Stronghold Kingdoms

[Ghambit]

http://www.strongholdkingdoms.com/

Just puttin this out there because Alpha 3 just started.  There is no formal NDA, but they're not "allowing" screenshots or vids.
I alphaed for one evening a while ago during Alpha 1 and then the schedule didnt permit me more so forgive my ignorance (and much has changed since then).  To put it simply, this is not like most other resource/empire medieval pbbgs (mostly because it runs off a small client, but a browser is still necessary). Graphically things are MUCH tighter (overall production quality is very high) and much of the interface is in real-time.  Build locations are also important as is in a few other webgames, but in this title you have a more visceral feel between elements, i.e. workers visually take longer carrying goods, etc.  Pretty much Stronghold, yet online.

What I liked was my empire felt alive as in the other Stronghold titles ('cept this is online).  It's also based on historical/geographic fact.  When you place your kingdom, you can do-so anywhere in the world via a google-mappish interface.  Eventually, I do believe this will translate into the game but for now it's just England.   In-game, the textures are partially photoreal and the buildings cut-away to see their contents, which is nice.  There are also multiple layers to gameplay - from village, castle, to parish, to faction, and so on.  Some things can only be done as a group.   There is what seems to be a more in-depth trade system (stock exchange), but I havent fooled with it yet and there's no literature; it is of course based on trader travel times, capacity and so on.  Being more of an RTS, you may be able to raid a caravan... not sure yet.

Everything moves across the maps in real-time.  If someone sends an attack, you see your impending doom approaching slowly.  When a vassal moves across your village, u see it.  When you attack, u see it... and so on.  This real-time stuff aint perdy, but it gets the job done.

I had trouble deciding which forum to put this thread in because in reality it's a hybrid rts/tbs/MMO, not just a pbbg.  I just figured it'd appeal more-so to the hardcore pbbg crowd.  If you're into your typical relaxing 1 hour/day browsergame, SK is not for you.  It's fairly in-depth... so yah, you can go casual but you'll be severely gimped.  It deserves almost the same amount of daily effort as a single-player empire game does really.  I look at it as halfway between your usual browsergame and your regular castle-sim stuff.

Beta starts relatively soon, but for alpha they're slowly cranking up the heat.  You may get lucky and get in.  

Game will be F2P and RMT will be via "strategy cards" that you collect - yah, there's a bit of CCG in there.  I do believe you'll KEEP these cards though... they dont disappear when you use them, unlike other RMT methods.  You can however only play up to 25 cards per week.  There is rarity and collecting sets may give bonuses.  CCG + empire-building == awesome imo.  Nice touch.

Social sites will be integrated; twitter, facebook, etc.

What I DONT like so far is that most of the UI is largely a textual speadsheet with windows forms font to boot.  Sure, the map and village are nice, but everything else is somewhat bland.  It is an alpha though, and these may simply be placeholders.  Some people grok this style though.  Also might've been nice to choose another genre besides medievel.

For me, SK is the most anticipated pbbg-esque game I've seen aside from HoMM: Kingdoms.    More later...   (cough) and NO, SK is nothing like Travian.

p.s. Yah, I just found the MMOG thread...  didnt come up in initial search.  Merge if necessary.

[Aez]

Finally a sane and worthy submission.  It's VERY interesting.  I just hope it's not a catass to victory game.  Let's hope we can start a Bat Country county.
Any release date?

[Ghambit]

They've been pretty wracked with delays, which is why I havent posted more on the game till now.  Alpha 3 only JUST started and I've been in Alpha 2 since like July of last year.  Reasons are simple... small dev. team (like 8 people I think) and the realization they've created a monster.  Beta will be "sometime later this year."  In reality, they're pretty close... no reason why they couldnt get a closed beta in by early summer.

I believe a lot of the issues are server-side and in-game balance oriented.  They want to get that stuff right before opening the floodgates as they aim to have pretty large servers.  They also only just now figured out how the payment model will be structured; the cards 'n all.  You'll get cards regardless, just not as many as if you've bought them.

[Draegan]

Looks cool.  How do I play?

[Ratadm]

Alpha 4 is starting soon.

So register here if this still interests you.

[ShenMolo]

Alpha 4 invites went out today.

So far it rocks. Seems to have much more depth than other empire builders i.e. Lord of Ultima / Tribal Wars.

Their NDA is basically limited to "no screenshots - otherwise tell your friends all about it".

[Ghambit]

Yah, you must forgive my silence on this game as I've had little time to play with it.  Mostly because it's one of those titles that you dont go into "half cocked."  It's fairly crunchy.
If anyone else is playing, please share info.

[ShenMolo]

If only 8 guys created this game, my hat is off.

For a browser based title, the depth seems amazing. I haven't even gotten into the social aspects (Vassalage?). The fact that you actually design & lay out your castle is cool.

Other browser empire builders basically come down to que management...log in, build some shit, log out. This one seems to have some reasons to stay online and play - scouting, raiding, building a castle, figuring out the tech trees. I like it.

The whole trading card thing seems cool too, for a person who has never played a trading card game.

[Ghambit]

To be fair, it's not entirely a browser-based game... it only hearkens to them.  It runs on a VERY small client, mostly so that people can play on their portable devices.    They designed it to basically be a slimmed down MMO version of their regular Stronghold titles...  more spreadsheet to cut down on graphical assets of course.

[Paelos]

Apparently I didn't make the alpha invite cut. 

Still, this sounds like a lot of fun, and I'll put my name in the hat for the next iteration. Is it close to beta?

[Ratadm]

Alpha 3 lasted like 130 days, not sure how long this one will be.  It also wouldn't surprise me if they send out more waves of alpha invites.

[Ghambit]

Apparently I didn't make the alpha invite cut. 

Still, this sounds like a lot of fun, and I'll put my name in the hat for the next iteration. Is it close to beta?

This alpha is more of a beta than an alpha, relatively speaking.

[Paelos]

New emails went out and I did get an invite. 

I'll try this tonight.

[Aez]

I'm in.  No NDA on comments but you can't post any pics.  The production value is really good for a browser game, but as far as i can tell it's still the classic formula : you start with build time in seconds and quickly ends up with build time in hours.  Premium feature are spammed all over the place. I don't mind a premium option and gladly pay it for it when I love a game  but I don't think they balanced it right (shoved in your throat way too much). Strategic cards are very disappointing, they simply boost a specific production for a while.  The research tree looks boring.

I don't see where the appeal is unless mid game trades and fights are really enjoyable.  Already in the grind to fun mode after a few minutes of play.

Meh.

[Aez]

It's slowly growing on me.  I was wrong about the tech tree, I didn't understand how it worked.  There is in fact a huge choice of possible tech. 

[Azuredream]

I like it so far, but the whole castle defense thing just confuses me. How should you be building your defenses? It just seems to tell you 'ahhhh just make somethin up and you'll find out if it works when we send some army after you.'

[Ratadm]

Last beta it was spam as many great towers as you can and put a bunch of archers in them.  Not sure if they've changed anything related to castles this beta besides cost.

[Ghambit]

Last alpha you mean.  This push is alpha 4 yes?

[Cadaverine]

Yeah, this is alpha 4.  Next phase should be beta.

[Azuredream]

I mistakenly used a card that basically said "gives you a bunch of peasants" thinking more people=better, but now they've got nothing to eat and nowhere to stay. 

[Cadaverine]

Yeah.  I haven't spent much time with it, but it seems to be lacking as far as explaining what things do.

[Draegan]

Sweet I'm in.  I'll be playing later tonight.

[ShenMolo]

I used a "Big horde of gold" card the other day and got 15000 gold. They nerfed it a couple days later, but it was a huge boon. I also bought and used the 55pt great honor card, and got only 100 honor, which sucked.

For my keep I have basically have a perimeter of 8 wooden platforms surrounded by a triple thick wood wall. 24 archers slaughter anything thrown at me so far by the AI, including groups of 100+ armed peasants & archers.

You can get some decent castle ideas by scouting the AI called the Rat, or whatever AI camp it allows you to scout.

Some ideas tips I've learned so far:

Tools is a great research tree. Maxing it out early is handy.

Go for bows pretty soon to stay ahead of the AI.

Build a strong keep when you have archers to man it. Until then just leave your troops in the barracks to farm wolves. Once you can hold your keep you get great honor by slaughtering AI attackers.

Horsemanship(?) to speed up scouting is great for farming honor along with resources when you are logged out. It's fun to send the scouts romping all over the place while neighboring city's scouts slowly plod along.

If you click on your Parish castle town you get a new menu which allows you to participate in running the parish among other thing.

[Ghambit]

Nice post Shen, you kinda gave a glimpse at the depth of the game.
Wish beta would start already.

[Aez]

Anyone know if we can all start close to each other and plan to control a parish early at release?  I don't remember having much choice when I started.

[ShenMolo]

I haven't gotten to the Faction part of the game, which I think is the Guild/Tribe/Alliance mechanic.

There could be an advantage for a Faction to be spread out over numerous parishes, and potentially controlling them all.

There could also be a downside to starting in the same area. As the game progresses the villages within each Parish compete over AI spawns and Resource stashes. It becomes a race to pop them first, with the fastest scouts and armies getting the most honor. Spreading out would allow the Faction to gain more honor by having more goody nodes to pop.

I think this is the main reason for having Vassals - to give you bases outside your own "honor gathering circle" from which to farm more honor.

[Rendakor]

How likely are you to get raped to death in your sleep? I love playing games like this, but I hatehateh̵̥͕̬͕͓͓̜ͯ̒ͥͦ̃å͖͙̯̯͔̪ͅt̵̬e͏͚͓͍̞̹̤̘ḩ̥͉͙̖̱̻̖ͮͦ̎͊ͥͥą̟̳͓̙ͬͮ̂ͬ̈́̚͜ť͚̰̝̖͈̉ͧ͟ͅeͩͧ̃̓͢͝҉̱͖̰͖͓͈̫ḥ̟̃̋͗́͑ą̝̯͙̍͆ͩ̀ẗ̨̻̰̖̥̙͙͒͌͆̌̓̚̚͢͞ẻͤ̏̂ͧ̅̎ͤ҉̙̣̘͈͔͡h͉͇̺͈͚̝̙̗̳͚̫̯̃͊ͨ̔ͥͨ̐̏̀͞a͉̺͖̲̼͎̺̗͚̩̗̣̫͙̗͊̏ͨ͂̈́ͪ͊̔ͤ̍̄́̚̕͟͝t̶̷̡͈͈̦̫̙͉̗̯̣͇͙͍͎͚̼̞̮̑ͨ͂ͩ͝e̴̝̭̯̗̺̖̹͈̯̬̖̲̓̈̽̔͗̽̋̆̓̑ͬͩ̄̑̊ͤ͌͜ͅh̸̜̻̤͎͍͈̤̥̖̬̞̻̗̞͚͕͌̓̋̾ͩͮ̾̓̉̂͆̈́́͢͢͜a̞̫̖̮͔͇̬̠ͯ͆̒̏̐̉͛̆̈́̀͌̐̋͗̊̌́͜ͅt̴̶̨̓̀́ͬ̓̈̄̊̍͝͏̙̬̰͚̝͖̗̺͈̫ȩ̛͕̣̻̬͕̝̟́ͮ͌̆̇̍ͦ̈́̄ͣͣ͗́̚͢͡h̸͎̥̙̮̰̫̬̦̗̭͓̭͉̭̆͑̒ͫ͂͗̐̇̚̚͜ͅa̷̶̛͖̠̮͎͍̹̫̮͑ͧ̐̿ͦͥͭͮͪ̎͒̓̑̔̓͞͝t̶̨ͯ̌̓ͦ̓҉̴͕̠͙̺̻e̶̻͍̰͕̲̗͓̰̮̯̜͙͌̌ͧ̒̈̓̓̋̃͐ͫ̃͒̍ͥͩ̂̀̕͢͠  waking up and finding my beautiful village razed.

Edit: do we just sign up for email notifications to get into the Alpha? Any have friend invites of any kind?

[ShenMolo]

How likely are you to get raped to death in your sleep? I love playing games like this, but I hatehateh̵̥͕̬͕͓͓̜ͯ̒ͥͦ̃å͖͙̯̯͔̪ͅt̵̬e͏͚͓͍̞̹̤̘ḩ̥͉͙̖̱̻̖ͮͦ̎͊ͥͥą̟̳͓̙ͬͮ̂ͬ̈́̚͜ť͚̰̝̖͈̉ͧ͟ͅeͩͧ̃̓͢͝҉̱͖̰͖͓͈̫ḥ̟̃̋͗́͑ą̝̯͙̍͆ͩ̀ẗ̨̻̰̖̥̙͙͒͌͆̌̓̚̚͢͞ẻͤ̏̂ͧ̅̎ͤ҉̙̣̘͈͔͡h͉͇̺͈͚̝̙̗̳͚̫̯̃͊ͨ̔ͥͨ̐̏̀͞a͉̺͖̲̼͎̺̗͚̩̗̣̫͙̗͊̏ͨ͂̈́ͪ͊̔ͤ̍̄́̚̕͟͝t̶̷̡͈͈̦̫̙͉̗̯̣͇͙͍͎͚̼̞̮̑ͨ͂ͩ͝e̴̝̭̯̗̺̖̹͈̯̬̖̲̓̈̽̔͗̽̋̆̓̑ͬͩ̄̑̊ͤ͌͜ͅh̸̜̻̤͎͍͈̤̥̖̬̞̻̗̞͚͕͌̓̋̾ͩͮ̾̓̉̂͆̈́́͢͢͜a̞̫̖̮͔͇̬̠ͯ͆̒̏̐̉͛̆̈́̀͌̐̋͗̊̌́͜ͅt̴̶̨̓̀́ͬ̓̈̄̊̍͝͏̙̬̰͚̝͖̗̺͈̫ȩ̛͕̣̻̬͕̝̟́ͮ͌̆̇̍ͦ̈́̄ͣͣ͗́̚͢͡h̸͎̥̙̮̰̫̬̦̗̭͓̭͉̭̆͑̒ͫ͂͗̐̇̚̚͜ͅa̷̶̛͖̠̮͎͍̹̫̮͑ͧ̐̿ͦͥͭͮͪ̎͒̓̑̔̓͞͝t̶̨ͯ̌̓ͦ̓҉̴͕̠͙̺̻e̶̻͍̰͕̲̗͓̰̮̯̜͙͌̌ͧ̒̈̓̓̋̃͐ͫ̃͒̍ͥͩ̂̀̕͢͠  waking up and finding my beautiful village razed.

Edit: do we just sign up for email notifications to get into the Alpha? Any have friend invites of any kind?

After playing for around two weeks, I have yet to get raped by anything. Is there even a means by which village structures can be destroyed? Towers, walls, and archers are pretty easy to get, and give a strong defensive force that makes attacks by other players very costly. I have been attacked a few times by other players, and usually take very little damage while killing their entire force. The AI attacks 3-4 times a day, and my honor benefits greatly from it. The Pillage mechanic is pretty weak. I don't have any Vault upgrades (protects from Pillaging), and when the AI or another player Pillages me, I kill many of his attackers, lose maybe 1-2% of my resources, and get honor.

Perhaps later in the game it will become more of a PvP game, but right now everyone seems content to battle it out with the AI.

I think the way to get into Alpha is sign up for email notifications. No friend invites that I have seen.

[Azuredream]

You can have your village captured if the attacker is high enough level to have another village (I think it's rank 12+), they can ransack your buildings which works kind of like pillaging, but you have to do research to be able to do that. They can also raze your village if they're rank 16+. I've seen some fighting going on by where I am but it's mostly just people attacking parish capitals trying to steal flags.

[Paelos]

I've been trying it out, but it is rather confusing in the beginning as to what does what. They are going to need a much better manual for the actual release.

[Rendakor]

You can have your village captured if the attacker is high enough level to have another village (I think it's rank 12+), they can ransack your buildings which works kind of like pillaging, but you have to do research to be able to do that. They can also raze your village if they're rank 16+. I've seen some fighting going on by where I am but it's mostly just people attacking parish capitals trying to steal flags.

Thanks for the warning.

[Cadaverine]

After I got started, I hadn't logged in in a couple days.  I checked in on my village yesterday, and I'd been attacked twice.  Near as I can tell, nothing happened?  Since then, I've beefed up my defenses with a whopping two armed peasants... 

[Paelos]

I got attacked while peasants were in the barracks and this does nothing? Also, should I build a wooden castle or just wait? I have a fletcher working on arrows, but I don't understand wtf is going on.

[Azuredream]

If you get attacked odds are an AI castle spawned in your parish and decided to attack you or an enemy siege camp spawned and attacked you. Even if they succeed you'll probably just lose a minimal amount of resources. The reason you'd want to defend is because you can get a decent honor bonus for defeating them. To build archers you need to research the bow-making technology under industry and also the archer technology under military. You build a fletcher, he makes bows, and you convert the bows+idle peasants into archers.

[Aez]

Is there any roads? All my building are side by side and it looks silly.