The first entry in Erskine Ravel's 'Siege That Competition 2014' has been posted by Timballisto.
Check out the the competition thread in the Stronghold and Crusader: Map Room Forum, Siege That! Competition 2014.
As Erskine Ravel points out in his thread, 'the whole idea behind' the Siege That! mode in Stronghold 1 is to 'create siege maps that you could challenge your friends with'. So why not get involved? Could you be next to throw your hat in the ring?
Making a Siege That! scenario does not require that you create a custom terrain because in Siege That! the castle is evereything. So entering the competition can be quite easy. Previously known as Savage Templar, Erskine Ravel's own Siege That! map in the Downlaods section is FerthHelm Signal-Fort. He writes in his thread: 'I have created it just to show that a map can be created very quickly and easily and it is also, to provide castle design help to people.'

Firefly Studios announced yesterday via their Facebook page:

We are proud to announce that Stronghold Crusader 2 will be released worldwide on September 2nd 2014! In the below statement Firefly Co-Founder and Design Lead Simon Bradbury explains the company’s decision to release the game at this time:
“We are thrilled to finally give Stronghold players a release date for the game. Fans of the Crusader series have high hopes for Crusader 2 and although many want to get their hands on a copy as soon as possible, it was never our intent to rush the development process. Since the beginning of the project we have maintained that Crusader 2 will pop its head above the parapet only when we are happy that it is truly ready for battle. Well now we think it is almost there, we are about to go into final testing and have recently been confident enough to demo our baby at public events such as EGX London, Rezzed and PAX East. We will have a sequel worthy of the Crusader name come September 2nd.”
- Simon Bradbury
The September 2nd release date will be a worldwide simultaneous retail and digital release. On launch day Stronghold Crusader 2 will be available both online through Steam and in stores, with a physical copy of the game on offer to fans looking to add Crusader 2 to their collection. Both editions of the game will be exclusive to the Steam platform, requiring the software to active. Please note you will still be able to play Crusader 2 offline by setting the Steam client to offline
Click here if you want to view the Stronghold Crusader 2 website - http://bit.ly/shc2e3

To read this Facebook post check here.

Firefly Studios announced that the first gameplay footage for Stronghold Crusader 2 was revealed at Gamescom 2013 in Colonge, Germany. An updated build of the game was shown to press and its first gameplay trailer revealed in full, featuring multiplayer footage and a first look at the game’s fiendish AI characters.
The team demonstrated various improvements made to the game since its E3 debut in June. This includes command powers, new unit abilities and dynamic events such as the Tornado, which tears away at castle walls stone by stone in real time, sucking in any archers unlucky enough to be stationed on top. Also on show will be the game’s co-op mode and an assortment of units completely new to the Stronghold series.
In addition to the game’s first trailer being revealed during the show, a batch of new screenshots will also be released, allowing players and press their first look at the Locust Swarm, siege equipment such as the Trebuchet and skirmish gameplay between human players and their crafty AI opponents.
Scheduled for release in early 2014, Stronghold Crusader 2 will be published digitally by Firefly Studios. Additional funding will be sought through game-focused crowd sourcing service Gambitious, with funding going towards polish, a closed beta and additional game content. More news and information on Stronghold Crusader 2 can be found at StrongholdCrusader2.com.

Strategy fans and castle builders rejoice, Firefly Studios has just announced the next entry in their legendary Stronghold series will be revealed at E3 2013. Set to march across the Atlantic next week Stronghold Crusader 2 will be shown to press at E3, with the first screenshots and game trailer released to the public shortly after.
Seeking to build upon the trademark gameplay of the original Stronghold Crusader, Firefly will be showing press the game’s new visuals, sleek new battle interface, new units and AI characters. Stronghold Crusader 2 promises the original game’s epic fast-paced skirmish gameplay with all-new maps, unit classes, traps and unique castle designs not seen before in the Stronghold series.
“The Stronghold series has been a huge success. Since the launch of the first game more than 6 million Stronghold games have been sold and it’s all thanks to the fans, many of whom have been with us from the very start,” said Nick Tannahill, Marketing Manager at Firefly Studios. “We can’t wait to show people what we’ve been working on and will do just that with our E3 reveal. I’m happy to announce that we will also be launching the full Crusader 2 website on June 11th, which will feature the game’s first trailer, artwork and more”.
Currently scheduled for release in Q4 2013, Stronghold Crusader 2 will be self-published by Firefly Studios. Later this year the team plans to seek additional funds through game-focused crowd sourcing service Gambitious, with funding going towards polish, a closed backer-only beta and additional game content.
More news and information on Stronghold Crusader 2 can be found at StrongholdCrusader2.com and fans can help fund the latest crusade at Gambitious.com. Follow @SHCrusader2 for updates on the crowd funding campaign and updates on the development of Stronghold Crusader 2.
About Firefly Studios
Firefly Studios is an independent PC game developer specialising in real-time strategy and MMO titles. Formed in 1999 by Simon Bradbury and Eric Ouellette, the company has brought to market a number of high profile and commercially successful strategy games, including the Stronghold series with lifetime sales of over five million. Firefly has offices in the UK and US. For more information please visit their website at www.fireflyworlds.com or follow @fireflyworlds on Twitter.
About Gambitious
The first ever professional crowd funding platform made specifically for the games industry. Gambitious is a professional environment where game developers, their fans and serious investors can identify one and other and collaborate for mutual benefit. A combination of the donation based pre-sale model with an equity-based model, Gambitious allows more serious games investors to become equity partners, giving them a piece of the pie in the projects they decide to support. The Gambitious management team harnesses the knowledge and expertise of its experienced staff of developers, producers, marketers and publishers to provide a filter for new game projects. Whether a project is proposed by a world-renowned team or an up-and-coming indie, the Gambitious team challenges them to think all the way through the process and present a real business case for bringing their project to market.
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Here, we find ourselves again in that period of the year. In the battle with Time, we never win, so all we can do, is enjoy every second of our life. Some of you may have had a great time in 2012, while for some, it may have been a though year. Either way, we should always enjoy our time as much as we can and smile where possible. Learn from the past, live in the present, and think in the future!
On behalf of the Stronghold Heaven Staff I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and may 2013 bring everyone the best moments of your life yet.