In this patch we are happy to be able to bring you Multiplayer System Improvements, alongside other fixes. Happy besieging!

MULTIPLAYER and CO-OP

• We have fixed a bug causing crashes during Multiplayer, as well as a bug causing resyncs. This fix also affects co-op. A huge thank you to the following players, who were instrumental in helping with testing the fixes: LORDST, -Arno from Iran, Marco, TheRevenantSkull aka.Gympie5, Mr.Pretext, Tryndamere, Gynt, SeanB, Luca aka.RealQuality, Nigel, Megz

  Please note that you will only see Multiplayer lobbies of other players on the exact same version of the game as you. People make sure you're on the latest version if you'd like to play Multiplayer.

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CHANGES

• 'Display Enemy Health' option has been removed from multiplayer due to it causing a bug

BUG FIXES

• Fixed issue where the incorrect gold cost for Laddermen would display when “Improved Laddermen” setting was enabled

• Fix issue where CPU Lords would occasionally use the wrong Castle Design in small spaces

Map and Mission Specific Fixes:

• Fixed issue where CPU Lords’ Castles would be broken in the map Conquest, when the Pre-Built Enemy Castles setting was enabled

• Fixed issue where a Jester was spawning in the player keep, then instantly being killed, in the map Conquest

Localisation Fixes:

• Improvements to the “Left to Right” Setting available in the Arabic version of the game

• There was an error in the previous patch preventing one of the fixes mentioned above from taking effect, this has now been resolved

We recently opened the gates and unleashed the first major update for Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition. The Autumn Update as well as The Canary & The Trader DLC added a wealth of new gameplay content, improvements and customisation options for every kind of Stronghold player.

The work doesn't stop there however! Today we're releasing the latest patch for Crusader DE, bringing more fixes and enhancements to your castle-building and besieging experience!

MULTIPLAYER

• In response to feedback from players struggling to play Multiplayer Matches, we have changed the way the game interacts with the Steam Multiplayer Servers, and also made the game latency tolerance significantly wider. 

• Additionally, we have fixed a bug which was causing players to instantly be kicked at the start of a multiplayer match

IMPROVEMENTS TO DLC 1 CPU LORDS - CANARY & TRADER

• The Canary has gained an engineers guild, allowing her to build catapults when sieging or harassing. We've also increased the number of troops she uses for attacks.

• In one castle the Trader built his wells outside the walls, where they were not accessible if the gatehouses were closed. These are now reachable from the inside.

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ADDITIONS

• Added Advanced Option “Weakened Eunuchs” to Multiplayer and Custom Skirmish. When enabled, Eunuchs cost more to buy, do less damage and have less health

• CPU Lords Frederick and The Marshal will now buy weapons across all game modes, including the Original Trails

• Added shortcut to open Cathedral/Grand Mosque for troop creation, this defaults to Alt-B 

• Added “No Starting Gold” option to Multiplayer and Custom Skirmish. This only applies to Human Players and does not affect the CPU Lords.

• Added “Blank” Coat of Arms Ordinary

• Added a button allowing for export of the current Coat of Arms. Button is to the right of “Coat of Arms” Menu Title

• The Maps used in Mission 4 of “The Barons Crusade”, The Jordan Valley and Mission 5 of “The Seventh Crusade”, Conquest, have now been added to Custom Skirmish

• Added Option to Load maps from inside the Map Editor

• Prevented spamming via the Ally panel in Multiplayer (You will now only receive one text and audio notification every 30 seconds)

CHANGES

• Mangonels in the original Stronghold Crusader shot at pretty much everything except walls. We have updated the Mangonel behaviour to match this

• Units set to aggressive stance would previously struggle to chase after moving troops and actually attack them. This behaviour has now been improved

• Replaced the death sounds for the Female Lords

• Changed Insult Hotkeys to match the Crusader HD Default Keybinds

• Previously when the Crocodile CPU Lord is panicking, he would recall all of his Ambushers to the top of his keep. They will now instead hold their positions around his Castle, waiting to surprise attackers

• On maps with Oasis near Keeps, the CPU would place their farms right next to their keeps, and then overwrite them with their Castles. Now, where possible, the farms should be placed outside of the footprint of the castle that will be built

BUG FIXES

• Fixed a bug around how CPU Lords would over prioritise building Hop Farms when deciding what type of farm to build

• Fixed a bug where CPU Lords wouldn’t use Ladders if their Keep is enclosed

• Fixed a bug that caused the Wolf CPU Lord to be unable to fill siege tents when defending his keep. 

• Fixed a bug that would cause Units to stop digging moat, and idle in the moat indefinitely

• Fixed a bug that, when inviting a friend to a Co-Op match, when they are already in a mission, would cause a crash or for the friend not to be moved to the Co-Op Lobby

• Fixed a bug where a CPU Lord would destroy their oil smelter while panicking, leaving an undestroyable patch of grass on the map (preventing the oil smelter from being rebuilt), and trap them in an iron buying loop

• Fixed a bug where CPU Lords would get stuck deleting and replacing their own buildings when the “Prebuilt Enemy Castles” Setting is enabled 

• Fixed a bug where some CPU Lords would sometimes not build their Castles when “Prebuilt Enemy Castles” Setting is enabled 

• Fixed a bug where, when “Prebuilt Enemy Castles” Setting is enabled, the CPU would struggle to build over the ruins of outposts

• Fixed a bug with one of Frederick’s Castles, which was missing a wall, preventing him sending units to some of his towers

• Fixed a bug with one of the Abbot’s Castles, which was missing a tile of moat leaving a path open straight into his keep

• Fixed a bug that linked Extreme Power Hotkeys 7 and 8, they are now separate

• Fixed a bug where the “Restart Mission” menu option would sometimes not appear

• Fixed a bug where the “Reset All Missions” Setting in the Cheat Menu would not remove progress properly

• Fixed a bug where the “Reset All Missions” Setting in the Cheat Menu would then not allow you to load any missions without closing and reopening the game

• Fixed a bug where the load/save requester wouldn’t show Campaign Saves correctly (they were showing as Invasion Maps)

• Fixed a bug where teaming Player/CPU 1 with Player/CPU 8 would create a team of 3 players, instead of 2

• Fixed an issue where if a map had extra stockpiles, then they would interfere with CPU placement and the CPU would delete its stockpile along with its resources

• Fixed a bug where, when playing Sands of Time with Timer Functionality disabled, completing the mission would not be reflected correctly on the map and mission list, which would show chickens instead. (Unfortunately, for the map display the fix will only apply from now on - previously completed missions will still display chickens, and the mission will need to be beaten again for it to update)

• Fixed a bug causing incorrect music to play when beating a Historical Campaign, in the “Aftermath” Screen

• Fixed a bug with the Tar animation in marshes, where Tar bubbles would get stuck and not disappear

• Fixed a bug where the Bedouin Healer would becomes stuck in a running animation, or slides along the ground when following an injured unit in the aggressive stance

• Fixed a bug where playing the Economic Campaign “Realm of the Crocodile” would cause the Lord Type to get stuck as the Arabic Lord

• Fixed a bug where occasionally the Cathedral Bonus would be referred to as “Mosque Bonus”

Map and Mission Specific Fixes:

• Fixed issue where in Economic Campaign “Realm of the Crocodile” Missions 1 and 3, sometimes your Lord dying would not cause the mission to end

• First Edition Trail, Mission 38 - Saladin “The Kind” can now build his Market 

• First Edition Trail, Mission 43 - Rat “The Stoat” now builds a different Castle, allowing him to function properly

• First Edition Trail, Mission 44 - The Castles that the Snake and Rat built on the left hand side of the map result in The Snake getting trapped in his Castle, rendering him useless. This has now been fixed.

• Crusader Warchest Trail, Mission 53 - The Abbot no longer blocks himself in

• Historical Campaign, Crusader States, Mission 3 - the shield icon was displayed next to the player rather than the two Pig CPUs, who are in a team. This has now been fixed.

• In Economic Campaign “Realm of the Crocodile” Mission 1, the “Witchraft!” Event video was not ending correctly. This has now been fixed.

• In Economic Campaign “Realm of the Crocodile”, Monks could be hired from the Grand Mosque instead of Temple Guards. This has now been fixed.

• In Economic Campaign “Realm of the Crocodile” Mission 4, placing the armoury was disabled. This was an error and has now been fixed.

• Removed some spare land on the map “Castaways”

• Removed signpost in Custom Skirmish Map “Edessa”

Localisation Fixes:

• Added a setting in the Arabic version of the game, that allows left to right UI (the original UI layout). You will need to close and re-open the game after applying the setting to see it take effect.

• Updates across various localisations

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Please note: you will only see Multiplayer lobbies of other players on the exact same version of the game as you. People make sure you're on the latest version if you'd like to play Multiplayer.