Campaigns
Stronghold Crusader features several real-time strategy campaign strings. These document the First, Second and Third Crusade, as well as conflicts within the individual Crusader states. Each campaign comprises several battles, such as Nicaea, Heraclea, siege of Antioch, Krak des Chevaliers and the Siege of Jerusalem. The game also features the Crusader Trail, a series of 50 linked missions against various opponents. Stronghold Warchest adds one more Crusader Trail, consisting of 30 linked missions.Gameplay
The gameplay is similar to the original Stronghold, the major difference being that the game is set in the Middle East. As a consequence, farms can only be built on oasis grass, which leads to rivalry among players for limited farmland and resources. The game adds new AI opponents (the number depending on the version of the game) and several new Arabian units purchasable from a mercenary post. The colour of the player's units have also been changed from blue to red in order to match the colours of the Knights Templar. Other than farms there are other resources such as iron ore, quarry (for stone), marshes (for oil). These resources are deposited on the stockpile and player can choose to either sell or use them for defense purposes. There are two ways to accumulate army either make the weapons and then spend a little gold to turn peasants into army men or turn them directly into soldiers using more gold via mercenary post.There are historical chapters (mostly fictionalized) which are to be completed using the resources given to the player at the start of the missions. Along with that there are 50 levels designed with increasing difficulty. Each level has one or more Kings who you have to defeat and defend your kingdom from. There is an option of 3 chickens at the start of the level, player can use one chicken to skip a particular level.Characters
The game contains several different characters, available to be selected as allies and enemies. The opponents from the original game make a return, as well as new Arabian lords and crusaders being available. One unique aspect of the game is that the characters have individual binks (small short videos) by which they communicate with the player, asking for goods or help if allied with them or, if they are the players' enemy, taunting them when attacking or expressing worry when under siege. These videos were absent for Stronghold 2 but returned, in new form for Stronghold Crusader 2.The Rat (Duc de Puce): The Rat was raised as an only child in lands belonging to the de Puce family. The duke showed his mother favour ensuring that she never paid taxes and always had enough to get by. One day a messenger came by and it was revealed that his father was the same Duc de Puce whom his mother had once worked for as a serving wench. Due to an unfortunate accident the entire de Puce family had been lost at sea whilst returning from holiday leaving the Rat as next in line to inherit the title of Duke. As an attacking opponent,the Rat is the weakest opponent, attacking only with poorly armoured spearmen with no siege weapons and only a few archers. Defensively, the Rat is the second easiest castle to besiege after the Sultan's castle. The Rat's economy tends to be relatively stable and reliable, certainly more so than the non-farming Sultan.
The Snake (Duc Beauregard): The Snake was once governor of some of the richest provinces in the homeland where he made an extremely fruitful living from underdeclaring the taxes he collected but, when the king found out, he had him posted here to the 'new colonies'. During one of his first military encounters, he went up against the Lord’s father losing an eye to him in combat. On that day the Snake swore he would not rest until the decapitated heads of your entire family were lined up on spikes outside his keep. The Snake's attacking forces are easy to kill off if a castle has adequate missile troops but the archers can prove a nuisance in the large numbers which are deployed by him. The slave raids outside of the main attacks, can like the Caliph's destroy some opponents buildings, although the Snake doesn't deploy as many slaves as the Caliph. Defensively, the Snake has a moat around his castle and lots of archers on his towers but no ballistae or mangonels so has an average defensive capability.
The Pig (Duc Truffe): When the Pig was born it is rumoured he looked so hideous that his parents abandoned him in the street. Whatever the case, it is known that he was taken in by a group of traveling bandits who raided small towns and villages throughout the homeland. Whilst growing up with this small army of rogues he was vastly underfed; however, after developing a crude but effective understanding of basic military tactics and being nominated as their leader, the Pig made sure that he had first call on the best foods after each raid and has overeaten ever since. He is quite tough, and won't go down without a fight. As an attacking force, the Pig's macemen are very fast, and can manage to cause some damage to the walls and destroy several out-buildings of even the most well defended opponent. Defensively, there are large numbers of crossbowmen but no siege weapons and only one layer of low walls around the fortress. His macemen swarm if the wall is breached and can easily surround and kill attacking opponents' overeager men.
The Wolf (Duc Volpe): The Wolf's past is shrouded in mystery and what is known of his history is mainly patched together from stories and unreliable rumours alone. This aside, it is believed that both his parents died from natural causes in close succession shortly after his eighteenth birthday. Both attacking and defending the Wolf is capable with flammable pitch around his fortress, mangonels, fire ballistae and crossbowmen defending his fortress and increasingly large numbers of swordsmen and pikemen in attack. It can take a long time fore the Wolf to launch his first attack, only attacking when he has more than 150 troops in total.
Richard the Lionheart: The Lionheart has a reasonable grasp of the region's economy for a soldier, but it is in the field of battle where he is in his element. Brave and fearless, his ability to siege a castle is second to none. However defensively, despite having mangonels, archers and ballistae the Lionheart is vulnerable to fire because of the thin walls and not always enough archers on the towers to repel slave and fire ballista attacks. Enemies of the Lionheart do have to be aware of the presence of boiling oil at his fortress.
Saladin: More than any other Lord, Saladin dominates the desert economy. He will be in no great rush to lead his forces out into the field, but when he strikes, it will be from a position of power. Good defensively, perhaps not as good as the Wolf, but in attack his horse archers can easily neutralise the threat from a defending opponents manned towers. However, unless there is a large force deployed towards the end of the game there will usually not be enough swordsmen and assassins to trouble a well defended enemy.
The Caliph: Cruel and vindictive, the Caliph is skilled at bringing misery to both his own people and to yours. If he can get his tyrannical act together, his underhand methods of fighting will prove a constant thorn in your side. Periodic slave raids and lots of horse archers in his (relatively rare) attacks, the Caliph is likely to start a few fires at least in his opponents' buildings. Defensively, despite having no ballistae or mangonels on towers, enemies still have to be careful of burning pitch, flamethrowers and boiling oil.
The Sultan: The Sultan is more...say...a poet, than a warrior, preferring feasting to the humdrum matters of running his own castle. In short not the sharpest sword in the desert. His people love him, however, and his soldiers will fight well to defend him. The worst opponent defensively, with his slingers being easily attacked by archers and with no ballistae or mangonels on his walls. However with large forces attacking, rare as that is with the Sultan, there can be large numbers of swordsmen that may prove a threat to opponents that do not train crossbowmen. The Sultan has a shaky economy because he does not grow food, takes a long time to build his castle and relies heavily on stone once all the trees have been felled as the main source of income.
The following characters only appear in Stronghold Warchest (though the first three are downloadable from the main site)
Philip II of France: King Phillip seeks glory and prestige from his desert adventure. His reckless insistence on the use of his knights as his main fighting force is more often than not, his undoing. His knights will raid farms and quarries to good effect, but his main attacks, apart from the power of his knights, are underwhelming. His castle is also poorly defended (although he does have ballistae), and due to the presence of a moat, is only completely enclosed on low ground.
Emperor Frederick: Emperor Frederick is perhaps the best all-round strategist in the desert. There are few weaknesses in his armour and left alone he will over time become a mighty force. He is adequate in both attack and defence with similar troops to the Wolf, but with a better attack because of positive fear factor.
The Sheriff: The Sheriff is the cruelest lord in the land and easily the most underhand. He will use Arab or Crusader alike, along with every dirty castle defense he can lay his hands on, to further his own self-interest. Raiding macemen will prove an annoyance, his attacks on your castle need to be given attention but his own castle is poorly defended with no big ballistae-manned towers and it is also vulnerable to fire.
The Nizar: The Nizar may catch his enemies by surprise if caught unprepared for his swift and silent tactics. His island like castles are only effective on low ground and can be tricky to attack. If you are his enemy, you may be shocked by the sudden sight of his assassins, sometimes in considerable numbers, scaling your walls.
The Wazir: The Wazir is a mean spirited leader with a fiery temper. His persistent use of horse archers make him an annoyance, although his siege technique leaves a lot to be desired. His horse archers wait too long for the slower troops to catch up meaning they can be easily defeated when besieging your castle. However his castle is well defended, and will resist besiegement well.
The Emir: The Emir is a kind hearted and easy going Arabian leader. A good all rounder who manages his economy effectively as well as his attack tactics...which he does...in force! His castle is well defended, and he can build up large armies if not dealt with quickly in the game.
The Abbot: The Abbot considers himself entrusted with the defense of his faith. His vindictive monks will continually amass in vast numbers to pull down the walls of their enemies. However they are very vulnerable to arrows and if a besieged castle has sufficient archers, few monks should reach the walls. However, they will put up a considerable fight inside his castle when besieged, especially given that he has a well defended castle with ballistae and pitch.
The Marshal (Sir Longarm from the original Stronghold): This retired fighter tends to play things a little more cautiously than he once did. The sight of his knights sallying forth from his castle is still a warning to anyone however. If the Marshall's poorly defended (and usually unenclosed) castle is not destroyed soon in the game, his knights will prove an annoyance, destroying farms, quarries and other buildings situated outside castle walls.
Reception
The game was met with positive reviews, and according to the FireFly, is the studio's personal favorite and the favorite of the series' fans as well.Sequel
On August 30, 2012, Firefly Studios announced Stronghold Crusader 2, a sequel to the original Crusader game. The company said that the game would be self-published, with additional funding to be sourced via crowd-funding site Gambitious.According to Simon Bradbury, CEO of Firefly Studios, the original title is "our favorite game, it’s our fans’ favorite game and it’s the game we have been waiting to put into production for several long years now."The game is set to be released in 2014.
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