Farming Buildings in Stronghold - Original Stronghold PC Game Guide - Farm Buildings in Stronghold

2008-10-28

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Farming Overview in Stronghold

In order to keep your townsfolk happy, it is vital that you keep them supplied with enough food. In the game there are five types of farm you can build to help accomplish this task. The types of farm you can build are: Apple orchard; Dairy farm; Hop Farm; Hunter’s post, and Wheat farm.

Without food, your townsfolk will rapidly become unhappy and your popularity score will drop as a result. Remember, once your popularity score drops below fifty, townsfolk will begin to leave your stronghold leaving you shorthanded.

The types of farm building you can use depend on the map being played, although in Free Build mode, you can use the entire range. These buildings, their resource cost and their product output are detailed below.

Farm buildings are depicted by an apple on the buildings panel and have stipulations regarding where they can be built.

Types Of Farm Buildings: Apple Orchard

Apple orchards are the easiest farms to use in the game. They are very cheap to build and yield a crop very quickly; providing several crops of apples each year. However, apple orchards require to be placed on rich soil in low-lying land. Apple crops can be blighted by a Witch’s curse, which ruins the crop entirely.

Building an apple orchard costs 5 wood and uses one worker to operate. Each crop yields six baskets, which are placed directly into the granary building.

Dairy Farm

Dairy farms are used to make cheese, and also provide leather for use by Tanners. Dairy farms can be placed on poorer soil but are slow to begin producing any food, as there must be three cows in the farm before production can begin. However, once they are active and have begun production, they provide a regular stream of food for your townsfolk. Cheese consumption is also generally slower than other types of food.

One point to note, however, is the fact that if you use Tanners to make leather armour, your cheese production will suffer as a result. Cows are occasionally killed by a disease, which is described in game as a ‘strange malady’

Building a dairy farm costs 10 wood and uses one worker. Each batch of cheese production produces 6 blocks that are placed directly into the granary.

Hop Farm

Hop farms don’t produce food, but are instead used in the brewing of ale. Inns, which boost your popularity, then use this ale once brewed. Like apple orchards, hop farms need to be placed in good soil in low-lying areas.

A hop farm’s crop can be blighted by Hop Weevil, which destroys the crop for the entire year.

Hop farms cost 15 wood each to build, and use up one worker but the end effect of a hop farm on your Lord’s popularity is well worth the resource spend.

Hunter’s Post

Basic food gathering is performed by the hunter and is the main method of gathering food in the early maps of the game. Hunting produces hunks of meat from the deer which roam around the map. Be careful that you don’t overdo your hunting, as should you wipe out the herd of deer you will not be able to hunt and will lose the resource.

Hunting generates food relatively quickly, but migratory patterns of the deer can see the food production slow down if the hunter has a ways to travel back to the hunter’s post. Coupled with the dangers of over-hunting, this can be an unreliable method of food gathering and shouldn’t be relied upon solely if other options are present.

A Hunter’s post costs 5 wood to build and use up one worker. Each deer produces 6 cuts of meat, which are stored in the granary.

Wheat Farm

If you want to feed a large population, then wheat farms are imperative. They require to be placed on the best soil and are initially very slow to get going, but once they are operational they become the most reliable foodstuff in the game. The wheat farmed is used to make flour, which in turn is used to bake bread.

Wheat farms are affected by rabbits, which feed off the grain and can destroy a wheat crop. Wheat blight can also render a crop ruined.

Wheat farms require 15 wood to build and use 1 worker to operate them. Each crop of wheat produces 3 bushels.

Farming Strategies

With all farms it is wise to consider the distance your farmers have to travel to deliver their crop to the granary or stockpile. The longer they have to travel, the less effective their production will be.

If space and/or good quality land is at a premium, special consideration should be given to how best to maximise the limited space available. Remember, farms can be demolished and replaced if you find one type of farm isn’t meeting the demands of your townsfolk!

In the next part of this guide to the original Stronghold PC game, we’ll explore the food processing elements of the game.

This post is part of the series: Guide & Strategies For The Stronghold PC Castle Sim Game

This series provides an overview and hints, tips and strategies to improve your gameplay of the Stronghold PC Castle sim game.