Update v 1.0.22 — make your own mods with ChatGPT and Claude

Hi, Rulers!

Since the last updates, I've been looking at the mods you're making for Warnament. There are already mods for the Middle Ages, the modern day, and alternate histories after the First and Second World Wars. Some of you change the map colours, some redo the balance because you don't like mine, and some add new buildings. There are even trains now. I can't pick a favourite: they're all good in their own way, and I enjoy seeing how each of you changes the game to suit yourselves.

I love mods myself. If, back when I was playing Minecraft or Mount & Blade, I could have simply explained what I wanted and got my own mod, I would have spent a lot of time doing that. Usually it's harder: lots of people use mods, but far fewer make them, because you need to understand files, formats, and how the game works. I wanted to make that a little easier.

That's why update 1.0.22 adds AI Mod Toolkit , a kit that lets you make mods, maps, and scenarios for Warnament by talking to ChatGPT, Claude, or another AI.

I understand why even the word "AI" annoys a lot of people now. AI often produced poor content, and now it's being pushed at us everywhere. And I think people value work that someone put effort into. We made Warnament by hand: Sasha Yakimov, for example, spent months drawing all the art. That work matters to me, and I understand players who care about how a game was made.

What interested me about mods was the chance to help someone who already has an idea of their own. They want to play through another historical period, change the balance, or fight wars in a favourite fictional world, but they don't know how to program or simply can't spend that much time on it. AI can help with that if you explain how Warnament works. That's what I prepared the kit for: the ZIP archive contains instructions, examples, and scripts it uses while working.

What it looks like in practice

Open Mods in the game, go to the AI tab, and click the button to get AI Mod Toolkit. It will be saved next to the game files, and you'll see its location on screen.

Then you can open ChatGPT or Claude in your browser, send it the ZIP archive, and explain what you want to make. The kit isn't tied to one company or model. We tested this with the free version of ChatGPT too, so you don't need an expensive subscription for your first try.

For example, I sent ChatGPT the kit and an ordinary picture of the US states, then asked it to turn that picture into a Warnament map. To make your own map, you'll need to attach an image too: the AI uses it to find the borders and divide the map into provinces.

Once the map was ready, I asked it in the same chat to make a Civil War scenario for it. This time I didn't have to send the archive again or explain which game it was for. ChatGPT prepared the scenario and the files to install it.

Put the files next to the game, then choose the map and scenario when starting a new game. That's how the result from your chat becomes something you can actually play:

Mods work the same way. You can ask for a mod about the Napoleonic Wars, try it in the game, then continue the conversation: "Now let Napoleon fight zombies." The AI will prepare a new version. Or take a picture of Westeros and explain that you want to play as the Lannisters against the Starks. You can prepare the map, scenario, and mod together, then put them in a pack and publish it in Steam Workshop, just like in the last update.

If you already use Cursor, Claude Code, or Codex, you can unzip the archive and open the folder there. Inside are descriptions of the formats, standard maps and scenarios, and instructions and scripts you can read and change. For example, if you want smaller provinces or a different way of putting together the technology tree, you can try adjusting it to suit you.

Why I spent two weeks preparing this kit

When you describe it like that, it sounds as though you could just ask ChatGPT to make a Warnament mod. But the AI doesn't already know how our game works: there isn't much material about its formats online. In one of my attempts, for example, it started making a mod for Europa Universalis IV because I had asked for a map of Europe. So first I had to explain which game it was working on and what a map, scenario, and mod mean here.

Then it turned out that detailed instructions weren't enough either. The files have to follow a strict format, and when the AI has too much information to keep track of, it starts making mistakes. So I moved part of the work into scripts: the AI says what it wants to change, and the script records it in the right form and checks for errors.

But a file in the right format still needs to work well in the game. For example, the AI might unlock five buildings with one technology, then nothing at all with the next. Or invent a bonus that doesn't exist in Warnament. I had to explain these things too, add checks, and try again. For scenarios, there's also a way to look at an image of the result before giving it to you: that lets the AI spot an island assigned to the wrong country and correct itself.

Maps were even harder. The picture has to become a game map where neighbouring provinces share matching borders. Ordinary maps also have labels, legends, compasses, and nice colour gradients along the coast. To us it's obvious that a compass is decoration and that the coastal strip is water. The AI might turn the compass into a province, or confuse the sea with Austria if they're both painted almost the same shade of blue.

I wanted you to be able to use a picture without cleaning up every detail first, so I tried lots of different maps and checked where things broke. Those attempts gradually became the kit: find a mistake, fix an instruction or a script, try again. That's what took two weeks.

How it works now

I tested the kit on the American Civil War, alternate 1930s where Germany won the First World War, scenarios set in the XIII and XVI centuries, and the Napoleonic Wars. Overall the results were good, and the work usually took between two and ten minutes, depending on the complexity. But the model can still interpret your idea in its own way, so it's worth opening the finished files in the game and seeing what you got.

For example, it sometimes left empty land where there should have been tribes, or combined the Holy Roman Empire into one country when I needed separate states for that period. You can usually fix this by continuing the conversation: tell it who to add and what to split up. You can also ask it to change the language if the scenario came out in English when you wanted Russian.

With maps, you can help from the start: the clearer the source image and the easier it is to see the borders, the more accurately they'll be transferred into the game. If you're still unhappy after making changes, you can try a stronger model or edit the files yourself. Scenarios open in the editor inside the game, maps in the map editor, and mods in a text editor.

Along with the kit, I fixed two other bugs in 1.0.22:

• Losses during battles sometimes weren't displayed. They now show correctly.
• Fixed the outline of the selected province, as well as the country when creating a new game.

I really want to see what you make with this kit. I haven't seen a Napoleonic Wars mod among yours yet, by the way. Most of the mods I've looked at are on Discord, so please put them in the Workshop too: other players will be able to find them there.

And tell me how it went in the comments or on Discord. I'm a little worried, because we tested a lot of things, but you're bound to come up with an idea where something goes wrong. If the AI makes mistakes or the mod doesn't work, show me what you asked for and what you got. I'd like to work out what happened and make this easier.

Thanks for playing and making your own mods. Denis

By the way, a little more Warnament

If you'd like more Warnament, these extras are available too:

Alternative History Pack — two single-player story scenarios: "Consequences", about a climate catastrophe, and "Lost", about surviving on an unknown planet, with its own map. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4529310/Warnament_Alternative_History_Pack/

Visuals and Animations Pack — more than 25 visual options and animations for armies, attacks, and interactions with other countries. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3856450/Warnament_Visuals_and_Animations_Pack/

Soundtrack — the game's music in MP3 and FLAC, plus four bonus tracks from early versions. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3856430/Warnament_Soundtrack/

Art Pack — more than 50 images from development: sketches, unused ideas, loading and victory screens, and event illustrations. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3856440/Warnament_Art_Pack/

How to join the development?

Want to help make Warnament better? Here's what you can do:

• Visit the Warnament website.
• Suggest your ideas for the game on our Discord server.
• Create a map in the free standalone map editor.
• Create your own multiplayer server.
• Write a guide for the game.
• Create your own mod.
• Try a mod, map or scenario from other players in Steam Workshop, and upload your own.
• Help translate the game into your native language.
• Play Warnament for free on Android.
• Download Warnament for free from the App Store.
• Subscribe to the YouTube channel for development videos.
• Follow Warnament on Twitter / X.
• Read the development diaries.
• Tell your favourite video creator about the game in their comments.