Manor Lords developer Slavic Magic is sharing what’s in the works for the early access city builder’s future, and it’s looking suitably stacked. If you’ve been waiting for the next batch of upgrades and changes to arrive before diving back in, your prayers have been answered, because we’re getting a new map, changes to the castle planner, and some major reworks to the progression system.
First up, Slavic Magic gives us the details of a new Manor Lords map called Devil’s Hill. With a gigantic mound in the middle, all of the city building game’s regions are circled around it, which the developer may use for a “game mode that places very valuable resources on that hill to have the Lords fight over it.” The hill is also a great spot for a fort if you know how to use the land to your advantage.
The Castle Planner tool has been improved. You can now individually upgrade each module and wall piece in isolation, while platforms with battlements can be selectively added to the walls as well. In short, you’ll have more control and freedom over your castle structures when this update drops.
Slavic Magic is also making some changes to the development tree, after players said it wasn’t immersive enough. “We made several designs and prototyped a few alternatives, but we are still exploring the subject. It’s especially difficult because we’re trying to better marry realism, history, [and] immersion but still keep it fun, so creative ideas often get a push back from historians for being too fantasy, or from folks focused on immersion on being too gamey,” Slavic Magic writes.
“At the same time ideas which are just realistic or historical often do not benefit gameplay or storytelling or just aren’t as exciting of a concept (at least from my perspective as a game director, I love historical inspiration but I’m not a historian and for me gameplay is most important). I’m losing count but I think we’re on our fourth design document… But things are slowly moving forward.”
You can expect more on the development tree rework in the next update, alongside more information on AI controlled towns. Everything mentioned above should arrive with the next Manor Lords patch.
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