// PC GAMER — GAMING
One of the most popular Total War: Warhammer 3 mods was 'deliberately corrupted' by its creator to sabotage AI-made copies
SFO Grimhammer 3 has since been restored to its original version, but the point's been made.
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Total War: Warhammer 3's Lords of the End Times expansion is huge, which is great for us but not so great for all the modders who need to update their work to be compatible with it. SFO Grimhammer 3, a popular total overhaul mod, isn't currently compatible with Total War: Warhammer 3 version 9.0, but its creators are working hard to get it there.
It must be galling then to see someone vibe-coding your mod to be compatible with the update, then reuploading it as their own—just another of the AI-coded submods of your work plastered across the Steam Workshop, usually with some ugly AI-generated artwork as the cherry on top.
"Due to the growing number of unauthorized reuploads of SFO: Grimhammer III," Venris, the mod's creator, posted on Patreon, "and more importantly, the use of AI in the process, I have deliberately corrupted the mod to prevent it from functioning with such unauthorized uploads. If this situation continues to escalate, I will make SFO: Grimhammer III private.
"SFO: Grimhammer is the result of nearly ten years of passion and love for this community and the fantasy world. As such, I do not permit anyone to take my work without permission. Especially not for AI-related purposes."
Venris concluded with the call to "Support modders, not AI" and a note that "SFO mods were, are and always will be free for everyone as long as I am here. No paywall."
I don't use SFO Grimhammer 3 myself, as a fairly vanilla player who sticks to camera enhancements and the like, but I understand the frustration. A look at recent mods for games like Skyrim or Project Zomboid shows a deluge of AI, with the comments on every one a list of complaints about how they don't work as advertised.
SFO's temporary sabotage seems to have had the desired effect of drawing attention to the problem, and Venris has now restored the mod to its previous state. "Thank you all for the support you have shown regarding the issue of my work being appropriated through the use of AI", he wrote in another Patreon post. "I appreciate both the supportive comments and the critical ones. Because of the discussion surrounding this matter, I have decided to restore a working version of SFO: Grimhammer III for game version 8.1.1 on Steam.
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