In the midst of a significant bug affecting Total War: Warhammer 3, a dedicated mod creator and long-time player has voiced his frustrations through a negative review of the game, despite having invested over 3,800 hours into it. This unexpected move has drawn considerable attention within the gaming community, prompting a deeper exploration into the motivations behind it.
Insights from a Passionate Modder
Randall Zaioczkowski, who is widely recognized in the modding community as ‘Dead Baron,’ co-founded the Skeleton Crew Modding team, known for its impressive contributions to the Total War series, particularly TWW3. Although he remains a fervent admirer of the franchise, he candidly admits, “there have been so many issues I just couldn’t ignore” in recent years.
Randall shared his thoughts during a conversation via Discord, revealing that the catalyst for his review was a persistent problem with the campaign AI, specifically a recruitment bug causing certain factions to fail to fill their armies when controlled by the computer. This flaw detracts from the otherwise stellar reputation of the Total War series as one of the premier strategy games available on PC.
With a staggering total playtime exceeding 7,000 hours across the Total War series, Randall’s favorites include Three Kingdoms and Warhammer 3. He recalls, “Three Kingdoms was my dream Total War; I love the whole story and characters.” His journey into modding began with inspiration from fellow modders and a desire to enhance the visual aspects of the game. “I wanted to try to emulate CA’s art style, and I honestly think that is part of what made my early mods popular,” he explained.
Over the years, Randall has focused on rectifying visual errors and submitting his findings to Creative Assembly’s bug report forum. After enhancing textures for Total War: Empire, he reached out to CA, offering his improved designs at no cost, but was met with a polite decline. “I never expected them to accept the textures in the first place, but I thought it was worth a shot,” he said, emphasizing his desire to improve the game for all players.
Randall has since dedicated himself to updating textures from earlier entries in the Total War Warhammer series to ensure compatibility with the latest installment. His meticulous approach involves using tools like Photoshop and Paint.net, as well as referencing textures from the first Warhammer game to create visually appealing mods. “I compared almost every texture in Warhammer 1 to their TWW3 equivalents to determine which ones required work,” he noted.
His contributions have not gone unnoticed, with some of his mods sparking notable discussions within the community. For instance, he revived the unique wyvern design from the first Total War: Warhammer, which was absent in TWW3, by updating the model and textures and collaborating with fellow modders for animation fixes. This effort was later acknowledged by CA in a subsequent patch.
Reflecting on the trajectory of the franchise, Randall pinpointed the DLC for Three Kingdoms as a turning point, leading to a decline in support for the game. Despite his frustrations, he maintained a positive outlook and defended the developers in his modding community until the issues became too pronounced to overlook, particularly with the release of the Shadows of Change expansion.
One of the most contentious moments for Randall was the infamous statement from CA’s chief product officer regarding rising prices, which he found particularly disheartening. “It felt insulting, like they were just telling us, ‘Shut up and buy the DLC,'” he remarked, expressing concern over how the company’s leadership perceives its community.
While there have been recent efforts from CA to engage with players through developer videos and updates, Randall remains skeptical. “I see them mostly as just public image recovery. It feels hollow,” he stated, emphasizing the need for genuine communication and transparency from the developers.
When discussing the rollout of DLC, Randall acknowledged the importance of content for various factions but expressed concern over the balance between new expansions and core fixes. “It seems like they are putting a hold on the DLC and not fixing anything either unless it blows up in the community,” he observed.
Despite his extensive experience with modding, Randall encourages players to occasionally experience the game without mods to appreciate its original content. He advises new players to wait until the ongoing AI issues are resolved, as a broken game can significantly detract from the user experience. “It’s about having fun; paying a lot of money for a game that is broken isn’t fun,” he asserted.
As the Skeleton Crew Modding team evolves, Randall expresses gratitude for his current collaborators and continues to create mods he believes enhance the game. He values the visual aspects of gaming, understanding their impact on attracting players. “If you have broken models, textures, VFX, and other errors, it makes your product look bad,” he explained, noting that CA may be prioritizing engine issues over visual quality.
Randall’s passion for the Total War series remains unwavering, and he clarifies that his critical review stems from a place of frustration rather than animosity. “I love the series; I don’t hate the CA devs,” he emphasized. “A lot of us have been here through everything, still supporting the game because we want it to be better.” His commitment to the community and the game is evident, as he continues to advocate for improvements while cherishing the experiences that have shaped his journey as a modder.
