EaglePrince

I agree, although, if it's a SH1 prequel, and SH1 doesn't have any of those... However, maybe they plan to add that within a DLC.[emoji14] Sent from my motorola edge 50 fusion using Tapatalk

That sounds amazing! Sent from my motorola edge 50 fusion using Tapatalk

One perk of that bug was that, once the guards catch some number of criminals, no more peasants would turn to crime. I think the maximum number of criminals was 7. Then I would delete those workplaces, build them again, and from then on everything would run smoothly - no other workers would surprise me by turning to crime. (I'd just continue playing as if I had seven workers fewer, and with that negative popularity effect I already mentioned.) Well, it is an interesting thing with Stronghold 2 - you could build an expensive blacksmiths workshop, then wait for the first sword, and then the blacksmith turns to crime. When the universe is just not on your side!😀 Anyway, I was happy to find out about the patch!😇 And now, I'm looking forward to see how Stronghold 4 is going to turn out.

I agree with your point @ Lady Ivonne , however, I just don't think that we love Stronghold 2 because of cleaning gong, catching rats and capturing criminals; but because of all the other stuff about the castle life that we displayed in detail. I mean, I'm just a messenger. I like Stronghold 2 the way it is, together with the rats, gong, and criminals - I'd usually tell people "just build everything you need for that, and you won't need to think about that at all". Even if you start playing with a small amount of gold, you don't need to take care of any of that in the beginning; it starts showing up as you make your promotions. That makes it even easier. That being said, I'm pretty sure SH2 would be as successful game as it was with or without gong, rats, and crime. I also like what you wrote about SHW. I haven't played it enough, but I had a similar feeling. Another story about crime in SH2. When I was a kid, and got SH2, I didn't have internet, and I was stuck with a version (1.2 I think) where there was a bug with the courthouse: it would become full of criminals, who would still be causing a large negative popularity effect for the rest of the game. I didn't know about later patches that fixed the bug, but I had kept playing anyway.😄

I am indeed optimistic. If they are going to use the same engine as for SHC2 and SH Warlords, then my guess is that they learned from all their mistakes. They made SHC after gaining experience from SH1, and now they do it after gaining experience from SHC2 and SHW. Fingers crossed![emoji1696] @Lady Ivonne I think that players liked that additional stuff that would reward you, like the lord's kitchen, clothes, candles for church, etc. On the other hand, crime, rats, and gong are there only to punish you; you need to dedicate some place and resources inside your castle for cleaning those, and you can't ever count on having the popularity impact of those three consistently at +0. I can defend those three "baddies", since, once you build them, they just do their job. And you simply don't dedicate some +2 of your positive popularity impact on covering a few rats, criminals, and gongs now and then, which in the end costs you stiker gold. But that's how you do it if you want to focus on fighting just in Crusader. Sent from my motorola edge 50 fusion using Tapatalk

Well, if they removed gong, rats, and crime, most players would like that change. Even most of those who like Stronghold 2, in my opinion. That would be like taking the best from both games. I'm looking forward to this new Stronghold. Sent from my motorola edge 50 fusion using Tapatalk

They announced Stronghold 4 this evening. Seems exciting! I'm not sure, from the trailer, it feels like the old Stronghold with Stronghold Crusader 2 & Stronghold Warlords engine? Disappointing if that would mean no moats in the new Stronghold, although I like the idea of going back to the original theme. They especially need to get back to it because of Stronghold 3, which they messed up. Also, my guess is that we won't have a unit collision. Sent from my motorola edge 50 fusion using Tapatalk

Hey guys. I haven't been around for a while, until recently. Unfortunately, I've been too busy, though I'll have to change something about that. It just seems like I took too many obligations; sure, it's great to have some additional money, but it really s*cks not have enough free time.[emoji53] That being said, there have been a few good changes. In February, I got married, and in March I became a father. I plan to raise him so that he loves Stronghold games, naturally! [emoji38] However, that exact same thing is the reason why I really think I should cut off some of my obligations - if it didn't matter enough until two months ago, now it matters far more! That additional work had just been affecting me too much. As for Stronghold, I wasn't able to play it enough. For two years, I've had only my laptop, while the desktop PC stayed at my parents. And this isn't good enough even for Stronghold 2 - at least because I feel quite uncomfortable while the fan blows at full speed. Now we plan to buy a new desktop PC.[emoji846] Beside games, I started playing some board games with my friends, which is also quite enjoyable! Those are board games like Catan, Castles of Burgundy, Terraforming Mars, etc. I even played those on my PC as well. Now that @Sir Windows mentioned fixing AI castles, he just reminded me how enjoyable Stronghold Crusader, Stronghold, and Stronghold 2 actually are. Especially when I try to relax after a hard day. Therefore, I better buy that new PC already.[emoji16] On the other hand, the kid is still quite young, less than two months, so I can't expect that I'll be able to play whenever I want, but I'll try to find some balance with that. Sent from my motorola edge 50 fusion using Tapatalk

Nice discussion here. Well, I would have to get back to SHC DE, and then form a strong opinion. However, I can say that, if the game doesn't have some game breaking bugs, then it's all cool. Indeed, we cannot expect them to continually bring new stuff. I'm satisfied the most by the fact that they brought huge maps, and I am yet to experience the potential of that. I've been wishing that this whole time! I like that they finally introduced a healer unit, too! Likewise, if they move on with SH2 DE, I'd love to see multiplayer games with AI lords. Since the release, there hasn't been any good way of enabling AI lords in multiplayer. Yes, there are some ways, but even then AI lords don't act the way they would in singleplayer games. Those are great changes for me, not the new AI lords. Let's keep in mind that Stronghold Crusader had been thriving for years, long before the Stream Editing, and even the Stream Editing wasn't receiving many updates when it arrived. Back then, so many players, including me, still preferred 1.1 and 1.2 versions. Sent from my motorola edge 50 fusion using Tapatalk

Do glad to see these being mentioned. Also, awesome that you brought up those other issues with some of the other AI lords! Well, a lot has changed in my life lately. I got married in February this year, and we became parents in March. We have a baby boy now. This might be something to write about in the appropriate thread for off-topic, and I should definitely do that! However, I find that related to this topic: now I've come to enjoy some relaxing activities, and playing Stronghold 2 could be one of them. That, and fixing those AI castles! So glad you mentioned all these issues needing to be fixed! Also, if somebody manages to make those fixes before me, they have their permission to include my fixes for Williams castles in that larger "castle fix pack".[emoji4] Thank you do "summoning" me with that great idea! Sent from my motorola edge 50 fusion using Tapatalk

Oh yeah! [emoji3] With Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition, this is the best year to live in! [emoji1] I believe that is why you mentioned this? I love those bigger maps![emoji16] Sent from my motorola edge 50 fusion using Tapatalk

Wow, I didn't even know it was disabled for some time. The more reason to play it now when it is re-enabled! Sent from my Motorola Edge 50 Fusion using Tapatalk

I noticed your reply, but I don't want to read it until I win the mission too.[emoji16] Sent from my Motorola Edge 50 Fusion using Tapatalk

Tried to play the first Sands of Time mislim yesterday evening. I didn't get to finish it, and then I noticed we cannot save game progress in the demo version. I need to keep that in mind next time! [emoji1] Sent from my Motorola Edge 50 Fusion using Tapatalk

I agree! It bugs me so much that I can't access the market by pressing the M hotkey. It just moved the camera to the marketplace, but I have to click at the market manually to buy or sell stuff. Also, like you said, the co-op campaign doesn't seem like much to make. Still, I like the idea of it. That will motivate players to try co-op, as they will at least wish to unlock those achievements in the game. Sent from my Motorola Edge 50 Fusion using Tapatalk

Hey guys, I just yesterday saw the video by Firefly about Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition. I love it! What you haven't mentioned yet, it should also bring the following: - 800x800 maps! - co-op multiplayer! I just love both of those! I think this is finally a new Firefly game I'm going to buy right when it's released. I've already downloaded the demo. I've played it for less than an hour, but it's very enjoyable. You can only play a classical campaign where you need to rebuild a castle, and I don't know what more in other missions, and another campaign similar to Crusader trail, but with about five missions. So it might also be comparable to the old Crusader States campaign. I like how they refreshed the graphics and everything, I'm so excited about it. I will certainly write more about my impressions. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to try those larger maps and co-op, those might not be available in the demo, but I have yet to see that. I haven't played all the missions yet. I hope Firefly will keep their promise about those two.[emoji4] They even said there will be a co-op campaign in the final game. Oh man, I've been wishing for those larger maps ever since Crusader HD![emoji3] Sent from my Motorola Edge 50 Fusion using Tapatalk

This is great. Good working AI editors are something very welcome in any Stronghold game, and it indeed brings a lot. Sometimes it enables is to fix an error in an existing castle, but it can also make AI much more efficient. Let me just mention how great castles have been made for Stronghold 2 - these Stronghold 2 AI lords fight significantly better with their new called! Can't wait to see what are people going to make with this! Sent from my Mi A2 Lite using Tapatalk

Hey, always great to see you! [emoji3] Exactly, the auto-market is something I was hoping for since I was a kid. No more "your stockpile is full my sire" during long sieges.[emoji3] That thing would stop wheat, wood and iron from arriving into the castle, which would cause your economy to lag a little if you're not careful enough. That is going to be helpful for the armory and the granary too, but having your stockpile full could even cause your popularity to drop eventually. Sent from my Mi A2 Lite using Tapatalk

We are here, though not all of us were as famous back then at Stronghold Knights as Paul the Dubious was.[emoji3] I was there with the same username. Lord Chris was there too, but I don't remember if that was his username at SHK as well. Sent from my Mi A2 Lite using Tapatalk

Exactly, Nick did mention modding, but it was my impression that he somehow avoided the question actually. Don't remember in detail. But Stronghold 1 and Crusader 1 actually never were mod friendly. It's just that fans had figured it out themselves over time. As for the bugs, I agree, those bugs that could break the game should be addressed, especially if some of them appeared in newer versions. And even though I personally would love to see all bugs and exploits removed, I realize that many of my friends find this game interesting especially because of those exploits. [emoji53] Some people just love to put 200 crossbowmen atop their keep, and watch themselves being invincible. [emoji1] Sent from my Mi A2 Lite using Tapatalk

Today I watched a YouTube video by Firefly. Nick said they didn't want to fix the old bugs, nor improve the AI much, as the game is old, the players are used to those exploits, and so they don't want to change the old game. The way he said it, I agree with it. They could make the AI smarter for example, but that would completely mess up the Crusader Trail for example, and even some missions from the campaigns. Not to mention tons of the fan made scenarios! That could be an excuse, but I think it's a valid one. If we want to, we can always give huge advantage to the AI, that works too. Sent from my Mi A2 Lite using Tapatalk

Still, many of these things wouldn't matter if we, as players, didn't want to exploit them. I'd rather lose the game than exploiting the maze trick for example. Yup, it's stupid, but it's not a deal breaker. Unfortunately, we should be expecting much. These games were made more than 20 years ago. No way Firefly would try to mess with that code today. They'll just do the "simple stuff", make the multiplayer, and they will improve the graphics. Sent from my Mi A2 Lite using Tapatalk

I think the conclusion is that you simply don't like this game. I mean, not all Stronghold games are supposed to be the game, even Stronghold 1 and Stronghold Crusader are very much different games. Though I agree with you for when it comes to fighting. AI lords should have been made more carefully. They have fewer castles then in Crusader, and they put too few troops to guard it. It's not that knights are invisible, crossbowmen can cripple even knights of Stronghold 2. And in general, Stronghold 2 AI lords could have been made both smarter and with better castles. I mean, come on, William has a tower with a door towards outside of the castle. Other than these things, I do think Stronghold 2 is good. I get that rats, crime and gong are boring to most of people, but it is actually the one Stronghold game in which they took the most care into displaying castle life. And you just need to put these things in place (falconers, gong pits, etc.), and you're fine. You do need to count that it will drop your popularity from time to time, but I just regulate it by not putting the tax rate to the maximum, but something slightly below. By the way, there are unofficial Stronghold 2 AI castles that can replace the official one (but don't forget to backup the original ones!), and with them, the AI lords do play more efficiently. Not great, but much better! Sent from my Mi A2 Lite using Tapatalk

That's interesting stuff, I like the fact that those lord's cannot be compared so easily. In some situations some of them are stronger than the other. For example, you put Olaf too low in my option. While his stronghold is too basic, and he certainly doesn't do well in deathmatch games, he actually rocks in games where you start from the lowest rank! That's why I like to play with him, and pair him with Hammer for example. Then Olaf can give you a lot of trouble in the beginning of the game, while Hammer would do any harm to you at all. On the other hand, when you grow stronger, then Olaf cannot hold his ground against your swordsmen. On the other hand, although Hammer cannot hurt you even then, it's more of a challenge to fight against his elite troops! That being said, I like your list![emoji3] While it is hard to compare them, your comparison makes perfect sense for late game. I might want to put Hammer higher though. Sent from my Mi A2 Lite using Tapatalk

Hey, those are indeed good news, though we don't expect to much. I mean, we would get some new graphics, although the game is going to remain the same. But it's still going to be much more than what we got before: with the HD, some more resolutions were introduced with everything remaining the same. It's good, but it's definitely not a remake. Again, I hope that we would set least great some 500x500 or 600x600 maps, although there is no reason to expect anything like that.[emoji1] Sent from my Mi A2 Lite using Tapatalk