One of 2024's most anticipated games is about to release! With Manor Lords out within a few days, it'd developer has told potential customers what to expect.
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"The majority of gameplay is focused on city building and management." Yeah, that's exactly what I want.
It is banished whith some combat and better graphics, perfect mix.
And it is exactly why all those people wishlisted it. It's all those grand strategy creators that started projecting false promises.
Yeah im hoping it doesn't have too much combat
@@matthewgoldsmith2183the dev has a mode with no combat I believe
@@edgingnothing4070 Yes true
A developer that WANTS to manage expectations? For that allone that guy should win some sort of a Steam award imo.
Yes and overhype, like comparing it to ck 3. It's anno/Dawn of man.
@@AstralJumper I think a lot of the "overhype" seems to come from three reasons: One, how excited all the people playing the game right now are about it, and how much they are clearly enjoying it, it definitely comes through. Two is just the lack of this style of medieval town simulation builders (I don't think anything has been this popular in this game category since Banished) and third, how many unfinished features there are leaving people excited for updates to come and what a finished game would look like.
WTF never had a Dev say this 10/10 going buy it just help him out
You realise thtas not unqiue just many given up the majority ofmpkayers dont listen and rumours get out if hand hell the amkunt times games have reviess that are criticing ut for doing things that are inherent the the genre that the game has in bood letters dtamoed on its steam page is mind booglinh
There was hype around DD2 and I even bought the Legendary, but based on what content tubers were saying made me suspicious, then the dev said: "The game doesn't hold your hand." I have not heard one content tubers over-hyped like DD-2. Some O-H, but I waited for the "REAL" reviews on DD2. Yes, and my suspicions about the over-hyper were true and I got my refund before even playing the game one second. If Manor Lord after one hour of playing is REALLY-over-HYPED, I for sure will get my refund and be disappointed w/indie devs now. But saying what the game isn't and telling us to lower expectations, isn't over-hyping. I can see he is being honest and in gaming...that is rare.
the fact a single Dev project is the most wishlisted game on steam is speaking louder than we ever could ^^
Kudos to Slavic Magic for taking the bull by the horns and being up front with the players. This may also stem off Steam refunds by setting player's expectations before they buy which is also a positive both for the developer and the player.
under promise, over deliver
A lesson for gaming and business
@@biometalixa lesson in life, really
Hope you are correct fellow gamer.
The main reason this happens for me is because it's one of a kind...first ever game that let players build their fantasy medieval city, and also fight like in TW games which also have a lot of fans. On top of that, a beautiful graphic. The devs would definitely be overwhelmed by exited players
I think it’s more like, “promise and deliver.” No over. No under. Just honest.
These solo devs are so damn inspirational.
It's not a solo dev, he knows that im sure. I have no idea why people keep saying this.
@@yukowl Because it is a solo dev. You are free to show proof that it's not.
He started solo
Its a buzzword at this point. It started out as a solo dev, more people work on it now @yukowl
@@yukowlmost of the initial work was done by him. He hired a small team when he partnered with the Hooded Horse to help finish it and work on minor improvements with the code. But yes the game was designed and build by one Man for the most part.
Star Citizen is a game? I thought a fund for Chris Roberts entire family...kids and grandkids and all to have enough money to each own their personal island.
It's been a playable game for years. Is it anywhere near the grand vision that was promised? No, of course not. But there is something there, and you can play it. Take it for what it is, not what the promises say, and you could probably have a fun enough time with it too.
Star Citizen is indeed a real game. The next update comes out in May and will update navigation, UI and the flight model.
A very, very expensive game, with no clear direction and not much to do.
@@Pushing_Pixels45$ is expensive?
@@Pushing_Pixelsthere’s many things to do in star citizen you just have to slow down and take it in for what it is instead of rushing it take some time to explore different planets visit some cool places like dunboro on micro tech there’s a reason it got so much funding and support with a dedicated fan base
Honestly, I think you're worrying for nothing. Any stress the Dev feels will evaporate when he sees his bank balance go from $0 to $20 million in less than 24 hours.
Incorrect, because next comes the lawsuits
Nonrich people always assume having tons of money is stress free 😂
Its guaranteed to be 99.9% less stressful than the opposite@@alexanderrahl7034
@@parithon2397 It'd be impossible to win a lawsuit against the dev for misinformative advertisement when he's explicitly stated what not to expect.
@@neurotic3015 don’t count on it
Every “this game is not” he lists is a selling point for me. Can’t wait.
Same, I want to build my cozy little village with not having to worry about a massive war or grand strategy. Maybe I will have a few skirmish with bandits but nothing more than that.
This
yup only made me want it more, for me the combat is extra. let me build my medieval village/town/city
Same thoughts here lol
Exactly, I want to build my agrarian community while listening to "Concerning Hobbits" on loop
Something that goes unmentioned is that the developer is very focused on historical accuracy, it isn't just another city builder like Anno where its more fantasy than fact. Slavic/Greg actually made trips to visit real buildings and towns from that period just to make his game. It has been a historical passion project since 2017 and I can't wait for its early access release!
It's cool and I can nerd out over stuff like this, but ultimately it isn't what makes or breaks a game. I think I'd still be playing Anno games if they weren't from Ubisoft.
I knew it was a passion project and strove (strived? did strive to?) to be historically accurate but that’s extra awesome that he made trips to get things accurate. As a history lover, that just makes me that much more excited for this game!
@soccerfillenfrance it is based in 14th ct. Franconia in nowadays Germany. There were some big independent cities there, which is supposed be your end goal, as far as I know. Everything is made so that it most closely resembles the landscape, architecture, fashion, technology and society of this time and region. Archeologists and historians are involved as counselors. I guess you are right to be excited 😊
Hes one guy
@@soccerfillenfrance i think all of those are correct? Unless i striveth to the wrong conclusion
I dont blame him. I mean how many times have we seen games get slammed and throttled on release because of expections placed on them. As someone who has been warching this game, ive seen some contern creators say "its like a city builder mixed with totsl war" and saying tons of things that could easily give someone the wrong impression. I gotta praise the gut for being honest and stating exactly what his game is and not leaving it up to hype.
"Overhype" and "Overhate"... that's gaming in 2020's. Video games are either 100% hated or 100% loved. Nothing in between.
That's social media for you. Turn all that ferocious din off and gaming goes from torrid battlefield to mellow pasture.
Yea, if your a sheep, form you own opinion. Even if the community hates/loves it, it should not pursued you. It can help but please decide yourself.
It's because you had 100 youtubers claiming that this "could be the total war killer we've all been waiting for." They over-hyped it and made it seem like something it's not. It is a very pretty city builder with a small battle mechanic.
I’d compare it more to an age of empires/age of mythology type of game, except insanely historically accurate. Also, I think people don’t realize that in real life, a feudal lord isn’t going to field thousands of troops like they would in the total war series. A real lord would maybe constitute about 100-200 men-at-arms to their kingdom in times of war. Manor lords looks so fucking good
I never saw a KZhead claiming it was going to be like that. Honestly anecdotal evidence.
@davidrobinson7260 there plenty of videos like that on the total war side of KZhead, I've even seen it on the reddit saying it doesn't exist is blatantly incorrect
@@undary0u wow I guess I’m just enlightened, and privileged to never have gotten into Total War…
@@davidrobinson7260 idk what to tell you man, you're right it is anecdotal evidence and I don't have the time or energy to go and find all those videos and reddit threads to prove it to you.
"Nobody panics when they see grids and districts, because its all 'part of the plan'. But then you put a camera behind a character model in your citybuilder and allow control of them, well then everybody just loses their minds"
you should check out medieval dynasty, then
Elite Dangerous comes to mind....
@@smoadia85 there is city building and management in elite dangerous??? oh damn i gotta download it again. what a time to be alive
@klinetalladen It's OK you misunderstood it. It's not a story every gamer knows. I was referencing OP saying include a camera behind a character model and people losing their mind part. I was talking about the development to include being able to walk within your ship. It was a controversy.
@@smoadia85 aww. my bad hahaha. i got excited. i guess ill still continue redownloading elite dangerous. its been a while since i last played anyway.
Something I would like from ML later on in the game's development is a much bigger map, and the ability to expand your town across multiple regions rather than having to start a new town there. One of the things I like most about this game is the resource production and artisan elements, and that you don't have everything available to you in every region.
Same I really love it, but personally I find the new regions stressful lol, I just want to focus on my region
To me, it's still a Total War competitor in the sense that I'll gladly play it over anything historical that CA has released within the last decade.
All these "What it's not"s just make me more excited. I *want* a simple, high quality, beautiful city builder on a smaller scale. Also, almost every other city builder is grid based and that's so boring for aesthetics. I'm so excited for the curved roads and land plots that actually fit into weird non-rectangle shapes. Friday can't come fast enough. :D
The grid thing bothers me the most. That happens to work when building Manhattan, and very little else. I hope the freeform building enters into base building and farming games, first game to do that well will win big.
This is one of the reasons I still go back to Frost Punk from time to time. While it's still a grid based, it's not a square grid and that's already a bit different. Now, I do have other gripes about building in that game, but that's not the point.
You should check out foundation. It's also a smaller scale city builder that doesn't use grids. The Aesthetics are very different to manor lords though (a lot more cartoon-like).
Should watch Nano's video on ML. He says outright the plot system is just so good. Watched him make a protractor-shaped farming plot with zero issues.
Have you played Banished
As long as he continues developing the game, and I can eventually make a real castle, castle town, and a beautiful church on the hill, I am all set.
games been in development for almost 10 years and still cant build castles or walls LMAO
@@DJsharp707He’s been developing this game alone. Rockstar Games has thousands and it took them over a decade of work on RDR2 and tbh it’s not the best game I’ve played.
@DJsharp707 you could build castle and walls slready in the demo.
@@clauslangenbroek9897 No you cant lmao the devs literally said on twitter dont try and make "walls" until he actually adds them in.
@@DJsharp707 learn to read. He said don't try to use castle walls as city walls until I add them (city walls) to the game. There are castle walls. You need them to build your manor.
That explanation from the dev sounds absolutely delightful to me. It seems to me to be a stronghold-esque game, with more in-depth (i.e. up to date) village / society building with some combat sprinkled in between as opposed to some village building and constant grinding warfare. Sounds like a delight for some casual gaming while still being able to deliver a gratifying feeling
Based on what I've seen there's only a very small number of things I'm hoping to change sooner rather than later one of which is units being more distinctive not like all being colour coordinated and having the exact same armour just something like having your crest on their shields or having an emblem on their chest would go a long way in distinguishing your troops from the enemy when watching fights in cinematic view, and another being AI lords actually building in their territories (which is getting worked on)
Banished, Kenshi, Songs of Syx - all solo or tiny-team developments. Indie is the gaming market, for everyone who isn't afflicted by FOMO.
Let's not forget Rimworld or Factorio.
It really looks like Banished but not 10 years old
Captains of Industry too. Also, Kenshi is getting a sequel soon.
@@dwavenminer "soon"
@@psionicdongpunch As long as its not Valve's version of "soon" we should be fine...
Can you imagine a AAA developer being this honest about their game? They would let the marketing play out, then give excuses after they milked all the money out of people.
the investors want their $$$
After a few days of playing, I'm still trying to nail down how exactly I feel about this game. TBH, its a new face on an old game concept. It feels much like the original Warcraft games. Lay out your town, get resources, conquer rest of map. Trade is expanded, the towns grow organically(ish), but you still lay out roads, put plots of houses down, and farm resources. Units come to attack you, defended, and then go attack them.
The fact the Dev has been so proactive, transparent and honest will probably make more people wishlist it, ironically going against their intention.
It's not that they want to _reduce_ wish listing. They want to reduce incorrect expectations that lead to bad experiences, bad reviews, and bad press. Wish listing is still good when people know what they're actually buying.
The best comparison I can personally say for Manor Lords is, "What if Strongholds was a Single-player City Builder instead of an RTS?"
Sounds like a game I always wanted the stronghold to be.
Exactly this
Anno 1808 or the Anno Series in general is the closest thing to manor lords imo.
To me it looks like Foundation but with combat and more realistic graphics, but less of everything else (in its current state).
Can we also talk about how this problem wasnt created by Slavic Magic in the first place. The game was always promoted as a village builder foremostly and with that as its core. The demo was only a village builder and had no combat at all... It was literally always marketed as a village builder, its the village builder people wanted... ...but then a lot of grand strategy content creators somehow started projecting their desire for a new grand strategy game onto this and started parroting eachother.
It's a bit of the same issue that we happy few ran into. People saw it, went 'oh, new bioshock' where in fact it was pretty much nothing like bioshock. The results were... troublesome.
village builders lack imagination. so glad he added combat
@@cagneybillingsley2165 What you're saying is that you lack imagination, nothing else...
@@Langharig_Tuig I think your being a little unfair. Imagination only takes you in so far as the actual games limits allows. You want to Role play and use your imagination that's great however if the only core gameplay loop you have is "Village builder" It doesn't leave much room for "imagination" to fill in the blanks. A game like Kenshi would benefit far more from your imagination since the gameplay loops are numerous and the mods only take that even further!
@@Brandon-bc1fz That's ok, but a City Builder isn't trying to be anything else other than a City Builder. People criticizing it for being just that is just as fair as if I started playing WoW and complained about the lack of modern weapons and riveting FPS gameplay. Doesn't make much sense, does it?
"I'm not the Lisan al-Gaib!" "The Lisan al-Gaib is too humble to admit he's the Lisan al-Gaib, that's how you KNOW he's the Lisan al-Gaib!"
I'm surprised I haven't seen more comparisons to Anno which kinda reminds me of this but instead of a island citybuilder with minor ship combat you have an inland citybuilder with minor land combat.
The fact that such a small budget game is already shaking up the gaming community is so satisfying. I know i wish listed manorlords and cannot wait for it. A lot of good streamers really show it off well. I am waiting for echelon games tips and tricks guides too
The fact it _can_ do that is a pretty damning indictment of the entire industry.
Can’t wait for it to come to console. We don’t have a lot of city building or strategy games so this would be a wonderful game to have!
@@hedlund Is it really? Haven't the majority of major innovations that shook up any given industry started with one (a few at most) dedicated entrepreneur with fresh eyes and a willingness to listen to the consumers?
Manor Lords gives me the kind of vibe that the Sierra strategy games, such as Pharoah, the Caesar series, Zeus: Master of Olympus and so on, gave me as a kid. I'm very much here for it!
You may like the vibe but I totally dislike anything Activision pumps out as they are one of the worst AAA devs.
@@Zittylol Activision had nothing to do with those titles. They were all long before Activision acquired Sierra.
2 hour post release. The game broke Steam people were having trouble buying it. 136K online already and it's growing by tousands every time I look. Dude's got the money to make the game into what he wants already.
I've been a single dev on a few games and part of larger teams. I stopped making games because I work best alone and the stress was too much and juggling all the different aspects of working alone is mind-destroying- it's not just the game, it's the web site bulding, the videos/editing, the advertising, setting up the stores and so much more little things that add up- the coding and art, I can do that, I can make the games but it's all the other junk that I can't do and I never found someone to help me with that side of things. My games were pretty simple compared to this. I know he's got to be stressed AF, even if it's a great game. Even if he's got a banger, I'll bet he'll never be more stressed in his life as he is right now. Release Days are nerve wracking. It's different when you're part of a team, it's not all on you- but doing it alone- ugh, never again for me! I would never want to make a game like this on my own, even if it was the greatest thing ever made- with the attention this game is getting I'd probably have a heart attack when I hit that official release button. Even if it's not what it's cracking up to be he's got major respect from me, this stuff is not easy!
The dev is definitely right in lowering the expectations because after several early access vids its clear that Mannor lords is a pretty small scale citybuilder. Basicly after 3-4hours ur village is done and there isnt really much else to do. Yes there is some combat but again its really small scale. Overall the game focusses alot on asthetics and simply watching ur villagers and ur village. And thats absolutely fine. More remarkable for me is that, with franchises like Anno and City Skylines, it took a single dev to show the world how to build without grid :D And what can be done with time and love instead of just thinking from one investor meeting to another.
well said
This game is entirely about being a lord with his villages that just keeps an eye on his peasants and enjoys it slow buildup. Also, because of being non-grid based, it is not hard to make your villages look very VERY much so organic/non-US-suburb-like. It is hardly ever that you gonna have city, and it may be a bit of the end game thing to attempt at building one, and yea, basic village with net gain over time can be done quickly. It is because in principle you gonna have few spread across the map transporting welth back to your pocket.
Have you ever played knights and merchants?
@@pilifida23 no i havent.
The early access vids don’t show everything. It’s much bigger than a small scale builder. Your village isn’t done in 3-4 hours. It’s going to be like sim city where you can build for 10 or 100 hours in a single map
It is a city building game with battles that, as far as everyone is concerned, surpassed Creatively Assembly's own by adding long requested features and QoL into its mechanics. However, the game doesn't have Calvary or Sieges, even the city building aspect isn't fully completed, you can't make stones walls for examples. Time will tell if it becomes the Medieval game many TW fans wanted, but if anything, this game is a more of a Stronghold competitor than Total War.
Reminds me of Knights and Merchants.
@@octasteveI was going to say Reminds me of caesar 3.
Cavalry
Still, for a first game for the studio, and a game that was started by one guy, the game is done well so far.
Solo dev manegement games tend to take a few years/decades to become feature complete, but they are done to autistic detail when finished and it is beautifull.
Once this game gets mod support it will literally be game of the year. I also think it should be worth saying: it’s not that the dev is saying he doesn’t WANT to make giant awesome battles like in Warhammer. He’s just saying this game isn’t like that NOW. He may, literally, not know how to make those giant battles happen.
What I expect is touched up modernised Banished basically. Medieval Frostpunk/Endzone. It's not even like Rimworld, it is genuinely just streamlined Banished with it's own spin.
Manor Lords actually sounds like just the type of game I'd want to play and now I'm looking forward to its release. No disappointment here.
well be prepeared that the game is very small scaled meaning the game realy isnt a city builder its more like a hamlet builder, you will have 30-40 scattered buildings and thats it, you wont be building cities, or even big villages.
@@user-uk6qs5fu9z I actually like the sound of that, ideal for building a medieval style town. Thank you for the comment and letting me know, I appreciate it!
@@MsBellaGames no worries
@@user-uk6qs5fu9zas long as I can wage war to others,I will love it coz most of city builder games are just bore exp for me after complete the town or city
@@user-uk6qs5fu9z lol how wrong was you. The villages have 400 people living inside them. and you can have multiple villages. and hundreds of buildings. thousands of villagers.
It's good they posted that because some of content creators only after few screenshots, and then even after demo, overhyped this as "TOTAL WAR KILLER"... like how? this is not even same genre...
I think its more of an indication of just how far the Total War series has fallen...
...but manor lord battles looks already better than tw. And it's not even the main focus of the game.
@@dwavenminer Not entirely, it's just historical TW fans that feel like they have been overshadowed by fantasy (Warhammer Total War being the most successful TW game ever). I like almost all Total War games, but those people are nutjobs. I'm an RTS main, Manor Lords is a city builder closer to The Settlers or even Black & White, Total War is an RTS/TBS hybrid. The only reason they shout at CA is because Manor Lords is the closest thing to Total War in terms of combat scale, even though that both games are not the same 80% of the time. And that is the only straw they can hang on
@jacksheldon8566 Not really? The combat is a hybridization of Mount and Blade and Total War.
@@JABelms We don't feel overshadowed by Warhammer. The GAMEPLAY is the issue. It's arcade. It's not the strategy focused battles with empire simulation. It's a 3D card game now. New Total war fans don't understand that. They think it's "omg muh time period". Its not. It's the gameplay, as well as the greedy dlc focus of the modern series'.
One thing I would actually like, though, which fits with the scope of the game, and the name, is a way to manage your manor. Get a wife, have kids, hire servants, a lot of cosmetic upgrades for your manor/castle, different clothes for your lord etc. Stuff that's mostly about immersion, which you can safely choose not to really engage in, but is really fun for some types of players.
A historian I follow on Twitter mentioned that they consulted on Manor Lords. That's all it took for me to go buy the game as soon as I could.
There is one game that is very similar to Manor Lords: The Settlers 1. It's about managing the logistics, slowly building up your settlement and supply lines and have an occasional battle. PS: Legend has said repeatedly that Manor Lords is not like Total War during his streams. He has in fact pretty much described the game for what it is.
The road building grades, the traffic jam management, the economy, was what made Settlers 1 great. Shame about the successors.
Farthest frontier comes pretty close to this game.
@@npcknuckles5887 If you like Settlers I and II, there is an open source game project called Widelands that has the same gameplay style.
"...managing the logistics..." You better not be lying - cause that is the CORE of what I want from a game. :D It's why I stopped playing Medieval Dynasty... where there is ZERO support for management. Such a missed opportunity - smh.
exactly
also very important point: It will release into EARLY ACCESS. The base of the game is done and more content will be added now in the EA phase.
I _really_ wanted this to be a game that plays like Foundation with added RTS elements and having played it for 10 hours since purchasing the game 15 hours ago I can confidently say it's _exactly_ what I hoped. Just.. in early access with a lot of room for development.
Hope DLC allows castle building, like stronghold, but just adds more regions and allows you to be a Baron or somthing.
Imposter syndrome in full swing. The game looks fun and relaxing to play. It'll only get better over time. I just hope it'll support mods at some point, like Cities Skylines supports mods: code mods and all that jazz. Imagine the vast community adding free content to the game :)
Yea ... i mean ... lots of big creators from the total war bubble playtested it and the feedback was really positiv Hes just one dude who managed to create a cleaner experience than creative assembly with their spaghetti codebase Simple stuff like Pathfinding and unit responsiveness etc ... .creative assemblys fuck ups over the last years really was win after win for the dev from manor lords
Mix of imposter syndrome and the dev being afraid this will collapse under the weight under its own hype. Which is a completely fair thing to be worried about This DOES look like a good game if you like this genre, but people getting TOO hyped up could make them expect the impossible.
@@RookMeAmadeus Review score matters a lot on Steam. It's a very wise move to set expectations so that fewer people who might leave a negative 'not for me' type review won't buy. This wouldn't be necessary normally, but the game has gotten so much coverage and hype from a non-core audience that the dangers of being very good but still not meeting a lot of people's improperly formed expectations are higher than normal.
Not Cities Skylines 2, that was a total failure
That's not what "imposter syndrome" means.
I think he dont need to worry to much Lots of big creators from the total war community play tested and streamed it already ... and feedpack was all in all positiv
He probably just doesn't want to get harassed because peoples expectations get unreasonable
There plenty of people on steam and reddit who say that the game will be better than X when it's not trying to compete with X. But those TW creators streaming it helps to make those expectations more realistic.
I agree, all this is exactly what I was hoping Manor Lords would be
he will focus more on combat i future patches. this will be better than total war
@@cagneybillingsley2165 would be great. i prefer smaller scale tho - much more tactical
Hats of to this developer for his honesty and being humble af. Just makes you want to pick the game up even more to support his work in the future.
Some really interesting things said here, and whilst in the interests of full disclosure I must first state I cannot wait for Friday evening UK time and fully intend to spend almost all of next weekend in Manor Lords, for anybody who is considering buying this to go take a look at some of the playthrough videos here on YT - and because he was mentioned in this video, in particular watch Legend's playthrough on extreme difficulty sessions , not for what he does in the video but for the things he says & even more importantly the things he doesn't say (oh, how I wish there were a way to use bold type in these comments) as he is reading out various chat comments asking what he thinks on a scale of 1-10, asking him to review it etc and he says no, no, NO to all, pointing out he is just having fun with it and enjoying playing the game for what it is. There are other channels I can mention - PartyElite comes immediately to mind, as I have been watching a long multi-episode run through of theirs that I am finding a lot of FUN - and cannot wait to give it a go myself
I appreciate a developer seeing the hype their game is getting and tempering expectations rather then building it to an impossible degree.
Something that is good is that the dev clearly knows what kind of game they want to make and are not rushing to try to throw a bunch of stuff in to try to get everyone to like it.
Relaxed and slow paced strategy... now that's actually selling it to me. I always played Stronghold like this. Just build up strong enough to let the enemy break their teeth on me over and over without ever going back at them and focus on my stuff instead.
This is a developer that we should all pay attention too. They're already telling us upfront what we as players will expect to get rather than being disappointed because of unnecessary hype. I'm really excited for this game not because of any comparisons to other titles but the fact that it will be something refreshing and different.
I want quality over quantity in my games, something a lot of bigger studio miss, having more to do doesn't always make the game more enjoyable and could potentialy be making it just more tidious. Having a well fledged core gameplayloop is far more important than adding other halfbaked mechanics imo.
when the dev clarified how it's more focused on city building than survival or empire management or massive armies fighting each other i got far more excited and hyped. It's exactly what this genre has been missing and it's exactly what i wanted for so long. Hopefully the dev enables modding (maybe even through Workshop, looking at you Colossal Order...) so that we can have even more settings and maps. This has the potential to be the next forever game and it's a 15GB indie made by one single person. I mean it's fantastic, the irony of it all.
You mentioned city-builders being in an on-going renaissance and you're absolutely right and I didn't even think about it. Let's hope games like this and the previously release DUNE game also bring forth a revival for RTS in the same way
I watched Legend Stream the game. It was vastly different than what I expected. He rarely used the 3rd person view and Its not at all a rts and was telling the viewers its not a Total War competitor. Its a City Builder. Before watching the stream, I thought it was going to be a mix of the two because of the hype. Glad the dev is trying to inform the player base before it goes on sale. I still might get it.
Expectation: "Banished" with more fluid building and some basic combat. Reality: One of the best ever depictions of how a feudal economy and military should actually work! A beautiful spiritual successor to the "Stronghold" games!
Foundation but with realistic graphics, combat, and less of everything else.
Manor Lords is exactly how I tried to play Age of Empires when I first got it out of the cereal box
Heh, same - though it was Warcraft. The original DOS version. Ludicrous, looking back at it
So true. 😂❤
Hah, I used to love RTSes before they all became about build orders, unit micro, and rock-paper-scissors. Still love city builders.
One of the reasons I love the 4X genre is that it kinda combines simulation and strategy games in one. So anything that goes a similar route will be immediately interesting to me. And yes, I also played small scale RTS games like this... I just enjoy the whole settlement & empire building more than the whole hard confrontational gameplay.
Duuude getting video games from cereal boxes was a vibe. Chex quest was great.
As far as comparions go id actually put this firmly in the same catagory as Rimworld, for me the mechanics and purpose are very aligned. Rimworld was my kryptonite, ML is fast taking that crown
this is probably the type of expectations-setting that New World needed when it launched. I'm convinced at least half of the reason for that game's failure was people like Asmongold and shroud pretending it was a game it was never designed to be in front of their gigantic audiences. Later they tried to make it the game those people claimed they wanted and still they aren't playing it.
The number of content creators from other games that have suddenly jumped to Manor Lords is impressive and telling. Too many big devs/publishers have forgotten who pays their bills.
Thumbs up for a Pharoah reference. I compared ML to Caesar 3 myself. In reality, Manor Lords can be considered as the merger of Banished, Caesar and Stronghold games. And even in it's early, incomplete stage it looks very promising.
After playing the demo I knew this was going to be the RTS game of the year, hands down. The only other competitor would have been Falling frontier which is delayed until 2025 but its really nice to see DEVs being very honest about what their game is AND isn't
It's basically Knights and Merchants game from the 90s modernized and much improved.
Hats off to the devs. They’re doing such a good job in so many ways. I remember being so hyped up for Ancient Cities, because there were so many promises and expectations set for early release and it fell so short. I’m glad the dev is wanting us to have realistic expectations
It’s just *dev, just in case
@@SovietNyanCatYes, but he's had help.
Gotta respect upfront clarity and the foresight they're putting forward in saying all this. This game does seem very appealing.
This game sales it self because there are 0 cinematics. What you see is what you get. And the fact it’s the developer who shows humbly to lower our expectations speaks a ton of cleverness from him. And his own care for his own game. Definitely worth a buy from day 1
I love this! This gives me even more hope for the game. The desire to temper expectations when creating anything is so tempting and it so often proves to me that the creator really cares about their creation.
I love how the team set up expectation. I think too many game companies allow players to overhype a game because it makes Big Numbers, and Big Numbers good, but then we get the game and we fucking hate it.
im cool with a city builder, the furor over it being total war-esque in any way is really telling how people want alternatives to creative assembly or paradox stuff
I think what will disappoint many people after release is it'll probably lack content big time. As in, maybe in 4 or 5 hours you've literally seen everything. But with the insane amount of money it's gonna make, and the honesty and good will this disclaimer shows, we can expect for a great amount of content to be developed over the next few years.
Great points. we've got Ostriv for completely sandbox organic city building and we've got age of empires for city building with mostly combat, its kind of perfect to have something that combines both but isn't either in of itself. also Pharoah is so nostalgic to me and i'm always happy to see it mentioned somewhere lol
The statement just confirms that this is exactly the game I want; something to click on that isn't Timberborn while I wait for CS2 to get fixed to a point where I'll buy it.
Counter-Strike 2?
Cities Skylines 2
@@tominieminen66 lol i was confused to first
@@Natriarch Yeah, reminds me of gaming companies using CBT for closed beta test 😂
I've had Manor Lords on my wishlist since not long after it was announced... And definitely don't want it to be Total War. I'm a little burned out on it and am looking for a change of pace, which is exactly what Manor Lords looks to offer.
I get the feeling that you’ll be so absorbed in growing and maintaining your settlement that you will do a lot to avoid a war with a nearby region, even seeing a state of war as a form of failure, more like real life. That’s what makes me more interested. If the pressures, “feel,” more real-world than other similar games, that’s what does it for me.
Been waiting on this game for 4-5 years. The developer is very cool and has interacted with the small community until it recently exploded and now everyone wants this. Everything they are saying the game is not makes me hat more excited for Friday.
I think the youtube gameplay we've seen so far clarifies what the game is about. The battles not being the focus is why I want it, and to have that Ostriv style city building is just perfect for me!
I'm looking for a citybuilder, not a Total Wars. Battles are a pain. If I can turn them off, I will. That's why I enjoy games like Banished and Ostriv.
"It's just its own thing." Exactly, and we are all looking forward to Friday! I thiink we are all smart enough to see the passion he has put into this game and can't wait to share in his project.
What this game does offer, if the developer does not take the money and run is a base for "Manor Lords 2" and beyond if he re-invests in a bigger developing team who knows what could be achieved? and regardless of the reception there will always be haters. It is certainly on my purchase list.
I appreciate the fact the dev was upfront about all this. It tempers expectations and places them exactly where they should be. It also as the video says gives you a clear idea of what the game is aiming to be. If I can slowly build a medieval city with stone walls and narrow streets, with a functioning economy, that would be all that I need out of a game like this.
I am dead center of the Venn diagram for this game. Everything mentioned plus "more interested in indie/AA/Eurojank than in AAA."
What I'm looking for is a Banished type city builder with some occasional light combat. But even if it is not that, I'm still primarily a city/colony builder genre player.
The core system is nearly perfect, just need a few additional micromanagement options and fix a few bugs. What it really needs is content.
I was just hoping for Banished with simple combat mechanics. Looks like its pretty close to it. And X4 is the best "space game" 😀
X3:AP was best 😙
@@npcknuckles5887 What is X4 currently missing? Just curious(former "EvE Online" player(("bittervet")) looking to play best "EvE Offline" as they called it.)
is this or banished better? discounting battles
@@npcknuckles5887 I agree at least up until recently. The initial launch of X4 was pretty mid like all X games, but X4 now has at least caught up to X3:AP in the enjoyment ive gotten out of both of them.
@@user-wq9mw2xz3jWell the game isn’t out yet, so it would be hard to answer that question properly. From what I’ve seen from the early keys for CCs Manor Lords seems to have more detail and debth, but the lategame seems to have optimizing potential and somewhat glitchy at populations over 1300/1500 ish (see Laith/social streamers’ 5k pop challenge).
With the publisher giving out Full Metal Helms, a good PR stunt
This actually really assuages some of my fears because I really wanted a medieval city builder but as I saw more and more people saying stuff like it’s a total war killer kinda worried me that the focus would pivot away from the city building to being an rts, and while I really liked that addition to the formula when it was first annnounced and more was revealed but I never wanted it to be the focus so this statement (along with what I’ve seen from KZheadr previews) really makes me feel satisfied
I picked it up yesterday and couldn’t stop playing it! It’s really chill and fun to play. All the details, music and stuff. You feel the Love of the developer!
With CS2's disaster, Slavic has a nice void that is ready and willing to be filled.
I think the biggest problem is that almost no streamer tells that it is early access, not actual full release.
A problem created by the dev because he didn’t put an early acces banner on the store page (other EA games do that from the moment you can wishlist) Yeah it is in the trailer but it could not be found on the game page Edit : just checked and the EA banner is up now
Not sure what streamers you watch but the words "It's early access" have come out of the mouth of every one I have, right at the intro and usually again when they come across some feature that's still a work in progress.
Every youtuber I watch has mentioned it's going to be EA. The map is literally called "early_access_map"
The devs comments only strenghened my belief that this is my new favorite game. Slow paced, city building, no marriages and complicated politics, resource management, relaxed experience...perfect.
it's nice to see the devs temper expectations for those who might not be clued in, i didnt even know this game existed until like 5 days ago, but as a long time RTS/City builder enjoyer (i was playing SC brood war and Stronghold since i was like 6) the game gives me huge Farthest Frontier vibes and im just excited to have another deep modern city builder, even if the combat is shallow i'm not buying it for combat like i might do with the Total War Series, i just want a chill city builder with *some* combat
This really makes me more excited. I was worried that too much of the focus would be on the combat/RTS like aspects with everyone highlighting how detailed that would be. I was fully planning on playing this with combat off, cause I'm mostly interested in the management and building.
I've seen gameplay. I know what it is. And it's *exactly* what I'm expecting and wanting. I don't think the dev needs to worry.
Here's a game design idea. Have a mode where the build phase ends in seasons, on shared servers. Then, each community that played on the server, has the option of going to war with each other, at the end of the season. It'll come down to both your fighting skill, alliances and your logistics planning. Hoping the game works something like that, and I'll probably be drawn in to buying it too. Also, why not have wizards and other things of lore in the combat stage, too? Doesn't have to be super realistic, just fun. So much potential for expansion with this game. Fingers crossed its stable on release at least!
I've heard of this game, because of course I have, but my interest level was fairly low. But there was some interest there. I was curious, I suppose you could say, but not rushing out to buy the thing. Hearing what type of game it _is not_ actually raises my interest quite a bit. I would actually be quite interested in a pretty chill city builder. That's assuming the resource management is legit simulated instead of some kind of fake thing.
If you were to compare Manor Lords to another game, personally I would think it more like *Banished* but you make an army & fight a bit as well. If you don't know for certain what the game is about, there are heaps of channels currently doing playthroughs on the press early release thing. 6 channels I follow are doing so. I know exactly what this game is, how it works, what to expect & what not to expect. Side note, Pharaoh is being remade or something on steam btw Bell!
We all hope for a "banished"-like, but i don't think the game is as hard as banished. Did only watch a few videos, but that seemed rather easy in comparison to banished
If it puts money and props into the hands of indie devs and throws down the gauntlet at the feet of the big lads at the same time, all power to him.
I love how indie games are taking over the past year, so much more love and care getting put in to these games than the AAA.