Open Letter to Roger Collum — Vice President of Total War

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25 days ago
Jun 13, 2025, 4:28:25 PM

Dear Mr. Roger Collum,

First of all, allow me to congratulate Creative Assembly and the entire Total War team on 25 years of a journey that has forever changed the strategy genre. I have been a fan of this franchise since my very first steps into strategy gaming, and I am proud to say that, like many others, I have witnessed Total War evolve from Shogun to its most recent titles. These games have given me countless hours of immersion, memorable battles, and historic moments that have become some of my fondest gaming memories. Recently, it was heartening to see CA acknowledge some past missteps and even gift the community Total War: PHARAOH DYNASTIES. This gesture rekindled hope that the relationship between the studio and its fanbase can once again be built on mutual trust.


However, I write this letter not only as a passionate fan, but also as a consumer who, in some ways, feels left behind. Fantastic games such as Total War: Three Kingdoms, Attila, and TROY still have unresolved issues that deserve attention. Three Kingdoms was a milestone of innovation and a clear success, yet its support was ended abruptly, leaving fans without the promising additional content and crucial fixes we were hoping for... Attila, meanwhile, still struggles with performance and optimization issues to this day, making it difficult for many players to fully enjoy one of the franchise’s richest settings. And TROY, with its unique approach to blending mythology and history, was also abandoned after its final DLC — despite promises that it would receive further support “if needed,” which clearly is still needed. See my thread: https://community.creative-assembly.com/total-war/total-war-legacy/forums/34-troy/threads/1127-we-still-need-a-final-patch


I understand that a company must always look to the future and continue to innovate, but I also believe that respecting the fanbase and the legacy built over these 25 years must include taking care of what has already been released. We humbly ask you to revisit these beloved titles and at least provide final updates to address major technical issues, improve performance, and deliver the polished experience these games deserve.


This request is not a shout of complaint but a heartfelt appeal from someone who loves Total War and wants to see the brand remain strong, innovative, and, above all, respected by its community. Celebrating 25 years of history is also about honoring every title that brought Creative Assembly to where it is today — and nothing could be more symbolic than ensuring that each chapter in this saga received the care it deserves. Thank you sincerely for your time and attention. Like many other fans, I hope to continue celebrating not only the future of Total War but also the dignity and quality that this franchise stands for.


With respect and admiration,
Ulfhedinn_
A devoted Total War player and fan.

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14 days ago
Jun 24, 2025, 1:17:26 PM

​Hi there!

 

I'd like to share our thanks for your letter, along with this response from Roger Collum:


Heya, this is Roger. I just wanted to say hi and thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to post and I wanted to let you know that our older titles are so important to me too!   I have been prodding and exploring a few things in this space and while I can’t make any promises today, I wanted you to know you are absolutely not shouting into the void! Thanks for being a fan.  

Rog  

CA-Pingu

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14 days ago
Jun 24, 2025, 5:25:12 PM

Oh, Roger Collum, thank you again for your time and attention.
Please, be sure to check out my thread: We still need a final patch in TROY!

I started this "demand" with TROY because it is literally a masterpiece, a gem that can be polished even further, a title that truly embodies the SAGA scope of the Total War series and was still recent enough to have a final patch. This support had been promised, but unfortunately it was not fulfilled. I then took the initiative to compile some things that we would like to see fixed or added to the game. Here I will put the core of what I believe would be essential in the FINAL PATCH:

  • In terms of campaign gameplay, we need an improvement in AI, anti-palyer bias needs to be completely reworked: this behavior should be attributed to the antagonist and only him. Memnon, when not controlled by the player, should have his appearance in the campaign moved and delayed: his arrival in the campaign should then begin in Anatolia, above the city of Myra. Fix the Ajax issue where he is not marked as "unique" (while Teucer has been) in start pos file, so AI always replace him as main hero. Razed settlements must have a cooldown before they can be recolonized again.
  • In terms of battle gameplay, we need an improvement in AI, matched combat for regular units, battle formations and the fire feature that was added in PHARAOH. Come on, battles in TROY are also infantry focused and the destruction of cities like Mycenae and Troy by fire should have been a thing from the beginning! Destructible walls would also add a lot to the game, cyclopes that throw rocks or even Zeus's lightning bolt could play a role in this even with the lack of siege equipment of the period.
  • In terms of modding, we need fixes and expanded Creation Kit capabilities to access all the tiles maps, edit the campaign map, make mounted flying units, etc. TROY was supposed to be the most moddable game ever! But even processing of custom unit assets through BoB was "broken" after some update...
  • In terms of 2D and UI, we need an improvement in some unit cards and the fix of flames that do not set properly on the pyres when a Milestone is unlocked in Amazon Kingdom mechanics.
  • In terms of models, we need an improvement in the various clipping issues with items often not fitting certain bodies and the fix of Hector's armour textures which had their quality lowered, along with his spear, which became very thin after the R&M DLC.
  • Other important issues that need fixes: Missing buildings available to AI, which even results in unique units that will never be recruited in campaign. Flanking penalties to whole units by a single enemy model walking close enough. Some unit models "freeze" during battle, IIRC this tends to happen more often with skirmish units. Two-handed weapon animation was "broken" after R&M DLC. Most factions in the campaign have wrong colors on the map, using the colors of other factions. AMD GPU users still experience crashing.

Personally, the ideal dream would be a final update with one last DLC: IDOMENEUS & PHILOCTETES!

The Greeks have one less faction pack and these two heroes are without a doubt the best candidates.

---

With the support of the community and the context of recent events in Total War, I realized that this appeal is not just about TROY, but about all the games we love and how they feel like they could still get some refinement. That's why I wrote this letter.


While no promises are made, it's great to get a response!
I want to thank you very much @CA-Pingu#2295 !
Thank you all.

Updated 14 days ago.
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14 days ago
Jun 24, 2025, 6:44:51 PM

With Cretan Dlc to Troy also Flc with playable Knossos and unique units could be released. Pharaoh Dynasties is now very good game. Pity that without Nubia region , agents system and naval battles.


Possible content for older games :


Rome 2 :

Arminius Campaign Dlc with new playable Germanic factions, Boudicca Dlc with new playable British factions and historical battle of Watling Street. As potential Flc could be playable Media , Media Atropatene and historical battles from game files like Silarus River, Carrhae , Pharasalus or Cynoscephalae. 


Attila :

Steppe Dlc (Iazyges , Roxolani , Magyars) as Flc could be Armenia , Heruli, Red Huns. 


Three Kingdoms : Northern Map Expansion, Korea Dlc , Chu vs Han Campaign. 


Troy : Content mentioned by user in this topic before. 


Pharaoh Dynasties : Nubia Dlc ( new region in campaign with two main african playable factions and 5 minor african factions) , Flc could be Habiru , Knossos and Shechem as minor playable factions with own units. Maybe hidden Amazon faction to conquer and unlock? I think that minor playable factions should be also available in custom battles. 


I am big fan of historical Total Wars. I hope for reborn of this great series. I'm playing this since first Rome. 


Regards 👍





Updated 14 days ago.
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13 days ago
Jun 25, 2025, 7:59:55 PM

People often judge TROY expecting it to be better than Medieval or Rome, but this title never had that pretension!
It is a game with a SAGA scope and in that, TROY is simply amazing! No other epic record could better embody the Total War SAGA series.
I just wish the MYTHOS DLC had given the proper archaic greek reskin to the units and heroes. We would have a real Age of Mythology Total War!

Hey, Rog. Speaking of which, and taking advantage of the opportunity...
Would it be too much to ask for a cosmetic DLC to reskin the mythological mode units into archaic Greeks (as depicted in the TROY art)?


Art-of-Troy-1920-x-1080_2.jpg


It seems flawed in this mode that mythological creatures get the proper epic representation, but not the human units...

Updated 13 days ago.
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12 days ago
Jun 27, 2025, 3:39:07 AM

Ulfhedinn_#8707 wrote:

People often judge TROY expecting it to be better than Medieval or Rome, but this title never had that pretension!
It is a game with a SAGA scope and in that, TROY is simply amazing! No other epic record could better embody the Total War SAGA series.
I just wish the MYTHOS DLC had given the proper archaic greek reskin to the units and heroes. We would have a real Age of Mythology Total War!

Hey, Rog. Speaking of which, and taking advantage of the opportunity...
Would it be too much to ask for a cosmetic DLC to reskin the mythological mode units into archaic Greeks (as depicted in the TROY art)?


Art-of-Troy-1920-x-1080_2.jpg


It seems flawed in this mode that mythological creatures get the proper epic representation, but not the human units...

Since the announcement of MYTHOS I've always had this expectation of living an Age of Mythology Total War! It would be great to have this reskin.​

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8 days ago
Jun 30, 2025, 12:18:59 PM

Fuzorg#8248 wrote:

Pharaoh Dynasties is now very good game. Pity that without Nubia region , agents system and naval battles.

The removal of the old agents has been a great improvement since ToB, seems widely approved of by the community. 


Naval battles make no sense in the time frame, there's only one vague mention of one towards the end of the time frame being an opposed landing. The naval vessels of the time were still quite primitive in comparison and would not be a fun game mode especially when we consider they aren't popular in the R2/Attila titles where they have far more options. 


More content to the South would of been nice.

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8 days ago
Jun 30, 2025, 6:15:01 PM

I believe that automatic naval battles like in ROME would be enough for TROY and PHARAOH. 

Land units that are marines would get buff in these battles. The battle happens and immersion stays in our minds. 

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