a battle, with Trolls:
Trolls (and similar units like Ents or Sauron) may cause a crash in battle on some computers (on other computers there is only a visual glitch).
The chances of crash are higher at night battles, so try to avoid them when there are Trolls/Ents in the armies.
There are chances of crash only when some of these units appear on the field of view of the camera. A workaround is to minimize the time that Trolls/Ents appear on the screen.

OR Enable the submod named TROLL FIX (see above).

3) CTD during a battle might be related to audio settings.
In options, set sounds to Miles 2D Audio, and problem should be fixed.

4) CTD just after a battle (while loading the campaign map again) might be caused by wrong video resolution settings.
If you delete (or rename) the preferences file, the game will create a new one based on your computer specs:
...\alexander\lotrtw\preferences\preferences.txt

THANKS TO

* Wlesmana, the creator of the mod, for all the unit models, and most of the hard work. And to Cyen, for the forum support.
* Seth Krnell, for all the custom cities, the buildings, and the research to make them possible.
* Bardo, for putting it all together, and for continuing to create patches.
* Falcons1988, for the new sounds and music.
* mac89, messenger, crayon, hellenes, rumil, Lupus, Baza, Raphael, Rhythalion, for being part of the team for v2.0.
* Tranky, Wulfburk, Hopit, Nelduin, CapnDan, for their collaboration on v3.0.

* Roma Surrectum 2 team for the new battlemap environments:
Tone: trees, vegetation, grass, ground textures, terrain generator, and campaign map textures.
dvk901: water improvements, rivers, and a few textures here and there.
* TheLordz and NTW2 team for the skies, and some ground textures.
* METW team for the campaign map, and Metal Storm for his professional improvements.
* Aradan, Dol Guldur, Eorl, and rest of FATW team for all their researches and tutorials, and for sharing with us the spreadsheet to calculate their unit costs, the base of our unit balancing system.
* Darth_Vader and Sinuhet for the AI formations.
* Echolyn for the great intro video, and the setup of the Last Alliance historical battle.

* Mods like Europa Barbarorum, DarthMod, SPQR, Roma Surrectum, Rome Total Realism, Iberia TW, ChivTW, Napoleonic Total War 2, ... for inspiration
* Legendary modders like Vercingetorix, Myrddraal, Epistolary Richard, Lord Adherbal's, SigniferOne, Simetrical, The_Mark, Makanyane, Red Spot's, khelvan, Thor the Bassist, Monkwarrior, Athenogoras... for their contribution with tools, tutorials, or support.

Specially helpful for every release:
* HouseOfHam - EDB validator, and his important discoveries on scripting
* RedFox - Zeus the Omnipotent EDB, DMB, DS Validator
* Squid - ATVTW - Trait/Ancillary Validator, descr_geography.db Editor
* MrHide - Trivium independant Map Editor (TiME)

* Italian translation: Seth Krnell.
* Spanish translation: TRanky, Meister, Neiklot, Alegrenchu, Bleacloco, Lordkoal, Isildru, Atanatári, Elros Tasartir, Kevin.
* Betatesters: paradamed, Metallistic, zedestroyer, Vicious the Conqueror, Freelancer Tex, godofruin, Prdo, Maverick, Codename_V, SHaDoWxCrUsAd3r, Blacktemplar221, niko21, Miszel, Primo, Smasher 282, Clagius, masterslay, drdans41, Johnny12, cc7734, anchoret, Falconwatch, Xerdun, Arrow2daknee, Predator1994...

* People at multiplayer for many enjoyable games, in special to Kellhus, Curro, Adrix, Mataputas, and TheWitchKing.

And all the people at twcenter.net, totalwar.org, and lotr-tw.net forums. We still have an active forum in twcenter.net, where you can contact us.