Posted March 09, 2021
Time flies when you’re having fun! It’s already been 20 years since the first Stronghold game captivated all would-be medieval castle-builders. The newest part of the series takes us in a new direction – to the historical battlefields of East Asia. The game’s lead designer, Simon Bradbury, was kind enough to tell us more about Stronghold: Warlords.
GOG.COM: Firefly Studios spent 20 years creating and perfecting games from the Stronghold series. What do you feel when looking back and seeing that this journey has proved to be so long and eventful?
Simon Bradbury: I feel very lucky, to be honest! I love medieval history and castles in particular have always been fascinating to me. If you combine that with a passion for computer games, then you have the ideal job in my eyes :)
There have obviously been many highs and lows along the way, but I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. Not just seeing our company grow and learn, but also just watching the evolution of the gaming industry has been fascinating for a tech head like myself.
Stronghold: Warlords seems to be a major departure from the other parts of the series in terms of the setting. How did you come up with an idea to change the game’s scenery from medieval Europe and the Middle East to the eastern corners of Asia?
It’s tempting to look at Warlords and assume this is a major departure for the series, but in our minds, it’s no different creatively than our shift to the Middle East with Crusader back in 2002. A good setting for Stronghold is one that has solid material to draw from with interesting historical figures, the potential for humor, new units (think – gunpowder!) and yes of course castles too.
In the same way that we decided to dip into fantasy and folk tales for Stronghold Legends – mainly because we wanted to explore unit abilities - the warlords’ system really drove our decision to move the series into East Asia. The ability to command ‘mini AI’ warlords across the battlefield, upgrade them and fortify their defenses seemed like a perfect fit for this setting. In Warlords you set taxes, torture peasants, raise an army, and feed your population as you would in a proper sim-focussed Stronghold game. However, there’s this completely new dimension to it now in the warlords’ system.
Each has a unique perk gained by controlling them, such as boosting your diplomacy, increasing the goods delivered to the stockpile, or improving your defenses. Once captured they can then also be commanded to do things for you, in exchange for Diplomacy Points. These can be spent to issue ‘Edicts’ which are commands used to send weapons, provide special units, bolster your army or even attack the enemy alongside your own forces.
For the regions we cover in the campaign there’s plenty of ‘warring states’ and certain figures rising to power quite quickly, making this an ideal fit for the new gameplay. Certain parts of East Asia also have that feudal system, society, and history of fortifications and siege warfare that feel like prerequisites when it comes to building a new Stronghold game. We had so much to draw from in the campaigns, selection of units, siege weapons, AI opponents, and more that it really was a joy to research and finally see come to life!
How does this change affect the challenges posed to the gamers? Will the experienced veterans of the previous Stronghold installments have to change their strategy completely when struggling on the fields of the Far East?
So most who have played a Stronghold title will already be familiar with the estate system and Warlords are basically a huge expansion of that. Originally these were a simple way to help with your economy, but never really tipped the balance of a match. In Warlords, these ‘estates’ are now controlled by unique archetypes that the player can command directly.
We have the Dragon Warlord who can boost your Fear Factor and provide special gunpowder units, The Ox who can bolster your economy in many ways, or The Pig warlord who (as you might imagine) can help keep peasants fed! Once these are taken over, either through diplomacy or military force, you can issue them with orders from across the battlefield. At the same time, there are lots of counters to this, the AI and other players can for example take over or indeed steal warlords from you. So the new tools that you have are accessible to everyone else on the battlefield, the warlords are another layer to the formula rather than something that remixes it completely.
On the topic of classic gameplay, we have also mixed things up a bit. There are new units of course, and some tweaks to existing unit types, meaning players will need to relearn a few of their tactics. I personally still use tons of archers on my walls and towers. However, the improved AI, use of mantlets, and the deadly new Hwacha fire arrow carts have – to my horror – made me work a little harder at this simple strategy! It still works to an extent, but you need to learn a few new tricks first ;) That said plenty of classic Stronghold strategies will still work in single-player and online against friends, players just have another layer of strategy to enjoy and use against their foes.
The game’s soundtrack has been created by Robert L. Euvino, an experienced composer we remember from the past Stronghold games. What was the biggest challenge in composing the score that is rooted in the world culturally so different from the one we’ve experienced in the previous titles?
Indeed! We’re extremely lucky to have Rob and the series wouldn’t be what it is without his music, but also his sound design and creative input. I think for him creating music for a completely different part of the world was a challenge, but one he met and exceeded in the end. The full soundtrack has Japanese, Chinese, Cambodian, Mongolian, Vietnamese influences, so I think the challenge for him was incorporating in melding those into a single cohesive style.
The Warlords campaign covers Vietnam, China, Mongolia, and Japan, so we certainly didn’t make it easy for him! Luckily Rob is both very talented and extremely hard-working, so in the end, this diversity gave him lots of options when it came to composition. In his words...
“Creating high octane siege music was an interesting challenge. Many far eastern instruments have a truly distinctive flavor and are never tuned to minor scales and harmonic minors, the scales that create darker sounds associated with war. In many cases, film and game music tends to abandon the instrumentation in favor of more traditional contemporary orchestral ‘war’ music. What we end up with is an interesting hybrid that should hopefully satisfy both longtime fans and purists!”
We’re absolutely thrilled with the work he’s done and think there will be plenty of new favorite songs for Stronghold fans to enjoy in the years to come.
If you could name one historical leader from the times pictured in Stronghold: Warlords that, in your opinion, had the best strategy to win battles and conquer cities, which one would that be?
It’s hard to beat Genghis Khan, isn’t it? After uniting the Mongol clans his mounted armies swept through all of Asia and much of Europe reaching Budapest, at which point Western Europe was pretty much his if he hadn’t died at that point! He not only mastered the art of open field battle confounding the heavy knights of the west, but he also conquered much of his old enemy China.
He understood and used a lot of their gunpowder weaponry, featured in Warlords of course, against them. Despite other characters in the game having accomplished great feats of political unification and military dominance, Genghis definitely stands tall. Which is part of the reason we chose him for our box art!
Although he’s not featured in the game I will also give a special shout-out to the prefect of De'an, Chen Gui. We have a special unit in the game called the ‘Fire Ox’, which is basically a few jars of gunpowder and some spears tied to an ox. When you attack with this unit its tail lights on fire and the Ox runs at its target, exploding on impact. This siege weapon, if you can call it that, was inspired by accounts of the Siege of De'an in China from 1132 AD.
Chen seized a critical opportunity in the siege of the city by releasing a stampeding group of oxen against overwhelming enemy numbers, by setting their tails on fire! He then personally led a group of fire lancers, which are also in the game, out to meet the enemy soldiers and siege towers head-on. I’d suggest reading more about the siege online or in print, but suffice to say it inspired multiple units in the game!
What are your thoughts on the Stronghold series? Do you wait impatiently to become a powerful warlord in its newest installment? Let us know in the comments below!
GOG.COM: Firefly Studios spent 20 years creating and perfecting games from the Stronghold series. What do you feel when looking back and seeing that this journey has proved to be so long and eventful?
Simon Bradbury: I feel very lucky, to be honest! I love medieval history and castles in particular have always been fascinating to me. If you combine that with a passion for computer games, then you have the ideal job in my eyes :)
There have obviously been many highs and lows along the way, but I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. Not just seeing our company grow and learn, but also just watching the evolution of the gaming industry has been fascinating for a tech head like myself.
Stronghold: Warlords seems to be a major departure from the other parts of the series in terms of the setting. How did you come up with an idea to change the game’s scenery from medieval Europe and the Middle East to the eastern corners of Asia?
It’s tempting to look at Warlords and assume this is a major departure for the series, but in our minds, it’s no different creatively than our shift to the Middle East with Crusader back in 2002. A good setting for Stronghold is one that has solid material to draw from with interesting historical figures, the potential for humor, new units (think – gunpowder!) and yes of course castles too.
In the same way that we decided to dip into fantasy and folk tales for Stronghold Legends – mainly because we wanted to explore unit abilities - the warlords’ system really drove our decision to move the series into East Asia. The ability to command ‘mini AI’ warlords across the battlefield, upgrade them and fortify their defenses seemed like a perfect fit for this setting. In Warlords you set taxes, torture peasants, raise an army, and feed your population as you would in a proper sim-focussed Stronghold game. However, there’s this completely new dimension to it now in the warlords’ system.
Each has a unique perk gained by controlling them, such as boosting your diplomacy, increasing the goods delivered to the stockpile, or improving your defenses. Once captured they can then also be commanded to do things for you, in exchange for Diplomacy Points. These can be spent to issue ‘Edicts’ which are commands used to send weapons, provide special units, bolster your army or even attack the enemy alongside your own forces.
For the regions we cover in the campaign there’s plenty of ‘warring states’ and certain figures rising to power quite quickly, making this an ideal fit for the new gameplay. Certain parts of East Asia also have that feudal system, society, and history of fortifications and siege warfare that feel like prerequisites when it comes to building a new Stronghold game. We had so much to draw from in the campaigns, selection of units, siege weapons, AI opponents, and more that it really was a joy to research and finally see come to life!
How does this change affect the challenges posed to the gamers? Will the experienced veterans of the previous Stronghold installments have to change their strategy completely when struggling on the fields of the Far East?
So most who have played a Stronghold title will already be familiar with the estate system and Warlords are basically a huge expansion of that. Originally these were a simple way to help with your economy, but never really tipped the balance of a match. In Warlords, these ‘estates’ are now controlled by unique archetypes that the player can command directly.
We have the Dragon Warlord who can boost your Fear Factor and provide special gunpowder units, The Ox who can bolster your economy in many ways, or The Pig warlord who (as you might imagine) can help keep peasants fed! Once these are taken over, either through diplomacy or military force, you can issue them with orders from across the battlefield. At the same time, there are lots of counters to this, the AI and other players can for example take over or indeed steal warlords from you. So the new tools that you have are accessible to everyone else on the battlefield, the warlords are another layer to the formula rather than something that remixes it completely.
On the topic of classic gameplay, we have also mixed things up a bit. There are new units of course, and some tweaks to existing unit types, meaning players will need to relearn a few of their tactics. I personally still use tons of archers on my walls and towers. However, the improved AI, use of mantlets, and the deadly new Hwacha fire arrow carts have – to my horror – made me work a little harder at this simple strategy! It still works to an extent, but you need to learn a few new tricks first ;) That said plenty of classic Stronghold strategies will still work in single-player and online against friends, players just have another layer of strategy to enjoy and use against their foes.
The game’s soundtrack has been created by Robert L. Euvino, an experienced composer we remember from the past Stronghold games. What was the biggest challenge in composing the score that is rooted in the world culturally so different from the one we’ve experienced in the previous titles?
Indeed! We’re extremely lucky to have Rob and the series wouldn’t be what it is without his music, but also his sound design and creative input. I think for him creating music for a completely different part of the world was a challenge, but one he met and exceeded in the end. The full soundtrack has Japanese, Chinese, Cambodian, Mongolian, Vietnamese influences, so I think the challenge for him was incorporating in melding those into a single cohesive style.
The Warlords campaign covers Vietnam, China, Mongolia, and Japan, so we certainly didn’t make it easy for him! Luckily Rob is both very talented and extremely hard-working, so in the end, this diversity gave him lots of options when it came to composition. In his words...
“Creating high octane siege music was an interesting challenge. Many far eastern instruments have a truly distinctive flavor and are never tuned to minor scales and harmonic minors, the scales that create darker sounds associated with war. In many cases, film and game music tends to abandon the instrumentation in favor of more traditional contemporary orchestral ‘war’ music. What we end up with is an interesting hybrid that should hopefully satisfy both longtime fans and purists!”
We’re absolutely thrilled with the work he’s done and think there will be plenty of new favorite songs for Stronghold fans to enjoy in the years to come.
If you could name one historical leader from the times pictured in Stronghold: Warlords that, in your opinion, had the best strategy to win battles and conquer cities, which one would that be?
It’s hard to beat Genghis Khan, isn’t it? After uniting the Mongol clans his mounted armies swept through all of Asia and much of Europe reaching Budapest, at which point Western Europe was pretty much his if he hadn’t died at that point! He not only mastered the art of open field battle confounding the heavy knights of the west, but he also conquered much of his old enemy China.
He understood and used a lot of their gunpowder weaponry, featured in Warlords of course, against them. Despite other characters in the game having accomplished great feats of political unification and military dominance, Genghis definitely stands tall. Which is part of the reason we chose him for our box art!
Although he’s not featured in the game I will also give a special shout-out to the prefect of De'an, Chen Gui. We have a special unit in the game called the ‘Fire Ox’, which is basically a few jars of gunpowder and some spears tied to an ox. When you attack with this unit its tail lights on fire and the Ox runs at its target, exploding on impact. This siege weapon, if you can call it that, was inspired by accounts of the Siege of De'an in China from 1132 AD.
Chen seized a critical opportunity in the siege of the city by releasing a stampeding group of oxen against overwhelming enemy numbers, by setting their tails on fire! He then personally led a group of fire lancers, which are also in the game, out to meet the enemy soldiers and siege towers head-on. I’d suggest reading more about the siege online or in print, but suffice to say it inspired multiple units in the game!
What are your thoughts on the Stronghold series? Do you wait impatiently to become a powerful warlord in its newest installment? Let us know in the comments below!
