Genre: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Simulator, Strategy
Stronghold Legends
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://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://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://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!
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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz7DZWHrUuk
Today we have a short and sweet video for you, in the form of our first 'Teaser' for the 'Making Of Stronghold: Warlords' documentary! Available at launch as part of the Stronghold: Warlords - Special Edition, this feature-length documentary takes a look behind the scenes with over two years of game development at Firefly Studios. Charting the course of Warlords' development from production to reveal and eventually release, Firefly's very own Aaron Hayden takes viewers through each aspect of game production.
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. This teaser provides a glimpse of our concept, writing and research for the game. These building blocks form the basis of our design for a new Stronghold title and Warlords' new setting provided fertile ground for both our gameplay and historical goals!
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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXhcnbLeAyA
This week we thought we'd take a break between the countless player questions about Stronghold: Warlords (Join the Discord if you have more!) and co-op multiplayer previews for a chance of pace. Warlords features a whopping 16 units and 10 siege weapons, in addition to many different castle defences and other special units like the warlords themselves. This got us thinking... Just how many ways are there for soldiers, peasants, monks and innocent diplomats to die in the game?
It turns out the answer to that question is at least 22! That's right. We counted 22 unique means by which these virtual lives can be snuffed out in an instant (Not Pictured: Death by flooding). So what better way to celebrate this digital carnage than with a montage of death and destruction? Set to the tune of the William Tell Overture by Rossini, watch as our Videographer Aaron Hayden cuts, crushes, incinerates and obliterates his peasant population in the name of your entertainment.
If you'd like to try your hand at orchestrating complicated, gunpowder-related fatalities in Stronghold: Warlords at launch, then be sure to wishlist the game ahead of its March 9th release on Steam. You'll find out as soon as the game comes out, be notified of any launch discount and be among the first to catapult diseased animals over enemy walls at launch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKXA64asjIw
Today we reveal even more footage of our unique ‘shared base’ co-op mode, coming to Stronghold: Warlords' multiplayer at launch on March 9th 2021! Using fresh multiplayer gameplay from our pre-release build, this preview follows two brave 'Lords of Firefly', as Nick and Aaron carefully level up the challenge from last week with two medium difficulty opponents.
Going up against the legendary Thuc Phan and Qin Shi Huang on a fresh multiplayer map, our developers must choose between a fresh selection of warlords in the form of the Dragon, Pig and Mouse. Each provides unique tactical options, perks and advantages for the controlling player, assuming they can either win their allegiance using Diplomacy or force them to bend the knee with military pressure.
We still have plenty to show between now and launch, so stay tuned for more multiplayer videos as we complete work on this game mode and build toward our March 9th release date.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VyRFVrUq7A
Today we reveal footage of our ‘shared base’ co-op mode for Stronghold: Warlords, including our first ever multiplayer gameplay! Allowing players to share control of a single castle when playing together online, Warlords' co-op mode is different from regular team-based multiplayer. In addition to being able to party up and build separate castles in team deathmatch, Stronghold: Warlords will also allow players to share control over a large shared army, peasant population, castle defences and network of warlords under their command.
Our new warlords system, which allows players to command a network of unique AI warlords across the battlefield, also benefits from co-op mode. Co-op play means advanced players can share the ‘grand strategy’ gameplay of the warlords between them, optimising their use of each one for economic or militaristic purposes.
Early on in a match one player can manage their castle estate, while the other forms alliances with warlords to bring in valuable resources and secure strategic positions across the map. Then in the endgame, while one commander lays siege to the enemy, their co-op partner can divert resources and direct pincer attacks from nearby captured warlords!
Co-op mode will be available as a multiplayer feature in Stronghold: Warlords at launch on March 9th 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l8jV5RnS-k
As our latest 'castle sim' in what is now a nearly 20 year history (!), Stronghold: Warlords has invited hundreds of questions during the course of development from series fans. In the past we've covered everything from basic questions about game content to returning units and advanced multiplayer features. As we approach release however it seems there are still about 100 questions remaining that we could answer before launch on March 9th. Enter our new 'Pre-Launch' Q&A series, created in the hopes of answering every single major pre-release question we have from fans about our upcoming RTS.
So pull up a chair, pour yourself a tankard of mead and join Natasha as she quizzes Nick for one last time, in a series of three in-depth Q&A videos. Answering questions against the backdrop of fresh gameplay, captured from a recent build of the game, Nick and Natasha blast through nearly 100 questions collated from social media, forums and fan sites for these three videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4zqkb1GccQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=163myxnh5X4
While we have attempted to answer every question raised since the game's reveal at E3 2019, some will inevitably have slipped through the cracks. So if you don't hear your question answered in part one of the series be sure to check out parts two and three (above) or join the Stronghold Discord to ask our developers directly. We've really enjoyed having an open dialogue with fans during Warlords' development and whether its a feature suggestion for this game or something for future titles in the series we want to hear it!
Last week we announced that we had come to the difficult decision to delay the release of Stronghold: Warlords for a second and final time. The release date will no longer be January 26th 2021. We will instead be launching Stronghold: Warlords six weeks later on March 9th 2021.
The reason behind this is that the game’s multiplayer mode is simply not ready to be released yet. We have run into some unexpected issues with it and - while we have worked very hard to resolve these with our current deadlines - we need more time to iron them out. We want to be as transparent as possible with you about this and we did consider releasing as planned, delaying Multiplayer to go live in a future update. However as we have promised Multiplayer functionality for Stronghold: Warlords at launch for over a year now, releasing without it wouldn’t be fair to players.
We want to thank you for your continued support and patience. Delays are never desired by any studio - especially this close to the announced release date - and we can only apologise for the disappointment it causes. It is however necessary if we want everyone to have an excellent, full experience with Stronghold: Warlords when it launches on March 9th, 2021.
In the meantime we have reactivated our old Warlords demo on Steam for anyone who missed it last year. Please bear in mind this build is from August 2020 and thus does not feature the polish, final feature set or roster of playable units you can expect from the game at launch.
To play the demo version please follow this link for full details on how to download it on Steam.
If you'd like to discuss the demo with fellow fans and developers at Firefly you can do that by joining the Official Stronghold Discord.
