Skirmish Trail Update - Now Live!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Today's Skirmish Trail Update introduces the game’s first ‘skirmish trail’, a series of challenging missions with unique conditions to overcome and achieve victory. Other features added in v1.4 include a new cavalry unit, two additional AI warlords, the return of a popular building for healing units and two extra multiplayer maps!

Stronghold: Warlords v1.4 Hotfix - 25 June 2021
Build Number: v1.4.21694

• Fix for a crash in 'Siege of Odawara"
  

Stronghold: Warlords v1.4 Hotfix - 24 June 2021
Build Number: v1.4.21650

• Added 'Casual' difficulty for the Skirmish Trail
  
• Fix for a crash that could occur when loading old saves/maps that had a General in them
  
• Actually added the 'Purge Entities at origin' tool to the Map Editor
  
• Fix for incorrect idle animations for pre-placed siege equipment in maps
  
• Fix for IME text input in some langauges
  
• Fixed missing voicelines for the Bear Warlord
  

Stronghold: Warlords v1.4 Update - 21 June 2021
Build Number: v1.4.21570
Update Size: 319.7 MB

Updates

• Added a new game mode; the Skirmish Trail.
  - A set of skirmishes against different foes across a range of maps. Each mission will present its own set of challenges as you strive to complete the trail.
  
• Added new unit; the Samurai Lancer
  - A fast, heavily armoured support unit with a light attack. Nearby mounted units will deal increased damage to enemies.
  
• Added 2 new Warlords; the Beetle and the Bear.
  - The Beetle is not to be underestimated. Although defense is his specialty, his healing skills and armor shipments make him a valuable component in any offensive strategy.
  - None can match the power of the Bear. His armies are expensive but you will be rewarded for your investment. Increases the range of Imperial Bannerman’s buff ability.
  
• Added new building; the Field Hospital
  - The Field Hospital can only be built by the Beetle Warlord. When the edict is activated, the Beetle Warlord will build a Field Hospital within his lands.
  - Any allied troops standing within the vicinity of the Field Hospital will be slowly healed over time. Upgrading the Beetle will increase the amount of healing given to troops.
  
• Added 2 new skirmish maps:
  - Guarded Crossings. While the northern player has plenty of land to build in, the other two players must keep a close eye on each other as they race to capture the surrounding Warlords.
  - Ascendance. Some lords are more equal than others. You may have been given similar lands but it will soon be obvious who truly has the favour of the sun.
  
• Added some missing pathing tiles to Down River
  
• Updates to Flows Like Time:
  - Added more details and decorations to the map
  
• Updates to Unfavourable Odds:
  - The southern player has more space in their estate and a small amount of stone
  - The northern player now has saltpetre in their estate
  - Added more details and decorations to the map
  
• Updates to Princes and Paupers:
  - Improved the free pathfinding area to better match the open ground in estates
  - Added saltpetre and iron to the north-eastern estate
  - Added saltpetre to the south-eastern and south-western estates
  

General fixes

• Addressed multiple situations which may have resulted in the game crashing
  
• Fixed an issue that could cause warlord armies to become stuck when targeting a defeated player in campaign missions
  
• Fixed a bug that could cause troops in formations to run backwards when they were ahead of the rest of the formation
  
• When towers are destroyed, troops standing on them will now instantly fall to the ground rather than animating in mid-air first
  
• Siege weapons emerging from the siege camp will no longer move somewhere if it requires passing through a gate
  
• Walls with hoardings or turrets attached can no longer be docked by laddermen
  
• Troops in siege towers can no longer capture nearby gatehouses
  
• Fixed an issue that could make area target indicators visible when loading a save
  
• Fixed an issue that caused two siege towers to be briefly visible after a siege tower docked
  
• Troops in siege towers no longer judder about while the siege tower is moving and are much better at staying at their correct positions inside the tower
  
• Fixed an issue causing siege tower passengers to jump backwards a few meters when the tower is docked
  
• Siege projectiles (including diseased animals) are now able to hit troops standing on the top floor of keeps, rather than colliding with the keep roof
  
• Ranged units are now able to fire projectiles directly at barricades and now attack them at range when commanded to target them
  
• Fixed an issue that could cause new turrets to be placed when warlord castles repair, when the original turrets had not been destroyed
  
• Warlord Launch Attack and Request Relief Force edicts can no longer be triggered in peace time
  
• Fixed an issue that could cause troops defending warlord castles to move to the wrong positions after loading a save
  
• Fixed a bug that was preventing warlord castles being upgraded via edicts if they were assigned a level above zero in the map editor
  
• Fixed an issue where Warlord’s castles would have multiple instances of certain buildings placed on the same spot after upgrading/repairing
  
• Siege Camps placed via Warlords edicts are now destroyed when the Warlord changes owner
  
• Fixed the peace time remaining icon not showing correctly
  
• Added AI difficulty to Skirmish loading screens
  
• Stability improvements
  

AI Improvements

• Boosted the extra gold income for Extreme mode skirmish AI by 30% to provide more of a challenge
  
• Skirmish AI now wait for minimum intervals before upgrading captured warlords, based on the warlord rank
  
• AI armies are now more accurate at scanning for enemy units and buildings, based on the unit composition of the army
  
• AI armies are better at noticing when they can capture nearby warlords
  
• In skirmish games, AI Auxiliary Archers, Blowpipe Tribesmen and Fire Lancers will now attempt to retreat from enemy troops that get too close when on Hard or Extreme difficulty
  
• Fixed a case where the AI could get stuck unable to train enough troops to attack if it had run out of town space
  
• Fixed a bug where the AI would get stuck endlessly trying to place a silk chain building
  
• Fixed a bug that could prevent the AI from completing its castle if it has no stone in its estate
  

Map Editor

• Added a new toolbar option to toggle Shadows visibility, in the Options menu
  
• The Landscape brushes are now displayed in a grid
  
• Enabled the “Remove entities at origin” tool