Castle Simulation?

Wasn't sure where exactly to file this, but I was watching the Quick Look Throwback of Stronghold for the PC and remembered how much I loved that game, but I was wondering if there were any sims that have a stronger focus on castle/kingdom building and less on military? I've played games like Caesar III (which I love), Lords of the Realm 2, and Majesty. Are there other games I'm missing? Also, it doesn't matter when it came out (don't mind playing a retro game).

The Sims Medieval

There's Caesar in Egypt, Pharaoh, which is pretty much the same game. That's the only one I can think of that hasn't already been mentioned.

I too would like to know this.

@Jams: Got the Sims Medieval. A bit different than what I want. Less about the people and more about the building. @Ubersmake: I've heard of that, I might check that out

Legos.

@cbarnes86 said:

@Jams: Got the Sims Medieval. A bit different than what I want. Less about the people and more about the building. @Ubersmake: I've heard of that, I might check that out

Now I wish I was a game developer. I'd make a "Theme Hospital" game based around a castle.

@Jams: Theme Castle would be pretty great. Any Bullfrog based medieval game would be awesome.... hell any Bullfrog game in general would be great

The sims medieval is pretty cool!

Not sure if there are any outside of Majesty and Stronghold. Settlers maybe? I haven't played any of them, but there's a quick look of Settlers 7 if you're interested.

Also, I LOVED Lords of the Realm 2.

@Butano: Agreed. LotR 2 was one of the first PC games I ever played. It came with our HP Pavilion that we bought as our first computer.

Also, just watched the Settlers 7 QL and that seems like what I want. Unfortunately, I don't want to spend 30 bucks on it. Have to wait for a sale. Thanks for the suggestion!

Castles 1 & 2 are oldies, but they're pretty great regardless. Both are available on GOG and run about $6 or so together.

@Sparky_Buzzsaw: I actually saw those on Desura and was wondering how they were. Might pick those up. Thanks!

I remember I got into terraria castle building once, i had a bit of gold ore from a flying island and my friend went offline, i wanted to build a dungeon and told him I'll stay 10 more minutes to do it... fast forward 10 hours, a bunch of tunnels for mining thousands of stone blocks and dungeon tiles and I had a castle with walls, houses and a big detailed monastery. Tho i doubt terraria castle building is what you are looking for, i had to share that awesome experience.

As for games, have you tried Caesar 3 ? Is not really castle building but it's pretty close to being sronghold minus bunch of military and with more management and in a slightly ( 1000 years ) different time period.

Glad I read this thread. I was looking for a game to play that had to do with castle building and not military stuffs.

@Ubersmake said:

There's Caesar in Egypt, Pharaoh, which is pretty much the same game. That's the only one I can think of that hasn't already been mentioned.

Some of the Pharaoh guys actually put out a newer version of those city-building games a few years ago called Children of the Nile (someone really needs to fill out that wiki). I dunno if OP is interested in non-medieval, non-castle based sims, but it's definitely worth checking out if you want an in-depth, non-military based city manager. Probably sells for pretty cheap these days too, that type of game isn't exactly as big a deal as it used to be, unfortunately.

As a Stronghold and Crusader longtime fan, I can recommend you The Settlers and Anno.

@MarkWahlberg: Found it on Amazon DD for about 7 bucks. I think I'm gonna check it out

@ShockD: I really want Settlers 7 and I've heard Anno 1404 is the best, but is 2070 good, better, or worse? 1404 is definitely cheaper, but I can only get it from Amazon DD.

@cbarnes86: Stronghold DOES have an "economy mode" where building is much, much more emphasized.

The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom sounds like exactly what you want.

I've played it, decent game, only issue is that it's the only game that still uses Uplay's online only DRM.

@cbarnes86: Anno 2070 is only preferable to the old Anno games because of the change in setting. If you were looking for medieval, Dawn of Discovery should be fine for you.

there's a little game--I don't know if you've heard of it--called Dwarf Fortress?

I'm disappointed (but not surprised) that nobody's mentioned Zeus yet. It's from the same guys who did Pharaoh, and IMO it's better. It was on GOG for like $5 recently, too.

Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim

You have absolutely no direct control over your "units" in this game. Instead, sterotypical RPG heroes enter your kingdom and function autonomously once you've built a space for them and hire them. You have to carefully manage your funds to guide your various characters to fulfill tasks. If you want someone to explore your map, you construct a Ranger's Guild, hire rangers, and put out reward flags for exploring different areas. Need a monster destroyed? Put a bounty on it. If you want divine or arcane powers to help the heroes that have moved in, you need to build temples or wizard towers, then pay for their services. Build a blacksmith and item shops and they'll upgrade themselves with the money they earn from your bounties or looting monster dens. All of the heroes have individual AIs and are completely free to ignore you and do their own thing if you don't provide proper incentives (for example, Elves are notorious drunks who laze about in gambling halls all day. NEVER hire elves or gnomes. Dwarves or bust).

It's a really unique gameplay system for a strategy game, and it doesn't take itself seriously at all. Lots of dumb jokes and an amazing narrator. The game oozes charm in every aspect and I always replay every few years.

@Getz said:

there's a little game--I don't know if you've heard of it--called Dwarf Fortress?

Bam!