Manor Lords is getting new maps, building upgrades and reworks for the marketplace and ale distribution

Manor Lords developer Greg Styczeń, aka Slavic Magic, has emerged from his keep with news of a forthcoming patch for the medieval city builder. It’ll add new maps, building upgrades and reworks for various economic systems.

The announcement post is mostly image-based, in keeping with the classic saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words, as long as the words in question are mostly synonyms for ‘hut’, ‘mud’, ‘tree’ and ‘mountain'”. Fortunately, Styczeń threw in a few captions to light the way.

Here are a couple of screens of the (currently untitled) new maps. I like those mountains.

Here are a couple of the new building upgrades.

And here’s a draft screen of a rework for ale and water distribution. “We’ve overhauled how ale and water are supplied to settlements,” Styczeń explains. “These changes are now in closed testing and will improve the function of taverns and wells.”

He’s also making changes to how marketplaces and goods distribution work, “having tested three different systems to find an engaging, intuitive, and easy-to-understand solution”. The rework adds new distribution filters for marketplaces. Witness the hot interfacial action below. Who spilled monopoly houses all over my 14th-century Franconia?

Manor Lords recently scored Best Debut Indie Game and Best Sim/Strategy nominations in the Geoff Keighley Awards, but Styczeń isn’t letting it go to his head. “The game remains in Early Access, and I know there are plenty of features, adjustments, and fixes you’re all looking forward to,” he concludes. “Your feedback has always been an essential part of the process, and I’m committed to continuing the open development approach that’s gotten us this far and working hard to improve the game.”

“While obtuse in places, Manor Lords is an idiosyncratic, lively and sturdy sim that will keep you curious and delighted with its many intricacies,” Nic wrote back at the early access launch in April, adding that “it definitely doesn’t feel even close to complete, but it does feel alive.” Since then, the game has attracted a little criticism from people who wanted faster updates. I’m not sure how transformative this latest patch is, but the new maps seem like a substantial addition.