https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0reUy48H9t0
Play the Alpha!

We’ve just launched Combat 2.0, a brand new update for our co-op city builder Romans: Age of Caesar! This new update not only adds exciting and unique tactical powers, but also a completely redesigned Empire Map to secure make your impending domination over nearby lands. With key game revisions and balances added to the mix, Romans: Age of Caesar is growing into a thrilling multiplayer adventure spanning ancient Rome and beyond.



Watch as Natasha and Ben delve into exactly what this major new update brings to our alpha players, allowing alliances to survey their lands, trade routes and military advances more effectively than ever. On the barbarian battlefields they also discuss our brand new Troop Deployment System as well as Sabotage, an intriguing tactical power now available for your sieges and skirmishes. Both open up a curious range of unique ways to battle and will be a breath of fresh air for veteran Romans testers.



Combat 2.0 is just one of our planned updates coming to Romans: Age of Caesar over the course of the alpha. Every day we take on important community feedback and implement changes wherever we can, so if you’d like to help us make Romans the best city builder it can be then sign up today!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5CI9ch7b0U
Welcome to Stronghold Sessions, our new series on Firefly Studios' YouTube! These videos will be a selection of extended, unedited interviews taken from our '20 Years of Stronghold' documentary released alongside our initial Stronghold: Warlords announcement.



First up is Firefly co-founder and Lead Designer Simon Bradbury, a key architect on every Stronghold title to date. Here we discuss the early beginnings of Firefly Studios, development stories from the Stronghold series and even where Simon sees the games heading in the future after Stronghold: Warlords releases later this year.



Provided you guys enjoy the video there will be plenty more Stronghold Session interviews down the line. So if you're interested in hearing more extended interviews from our Firefly developers, including topics like art and production, then make sure you subscribe to Firefly Studios on YouTube with notifications turned on to catch the latest episodes as they release.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3z_cmfTfF0
We're back with more raw gameplay of Stronghold: Warlords, our upcoming RTS castle sim! Today's video showcases of our first full mission taken from the Chinese portion of our main single-player campaign, featuring legendary figure Qin Shi Huang and infamous rebel warlord Lao Ai.

So sit back and relax as Lao Ai's fort is decimated by player-controlled warlord attacks, Hwachas, Fire Oxen, classic Catapults and more in a devastating display of gunpowder-fuelled destruction! Combining our first ever use of gunpowder in the Stronghold series with some incredible historic weaponry and the new warlords system, this new demo should give you a flavour of things to come.



The demo also features new production chains and economy mechanics unique to Vietnam, China, Mongolia and Japan and firsts for the Stronghold series as a whole. Adding a fresh layer of resource and management gameplay has been a core goal since the start of development. So expect even more sim gameplay in the final release, as we continue to blend our two beloved genres of real time strategy and simulation.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeWC83jAJLk
It gives us great pleasure to reveal that our upcoming ‘castle sim’ Stronghold: Warlords will include a bonus economic campaign! Available at launch and featuring Warlord’s very own version of the Scribe, this six mission campaign will feature feudal events, weather and unique objectives.



Stronghold: Warlords will feature several single player game modes, with the main story split between our combat-heavy military campaign and the more city-builder focused bonus campaign. The full four-part historical military campaign will be set across ancient Vietnam, China, Japan and Mongolia, with players balancing between castle besieging and economic gameplay to succeed over 24 missions.



Alongside this there will be a new ‘Path of Peace’ bonus campaign centered around castle building, resource gathering and reacting to feudal events. With the ability to boost or crush a player’s popularity, events will change fortunes with the coming of monsoon rains, lightning storms, bandit attacks, wildfires, festivals, typhoons and more!



Players will have to make the most of Warlords’ new castle sim mechanics to battle against thinning food supplies, accidental gunpowder explosions, local bandits and revolt from their own peasants. Temples must be built to produce Spirit, Hovels created to house castle dwellers, farms to feed and tailors to clothe them. In addition players will be able to show their true colours with feudal entertainment and torture devices available to instill love or fear in the hearts of their subjects. If all else fails tax, torture or treat peasants to adjust their mood accordingly!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DujbdkMBuUI
From the moment we deployed that very first Trebuchet nearly 20 years ago to today's rampaging Fire Ox in Stronghold: Warlords, our castle sim series has a long history of siege warfare. So assemble your Laddermen and load up your Catapults, because today we bring you our first episode in a brand new series called ‘The Siege Engines of Stronghold’. We're kicking things off with a mixture of classic fan favourite castle conquerors and brand new tower topplers, diving in with humble Laddermen, trusty Mantlets, classic Catapults and chaotic Fire Oxen!



Based on the historical sieges of ancient China, ranging from Tian Dan’s 3rd century BC assault on the city of Jimo through to the Siege of De’an in 1132 AD, the Fire Ox has an interesting history. With incendiary fabrics attached to its tail and spears at its side, this living weapon was an unexpected force to be reckoned with. Capable of decimating enemy siege lines before they knew what hit them, the Fire Ox was an unorthodox but effective tactical solution to a common siege scenario. Alongside series classics like the Mantlet, Laddermen and Catapult, the Fire Ox rounds out this first set of siege weapons to be revealed for the latest entry in our series.



Players will be able to use virtual gunpowder in their castle defences, economy buildings and siege weapons, which will all use this new resource type in different ways. Fire Oxen, Fire Lancers, gunpowder traps and more will build on the series’ love of fire to give players completely new options for blowing apart rival castles in story mode, skirmish or online against friends. As Nick announces in the video, this is merely the first of several episodes in our new Siege Engines mini-series. So make sure you Wishlist for future instalments covering the revered Trebuchet and more!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3s4AkWnL7Y
Join the Stronghold Discord - https://discord.gg/u3ms8MK

Nearly in its 20th year, the Stronghold series has a few consistent staples we wouldn't dream of changing. One of these is a history of memorable songs and full soundtracks composed by Robert L. Euvino!

From fan favourite hits like 'Castle Jam' in Stronghold 1 to soulful desert ballads such as 'Breathe' from Stronghold Crusader 2, music has been a highlight of every Stronghold game to date. Fans have grown accustomed to besieging set to had hard hitting orchestral clashes and castle building to the tune of peaceful lutes and idyllic violins, so we're pleased to announce that Stronghold: Warlords will once again deliver. The game will feature an all-new soundtrack and return to the modular 'Oud' musical system from the original Stronghold Crusader, providing a more seamless musical experience during gameplay.



So rest easy as Rob will indeed be returning to score the landscapes of Warlords, with music suited to the many ways you'll be governing over your lands with military force and cunning diplomacy. To celebrate we have put together a collection of early ambient compositions that Rob has created for the game so far. These are intended as mood setters to give you a small taste of the instruments, influences and styles you will be hearing in the final soundtrack.

We'll have much more on the audio side later down the line for Warlords, with video deep dives into the creation of the sound effects and full soundtrack planned. For now please enjoy this early preview of the music of Warlords!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_w5fD6p4Nw
Join the Stronghold Discord - https://discord.gg/u3ms8MK

As is now a yearly YouTube tradition, Firefly Studios starts the year by looking at the months of productive game dev ahead for our two upcoming games: Stronghold: Warlords and Romans: Age of Caesar! So join Nick as he takes you through all the exciting plans we have for both our East Asian castle sim and Roman co-op city builder in 2020.



After a packed 2019 Stronghold: Warlords is on track to be one of the best Strongholds yet. Armed with the classic RTS-sim gameplay of its predecessors, the core Stronghold dev team has spent the last few months implementing brand new mechanics, upping the ante with animations and of course making sure besieging feels as satisfying as ever. Now that we have our first foot planted firmly in this new decade we plan to move forward, squashing bugs and adding new features with video deep dives to accompany each major update.



While granaries are set alight from gunpowder experiments and Mongols harass local farmers, half way across the world in a small south London studio Rome is of course also being rebuilt! The other half of Firefly Studios is also waist high in game dev, with Romans: Age of Caesar in development as the first ever online cooperative city builder! With our second alpha now well under way, with more major updates coming soon, we are nearly ready to showcase our first ever gameplay trailer! So make sure you've hit that subscribe button with notifications on to be the first to see it.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDQCpeczP8o
Inspired by legendary combatants from the Mongol steppe, Japanese shogunate, warring states period China and tribes of early Vietnam, Stronghold: Warlords features both classic and all-new units drawn from history. Exclusive to the new Military Academy, these special hero units will each possess a historically accurate ability that can turn the tide of battle. Introducing the Mongolian Horse Archer, Chinese Fire Lancer and General!



Inspired by the Jin-Song Wars of ancient China, the Fire Lancer can make rival players blazing mad with their ‘Immolate’ ability. Kick ash and make flames by burning enemy Laddermen before they can send their army over your castle walls and into your keep. Shield them with Mantlets and other units and you’ll soon warm up to the Fire Lancers as a vital component in your attacking forces.

Building on their colt following in the Stronghold series, Mongolian Horse Archers are perfect for dealing with Tribesmen intent on crippling your economy. By outmanoeuvring pesky scouts long before they can get near your farms and peasants, your horse lords can make quick work of lightly armoured troops and exposed siege equipment. Get in there and stirrup trouble!



In a break from series tradition, Stronghold: Warlords introduces new ways to boost the spirits of your soldiers. Now you can give them morale, instead of just more ale! In Warlords an inspired siege force that would otherwise clash fruitlessly against enemy walls might survive long enough to breach their defences. With the help of a commanding General players can boost nearby units and take out siege defences, archers and traps, allowing your siege to succeed.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJGQfG2Zvp8
Happy New Year! Firefly begins a promising 2020 with a look back over an exciting year of Stronghold: Warlords and Romans: Age of Caesar development.

First a Stronghold: Warlords update straight from Senior Producer Paul Harris. From our initial E3 announcement to subsequent improvements for troops, walls, fear factor, fire and more, the Stronghold production team had a busy year indeed. Fuelled by feedback, design debates, reams of new code and a bunch of promising suggestions from the community, it's been a fast and furious ride set to continue toward release in 2020.



We then catch up with Online Producer Ben Tarrant and his co-op city builder team working on Romans: Age of Caesar. An entirely different beast full of unique production challenges and lofty design goals, Romans has made great progress in 2019. With our first public Alpha now underway and the game's update road map revealed, our dedicated group of community testers will be helping us mould this epic MMO throughout 2020 as we return to Rome!



If you want to stay up to date on everything Firefly Studios, including both Stronghold: Warlords and Romans: Age of Caesar, we will of course be continuing our regular video update schedule in 2020. In addition you can also now join the Official Stronghold Discord and follow us on Twitter to be the first to hear the latest announcements straight from Firefly!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWxcxejZeP0
We return this week for one final pre-Christmas update, Aaron coming back for our final instalment of 'History Behind Warlords'! A series of deep dive videos on the historical events leading into the single player missions of Stronghold: Warlords, this week we turn our eye to the Land of the Rising Sun. So join Aaron, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi for a historic overview and the beginnings of their campaign to unify a fractured land.

Learn about the chaotic period of Sengoku Jidai, the Japanese Warring States Period we'll be recreating in-game in the later stages of Warlords' main campaign. One of the most bloodthirsty and brutal periods of Japanese history, with every clan looking to overthrow their enemies while keeping a watchful eye on their allies, Hideyoshi's exploits are perfect for exciting siege combat. A dramatic period in the later stages of Japanese history, Hideyoshi's sieges and skirmishes are ideal for the point in Warlords' main campaign when some of the most advanced siege weapons and tactics are introduced.



Want more? Then check out the Stronghold: Warlords playlist on Firefly Studios' YouTube for videos with more history, raw gameplay, new features, units, characters and buildings. With much more to come between now and Stronghold: Warlords' release in 2020, there's a huge amount to look forward to for strategy-sim fans everywhere!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/