Let's Play Stronghold - Tutorial

Channel:

deathstalker667

Subscribers:

209

Published on February 17, 2016 4:34:02 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIsIo8eWVlY

Game:

Stronghold (2001)

Category:

Tutorial

Duration: 52:19

98 views

1

I spend the first 18 minutes or so talking about this channel as I feel an update video was needed. Basically, due to the setup of a new computer everything has changed around. Thief is no longer able to be streamed, while I haven't bothered with Elder Scrolls yet. At the moment, this means that Stronghold will be my most active series. As it is unable to be recorded in OBS for whatever reason (I need dgvoodoo2 to get it to record in Dxtory), I will not be streaming this series.

Not much eventful in this video beyond the update for my channel. I show the introductory movies and we play the tutorial mission so that I can become reaccustomed to the game. I am not the best at RTS games, though unlike TBS and RPG titles I often find myself enjoying them regardless of my lack of skill. Expect to see a lot of videos where I struggle. Stronghold is a game I have never successfully beaten, but played a lot as a child.

Also note that this is the 1.2 patch, the latest version prior to the HD release, 1.3, in 2012 (as usual sticking to my "keep it as vanilla as possible approach" though the differences aren't that big). Unlike other titles I have played, the versions aren't that different. The HD version simply adds an option button to the main menu, adds a message about Multiplayer being potentially different from the SP game, and changes the shield logo to yellow with HD added to the title. The maximum resolution is also much higher than the vanilla game's 1024x768, meaning I could play the game on 1920x1080. The GUI at the bottom of the screen remains at the same size, resulting in smaller buttons, while all menus remain at the same size (with the addition of a border). This means that even when playing Stronghold HD, I find myself lowering the resolution to 1024x768, meaning gameplay is essentially the same. Stronghold HD adds some user created maps that I would like to keep separate from the vanilla missions, which is why I will play these in 1.2.

IUnits in general tended to get stuck prior to the 1.2 patch (it still can occur and will show up in a later video, but isn't as common as it used to be), such as peasants and deer, which would be rather frustrating since you could not control them directly to attempt to fix the problem. Various behind the scenes things were also changed, such as sound being off skipping cutscenes or sound still playing while the game is minimized. 1.2 in general just fixes some things which you overlook due to the general game being good, but are truthfully nuisances, and changes gameplay slightly to make it more fair in regards to you and the enemy AI (some things therefore are easier due to making more sense, while other things are harder so you cannot make yourself too OP too quickly).

The tutorial introduces us to the interface elements such as starting goods (where they are stored until we build the appropriate building for them), camera settings (zoom, see under walls, full screen, and rotate), and the scribe (which shows population, gold, and popularity).

We also learn about the basic structures needed to survive that we will probably be using in every future level. We need a Saxon Hall, our keep, as basically our command center. This is where our lord stays, which we must keep alive or else fail the level. This is also where we set taxes to either boost popularity or gold. Without a Saxon Hall, you cannot get a population around a campfire and thus have no units to control. We also get a stockpile created with the Saxon Hall (and can be expanded for free at any time as long as you have ample room), which is where our wood is stored, the only resource used for building structures at the moment.

We also have a granary, where our food is stored, meaning that without this structure our people cannot eat. Popularity will go down tremendously if we have no food. We can also increase popularity by giving more rations, set in the granary, and by having multiple types of food (not seen in this video).

To get wood, we use Woodcutter Huts which are placed near trees. One of our 8 peasants will become a woodcutter, giving us a steady rate of wood. Similarily, a Hunter's Lodge gives us food by changing peasants into hunters that will take down deer. Note that wood will eventually run out as trees are cut down and deers will run out if not allowed to repopulate, meaning resource management is important.

We also learned about Hovels, which are basically population boosters and will add another 8 people for every Hovel. This is good because it allows for more workers/units to control, but bad since it means more mouths to feed. Note also that deleting or destroying a house does not decrease population, doing such an action can cause unpopularity due to overcrowding, so we must plan in advance how many people we will need.

Now that we get the basics of the game, we are able to play two campaigns and some scenarios. As the main feature is the Military Campaign, we will start there

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