Stronghold warlords game series#

In 2018, Firefly revealed that this particular game had still been being worked on, under the codename 'Stronghold Next', which spawned a series of insider and Q&A videos on YouTube, granting insights into the development process and the studio. Initially, Firefly Studios had been hinting that a new Stronghold game is in development, however did not proceed on revealing information until much later. Stronghold Warlords has been worked on since 2015, after the release of Stronghold Crusader 2. Units from various Asian cultures: Vietnam, Mongolia, China, Japan.Engine platforms that can be attached on walls.New food types: tea, rice, vegetables, meat.New raw materials: saltpeter, gunpowder, silk, tea leaves.Gunpowder-type tower engines, units and traps.Single-player campaigns and multiplayer skirmish.

Classic siege units and unit archetypes.

Estates (separate from Warlords' estates).

Strong walls: a multiplayer option, which makes walls impervious to infantry attacks.

The Scribe returns to give remarks once again about events and happenings.

When the AI has a very developed castle, he tends to funnel diplomacy more into rank upgrades, however barely using them for attacks. They tend to have a very high preference on capturing any they can lay their hands on, however they use their edicts very conservatively, relegating them mostly to their shipment options and upgrading their defense. The AI is also accomodated to using the warlords.

When pressured, the AI will prioritize recruiting troops and withdraw all of them to its castle. Normally, the AI keeps its units at home, with ranged defenders mounting the walls and melee units located at the keep, only to send them out later for raids against warlords and player targets. The AI also manages its troops depending on stance. The AI also recruits troops based on their unit preference, depending on their troop pool and what the situation requires. Each AI is given a rough castle template, inside which buildings will be placed in separate quadrants based on their type: weapon production, food production, civilian and other production. While previous incarnations required strict rules in terms of building army groups and build order, now the AI prioritizes construction according to its needs. The AI in Stronghold Warlords got an overhaul in terms of decision making and management. Other sources of popularity return, such as Fear Factor and Spirit, which provide a flat bonus based on population and building coverage, respectively. Clothes are an additional source of consumed product that feature a complex production chain but boast the largest base popularity rate. Tea, a fourth type of food requires a tea house for consumption. Food types on their own have their own consumption rate, which can be individually toggled for varying popularity rates. Peasants now only require rice for food consumption. Peasant migration is influenced by the sign of the popularity balance. The popularity system continues the same tradition that Stronghold 3 laid out, with a few tweaks. Diplomacy points can be earned through government buildings, like embassies. Warlords provide benefits for their owners and their capabilities can be furthered by spending Diplomacy points for one-time actions, such as sending resource shipments or upgrading their defenses. All of them have their own benefits and traits, making them economically and diplomatically different (for example, the Horse is more economy-based, while the Pig is more military-focused). The world map is divided into estates, each of them now represented by a Warlord. Warlords are the successors of the estate system from previous games. Resources and the popularity panel are now permanently shown, and selected units get a dedicated screen showing attack and defense values. The game comes with updated visuals and a redesigned user interface. Players can also engage into a new aspect of battle: diplomacy, which boils down to controlling newfound non-player characters, warlords. Units can be recruited from the barracks or the military academy, with the former requiring equipment for each unit. Players can build various fortifications to protect themselves, as well as industrial buildings to build up supplies and cater to civilian and recruitment needs. Stronghold Warlords is set to play in the vast territories of Eastern Asia, featuring four nations from across history: the Chinese, the Japanese, the Mongols and the Vietnamese.Įmphasis continues to be on the sim aspect of Stronghold, managing castles and building armies, while keeping an eye on the economy and the everyday lives of the townsfolk.