Posted June 23, 2024
Ave!
After struggling mightily to get Imperator: Rome working (along with Invictus and Terra Indomita mods) on Windows 7, I decided to write up this brief guide to help anyone else who may be experiencing hair-pulling difficulties. Your Mileage May Vary.
TL;DR Use Irony Mod Manager (it’s on GitHub). Also, depending on your Windows 7 account privileges, you may need to put the mod folders in the C drive and point Irony there instead.
A little longer explanation:
1: Get Irony Mod Manager (hereafter referred to as, ‘Irony’). Even if not using mods, this replaces the Paradox Launcher (which doesn’t even work on Win 7, rendering the game essentially unplayable). The last version of Irony that (supposedly) works with Win 7 is v1 25 161, but I’ve been using the latest version (as of 06/22/24 v1 26 181) with no issues. Also, I’ve been using the portable version, I just find it easier.
2: Install Imperator as usual.
3: As stated earlier, you may need to put the actual mod folders somewhere other than the usual recommendations found online. I have mine in C/ImperatorMods (clever, I know), when I put them in the usual .../Documents/Paradox Interactive/Imperator/mod/ folder, Irony could see the mod, but it wouldn’t “apply” it to the game. I think this has to do with Win 7 not allowing certain programs to access certain places?
3a: You may need to make sure the mod isn’t contained within a bunch of “extra” folders. For example, instead of “ModNameRelease/ModNameVersion123/ModName/*folders and files*”, just use “ModName/*folders and files*”
4: Find the Irony application, right-click and Send to Desktop (create shortcut) this will save time later. When launching it, I had to “Run as administrator” otherwise it would crash.
5: Launch Irony and do the following:
a. In the game dropdown, select Imperator Rome.
b. Open “options” and point Game Executable to wherever imperator exe is. (I think it should find what it needs automatically though, sometimes it uses dowser exe. You may need to experiment, I don't know the difference).
c. If you put the mods in C/ImperatorMods (or wherever) instead of Documents, delete the default entry under “Data Directory”.
d. Under “Custom Mod Directory” point it to C/ImperatorMods (or wherever). Exit the options menu.
e. Right-click the empty field under “Installed Mods” and click “Check New Mods” this should find the mods (if it didn’t already)
f. IMPORTANT You may have noticed the “Launch Game” button is grayed-out. This is because you have to make a new “Collection”. So click the + icon under “Collection Mods” on the right and make a new collection. Then you can add mods to it, or leave it empty and play vanilla. I’m not writing a guide on the intricacies of Irony (since I don’t know). Use Google.
g. If all went well, launch the game.
Odds ‘n Ends
To preemptively head-off all the “Just upgrade to Windows 10” intelligentsia:
Yes, I’m aware Windows 7 is no longer supported.
No, I don’t go online with it.
And that’s all the further I will go justifying myself to strangers on the internet.
This is my first time using Irony, playing Imperator, or using mods (today, actually!). I’m not the developer of any of these things, if these steps don’t work for you, try playing around with different settings/file locations/mods/Google, etc. I’m not an expert in any of this.
If you’re using an Administrator account you may not need to move the mods to a different folder, since you may have higher privileges. I’m not using my Administrator account so this may be why I needed to move them. I haven’t tested this, just a theory.
Please comment with any other tips and tricks that worked for you.
Good luck, have fun, love you, etc.
After struggling mightily to get Imperator: Rome working (along with Invictus and Terra Indomita mods) on Windows 7, I decided to write up this brief guide to help anyone else who may be experiencing hair-pulling difficulties. Your Mileage May Vary.
TL;DR Use Irony Mod Manager (it’s on GitHub). Also, depending on your Windows 7 account privileges, you may need to put the mod folders in the C drive and point Irony there instead.
A little longer explanation:
1: Get Irony Mod Manager (hereafter referred to as, ‘Irony’). Even if not using mods, this replaces the Paradox Launcher (which doesn’t even work on Win 7, rendering the game essentially unplayable). The last version of Irony that (supposedly) works with Win 7 is v1 25 161, but I’ve been using the latest version (as of 06/22/24 v1 26 181) with no issues. Also, I’ve been using the portable version, I just find it easier.
2: Install Imperator as usual.
3: As stated earlier, you may need to put the actual mod folders somewhere other than the usual recommendations found online. I have mine in C/ImperatorMods (clever, I know), when I put them in the usual .../Documents/Paradox Interactive/Imperator/mod/ folder, Irony could see the mod, but it wouldn’t “apply” it to the game. I think this has to do with Win 7 not allowing certain programs to access certain places?
3a: You may need to make sure the mod isn’t contained within a bunch of “extra” folders. For example, instead of “ModNameRelease/ModNameVersion123/ModName/*folders and files*”, just use “ModName/*folders and files*”
4: Find the Irony application, right-click and Send to Desktop (create shortcut) this will save time later. When launching it, I had to “Run as administrator” otherwise it would crash.
5: Launch Irony and do the following:
a. In the game dropdown, select Imperator Rome.
b. Open “options” and point Game Executable to wherever imperator exe is. (I think it should find what it needs automatically though, sometimes it uses dowser exe. You may need to experiment, I don't know the difference).
c. If you put the mods in C/ImperatorMods (or wherever) instead of Documents, delete the default entry under “Data Directory”.
d. Under “Custom Mod Directory” point it to C/ImperatorMods (or wherever). Exit the options menu.
e. Right-click the empty field under “Installed Mods” and click “Check New Mods” this should find the mods (if it didn’t already)
f. IMPORTANT You may have noticed the “Launch Game” button is grayed-out. This is because you have to make a new “Collection”. So click the + icon under “Collection Mods” on the right and make a new collection. Then you can add mods to it, or leave it empty and play vanilla. I’m not writing a guide on the intricacies of Irony (since I don’t know). Use Google.
g. If all went well, launch the game.
Odds ‘n Ends
To preemptively head-off all the “Just upgrade to Windows 10” intelligentsia:
Yes, I’m aware Windows 7 is no longer supported.
No, I don’t go online with it.
And that’s all the further I will go justifying myself to strangers on the internet.
This is my first time using Irony, playing Imperator, or using mods (today, actually!). I’m not the developer of any of these things, if these steps don’t work for you, try playing around with different settings/file locations/mods/Google, etc. I’m not an expert in any of this.
If you’re using an Administrator account you may not need to move the mods to a different folder, since you may have higher privileges. I’m not using my Administrator account so this may be why I needed to move them. I haven’t tested this, just a theory.
Please comment with any other tips and tricks that worked for you.
Good luck, have fun, love you, etc.
Post edited June 23, 2024 by Every-body