Manor Lords was the best city builder of 2024, even if the game remains in early access, and studio Slavic Magic, aka developer Greg Styczeń, has revealed what it's been working on for the game's next major update: a new map, castle planner changes, and a progression system rework.
The new map is called Devil's Hill and, as the name suggests, is based around a gigantic hill. The idea is that all of the regions will be circled around this big hill, with the developer considering a "game mode that places very valuable resources on that hill to have the Lords fight over it", but is also "a prime battleground and castle site."
The changes to the Castle Planner tool will now let you upgrade each module and wall piece individually, and give you more granular control over the placement of battlements.
The update's major focus seems to be the development tree, which is getting a rework. "We made several designs and prototyped a few alternatives, but we are still exploring the subject," writes Slavic Magic. "It’s especially difficult because we’re trying to better marry realism, history, 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."
The push-and-pull between authenticity and fun has been something of a minor theme in Manor Lords' development. "Ideas which are just realistic or historical often do not benefit gameplay or storytelling or just aren’t as exciting of a concept," says Slavic Magic. "From my perspective as a game director, I love historical inspiration but I’m not a historian and for me gameplay is most important." The rework apparently is on its fourth design document "but things are slowly moving forward."
The update doesn't yet have a date, though the studio adds to expect "exciting news" on AI-controlled towns soon, and wraps up with the announcement of new "Monitor Buddiez" of the titular Manor Lord and the Basket Man.
The future looks bright for Manor Lords, which has been a breakout hit for Slavic Magic and publisher Hooded Horse, selling over three million copies thus far.
"When we first launched the announcement trailer in 2020, my girlfriend said she expected me to get 7,000 wishlists," Slavic Magic said of the success last year. "I was more optimistic and said it would be more like 14,000 and that would be awesome. Suffice to say, I did not expect the game to pick up so much interest and hit over 2 million."
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