Following the discovery of another critical bug plaguing Total War Warhammer 3, a highly dedicated fan and prolific mod creator decided enough was enough, leaving a scathing negative review on a game he’d poured over 3,800 hours into. This naturally grabbed significant attention, prompting me to reach out and understand more. Randall Zaioczkowski, famously known as ‘Dead Baron,’ is a co-founder of the Skeleton Crew Modding team, celebrated for their numerous impressive contributions and fixes to the Total War series, especially TWW3. Despite his unwavering passion, he admits, “there have been so many issues I just couldn’t ignore” in recent years.
Randall confessed to me on Discord, “This all kind of blew up, to be honest. I didn’t think anyone would even read my review.” The immediate cause for his frustration was the latest development in Creative Assembly’s ongoing battle with its campaign AI in Total War Warhammer 3. The specific recruitment bug prevented computer-controlled factions from adequately filling their armies. As you can imagine, this completely undermines the challenge of a game typically regarded as one of the best strategy titles available.
Randall estimates his total playtime across the entire Total War series to be over 7,000 hours, with Three Kingdoms and Warhammer 3 accounting for the majority. “Three Kingdoms was my dream Total War,” he reminisces, “I adore the story and characters, I love Dynasty Warriors, and I own multiple editions of the books.” It was also here that he first ventured into mod creation: “I was inspired by other modders so I tried to replicate their style. Unit cards in mods always bothered me, so I aimed to mimic CA’s art style, and I honestly believe that’s partly what made my early mods popular.”
In more recent times, Randall began focusing on fixing visual glitches and other issues, diligently submitting reports to CA’s bug forum, detailing his methods. After revamping textures for Warhammer’s Empire faction, he even contacted Creative Assembly, offering his superior designs for free. However, his offer was declined. “I never expected them to accept the textures in the first place, but I thought it was worth a shot,” he explains. “I was never angry they said no. I wanted to improve the game for everyone. That’s why I offered to sign any agreements or contracts stating I wanted no compensation. I create mods purely as a hobby.”
Since that time, Randall has continued to meticulously update many older textures from the first Total War Warhammer games, ensuring they integrate seamlessly into the latest installment. He performs all the work himself, using Photoshop or Paint.net. “Initially, I experimented with AI upscaling, but the results weren’t satisfactory. So I simply reverted to taking their textures from Warhammer 1 and manually combining the Specular and Diffuse maps. I used Warhammer 1 as a reference for how they were originally intended to look.”
Randall painstakingly compared “almost every texture in Warhammer 1” against their TWW3 counterparts to pinpoint those needing attention. “Some textures looked perfectly fine and didn’t require replacement, while others appeared absolutely terrible.” All his enhanced creations are now widely available as Total War Warhammer 3 mods, inviting players to experience the improvements firsthand.
Some of Randall’s mods have previously sparked considerable discussion. For instance, Skullmuncha’s distinctive wyvern design from the original Total War Warhammer was notably absent in TWW3. When questioned, Creative Assembly stated they no longer had access to the file. “I simply took the model and textures from Warhammer 1, updated them for Warhammer 3, and with help from the community, set up the animation fixes,” Randall recounts. The official version was later corrected by CA in patch 4.2. He’s performed similar ‘quick fixes’ elsewhere, such as restoring missing lightning spark effects for Kholek Suneater: “I just copied the VFX from Warhammer 1 and they worked flawlessly.”
Given his profound affection for the game, I asked Randall when he felt things began to unravel. “My frustrations began with the DLC for Three Kingdoms and how they ceased support after hinting at the Northern Expansion DLC.” Despite this, he “remained optimistic, overlooked the issues, and even defended them in the Skeleton Crew Modding server I manage.” However, the problems resurfaced acutely with TWW3’s most infamous expansion, Shadows of Change. “That’s when I started to feel the shift, and since then, there have been so many issues I just couldn’t ignore any longer.”
He specifically highlights the infamous “prices have to rise” statement from former chief product officer Rob Bartholomew, who later departed CA in 2024, as a pivotal moment. “It felt insulting, like they were just telling us, ‘Shut up and buy the DLC,'” Randall recalls, feeling the message reflected how “higher-ups” perceived the community. “It reminded me of past bosses who didn’t care about my safety or concerns and just wanted the job done at any cost.”
Recently, Creative Assembly has increased its outreach efforts through developer videos and diaries, discussing upcoming content and patches, but Randall remains unconvinced. “I view them mostly as public image recovery tactics. It feels insincere. I want them to make these videos because they genuinely want to, and because they are proud to showcase their work.”
How does Randall feel about the DLC release schedule? “I don’t play all of them; I don’t have an interest in every faction. However, I appreciate that other people get content because they do play them.” While he doesn’t advocate pausing expansions for core fixes, he acknowledges that attempting both simultaneously “isn’t realistic, so I understand.” The real issue, he states, “is that it seems they’re pausing DLC development, yet still not fixing anything unless it sparks a major uproar in the community.”
While Randall isn’t “familiar with the intricacies of game development,” he has experience in QA (Quality Assurance) and considers it one of the most glaring problems facing Total War today. “In the game’s current state, I constantly ask myself, ‘Why wasn’t this caught in QA? This is unacceptable for release.’ They seem to only address issues when the community aggressively calls them out. I myself have a concise list of bugs on their forum that they’ve acknowledged and are supposedly investigating, yet multiple patches have been released without any resolutions.”
Despite his extensive modding efforts, Randall occasionally encourages people to play without mods to “better appreciate the game and the unique content modders create.” For newcomers to TWW3, he advises waiting until at least the persistent AI issues are resolved. “If the game isn’t functioning as intended right out of the box, without any mods, it could severely hurt the user experience. That’s something I feel I care more about than CA does. It’s about having fun; paying a lot of money for a broken game isn’t fun.”
While the Skeleton Crew Modding team has evolved since its inception, Randall expresses deep affection for his current collaborators and enjoys crafting “mods I believe would be fantastic additions to the game.” He places significant emphasis on aesthetics: “The visuals are the first thing that draws someone in. A stunning screenshot can make someone desperately want to play a game. If you have flawed models, textures, VFX, and other errors, your product looks poor. CA seems indifferent to visual issues; perhaps they’re more concerned with engine problems, or maybe they lack the time or manpower. I can’t say for certain. What I can say is that I don’t regret making the mods I did, and I would do it all again.”
“I love the series, I don’t hate the CA devs,” Randall stresses. “I don’t want anyone to think I’m doing this out of hatred or spite. I posted my review because I am frustrated. Many of us have been here through thick and thin, continuously supporting the game because we genuinely want it to improve. I truly believe there are many individuals within the company who aspire to make the game perfect, to satisfy the community. Nobody enjoys receiving negative feedback about their hard work.”
If you’re still a dedicated Total War enthusiast, we invite you to share your favorite titles in the series. As a veteran player myself, the simple magic of early Shogun and Rome campaigns will always hold a special place in my heart.