Manor Lords: What’s new in the medieval building game

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Manor Lords is supposed to be a new medieval building game and has been in development for a few years. We checked out how the game is doing right now.

In the summer of 2020, the announcement of Manor Lords caused quite a stir. The realistic visuals promised an interesting building game in which we would see the Middle Ages from a much more authentic side than, for example, in Anno 1404 or even The Settlers. Instead, the designs were more reminiscent of Kingdom Come: Deliverance. In addition, Manor Lords is supposed to offer real-time battles on a grand scale, somewhat reminiscent of the battles in Total War. In combination, this all sounds like a dream for medieval fans.

But what about Manor Lords now? The last developer update on Youtube dates from early 2021, after which it became frighteningly quiet there about the building game. Our last exclusive preview, in which the developer told us personally about his plans, is now also over a year in the past.

We have therefore done a little digging and compiled all the current information on the promising indie project. The trailer gives you a general overview of the gameplay.

When is Manor Lords due to be released now?

Originally, an Early Access release was planned for 2021. Developer Grzegorz Styczen will no longer be able to meet this date. We are pretty sure of that one day before the end of the year. So the next possibility would be a release in 2022.

However, there is no guarantee yet. In the official Discord, it is repeatedly noted that Manor Lords will receive an open alpha phase before the (paid) Early Access, in which voluntary testers can give feedback. This has not yet started either. Should an EA still take place in 2022, then presumably in the second half of the year at the earliest.

Where will Manor Lords be released?

Manor Lords got a page on (Steam) very early after its announcement. But in the meantime it was also announced that (Manor Lords will also be released on GOG). If you value games without copy protection, you don’t have to make any compromises with Manor Lords. The developer has also made the retail price official. Manor Lords is supposed to cost 25 euros.

Still a developer?

Manor Lords is being developed by only one person. The developer is called Grzegorz Styczen, but is better known as SlavicMagic, which is also the name of the development studio. Even now, Styczen is considered the only permanent team member. But Manor Lords is not being built completely alone. Styczen pays some freelancers for their help. For example, a search was recently launched on Twitter for an environment artist and a video shows the motion-capturing process with friends.

What’s been happening in Manor Lords?

Bugs are being fixed

We still couldn’t get a glimpse of a playable version. So far, we are only left with the developer’s promises and updates. SlavicMagic keeps the waiting fans up to date on what’s going on in development, especially on Twitter. A lot of time is spent on fixing various bugs. One of the reasons for the postponement to 2022 is said to be a bunch of bugs that entered the game when the zoom was increased.

There is fire

A minor new feature that was also shown on Twitter is the fire effects. In this short video, you can clearly see how a burning hut is not only consumed in by the flames, but individual beams even come crashing down bit by bit.

Houses and Cities Design

Originally, the developer wanted to cover a time span and take up the Middle Ages from the 11th to the 15th century. Elements from different eras were to overlap in part, after all Manor Lords will not be a perfect simulation of the Middle Ages. In the meantime, however, the philosophy has changed somewhat. According to Styczen, Manor Lords is now firmly focused on the 14th century and will no longer feature an architectural mixture of French and Anglo-Saxon architecture. Instead, it will be oriented towards southern German architecture.

Also exciting are new in-game screenshots in which larger cities can be seen for the first time. In them, the developer gives us a very atmospheric foretaste of what awaits us away from small villages in Manor Lords and how organic it could all look:

Short answers to small questions

In November, the developer of Manor Lords put up a new FAQ with questions from Discord and gave a few answers. The complete question and answer document is available (here). But we also summarise some interesting details.

  • Do residents die of old age? Not currently, and they probably never will. Manor Lords is not supposed to be about managing the family circumstances of individual citizens
  • Are there guns? Actually, the developer wanted to include handguns as weapons, but since a large part of the community doesn’t want black powder weapons at all, he’s thinking about dropping them.
  • Is there a fog of war? Probably not. There was one introduced briefly, but the developer was unhappy with how it affected strategy and that the map lost a lot of its visual quality as a result.
  • Gaining Units Experience? No, there will be no experience point system. However, units can be trained
  • Will there be laws? At the moment, the most important thing is the loyalty of the citizens, which depends on resources such as food, wood, candles or shoes. If loyalty drops too much, rebellions can break out. There is also a law mechanism, but it is still very rudimentary and needs to be revised.
  • Will there be diseases? There used to be a disease system that didn’t work well. But the developer wants to explore other possibilities
  • Can you see into buildings? No, such a mechanism would increase the workload enormously

How do you feel about Manor Lords? Are you confident that the developer can realise his plans. And do you believe in an EA release next year? Feel free to write it in the comments!