This mod improves framerates by removing small details from existing tiles. This mod should allow the game to run on lower-end PCs as well.

There are two versions included in this mod: Medium and Low. If you don't want to sacrifice appearance but want a little extra performance, use the Medium tiles. If you don't care about appearance and just want as much performance increase as you can get, use the Low tiles.

For Medium, the details removed are mostly unnoticeable unless you zoom in a lot. If you like zooming in and seeing all the little details, then do not install this mod (either version).

For Low, the details removed are quite noticeable (sometimes more than others). These tiles can make the game look a lot more bland than usual, but should give you a much more significant boost in performance. They're not so reduced that you can't tell what they are by looking, though (except in the case of some buildings, but who could really do that before?).

I have modified nearly all of the existing tiles (some didn't need it).

Do note that this mod only affects the details of tiles. It does not affect units. I don't even know how to edit unit models.

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To install this mod, extract the .zip file, and copy the Core Tiles folder from either Medium or Low to your ..\FE Legendary Heroes\data\English\ folder, and overwrite the files. Please note that, because the tiles are saved in your save games, these changes will not affect any games you currently have in progress, so you will not see the changes until you start a new game.

To uninstall this mod, extract the included backup file to the same folder, and overwrite the files.

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Further optimizing your Fallen Enchantress experience:

If you are attempting to gain higher framerates, or cool the oven that is your computer, there are a few in-game options that you should change.

Disable the following: Other Outlines, Pedestrians, Dynamic Shadows, Anti-Aliasing, Sytlized Lighting (Advanced Options). Optionally, disable Character Outlines, but I prefer to keep this one on because it helps to see units in the Strategic view. You can also disable Particle Effects if you're desperate, but I wouldn't. They have too many practical purposes. Many of the purely aesthetic particle effects have been disabled by this mod.

Also, in Advanced Options, set the Max Texture Size as high as it will go, and set Amount of Groundcover to None.


If you just want to reduce the heat your computer puts out while playing, a framerate limiter is highly recommended. Your video card may have come with one, installed with the drivers.

For nVidia users, I recommend using nVidiainspector. It allows framerate limiting on a per-program basis without any need for a program to be actively running (it sets the framerate limit in the registry). There are links and instructions at the bottom of this readme. I don't know what options ATI users have, but I know they have them.

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Changes in v2.0 Final

Both Medium and Low detail tiles are now included. I actually changed more tiles for Low detail than I did for Medium detail, since I figured anyone wanting to use the Low detail tiles were desperate for framerates (or maybe you just like minimalism). Pretty much all of the tiles I didn't do for Medium were just rare tiles that you might not even see in a game, or you'd only see once.

Because I actually bothered to go through all the tiles in the game for Low, there will not be any more versions. Unlike for Medium, I decided not to stagger version releases for Low. I just waited until I was completely finished.

Also in this version of this very file are tips for settings to use to improve performance, and recommendations for framerate limiting. That's good stuff.

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Changes in v1.0 Medium

Modified additional tiles. I'm not sure how many are done now. There's only a few "build" tiles and some of the more rare tiles that haven't been touched yet. Also replaced many tree trunks with simpler ones.

I'm considering this version to be completed, even though there are a few tiles I could still touch up (it wouldn't make a noteable performance difference, though), and I'm also naming it "Medium". The idea here is that the normal tiles are "High" detail, and this mod is "Medium" detail.

The next version I release will include a "Low" detail version. For the Low version, I will revisit all of the tiles I've already edited and remove more details. This will result in more significant of performance increases, however they will come at the cost of actually being noticeable (at least, for the most part). The Medium and Low versions will be distributed together, and you'll just pick which one you want to install after you've downloaded it.

Please note that any games you started with a prior version will not be affected by changes in v1.0, since save games store all the tiles used for some reason.

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Changes in v0.2

Modified additional tiles, bringing the total to over 800 tiles modified. Re-modified some forest tiles to remove tree trunks that are hard to see. Tried to make some of the swamp tiles more obviously swamp tiles (swamps are kind of hard to notice sometimes).

Please note that any games you started with v0.1 will not be affected by changes in v0.2, since save games store all the tiles used for some reason.


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nVidia Inspector instructions:

For nVidia Inspector, you will need two components, both of which are linked here:
nVidia Inspector: http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/nvidia_inspector_download.html
CustomSettingName: http://darkseam.com/fe/CustomSettingNames_en-EN.rar

Extract both to the same folder. The CustomSettingName is needed to enable the framerate limit option in nVidia Inspector. You can find it elsewhere, but my copy has more framerate options (you can add your own by editing the XML).

Once you've opened nVidia Inpsector, click the Wrench X Scredriver button (next to driver version). After a short pause, it will open another window.

Initially you can set the default options for all programs, but you can add other programs with their own, independent settings. Click the Sun button near the top to create a new profile for Legendary Heroes.

Once created, click the button that looks like a tiny window with an A in it and a + in the bottom-right corner. This will allow you to add the program to the profile.

Browse to the .exe file (for Steam users, that would be in the ..\Program Files (X86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\[game title]).

Now that you've told it what program you're setting, scroll down to the bottom and look for Frame Rate Limiter (in the Other section).

Double-click on Off under the SettingValue column. This will allow you to pick what you want the maximum framerate to be. For me, the lowest framerate that doesn't bother me is 17. You might think that's low, but keep in mind it's a turn-based game. You really don't need a lot of FPS for it. However, going too low might give you a headache when the camera's moving around.

Once you've chosen your framerate, click Apply Changes in the upper-right corner (green checkmark).

That's it! Next time you open Fallen Enchantress, it will run at the setting specified. Unless, of course, you aren't using an nVidia GPU, in which case you've just done something useless.

There are pre-made profiles for many games, and you can always add others. One note about Skyrim, because it took me a while to figure it out, is that if you set the FPS to lower than 32, it will affect load times dramatically. I don't know why, but 32 is the magic number there. I'm just letting you know in case you give it a go, because it took me a while to figure it out myself. I haven't had any games other than Skyrim do this. Otherwise, 30 FPS is a nice global value to use.