For example if you want more wood, build woodcutter's huts. This is done by building a workplace for them. They stand around the campfire rubbing their hands, looking grubby and waiting for you to give them a job worthy of their skills. Peasants gather in front of your lord's hut, the central structure of your castle. These are recruited to help build your economy. Indeed it is your people who are your most important resource. To build a strong army you will have to manage resources like food, leather, stone, ale, wood, bread, and all sorts of weapons that you will have to have hand made by specialist craftsmen.
This side of the game was always impressive in the original and no major interface changes have been made for Crusader. And there's lot of information to be mastered too.
The interface is deep and full of options, but it also delivers very concisely all of the information you need to successfully grow your empire. You will then be able to indulge in castle design and tactical combat.
Indeed the latter is very dependant on all being well with the former and in this sense you will only win games if you have a sound sense of how to best manage a feudal economy. In Stronghold (and Crusader) you must manage your economic development as well as oversee your military machine.
In case you haven't come across this excellent game in its original incarnation, here is a little background to get you up to speed. The game also sees you leading the Holy Crusades during the 1100s and taking the fight to Saladin and his mates in the medieval Middle East. However this time around you have a lot more combat missions to challenge you, a host of new units and a more polished enemy AI to contend with. Like the original game Crusader sees you ruling the land, running your own castle, developing your economy and of course smiting anyone who dares threaten your dominance. However Crusader had a few of us salivating before its release, as the original game was such a promising appetizer. Stronghold is one of those rare games that comes along without any fanfare and ends up being really special even though nobody really expected much from it. If you enjoyed the mighty Stronghold, but want a game with even more substance, then sire, your software is ready.