First, Download KGCM (along with patch 4.2 and 4.3) from Moddb http://moddbhttps://www.moddb.com/mods/kingdoms-grand-campaign-mod-patch-41 ,(Trust me here on this from experience, that it is an absolute ♥♥♥♥♥-and-a-half to set up the base game files by itself to allow modding by *itself, in the whole* as it is uncleaned and just messy. so if you want an easier time and a *lot* and I mean a LOT less headaches in the future, just use KGCM since A) You can Mod it from the get-go/start without doing the set-up for the base game for vanilla and B) it's texture file (and pretty much every file in it), is the cleanest *one* out there mod wise ( and base game wise too lmao) and in my humble opinion, is also the most *easiest* of them all to understand for a beginner once you know what the ♥♥♥♥ you are doing and finally C) it has 90% of the dlcs (excluding Americas) incorporated into it *nearly* flawlessly
unlike the base game (or really any mod out there to this date, both with the install AND playability factor flawless(ly)ness). ((So much so that you have to be a complete brain-drooling moron to ♥♥♥♥ *that* up)) so your getting "more bang, for your buck" so to say.

In the guide changed coding will be represented like this hre and so on.......

(Disclaimer, here!: ALWAYS BACK-UP YOUR BLOODY DAM ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ FILE(S) FOR CHRIST SAKE'S PLEASE BACK THEM UP AND *ALWAYS* HAVE DUPLICATES OF DONE WORK), Don't blame me and lash-out at me, Because*YOU* completely ♥♥♥♥♥♥ your game up because your a 110% *complete* ♥♥♥♥♥♥ and didn't do/forgot to back-up your files or your work that you did, You Dumb, Inbred, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥,Braindead, Git!, You know who you ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ are! Go back to bashing stones together in a cave or something!

Secondly, you want to focus in on a couple of files-

The export_descr_unit, export_descr_buildings, ui, and The battle_models.modeldb file(s)

The export_descr_unit- It controls the unit's stats, attributes (ie if it's extra durable or what not)
and most importantly the unit's faction ownership (ie Say were doing .....
oh I don't know.....Oh I have one!: The Flemish Pikemen!
say you want to give The HRE: Flemish Pikemen because they already start
with Utrecht, right so the (vanilla) KGCM it would only label them only under
slave like this:

ownership slave,

so now you would want to do this, for them to be owned by the HRE:

ownership slave, hre,

and that's pretty much (definitely) the export_descr_unit done.

Thirdly. now on to the export_descr_buildings file, This is where the unit (The Flemish Pikemen) you want will be produced in a *specific* building

say for example you want the (The Flemish Pikemen) to be trained form the first barracks in the game, (there is no Flemish Pikemen recruitment line anywhere, since they were not originally in vanilla KGCM) ((or fun fact in vanilla Med 2 aswell))

So here is my line which I used and created to make mine, as for an example:

recruit_pool "Flemish Pikemen" 1 0.4 3 0 requires factions { hre, } , which I placed

under the last existing one like this: recruit_pool "Welsh Militiamen" 1 0.4 2 0 requires factions { wales, }

recruit_pool "Town Militia" 1 0.4 2 0 requires factions { england, scotland, france, hre,
denmark, spain, portugal, norway, }
recruit_pool "Order Militia" 1 0.4 2 0 requires factions { teutonic_order, }
recruit_pool "Syrian Militia" 1 0.4 2 0 requires factions { jerusalem, antioch, }
recruit_pool "Italian Militia" 1 0.4 2 0 requires factions { milan, venice, papal_states,
sicily, }
recruit_pool "EE Town Militia" 1 0.4 2 0 requires factions { poland, lithuania, hungary, }
recruit_pool "EE Archer Militia" 1 0.4 2 0 requires factions { russia, }
recruit_pool "SE Town Militia" 1 0.4 2 0 requires factions { byzantium, }
recruit_pool "ME Town Militia" 1 0.4 2 0 requires factions { moors, turks, mongols,
timurids, }
recruit_pool "Ceitherne" 1 0.4 2 0 requires factions { ireland, }
recruit_pool "al Ashair" 1 0.2 1 0 requires factions { egypt, }
recruit_pool "Theigns" 1 0.4 3 0 requires factions { hre, england, denmark, }
recruit_pool "Flemish Pikemen" 1 0.4 3 0 requires factions { hre, }

(Note make sure that it is squared up and center with the "recruit_pool" part, that if you want the unit to spawn in the other infantry barracks you *MUST* repeat what you just did for *all* of them, and finally must always include the , after the faction-name like { hre, } )

Fourthly, *On-to* the texture file!, (Okay so now, buckle the ♥♥♥♥ up, kiddo were going through heartbreak city, itself where *Real* Men live or die by the code and ♥♥♥♥ is getting real and real fast!)

okay so now we are doing the battle_models.model.db file. (aka also known and as what I like to call the model.DeBitch file)

The battles_model.db is the unit textures file (it gives the textures to the assigned unit, without it your gunna get "sliver-surfer" units that look like the sliver surfer himself because they don't have their texture added by default, so *you* have to add it yourself (note Horses have different texture lines/skins and are separate to infantry skins like we just did here. while the game can run without them (and if you did the infantry part), the infantry man on the horse will have his "skin", the horse sadly won't and will be a silver-surfer model and won't have the colors(or skin), or really anything else, it's really preferred that you do both if handling Calvary units!)

okay so the vanilla one will somewhat look like this:

15 flemish_pikemen
4
59 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/flemish_pikemen_lod0.mesh 121
59 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/flemish_pikemen_lod1.mesh 900
59 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/flemish_pikemen_lod2.mesh 2500
59 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/flemish_pikemen_lod3.mesh 6400
1
5 slave
72 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_rebels.texture
72 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_normal.texture
45 unit_sprites/slave_Flemish_Pikemen_sprite.spr r
1
5 slave
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_slave_diff.texture
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_slave_norm.texture 0
0
4 None
9 MTW2_Pike
15 MTW2_Non_Shield 1
17 MTW2_Pike_primary 1
18 MTW2_Sword_Primary

now the tricky part (excuse the top part if I didn't include (merc) above. I deleted that since I thought merc flem's were a completely different unit entry altogether. but they weren't so oops I guess?) ((I originally thought that since it is like that in the ui file but it isn't that here after reviewing my KCGM file of it as it has mercs with that unit as a whole unit differently then in the texture file, my apologies on that))

15 flemish_pikemen
1
4
59 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/flemish_pikemen_lod0.mesh 121
59 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/flemish_pikemen_lod1.mesh 900
59 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/flemish_pikemen_lod2.mesh 2500
59 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/flemish_pikemen_lod3.mesh 6400
3
5 slave
72 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_rebels.texture
72 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_normal.texture
45 unit_sprites/slave_Flemish_Pikemen_sprite.spr
4 merc
71 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_mercs.texture
72 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_normal.texture
44 unit_sprites/merc_Flemish_Pikemen_sprite.spr
3 hre
71 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_mercs.texture
72 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_normal.texture
44 unit_sprites/merc_Flemish_Pikemen_sprite.spr
3
5 slave
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_slave_diff.texture
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_slave_norm.texture
0
4 merc
65 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_merc_diff.texture
65 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_merc_norm.texture
0
3 hre
65 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_merc_diff.texture
65 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_merc_norm.texture
0
1
4 None
9 MTW2_Pike
15 MTW2_Non_Shield
1

okay I know this is a lot to indulge so i'll break its back an inch by inch, a part, by piece for you all to understand
(Vanilla KCGM)

2
5 slave
72 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_rebels.texture
72 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_normal.texture
45 unit_sprites/slave_Flemish_Pikemen_sprite.spr
4 merc
71 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_mercs.texture
72 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_normal.texture
44 unit_sprites/merc_Flemish_Pikemen_sprite.spr
2

(my KGCM modded version)
3
3
5 slave
72 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_rebels.texture
72 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_normal.texture
45 unit_sprites/slave_Flemish_Pikemen_sprite.spr
4 merc
71 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_mercs.texture
72 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_normal.texture
44 unit_sprites/merc_Flemish_Pikemen_sprite.spr
3 hre
71 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_mercs.texture
72 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_normal.texture
44 unit_sprites/merc_Flemish_Pikemen_sprite.spr3


See what I did there? I added an extra entry:
3 hre
71 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_mercs.texture
72 unit_models/_Units/LN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/LN_Lmail_Hmail_normal.texture
44 unit_sprites/merc_Flemish_Pikemen_sprite.spr3

then replaced the 2's with 3's since I added a new entry

now attachments- (vanilla KGCM)
5 slave
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_slave_diff.texture
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_slave_norm.texture
0
4 merc
65 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_merc_diff.texture
65 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_merc_norm.texture
0
1

(My Modded KGCM version)
5 slave
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_slave_diff.texture
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_slave_norm.texture
0
4 merc
65 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_merc_diff.texture
65 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_merc_norm.texture
0
3 hre
65 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_merc_diff.texture
65 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_merc_norm.texture
0
1

again see what I did there?

3 hre
65 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_merc_diff.texture
65 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final European Light_merc_norm.texture 0
1

I added the extra entry, so when I did that I had to add an extra 0 on the bottom of the code line and above the one, to make the game realize that it is in fact a new entry.

Finally now go to the ui file, it's in data where you will see both (units) and (unit_info)
thats the files you want!

but first go to your data in the medieval 2 file itself (not the KGCM's one) to get both of them

See I picked a unique unit, since the merc unit card (the unit file itself) doesnt work so go to the file marked as slave or slaves and pick out that one and place it in units in The KGCM's (ui) unit file.

(Note remember the hashtag is the unit card and the non-hashtag one is unit info!)


(I would also like in advance to truly and *genuinely* thank everyone, for taking the effort to read my guide! I do hope it has helped you all!)

First off I would like to apologize for not talking about *Vanilla* Med 2 enough (as it is admittedly different to KGCM) so here:

in steam right-click on medieval 2 in the library, then select properties then after that select "set launch options" then in the command box which pops up type in this: --io.file_first

to be able to change the base game's files without it constantly resetting your work you've just done everytime.

(and secondly I would like to apologize for my horrific grammar at some parts ((and now)) during the beginning and course of the guide, i've been suffering with almost disorienting severe constant migraines and it makes it almost hard to focus at-all when I write)

(edit: What you could also do or alternatively do is you could go to
https://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?352216-Creating-a-World-Bare-Geomod instead of what I have said to do, if you want)

((More info on it: This is a resource mod to allow modders to use vanilla (but also patched) Med2 without the, *as the germans would say here: Ze Scheize Hund* outta the process))

(((also don't forget to download the actual original tool too while you are at it, the link is on the Bare Geomod mod page of which I just linked up top)))

((((Special Shout-out and big ups here to @Gigantus for putting up with both my pure autism and retardation at times, he's pretty gud and oh for creating bare geomod too.....)))). ;)