Stronghold: Crusader Multiplayer Demo Readme

Introduction
Welcome to the Crusader playable demo! We have included three Skirmish games
and a multiplayer mode, which will give you a taste of the features in the full game.
There are plenty of features missing from this demo.
We have also included an in game tutorial. You should look at this, as it explains a
couple of key concepts that will help you get into Crusader. The tutorial will allow
you to skip through concepts you are already familiar with.
We recommend you play the first Skirmish mission at least once before you try the
other two.
Enjoy!
Firefly studios
For further information regarding Stronghold: Crusader, please visit:
http://www.fireflyworlds.com
http://www.take2games.com
http://stronghold.godgames.com/crusader/
Contents
Section 1 - System Requirements
Section 2 - Keyboard Commands
Section 3 - Skirmish Mode
Section 4 - Multiplayer Mode
Section 1. System requirements
OS:
CPU:
RAM:
HDD:
VIDEO:
SOUND:
MODEM:

Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000,

Windows XP.
300mhz AMD / Intel processor (550mhz + preferred)
64 MB (128MB Recommended, especially for multiplayer)
130MB
4MB DirectX 7.0 compatible graphics card (800x600 upwards)
DirectX 7.0 compatible sound card
56k (for Internet Play)

Section 2. Keyboard Commands

In-Game Commands
Flatten the landscape - SPACEBAR: Press SPACEBAR to flatten the landscape and
buildings. Press SPACEBAR again to return the landscape & buildings to normal.

Pause Game - P: Pressing the P key once will pause the game. Pressing it again will
resume the game.
Grouping Troops - CTRL + 0 to 9: To create a group of troops, highlight the troops
by dragging a section box over them and press CTRL and select 0 to 9. Once
grouped, simply press the appropriate number key to select the troops. Pressing that
number again will center the screen on those troops.
Multiple Waypoints - SHIFT + left clk: Select a troop and hold down the SHIFT key
then click on the map to set up to nine waypoints on the map.
Book marking Locations - CTRL + ALT + 0 to 9: Pressing CTRL & ALT & 0 to 9
creates a bookmark of the current location on the map. Press ALT and the appropriate
number to return to this location.
Select Units of Same Type - Dbl-clk on troop: Double-click on a troop to select all
units of the same type visible on screen.
Scrolling - Arrow Keys: You can scroll the map using the arrow keys.
Interface Panel - TAB: Press TAB to turn the interface on & off.
Zoom - Z: Press Z to zoom in and out.
Rotate the screen - X or C.
Adjust game speed - + / - (Keypad): Press + to increase the game speed and press to decrease it.
Cycle through Bookmarks - Mouse Wheel down: Cycles through bookmarks.
Screenshot - ALT & Q: In-game screen shot.
Multiple Screenshots - SHIFT & ALT & Q Screenshot1, Screenshot2, etc.
Pull Down Landscape - V: This will 'pull down' the landscape, allowing you to see
behind objects.
Signpost - S: Pressing the S key will cycle you through the signposts on the map.
Keep - H: Press H to center on the keep.
Keep (Mouse) - Mouse Wheel up: Centers on the keep.
Granary - G: Press G to center on the granary.
Barracks - B: Press B to center on the barracks.
Market - M: Press M to center on the market.

Troop Assembly Points (Barracks) - You can create assembly points for each troop
type in the barracks panel. Open the barracks and press 1 - 6 and you will get a flag.
Place the flag and the troops will walk to the location.
Return to the previous location - If you wish to return to one of your buildings and
then return to the previous location, you can press one of the keys assigned to a
building, such as: A (Armoury), B (Barracks), M (Market), N (Mercenary Post), G
(Granary), you can then press SHIFT and the key previously pressed, to return to the
previous location.
Section 3 Skirmish Mode
Setting Up Your Identity
You can choose which type of Lord you wish to play within game. You can choose
from either a Crusader Lord or Arabic Lord.
You also choose from the portrait you wish to show when you click on sections of
your castle (this picture will also be shown to the other player in the multiplayer
mode). You can create your own portrait, if you load the faces.bmp (located in the
root of the demo folder) file into a paint package. You will notice we have left two
free slots for your own portrait. The correct size for this portrait would be 64 x 64
pixels.
Playing Skirmish mode
You will notice three buttons in the Skirmish mode screen, these buttons will allow
you to choose between various difficultly settings which you can play:
Zephyr
Very Easy (1/10)
New to Castle building? Let the desert breeze wash over you. Your opponent, The
Rat, should prove to be no more than a mere annoyance and with a large human
advantage you have all the gold you need to see him off.
The Vultures Claws
Easy (4/10)
The 2 Caliphs have you trapped between them and will constantly threaten your
economy, but a small gold advantage should be enough to allow you to turn the tables
on them.
Lionheart
Quite hard (8/10)
In this set-up the Lionheart will really test your castle building skills.
This is a death match game, so everyone starts with plenty of gold and the action will
be fast and furious. There are only 3 enemies, but the absence of any allies means
you must think through your strategy carefully.

Section 4. Multiplayer
In this demo the number of human players has been limited to two players.
There are two main ways to get connected. If you know whom you are going to be
playing, use Stronghold: Crusaders built in connection services. If you want to find a
game to join on the Internet, use GameSpys matchmaking service, GameSpy Arcade.
Connecting using Stronghold: Crusader
On the Multiplayer 'Service Provider' screen you are presented with at least four
connection types. The four main types of connection are:
1. IPX
2. Internet TCP/IP
3. Modem Connection
4. Serial Connection
In all these types of connection, one player must be a 'Host' and the other player must
join into the host's game.
1. IPX
This is mainly used on LANs. No configuration is required.
2. Internet TCP/IP
Use this if you wish to play on the Internet or on a LAN. If you are using TCP/IP on a
LAN, then no one needs to supply an IP address. If you are using the Internet, then
the host must inform the other player of his IP address (shown on host's screen). The
host must then start his game and the other player must enter the host's IP address and
click on 'Join'.
This is probably the best way for two people to play head to head (presuming both
people have Internet connections). One player is the 'Host' and should supply the
other player with his IP address and the other player should enter the IP address
before joining the host's game.
3. Modem Connection
First, select your modem from the list of available Modems on your computer. Then,
if you are hosting the game, just click on 'Host'. The other player must enter the
phone number of the host and click on 'Join' and the modem will call the host's
computer.
4. Serial Connection
Both players will be asked for their serial connection information. Normally you will
be asked for the 'COM port' of the serial port. The other settings should normally be
left on their default values.

If you are joining a game, after clicking on 'Join' you will be presented with a list of
sessions. Normally only one will be shown (unless you are playing on a LAN with
more than one game of the Stronghold: Crusader Demo being played). Select the
session that you wish to join and you will be taken to the 'Waiting Room'.
It is best if the 'Host' is the person with the fastest computer, as well as the fastest and
most reliable net connection, because if there are any game-play connection problems,
it is the host that has to fix this. During a game, if the 'Host' loses connection to the
game, the other player becomes the host.
Connecting using GameSpy Arcade.
(Only brief instructions for GameSpy Arcade are supplied here. Please refer to
GameSpy Arcade's own instructions for further details.)
When playing the Stronghold: Crusader Demo using GameSpy Arcade, games are
limited to two (for the demo) players.
To play the Stronghold: Crusader Demo using GameSpy Arcade, run GameSpy
Arcade directly without running the Stronghold: Crusader Demo or run the
Stronghold: Crusader Demo then select the 'GameSpy Arcade' button from the multiplayer start screen.
Once in GameSpy Arcade, go to the Stronghold: Crusader Demo section and create a
game, if you wish to be a 'Host', or look for available games and join one of them.
When everyone is ready, launch the game. GameSpy Arcade will minimize and the
Stronghold: Crusader Demo will launch itself.
If you are the host, you will be taken to the Multiplayer waiting room screen (further
details below) otherwise the game will wait until it has made a connection to the host
before taking you to the waiting room.
The Waiting Room - choosing your game
On this screen when playing as the host, you can select the map and game settings
you wish to play with (not available in the demo). Once you are ready, you must click
the 'Ready' icon and then wait for the host to launch the game. The host can 'Eject'
any player he doesn't want in the game by clicking the 'X' button next to the player's
name he wishes to eject.
Adding a computer icon: Click on the shield icon to add the Rat, Caliph or Lionheart
into your multiplayer game.
Set-up the teams: Click on the table icon to set-up your teams. Click on a players
portrait and drag it onto another players portrait to form a team. To remove them
from your team drag a player onto the portcullis icon (in the middle of the screen) to
remove them.
When everyone is ready, the host should click on 'Launch' and the game will begin.

During the Game

During the game it is possible to chat to other players using the chat panel, which is
activated by pressing the Enter key. On the chat panel you can select which players
you wish to chat to and you can also send them pre-defined 'insults' by clicking on the
1-20 buttons. If any players are on teams, the colors of the teams are shown in the
top-left corner of the name buttons.
Some machines may suffer from connection problems during the game. This is most
likely to happen when people are playing on the Internet using modems. There are
two main problems that are likely to occur:
Firstly, if a player's connection becomes very slow, or they lose their connection
entirely, the other players will be presented with a panel with the option to eject the
player with the problem. If the player's connection hasn't recovered within 60
seconds they will automatically be ejected or the host can click eject at anytime to
remove that player from the game. If the player's connection recovers, then the panel
will automatically be removed from the screen and the game will continue normally.
Another connection problem can occur when the game on each person's computer
gets out of sync with the host. This normally only happens on the Internet using
modems, but it can occur with other types of connections. If the game loses sync, a
panel will be displayed with a time bar showing how long it will take to re-sync the
game.
If the host thinks it will take too long, they can click 'Cancel Game' which will end the
game for all players. Once the game is re-synced it should continue as normal.
During re-syncing it is still possible to use the chat feature by pressing the Enter
key.
If at any point a player wishes to leave the game, he should bring up the options menu
and press 'Quit Mission', he will then be asked to 'Quit Game' which means he will
leave the game, or he can select 'End this Game' which will ask the other players if
they wish to end the game. If all the players agree then the game will end and
everyone will be returned to the waiting room.
Once the game is finished, the players are presented with a ranking screen. This
screen details the achievements of the players during the game. The winner of the
game is at the top of the list. He received one crown for winning. Other crowns are
awarded for how well the players have played. Stars are awarded for each opposing
lord that the player has killed.