As Manor Lords prepares for its early access launch on Steam later this month, we’re excited to update you on its latest developments and learn about its highly detailed world and real-time strategy components. Let’s explore the types of cities we can construct and the stable economies we can establish.
Manor Lords is a strategy city-builder game that’s taking inspiration from the 14th-century Franconia period, and its solo developer, Slavic Magic, wants to make sure it’s historically accurate with life-like city growth and intense real-time tactical battles. Common medieval clichés you might see in other games are avoided, as Slavic hopes this will make the world feel more “authentic, colorful, and believable”.
Manor Lords Release Date
Manor Lords is due to be released on Steam in early access very soon, on the 26th April, 2024. Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S versions are in development, but these likely won’t be available until later in the year. Manor Lords will be available on Game Pass from launch.
There has been no word regarding a release for PS5 or PS4. Slavic Magic has previously expressed openness to console development, indicating a preference to outsource this task to a different studio. Ultimately, such a decision would lie with its publisher, Hooded Horse. If we hear anything, we will keep you posted.
A time-limited demo of Manor Lords was accessible for a brief period during Steam’s Next Fest event, garnering significant praise throughout its short gameplay window and amassing a wishlist count of 3 million.
Manor Lords Gameplay
The game will include dynamic weather and changing seasons, affecting not only the village but also warfare. Major Trade Routes and the Landscape influence how the settlements grow and develop.
Starting from a central marketplace, construct your residential, commercial, and industrial districts in harmony with the land’s natural resources. Set up farms guided by soil fertility, locate hunting areas by tracking animal densities, and secure sites close to resource deposits and forests to supply the essential raw materials necessary for the growth of your settlements.
Add extensions to larger homes to generate income and resources otherwise unattainable. Homeowners contribute more than just taxes; they cultivate vegetables, rear chickens and goats, and fulfill their own and the community’s essential needs, supplementing what your directly managed farms, pastures, and industries produce. You will need everything to band together to get through harsh snowy seasons in the Winter.
Regarding combat, players can expect to witness large-scale clashes involving numerous units, with “formations, morale, flanking, fatigue, weather, and equipment” all playing crucial roles.
Neighboring lords, driven by greed for land, will inevitably turn up to spark conflicts. Your people can bear arms and meet other lord’s armies in the field, but you will feel the loss of your beloved loyal subjects where every death is a cost to your economy.
Muster up a force of skilled warriors to complement the levies drawn from the town militia for combat. These soldiers may be called upon to quell rebellions or curb bandit activities, as well as to conquer or defend territories. In times of need, hiring mercenaries can provide a significant, albeit drain on your coffers, boost to your forces. Siege equipment will arrive in an update after the early access launch.
There’s a diplomacy system in place to enable you to communicate with fellow lords, employing influence or threats to steer their decisions. These rival lords, each with their own objectives, will also reach out to you. How you react to their propositions or provocations can tip the scales towards conflict or concord.
Manor Lords Modding and Community Support
Manor Lords is built using Unreal Engine 4, so it will be moddable and should be supported with Steam Workshop and we should see projects ending up on Nexus Mods and perhaps ModDB too.
Slavic Magic says that modding support will come after release, so we expect some sort of tool will be made available to help people. This hasn’t been confirmed, after all, Slavic is a solo developer so everything will take time. It received an Epic Megagrant to help cover development costs and is now helped further with publishing from Hooded Horse.
Manor Lords recently passed 2 million wishlists on Steam, making it one of the most wishlist games on the platform. Impressive! Good numbers for a city builder and the strategy genre in general.
You can find Manor Lords on Steam. We expect it to cost between $30 - $40 when it launches into early access on the 26th April.
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