Good day, commanders! It’s been about a week since we updated you about the team’s current work plan, so we wanted to drop back in here with some inside insight into where we’re at as we continue to prioritize and package fixes for our next patch. Note that this is far from the
*comprehensive* roadmap many of you are looking for right now, but don’t worry: that will come later on as we’re able to shift our focus from establishing a strong baseline to adding future content to the game. Rather, we want to highlight our focus on the game’s foundation (right now), talk about some of the worst issues impacting certain players (and what they can do while they’re waiting), and when you can expect changes to the game in the near (and near-ish) future!
Patch 1.0.2 Timeline
First off, the big question:
when can we expect the next update? The team is working hard on our next small patch, which is targeting fixes at the most disruptive issues reported since the game’s release:
- ALT+Tab Stability: Accounting for a majority of our crash reports, the ALT+Tab crash is the primary issue under investigation. While we have a fix in testing, the complexity of the issue requires a substantial amount of review to ensure it doesn’t break anything else in the game. So, while we very much hope to include it in the next build, the results of our testing will determine whether it is safe to do so or whether it is held until the next-next update.
- Unintended V-Sync Lock: Some users have noted that in certain circumstances, their game framerate will be capped at a low number regardless of their hardware capabilities. We’re working on a fix to make V-Sync behave if you want to flex on the game.
- Further Alderlake Improvements: Windows 11 and Windows 10 users should no longer see performance stuttering related to their 12th generation Intel processors.
- Battle Desyncs: Some players have desyncs during multiplayer battles. That’s bad, so we’re working to fix that up.
- Issues when the game is installed to a path using non-ASCII/non-English characters: In this scenario, the game would crash upon booting. Players encountering this issue will now receive a warning message so the game can be moved to a supported location only using English characters.
The list may look short, but introduces numerous fixes for complex issues in the underlying code of the game. This is a scary business, since making a change to one area of code—to the systems that make the game run or ensure that other code runs properly—can have a ripple effect into those other systems and mechanics. Think of it like trying to remove a single stick from the middle of a pile of sticks without moving them… It’s often difficult, if not impossible.
With that in mind, our teams are testing the build thoroughly for any unforeseen impacts of the changes. The goal? To release a stable build for the game next week—currently targeting
March 10—but with the foreknowledge that we may hold it until
March 17 to ensure that it doesn’t introduce any
worse problems into the game than what we’re aiming to fix. We will keep you informed of the timeline as things solidify, and encourage you to check out our ongoing list of
known issues and workarounds if you’re experiencing any of them right now.
Game Crashes and Stability
Ensuring you’re able to play the game is our foremost focus, and we are continuing to work towards implementing fixes for the worst of the game crashes you’ve either brought to our attention on the forum or—with massive thanks to those who have done so—sent along with diagnostic files to our
support team!
Crashes can emerge due to a range of factors: including conflicts within the game’s code to issues with the hardware or software programs of the player’s computer. This is why we recommend running through (at minimum) these basic troubleshooting steps if you’re encountering issues:
- Ensure you have downloaded all the latest Windows Updates. You may need to reboot your PC and run through them a few times to make sure you have all the latest files.
- Ensure you've downloaded the latest Graphics Driver update for your card. Make sure you visit the website of your card’s manufacturer to download and install the latest updates.
- Close out of or disable any/all background programs—especially peripheral and gaming hubs. Specifically, issues have been found when running Razer Cortex and Citrix.
- Add WARHAMMER III as an exception to your antivirus and firewall. This will ensure that these programs are not interfering with your ability to launch and play the game.
And, of course, if none of those solutions work, we want to hear from you to see what we can learn about the problem! There may be a factor we’ve not considered, and
contacting us may not only result in a solution for you, but for others experiencing the issue, as well!
Gameplay Issues
Beyond the initial issues we’re working to solve, we’ve also been keeping track of all your commentary about the gameplay, balance, siege battles, the journey into the Chaos Realms, how auto-battles are resolved, and all the other aspects of the game you love,
maybe-less-than-love, or would like to see updated/altered in the future. We’ve been reading, listening, and taking notes—particularly those of you who have taken the time to explain the problem, how it impacts your play, and including constructive ideas where we can improve that experience. These posts are illuminating as we look to understand and improve improving a system in the game. So, to all of you: THANK YOU for setting a high bar; your contributions haven’t gone unnoticed…
To the point at hand: for all the gameplay concerns and feedback you’ve been providing, we’ve been pulling together lists and planning out the first big gameplay balance and bug-fix patch scheduled for
early next month. It’ll take time to come up with the full list of what will show up in the release, but we’ll let you know more exact details as we get closer; stay tuned!
On the subject of Denuvo...
Another divisive topic of discussion we’ve noticed is in regards to
Denuvo. While the team is *extensively* testing the product to determine its full impact on the game, there are a few misconceptions that have been presented as evidence that we would like to clear up:
- Denuvo was included in press and content creator review builds. Why their performance was impacted post-launch is something we are actively working to understand, but the program was not purposefully omitted and then later added for the sake of the reviews.
- Denuvo has been a part of previous Total War titles. This does not absolve it of any potential issues it is causing (which, as mentioned, we will continue to work to determine), but it is also not a new technology to the series. If it is causing problems now, there may be some other factor at the heart of the problem that you/we can explore together.
- The impact of Denuvo on performance is not yet conclusive. Many players have presented evidence both ways, and there are likely to be many factors that weigh into the conversation. When we are confident in our results, we will make a call at that time.
With all of that in mind, we would ask that you be patient as we seek out answers in the matter. Calling for its removal and derailing otherwise constructive discussion threads is both disruptive and rarely adds any new or helpful information to the conversation at hand. As such, we’ll be treating any off-topic comments about the technology as spam (per the
Steam posting guidelines)—issuing warnings as we work to provide a space for our players to have healthy, constructive, and (of course) critical discussions about the game.
There are plenty of threads where you can continue to discuss the topic, but wielding it as a weapon of disruption is something we will be working to discourage.
Patch Downloads on Steam
Finally, we’ve also heard your feedback about the last update on Steam, which was only a few gigabytes but required a full and lengthy unpack of all the game files. In an effort to improve this experience, we’ve kicked off an investigation with the hope of preventing this issue from affecting future builds.
The good news is that this only impacts the
unpacking of the game, which means that you’re not having to download any additional information beyond the initial patch. So, be patient, let it run, and we’ll see what we can do to make things better in the future!
Wrapping Up!
We know that the first weeks after a game’s release can be bumpy, and we are continuing to listen, report, and represent your voice over here at Creative Assembly. We’ll be here on the forum to answer your questions, solve problems, and share information as we learn more, and appreciate everyone helping to communicate and build this community that will last for years to come!
More to come! For now, we’ll see you on the battlefield!
—The Total War Team
