In a new 10-minute gameplay video for the upcoming feudal-era RTS castle-sim, Stronghold: Warlords showcased how players will be able to customize their castles with an array of traps and defensive measures. These defenses are designed to give players a selection of options to employ to defend their castles from the games’ ten siege weapons and 16 unique soldier types.
Included in these new traps and defenses are classic Stronghold: Warlords elements such as fire, to more customizable items such as wooden barricades and gunpowder traps. Arrow towers, castle wall hoardings, and even caged tiger traps are also included. All six of these new defenses will be in-game when it launches this September 29th.
Developed and published by indie devs Firefly Studios, Stronghold: Warlords is an RTS castle-sim where players recruit and command AI warlords to build and defend their own castles, while strategically constructing an army and an economy strong enough to lay siege to and destroy enemy-owned castles. Stronghold: Warlords is the first Firefly Studios game to be set in the realm of the Far East, and allows players to direct castle communities based on Chinese, Japanese, and Mongol history.
In the new video dev diary narrated by Firefly Studios Marketing Director Nick Tannahill, the first defense covered is gunpowder. Fire has been a staple in Stronghold games for its 20-year history, and throughout, players have been able to use fire to defend their castles in many ways. In Warlords, players will be able to combine fire with gunpowder to help increase their overall control and effectiveness of fire as a defensive option.
Gunpowder will come in two forms: the gunpowder trail, and the gunpowder stash, which may be used separately or combined. A gunpowder stash is a small pile of gunpowder-filled pots that can be placed as proximity mines where desired. These stashes explode on contact with enemy units. Gunpowder trails can be used to time the detonation of gunpowder stashes, or be used by itself as a quick way to create a wall of fire to destroy enemy troops or halt their advance.
Other castle traps include the caged tiger trap and automated arrow turrets. Tigers will break free of their cages to attack enemy soldiers when they get within range. Arrow turrets will fire arrow volleys at approaching enemy troops automatically, and don’t require a mass of archers to be trained and housed within.
Castle wall defenses include the simple barricade and hoardings. Wooden barricades can be placed in short sections to help protect troops or placed close together to create a secondary outer castle wall. Hoardings can be placed along the top of castle walls to help provide protection to archers and troops moving along the wall.
Stronghold: Warlords is scheduled to be released for PC this September 29th on Steam. For more info, visit strongholdwarlords.com, the Firefly Worlds YouTube channel, and the Firefly Studios Twitter feed.
Source: Press Release, Stronghold: Warlords - Castle Defences video