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General discussion (archive)Release: Stronghold HD and Stronghold Crusader HD(133 posts)(133 posts)
(133 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted November 01, 2012
Like to get medieval on your foes? Now you can do it in HD!

Stronghold HD and Stronghold Crusader HD, two memorable medieval RTS games simulating pre-firearm warfare, newly upgraded with High Definition graphics, are now available on GOG.com, 20% off! That's only $4.79 for Stronghold HD and $7.99 for Stronghold Crusader HD, until Thursday, November 7, at 10:59 AM GMT.

Stronghold, a 2001 real time strategy game, with managerial and simulation elements, was welcomed enthusiastically both by the gamers and the media. It presented an opportunity to become a medieval warlord in charge of a small army, a piece of land, and high ambitions. Up to this day, the game supports quite a large community of fans creating new maps and modifications, that boost the playtime indefinitely. Stronghold Crusader graced the PCs of strategy fans in 2002. It took the multi-layered gameplay of its predecessor and placed it in the setting of the Middle East in the time of Crusades. With great range of things the player had to take care of--including establishing a sustainable economy, erecting a keep and defending it from enemy raids, and finally conquering neighbouring estates--both games presented a worthwhile challenge to strategy fans.

Stronghold HD and Stronghold Crusader HD are the High Definition editions of these two "castle sim" classics. Adjusted to modern displays they allow for much better control of the playfield and deliver awe-inspiring view of life-like medieval landscape. The HD versions will replace the classic editions (Stronghold Crusader HD is also upgraded to the "Extreme" version) and if you already own one or both of them, you now get a free update! If, for whatever reason, you prefer the classic Stronghold and Stronghold Crusader, you can still download them from your shelf. If you didn't have the pleasure to get acquainted with the series, you have no more excuse not to do so, as we offer you each game with a 20% discount!

Did you ever wanted to be adressed as "Sire"? Here's your chance to become a medieval lord! Grab Stronghold HD for only $4.79 and Stronghold Crusader HD for only $7.99.

Before you rush off to get those strategy classics, or if you're already back after buying them, take a moment to listen to the games' developer!
Posted November 01, 2012
GOG and Firefly Studios rock! Thanks for this surprise. I had SH but not Crusader. Well because of this surprise, I now have Crusader as well.

Cheers. :)
Posted November 01, 2012
If I dislike traditional RTS's but enjoy simulation games ala Tropico and loose RTS's like Majesty; is this a yay or nay?
Posted November 01, 2012
A yay. It's a bit more about designing a castle and managing its resources than the actual fights.

At least it is so in Stronghold 2. So, next question :

I've played a bit of stronghold 2 long ago, and enjoyed it. Are there things that will disappint me in its earlier version ?
Posted November 02, 2012
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Hawk52: If I dislike traditional RTS's but enjoy simulation games ala Tropico and loose RTS's like Majesty; is this a yay or nay?
A maybe? I don't give a fig about most RTSs as they have to offer something really special to get me interested. Stronghold is one of those rare exceptions. This is both a mix of simulation and traditional RTS combat. Fending off pesky enemy lords while one's trying to smooth one's production run can be a bit of a juggle - I often decrease speed a lot so I can keep up with new developments.

It certainly has it's fair share of combat. While conducting a full-scale siege attack on an enemy castle can be a pain at times, actually being able to pull it off does feel very gratifying. There are also more economics-based missions (with a few raiders/wild packs thrown in), but they're fewer in number. On a whole, the game is best when it has a decent mixture of both.

It's a great singleplayer game, as well as a very enjoyable multiplayer one. Fortunately, both Stronghold and Crusader have a rather good player fanbase even after all these years, the latter being the more popular choice.
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Telika: I've played a bit of stronghold 2 long ago, and enjoyed it. Are there things that will disappint me in its earlier version ?
As far as I know, the originals provide a little more well-balanced mix. Stronghold 2 was a bit heavy on the economics side, in comparison. One reason why previous fans weren't that smitten with it. I'd still love to see Stronghold 2 on GOG, to which 2K still has the rights. I wonder if they're eventually going to revert back to Firefly as they seem to have with the originals now.
Post edited November 02, 2012 by mistermumbles
Posted November 02, 2012
It's great to see Firefly show some love to these awesome classics. They are games with really unique gameplay and athmosphere.

Here's hoping that someday they manage to make a worthy sequel to Stronghold and Stronghold Crusader.
Posted November 02, 2012
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DukeNukemForever: And now also language packs for Stronghold, that's really a great upgrade ;-) Also thanks for this.
Indeed. I was starting to miss that headache-inducing echoing of "Wir benötigen Holz" and "Unsere Nahrungsvorräte schwinden dahin, Sire".

On an unrelated note: it's highly praiseworthy of Firefly to support a decade-old game and good of GOG to provide us with a proper package without charging extra, but I do find it a bit cheeky of GOG to paint this as some kind of new release. It's a resolution patch with some framing artwork to compensate for the original artwork not being able to cover the full resolutions, and that's about it.

Firefly themselves didn't try to portray it as a new release - they simply announced the upgrades as patches.

And while I'm happy to give GOG credit where it's due for providing us with the upgrade, it's worth bearing in mind that there would have been hell to pay if GOG had tried charging us existing owners for it.
Posted November 02, 2012
what im gonna say might be a bit harsh but it should be said,

To all who praises gog all the time or any other company for that matter for every release no matter how niche, or bad it is (and every fanboy of big companies). just wanted to remind you that big companies aren't you're friend and the moment they go bankrupt you might not get any service from them, they will make changes that you wouldn't like but you cant do much about it ,they don't always listen to costumers but to their shareholders and marketing department, they also couldn't care less about how much money you spend and if you have debts ,they want it all.

from the customer side, it is kinda pointless to praise big companies , because they don't really have a person whos responsible which you can talk to (with so many departments involved), its okay to praise individuals if they do something beyond their job description, but companies just don't deserve all that love, they're not a charity or a local business with 4 people running it, they're a emotionless business that want your hard earned.

big company care about themselves not you, so criticizing the way it operates is much more than required.especially if you pay for their products. companies and corporations are not a person but an entity that is far from being human although they would like you to think they have a personality with good qualities (that's what commercial are for, branding themselves as such not just selling stuff).

praising a company for doing its job is kinda like praising the government for building roads and basic infrastructure.
Post edited November 02, 2012 by GameDesigner
Posted November 02, 2012
So... This game is exactly the same as Stronghold with exactly the same graphics but just supports higher resolution monitors? That isn't "upgraded with High Definition graphics". That's just a lie! Why would I buy this? Especially since my Stronghold Collection was DRM free (at least CD check free). Why would anyone buy this?
Posted November 02, 2012
Gamedesigner, I don't disagree with anything you've said by any means. I in fact agree with you on many levels. However, I wouldn't quite lump GoG or CD Projekt RED into that same category. I've received what I consider to be a more personal level of customer service from this team more than I have from other developers. CD Projekt RED has gone above what most other developers are willing to do for their customers with its Witcher series.

Also, consider their stance on DRM. How many game developers do you know that shun DRM? That's a big plus in my book.

And finally, consider that what CD Projekt RED does with GoG is something that I believe many people actually consider to be a favor, in a sense. GoG allows people (who either aren't technically inclined enough or aren't interested in messing with Dosbox on their own) to play their favorite old classics again on their modern computer. It's a big blast from the past for most people, so I think GoG customers are appreciative of being able to have those nostalgic trips into the past. Also, GoG wasn't always as popular as it is now - it used to be a much smaller, very niche website, that focused mainly on classic RPG's, so it's original fan-base is quite loyal.

In the end, yes they're a for-profit business, and staying profitable is probably their highest priority. But, I certainly wouldn't put them in the same category as EA or something like that, not by any means.
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J_Darnley: So... This game is exactly the same as Stronghold with exactly the same graphics but just supports higher resolution monitors? That isn't "upgraded with High Definition graphics". That's just a lie! Why would I buy this? Especially since my Stronghold Collection was DRM free (at least CD check free). Why would anyone buy this?
Technically, aren't 720p and 1080p considered 'HD'? If that's the case, then simply supporting higher resolutions is enough to label something 'High Definition'. It's also a nice bonus when older games that originally only supported 4:3 resolutions are updated for widescreen without needing goofy patches, having skewed graphics, or messing up UI's.
Post edited November 02, 2012 by Qwertyman
Posted November 02, 2012
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J_Darnley: Why would anyone buy this?
No one's saying you have to buy it, you're free to download the patch and get high-res/widescreen support that way. (, [url=http://www.strongholdcrusaderhd.com/]Stronghold Crusader).

I, on the other hand, didn't have either game before I bought them off GOG. And, I believe, not having them is a good enough reason for me to buy them.
Post edited November 02, 2012 by Miaghstir
Posted November 02, 2012
I love you gog.com! :D
Posted November 03, 2012
Good job.
Posted November 03, 2012
Since I'm not sure everyone here knows about it, this is a fantastic site for Stronghold resources.
Posted November 03, 2012
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DrIstvaan: Since I'm not sure everyone here knows about it, this is a fantastic site for Stronghold resources.
Should I feel embarrassed that I didn't check this site out before? I knew of it, but never really bothered looking into it. Seems like there are plenty of user missions to keep people occupied. Looking good. :)
Posted November 03, 2012
FireFly deserves a lot of credits of making this patch! Supporting old classics is awesome! StrongHold in widescreen and HD? HELL YES! I am a bit ashamed by a couple of persons in this thread being completely unappreciative. They are not very smart, but whatever.

In short, awesome patch! Great work; and it takes balls to release such a patch when you're making sequel that might not even turn out to be as great. I hope it'll be great, of course, at least in its own way!

Edited: spelling
Post edited November 03, 2012 by hippox99
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Community
General discussion (archive)Release: Stronghold HD and Stronghold Crusader HD(133 posts)(133 posts)
(133 posts)