Manor Lords: 6 Features We'd Like To See

Manor Lords

By Joe Grantham

Published May 11, 2024

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Manor Lords

Highlights

Monasteries were major economic players in the Middle Ages, offering potential for trade and industry in Manor Lords gameplay.
Story events could shake up gameplay, providing challenges and tough decisions for players to adapt to.
More animals like pigeons and rabbits, alongside hunting animals, could enhance player options and make the world feel alive.

Created mostly by just one developer and with Steam player count records for the genre in the bag, Manor Lords is already a huge success. However, as stated clearly, the game is very much a work in progress, with many features missing or incomplete during these initial stages of Early Access.

A winter village and some unsheltered goods in Manor Lords

Manor Lords: 7 Common Mistakes To Avoid

There are many things to keep track of in Manor Lords, so it's understandable if players make a few mistakes along the way.

Nevertheless, players are naturally getting excited about features they would like to see in Manor Lords, and in fact, the developer has confirmed many planned features such as castles, town walls, rivers, cavalry, and AI settlements. This topic will instead dive into ideas that could be added to Manor Lords further down the line, once the vision of the core game has been fully realized.

1 Monasteries

Monasteries Were A Prominent Feature Of The Middle Ages

Monasteries were immensely important in the Middle Ages, not just for spirituality, but for commerce too. In fact, monasteries are often described by historians as large corporate enterprises, providing trade and industry for the region. The possible addition of monasteries to Manor Lords would therefore present many new angles for gameplay. This would be true even if monasteries were only available to the AI, as diplomacy would be vastly different with an abbot and players might be able to import goods such as illuminated manuscripts for their wealthiest citizens.

In terms of players being able to found their own monasteries and build them from the ground up, this would likely be more of a challenge to implement. However, the possibilities certainly get the mind rolling, with features such as scriptoriums and the trade of saintly relics.

2 Story Events

Events Would Add More Flavor & Could Provide Challenges To Shake Up The Gameplay

The core gameplay of Manor Lords is an absolute delight, but once players have got their town up and running, things can become a bit stagnant, particularly in terms of difficulty. By adding random story events that pop up from time to time, players will not only have more flavor, but they will have to make tough decisions and perhaps adapt their plans for the following months.

Events could come in different sizes, from small disturbances in the village to instances of the king heading off to war and calling for soldiers. In this example, players would have to choose between temporarily losing workers and upsetting their liege, perhaps at the cost of influence. As the game is set in the late 14th century, reoccurring waves of the Black Death could be expected and would add a real challenge. Sometimes, events could also be blessings.

3 More Animals & More Uses For Them

Players Would Have More Options & The World Would Truly Feel Alive

Manor Lords Sheep heading to a new Pasture

Domestic animals of all kinds were integral to medieval life, and while some of these are present in Manor Lords, it would certainly be great to see more down the line. As the developer has talked about adding pigs, these sources of meat at the very least can be expected. However, being able to build dovecotes for pigeons and doves, or warrens for rabbits, would add even more variety, giving players more options to choose from.

Manor Lords: Best Food To Produce

Food, understandably, is an important resource in Manor Lords. Players may want to think about prioritizing the following entries.

When castles are added to the game, it would also be interesting to see hunting animals such as dogs and falcons, who would need kennels and mews, respectively. Owning such luxuries could perhaps help the lord gain more influence. Furthermore, the options surrounding the current livestock could be enhanced, with players able to breed horses, milk their goats, and have animal skins turned into parchment.

4 German Voice Lines

For A Game Set In Medieval Franconia, German Voice Lines Would Help With Immersion

Manor Lords Villagers bringing in the harvest, fields

Historical accuracy and immersion are a big part of Manor Lords, and one small way this could be enhanced is with the addition of authentic medieval German voice lines. This is because the game is set in medieval Franconia in what is now southern Germany, where English voices would be out of place.

Of course, such a feature is far down on the priority list and the current voices work very well with there being a certain charm about them. On top of this, hiring voice actors is no cheap or easy process, but with the game achieving tremendous success in the first few days alone, it is still a realistic hope for the future.

5 Water Mills

More Choice Is Always Good

Proper rivers are one of the planned features for Manor Lords, but whether water mills will accompany them is yet to be seen. Water mills were incredibly useful in the Middle Ages, and it was only later in the period that windmills were invented and slowly began to gain popularity.

Manor Lords: Best Development Points To Unlock First

Fans should consider unlocking the following Development Points early in their playthrough of Manor Lords.

As both these types of mills have their advantages and disadvantages, it would be great for players to have a choice. Fishing is another requested feature in the game, and water mills would often have mill ponds where certain people could fish.

6 Shorter Working Hours In Winter

Shorter Hours Of Daylight Meant Less Work Could Be Done

The four seasons in Manor Lords play a vital role, just as they did in the real Middle Ages. However, to take this further and add another layer of difficulty to the game, the work rate in winter could be reduced.

This would make sense, as the shorter daylight hours of winter meant that most medieval people were not able to do as much work. At the very least, tasks such as construction and logging should have their efficiency cut, although perhaps this would work best as a game rule setting that players can opt in for to experience a more realistic challenge.