GS: We've already discussed how Firefly has noted that Stronghold 2 wasn't as well received as the first game due to some of its more-complicated (and more micromanagement-heavy) systems for economics and building structures. Could you explain in more detail how Stronghold 3 will try to recapture the magic of the original game?
It's going to take more than 12 soldiers to topple this wall.
SB: Stronghold has always had a lot going on--you need to be constantly building, tinkering with the simulation systems, and playing an RTS at the same time. We got that balance about right in the original, and that resulted in a very absorbing game, the kind of game where you lost track of time. With 2 we went too heavy down the simulation side and ended up losing that balance, so instead of getting lost in the game, the player got bogged down in just one aspect. This time around we believe we have our house in order and the core gameplay will resemble the original much more closely.
We are tinkering with the model, but much more from a position of wisdom this time and much more lightly when we do--for example, the new housing mechanics. In the original, houses could be placed anywhere, which had no effect whatsoever on gameplay, and because they could be destroyed, the best place to put them was on top of an inaccessible mountain. Now in 3, they vary their capacity based on their distance to the keep, so as you move them close to the keep, they give you up to 10 beds (and visually look bigger), and as you move them away to that mountaintop, they give you one bed (and look like the shack they are). This idea is dog simple really, but it's a good example of the type of design detail that we think will extend and enhance the original gameplay.
Another idea that we have trialed successfully in our recent online game Stronghold Kingdoms is to make a slight tweak to the popularity system. Instead of it being time based, and popularity swinging constantly from one extreme to the other, it's not (time based). Again, a simple change. But one that is far less frustrating when you forget, like I do, that you put taxes up to "extremely cruel" to raise money and left them there, and now there's no one left. Instead, you now feel that you have real control over your castle economy, although our mission designers now have a greatly expanded "events" system to upset your carefully laid plans.
GS: We're told that the new game will no longer restrict construction sites for various buildings and will be much more free-form about where and how you place structures. Tell us about how this new system works and what it adds to the game.
SB: That's correct. In previous games, the player has been restricted to grid-based building, so you could only place buildings in very strict straight lines. Obviously this is great if you're building a new street in Manhattan, but not so brilliant if you want to create a more authentic medieval village. Now you can place objects at any angle you want, which gives each village a very unique feel. The new any-angle system allows us to play a little more with the terrain as well. As in real life, the budding castle builder will be forced to adjust to the limitations placed on them by the landscape--rotating a wood camp to make it fit into a bend in the river, for example, or strategically deciding which trees would be better to clear first to uncover the biggest area of building space.
Because we've scrapped the grids, it means that castle wall building is also free-form. This allows us to re-create more-realistic-looking castles--particularly the ones based on actual historical castles. Players can almost paint the castle walls by holding down the mouse button, which makes it so much easier to create something that looks great. I think this goes back to what I was previously saying about stripping out some of the unnecessary elements in the game to create something that's far more accessible for newcomers but offers extra depth for experienced players.
GS: We understand that Stronghold 3 will introduce disease as a defensive weapon--that is, disease that originates from animal carcasses that can be used as ammunition for catapults. How does this new system work? What makes spreading disease by flinging a cow carcass a more strategic choice than hurling boulders, stationing archers on your parapets, or using other, more-conventional defense methods?
SB: We've always included cow-tossing mechanics in the series, but this time we're pushing the boat out by offering different types of animal ammo--including a sack of diseased badgers that the fans chose on Facebook. Historically, sieges were long and drawn-out affairs, so the armies would get bored and start catapulting anything over the parapets of the enemy castle�animals, bodies of captured soldiers. Not only did this relieve the boredom, it also disheartened the people within the walls of the castle. Genghis Khan would catapult decapitated heads, for example.
How will you lay out your castle?
Anyway, in the game, using animal carcasses can spread disease, which takes out any foes that stumble into the filthy fog, so you can quickly take out a group of soldiers who are standing around waiting to attack. Plus, depending upon what type of animal you use, you'll get a different type of disease cloud. It's a new simple added extra to your combat tactics that doesn't reinvent the wheel.