Games PC STRONGHOLD User Manual
As soon as the King had marched his army into the barbarian homeland,
the inevitable rumors of a plot to seize the throne began to spread.
A few seasons into the war, the capture of the King was reported from
abroad sparking disorder among the peasantry. Sure enough, the enemy grabbed
this opportunity to invade and after several bloody engagements the splintered
country became locked in civil war.
When the initial onslaught had finished, your father attempted to
negotiate a treaty, arranging a meeting at the stronghold of Duc Beauregard.
Along the way there was an ambush and your father along with several
other lords were brutally hacked down by a band of unknown raiders.
With no treaty signed, the enemy continued their assault forcing county
after county to yield until the country was lost.
Bruised and exhausted, you have been beaten back to a forest on an
overlooked peninsula where it is rumored a small band of bedraggled troops are
hiding.
Although you believe there is little hope, maybe from this refuge you can at
least avenge your father's death.
Table of Contents
1.0 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
1.1 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
1.2 Starting the Game and Game Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
1.3 Game Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
1.4 Game Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
1.5 About the Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
1.6 Winning and Losing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
1.7 Playing a Multi-player Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
1.8 Map Editor Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
2.0 Game Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
2.1 Main Screen Overview and Navigating the Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
2.2 Camera Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
2.3 Placing your Keep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
2.4 Population Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
2.5 Rationing and the Granary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
2.6 Setting Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
2.7 Popularity in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
2.8 Gathering Food and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
2.9 Increasing your Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
3.0 Influencing your Popularity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
3.1 Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
3.2 Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
3.3 Crowding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
3.4 Fairs and Other Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
3.5 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
3.6 Working Inns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
3.7 Fear Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
4.0 Food and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
4.1 The Stockpile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
4.2 Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
4.3 The Granary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
4.4 Food Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
5.0 Money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
5.1 Tax Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
5.2 The Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
6.0 Military Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
6.1 Military Goods and the Armory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
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6.2 The Barracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
6.3 Available Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
7.0 Issuing Military Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
7.1 Gathering your Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
7.2 Marching Orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
7.3 Unit Stances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
7.4 Military Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
7.5 Map Bookmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
8.0 Defending your People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
8.1 The Gatehouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
8.2 Building Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
8.3 Turrets and Towers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
8.4 Placing Stairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
8.5 Traps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
8.6 Moat Digging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
8.7 Mounted Siege Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
8.8 Boiling Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
9.0 Siege Warfare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
9.1 Siege Equipment Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
9.2 Portable Shields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
9.3 Battering Rams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
9.4 Siege Towers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
9.5 Catapults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
9.6 Trebuchets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
9.7 Digging Tunnels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
9.8 Filling in Moats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
10.0 Reference Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
10.1 Non-military Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
10.2 Food Flow Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
10.3 Resource Flow Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
10.4 Buildings Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
10.5 Unit Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
10.6 Unit Cost Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
10.7 Keyboard Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
11.0 Additions to the Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
11.1 Game Additions and Revisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
11.2 Additional Multi-player Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
11.3 Electronic Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
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1.0 Getting Started.
1.1 Installation.
Place the STRONGHOLD CD in your CD-ROM drive. If the CD Autoruns, left
click on the INSTALL button. If the CD does not Autorun, click on the START
button then select RUN followed by BROWSE. Using the pull down arrow, select
your CD-ROM drive with the STRONGHOLD CD inserted. Click on
‘autoplay.exe’ and select OPEN, followed by OK then select the INSTALL button.
When the welcome window is presented, select NEXT to continue.
The license agreement window will now be displayed. Please read through this agreement. If you accept the agreement, select YES to continue.
The next option is to select a destination folder. To use the default folder select
NEXT to continue. If you wish to change the destination folder click on BROWSE
and enter the location you want STRONGHOLD to be installed.
Next you can create a shortcut folder or use the default within the PROGRAMS
menu. When you are happy with your folder name, click NEXT to continue.
Once STRONGHOLD has been installed you will be asked if you wish to install
Gamespy. This will allow you play on-line. Follow the on screen prompts to install
Gamespy.
To remove STRONGHOLD from your PC, insert the STRONGHOLD CD in your
CD-ROM drive and when the Autorun screen appears, click on the UNINSTALL
button and follow the on screen instructions.
We recommend you view the ‘Readme’ file before running STRONGHOLD as this
contains the most recent information on the game.
Each time you insert the STRONGHOLD CD into your CD-ROM drive, the game
will Autorun and a PLAY button will now replace the INSTALL button. Click the
PLAY button to run the game.
1.2 Starting the Game and Game Modes.
When you load FireFly Studios’ STRONGHOLD for the very first time you are presented with a screen prompt asking you to enter you name. Type in the name you
wish to be known as and then press ‘ok’ to continue to the main menu screen.
The main menu is divided into four sections.
a) Combat options - This gives you the following combat related options:
1) Play the campaign - Fight your way through the 21-mission campaign for your
king and country against four merciless and ruthless opponents: The Rat, the
Snake, the Pig and the Wolf.
2) Play a multiplayer game - Play a multiplayer game with up to eight friends on the
Internet using Gamespy or via a local area network (LAN).
3) Play a siege mission - Choose to attack or defend pre-built historical castles.
This option is pure combat with no community management necessary.
4) Play an invasion - Stand alone fighting missions in the same style as the campaign. You will have to build up your castle and economy while defending yourself from constant attack from one or more enemies.
b) Economic options - Choosing this will provide you with the following non-combat
options:
1) Play the Economic campaign - This is set in the period immediately after the
Combat campaign (See above). This is a five mission economic campaign based
around rebuilding the kingdom.
2) Play an economic mission - These are single missions very similar to those in the
economic campaign. You will have to build an economy while trying to balance
your available resources and achieve one or many preset goals.
3) Free build - Here you can build to your hearts content. You have no enemy to
fight, no goals to achieve and no time limit to stick to. You merely choose the
map you wish to build on and away you go!
c) Map Editor - This allows you to build and play custom maps:
1) Load a working map - Allows you to load any map you have previously started and
saved at an earlier date.
2) New Stand-Alone mission - Allows you build up a map from scratch that can be
used as an economic, combat or landscape map.
3) New Siege That mission - Build a magnificent castle and post it on the Internet
then see how long it takes for someone to knock it down.
4) New Multiplayer map - Build a map for you and you friends to fight over in the
multiplayer mode.
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d) Load a save game - Load a game that you saved on a previous occasion. You can
also access this from within the main game using the options menu.
1.3 Game Options.
The game options panel can be accessed by selecting the key icon to the left of
the mini-map within the game.
Save: This allows you to save your game using a file name of your choice.
Load: From here you can load a previously saved game.
Options: This allows you to change the following elements of the game:
Game Play Options: This lets you change the game speed and turn the in-
game help on or off.
Video Options: This allows you to change the resolution of the game as well
as how fast the map scrolls.
Sound Options: From here you can turn the sound on or off and adjust the
volume levels for the music, sound effects and speech.
Help: This takes you to the contents page of the in-game help facility.
Quit Mission: This option quits the current mission and takes you back to the begin-
ning screen.
Exit STRONGHOLD - This closes STRONGHOLD and returns you back to the
operating system.
Resume Game: Selecting this returns you to the game.
1.4 Game Overview.
STRONGHOLD is a castle simulator, it will teach you to design, manage and
defend your own medieval castle. Starting in the middle of the eleventh century, with
little more than wooden palisades and hills to defend yourself with, you will learn
how to build up a castle and rule its citizens. As time goes on, your castles will get
bigger and more sophisticated until, by the end of the campaign, you will have all the
knowledge you need with which to create the ultimate castle.
You must start your initial settlement from scratch then move forward to defend that
which you have built. Each new settlement will need a balanced infrastructure with a
steady income, a healthy stock of food and resources as well as a happy population.
As you progress through the game your defenses will become steadily more advanced.
In the early stages you will only have enough resources at your disposal to build a
simple stockade. Eventually you will have techniques with which to construct a virtually impenetrable fortress.
There are many challenges ahead of you on the road to victory. Each territory has a
unique set of economic conditions and you will face many bloody siege engagements
before this chapter in history draws to a close.
Only with careful castle planning and the cunning use of military tactics will you be
able to ensure the safety of the kingdom. Your STRONGHOLD awaits you, good
luck and God speed my liege!
1.5 About the Manual.
This vast tome may appear a little daunting at first but luckily there is no need to
read all of it to begin playing. You may find it useful to go through the in-game
tutorial first by selecting the tutorial shield from the start screen. Alternatively,
chapter 2 quick start/game basics will introduce you to all of the main concepts.
Once you know the basics you can read through the sections you want more information on.
'Notes' will appear now and again to give you more information on the last topic discussed.
Note: You do not have to read these bits if you don't want to, as they are only here to
answer frequently asked questions on the last topic.
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'Tips' will also appear throughout to give you information relating to game dynamics
such as shortcut keys or other alternative ways of doing things.
Tip: It is quicker to skip these sections to start with as they are only here to suggest
different ways of doing something you have just learned about.
There are also 'Hints' which suggest possible game play strategies.
Hint: Don't read hints if you prefer to figure things out on your own.
1.6 Winning and Losing.
Each mission within STRONGHOLD has a unique set of objectives. To view the
objectives you have yet to complete, select the ‘Briefing’ button to the left of the
mini-map.
You will see the mission briefing text for the current scenario. All of the completed
objectives will have a dagger through them. If the objective of the mission is to eliminate
all the enemy units, then you will also see a timeline. This indicates the time until the
last invasion arrives on the map. When all objectives have been met, you win and the victory screen is displayed. If the lord is killed, you lose and the defeat screen is displayed.
1.7 Playing a Multi-player Game.
You can start a stronghold multiplayer game either via Gamespy Arcade(tm) matchmaking
service or by setting up a local connection.
a) Looking for a game on Gamespy Arcade(tm)
Launch Gamespy Arcade and move to the Stronghold lobby. Here you can find other
players to compete against. Once all the players are ready the host will launch the game
and you will be sent into the Stronghold multi-player options screen.
Note: You can autorun Gamespy Arcade from within the Stronghold multiplayer
Service Provider screen in which case Stronghold will exit and Gamespy Arcade
will start, re-launching Stronghold once you have chosen your opposition.
b) Setting up a local connection
Clicking on Multiplayer in the Combat Options screen brings you to the Service
Provider screen. Here you will see the list of available connection methods installed
on your machine. Click on your preferred method and follow the on screen instructions to connect. One player will host the game and the remaining players can join
the game set up by the host.
After you have connected to a multi-player game you will arrive in the multiplayer
options screen. If you have joined a game you should signal you are ready to start
the game by clicking on the ready icon. You can then tell the host which type of
game you would like to play by using the chat window, but you cannot set any of the
game parameters as only the host has control over these.
Players Connected - Here you can see a list of connected players along with their
ready status. All players must be set to ready before the game is launched. You can
also set your team number here. By default each player plays separately but you can
ally together by clicking on your team number to match that of another player. Being
in an alliance with another player means that your troops will not attack each other
and you will win the game if the victory conditions are met jointly.
If you are hosting the game you can now change any of the default game type options
below:
Starting keep - In a multiplayer game each player starts with a pre-placed keep. This
option allows the host to change the type of keep each player starts with. Changing
this will also change the level of buildings, troops and starting goods available. The
simple Saxon Hall provides an early medieval game with few resource and troops
types available. The most advanced is the Stronghold, which gives you access to all
late medieval troops and technology.
Gold - This allows you to set the initial gold each player begins the game with.
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Popularity - This option sets the starting popularity rating.
Trade - From here you can turn the options to trade on or off for the ‘Resources’,
‘Food’ and ‘Weapons’ categories.
Win Conditions - This allows you to change the way in which the game is won. E.g.
killing the enemies lords or achieving an economic goal.
Starting Goods - This lets you set the initial food, resources and weapons each player
begins the game with. The available goods will differ depending upon the keep type
you have selected.
Starting Troops - This changes the amount of troops that each player starts with. If
you want a longer build up before the first battle then set this to 'none'. If you prefer jumping straight into the action, change this setting to 'many'.
Chat Window - You can send messages to the other connected players from here by
typing a message and then pressing return.
Map Selection - The maps available will differ depending upon your keep setting and
the number of players joining. Maps can be selected from the bottom right window.
You will see an overview of the selected map appear in the top right window and a
short description of the map below it.
When every player is ready and you are happy with the game settings, the game can be
launched by pressing the ‘Launch’ button.
In Game Chat
During the course of a multiplayer game you can send messages to other players by
bringing up the chat entry panel. You do this by pressing the Space bar. Before you
start entering your message you need to decide who to send your message to. The
default is to everyone, but if you wish to send a message to a specific player, pressing
the number keys will select an individual player as the recipient. Once you have typed
your message, press ‘Enter’ to send it. If you want to cancel the message press the
‘Escape’ key.
For any updates to the Stronghold multiplayer game, please refer to the ‘Readme’ file.
1.8 Map Editor Overview.
After selecting the ‘Map Editor’ button, you will be presented with four additional
options.
Load a Map - This option allows you to load and edit a previously saved map.
New Stand-Alone Map - From here you can create a new siege, invasion, economic or
landscape map complete with it's own map and scenario. The 'To Map' button will
take you to the map-editing screen and the 'Edit Scenario' button will let you change
the various events and conditions for the mission. Follow the step-by-step instructions to select the map size and game type you wish to create.
Note: The game type you select, determines where the map will appear in the game.
For example choosing to create an invasion map will make the map show up
under the ‘Combat Invasion’ category.
New Siege That Mission - This part of stronghold allows you test your castle building
expertise against that of other would be challengers to your crown! Everybody starts
with the same resources and builds a castle using a fixed amount of stone and troops.
Attackers then have a set amount of points to choose the make up of their attacking
force in an attempt to siege your stronghold and kill your lord. Your castle can then
be judged by how well it survived or how easily it fell.
New Multi-Player Map - From here you can create a map for you and your friends to
fight over. When you enter the map editing screen there are extra options for placing
the players starting keeps and structures. The number of keeps you place on the map
dictates the maximum number of players that can use the map and the type of keep
you place will set the 'Starting Keep' type (see section 1.7 on multiplayer games).
Once in the map editor you will have at your disposal an array of landscape editing
tools and a custom scenario builder to enable you to create the most beautiful map
or the ultimate mission.
You may share these missions for the purposes of game play but may not sell or make
other commercial uses of the missions. Firefly Studios Ltd. reserves all other rights
to the editors and files.
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2.0 Game Basics.
This section will take you through all of the main features within Stronghold. If you
rarely play computer games, it is recommended that you go through the in-game
tutorial by selecting the tutorial shield. If you play computer games regularly, then
scan this chapter to familiarize yourself with the basics.
2.1 Main Screen Overview and Navigating the Map.
After starting a new game the screen will look something like this:
To scroll around the map, push the mouse pointer to the edge of the screen. As you
scroll around, the overhead mini-map will move with you.
Tip: You can also use the cursor keys to scroll around the map.
Another way to get to a specific location is by left clicking on
the overhead mini-map in the bottom right of the screen.
2.2 Camera Interface.
When you press and hold the right mouse button on the main display you will see
the four camera interface icons appear.
To Rotate the Map:
Move the mouse pointer upwards onto the rotate icon, it will highlight
and the map will rotate ninety degrees. The map will continue to rotate if
you leave your mouse over the rotate icon and won't stop until you release
the right mouse button.
To Zoom:
Holding down the right mouse button and moving the mouse pointer over
the zoom icon, will zoom out your view, allowing you to see more of the
map. Repeating the process will zoom back in again.
To see behind things:
Moving the mouse pointer downwards onto the flatten icon will pull the
landscape, trees, walls and some buildings down to the same level.
Releasing the button will make the landscape spring back up.
Hint:
This feature will prove very useful later on when you want to peek
behind walls!
To hide the Management Panel:
Moving the mouse pointer over the icon to the left hides the management
panel and makes the game go full screen. To bring the management panel
back up, repeat the process.
Tip:
You can also use the tab key to hide the management panel.
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2.3 Placing your Keep.
You must place your starting keep and a granary on the map before any other buildings become available. To construct a building, select it from the building selection
scroll at the bottom of the screen then left click on the main display when you are
happy with it's position.
Note:
If you happen to place a structure over an area of inaccessible ground, part of
the cursor will turn red warning you that you cannot build there.
Once the keep is placed a lot of things will start happening. One of the first things
you'll see is you starting resources being transferred from your starting goods onto
your stockpile.
These resources are now available for you to use in construction.
2.4 Population Growth.
In addition to the keep and the stockpile you will see a campfire. Moving the mouse
pointer over it will reveal the population growth indicator.
The more popular you are, the faster it will fill and the
quicker your population will grow. Every time the indicator makes one full rotation, a peasant will arrive and stand
by the campfire until work becomes available. If the halo
turns red it means that you are unpopular. The halo will
then show how quickly people are leaving your castle.
2.5 Rationing and the Granary.
When you build a granary the food in your starting goods
will be transferred to it. Left clicking on the granary will
bring up the granary panel.
Note:
Left clicking on any building or person will bring up a
screen giving you more information on them. Right
clicking after placing a building will clear the building
cursor and give you back the standard mouse cursor.
This panel lets you see your food details and allows you to make changes to your
rationing. On the right of this panel there are five plates with varying amounts of
food on them, which symbolize the different ration settings from 'no rations' up to
'double rations'. Reducing you rations below the default of 'full rations' will have a
negative effect on your popularity, whereas increasing them will have a positive effect.
You will see the rate of consumption by watching the speed of the bar in the granary
panel or by looking at the units of food disappear from your granary.
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2.6 Setting Taxes.
Left clicking on your keep will bring up the tax panel, which lets you view your tax
details and change your tax rate. You can set your taxes to anything from a generous
bribe all the way up to a downright cruel tax by moving the slide bar left or right.
Increasing your tax rate above the default setting of 'no taxes' will have a negative
effect on your popularity and reducing taxes to hand out bribe money will have a
positive effect.
2.7 Popularity in Brief.
The scribe holding up an open book allows you to see critical information at a glance.
The expression on his face reflects your popularity and he will also let
you know what he thinks about some of your actions!
Left clicking on the report book will bring up the reports panel.
Left clicking on the ‘Popularity’ button will show all information regarding your
popularity.
At the bottom of the panel, after the words 'In the coming month' you will see the
overall effects of your actions on castle popularity for the coming month. Making
changes to your tax rate and rationing are the two main ways of manipulating your
popularity. Ensure your popularity rating remains above 50, otherwise people will
begin leaving your castle.
If your scribe stops smiling and your popularity rating starts being displayed in red, you will begin to lose workers. Your popularity will be
displayed in red if it is below 50 and displayed in green if it is 50 or
higher.
Tip:
Listen for announcements from your advisor. He will let you know if you are
running into any problems.
2.8 Gathering Food and Resources.
Running along the bottom left of the screen you will notice six shields.
These are the building category buttons, which change the type of buildings displayed
on the building selection scroll above them. Moving your mouse pointer over these
shields will highlight them and bring up a brief description of the button above the
building selection scroll.
Tip:
If you can't work out the function of any of the icons in the game, move your
mouse pointer over the icon and it's description will appear.
The most basic resource in the game is wood, as it is required in the construction of
almost every building. Left clicking on the shield with the picture of a hammer will
select the ‘Industry Buildings’ category.
When you place a woodcutter's hut on the map a peasant will turn into a woodcutter
and get to work cutting down trees.
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A quick and easy way to gain food early on is by hunting deer by building hunter's
huts found in the ‘Farm Buildings’ category.
Once the meat is prepared they will place it in your granary, swelling your food
stocks. You should always be aiming to balance the rate at which you consume food
with the rate at which it is being put into your granary.
Undo - If you change your mind when placing a structure, left click on the
‘Undo’ button to the left of the mini-map and you're last action will be cancelled. All of the resources will be recovered.
Delete - To remove a structure from your settlement, left click on the ‘Delete’
button to the left of the mini-map then select the structure you wish to
remove. Half of the resources spent in construction will be recovered.
2.9 Increasing your Population.
To increase your available housing, build more hovels found in the
‘Town Buildings’ category.
Your available housing will increase by eight and your settlement
will continue to grow, but so of course will the mouths to feed.
3.0 Influencing your Popularity.
This chapter will take you through each of the factors, which govern your popularity.
These are listed for you when you open the popularity panel from the report menu.
To the left of each is a face. A green smiling face means that you
will have a positive effect for that factor. A yellow face shows that
there is no effect and the red sad face represents a negative effect. When added
together the sum of these reflect either a bonus or penalty to your overall popularity.
This number is shown after the words 'In the coming month'. There are a total of
seven ways to effect popularity with the two main factors being food and tax.
3.1 Food.
Changing your rationing is one of the quickest ways to influence your popularity.
Both the number of food types eaten and your ration setting affect your food bonus
or penalty. These separate influences can be seen in the granary panel.
Your people will be happier with you if you supply them with more than 1 type of
food. Less than full rations hurts your popularity, while increasing your rations
boosts it. The bonuses and penalties from food types eaten and rationing are as follows:
Food Types Eaten Bonus to Popularity Rations Bonus to Popularity
1 0 None
-
8
2
+
1 Half
-
4
3
+
2 Full 0
4
+
3 Extra
+
4
Double
+
8
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Recap:
• Use the camera interface and mini-map to help you find a suitable location
for your settlement.
• The keep and granary must be placed before any other buildings become
available.
• Popularity is your key game variable.
• Changing your tax rate and rationing will influence your popularity.
• Make sure you start gathering wood and food early on.
• Build more housing to increase your population, keeping an eye on your food
supply and popularity as you expand.
3.2 Tax.
The people of Stronghold do not enjoy paying taxes so any positive tax rate you set
will have a negative effect on your popularity.
When you have sufficient gold in your treasury you may decide to give your peasants
a handout in the form of bribe money each month.
Doing this will have a positive effect on your popularity.
Hint:
You will find bribery proves useful when you are running low on food. Change
your rations to half then hand out bribe money to offset the worst of the
penalty until you find a way of restoring your granary stock.
The table below shows the popularity bonuses and penalties that you will receive
from the various tax settings.
Note:
Attempting to give out bribe money when your treasury is empty will not have
any effect on popularity.
3.3 Crowding.
Your keep provides you with some starter housing for your people,
after which you need to place houses to increase your maximum population level. Each house provides shelter for another 8 people.
Crowding will occur when your population exceeds your available
housing. The population indicator will turn red if you have an overcrowding problem.
Overcrowding may occur if a house is deleted or destroyed by the
enemy. To remedy overcrowding, simply build more housing.
3.4 Fairs and Other Events.
Occasionally, during the course of the game, traveling fairs will pay surprise visits to
your castle and provide entertainment. Whilst they are in town you will gain a temporary bonus to popularity.
Other events such as the marriage of your lord will also occur, bringing temporary
changes to your current popularity. These are added bonuses that you have no control over.
3.5 Religion.
When a religious building is placed, priests will arrive and begin blessing your people.
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Generous
Bribe
+7
Large
Bribe
+5
Small
Bribe
+3
No Taxes+1Low
Taxes
-2
Average
Taxes
-4
High
Taxes
-6
Mean
Taxes
-8
Extortionate
Taxes
-12
Downright
Cruel
Taxes
-16
By opening the religion panel from the advisors report menu, you can see the percentage of people who have been blessed as well as the bonus you are receiving to
popularity.
The blessing given by the priest wears off after a short while, at which point that person must be blessed again. Covering the religious needs of the community, therefore,
is a continual process. The higher the percentage of blessed people, the higher the
bonus you will receive to your popularity.
As your castle population grows the percentage of your people blessed will start to
fall, thus lowering your bonus. To rectify this you will need to place extra religious
buildings. Be warned however as your community grows, people will start demanding
ever more impressive (and expensive) religious structures and failure to provide these
buildings will result in a popularity drop.
The religious buildings available can be seen in the town buildings category.
3.6 Working Inns.
A working inn is one with a supply of ale and an innkeeper. The innkeeper will collect ale from the stockpile and deliver it to the inn automatically. Once ale is available at an inn, your people will start to drink it. The rate at which ale is drunk
depends on your population. The more people you have the faster it will be consumed. To check to see if an inn is working, select it and look at it's panel.
This panel shows how many barrels and flagons of ale the inn has in stock. For each
working inn, (i.e. one that still has ale) you will gain a bonus of plus 1 to your popularity. Ale is drunk from each inn at the same rate regardless of its location. Inns are
in the 'Food Processing Buildings' category.
3.7 Fear Factor.
Fear factor lets you know how people see you, as either cruel and ruthless or easy
going and forgiving. Your fear factor determines how productive your workers are.
Placing good things around your castle will make you seem easy going and increase
your popularity, but at the same time will reduce your workers efficiency.
Constructing some gardens in the castle for example will make everyone happy, but
you will find that they tend to loiter about at the gardens after delivering their
goods, instead of heading straight back to work.
To see these structures left click on the ‘Good Things’ button in the 'Town
Buildings' category.
On the other hand, you may wish to appear more cruel and ruthless. You can
increase work efficiency by placing bad structures around your castle. This will
unsurprisingly have a negative effect on your popularity. Placing a few gallows for
example may not be the most popular of decisions, but it has the effect of encouraging people to work that extra bit harder. They will even start to deliver extra goods
when they make deliveries to the stockpile, granary or armory.
To see these structures, left click on the ‘Bad Things’ button in the 'Town
Buildings' category.
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4.0 Food and Resources.
This section will take you through how to manage your food and resources. In
Stronghold, there are three types of goods available:
· Food
· Resources
· Weaponry
Note:
For information on weaponry, see section 6.1.
Upon starting a new game you will see a cart travel across the top of the
screen. This signals the arrival of your starting goods.
Your starting goods are displayed in the top left of the main display, until you provide space for them by building a stockpile, granary or armory.
4.1 The Stockpile.
All of the resources you gather or produce will be placed on the stockpile. Each
stockpile square can hold up to four resource types.
You can gauge the approximate amounts of resources you have by simply looking at
the stockpile. To see the exact amount of each resource left click on the stockpile.
Tip:
You can also use the ‘Stores’ button from the advisors report menu to get to the
same panel.
When you run out of space, extra stockpile squares can be added to your original stockpile. Any additional stockpile squares must be placed adjacent to your original stockpile.
Hint:
It is a good idea to leave some space around you stockpile in case you need to
expand it later in the game.
4.2 Resources.
In total, there are eight resource types, which are stored in your stockpile. Some are
raw materials and others are processed.
Wheat: This grows on your wheat farms and is at the start of the most productive food chain in Stronghold. Wheat is required to make flour.
Flour: This is produced at the mill and requires wheat. Flour is required to
bake bread.
Hops: These grow on your hop farms. If you want to brew ale, you will first
need to grow hops.
Ale: This is produced at the brewery and requires a supply of hops. When
ale is finally distributed through your inns, you will gain a bonus to your
popularity.
Stone: The quarries that extract this from the ground must be placed on the
white boulders. Stone is required for building most of the castle defensive
structures.
Iron: The mines, which extract this, must be placed on the reddish colored
rocks found on the tops of hills. You will need iron to craft the more
advanced weapon and armor types.
Wood: This is gathered by woodcutters and is used in the construction of
most buildings. It can also be used to craft basic weapon types.
Pitch: You will find this bubbling up through marshes. Once you have
placed a pitch rig on some oil in the marsh, pitch diggers will extract pitch.
Pitch is used for boiling oil and pitch ditches.
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