Stronghold Crusader HD News

3v3 Skirmish Match

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tojme-8vGY
In our final pre-launch gameplay preview Aaron, Natasha and Nick go head to head with the AI in a triple threat 3v3 multiplayer match! Facing off against two Hard opponents (Genghis Khan and Toyotomi Hideyoshi) and one Medium (Thuc Phan), Firefly's marketing team experiments with incendiary bovines, thunder crash bombs and... Spelling their names out in gunpowder? Watch as we play through an hour-long six player game online, using the latest Stronghold: Warlords build, a Large sized map and four different warlords to spice things up.

At launch Stronghold: Warlords will allow for up to eight players total in Multiplayer, using a mix of four human and four AI opponents, in addition to the warlords themselves. Nine maps will be available to play ranging from Small to Large size, with support for Extra Large maps, a full map editor and Steam Workshop functionality at release. Co-op mode will also allow up to two pairs of players to share a castle estate and control of their forces, while traditional teams also feature for players that prefer to build and maintain their own feudal economy.

Stronghold: Warlords will be available on Steam next week from 6pm GMT on March 9th for $39.99, £29.99 and €34.99. A Special Edition will also be available including Stronghold HD, ‘The Art of Stronghold: Warlords’ digital art book, a new soundtrack created by series composer Robert L. Euvino and a special ‘Making Of’ feature-length documentary.

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

Meet the AI (Dev Diary)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvwOa31YfIY

Along with eight unique warlord archetypes, Stronghold: Warlords will feature four fully realised opponents in the form of historical AI Lords. Covering unique historical periods from 300 BC Vietnam through to the rise of the Tokugawa shogunate in 16th century Japan, Warlords shifts the series into new territory with a brand new cast of characters. Featured in the game’s 31 mission single player campaign, but also playable in skirmish mode and multiplayer, Warlords’ main cast are legendary figures and formidable opponents.

This final developer diary (Don't worry - We still have other videos coming!) explores their battlefield prowess, tactics and quirks as AI opponents, providing a look at some of the strategies players will be facing at launch on March 9th. After several games using the same historical settings Genghis Khan, Thuc Phan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Qin Shi Huang were exciting prospects for the studio and a refreshing change of pace. The resulting cast of larger-than-life characters still feels very Stronghold, while living up to the game’s title in their unique castle designs, army composition, tactics and taunts.

With a completely new cast of ‘AI Lord’ opponents, we're also combining regional voice work with bespoke lines for certain characters and units. As with Arabic voice acting in the beloved Stronghold: Crusader series, the introduction of talented Japanese voice actors, in addition to those of Chinese and Vietnamese descent, is designed to both provide native language support and add to the immersion enjoyed by western players. In doing so we hopes to deliver the level of atmosphere Stronghold fans have come to enjoy, both in terms of authentic orchestral music and voice acting.

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

Free Build Challenge!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0IFo_33DS0
With less than two weeks to go before the worldwide launch of Stronghold: Warlords, we thought it would it would be entertaining to give our developers a blind castle-building challenge! Tasked with building the ultimate castle in under 30 minutes, four Firefly devs are challenged (and judged!) on their time-limited castle building skills in this new video.

Paul, Aaron, Tom and Nick all begin on a new map with little to no preparation and a single objective: Build the ultimate castle! They must do so on the 'Jungle Clearing' medium-sized map within the time limit, with their creations judged by none other than Firefly Studios co-founder and Stronghold designer Simon Bradbury. These hastily-constructed castles are rigorously graded based on their castle aesthetics, economic efficiency and of course defensive strength. The series *is* called 'Stronghold' after all...

Also including a few minor feature additions, such as the ability to lock (or rotate) the mini-map and a helpful top-down castle view for building, today's gameplay is taken from our latest Warlords build. You can expect more videos from this build next week and during launch, as we explore multiplayer mode and the game's larger map sizes. In the meantime please wishlist Stronghold: Warlords to be notified of the game's release and any launch discount.

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

The Making of Warlords (Teaser #3)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TyFJ0Jbnkc
While new gameplay footage is coming later this week, today we're releasing our third and final 'Making Of Stronghold: Warlords' teaser. Today's video is centred around the reveal of Stronghold: Warlords, which took place way back in June 2019. Featuring a snippet of what you can expect from the full documentary at launch, this quick look shows Paul and Simon discussing what goes into revealing a game to the press, as well as including a few behind the scenes E3 clips!

Available at launch as part of Stronghold: Warlords - Special Edition, this feature-length documentary takes a look behind the scenes with over two years of game development at Firefly Studios. Unpacking the complex process of creating a modern strategy/sim hybrid on PC, the documentary is designed to provide insight into these unique genres for those curious about their creation.

Stronghold: Warlords - Special Edition will be available at launch on Steam for $49.99, £34.99 and €39.99, with the base game also available for $39.99, £29.99 and €34.99.

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

The Making of Warlords (Teaser #2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8atMO_Xqb0
While we prepare new gameplay previews for the coming weeks, today we're releasing a second short 'Making Of Stronghold: Warlords' teaser video. Today's preview discusses voice acting and the fine balancing act between historical authenticity, great performances and our Stronghold-style humour. In addition to planned support for 15 languages, we also made the decision quite early on to support audio in eight languages, as well as snippets of other languages for specific units. Music and sound design are so important to the Stronghold series that it felt necessary to include in the game and we hope it's something enjoyed by players worldwide at launch!