Hello!

I'm running an up to date win 10 with GTX970 and i5 processor, when I try to start the game, it just goes into the backround and I cannot bring it to the foreground in any way. Trying to run it in compatibility mode gives a black screen and again, no way to play the game

Run the game as administrator. Add it to the exception list in your antivirus/firewall if needed.

In order to get Stronghold HD to run in Windows 10 I had to first enable DirectPlay under Programs and Features > Legacy Components. Then had to configure the game launcher to start the game executable in Windows 7 Compatibility mode.

If you have to enable DirectPlay make sure to shutdown Skype and temporarily disable your antivirus software as these can interfere. It's fine to re-enable these once DirectPlay has been activated.