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.
Community Spotlight #5
From Stronghold HD to Stronghold Next this YouTube exclusive episode of our Community Spotlight series brings with it another testing community map, that Game of Thrones x Stronghold Kingdoms crossover you’ve all been waiting for and a look at one of the best strategy YouTubers around, Lionheartx10!
We also answer a boatload of fan questions from whether Stronghold Next will feature naval combat to what games our developers play in the studio. Want to be featured in a future episode? Then make sure you head over the the Stronghold Facebook Group and submit your question there!
- CREATOR – lionheartx10
- VIDEO – ‘Stronghold Kingdoms‘ by Adrianonline1
- MAP – ‘Ciervo’s Island Siege‘ by Ciervo
Once again thanks to the Stronghold community on YouTube, Facebook and elsewhere for making such awesome maps, music and videos. We are huge fans of your work at the studio and remember as long as you keep making it, we’ll keep ‘spotlighting’ it!
Stronghold Showcase #1
This week we debut a brand new series on Firefly Studios’ YouTube channel suggested by you – the players! Introducing the ‘Stronghold Showcase‘ in which we flaunt five awesome user-created maps from our five favorite Stronghold games for your viewing pleasure. Each episode’s collection of community made gems will be available to download immediately via the game’s Steam Workshop page or on Stronghold fan site Stronghold Heaven.
So while you patiently wait for more Stronghold Next info and gameplay, why not dip into our legacy titles with Aaron’s cherry picked array of sieges, skirmishes and economic scenarios? Watch as we take you from the realms of Legends to the lush green fields of Stronghold 2 and the deserts of the Crusader series!
Stronghold & Chill – 3D Art
This week on ‘Stronghold & Chill’ we interview resident 3D Artist Andreas Lostromos about his work on Stronghold Next, Stronghold Crusader 2 and MetaMorph: Dungeon Creatures. Learn more about the different aspects of 3D animation, modelling and art that make up the overall visual style of our medieval castle series, as well as how to become one in the first place! Whether you’re aiming to learn what music Firefly devs listen to while creating our titles or simply looking for some career advice, ‘Stronghold & Chill’ has you covered. This ongoing series bring the developers at Firefly and its community closer together, so make sure you’re subscribed to us on YouTube to catch each new episode!
Inspirations Behind Stronghold – Heroes & Villains
Stronghold’s characters have always been a mainstay in the castle sim series and one of our most beloved aspects of the games. Whether it’s The Rat, Pig, Snake or Wolf, you know your Stronghold session is bound to be full of boisterous personalities and over the top dialogue. So have you ever wondered how these individuals were conjured into the virtual worlds of our medieval RTS games? Or why?! Then let Aaron take you on a game dev adventure giving context to the figurative medieval children of Firefly co-founders Simon Bradbury and Eric Ouellette!
Stronghold Next – Mega Q&A (Part 2)
Welcome back to Firefly Studios’ Stronghold Next Q&A extravaganza! The second part in our massive community Q&A sees Nick answering over 20 questions about our next Stronghold title. All taken from Stronghold videos on the Firefly YouTube channel, we answer as much as possible about our upcoming castle sim. Want to know about the castles we visit for research? Our expert opinion on gong? Perhaps Nick’s favourite number? No? Well good thing we have info on our map editor, boxed version, single player campaigns, voice lines, siege weapons, upgrades, animations and more! Continue reading →
Stronghold Next – Mega Q&A (Part 1)
Welcome to part one of Firefly Studios’ massive Stronghold Next Q&A! Today we answer YOUR questions from our previous Stronghold Next videos on YouTube to tide you over until our full gameplay reveal. Watch as Nick answers more than 50 of your most pressing questions over the next two weeks, all without going into spoiler territory! Firefly reveal as much as possible about the upcoming castle sim including similarities with the Crusader series, game modes, mods, pricing, diplomacy, language support, release dates and more! There’s also discussion about the Stronghold series as a whole, such as how likely we are to see a console version of the castle builder and possible future settings. For some reason there’s even talk of a Firefly clothing line and Game of Thrones… Continue reading →
Community Spotlight #4
Looking for new info on Stronghold Next? Maybe an excellent Crusader 2 skirmish map? What about a heavy metal remix of one of the classic jams from the Stronghold soundtrack? Well have we got good news for you, all that and more in this brand new YouTube-exclusive episode of the ‘Community Spotlight’!
- MAP – ‘Volcanic Island‘ by BiturExpress
- VIDEO – ‘Stronghold Goes Metal – Castle Jam Cover‘ by Aneurysm
- CREATOR – GamerZakh
As always we highlight some gems from you guys in the Stronghold community whilst answering some lingering questions about all our titles, from the ‘OG’s of the series all the way to our newest chapter: Stronghold Next. If you would like to feature in an upcoming episode make sure you click the link below to sign up to the Official Stronghold Facebook Group where we will ask for submissions!
Firefly Joins One Special Day
On September 28th Firefly Studios will begin a second ‘Crusade for SpecialEffect’! For 24 hours all proceeds from our fan-favourite Crusader games will be donated to this amazing charity for One Special Day. That means 100% of Steam revenue from Stronghold Crusader HD, Stronghold Crusader 2 and all associated DLC will be used to help fund SpecialEffect’s ongoing quest for inclusiveness and accessibility in gaming.
In addition to this day-long pledge, we are also planning giveaways and other promotions on the day, generally doing everything we can to spread the word of One Special Day!
Kingdoms Comes to Windows 10
Now available on Windows 10 via the Microsoft Store, Stronghold Kingdoms is the next evolution of the classic castle-building series from Firefly Studios. Kingdoms invites players to conquer countries, continents or an entire medieval world with grand strategy gameplay. Win power through trade, diplomacy or force as you explore a vast research tree to specialize and carve out your corner of each game world.
Completely free-to-play with all in-game items obtainable through gameplay and special events, Kingdoms rewards long term strategic planning above all else. Infiltrate enemy Houses, bankroll your allies with a fully-functioning war economy or take them head on. How you conquer the world of Kingdoms is entirely up to you with the fate of each game world yours to shape in the months and years to come.
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Recent Posts
- Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition – Launch Trailer (OUT NOW!)
- Our Post-Launch Plans For Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition
- New Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition Demo Now Live!
- Stronghold Crusader: DE – Gameplay & Feature Improvements!
- The 8 New Units Coming to Stronghold Crusader: DE
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