Mathew Steel

Glad to hear you enjoy the game. Perhaps you'd like to join the gaming event Saturday? Against AI lords so no need to worry about losing :)

Will do :)

Well an update with bug fixes was released yesterday :) I love the game so far, I'm glad the review helped you :)

The long awaited sequel was released today and as promised my review of the game is here. I hope this review will help you decide whether to buy the game or not, or if you'd just like something to read then here we go. After playing the game for 3 hours, playing through the first 2 campaigns and starting the 3rd, also playing 2 matches of skirmish, this is what I have thought of the game so far. First Impressions My first impression of the game automatically made me think of SH3. I thought this because of the UI (User Interface) and the way you rotated the camera. Also the controls are similar. Now straight away I had the awful thought that I had spent ?35 on a game, which like Stronghold 3 was broken. But this is simply not true. The game is far better than SH3. Yes the game is similar in the way of UI and the gameplay, but it is different in the way that they have perfected what they could not in SH3. The game is far more optimized, meaning a decent computer could run it at 60 FPS (Frames Per Second) while maintaining fair eye-candy. The graphics look great and although it looks strange at first, after playing the second mission you are back into good old Stronghold. Now allow me to discuss the game, more in-depth. Grid Placements Something that I love is the good old grid. We all love a good grid. Now for those of you who don't understand, the grid is the area of placement you have. All the Strongholds, except for Stronghold 3 (as far as I know) use the grid. This means everything can be placed in 4 different directions, where as without a grid you can place it in over 12. To some, the grid is bad, to me and most Stronghold fans it's a must. It allows for tidier villages, meaning you will be able to see everything in your castle much easier and it will look much tidier overall. I'm sure this is something a certain Lord_Chris would like, keeping a neat castle. Castle Defences/Walls There isn't much to say about this but as it is different to SH3, I feel it's a topic I should cover. The wall placement is back to good old Stronghold 2 and Crusader. Walls (unlike other placeable buildings) can be placed in 8 different directions (towers and gatehouses are still 4). The walls are nothing like SH3 where it must connect to another wall in some occasions. You can place walls through existing walls, which simply makes building the best fortress, so much easier. There are a few new defences in the game as well as old ones. Here are just some. Burning Pitch War Hound Cages Spikes Barricades Of course there are many more, but this is all I can think of for now. There are varieties of towers, with placeable siege equipment to go with them. Which again are easy to place and can be used to your advantage in defence. Troops There are all the basic troops you get in Crusader as well as some new ones. You can use the basic, armed peasants, spearmen, archers, crossbowmen, swordsmen etc. But there are also new troops such as Sargent at Arms. The troops all have their own advantages, as well as new names. Spearmen are now called Men at Arms like in SH3. Graphics Something they have not let everyone down on is graphics. The graphics look great just like in SH3. The little details in the troops, walls, towers even the wood cutter huts have great textured detail in them. It really makes the game come to life and makes your castle look even better! UI (User Interface) The user interface follows which of SH3. It is really useful and quite neat in my opinion. It has everything you need in a small drop down box in the top right of your screen. Some players may not like it, but after using it for a while I'm sure you will get use to it or it won't even bother you much afterwards. Controls can be very irritating especially with troops. I myself hate having to right click to move troops, but you get use to it after a while and really it isn't that big of a deal. 3D The one thing many Crusader fans were worried of, is the 3D aspect of the game. Being 3D means that there are some features that just can't be added into the game. This includes the building cap and troops cap is slightly lower than which of SH2 and the troop cap is much lower than this of Crusader. But the 3D graphics really do make the game much nicer and to me I like being able to rotate my screen. The 3D is something you'll either love or hate, and there is a chance you will end up liking it. Campaign From what I have played, the campaigns are very fun for any players. New or experienced. Also with the option of being able to change the difficulty to suit your skill level, it makes the game even more exciting! I feel the campaign can get tiring a bit but with loads of other features in the game, there's no need to worry about getting bored of it completely! Skirmish Skirmish is the same as Crusader. There is no huge difference in-game but the custom options make it even better. Allowing you to set starting goods, advantages, starting troops, even adding PT (Peace Time) into the game! They really did a great job in my opinion! There are many other features in the game which I haven't covered. Simply because I have not had time to try them all out. But from what I have played so far, the game is absolutely phenomenal. For any of you who thought it would be a repeat of SH3, then I ask you to think again. The game is way better than SH3 and I would choose it over most other Strongholds. Overall Rating- 9/10 Thank you for reading, Mathew

Welcome to the forums xiiMaRcLeoN my apologies for not welcoming you sooner in the other thread. Already you are part of a gaming even which so far is still taking place on Saturday, good first impression. Hope you enjoy your time here at the forums :)

Glad to hear you enjoyed it!:)

Great to hear such positive feedback. I did spend a lot of time working on terrain and texture detail, scripting was a pain but Vetka managed to help a bit with that. I'm glad to hear you like it :)

Unfortunately that is not an option. And as far as I know it isn't added into the newest release either. Perhaps they will add it as it is a good idea.

Thank you Vetka. I wouldn't say it's perfect as it isn't as difficult as I hoped. But my next one (probably for Crusader II) will be made to perfection before release :D

The map "Yr Ymladd Cymru" is finished and has now been submitted (awaiting approval) for download. Everything you need to know will be on the download page once it is uploaded I will leave a link here. Here are some screenshots of the map for you guys :) Hope you guys like it so far. Hopefully the whole map will be even better :D Download link: http://www.stronghold-nation.com/downloads/file/161-yr-ymladd-cymru/

That's a fair enough reply. I agree with you honestly. But from what I've seen it looks good. I'll be writing a review after a few hours of playing it so I'll let you know what it's like when it's released.

I like the sound of that :)

Curious to know what everyone is thinking of the game as it gets very close to release. Who's gonna buy it and what your thoughts are on it:)

Count me in for now. I'll let you know a few hours before if I can make it:) Additions: Yep seems like I'll be there tomorrow. Really need to take my mind off all that's happening now. Hope you can all make it:)

I thank you all for understanding. I swear if I could have let you known sooner I would've. Can't predict some people haha, anyway I apologise again

Ahh I'm sorry to hear that Chris. Hopefully we can play soon:) I apologise for the inconvenience I only found out now I wouldn't be able to make it I really am sorry for this. It's annoying I know and I'll try to find out sooner in future :(

Just so you guys know the game will be a bit later an hour later is that okay?

Well I hope you can make it as I look forward to it. Who is the strongest AI opponent? How about we use all of them against us and then set the starting goods to complete AI advantage :D

Well I hope you can make it Vetka. Keep me updated. Eagle I'll download the map now :)

I loved the game. It was the best game I've played in a while. Perhaps next time I can have a more challenging role too :cool:

If you would like to make a new map that would be great! I myself aren't very good with Crusader maps. I changed the server options too. It is now Crusader/Extreme depending on how many members we have to play.

?Game: Stronghold Crusader (Maybe Extreme depending on other members) ?Version: 1.2/1.2.1 ?Maximum Participants: 4 ?Current Participants (13th September): -Mathew Steel -EaglePrince ?Other Information: 1.GameRanger Room Name: StrongholdNation 2.GameRanger Password: shn 3.Map: Unknown Global Start Times: 1.18:00 (6:00 PM) GMT +1 - London, United Kingdom 2.13:00 (1:00 PM) EST - North America 3.10:00 (10:00 AM) PDT - Vancouver, Canada 4.19:00 (7:00 PM) CEST - Belgrade, Serbia Note: This match will be against AI opponents.

I'm happy to wait. I can probably play for 2 hours if you are here by 7:00 pm (GMT)

What is his ID? I'm unsure

Ahh damn it lol. No problem mate, just let me know when you can :)