How to ((*ATTEMPT TO*)) properly set-up a modernly optimised *and fixed* RTW

The Aim of this guide is to (Hopefully) and Successfully make your game as stable as possible with no lag (as you may know by now that Rome TW on modern computers, is for the most part like a special needs turtle on jet) ((both very slow and very fragile))
Now aren't we getting off to a good start with this huh

Shout-outs to all the other optimisation guides here on steam, as they form the basis of this here guide, without them it probably wouldn't exist, so you should thank'em

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1636108692 -Is Satyawada, Aviation Enthusiast's Fix Guide (for the core fix)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2070719194 -Is M E G A D E T H's DXwrapper Fix Guide (+ Sh1mbo's comment fixes)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=615408772 - Is Angel's Preference's Fix Guide. (used as a basis for the preferences.txt, I changed a couple of things up in it, to reflect, be insync and be updated with this guide)

1st. (the preferences.txt fix part, Angels Guide summarized, improved and expanded upon)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=615408772 - Is Angel's Preference's Fix Guide. (used as a basis for the Prefrences.txt, I changed a couple of things up in it)

1. Put the executables on "compatibility mode’ for Windows XP SP3 or SP2 (it Doesn’t matter if you use Vista, 7, 8 or 10).

2. You can do this by going to your library, then right clicking on the "Rome: Total War" title in your library, then onto ‘Properties’, then selecting ‘Local Files’, then go on to ‘Browse Local Files’.
A window will pop up (it’s usually this direction ‘C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Rome Total War Gold’ but that depends on what your diskdrive your using)
in that folder you will find two executables named ‘RomeTW.exe’ and ‘RomeTW-BI.exe’. Select the first one, right click, then select ‘Properties’, then ‘compatibility’, then click the little box beside ‘Run this program on compatibility mode’ and then select ‘Windows XP (Service Pack 3 or 2)’, then click on accept to change the configuration mode.
then in that same window click on the box beside "Disable fullscreen optimizations" and "Run this program as an Administrator" then click on the prompt box which says "Change High DPI settings" a new mini window will appear then under Program DPI click on the box besides "Use this setting to fix scaling problems" then go to "High DPI scaling Override" underneath it also click on the box besides "Override High DPI scaling behaviour" and even underneath that make sure it says "Application"
Repeat the process for ‘RomeTW-BI.exe’.
Repeat the entire process for ‘RomeTW-ALX.exe’.

2.5 Get Win.rar or 7.zip it doesn't matter which, (here's the link for winrar, select downloads on the side, select your language and the version you want to use ((either the 32 bit or 64 bit)) https://www.rarlab.com/ ) again it doesn't matter which (they're archives for your downloaded files, so you can access them, because you can't just download something off of the internet without them btw)

3. Get the .Exe 4GB (Address Aware) Patcher- at https://ntcore.com/?page_id=371 (this link will bring you to the official *and* classic 4GB patcher/ Address Aware)
(explanation:if you *are* new to this ((or modding in-general)), The 4GB ((address aware)) patcher is a program which allows your .exe's to use 4GB's of Ram instead of the base 2 that older games use ((Also don't worry, this site is trustworthy, because/since this is the official site to download the 4GB patcher from, don't believe me? just ask anyone who mods their games and they'll tell you that i'm right. and will also probably say your fuggin' stupid too for not knowing that, depending, but that's okay, I don't judge here ;) )) .
Once you have installed this, click on the download prompt on google on the bottom, select the archived file, run it (the 4gb.exe) and then a window will open saying "select executable", then search for the executable of the game want (in this instance it's ‘RomeTW.exe’–find it using previous instructions-). select it then it will say in a prompt box "executable successfully patched" press ok on the bottom of said box to close it, your done with that.


4. copy and paste this into your preferences.txt (Make a back-up of the original, incase same with the BI and Alex one) ((This is from mine with the fixes and updates)) (((Found usually in C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Rome Total War Gold\preferences) or diskdrive equivalent))):

SAFE_REFRESH:TRUE
USE_TRIPLE_BUFFER:TRUE
USE_WIDESCREEN:TRUE
SUBTITLES:TRUE
MORALE:TRUE
FATIGUE:TRUE
LIMITED_AMMO:TRUE
SUPPLY:TRUE
FOG_OF_WAR:FALSE
RESTRICT_CAMERA:FALSE
DEFAULT_BATTLE_CAMERA:RTS
EVENT_CUTSCENES:TRUE
SMOKE:FALSE
DESYNC:TRUE
SPLASHES:TRUE
GLINTS:FALSE
REFLECTIONS:TRUE
SHADOWS:FALSE
VEGETATION:TRUE
DETAILED_UNIT_SHADOWS:FALSE
GLOSS_MAPPING:FALSE
STENCIL_SHADOWS:TRUE
MULTI_TEXTURE:TRUE
AUTO_SAVE:TRUE
SHOW_BANNERS:TRUE
UNIT_EXPERIENCE_UPGRADE_EFFECT:TRUE
UNIT_SIZE:160
MASTER_VOL:48
SPEECH_VOL:51
SFX_VOL:50
MUSIC_VOL:53
CAMERA_ROTATE:50
CAMERA_MOVE:50
CAMERA_FOV:75.000000
ENABLE_AUDIO:TRUE
ENABLE_MUSIC:TRUE
ENABLE_UNIT_SPEECH:TRUE
DISABLE_BACKGROUND_FMV:FALSE
DISABLE_ARROW_MARKERS:FALSE
AUDIO_3D_PROVIDER:Miles Fast 2D Positional Audio
CLOUD_TRANSITIONS:TRUE
GRASS_DISTANCE:0
AA_QUALITY:AA_OFF
STRATEGY_RESOLUTION:1920x1080
STRATEGY_MAX_RESOLUTION:1920x1080
STRATEGY_32_BIT:TRUE
BATTLE_RESOLUTION:1920x1080
BATTLE_MAX_RESOLUTION:1920x1080
BATTLE_32_BIT:TRUE
UNIT_DETAIL:ULTRA_HIGH
BUILDING_DETAIL:ULTRA_HIGH
TGA_CAPTURE_WIDTH:1024
TGA_CAPTURE_ASPECT:1.333333
TGA_CAPTURE_INPUT_SCALE:1
TGA_CAPTURE_RESERVE_SPACE:FALSE
LABEL_CHARACTERS:TRUE
LABEL_SETTLEMENTS:TRUE
MINIMAL_UI:FALSE
CAMPAIGN_MAP_MAX_SCROLL_SPEED_MIN_ZOOM:30
CAMPAIGN_MAP_MAX_SCROLL_SPEED_MAX_ZOOM:30
FIRST_TIME_PLAY:FALSE
ADVISOR_VERBOSITY:0
MUTE_ADVISOR:FALSE
BLIND_ADVISOR:FALSE
CAMPAIGN_MAP_CAMERA:SKIP_AI_FACTIONS
CAMPAIGN_MAP_SPEED_UP:FALSE
CAMPAIGN_MAP_GAME_SPEED:68
DISABLE_EVENTS:0
MICROMANAGE_ALL_SETTLEMENTS:TRUE
ADVANCED_STATS_ALWAYS:FALSE
UNIT_USE_SHADERS:TRUE
TERRAIN_QUALITY:HIGH
EFFECT_QUALITY:HIGHEST
VEGETATION_QUALITY:HIGH
KEYSET:1
UNLIMITED_MEN_ON_BATTLEFIELD:TRUE
CAMPAIGN_MAP_CAMERA_SMOOTHING:TRUE
CHAT_MSG_DURATION:10

2nd.(the core configuration part, Satyawada, Aviation Enthusiast's guide summarized, expanded upon and slightly improved upon)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1636108692 -Is Satyawada, Aviation Enthusiast's Fix Guide (for the core fix)


1. have rome total war running

2. and during it control+alt+del

3. select task manager

4. right click on the rome total war.exe and select details

5. right click on the rome total war.exe again when your in details

6. set affinity priority to *High*

7. right click on the rome total war.exe again in details

8. then select affinity when you select affinity a pop-up called "processor affinity" should appear with a list of cpu's (only set to one even-numbered cpu/core like CPU 2 or CPU 4 but NOT CORE/CPU 0. or an un-even numbered CPU 1,3,etc since they are virtual cores which old games don't run well on)

(Heads-up: This has to be done *EVERYTIME* you want to play Vanilla RTW, Barbarian Invasion or Alexander, if someone knows who to *PERMANENTLY* do this process, contact me, it's slightly irritating/tedious to do)


(Update: once again and as always Thanks to our legendary champ, Gigantus, we now have a *permanent* solution instead of a temporary one to that: https://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?741786 )

Update V1: How to change the core and affinity permanently (Gigantus's Fix)

"(Update: once again and as always Thanks to our legendary champ, Gigantus, we now have a *permanent* solution instead of a temporary one to that: https://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?741786 )"

thought i'd give my own lil'take on this for once, now bear with me, follow Gigantus' guide if your smart or suavey , but if your either tech illiterate or too dumb to understand (like me lmao ) i'm going to show you the extended, but more the dum-dum's way of doing the permanent change (that's more to do with bi then this one, this is the standard way of doing it, I think)

1st. go on the desktop with notpad or notepad++ and create a .txt, name it RomeTW (and replace the .txt with a .bat

2nd. put this in the bat

@echo off
cd ..\.
start /affinity 1 /high [RTW executable] -show_err -mod:[RomeTW.exe]

set SteamAppId=4760
set SteamAppUser=[PUTYOURUSERNAMEHERE]
set SteamAppVersionId=0
set STEAMID=[PUTYOURSTEAMIDHERE]
set SteamPath= [PUTYOURSTEAMFOLDER'SLOCATIONHERE
set SteamUser=[PUTYOURUSERNAMEHEREAGAIN]
set suppress_restart=1
set valvePlatformMutex=[PUTTHEPATHOFYOURSTEAM.EXEHERE
set __STEAM_BOOTSTRAPPER_ICON_ID__=128

set PATH=C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Rome Total War Gold

RomeTW.exe -rm -show_err

2.5 (bonus:how to check your Steam ID: click steam besides view top left right above store, in the dropdown menu pick settings, go to interface and search for and click on the box of "Display Steam URL address bar when available", if you have a custom one temporary delete it by editing your profile, while you are at your profile right click and copy page url then go to google or any internet browser and paste your profile page's url, there take note of your url in the browser's address bar the 17 numbers is your id, copy paste it in "set STEAMID=[PUTYOURSTEAMIDHERE]")

3rd. then after your done with the .bat place it in the rome total war folder, then with the .bat right click and select "move to desktop" (it will make a shortcut)

4th. from now on use that bat, instead of the .exe

5th. Thank Gigantus for his knowledge and hardwork

6th. this process works very similar to Alexander just replace the path location to the alexander .exe, change both .exe(s) to what the alexander exe is called instead of RomeTW.

Update V2; How to do the permanent core trick with BI. (Gigantus's Fix semi-part 2)

The permanent set-up for Bi is different for it; (I mentioned this would be the extended version i'd be doing for Dum-Dum's, since i'm a dum-dum too )

1.repeat the process you did for Update V1

2.Place this in the bat

@echo off
cd ..\.
start /affinity 1 /high [RTW-BI executable] -show_err -mod: bi

set SteamAppId=4760
set SteamAppUser=misterfallouty
set SteamAppVersionId=0
set STEAMID=76561198272335246
set SteamPath=F:\
set SteamUser=misterfallouty
set suppress_restart=1
set valvePlatformMutex=F:\Steam
set __STEAM_BOOTSTRAPPER_ICON_ID__=128

set PATH=F:\Steam\steamapps\common\Rome Total War Gold\bi

RomeTW-BI.exe -rm -show_err -mod:bi

3. now place that bat in the *BI FOLDER*

4. *copy and place the d3d8.dll, miles folder, the dxwrapper.ini, the mss32,dll, the rome total war barbarian invasion.exe and finally the steam_api.dll into the bi folder*

5 remove the barbarian invasion.exe from the original Rome Total War Gold folder

6. only launch barbarian invasion from that bat.

Andendum, A optional V3 Update: An alternate easier way to do the core trick.....

Okay So if you are having troubles with the bat set-up (like me, because your a complete ♥♥♥♥♥♥) or are too slothful to do it, i'm going to recommend System Explorer for you

it's basically a more in-depth task manager, (and i'd say even better) then the default task manager

here's the link:https://systemexplorer.net/

(edit, or you can use process explorer: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer )

i've downloaded it myself and checked to see if it was legit or not and it is: but if you don't believe me (which is a perfectly healthy thing to do mind you, let no one tell you otherwise)

Here's a link to virustotal, if you don't believe me. https://www.virustotal.com/gui/

when launching it, type in Rome in the search bar on the top right, right click on it (your will see affinity and priority just like the task manager) ((but unlike the task manager you can keep your changes)) in the affinity pop-up box click on 3 (or leave option (3) alone if it's already checked marked) ((since it's core 2)) and uncheck everything else off in there (you will have to right click on the .exe and affinity a couple of times) then after you are all down click *permanent* on the bottom of the list

and one last thing the alexander.exe thats used in the system explorer is called Testappa not RomeTotalWar-Alexander (if launched though steam)

(Edit 2025-05-13: there's also process Explorer. its akin to system explorer but way more indepth https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer -This is the official link for it. simply find rome total wars.exe in the list and right click. the first option is for cpu cores & the second one right underneath it, is the priority of the games.exe)

3rd. (the DXwrapper conversion) with community fixes (and one of my own) part

1. Get the download from M E G A D E T H'S guide and follow his instructions on how to install it:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2070719194 -Is M E G A D E T H's Fix Guide

2. now find a d3d8.dll after you have did the set-up, (C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft-windows-directx direct3d8_31bf3856ad364e35_10.0.18362.356_none_bbfc02433a0aabb9) grab the d3d8.dll from there, the size of it should be 684kb in size, should/does work.

3. (copy and paste this in your DXwrapper.ini, make a back-up of the original incase) ((this is from mine which includes Sh1mbo's comment fixes)) (((The threaded core fix and etc, and my own fix, *the fix to the intro crashing if you want to skip it*)))

(This Has been taken out by my own DxWrapper.ini which has the fixes, observe it's original loadout then copy and past mine there if you want)

;; Config file for DirectX DLL Wrapper
[General]
RealDllPath = AUTO
WrapperMode = AUTO
LoadCustomDllPath =
ExcludeProcess =
IncludeProcess =
RunProcess =
WaitForProcess = 0
DisableLogging = 0

[Plugins]
LoadPlugins = 0
LoadFromScriptsOnly = 0

[Compatibility]
Dd7to9 = 0
D3d8to9 = 1
DDrawCompat = 0
Dinputto8 = 0
DisableGameUX = 0
DxWnd = 0
EnableDdrawWrapper = 0
EnableDinputWrapper = 0
EnableDsound8Wrapper = 0
HandleExceptions = 0
SingleProcAffinity = 1

[DDrawCompat]
DDrawCompat20 = 0
DDrawCompat21 = 0
DDrawCompatExperimental = 0
DDrawCompatDisableGDIHook = 0
DDrawCompatNoProcAffinity = 0

[ddraw]
ConvertToDirectDraw7 = 0
ConvertToDirect3D7 = 0
DdrawOverrideBitMode = 0

[Dd7to9]
AutoFrameSkip = 0
DdrawEmulateSurface = 0
DdrawWriteToGDI = 0
DdrawLimitDisplayModeCount = 0
DdrawUseNativeResolution = 0
DdrawClippedWidth = 0
DdrawClippedHeight = 0
DdrawOverrideWidth = 0
DdrawOverrideHeight = 0
DdrawOverrideRefreshRate = 0
DdrawIntegerScalingClamp = 0
DdrawMaintainAspectRatio = 0

[d3d9]
AnisotropicFiltering = 0
AntiAliasing = 0
EnableVSync = 0
EnableWindowMode = 1
ForceVsyncMode = 0
FullscreenWindowMode = 1
WindowModeBorder = 1

[FullScreen]
FullScreen = 1
ForceWindowResize = 0
WaitForWindowChanges = 0

[dinput8]
FilterNonActiveInput = 0

[dsound]
Num2DBuffers = 0
Num3DBuffers = 0
ForceCertification = 0
ForceExclusiveMode = 0
ForceSoftwareMixing = 0
ForceHardwareMixing = 0
ForceHQ3DSoftMixing = 0
ForceNonStaticBuffers = 0
ForceVoiceManagement = 0
ForcePrimaryBufferFormat = 0
PrimaryBufferBits = 16
PrimaryBufferSamples = 44100
PrimaryBufferChannels = 2
AudioClipDetection = 0

4. it's the same process for Alexander and BI

4th. My own original Fix: The Nvidia Control Panel Fix, for Nvidia users only of course, d'uh should be obvious

1. go to (C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\Control Panel Client\) select ncs-plui.exe or something like that (it's the nvidia control panel's .exe), Select Manage 3-D Settings, then click Program Settings on the tab beside Global Settings, click "Add" to add the .exe (use the method that we did with angels fix, just minus the steam part to find it) ((it should be this directory: (C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Rome Total War Gold , or your equivalent diskdrive).

2.select RomeTW.exe ,it should be now currently selected, now in the drop drown menu below the program selector we just talked about, select High-Performance NVIDIA processor in the menu, after that go down to the list, scroll down the list, until you find "Max Frame Rate", now click on the Number with FPS beside it, once clicked on, set/drag it to 20-26 FPS (depending on your preference), then after that continue on until you see "Threaded Optimisation" where, you should see either it is on auto or off, if it's on either of those just change it to "on".

(repeat the process for both BI and Alexander)

5th (in-game campaign map graphical option to help)

if your still experiencing some lag when you're on the campaign map, only, go to video options then turn off shadows (and maybe anti-aliasing too depending, if it's still laggy) or you can do it in the main menu, too, it doesn't matter

(final) 6th. (Faction Gameplay) *Shameless Plug* my guide on how to get the barbarian factions to large/huge cities

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2224599873 -my guide, just look at it, it saves me from writing more and basically repeating myself.

(Epilogue) The Guide's over why are you still here? Lmao

Well your here now, so i'd like to thank you personally for looking at my guide and for even taken some of your time to even look at the bloody thing here, you don't have to like or favorite my guide but please do me a favor, if you *can* take some time outta your day and please like and favorite:

Satyawada, Aviation Enthusiast's Core Fix Guide-

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1636108692

M E G A D E T H's DXwrapper Fix/Conversion Guide-

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2070719194

Angel's Preference's Fix Guide-

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=615408772

and give them some props in their comment sections for their good work, 'cuz without them this guide wouldn't exist or probably would not be really any good at all (functionally) or if you liked it, in-general as good as it is/was without them,

(Edit: The final, Last extreme solution if nothing works in this guide)

SnabChris's Solution:

(to those who don't or may not know who snabchris is, he's a somewhat known and famous speed-running RTW'er)

If you have read my title though, you might be asking yourself this? "Well Why *Anon* , are you saying That this is The final, last ,extreme solution here?"" : First, It honestly defeats the purpose of this guide and secondly downloading .dll's can be dangerous *if you don't know what your doing* and alternatives should always *be done or sought out before doing that*

An Additional Edit about BI unit battle lag and possibly for sieges (also could work with Vanilla RTW and Alexander):

If your playing BI and you are still having issues with lag in *huge* to medium battles,
try lowing the unit detail to medium (or Low), i've found that it acts the same (as I did experiments on this) as the high model detail for some reason but minus the lag, any thing further below medium and some models' textures will kinda clip and break, "slightly" (might just be with darthmod but who knows) , you could also try to also take off the other little add-on unit options like smoke trails and glints to help and if your still experiencing siege lag try also doing that trick same (but with, for the buildings details).

[Hayter]

2025 UPDATE:

Still works, Barbarian Invasion went from 20FPS to silky smooth.

Great guide!

[al Qamar]

Greetings Otto the download is bullet proof, alternatively I could have also post the file on pastebin or github. More likely pastebin for easy usage.

[Tzard Nickolas "The Lit" Romanov]

@al Qamar thank you, but I already have a fix for the preferences.txt (it's the first fix: that being under the 1st. chapter).

[Tzard Nickolas "The Lit" Romanov]

@al Qamar Thank you in both regards, I will do so, but I will admit, I didn't like that Hazard shilled his *own, personal* guide on here while claiming his to be far more simpler and calling this one "completely complex" when it's evident here at first glance, that I have compiled most of the fixes (and posted new ones) here on steam, ranging to both simple *to* complex.
but on a sidenote here: why post a download link for the (or your) preferences.txt file? and *why not* just tell people in the guide the full changes they would be doing to it?

[al Qamar]

eventually - remote related - this might be also interesting for those that still have a CDROM version
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2492014490

[al Qamar]

Hi Gigantus, Otto. This is an excellent guide! Well done.
You might want to add a chapter for the case it is not starting up at all but this migth conflict a bit with your first step. please double check if this fits for your thing.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=469123565
feel free Hazard and my old guide to include this in yours more comprehensive guide.

I believe the compat mode is no longer needed.
Thanks for your thoughts.

[Tzard Nickolas "The Lit" Romanov]

@HazardHawk I literally provide solutions ranging from complex to very simple fixes for problems within this guide, you can't call it "much more simple and nowhere near as complicated" then that or for those atleast...

[HazardHawk]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2311346335

Much more simple, lose no graphics effects, and nowhere near as complicated...

[Tzard Nickolas "The Lit" Romanov]

[DFTBA]don't ask Good, Good,

[don't ask]

I did the steam uninstall first, then deleted the rest, since the randomzier and some other stuff were still in there.