This is an interview that Paul Harris, the Associate Producer on Stronghold 2, was kind enough to do for Stronghold Heaven.

When developing Stronghold 2 did you look at the fans comments on sites like Stronghold Heaven for ideas?
We look at the forums for feedback about the look of the game, opinions on new features and of course suggestions. The hardest goal for any games developer is to please all the people all the time and unfortunately we can’t always add every single suggestion that is posted. We do try our best but with every new feature we have to determine how much it will add to the game and how much time it would take to implement. We work to very tight time limits and unfortunately many suggestions which we would love to implement get left out. I’m confident though that the new features and tweaks we have added to Stronghold 2 will achieve an 11 on the rockometer!

We have seen the comment in previews that “we will be ensuring that this time our new map and scenario editor is better than ever”. Will the editor be more complex than the Stronghold one?
The new 3D engine really expands the possibilities of the map editor. The lush landscapes you can see in the screenshots were all created using the same map editor that will ship with the game. It really is an amazingly powerful tool and I think the fans will have great fun using it. The scenario editor in Stronghold 2 will work in a similar way to Stronghold and Stronghold Crusader but will also include the ability to mark out estates and assign villages.

What time span will the campaign cover? And if it runs from Early to Late Medieval will there be any change in style of available buildings and/or units over time?
The game does cover the whole medieval period but the buildings do not change over time.

How large a part does historical accuracy play in the game design?
We always aim for our games to be very historically accurate when it comes to designing the look of the game. We do a lot of research into medieval life through reading books and visiting historical sites and I think this research is there for all to see in the final game. I don’t think it will surprise anyone to say that our storylines are more fiction than fact though!

In Stronghold walls being destroyed by units was an example of gameplay coming before historical accuracy. While we know that has changed in Stronghold 2, were there other cases where accuracy had to take a backseat to gameplay?
Being able to knock down walls with spears and maces was a feature of the original which we were determined to fix in Stronghold 2. Generally speaking though we try to create realistic gameplay, as inaccuracies always stick out a mile. A couple of tweaks we’ve made include an actual treasury building where the taxes are collected and the granary system has been refined so that you only now need to place one granary which has an infinite capacity.

Will there be new speeches for the “old” Stronghold units, or will the macemen still be saying “bash ‘em lads”?
Most of the old units still use some lines of speech from the original but they have all been re-recorded and new lines added. The macemen line has been re-recorded as “bash ‘em boys” so you’ll have to get used to that now. There is some great new speech in Stronghold 2 which I know fans are going to love. I don’t want to give too much away but the new barbarian axe thrower is an absolute classic.

Any word on what the minimum computer specifications might be for Stronghold 2? Will our members have to rush out and buy the latest and greatest computer and/or graphics card?
The move to 3D has naturally pushed the spec up from the spec of Stronghold (300mhz CPU, 64MB RAM, 4MB Video card!!!) and there is now more emphasis on the video card as a result. We do appreciate the fact that not everyone can afford to buy the latest processors and video cards so we have been working incredibly hard at keeping the minimum spec as low as possible. At the moment we are looking at a minimum 1Ghz CPU, 256MB RAM and a 32MB graphics card (probably a GeForce2 upwards). As I say though we are achieving performance improvements on a daily basis so this isn’t set in stone yet.

Can you tell us anything about how the new defensive emplacements such as rock tippers and burning logs are going to work?
Fans are going to absolutely love these, especially the burning logs! Both of these defensive weapons work in a similar way. The rock tippers are a great defensive weapon against enemies at your walls and the burning logs can take out large swathes of enemy soldiers approaching your castle. Both are placed on the side of your castle walls and you choose when to launch them.

We have read that Robert Euvino is again composing the music for Stronghold 2. Can we look forward to a whole new soundtrack?
The soundtrack to Stronghold received huge amounts of praise and really lent a lot of atmosphere to the game. We are again working with Robert Euvino on the soundtrack to Stronghold 2 and he is currently creating a whole new soundtrack for the game as well as remixing some of the original tunes.

We saw in some of the screenshots that bridges appear to be in Stronghold 2, something that our members really wanted. Can you tell us if there will be varying sizes or designs of bridges?
We have added bridges to Stronghold 2 but they are really a means to cross water rather than a huge new feature. Maybe something we can develop further in Stronghold 3!

How long has Firefly been working on Stronghold 2?
We have been in full production on Stronghold 2 since the completion of Space Colony in September 2003. Work on the 3D engine started a little before that but it is essentially an 18 month project.

How big is the Firefly team?
The team working on Stronghold 2 totals 17 which is pretty modest by today’s standards.

Do you have a personal favourite new feature in Stronghold 2?
This is going to sound a bit primitive but the satisfaction from smashing down your opponents walls using trebuchets is so much greater in Stronghold 2 compared to the original. When a missile hits the walls in Stronghold 2 the wall smashes into small bits of rock and any soldiers unfortunate to be standing on the walls at the time goes flying through the air with a comical (as comical as being hit by a large rock can be!) scream of pain. Destroying castles has never been so much fun!