Team Expansion
As Manor Lords has grown, so has the team behind it. What began as a solo project now includes a group of talented folks across programming, art, design, and AI. Since launch we’ve welcomed Nathan (map design), Tom and Kurtis from Flix Interactive (programming), Niklas (AI), Basia (2D art), Nicolas (3D art), and Darren and James (game design). We’re also still working with QLOC for QA needs — and more folks are helping behind the scenes, such as Daniel. And of course — I'm still here too. ????
AI Progress
The AI can now build and run its small village. We had to introduce multiple new concepts to it, like burgage plots, backyard extensions, and living space expansions, which didn't exist when the first version was done. We also had to change our understanding of the marketplace altogether.

Records View
We've spent a lot of time developing a new screen that displays detailed information about regional production and consumption.


Approval Reworks
We changed the approval balance so that it fluctuates less, and past events have less impact than the latest events.
Upkeep System
Many buildings will now require upkeep, which means a smithy will need a constant flow of tools, and deep mines need a flow of planks.

Stone Updates
We're introducing two new buildings: a Quarry for endless stone mining on rich deposits and a Lime Kiln — lime will now be required for advanced stone construction.



Pathfinding Updates
Castles obviously brought more challenges for pathfinding and collisions, and making traffic flow correctly takes a considerable effort. The whole world in Manor Lords was always coded in 2D, which made collisions simpler to resolve and made the game more optimized. However, this meant we can't have "proper" gates where people stand on top and walk below at the same time (they'd collide with each other). I decided to investigate this and rewrite the pathfinding to support multiple floors. However, it's still being tested whether the extra computation cost is actually worth it (it's literally only for the gates, which in theory can be cheated by garrisoning in and out from the gatehouse doors).



Camera System Updates
The high peak cliffs were a bit annoying, so we've reworked the camera code to make it smoother.

Progression Rework
We're still in the design phase, but it looks like we're almost there. Hopefully, I can show you guys what we've done in the next update post. Coming Soon(tm)!

UI Work
We're replacing a lot of WIP graphics in the UI with proper manuscript-inspired art.


River Fishing
If a region has a random pond resource node and a river, river fishing spots will replace the pond.



Castle Pieces Rework
We've reworked some of the Level 1 castle pieces.


Map Resource Nodes
Last but not least, we've got new art for map resource node locations, which will bring them in line with the other UI changes we're making mentioned above.
