Running Mods

Mod Compatibility

All mods should be compatible with REX & M2EX.

There may be minor glitches with certain mods, so check the mod patches channel on the Discord Server for any recommended fixes.

Caution

Do not try running mods without following this guide. The default launchers that many mods come with will not work, and should only be used for changing mod configuration options.

Installing Mods

You can install mods as per the mod’s instructions, either by dropping the files into the folder or using an installer (for mods which provide one).

Running Mods

Medieval 2

Check the mod is located like below:

• DirectoryMedieval II Total War Your Medieval 2 folder that contains M2EX.exe

  • Directorymods

    • Directorymodfoldername For example “Tsardoms-3.0”. Make sure this doesn’t contain any spaces!

      • …

Note

There are two main methods detailed below. The first one is recommended, because it ensures any options in the mod’s config file are used.

Batch File method

1. Download the pre-made .bat files.
2. Extract M2EX mod launcher.bat to your M2EX installation directory (You can rename this .bat file if you like).
3. Open the file with a text editor (e.g. Notepad). You should see:

start M2EX.exe @mods\MODFOLDER\MOD.cfg

4. Replace MODFOLDER with the exact name of your mod folder.
5. Inside the mod folder, locate the mod config file, for example Tsardoms-3.0.cfg. In the .bat file, you need to replace MOD.cfg with the name of the mod config file.
6. Save the .bat file

Shortcut method

1. Make a shortcut to M2EX.exe
   • On Windows 11, right-click M2EX.exe, then select Show more options and Create shortcut. You can place the shortcut wherever you want.
2. Go to Properties on the shortcut, and set Target to: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Medieval II Total War\M2EX.exe" --features.mod=mods/modfoldername
   • Ensure the first part of the above path reflects where you have M2EX installed.
   • Set modfoldername to the name of the mod folder
   • Remember - if the mod folder of the mod you want to play has a path like here (main Mods folder->your mod folder->your mod folder) ⁠newcomers-help⁠ then you need to target the last one

• You may also use Launch Options in Steam to run mods (e.g. --features.mod=mods/modfoldername). You can add M2EX as a non-Steam game as many times you want and rename it, adding different launch arguments for different mods.

  You can also launch mods in the terminal with ./M2EX.exe --features.mod=mods/modfoldername

Rome

Check the mod is located like below:

• DirectoryRome Total War Gold Your Rome folder that contains REX.exe

  • Directorymods

    • Directorymodfoldername For example “fatw”. Make sure this doesn’t contain any spaces!

      • …

Note

There are two main methods detailed below. You can use either.

Batch File method

1. Download the pre-made .bat files.
2. There are three batches depending on which version of Rome your mod runs on:
   • REX mod launcher.bat is for mods running on vanilla Rome.
   • REX-BI mod launcher.bat is for mods running on Barbarian Invasion.
   • REX-ALX mod launcher.bat is for mods running on Alexander.
3. Extract the appropriate .bat to your REX installation directory (You can rename this .bat file if you like).
4. Open the file with a text editor (e.g. Notepad). You should see a bit that says -mod:MODFOLDER.
5. Replace MODFOLDER with the exact name of your mod folder.
6. Save the .bat file

Shortcut method

7. Make a shortcut to REX.exe
   • On Windows 11, right-click REX.exe, then select Show more options and Create shortcut. You can place the shortcut wherever you want.
8. Go to Properties on the shortcut, and set Target to: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Rome Total War Gold\REX.exe" -bi -mod:bi/modfoldername -show_err
   • Ensure the first part of the above path reflects where you have REX installed.
   • If it’s an Alexander mod you’d swap the -bi to -alex, and if it’s a vanilla RTW mod you’d delete it entirely.
   • Set bi/modfoldername to the name of the mod folder
   • You may also use Launch Options in Steam to run mods (e.g. -mod:bi/modfoldername). You can add REX as a non-Steam game as many times you want and rename it, adding different launch arguments for different mods.

You can also launch mods in the terminal with ./REX.exe -mod:modfoldername