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There's a lot of excitement regarding the latest medieval strategy Manor Lords, with critics describing it as 'Brimming with the potential to exceed its already broad horizons' (GamesRadar).
Indeed, with impressive city-building, large-scale tactical battles, RTS combat, and complex economic and social simulations, PCGamesN describes this ambitious historical management sim as 'Braveheart meets Banished'.
With Early Access available from April 26th, join us as we take a look at everything we know about this 'gorgeous city builder with Total War-style battles' (Rock Paper Shotgun). We're excited!
Get Manor Lords Early Access at 2Game Today and Save a Massive 25%!
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Manor Lords - Everything We Know About the Plot
OK, let's start at the beginning, what exactly is Manor Lords? I mean, we know it's an impressive historical city-builder with tactical warfare, but what's the story? Here, the Release Date Announcement trailer sets the scene.
Basically, you have been chosen to govern a land of great peril and promise. A land that has long suffered from the scourge of banditry. A land that faces a great external threat. A threat that comes in the form of an illegitimate baron who claims the Northern territories as his own.
The question is raised, will you prove yourself a worthy medieval lord? Or will you perish by the traitor's steel?
Manor Lords - Gameplay
Organic City Building
City-build to your heart's content, as you create realistic medieval towns and villages with full freedom of placement and rotation. Indeed, with no grids to restrict your creativity, building mechanics are inspired by the growth of real settlements. Such authentic factors include the location of major trade routes, and the geography of the surrounding landscapes.
Starting with a central market place, you'll need to design and build residential, commercial, and industrial districts, according to the lay of the land. Then you'll need farms - make sure the soil is fertile; hunting grounds - follow the animals; and convenient access to raw materials, such as forests and places to dump deposits.
Once you've built your settlement, watch as your inhabitants make it their own. Don't get too comfortable though, the work of a leader is never over. That's to say, there will be many seasonally dependent obstacles to overcome, as well as opportunities you'll want to take advantage of for your village/town/city to grow and prosper.
Resource Management
There was no Amazon Prime or supermarket deliveries back in the medieval days. Subsequently, as leader of your settlement, it is down to you to organize the harvesting, processing, and transportation of goods and resources.
Once the necessary production chains are in place, the politics comes into play. How will you balance the basic needs of your people, with producing luxury goods to increase happiness (not to mention your wealth), for example? What percentage of your production will be geared towards exports? Are you importing more than you are exporting? How much funding do you invest in the military? And is that funding purely for defense purposes or do you have empire-building ambitions? Oh, and how rich do you get off the back of taxing your population?
Then, of course, there's the affect of your actions on the natural environment. Mining can be a real gold mine (excuse the pun!), and villages devoted to agriculture, herding, or hunting will be useful in feeding your growing populations. Be careful not to deplete your specialized settlements, however. Encroaching civilizations scare off herds of animals, lack of crop rotation decreases soil fertility, and deforestation results in no trees!
Medieval Warfare
Yes, you're chief of your domain. Master of your realm. King of your castle. But on a larger scale, you're a nobody. Well, not quite a nobody, but one of many competing rival lords. Lords who all want a bigger piece of the pie. And that makes things pretty perilous.
Especially when you feel a sense of responsibility towards the loyal subjects you lead into battle, and they're not just disposable pawns, or collateral damage. I mean, they also fill your coffers with their taxes, which they can't do if they're dead!
Train skilled units of warriors, and pay out for costly mercenaries if you need back up. You may even need to raise the town militia, enlisting all peasants to pick up arms, if the battle gets too out of hand. This should be a last resort, however, as it effectively brings your economy to a stand still.
At the end of the day, you're the boss. You'll need to command real-time tactical battles, positioning your troops appropriately, and taking into consideration factors like fatigue, weather conditions, and your military arsenal.
Everything We Know About Manor Lords Early Access
Started by solo developer Slavic Magic (otherwise known as Greg Styczeń), Manor Lords is already years in the making. This raises the question:
Why release Manor Lords Early Access?
Styczeń describes his decision to launch an Early Access version of the game as a crucial component of his development strategy. Basically, he wants feedback. He seeks to establish a back and forth relationship between himself and the gaming community. In this way, Styczeń wants players to feel invested in the process.
Above all, he wants this to be the best version of the game it could possibly be. I'm telling you, this is the work of a perfectionist with very high standards!
How long will Manor Lords be in Early Access?
The length of time in Early Access will depend on how long it takes to implement the feedback that stems from the community. With that in mind, however, the developers are envisioning that the process will take roughly a year.
How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?
The structure and major mechanics of the game are already in place, so this will very much depend on the feedback that developers receive. Having said that, you should certainly expect new content, as well as additional polishing, balancing and general maintenance-type upgrades.
Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?
The cost of the game may well increase during the Early Access period, as additional content and features are added. All the more reason to get the discounted copy of the game at 2Game today!
Get Manor Lords Early Access at 2Game Today and Save a Massive 25%!
Manor Lords - PC System Requirements
In order to play Manor Lords Early Access, you will need to first make sure your PC is compatible.
The minimum PC System Requirements are as follows:
- 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows® 10 (64-bit)
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-4670 (quad-core) / AMD® FX-Series™ FX-4350 (quad-core)
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 (2 GB) / AMD® Radeon™ RX-460 (4 GB) / Intel® Arc™ A380 (6 GB)
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 15 GB available space
Ideally, however, to get the most out of the game, these are the recommended PC system requirements:
- 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows® 10 (64-bit)
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-7600 (quad-core) / AMD® Ryzen™ 3 2200G (quad-core)
- Memory: 12 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 (6 GB) / AMD® Radeon™ RX 580 (8 GB) / Intel® Arc™ A580 (8 GB)
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 15 GB available space
Play Manor Lords Today!
To sum up, we are intrigued! A game started by a perfectionist solo-developer that has caught the eye of critics across the board, this is looking like it could be something special!
Interestingly enough, and very much in keeping with his transparent approach, leading up to the April 26th Early Access launch, Slavic Magic decided to lay out exactly what fans should and shouldn't expect from the game. Basically, Manor Lords is no Total War competitor. Instead, it's an ambitious historical city-builder management sim, with battles.
Its map has regions, but it's designed to play at a much smaller scale than some of the sprawling Grand Strategy games on the market. Furthermore, Manor Lords is not an RPG. Nor is it a fast-paced RTS like Age of Empires or Starcraft. No, Manor Lords is unique in its ambitions. At the same time it's true to its identity.
That is to say, above all, Manor Lords is a city-builder. There are moments of high intensity that will get your blood pumping, but for most part, it's a sim you can play with a cup of tea in your hand. A game you can get involved in during Early Access, and help steer the development of. Basically, a gaming experience that sounds right up my street!
Get in the Game ! 
