A medieval city-builder strategy set in the 14th century, Manor Lords, is the most anticipated game of the year. In it you will develop and upgrade your empire and conquer the surrounding countries through diplomacy or warfare. However, this title will release in Early Access, so here's what features you can expect as it gets updated from time to time.
Last week, a Q&A appeared on Reddit in which a developer from Slavic Magic, the studio working on the project, answered a number of questions, including what we can expect from early access. Namely, you will be able to build and develop your cities up to tier three and place specialized craftsmen and industries in multiple regions. There will only be one map, that is, each campaign will place you in a random location in one of the regions, as well as what resources are available nearby and in what quantity.
Once you set up a central market, you can expand, creating residential, commercial and industrial districts while following the natural terrain. In addition, you can place farms on fertile soils, hunting lodges according to the game population and provide access to resources and forests for the necessary raw materials. Interestingly, you can assign residential zones and watch your residents build their homes according to historical urban rules. Each part will be further divided according to roads and space, and the size of the homes will be adjusted accordingly.
Residents aren't solely taxpayers—they cultivate their own vegetables, raise chickens and goats, and fulfill basic needs, supplementing what farms, pastures, and industries offer. Guide your settlement through the distinct trials and advantages of each season, embracing the benefits of spring showers and preparing for the challenges of winter snowstorms.
Combat scenarios will be available, enabling the recruitment of mercenaries or the transformation of your villagers into trained soldiers, which can then be used to conquer neighboring countries to expand your empire. Additionally, you'll be able to switch between various gameplay difficulty settings (a very hard variant or a “peaceful” one), with the option to turn off any combat so you can focus on the city-building aspect. Battles are designed to be realistic, including soldier formations, morale and fatigue. Environmental factors such as weather and terrain significantly affect outcomes, with an emphasis on strategic troop management.
Sometimes you will need soldiers to quell rebellions or suppress bandits. In addition, a strong diplomacy system allows you to communicate with other lords to influence their actions. Other rulers have their own goals and will seek cooperation or conflict, and your response to their offers or provocations can mean the difference between war and peace.
Resources are scattered across the map, encouraging you to expand and establish specialized settlements. Also, unplanned expansion will have direct effects on the environment: wildlife will move away from your settlements, lack of crop rotation will reduce soil fertility, while excessive deforestation will lead to degradation of forest areas. You can sell surplus products to traveling merchants or establish your own trade routes. Producing and exporting quality goods will provide wealth to improve your city, pay taxes, hire mercenaries and unlock new technologies for industries, products and tools.
The mechanics of gaining influence and the right to rule over neighboring countries also await you. To stake your claim, you must fight and defeat an AI-controlled overlord outside the map to gain influence and claim neighboring lands. It is important to point out that the game does not bring grand strategy gameplay or a fast RTS approach, but it is clearly indicated in the blog post on Steam that the game is focused on building small towns and managing with a more relaxed pace.
“Much of the game's mechanics are focused on the aesthetics of your city, and resources take a while to transport around the map. This generally results in a more relaxed experience, with moments of high intensity that spice up the atmospheric construction, instead of the game being constantly at high intensity," said the solo developer from Slavic Magic and added:
"For now, I do not intend to publish a roadmap. I've made the mistake once or twice of promising to work on certain features only to find out that the testers didn't care as much as I did and actually wanted something else. Therefore, even if I have a plan, I prefer a “listen, check, implement” approach. That way, I plan for the first month to be focused on fixing bugs and fine-tuning. During this period, in collaboration with Hooded Horse, we will gather your feedback and then adjust the priority of the work based on what we hear.”
Manor Lords releases in the Early Access phase on April 26 via Steam and the Microsoft Store, and will also be available on PC Game Pass. A version for Xbox Series X/S is also being prepared, but it will come to other consoles and Xbox Game Pass later.
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