Stronghold Kingdoms
Encyclopedia
Stronghold Kingdoms is a massively multi-player online real time strategy game (MMORTS) with a Medieval castle
building theme. It was developed by Firefly Studios
and based upon their commercially successful and popular Stronghold series of games. Firefly Studios
started development
of Stronghold Kingdoms in 2007 as their first entry into the MMO
genre
. The first Alpha test began in 2009 and was open only to 150 players. These were drawn from previous testers of Firefly Studios
games, others volunteered via prominent fansites.
In addition to the central theme of castle construction and design, Stronghold Kingdoms incorporates a variety of architectural, economic, military
, agricultural, mercantile, industrial
and political elements which challenge players ability to prioritize, direct work-flow and resources and administrate their holdings in the manner of a medieval land holder or noble. An individual player's success is not entirely predicated upon the ability to successfully defeat computer-generated
enemies, but also upon teamwork
with fellow players.
The player begins relatively alone, one village
amongst others in a single parish
. From this beginning, strategic decisions are made and dialogue
established with fellow parish members which introduces the social
aspect of Stronghold Kingdoms. All players can vie for stewardship of the parish, dependent on rank. When two or more players wish to be Steward they can negotiate to decide who will take control of the parish, or take it by force, razing out the opposing players village from that parish. If Theology
is researched, then monks can be deployed to infiltrate the parish and influence the vote. This is usually referred to as a monk war in the game vernacular. When the successful candidate becomes steward they gain control of the parish army along with the ability to set taxes (tithe
), and build the necessary guilds to improve life for all in the parish.
offers.
Starting resources are given to each new player and from that beginning how the village is managed, is essential to building a strong foundation to defend against all enemies. Juggle research to unlock what the castle needs, food
, arms, or basic resources like stone
and wood
, used to build everything in the castle or village. Use research points to unlock different aspects of the game. Obtain honour
by banqueting certain goods, attacking wolf lairs, bandit camps, AI
castles as well as through defending your own castle from enemy AI (siege camps, AI castles) or players. As the game progresses, honour is accumulated and used to rank higher, but honour can be gained, or lost. If you opt to attack another player, this will cost honour thereby making every decision influence the next.
Server) the original Alpha world
is modelled upon Britain
. At the beginning of the Beta
phase in November 2010 it was announced that World 1 would not reset, as it had through the previous Alpha iterations. As of May 2011 there were over 14,000 active players on this world.
World 2, (English Language
Server) as World 1 filled up with players and demand grew stronger for the game Firefly Studios
launched World 2 on Tuesday 8 February 2011. This world has the same map and all players from world 1 could join world 2. This also introduced the ability to start in different areas of the map rather than in a cluster.
Welt 1, (German Language
Server) was launched on February 22, 2011 and is modeled on Germany
, Austria
, Switzerland
and The Czech Republic
.
Monde 1, (French Language
Server) was launched on 6th July, 2011 and is modeled on a map of France
, Belgium
and Luxembourg
.
Mir 1, (Russian Language
Server) is scheduled for launch on the 1st of December 2011.
becomes available. They can create their own or join an existing one, opting for a group that has the same common purpose. The creator of the faction invites and appoints officers who in turn can invite and dismiss members. Each faction has an individual forum
where participants of that faction may communicate with one another. Faction leaders may also choose to enter into an alliance or war with other factions, doing so will place a decorated white ribbon or a glowing red sword - respectively, above other player's villages. If neither is chosen other players will remain neutral, sporting no symbol above their villages.
As factions expand, they may decide to join a House to participate in the race for glory.
and designated colour. Factions apply to join a House and on acceptance are integrated and sport the house colour beneath their villages on the world map. They also receive the house banner by their name on the leaderboard.
bestowed some retroactively, thereby giving players a head start with their collection.
Eric Ouellette, stated Stronghold Kingdoms would be free-to-play
. A set number of free cards are given each week depending on criteria achieved in game. An option exists to also purchase crowns. These crowns are then used to buy strategy cards and Premium Tokens, to enhance gameplay.
Strategy Card Packs
Premium Token
This token gives the option to automate some of the play actions while one is offline. Auto scout, attack, trade and recruit. A research and build queue is also included.
Alpha 2, religion was added where previously the research for this had been greyed out.
Alpha 3, parish guilds were implemented and strategy cards introduced.
Alpha 4, most of the screens were now in place. The only major addition to this alpha was the introduction of captains. These were now necessary when buying or capturing a village. They were also fleshed out with their own tactics.
Beta, at the time of writing this article an open beta is in progress.
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
building theme. It was developed by Firefly Studios
Firefly Studios
Firefly Studios is a computer game developer that has offices in London, England and Canton, Connecticut, with a QA department in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Company was formed in August 1999 by Simon Bradbury, Eric Ouellette and David Lester who had worked together on numerous titles such as the...
and based upon their commercially successful and popular Stronghold series of games. Firefly Studios
Firefly Studios
Firefly Studios is a computer game developer that has offices in London, England and Canton, Connecticut, with a QA department in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Company was formed in August 1999 by Simon Bradbury, Eric Ouellette and David Lester who had worked together on numerous titles such as the...
started development
Software development
Software development is the development of a software product...
of Stronghold Kingdoms in 2007 as their first entry into the MMO
Massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games played on...
genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
. The first Alpha test began in 2009 and was open only to 150 players. These were drawn from previous testers of Firefly Studios
Firefly Studios
Firefly Studios is a computer game developer that has offices in London, England and Canton, Connecticut, with a QA department in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Company was formed in August 1999 by Simon Bradbury, Eric Ouellette and David Lester who had worked together on numerous titles such as the...
games, others volunteered via prominent fansites.
In addition to the central theme of castle construction and design, Stronghold Kingdoms incorporates a variety of architectural, economic, military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
, agricultural, mercantile, industrial
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
and political elements which challenge players ability to prioritize, direct work-flow and resources and administrate their holdings in the manner of a medieval land holder or noble. An individual player's success is not entirely predicated upon the ability to successfully defeat computer-generated
Computer-generated
The term computer-generated most often refers to a sound or visual that has been created in whole or in part with the aid of computer software...
enemies, but also upon teamwork
Teamwork
Teamwork is action performed by a team towards a common goal. A team consists of more than one person, each of whom typically has different responsibilities....
with fellow players.
The player begins relatively alone, one village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
amongst others in a single parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
. From this beginning, strategic decisions are made and dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
established with fellow parish members which introduces the social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
aspect of Stronghold Kingdoms. All players can vie for stewardship of the parish, dependent on rank. When two or more players wish to be Steward they can negotiate to decide who will take control of the parish, or take it by force, razing out the opposing players village from that parish. If Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
is researched, then monks can be deployed to infiltrate the parish and influence the vote. This is usually referred to as a monk war in the game vernacular. When the successful candidate becomes steward they gain control of the parish army along with the ability to set taxes (tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
), and build the necessary guilds to improve life for all in the parish.
Gameplay Elements
Communication with one's neighbors is vital to a player's advancement and enjoyment of all that Stronghold KingdomsStronghold Kingdoms
Stronghold Kingdoms is a massively multi-player online real time strategy game with a Medieval castle building theme. It was developed by Firefly Studios and based upon their commercially successful and popular Stronghold series of games. Firefly Studios started development of Stronghold...
offers.
Starting resources are given to each new player and from that beginning how the village is managed, is essential to building a strong foundation to defend against all enemies. Juggle research to unlock what the castle needs, food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
, arms, or basic resources like stone
STONe
is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Sin-Ichi Hiromoto. Kodansha released the two bound volumes of the manga on April 23, 2002 and August 23, 2002, respectively.The manga is licensed for an English-languague released in North America be Tokyopop...
and wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, used to build everything in the castle or village. Use research points to unlock different aspects of the game. Obtain honour
Honour
Honour or honor is an abstract concept entailing a perceived quality of worthiness and respectability that affects both the social standing and the self-evaluation of an individual or corporate body such as a family, school, regiment or nation...
by banqueting certain goods, attacking wolf lairs, bandit camps, AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
castles as well as through defending your own castle from enemy AI (siege camps, AI castles) or players. As the game progresses, honour is accumulated and used to rank higher, but honour can be gained, or lost. If you opt to attack another player, this will cost honour thereby making every decision influence the next.
Worlds
World 1, (English LanguageEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
Server) the original Alpha world
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
is modelled upon Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. At the beginning of the Beta
Beta
Beta is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. Beta or BETA may also refer to:-Biology:*Beta , a genus of flowering plants, mostly referred to as beets*Beta, a rank in a community of social animals...
phase in November 2010 it was announced that World 1 would not reset, as it had through the previous Alpha iterations. As of May 2011 there were over 14,000 active players on this world.
World 2, (English Language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
Server) as World 1 filled up with players and demand grew stronger for the game Firefly Studios
Firefly Studios
Firefly Studios is a computer game developer that has offices in London, England and Canton, Connecticut, with a QA department in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Company was formed in August 1999 by Simon Bradbury, Eric Ouellette and David Lester who had worked together on numerous titles such as the...
launched World 2 on Tuesday 8 February 2011. This world has the same map and all players from world 1 could join world 2. This also introduced the ability to start in different areas of the map rather than in a cluster.
Welt 1, (German Language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Server) was launched on February 22, 2011 and is modeled on Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and The Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
.
Monde 1, (French Language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
Server) was launched on 6th July, 2011 and is modeled on a map of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
.
Mir 1, (Russian Language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
Server) is scheduled for launch on the 1st of December 2011.
Factions
As players evolve in game, the ability to join a FactionClan (computer gaming)
In computer and video gaming, a clan or guild is an organised group of players that regularly play together in a particular multiplayer games. These games range from groups of a few friends to 1000-person organizations, with a broad range of structures, goals and members. The lifespan of a clan...
becomes available. They can create their own or join an existing one, opting for a group that has the same common purpose. The creator of the faction invites and appoints officers who in turn can invite and dismiss members. Each faction has an individual forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
where participants of that faction may communicate with one another. Faction leaders may also choose to enter into an alliance or war with other factions, doing so will place a decorated white ribbon or a glowing red sword - respectively, above other player's villages. If neither is chosen other players will remain neutral, sporting no symbol above their villages.
As factions expand, they may decide to join a House to participate in the race for glory.
Houses
Houses have their own bannerBanner
A banner is a flag or other piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or other message. Banner-making is an ancient craft.The word derives from late Latin bandum, a cloth out of which a flag is made...
and designated colour. Factions apply to join a House and on acceptance are integrated and sport the house colour beneath their villages on the world map. They also receive the house banner by their name on the leaderboard.
Glory
Glory is an ongoing challenge played in rounds between the houses. Houses gain points for the control of parishes, counties, provinces, and countries. At the end of each cycle, which is determined by points, the houses in the last two positions are removed from the next round, these take no further part in Glory. At the present time, Glory has just begun its fourth round and six houses have now been removed from this challenge.Achievements
An update on 9th May 2011 brought Achievements to Stronghold Kingdoms. Awarded in the shape of a medal, players earn these by completing deeds. To acquire "Banquet King" for instance, a player would need to feast with different elements of banquet goods, to earn each rank of medal. The medals come in four ranks starting with iron, silver, gold and diamond. Medals ranked silver and above reward the player with a small amount of honour. All medals earned by players are viewable in game to both friend or foe, so you can see what other players have achieved. With over 40 achievements to accumulate, it could take a player some time, but Firefly StudiosFirefly Studios
Firefly Studios is a computer game developer that has offices in London, England and Canton, Connecticut, with a QA department in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Company was formed in August 1999 by Simon Bradbury, Eric Ouellette and David Lester who had worked together on numerous titles such as the...
bestowed some retroactively, thereby giving players a head start with their collection.
Sound
An update put out on the 16th June 2011, takes the client build to 1.20.4.63 and delivers for the first time to Stronghold Kingdoms, music. The background music is a medley of beautiful medieval sounds that make a welcome début to the on-line game and will be instantly recognisable to fans of the Stronghold series. Those wonderful notes composed by Robert Euvino are now incorporated into Stronghold Kingdoms. Listed in the music folder is a battle medley that includes two endings, one for defeat. Along with the battle music there are various pieces including, Under an old tree, a poignant piece titled Stainedglass-all, and an ecclesiastical sounding Monks1. The music can be turned off altogether or reduced depending on player preference.Free-to-play
CEO of Firefly StudiosFirefly Studios
Firefly Studios is a computer game developer that has offices in London, England and Canton, Connecticut, with a QA department in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Company was formed in August 1999 by Simon Bradbury, Eric Ouellette and David Lester who had worked together on numerous titles such as the...
Eric Ouellette, stated Stronghold Kingdoms would be free-to-play
Free-to-play
Free-to-play refers to any video game that has the option of allowing its players to play without paying. The model was first popularly used in early massively multiplayer online games targeted towards casual gamers, before finding wider adoption among games released by major video game...
. A set number of free cards are given each week depending on criteria achieved in game. An option exists to also purchase crowns. These crowns are then used to buy strategy cards and Premium Tokens, to enhance gameplay.
Strategy Card Packs
- Random Pack - Standard and some rare cards.
- Food Pack - Food production cards.
- Industry Pack - Resource, productivity cards
- Castle Pack - Castle cards
Premium Token
This token gives the option to automate some of the play actions while one is offline. Auto scout, attack, trade and recruit. A research and build queue is also included.
Premium Boxes
Two premium box editions have been released that include special content. The Stronghold Kingdoms Deluxe Edition is the English version while the German Premium Edition differed only in offering a 10% lifetime discount when purchasing crowns. A code within the box gives access to the exclusive content. Accounts may only redeem one code.Development
Alpha 1, this was a closed alpha and the game at this stage was very basic. Some parish screens were blank but for a tax setting. Barracks were limited to the stewards command research which scales with each level attained.Alpha 2, religion was added where previously the research for this had been greyed out.
Alpha 3, parish guilds were implemented and strategy cards introduced.
Alpha 4, most of the screens were now in place. The only major addition to this alpha was the introduction of captains. These were now necessary when buying or capturing a village. They were also fleshed out with their own tactics.
Beta, at the time of writing this article an open beta is in progress.
External links
- The official Stronghold Kingdoms Website
- Firefly Studios official site
- Bright Hub review of Stronghold Kingdoms by Michael Hartman
- German GamingXP Review of Stronghold Kingdoms by michaelha
- Google translation of michaelha's Review of Stronghold Kingdoms
- Hardcore Christian Gamer review of Stronghold Kingdoms