Common Issues and Fixes tutorial - Steam & Steel: Total War mod for Medieval II: Total War: Kingdoms

1. Random Crashes

Crashes that occur randomly in the middle of campaigns and battles are generally the result of M2TW exceeding its 4GB limit on slower devices. Apart from applying the 4GB patch (instructions available below), reducing graphics quality will reduce game demands and improve stability.

2. Load-game crashes

Load game crashes typically occur on slower devices when the volume of files being loaded exceeds the M2TW Ram limit. Due to this, it is essential to apply the 4GB patch (instructions available below) which doubles the M2TW RAM limit from 2GB to 4GB. Nevertheless, crashes may still occur on initial startup on account of the number of files to be loaded.

3. Save-game crashes

Save-game crashes may occur due to autosave corruption. This is a common issue for the M2TW engine and can be mitigated by manual saving.

4. EOP Launch crashes

The integrated EOP launcher requires the installation of both Microsoft Visual C++ and Microsoft DirectX. If these are not installed, messgages showing lacking dll files will be shown. Both programs can be found in the folder "eopRedistributables" in the main directory. The respective exe files can be found in their folders within, simply launch and follow the instructions provided.

5. Why Steam & Steel is more demanding than Vanilla M2TW/Other mods

Unlike most M2TW based games, Steam & Steel is set in the mid-19th century and includes a worldwide campaign map. A decision was taken early in development to make the most of the advances in technology since M2TW first launched in 2006. As such, the game contains the maximum possible number of units and regions allowed by the game engine as well as hundreds of extra minor settlements, all of which are custom-made for the era. On the campaign map, the increased intensity of global trade and the HD custom models applied to all settlements pose an additional strain. In battle, the greatly increased rate of fire of both rifles and artillery and their smoke output results in greater demands. Finally, the integration of EOP brings greater functionality at a small cost in performance. Consequently, Steam & Steel is best run at reduced graphics compared with other M2TW-based mods on the same device.

4GB Patch Instructions:

1. The patch file "4gb_patch.exe" is located inside the main mod directory "steamsteel"
2. After launching, navigate to the parent folder "Medieval II Total War"
3. Select and apply the patch to both "kingdoms.exe" and "medieval2.exe"
Note: If kingdoms.exe is unavailable, rename a copy of "medieval2.exe" to "kingdoms.exe" and patch both files