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Stronghold 2 News

The History Behind Stronghold

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgWReVr3qYc
This week we continues our journey into the history behind Stronghold: Warlords. In this episode of 'History Behind Stronghold' Aaron takes a deep dive into one of the most revolutionary, progressive and bloody historical periods to feature in our 'castle sim' series, the famous 'The Warring States of China'. This fascinating time of interstate conflict and civil unrest was the foundation for the Qin Dynasty! How exactly did Qin Shi Huang actually become the ruler of this Dynasty and with it the first Emperor of China? Find out as we provide the historical context to your digital sieges.



If you enjoyed the video and even learnt something from this somewhat unqualified history teacher, then be sure to check our our History Behind Stronghold feature on the legendary Thuc Phan. In our previous episode Aaron takes you through the mythical origins of Vietnam, as well as the state of play for when you join Thuc Phan in the first part of our historical campaign. Learn about the heroes of Vietnamese legend including Lac Long Quan, Au Com and their tragic romance as the ancestors of modern Vietnam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmTCmNtDrlY
Make you're also subscribed to Firefly Studios on YouTube for future episodes, as we investigate amazing events that laid the groundwork for the epic battles and sieges you will be orchestrating in Stronghold: Warlords next year. Once complete History Behind Stronghold will cover the incredibly vast histories of the four different countries you will be able to play as in the final game.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

The Soldiers of Warlords

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJVcnVYpPQw
We have just revealed the first set of units for Stronghold: Warlords, our upcoming ‘castle sim’ RTS. With a range of unique troops types from Mongolia, Japan, Vietnam and China, this new trailer focuses on units from the latter two regions. With their own strengths, counters, special abilities and tactics players will need to combine them all to succeed in the game’s 24 mission campaign and online multiplayer.



As the first entry in our long-running series to venture eastward, Stronghold: Warlords features a suitably fresh roster of units to command. Gunpowder-wielding fire lancers, disciplined samurai, imperial warriors, tribal fighters and more represent the four cultures at play, with a few Stronghold classics also making the final cut of 16 units. Units from different cultures have been a feature of the series since the release of the original Stronghold: Crusader in 2002 and we intend to build on this in Warlords! With abilities ranging from morale boosting area of effect perks to arrow volleys and precision strikes, the intention is to make each part of your attacking siege army feel like a unique threat that could switch tactics at any time.



As players progress through the main single player campaign new units will become available as players journey across the Asian content to different regions and historical epochs. Outside of units Warlords will also feature experience a single player campaign split across four regions, unique warlord characters from a period of 1500 years and siege weapons made possible only through the discovery of gunpowder.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

New Stronghold Showcase

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cr3Z0EvJ2A

Watch as we return to our fan-favourite series Stronghold Showcase. Firefly’s very own Aaron Hayden takes you through five different sieges, scenarios and battlefields across our legacy titles from Stronghold HD to Stronghold Crusader 2. This small selection of community maps is intended to give you some fresh options in your multiplayer and single player sessions.



Travel to Ancient Greece in ‘300 Spartans’, Slovakia in our very first Eastern European community-made castle ‘Spis Castle’ or even Australia where everything is trying to kill you, Lords and wildlife alike!





To install the maps on the Steam Workshop pages, simply press the ‘subscribe’ button and it should appear in-game next time you load up. As for the Stronghold Heaven and Nation maps:

  • Download them using the webpages
  • Access your Stronghold map folders (HD, Crusader & 2) – usually found in ‘My Documents’
  • Drag and drop the downloaded map files for each game into the corresponding map folders
  • Load up the game and they should be there!
  • Remember, if you have any maps yourself, or know of any knockout sieges or battlefields that you’d like featured on the Showcase. Leave a comment below with a link!

Halloween Update

A terrible spell has been cast over your innocent peasants with the arrival of our Steam Edition Halloween updates! Something horrible has happened to your faithful subjects, their once endearing visage twisted and corrupted by the artists at Firefly Studios.



Your only hope is to resist the temptation to hollow out and decorate their new noggins, instead putting them to work away from your corrupted keep. You could try burning your problems away with the new wholly cosmetic green wildfire, although we’re told the curse can only be lifted by those who cast it…



The Stronghold Halloween updates are now available on Steam for players who have downloaded the latest versions of Stronghold 2 and Stronghold Legends. This event will last one week with the above spooky changes in place until November 5th. After this the spell will break, your peasants returning to normal and the eternal green fire becoming regular garden variety not-at-all-magic fire once again.

Happy Halloween!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/40960/Stronghold_2_Steam_Edition/

Stronghold In The Far East

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHYR9BcFHd0
This month Firefly Studios flew across the globe! Taking the first playable alpha demo of Stronghold: Warlords to fans at Tokyo Game Show, we were able to showcase our brand new East Asian 'castle sim' full of exploding fire oxen, gunpowder traps and the game-changing warlords system.



After four days of Stronghold vets and strategy newcomers alike getting their first hands-on taste of our new strategy-simulation RTS, the pair then travelled across Japan to the city of Nagoya for location shooting and research. Soaking in the amazing feudal history, filming these medieval monoliths and documenting the features and layouts of incredible castles such as Gifu and Kiyosu, their mission was to provide first hand insight into our move east for Stronghold fans everywhere.



So sit back, relax and let Nick walk you through a brief account of the fascinating histories of Japan, China, Mongolia and Vietnam as we prepare to recreate some of the most incredible castles, battles and warlords of our time!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/