SouthPeak - Firefly Studios' Stronghold 3

SouthPeak Games and Firefly Studios have today launched a totally unique community competition for upcoming castle building strategy sim Stronghold ^® 3 . Fans of the title on Facebook can have their input in development by choosing which dead animal will become the new, rather grisly, ammunition for trebuchets in the game... yes, you read that correctly.

“Medieval sieges were often just long periods of people doing nothing,” explains Simon Bradbury, Stronghold 3’s designer. “The besiegers would sometimes catapult all manner of things over the walls, in the hope of causing disease and panic, or possibly just to relieve the boredom. Traditionally we’ve had a deceased cow as alternative trebuchet ammo but in Stronghold 3 we’re taking massive development leaps by offering several dead animals to choose from. Once again, I must stress they’re already dead before being launched skywards. They’re no more. They have ceased to be. Bereft of life.”

From today, the Stronghold community can head over to http://www.facebook.com/stronghold3 and vote for one of four creatures to be launched from trebuchets, with the winner appearing in the finished product. When launched, the dead beasts will cause a cloud of disease that seeps through castles, killing anyone in its path – depending upon the size of animal, the cloud changes in size or splits into multiple foul fogs. The options available include:

1. Senile donkey

2. Cage of rabid otters

3. Retired dancing bear

4. Sack of diseased badgers

Since first launching in 2001, the Stronghold series has become one of the most respected in its genre thanks to its mix of precision village building, fast-paced real-time gameplay and dramatic sieges with hundreds of enemies swarming over castles. Stronghold 3 promises to be the best yet, with a keep full of fantastic new features that ensure old and new fans alike experience a gritty slice of medieval life. The title launches on PC in Q1 2011.