Manor Lords
Manor Lords is an upcoming medieval city-builder game developed by Slavic Magic and published by Hooded Horse. The game enjoyed a limited demo release during Steam NextFest, and is currently slated for release into early access on April 26, 2024[2].
Description[edit | edit source]
Manor Lords is an upcoming strategy RTS city-builder from the solo developer Slavic Magic. Manor Lords aims to provide a gridless, organic city-building experience with full freedom of placement and rotation, but utilising snapping tools to make the planning more comfortable.
The building mechanic is motivated by the growth of real medieval towns and villages, where major trade routes and landscape often influenced how the settlement shaped and developed.[1]
Gameplay[edit | edit source]
About the Game[edit | edit source]
Manor Lords is a strategy game that allows you to experience the life of a medieval lord. Grow your starting village into a bustling city, manage resources and production chains, and expand your lands through conquest.
Inspired by the art and architecture of late 14th century Franconia, Manor Lords prioritizes historical accuracy wherever possible, using it to inform gameplay mechanics and visuals alike. Common medieval tropes are avoided in favour of historical accuracy, in order to make the world feel more authentic, colourful, and believable.
Organic City Building[edit | edit source]
Manor Lords provides a gridless city-building experience with full freedom of placement and rotation. Building mechanics are motivated by the growth of real medieval towns and villages, where major trade routes and the landscape influenced how settlements shaped and developed.
- Spreading outward from a central marketplace, build your residential, commercial, and industrial districts following the natural lay of the land. Establish farms based on soil fertility, position hunting grounds according to animal populations, and ensure access to adequate resource deposits and forests to provide the raw materials needed for growth.
- Assign areas for housing and watch your residents build their homes in accordance with the historical burgage plot system. Each region will be subdivided based on your roads and the allotted space, and homes will scale accordingly.
- Build extensions behind larger homes to generate income and resources that would not otherwise be available. Homeowners don't just pay taxes – they grow vegetables, raise chickens and goats, and otherwise supply themselves and other townsfolk with essential needs beyond what your managed farms, pastures, and industries can provide.
- Guide your settlements through the unique demands and opportunities of each season, enjoying the bounty brought by spring rains and preparing for the harsh snows of winter.
Resource Management[edit | edit source]
From boots to barley and hides to honey, Manor Lords features a great variety of goods fitting of the era. Materials need to be transported and processed into finished products through production chains, and you must balance the basic needs of your people against the desire to produce luxury items to ensure happiness, manufacture trade goods for export, or forge arms and armor to aid in your conquests.
- Resources are littered across the map, encouraging you to expand and establish multiple specialized settlements. Extract valuable ores from your mining colonies, while villages devoted to agriculture, herding, or hunting supply the grains and meats needed to feed your growing population.
- Unchecked expansion will have a direct effect on the environment. Herds of deer will migrate away from encroaching civilization, lack of crop rotation will worsen soil fertility, and cutting down too many trees will result in deforestation.
- Sell surplus goods to traveling merchants or establish trade routes of your own. Manufacturing and exporting quality goods will provide wealth to upgrade your city, pay taxes to your liege, hire mercenaries, and unlock technologies for new industries, products, and tools.
Medieval Warfare[edit | edit source]
Yours is but a small parcel of land in a vast territory, and the competing ambitions between you and neighboring lords will inevitably lead to conflict. Lead your people into battle, not as expendable units to be easily replenished, but as your beloved loyal subjects where every death is a cost worth considering.
- Train a retinue of skilled warriors to fight battles alongside the levies you raise from the town militia. At times these soldiers will be needed to crush rebellions or suppress banditry, and at other times you will lead you men into battle to conquer or defend territory. When needed, mercenaries are a costly option to bolster your ranks.
- A robust diplomacy system will allow you to communicate with other lords, using influence or threats to sway their actions. These competing lords have their own goals and will seek you out as well, and your response to their offers or insults can mean the difference between war and peace.
- Command real-time tactical battles, taking into consideration fatigue, weather conditions, and equipment. Position your troops wisely – a smaller force can defeat a larger enemy, if commanded well.
- Feel the cost of battle, even in victory, as each fallen soldier represents a lost person from your city. A pyrrhic victory can spell economic doom, or a winter of rationing food and firewood.
Versions[edit | edit source]
System Requirements[edit | edit source]
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 | |
| CPU/Processor | Intel Core i5-3470 AMD FX-6350 |
Intel Core i5 4690K AMD Ryzen 5 1400 |
| System Memory (RAM) | 8GB | 16GB |
| Hard Disk Space (HDD/SD) | 20GB | |
| Graphics Card (GPU) | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 AMD Radeon RX 590 |
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 AMD Radeon RX 5700 |
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- The game's UI currently supports English, German, and Polish, but the game currently only has support for English Audio.
- Manor Lords has been tested for Steam Deck support and is currently flagged as "Playable" by Valve. This means that the game will run on Steam Deck, but some functionality is missing. At the time of writing, Valve highlighted that text may appear smaller, and the game sometimes displays peripheral icons that are not present on the Steam Deck.[3]
Gallery[edit | edit source]
See More[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://manorlords.com/
- ↑ Tweet where it is mentioned about early access.
- ↑ Manor Lords on Steam.