Firefly Studios

Author: nickt

By in Firefly News Comments Off on Inspirations Behind Stronghold – Castle Life

Inspirations Behind Stronghold – Castle Life

Ever wondered what inspired Firefly Studios to tackle the intricacies of medieval ‘castle life’ with the Stronghold series? Well look no further! This week Aaron guides you through the studio’s creative journey in a new video, realizing a virtual feudal society in its series of medieval castle sims.

Learn how Simon and the original Firefly developers selected which specific feudal industries, services and traditions would make it into the original Stronghold way back in 1999. Find out why your peasant populace were made to be mostly blithering fools as Simon recalls the various torture devices littered throughout your castle.

This is the penultimate episode of our European ‘Inspirations Behind Stronghold‘ series, with our next and final episode featuring the varied siege equipment and castle defenses featured in our strategy series. So make sure you follow Firefly Studios on YouTube to catch our final episode in the series and look forward to more eastern Crusader-themed videos in 2019!

By in Stronghold Crusader 2 Comments Off on Stronghold & Chill – Production

Stronghold & Chill – Production

We’re back again with yet another Firefly developer interview in this brand new episode of Stronghold & Chill! Senior Producer Paul Harris boasts a whopping 15 years of game development experience, many of which were put under his belt here at Firefly Studios. Having managed teams across a wide array of disciplines from the original release of Stronghold 2 all the way through to Stronghold Next, Paul draws upon his abundant experience and production expertise answering questions about video game production in 2018.

If you’re unfamiliar with the series Stronghold & Chill brings the developers at Firefly Studios closer to the Stronghold community by giving career advice, recalling development anecdotes and gushing about their favorite games of all time! So make sure you’re subscribed to Firefly Studios on YouTube to catch brand new episodes with our other developers.

By in Stronghold 2, Stronghold Crusader 2, Stronghold Crusader HD, Stronghold HD, Stronghold Legends Comments Off on Stronghold Showcase – Episode 2

Stronghold Showcase – Episode 2

This week we’re back with another episode of the Stronghold Showcase! This new series sees Firefly Studios highlighting hidden gems from Steam Workshop, Stronghold Heaven and other Stronghold fan sites giving new life to classic titles. Whether you’re seeking a fresh Crusader skirmish map on which to battle friends or a brand new siege scenario to test your mettle in Stronghold we have you covered! Selecting maps from Firefly Studio’s legacy titles with active map making communities and easy access via Steam Workshop or Stronghold Heaven, Aaron showcases a series of awesome custom maps to dig your teeth into until Stronghold Next surfaces:

Do you have a multiplayer battlefield, siege scenario or cosmetic map you think deserves to be in a future episode? Comment and let us know! We’re constantly on the lookout for cool fan-created content and love spotlighting lesser-known creations that go under the radar.

By in Stronghold Crusader 2 Comments Off on The Making of Stronghold Crusader 2

The Making of Stronghold Crusader 2

This week marks the return of our ‘Making Of’ series with the grand finale, The Making of Stronghold Crusader 2! So get comfy while you wait for Stronghold Next as Nick, Simon and Paul once again take you through the adventure of returning to the desert once more, preparing Firefly Studios for future Stronghold titles in the process. Watch as we delve into the decade-long inception of our most recent 3D Stronghold game and discuss learnings for the next game in the series.

Did any secret features end up on the cutting room floor? Why did we develop Legends over Crusader 2 way back in 2005? What was it like self-publishing a sequel to everyone’s favourite Stronghold game? What does the future hold for Stronghold? Paul and Simon discuss living up to the hype of fan favourite Crusader, operating without a publisher and how Firefly Studios has learnt from the various challenges Crusader 2 presented. If you liked this latest episode in our ‘Making Of’ series make sure you subscribe to our official channel for future installments and check out previous trips down memory lane in ‘Stronghold: The Early Years‘.

By in Stronghold Kingdoms Comments Off on Tournaments Now Live

Tournaments Now Live

We are happy to announce that Stronghold Kingdom’s long-awaited Tournaments Update is now live across all game worlds! Following up on last month’s community-driven update, we’ve been building the new ‘Tourney’ system for some time now. It therefore gives us here at Firefly Studios great pleasure to finally launch the feature with our first ever tournament: ‘Canine Control’!

As Nick demonstrates in our latest video Tourneys are time-limited contests in which players compete across all game worlds to complete various PvE activities in search of glory and in-game loot. These activities cover pretty much all aspects of the game, making each facet of Stronghold Kingdoms even more rewarding. This new update is designed to combine the short-term dedication of quests with the world-wide competition of the popular Domination Worlds.

By in Stronghold 2, Stronghold Crusader 2, Stronghold Legends Comments Off on Stronghold Halloween Update

Stronghold Halloween Update

Rest in peace Nick… Today our Marketing Manager sacrifices himself to bring you Halloween updates for three separate Stronghold games! Celebrating this most unhallowed time of year your peasants have been cursed in Stronghold Crusader 2, Stronghold Legends and Stronghold 2. In Crusader 2 they have been reduced to little more than dust and bones until All Hallows’ Eve, these lifeless subjects wandering decrepit castles in a dire state of disrepair. Tomb stones, rotting pumpkins, cobwebs and more adorn once magnificent castle structures, along with corrupt colours and unholy flames in the workshops of your medieval minions.

The return of the Stronghold Halloween Update and corruption of Sir William also means the curse once again falls on Stronghold 2 and Stronghold Legends! Terrify your workers with horrifically impractical and yet somehow perfectly balanced pumpkin-head peasants or purge them from your castle with green wildfire. Keep them working to fight back against the curse or cower and wait for the horror to pass after Halloween has ended. Continue reading →

By in Stronghold Kingdoms Comments Off on Stronghold Kingdoms: Tournaments

Stronghold Kingdoms: Tournaments

The more eagle-eyed Stronghold Kingdoms players may have noticed a new golden laurel wreath icon in the game… We are excited to reveal this is for our new ‘Tourney’ system! This new gameplay update will allow players to compete in a series of medieval tournaments for special prizes and bragging rights on all-new leaderboards. Starting with the first tourney scheduled for 3pm GMT on October 31st, players will regularly compete in a wide range of contests changing as often as every few weeks.

Medieval ‘Tourneys’ will soon take place across all game worlds as limited-time events, with various PvE challenges designed to test players’ mastery over different areas of the game. New leaderboards and tiers also offer those at different skill levels unique challenges and loot based on their rank. Tournament objectives will eventually cover all areas of Stronghold Kingdoms gameplay including economy, trade, military, exploration and religion.

To find out more about the Tournaments update please visit the new ‘Tourney’ page on the official Stronghold Kingdoms Wiki.

By in Firefly News Comments Off on Stronghold Next – Mega Q&A (Part 4)

Stronghold Next – Mega Q&A (Part 4)

The Stronghold Next community Q&A series is back! In our fourth episode we answer a further 20 questions, all without spoiling the upcoming gameplay reveal planned for early 2019. While this won’t be our final Stronghold Next video of the year, it is currently our last planned Q&A. That said if we receive enough questions in the comments section we might just be convinced to do a bonus round!

This week we respond to your fan questions about the simulation and economic aspects of our new Stronghold game. How much micromanagement will you be doing? What can you expect in terms of difficulty for new and veteran players? Will Free Build feature AI invasions? Will the beloved Bessy return!? We cover all this and more including our plans to demo the game and how we’ll be updating you on development in 2019 and beyond.

We hope you enjoyed our fourth round of Stronghold Next community questions and look forward to a full development update on Stronghold Next before the end of the year!

By in Firefly News Comments Off on Stronghold Next – Mega Q&A (Part 3)

Stronghold Next – Mega Q&A (Part 3)

This week our massive Stronghold Next community Q&A series returns! Nick once again sits down to discuss your most pressing questions about our new Stronghold game as we look forward to revealing the new setting in early 2019. Once again we are spreading 40 community questions over the course of the next two weeks, with another Stronghold Next video on its way next Thursday and more news coming between now and the gameplay reveal.

This week the topics of discussion center on Stronghold Next’s story campaign and various game modes, allowing us to reveal our plans for historical authenticity and overall single player design. Questions on sim modes, tournaments and co-op are all answered, with loads of new info and some discussion of what truly makes a Stronghold game. We even touch on subjects like Sir William’s baby, The Wolf’s demise and Nick’s uncanny resemblance to Ramsey Bolton…

By in Firefly News Comments Off on Inspirations Behind Stronghold – Castles

Inspirations Behind Stronghold – Castles

This week we’re back with another episode of the ‘Inspirations Behind Stronghold‘, delving into the medieval history behind some of the world’s most famous castles and how they inspired the Stronghold series. We travel from Scotland to Spain visiting commanding keeps and majestic castles as we go, showing how the likes of the Tower of London and Wartburg were translated to our final in-game challenges. Then we dive into Stronghold 2: Steam Edition to see exactly how these real world fortresses helped inform our own designs and intricate A.I defenses.

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