UPDATE (2016/08/22): Since this is such a popular post and is still one of the top results for how to install the mod, here are the updated instructions:
If you, like me, bought the game from macgamestore.com way back in the day, they’re no longer updating the game for whatever reason. Thankfully, if you go into your purchase history, they give you a Steam key that you can redeem on Steam for the latest version of Crusader Kings II. Now onto the instructions:
Step | Action |
---|---|
1 | After you uninstall the MacGameStore version of the game (if applicable), then install the Steam version, run it for the first time so that it recreates the Paradox Interactive folder in your Documents folder then quit the game. |
2 | Download the latest version of the mod from here (make sure to download the Zipped Files version) and make sure to take note of which version number of the CK2 game it’s compatible with. That should match for consistent results.
You can find out which version of CK2 you have installed in the game’s launcher: |
3 | In Finder, go to YOUR-USER/Documents/Paradox Interactive/Crusader Kings II/ and create a folder called A Game of Thrones and another folder called mod. |
4 | Unzip the A Game of Thrones folder and the A Game of Thrones.mod file from the ZIP you downloaded into the newly-created mod folder. |
5 | Run the game and select A Game of Thrones in the mod panel of the launcher. |
6 | Rule. |
Note: This entry does not relate to art or design, in the traditional sense of my site. I am writing this to help others that have run into similar problems.
Background
If you’re like me, you might have heard about the game Crusader Kings II through Penny Arcade TV’s Extra Credits show in an episode called Games You Might Not Have Tried #4 and you might have thought, “hm, that looks like a really neat Civilization-type strategy game with a pretty rich story…” But then the narrator said, “Game of Thrones mod…” and you were hooked.
Now, as a primarily console-based gamer, I have to take deep breaths when I hear about a cool PC game because odds are that it won’t work on my Mac, but luckily, in this case, Crusader Kings II is available for PC and Mac, so I went ahead and bought my copy from the Mac Game Store. I downloaded my copy of the Game of Thones mod here, but you can do a quick Google search for the latest version if you’re reading this post months after I wrote it.
Because I purchased my copy of Crusader Kings II through the Mac Game Store, it was a direct download and all I had to do to install the game was drag the app from the .dmg file to my Applications folder. This is where the trouble starts, if you bought the game to play the Game of Thrones mod.
The issue
After figuring out where to put the mod, when launching the game and selecting the mod, the game crashes instantly. This is because the path specified in A Game of Thones.mod doesn’t point to the actual folder with all of the mod’s resources like it should.
The 5 minute solution
It turns out, this isn’t an incompatibility between the mod and the Mac version of the game, it’s an issue with a directory in the A Game of Thones.mod file itself, which was developed by a team who had assumed the mod would be used by a PC user and hadn’t been able to test it on a Mac. Here are my step-by-step instructions on how to get the mod working on your Mac in less than 5 minutes:
Steam users: If you bought your copy of Crusader Kings II through Steam, I’ve added steps to the instructions below to get the mod working for you as well. There may be a few extra and unnecessary steps, but I recommend you follow them all because as inelegant as they may seem, they work. Follow the steps as written originally unless you see a Steam heading below the original step.Note: The Steam portion of this guide was made in collaboration with my commenters. As I don’t own the Steam version, I can’t test these steps personally, but they have worked for others. If you find a way to optimize them at all, comment and let me know.– Steven
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