FAQ

Essential Early Game Tips

What should I build first to gather and store basic supplies?

• Start with essential structures in this order: a granary, a storehouse, a logging camp, and a woodcutter. Postpone constructing burgage plots until these are in place. Do not upgrade the Homeless People’s Tents to a Worker’s Camp.

Should I focus on farming at the beginning?

• Avoid farming initially, as it's a massive undertaking. Rely on hunting/gathering and burgage plot extensions (Vegetable Plots, Chicken Coops) to sustain your town. Note fertile areas for later use.

When should I start building burgage plots and food production buildings?

• A Hunting Camp is free to build, so provided there is a nearby herd of deer, you should build that as soon as your Granary is up and running. A Forager Hut will depend on how close your nearest source of berries is – slot it in as soon as you can, but you could also prioritize getting backyard extensions up and running instead.

How soon should I build a Marketplace?

• Establish a Marketplace when your Burgage Plots are populated to distribute goods to the people. Food, firewood, clothes, and other essentials will not be distributed without a Marketplace.
• It’s important to note that Marketplaces have a range-like effect based on goods present. If you have 100% of your needs, you’re covering 100% of existing Burgage Plots regardless of location within the same region, however there is a proximity effect in that houses closer to the Market get their needs fulfilled first.
• There are other factors as well, such as getting goods to the Market stalls, there being enough Market stalls for a particular good, etc. that can interfere with Market supply. Please consider these first if you are having issues fulfilling the needs of your Burgage Plots.

Is it important to have a church and other amenities early on?

• Assuming normal difficulty settings, a Church isn’t that important within your first year, and is only a requirement once you want to start upgrading Burgage Plots to Level 2.  A Food Stall with diverse food types (e.g., berries, and meat) will boost village approval ratings initially, setting the stage for additional structures like a Tannery and advancing to level 2 Burgage Plots.

General Gameplay FAQs

When is multiplayer coming?

• Not anytime soon, if at all – please stop asking.

Do you need empty houses for people to immigrate to your village?

• Yes, empty houses are necessary for attracting new villagers. Note that if you upgraded your Homeless People’s Tents into a Worker’s Camp, your population won’t move out into empty burgage plots unless you then delete the Worker’s Camp.
  • While this isn’t a “bug” as such, it is causing a lot of confusion so we do not recommend upgrading the Homeless People’s Tents in your starting region.

Can you set a maximum production limit on items?

• No, the game does not currently support setting maximum production limits, however Artisan extensions can be paused by selecting the building in question and pressing the pause button located at the top right corner of the Burgage Plot UI.

Why does my Ox keep running away?

• Consider adding another Hitching Post or upgrading it to a Stable. Animals run away if there’s no place for them to stay.

What do Horses, Oxen, and Mules do?

• Horses allow traders to move larger quantities of goods via carts. They are not used for anything else right now.
• Mules are used by the Pack Station to move goods between regions.
• Oxen are used to haul around timber, and if you take the right development branch, can be used to plow a field.
  • Oxen are also crucial for early game transportation of timber – for construction but also for things like the saw mill. Consider buying an extra one early.

What is the King's Road, and how do I connect to it?

• The King's Road connects all regions. You need to build a road that ultimately connects to a pre-existing King’s Road. There is a known issue where sometimes it says you’re not connected, even when you are.

Retinue

• You can get a Retinue when you build your Manor. It can be increased in size by building certain buildings via the Castle Planner. To increase the size of your retinue, you must first build a Garrison Tower in the Castle Planner, and then customize your retinue, spending Treasury to add individuals.

Trade

• Once you’ve built a Trading Post, you can import and export items.
• You have to set up a “Trade Rule” on each individual item you want to buy or sell, this can be found on the far left of each individual item line, which will be set to “No Trade” by default. This is a drop-down menu that you can change.
• Setting the Stockpile number will mean you will either be importing or exporting until your stockpile reaches the desired number using your Trade Rule to determine if this Trading Post will only import or export to reach the desired number, or do both to maintain it.
• While ALL goods can have a dedicated Trade Route set-up (which means there is a dedicated merchant buying and selling that product) certain high-tier items (e.g Tools, Weapons) can ONLY be imported and exported once you’ve set up the corresponding Trade Route. This is done by clicking on the button on the far right of each individual item line, and requires Regional Wealth to set up.

Regional Wealth vs Personal Treasury

• Regional Wealth, found along the top info panel to the left of the settlement name, is a representation of the wealth of your population.
  • It is used to purchase backyard and artisan extensions for Burgage Plots, as well as animals like Oxen, Sheep, etc. and to import goods at the Trading Post or Livestock Trading Post
  • It is generated via trade, as well as Level 2 or higher Burgage Plots
• The Treasury is found in the upper right and is a representation of your character’s personal funds.
  • It is used to hire mercenaries, as well as fund the settlement of other regions using Settlers Camps.
  • It is generated via Tax and other Policies, as well as clearing out Bandit Camps.
  • For Tax, you need to have regional wealth. No Regional Wealth = no tax income to your Treasury

Resource Management and Production

How to make ale?

• Grow barley, process it into malt at a Malthouse, and brew it into ale at a level 2 or higher burgage plot with a Brewery extension. Ale is used by the Tavern to satisfy the “Entertainment” requirement of higher tier Burgage Plots, but it does not make the Ale itself. You can also import barley and malt to process it into ale, or you can directly import ale as well.

How do you produce enough food?

• Utilize Chicken Coops for eggs and vegetable gardens for substantial produce – for the latter, a larger Burgage plot with a bigger backyard will give better yields, although requires more time to be worked on.
• There are development points you can explore that will double the yield of Berry Bushes, or increase passive meat generation from Hunting Camps.
• Apple Orchards are unlocked via a development point, and constructed as a Backyard Extension. It will be available from the same dropdown that you use to build Chikcen Coops, Vegetable Gardens, etc.
  • Note that it takes THREE IN-GAME YEARS for Apple Orchards to start producing a surplus. Until that time the Orchard will only grow enough to sustain the Burgage Plot it's attached to.
  • This means you may see apples in a Burgage Plots storage within the first three years, but your Granary Workers won’t start collecting Apples to put into storage until after year three.
• Consider additional sources like honey from Apiaries (which also needs a development point) and traditional methods like hunting and farming.

Hunters are refusing to hunt, why?

• Ensure that hides go to the Storehouse and meat goes to the Granary; otherwise, the hunters' function will be disrupted. Families assigned to the Storehouse and Granary will move these goods to their respective storage locations. Also check that you haven’t accidentally depleted the herd, or whether the herd has depleted to your set hunting cap. Consider re-assigning hunting families to another temporary job to let the herd regenerate – for example, you could bounce the same family between the Forager Hut and the Hunting Camp, as Berry deposits are seasonal.

Why does my sawmill not make planks?

• The Sawmill requires timber to create planks. This timber needs transporting with an Ox from the logging pit (or from the forest, if freshly cut) to the Sawmill for it to do its job. If you don’t have enough timber, or unassigned families to work the Ox to transport the timber, then production will halt.

How do I know how much [X] is producing?

• Manor Lords deliberately obfuscates output and consumption numbers in most cases, so you will never know with 100% accuracy your production output, especially in terms of food etc.
• Burgage Plots consume one food and one fuel per month, with fuel consumption doubling in Winter.
• The Barrel symbol to the left of the settlement name along the top info panel will tell you roughly how many months of food and firewood reserves your settlement has. Use this as an indicator as to whether your population is growing too fast, and adjust accordingly.
• Some production information is available via the official Wiki.

Building and Development Tips

New buildings are not being constructed, why?

• This issue often stems from a lack of materials if multiple constructions are attempted simultaneously. There is a known issue where construction workers will take resources from one construction site to another.

Advice on placing manor walls:

• Do not try to build the Castle/Manor walls around anything other than the Manor, and any buildings available via the Castle Planner. City Walls are a planned feature that will come later in early access and the castle walls are not designed to encompass entire settlements. Doing so will likely render buildings inaccessible.

Farming

• In order to engage in farming, you will need to create a Field, and build a Farmhouse.
• The farmhouse is essential for converting wheat into grain, which is then processed into flour at the mill. You also need families assigned to the farmhouse so that they can plow, sow, and harvest the fields during the appropriate seasons.
• If you take the Heavy Plough development that lets you use Oxen in the fields, you first need to build the Plow in the farmhouse, and then assign an Ox to the Farmhouse for it to work.
• There is a known issue where estimated crop yields in the month of September are inaccurate, so you won’t harvest as much as the game tells you you will.
• The fertility rating of a field at game start is the maximum fertility level that field will ever have. It will decrease over time, however you can use strategies such as leaving a field Fallow for a season and general crop rotation or using the development option to allow farm animals to use fallow fields, to regenerate fertility rating back to its starting maximum.

Expansion and Conquest

How do we settle new regions?

• Claim regions with influence and establish a Settler’s Camp using funds from your Treasury. This camp starts with some resources, facilitating the establishment of a Logging Camp and other structures.
• You will need to build a Pack Station to trade resources between two regions. This requires both regions to have goods to barter, and Storehouses or Granaries to store the bartered goods. You only need one pack station for inter-region trading.
• You can also trade resources between two regions using Trading Posts, but this costs regional wealth and is better reserved for later use.
• It costs 1,000 influence to claim an unclaimed region, 2,000 to claim a region owned by the AI lord.
• Influence can be gained from clearing out bandit camps, building a Manor, and collecting tithe at the Manor.

Seasonal Work and Crop Management

Do farmers still work in winter?

The current cycle for farming is:

September - Harvest

October & November - Plowing then sowing

Winter - Anything not sown to 100% will die off

Population and Approval Management

How do I increase my population and maintain approval ratings?

• Maintain over 50% approval and ensure space in burgage plots is available. A church and multiple food types in your marketplace can significantly boost approval ratings and population growth.
• Immigration is capped at 1 new family per month at 50%-75% approval, and up to 2 per month at 75%+ approval rating, and no new families will appear if there isn’t a free burgage plot
• There is a potential issue under investigation with people not moving into free housing later on in the game.

Strategic Expansion and Military Tactics

How do I effectively use military forces against AI or bandits?

• Use notifications about AI movements to your advantage, especially if they indicate an attack on a bandit camp. This is an opportunity to engage strategically and capture resources with minimal conflict.

Misc.

• The intended GLOBAL cap on army size is six military units, including militia and your personal retinue.
  • This does not include mercenaries – you can hire as many mercenary companies as you can afford to support to supplement your army.
  • There are a couple of known exploits, namely:
    • If you build six militia units, you can still unlock your first retinue when you build the Manor.
    • Details are TBD, but it seems to be possible to unlock additional retinue units by building Manors in other regions.
• Mercenary Companies require payment every month. Available mercenaries refresh every month, however, there is a known issue where sometimes the AI Baron will hire a lot of mercenaries, leaving none for the player. Make sure you disband mercenary units to disband the Mercenary Company – otherwise, you’ll keep paying them.

Other Known Issues and Common Misconceptions

Apart from those mentioned above, here is a collection of commonly reported known issues that you may encounter:

• Archers are underpowered right now. They were considered overpowered prior to launch, and balancing them is an ongoing concern.
• Pressing the TAB key can reveal more information about a variety of on-map game elements.
• Certain goods, like Tools, don’t have a function and are only there to be exported to generate regional wealth. There is a plan to make them more useful in the future as the game develops.
• You need to ensure there is space in the Logging Camp to pick up timber from demolished buildings, otherwise they will remain in place. You can build extra Logging Camps that don’t need to be staffed by a family to create extra storage.
• If you are playing in Peaceful mode, there is no underground water so you don’t need to place the Well in a specific location.
• The Livestock Trader comes with its own capacity to house Sheep. Sheep won’t move out of the Livestock Trader and into any Pastures you’ve created until you exceed the capacity of the Livestock Trader first. There is no way to force Sheep into pastures.
  • A Sheep Farm is used to passively collect Wool from sheep in the Livestock Trader and Pastures. It also comes with its own capacity to house Sheep, but Sheep don’t need to be in it for Wool to be generated. Sheep will prioritize going to Pastures over Sheep Farms if both are present.
• The different outpost versions when settling a new region are a WIP feature and not available currently. You can only pick the first one.
• If you’re playing a game mode with a victory condition, if you win your game you won’t be able to continue playing that save and will have to start again. The continue button doesn’t work, and reloading the save doesn’t appear to work either – the issue is under investigation.

PC Game Pass version

The Game Pass version of the game is currently a little bit behind the version on Steam and other storefronts. It’s being updated ASAP, it’s just that Microsoft certification requires longer lead times and there were a few updates done after the original Game Pass version was submitted.

If you are having an issue with the Game Pass version of the game, please consider these steps first:

• Check that Gaming Services, the Xbox app, and Game Bar are up to date. You can do this by opening the Microsoft Store app and going to 'Library'
• Make sure the user is signed in to their Xbox account in the Xbox app and Game Bar (Win+G)
• Try uninstalling and reinstalling Gaming Services

If you are continuing to have issues, please go to the Bug Report area of the Discord and file a bug report.

Basic Questions

This is a copy of the FAQ available in the discord server, pruned of information that is no longer relevant. The discord server is available here: https://discord.gg/manorlords

What engine is this on?

Unreal Engine 4. At the moment, there are no plans to upgrade to UE5.

Are you truly working on this alone?

I'm the only permanent studio member, but I do cooperate more and more with freelancers. Sometimes I buy assets to speed up the development (eg. Megascans), and recently I partnered with a professional QA company called QLOC. I also have a publisher – Hooded Horse – who takes care of the marketing and distribution.

When is the release date?

Manor Lords has been released into early access for PC on Friday, 26 April 2024 15:00.

What platforms is it coming to?

Manor Lords will release into early access for PC via Steam, GOG, and the Microsoft store. It will also be available day one via PC Games Pass. An Xbox console version is coming at a later date.

Wait, what, you’re developing a console version?

Currently, Manor Lords is confirmed for PC and Xbox platforms. We will provide additional console information at a later date.

How long will it be in early access for?

How long will depend on things like player feedback and development needs.

Will there be a mode without combat?

Yes.

Are battles on a separate map?

All gameplay is happening on a single map, real-time (with speed controls/pause).

Will there be walls and fortifications? Will there be naval battles? Cavalry?

These are all features I want to add after I launch the initial early access and fix all the problems with base gameplay.

Will there be different cultures? Is there a campaign?

The EA launch version of the game is going to be a single faction and sandbox only. However, exploring different cultures and themes in the future is something I’ve thought about.

Multiplayer?

I want to polish the single-player experience first.

How can I support the project? Can I preorder the game?

If you're here discussing the game and sharing info, you're already supporting me a great deal. Wishlisting on Steam helps a ton, because it raises visibility. If you want to help financially I did set up a Patreon page, but don't worry about it too much: https://www.patreon.com/GregStyczen

Will there be another demo?

There are no plans for another demo at this time.

What is planned for the initial early access build?

Early Access will have:

City-building – Develop your region from a tiny village to a dense town, build industries, unlock development branches, plan and upgrade your Manor.

Army management & battles – Draft villagers, hire and upgrade retinue, and hire mercenaries to fight against bandits and invading lords.

Claims – Earn influence and lay claims to neighboring lands.

A small selection of different modes and scenarios, as well as initial versins of things like policies, and the technology tree.

Can I get access to a closed alpha?

Applications to Closed Alpha stage are now closed.

Will there be mod support?

Yes, but I don’t plan on implementing it until after 1.0, at least.

When did you start developing the game?

I started in July 2017.

What about guns?

If I do them, it will probably be the last of all the things to do, with an option to turn them off for people who don't like them.

What about <insert other feature here>?

I’ve thought about a lot of different features and looked at plenty of suggestions from the community. I have an idea in my head regarding what I’d like to do, but I will also be responding to community feedback once the game is out in early access. You can try searching the discord to see if I’ve spoken specifically about the feature you have in mind – I’ve been asked about most things at this point. My preference for the moment is to focus on a modest feature set and then polish it to seven heavens, so the answer to many questions regarding feature suggestions will be “probably after launch” or something similar.

Confirmed things that will not be in the game

Here are some features that have been requested that I can confirm won’t be in the game. This is not an exhaustive list:

No dynasty mechanics

No heroes or leader units

No single-person units in general, for now

No town guard

How can I suggest things to add to the game?

You can suggest it here: https://feedback.manorlords.com/