Stronghold Crusader 2 Patch Notes

By Asophix

Stronghold Crusader 2 has seen numerous official patches during its active support time. For archival purposes, a collection of patch notes can be read below, detailing most applicable changes. 

Note: some of the original note entries have been reworded and/or added extra clarification info. A list of the official patch notes can be found here and here.

Patch 1.0.19093 (released 2014-09-23):

Bugfixes

• Events spawning in estates without a location marker fixed
• Players no longer drop out in Multiplayer games while "task switched for extended periods" (?)

Patch 1.0.19266 (released 2014-10-03):

Features

• Added game invites via Steam
• A disconnecting or surrendering player's castle is removed from the game
• Multiplayer lobby now additionally displays games from neighbouring regions
• "High Latency Games" filter added to Multiplayer lobby
• Hotkeys have been updated and added
• Visual feedback for repair and delete tools improved

Balancing

• Sergeant-at-arms armor buff nerfed from 50% to 25%
• Demolishing a wall returns some stone to the stockpile
• Siege equipment is targetable by ranged units in the siege camp

Bugfixes

• Free single column wall exploit fixed
• Maps located in a network shared "Documents" folder appear in the UI
• Goods sent and received properly reflected in end-game stats
• Kerak pre-order mission - gold is properly deducted per difficulty

Patch 1.0.19369 (released 2014-10-16):

Features

• AI lords received updates to their starting troops and castles
• AI lords choose a random castle layout, but try to build the largest castle within their estate
• Added support for changing keyboard layouts with Alt+Shift

Balancing

• Wood camp footprint reduced to 2x3
• Wood camp cost reduced to 10 wood
• Skirmish Trail missions re-balanced to discourage rushing:
• = 1. Breath of the Infidel - Pit of Despair
• = 2. Desert Heat - Isolation
• = 3. Way of the Warrior - Lord of The Desert, The Two Brothers and Hope Springs
• = 4. A Trail of Tears - Mighty River, Predator and Sands of Time
• = 5. Hell's Teeth - The Peninsula and To The Summit

Bugfixes

• Woodcutters no longer lag when the map has run out of trees
• Free wood camp no longer refunds wood
• Popularity bonus no longer awarded when rations are turned off
• Player estates no longer change ownership on the minimap when team alignments are changed
• Players not in a team are no longer kicked from Skirmish & Multiplayer games
• Ranger animation fixed
• Greatest Lord screen appears properly in Skirmish missions only

Patch 1.0.19574 (released 2014-11-06):

Features

• New Skirmish map - The Breath of Life
• Added well sprite for minimap
• Added tooltips to troop command buttons

Balancing

• Trebuchet damage reduced by 50%
• Re-balanced map - Close Encounters
• Re-balanced Skirmish Trail missions:
• = Isolation > Desert Heat
• = Hope Springs > Way of the Warrior

Bugfixes

• Help icons link to correct file pages
• Lobby type properly displays for all clients
• Player troops cannot enter neutral estates via the minimap, during peacetime
• Gatehouse no longer remains captured once no enemy troop stands on it
• Exploit removed when a player lord could be forced out of the playable map area
• Wall positioning on various plateau heights fixed
• Rally points no longer visible to other players
• Iron mine workers no longer die when the Iron Mine building is removed
• Mounted Knights no longer dismount before crossing a bridge
• Engine tower armor values fixed

Patch 1.0.19791 (released 2014-11-21):

Features

• Multiplayer games in progress display a crossed swords icon in the lobby
• Friends only or Invite only games show up as locked in the lobby
• Enemy units and buildings targeted are highlighted red

Balancing

• Sandbox - Lord death now results in defeat

Bugfixes

• Enemy entities no longer stop players from building, when placed close in peace time
• Braziers no longer block access to walls
• Multiplayer - kicking properly removes the targeted player
• Sandbox - missions can be restarted correctly
• Engine towers placed on walls are properly attackable by melee units
• Siege equipment moving over Man Traps no longer causes a crash
• Improvements to pathfinding, formation movement and woodcutter tree search

Patch 1.0.19800 (released 2014-11-24):

Bugfixes

• Multiplayer lobbies no longer can be connected exceeding its limit

Patch 1.0.19990 (released 2014-12-09):

Features

• Added Steam Workshop support for maps
• Added Classic Map Pack featuring six maps from Stronghold Crusader 1 - The River, North vs South, A Friend Indeed, Great Euphrates, Green Belt, The Ford Across the River
• Added advanced options to Multiplayer - Strong Walls, Double Strength Walls, Trade Restrictions, No Trebuchets / Assassins / Traps / Engine Towers / Fire
• Map Editor - added waterfalls
• Added Steam chat for Multiplayer lobby

Balancing

• Siege camps can be placed further from enemy troops and buildings

Bugfixes

• Improvements to pathfinding and formation movement

Patch 1.0.20091 (released 2014-12-17):

Bugfixes

• Fixed latency issues
• Game no longer hangs on the Firefly logo during loading

Patch 1.0.20907 (released 2015-03-20):

Features

• Added new Multiplayer maps - River's Kiss (4p), Surrounded (5p), Island Peril (6p), Armour Harbour (2p)
• AI castle build orders and recruiting priorities overhauled
• AI captures villages based on individual frequency
• Sultana now uses assassins in her roster
• Skirmish lobby maps scroll added via Up and Down keys
• Added hotkey to Market (V)
• Knights mounting horses receive horses instantly, rather than the horses running to them
• Formation overhauls to Rabble, Box and Line formations (most notably, units with a sprint ability leave the formation behind)
• Added "No Shadows" and "Low Water detail" graphical options

Balancing

• Village carters delivery capacity now depends on good type
• Engine towers limited to five per estate, per each type
• Man trap duration reduced from 6s to 3s
• Man trap no longer triggered by siege engines (they still receive damage when otherwise triggered)
• Man trap no longer damages War Wagon passengers
• Whirling Dervish splash damage reduced from 20 to 15
• Whirling Dervish gold cost increased from 140 to 150
• Inn, Mosque and Church now limited to 1 each per estate
• Allies no longer contest a capture point being captured
• Knight gold cost increased from 150 to 200
• Crusader Grand Tower stone cost increased from 180 to 220
• Catapult damage reduced from 950 to 850
• Crossbowman damage reduced from 4000 to 3600
• War Wolf damage reduced from 1800 to 1600

Bugfixes

• All Lord avatars are included in Skirmish lobbies
• Diagonal walls no longer cost less than straight walls
• Ranged troops no longer shoot through diagonal walls
• Workers path properly through estates during peace time
• Carters can properly deliver goods to a partially blocked off stockpile
• Healers no longer heal engine towers
• AI no longer gets stuck packing & unpacking trebuchets
• AI mantlets properly leave the siege camp
• Pitch ditches no longer burn and linger endlessly
• Scribe announces emigration less often
• Multiplayer lobbies correctly show available player slots including AI
• Shift-click no longer selects multiple buildings
• Lords no longer load in a T-Pose when idling
• Hotkeys no longer cease functioning when task switching in fullscreen mode
• Siege equipment properly deducts the number of peasants required to build
• Apothecary civilian has proper behavior rules
• VSync now always enabled in the Map Editor to reduce renderings
• Various UI improvements for unit orders, building buttons, and building tooltip cleanups

Patch 1.0.21103 (released 2015-04-23):

Features

• Added Easy difficulty for AI lords.
• Added Sandbox Invasion presets.
• Added Crusader/Arabic faction selection.
• Added new Multiplayer maps - Volcano (4p), The Forest (2p), Interlocked (6p)
• Added new Sandbox maps - The Beach, Empty Desert
• Added new bonus Skirmish map - Middle East (6p)

Bugfixes

• Troops no longer attack carters and peasants in unowned estates
• Assassins no longer get stuck on unclimbable walls
• Loading a Sandbox map no longer ceases functioning after a defeat
• Learning Campaigns building availability fixed
• Oil Pot Thrower no longer can throw at infinite range
• Lord dying in a fire no longer causes a crash
• Troops following a dead actor no longer causes a crash

Patch 1.0.21195 (released 2015-05-13):

Features

• Added new Multiplayer maps - Hopeless (3p), Attacks on All Sides (4p), Lion's Share (6p)
• AI troops now destroy Outposts and Lion's Dens

Balancing

• Candles sell price reduced from 8g to 5g / 10 units

Bugfixes

• Peasants take jobs properly in case previous peasants die
• Civilian and troops displacement fixed when a building is placed on top of them

Patch 1.0.21393 (released 2015-06-10):

Features

• Lots of optimisations for multithreading, CPU load balancing and the engine simulation
• Added new Multiplayer maps - The Trench (6p), Large Clover Leaf (4p), Barren Wastes (8p), Tick Tock (6p)
• Added new Sandbox maps - Confluences, Dangerous Lands

Patch 1.0.21397 (released 2015-06-12):

Bugfixes

• Missile units properly acquire a new target when line-of-sight was blocked

Patch 1.0.21417 (released 2015-06-19):

Bugfixes

• AI castle placement no longer offset by one tile
• Bakery destruction physics fixed
• Troop production no longer can be queued past the number of free peasants

Patch 1.0.21612 (released 2015-07-01):

Features

• Added new Multiplayer maps - Tight Corner (2p), Outposts (3p), Mountain Climb (5p)
• AI troop limits are properly reduced in skirmish games
• AI missile troops are recruited earlier in their defenses

Bugfixes

• AI harass clans no longer get stuck
• AI no longer gets stuck building Hovels
• AI properly adjust consumption rates in the case of missing wheat farms
• AI properly requests and trades weapons they require
• Bakers no longer get stuck
• Troops properly engage enemies residing on the other side of a wall
• Catapults engage targets properly if an intended target is beyond range
• Crossbowmen no longer slide

Patch 1.0.22365 (released 2015-06-11):

Features

• Added new Multiplayer maps - Deep in Trouble (3p), Lakes (4p), Across the Chasm (7p), Malicious Lands (2p), In the Shallows (6p), The Star (6p), The Ravine (2p)
• Added new Sandbox map - The Bridge of Dawn

Balancing

• War Wagon peasant cost increased from 1 to 2
• Allies can see other allies' assassins

Bugfixes

• Healer no longer scans while moving
• Mounted units can no longer board War Wagons
• Horse Archers no longer freeze in mid-air when killed
• Inn and Church no longer grants popularity without a worker
• Archers properly re-acquire targets in their scan ranges, when they lost line of sight

Patch 1.0.22449 (released 2015-11-24):

Features

• Added tooltips to in-game shields (?)
• Optimized pathfinding

Bugfixes

• Troops are properly displaced when they cannot fit on a tower
• Map Editor grid overlay no longer appears red everywhere
• Siege equipment and mounted troops can properly move onto bridges
• Player resource production no longer reduced in larger skirmish games

Patch 1.0.22616 (released 2015-12-23):

Features

• Added new Multiplayer maps - Ruins (3p), Mirage (8p), Thee Rivers (3p)
• Added new Sandbox map - The Fork

Bugfixes

• Pre-placed assassins no longer cause a crash
• Large number of worker path requests no longer cause a delay
• Caches added to pathfinding aspects
• Emigrating peasants no longer jump the keep's rooftop
• Disbanded troops / dismissed workers no longer join the campfire when the limit is exceeded

Lunar New Year Patch (released 2016-02-08):

Features

• Added new Multiplayer maps - Around the Cross (4p), Fire Fight (2p)

Patch 1.0.22670 (released 2016-04-07):

Features

• Added options_override file to customize in-game options.