![]() ![]() This is where some of the new units come in. For example, life in the Middle Ages was not really known for being clean, as waste was usually dumped out the window or front door, resulting in diseases, and sometimes, death. One of the sequel's main points is expanding the economic side by adding "chains," meaning that if a building or unit is constructed to address a social need, it will, in turn, lead to the need for yet another building or unit. Money and/or resources are needed to either construct certain buildings or specific units. You will still harvest familiar resources such as apples, construct a quarry to make stone, bread needs to be made, trees have to be chopped and so forth, as well as raising taxes to fatten up the good old warchest. From what we've seen, it's well on track to succeeding in that endeavor. With Stronghold 2, Firefly wanted to better depict the everyday life of the medieval peasants and include more variety, units, and animations. By going 3D, it allowed the developers to use textures, which opens up an entire slew of possibilities to better depict life in the Middle Ages, set in a more lush English landscape with rolling hills, plateaus, forests, swaying grass, and so forth. One of the restrictions of a 2D engine is the fact that you can't see inside any sort of building, and since the original Stronghold used bitmap resources, the game had limited capabilities both in that area and animation. Needless to say, a fully 3D engine allows developers to do a lot more, but Firefly also wants to stay true to what made the original Stronghold a success, so maintaining the delicate balance between old and new is a rather high priority. While Stronghold was a pure 2D RTS, Firefly wanted to break out of those restrictive confinements and decided to take it to the next level by building a completely new 3D engine (called "Dragonfly") especially for Stronghold 2. The success merited an add-on, Stronghold Crusader, and eventually the obvious Stronghold Warchest bundle, combining both into one package. As a somewhat new concept, the new developer was taking a risk, but it paid off in the long run, as a reported 1.5 million copies were sold worldwide. ![]() Released in 2001, the original Stronghold was the first real-time strategy title that mixed traditional strategy and castle sim elements into one. That said, people familiar with those games will certainly see where Firefly is coming from, as certain successful elements from those titles are still being carried over into its current work, which is not a bad thing at all. Impressions was known for developing franchises such as Caesar and Lords of the Realm. Firefly was created in 1999, mostly consisting of prior Impressions members after it had been sold to Sierra. For people who are unfamiliar with Firefly Studios, or the release of the initial Stronghold, a little flashback is in order. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |