It wasn’t long ago that the Renaissance Mod was brought to my attention again because it just got ANOTHER update recently, after completely forgetting about it for many years. Somehow, I purchased the game and all of its DLC a long time ago on a sale, with the intention of playing this mod, and then completely forgot to do so.
Well, I’ve rectified that and I’m dead serious when I say that this may be the best mod of any fantasy strategy game, ever. Brian Brolin brings with him an extensive background in game development and with Warlock 2 in particular (over 3,000 hours with the game!) and that experience is evident throughout.
While I could list the improvements and additions that the Renaissance Mod has provided, it’s best if I just provide you with the Steam Workshop description:
THE NEXT BEST THING TO WARLOCK 3!
A Renaissance has come to the lands of Ardania! New spells, artifacts, lords and Great Mages have been spotted throughout the land, as a Sylvan Order arises to protect Ardania from the evil Dremers and greedy Infernals. Build vast cities, cast game-changing spells, and take your game to all new 4X fantasy heights!
This extensive mod offers loads of professional content, plus several game fixes and highly-requested improvements. It really is the next best thing to Warlock 3!
Current version: 8.4.2a
HIGHLIGHTS:
» NEW RACE: Sylvan Order
» NEW RACE: Infernals
» NEW RACE: Dremers *Bonus Pack recommended (scroll down)
» 100+ new units
» 100+ new buildings
» 40+ new Great Mage starter perks
» 31 new lords
» 25 new spells
» 21 new Great Mages
» 16 new crafting elements
» 15 new artifacts
» 15 new quest events
» 100+ new unit abilities
» 100+ new unit perks
» Epic perks
» Empire-wide revolutions ~ turn 100
» Major AI improvements
» Several game fixes, including no auto-built farms, fixed upgrade costs, Tal Kalessil fixes, Helia immunity fix and more!
» All-new artwork for new units, perks, mages, lords, buildings, abilities and artifacts
» Complete Mod Notes:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CnCuB4VWroJP-qqZx2dGoE_YiXabClMOon5Tt1-Q9m4/
NEW in 8.0 – 8.4: ARDANIAN ALLIANCES
» 6 NEW buildings
» 5 NEW lords
» 4 NEW units
» 2 NEW spells
» 1 NEW Great Mage
» Allied Unit improvements
» Free Town improvements
» Improved artwork for Great Mages
» Detailed Patch Notes:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/changelog/493257789
Naturally, we reached out to Brian, AKA “Chumley” on Steam, and asked him a few questions about the Renaissance Mod and we were delighted to get some great answers:
1) Tell us about yourself and how you got into modding!
I’ve been a web designer and graphic artist for the past 20 years, but I’ve dabbled in game development since the early 90s. The first modding I ever did was for the original StarCraft game in the late nineties. I wrote and scripted a large campaign that was voice-acted. It traded in smaller circles, but it was never widely distributed.
Since then, I’ve been contributing to the PC gaming community in some form or another for more than two decades. Many World of Warcraft players know me as Breanni, the creator of the popular WoW fansite, WarcraftPets.com.
Another of my hobbies is developing board game prototypes and playtesting them with various groups and friends. In fact, I’d love to see one of my board games published via Kickstarter, but I’m not quite there yet.
2) Why have you chosen to mod Warlock 2? What’s made it feel worth your time?
In my mind, Warlock 2 was the near-perfect marriage of the turn-based military strategy I loved in the Civilization franchise combined with the fantasy elements of games like Age of Wonders, Master of Magic and Heroes of Might & Magic. I say “near-perfect” because the more I played, the more I discovered some rather serious flaws.
It wasn’t fair – here was this super-fun game that suffered from a number of glaring issues. Every time I played, I saw the potential for this game to be one of the best in the genre. But it would take a lot of work and care to get it there.
The thing I’m most proud of is improving the game’s AI. Those extensive AI changes took a lot of work and patches to fine-tune, especially considering the limitations of the Warlock 2 editor. The base game was always criticized by players because it was too easy to beat once you knew how to play – even when playing on the highest difficulty. The AI simply couldn’t keep up. It would stagnate mid-game and you’d eventually trample it with little effort. Where’s the fun in that?
I’m very pleased with how the AI functions now. I used to stop playing a good 50-75 turns before I’d actually win a game because I knew I’d already won. That’s no longer the case. Now, most games are a challenge right up until the end – and that makes the game so much more enjoyable.
3) The Renaissance Mod is one of the most extensive mods we’ve seen for any game. In regards to the new artwork and character models, how have you made sure they’re so close to the source material?
I strived to make the experience as close to the base game as possible. So I did my best to match the artwork style of the developers for the unit portraits, spells, and building art. I knew that people would enjoy the mod most if the content I added didn’t clash with what the game developers already created. My goal was that players wouldn’t know where the base game ended and the mod began.
In addition, the three new factions added by Renaissance Mod don’t stray far from the conventions utilized by the core factions. They are just different enough to feel fresh and unique, but not so alien as to disorient players familiar with the base game. So there’s a lot of consistency there, which makes for a more seamless experience.
For example, the number of units and build trees of the new races are similar to the core races. But one of the new races (the Infernals) use gold to support their cities rather than food – a racial characteristic that doesn’t appear in the base game. Likewise, another new race (the Sylvan Order) is all about using forest terrain to their advantage – another mechanic which you didn’t see in the base game.
4) What’s the most challenging aspect of developing this mod for you?
The greatest challenge of developing any mod (or game) comes down to one word: balance.
Balancing a game is tricky. It takes a lot of playtesting and analysis. Warlock 2 with Renaissance Mod is about as perfect as I could do, but it’s still not 100%. When there are so many factors, it’s hard to reach 100% balance. Pull on one string and another becomes loose. But if you’re persistent and you listen to player feedback, you can get close.
5) Finally, your recent update surprised us a bit, considering how long it’s been since Warlock 2’s release and since your last update. Do you plan to keep working on Renaissance?
Renaissance Mod is just about as close to complete as it’s gonna get. I still enjoy playing Warlock 2 with the mod (never without). So if I encounter something in a game that could use a tweak, I go ahead and make that tweak and test it out. Over time, those small tweaks add up, which is what led to the recent patch. That was simply a collection of 1.5 years of small tweaks, plus a few minor updates brought on by community feedback. And with so many people sheltering in place due to COVID-19, I thought now was the perfect time to release these changes as the latest patch.
I will continue to make smaller tweaks to the mod when I play for fun and nostalgia. Unfortunately, there won’t be any new content. I reached the hard limit on units, spells and Great Mages long ago – so it really isn’t possible to add anything more to this jam-packed mod. But I will continue to refine the game’s balance – and therein lies the eternal struggle.
Thank you, Brian, for your time and for your dedication to this mod. It’s fantastic and easily among the best mods of any strategy game in existence. For those of you that would like to see this mod in action, you can watch Rob stumble through here:
Until the next addition to the Modify Playlist, keep eXploring!
Rob founded eXplorminate in 2014 as his passion for 4X needed an outlet. You can find Rob in just about every 4X game beta and 4X game forum, too. He’s equally obsessed with the strategy and tactics genres and constantly combs the internet for new and exciting titles in those genres. He’s proud to be a member of Amplitude Studios’ VIP program and the concept creator of Endless Space 2’s Unfallen.