24th April 2008 - Interview with Simon Bradbury on RIOTTT!

RIOTTT's Paul Semel interviewed Simon Bradbury about all things Dungeon Hero for their technology section. Click here to head over to their site and read the interview.

14th March 2008 - Dungeon Hero Previews available now!

The first playable version of Dungeon Hero was shown at EIEIO 2008 last week and previews from some of the top gaming press are now available, as well as 5 exclusive videos at Gametrailers.com with narration by lead designer Simon Bradbury and lead level designer Andrew Parsons. Check the links below to watch and read all about the event.

Dungeon Hero @ Gametrailers
IGN: First Look
Games Radar: Updated Impressions
1UP Preview
Joystiq Impressions: Dungeon Hero

4th March 2008 - Stronghold Crusader Extreme Exclusive Trailer online!

A video of Simon Bradbury, lead designer at FireFly Studios, talking about Stronghold Crusader Extreme is now available on IGN. The video has a short interview with Simon talking about the final stages of production as well as some clips of gameplay from the new Extreme edition of 2002s acclaimed Stronghold Crusader.

Click here to watch the video.

3rd March 2008 - Dungeon Hero Developer Diary on GameTrailers!

A short video diary about Dungeon Hero is available on GameTrailers. The video was shot in the FireFly London office and includes narration by Lead Designer Simon Bradbury as well as various shots from around FireFly Studios London office and the city of London itself.

Click here to watch the video.
Click here to watch the video in HD.

25th February 2008 - First public showing of Dungeon Hero next week!

Next week we will be showing Dungeon Hero for the very first time at Gamecock's EIEIO 2008 in Austin, Texas. EIEIO 2008 is a showcase for independent games developers such as Wideload, Red Fly Studio, Spark Unlimited, Replay Studios, TimeGate Studios and of course Firefly. We are working incredibly hard polishing our demo and we're looking forward to showing the world next week.

22nd February 2008 - Firefly and Anamazoo join forces to mocap Dungeon Hero!

"The launch of Dungeon Hero, the eagerly anticipated game from Firefly Studios, came a step closer this week following the completion of animation by Animazoo. Award winning motion capture company, Animazoo, using its latest system, the IGS-190, recorded an initial batch of 150 moves for Dungeon Hero at its Brighton-based studio facility..."

Click here to head over to Gamer's Hell to read the full article.

28th January 2008 - Firefly Studios announces Stronghold Crusader Extreme!

Firefly Studios and Gamecock Media are delighted to announce Stronghold Crusader Extreme, the new and improved version of the best selling Stronghold Crusader. Stronghold Crusader Extreme features huge battles with over 10000 units on screen, a new Extreme Trail which will test even the best Crusader players and a new tactical aid bar which allows you to unleash super moves on your enemies. Also included in the package is the original Stronghold Crusader featuring limited edition content which was previously only released in the US. Stronghold Crusader Extreme will be available Spring 2008. Click here for more details.

21st December 2007 - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

The FireFly Team would like to say Seasons Greetings to all our fans and customers and wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for 2008!

15th November 2007 - Stronghold 2 v1.4.1 now available!

The Stronghold 2 v1.4.1 is now available to download through the in game auto patching system. The patch will work with all languages (EN-US, EN-UK, IT, ES, FR, DE)

Alternatively, you can also download the patch from here and here.

To install this patch you first need to install version 1.4. Any versions of the game prior to 1.4 using the auto-patching service will update the game to version 1.4 and will then need to update again to version 1.4.1. Alternatively, you can download the 1.4 patch here.

1.4.1 Features
Bug Fixes

• Blank games and duplicate games no longer appear in the multiplayer lobby.
• Disbanded troops now appear from the player’s hovels. If no hovels are placed peasants will appear outside the keep.
• Troops placed in stockpiles can now be targeted by enemy players.
• Stone quarries can now be placed on both Island Hopping and Rocky Island free build maps.
• A player can no longer open and close their gatehouse once it has been captured by the enemy.
• Sally ports now appear hidden to enemy players.
• Fixed issue when dismounting units so that the animation only plays once, preventing them from crossing inaccessible terrain.
• Fixed issue so that the Lord can no longer attack buildings from a distance using the “Return to Civic Duties” button in the keep interface panel.
• Archers can no longer use braziers when standing on level ground next to a wall with a brazier.
• Fixed issue with knights being unable to mount horse if they moved while the horse was en route.
• Fixed issue in which wrong weapons were selected when going to the weapons panel in the market by clicking on the Armoury interface panel.
• Fixed issue in which monks would not go to the monastery when it was placed in certain rotations.
• Fixed a multiplayer issue in which turning off food consumption would cause the game to go out-of-sync.
• Fixed a multiplayer issue in which Herons could cause an out of sync.
  Great Britain map has been re-balanced.

4th October 2007 - FireFly Nominated for Golden Joystick Award!

We are pleased to announce that we have made the short-list for this years Golden Joystick Awards in Next-Gen.biz's "UK Developer of the Year" category. Visit the awards official web-site at http://www.goldenjoystick.com to place your votes!

19th September 2007 – None shall stand strong before the trebuchets!

We have further proof that Stronghold fans are insanely talented people. Check out http://www.myspace.com/castlemetal to hear an instrumental version of "To The Ramparts" and an awesome original composition called "Trebuchet". Thanks to Paz and Hedgy for their amazing work. We look forward to hearing the rest of the songs soon.

If anyone else wishes to base their music on the Stronghold series please let us know using the contact form. All music must be made for non-commercial reasons and credit us in some fashion.

11th September 2007 – Stronghold 2 v1.4 available now!

The Stronghold 2 v1.4 update in now available through the in game patching service.
The patch will update all versions of the game in all standard languages (EN-UK, EN-US, DE, ES, FR, IT)

The update is also available from the following sites…

2K Games' Website
Gamers Hell
FileFront
FileShack
Gamespot

Stronghold 2 v1.4 Features

General

• Various multiplayer gameplay optimisations.
• Real-Time Shadows, Bloom, Anisotropic Filtering and Anti-aliasing implemented.
• Map transfer in multiplayer lobby implemented.

Game Balancing

• Fire ballistae no longer auto fire, and targets must be selected manually (does not apply to tower mounted ballistae)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed multiple troops pushing ladders off walls repeatedly.
• Fixed bug which allowed tower mounted siege equipment to be built whilst an enemy was in close proximity.
• Auto-scrolling chat in multiplayer game lobby now fixed.
• Fixed exploit where food could be sold repeatedly during periods of latency in multiplayer games.
• Various other bug and crash fixes

Dungeon Hero was on display again last week at E3. For the event we created a new trailer presenting the goblin’s guide to the dungeon.

Click on the links below to view the trailer…

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Interview with Lead Designer Simon Bradbury

Gamecock sent a ripple through E3 last week by staging their own event slap bang in middle of the event. E3 this year was hugely scaled down event compared to last year with only a select number of publishers invited to present their games, leaving a lot of independent companies with nowhere to display their wares. Gamecock are not known for taking such decisions lying down and true to form they did not disappoint. Not only did they stage their own E3 event (codenamed E.I.E.I.O) to show off their impressive roster of games (including Dungeon Hero) but they even held a mock funeral for E3 consisting of a full on funeral procession featuring ex-E3 booth babes from last year!

Checkout the following links for news and pictures from the event…

Firingsquad
Gameshark
Gamespot
Gamedropblog

Gamecock have a number of great looking games on their roster. Check out the links below…

Dementium: The Ward (DS)
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Fury (PC)
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Hail to the Chimp
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Insecticide (DS/PSP/PC)
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Legendary: The Box (X360/PS3/PC)
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Mushroom Men (Wii/DS)
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Section 8 (X360/PS3/PC)
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This month's copies of EDGE (Issue 173) and Game Informer (Issue 167) both have a feature on our new publisher Gamecock and some more information about our new game Dungeon Hero.

Both should be available from your favourite news stand / newsagent now.