With just three weeks away from releasing their sequel to their castle simulator game, Firefly Studios has released some gameplay footage for Stronghold Crusader 2, which features the first female AI known as the Sultana, and it highlights both the behavior’s as an opponent, assassins, and other specialized units. You will be able to pre-order Stronghold Crusader 2 on PC via Steam with 10% off, which includes exclusive mini-campaigns and more.
The Marketing Manager at Firefly Studios, Nick Tannahil mentioned that, “Looking back it’s embarrassing that out of 16 AI opponents the original Stronghold Crusader didn’t feature a single woman! A lot of our player data suggests that the Stronghold games have a predominantly male audience, as much as 90%, however this is no reason to resist being inclusive. Each character has their own unique AI behaviours, castle designs and mood depending on how the player interacts with them and the Sultana is no exception. She is not simply a token addition to the game’s cast.”
Players will notice that with the addition of the Sultana in Stronghold Crusader 2, it will continue along the path of time period that the game takes place historically. With the Arabic freedom fighters going against the invading Crusader hordes, players will notice that the Sultana prefers to go the route of deception and chooses to go towards intelligence over the power of brute force. Originally you could play the role of Richard the Lionheart in the Crusader Knights or the Sultan of Syria, but now has the addition of the Sultana. Firefly Studio’s recent developer diary walks players through the head of what attack strategy the Sultana would take, plus the army composition and castle economy, and the counter attacks that could be made in the game.
“Many of our players have a keen eye for cultural and historical detail, which is part of the reason why Crusader 2 features units like the Sassanid Knight, Whirling Dervish and Hussite War Wagon. History is in our players’ blood and while cultural diversity is great we could all do a better job when it comes to gender. You can expect both the launch line up of AI Lords and those added through post release DLC to reflect that.”
Here is the new gameplay trailer featuring the Sultana in Stronghold Crusader 2, below:
You can find out more information on the official site for Stronghold Crusader 2. Plus like them on Facebook and follow on Twitter for updates to come as the release of the game gets closer.