#Manor Lords

[thebibliosphere]

Saw someone complaining on Reddit that Manor Lords isn't worth the price because it's "only got about 3 hours of content in it max," and I'm just baffled, bamboozled, and calling bullshit because I've been playing this one map for 8 hours today, and haven't even built my castle yet.

The fuck kinda warp speed nonsense is that person playing the game at.

Anyway, I'm happy to report that the comments underneath are some variation of "lol, lmao, even" and people admitting they don't know what day it is any more because they haven't moved since the game launched on Friday.

[elbiotipo]

Was watching some playthroughs of Manor Lords and it's so adictive to just WATCH playthroughs it's cutting on my productivity, I can't imagine how it will be to play it yet. Anyways.

Thinking about "cozy" farming sims and the like. Manor Lords isn't aimed at that kind of stuff at least not explictly, you ARE a feudal lord (you can even walk in first person as one) and those people ARE your serfs. I guess there will be some people who interpret it as that, and let's be honest, the game is so pretty and intuitive, it's just so relaxing to see the forests change seasons, the houses being built, the flowers swaying on the wind. Working like a serf all day, not so much. No doubt peasants in the Middle Ages and all over the world had their moments of rest and respite and joy, but it was (and still is) a hardworking, exploited existence like we are not usually used to.

I think Manor Lords really GETS what a subsistence farming economy was like, at least at the very beginning. and this is really important in my opinion because it was the lifestyle of no less than 90% of the world's population until very recently. And it wasn't like in Stardew Valley where one farmer had a variety of crops all growing in the same tiny farm. In Manor Lords you usually build a small hamlet or village, every home with its own little backyard plot with vegetables, chickens, but it is actual fields what truly feeds and clothes people. The distribution and managing of these fields, and how big they are, is something that changes from society to society, but it's not like there is a single household that is able to feed itself and is able to do everything that a human needs to eat, to get clothed, to be warm in winter and more. They need to have big open fields (or pastures) to do that, where the community puts most of its time and effort maintaining.

So when you think about subsistence farming, you shouldn't think about it as peasants (wherever in the world where they are, as they still exist, why do you think we Latin Americans talk so much about the campesino struggle) owning one small plot of land and feeding their household with it. You should think of them as communities where the main and sometimes only activity is farming, and they do not farm to sell it to a market (though campesino communities can and do produce excess they can sell) but to sustain themselves and their family. They do not especialize in a single crop or industry, nor they have the time or ability to. They plant whatever helps them feed and clothe their family, that is, subsist.

In Manor Lords, you can also "cheat" a bit and get goods by trade, or survive by gathering berries (EXCESSIVELY OP) or hunting. The first was impossible in very remote areas, and the second was impossible in high-density areas. Which means that you can't sustain a community by just gathering berries or having home gardens. Vegetables and fruit CAN and do supplement the diet of people and they make life infinitely more enjoyable (some places like tropical and subtropical America are very blessed in that respect and their crops are very diverse), and indeed most people have those, but it isn't enough to feed you every day. You have to farm to it. And it's a way of life tied to the land and the seasons. You gotta have enough food and firewood before winter (Manor Lords is tied to the European temperate seasons of course, but every region in the world has its own), you gotta prepare the fields, mill the grain and bake the bread, it's all work, work, work, neverending work. There is a reason why some have said agriculture is kind of a "trap" to humanity, it allows you to feed yourself and your family at the cost of being tied to your land forever, and this didn't change until very recently. And again, while of course it's also a life that has its moments of rest (harvest festivals! and all those church days in Europe, but again, every region has its own traditions), it's still work, work, and work more.

I think this is an interesting contrast with other "cozy farming sims" of which are there are a ton, with a single character being able to produce the whole spectrum of human food and a bit more. Manor Lords to me is very interesting because by having its resource and city building in such a small scale as individual families, it captures in a rather realistic (if not completely so) way how subsistence agriculture is, which is the way virtually most of our ancestors (no matter where you are from) lived. To me that's way more interesting than the combat system.

(yes, I've said I didn't play it yet, but I've watched and analyzed so much of it I might as well have 120 hours logged on it)

[cinesia]

Manor Lords, 2024

[smoothestjazz]

manor lords is a very nice game so far. say hi to Zweiau, population 14. come move in! we have stale bread and berries so far, but one day may also have fresh bread and, uh, berries.

[stef-gallery]

[tekknonerd]

Who's building the tavern; well...There's Harold, and his wife...and their son...

[violentfille]

manor lords straight up satisfying my compulsion to micromanage. yes i need to oversee every fucking piece of timber you put down on that house. bitch.

[every1sno1fangirl]

I've been having a lot of fun in Manor Lords. My first 500+ population town.

[thelreads]

I'm sorry Manor Lords, what is the name of my ox again?

[immoren]

Feels weird when your village is starving sitting on top of pile of barley because only thing this game allows you to make out of barley is ale… …I could swear I've played some other games too where you can't just make barley bread, gotta just make beer out of it.

[drakvuf]

Szegény parasztoknak nem jut elég hús, de biztos jobban alszanak, ha tudják, hogy a földesuruk a legkomolyabb börgereket eszi.

[cockadoodlebumtits]

I have started playing Manor Lords and I may never stop

[kadytimberfox]

manor lords satisfies my very specific itch of needing to watch my little guys run around and complete their little tasks. this is a different itch from needing to *tell* my little guys to complete their little tasks that I *assign* them. no, they need to go do the little tasks on their own. I give them the big picture like "plow my fields" or "go chop down some trees" and sometimes I just say "make yourself useful in some way" and they go do that however their little heart desires. their autonomy is very critical to my enjoyment.

[claudiostudios]

I have spent to much time playing Manor Lord… just as expected, I even made a schedule to finish writing the second chapter of my manga at the 26th of April (Manor Lord release date) because I knew my procrastinating ass would not be able to write something with that game at my hands. Unfortunately though, I did not finish my second chapter, and I’m just procrastinating ALL of my responsibilities like there’s no tomorrow…

Also that happened on my first play trough

It was educational

[cloudedart]

oh look more steam art

this one's less prestigious than the takeover haha - but I was able to do the art for the publisher winter sale 2023!

[princeraglan]

I gave the ox a handful of old oats. He spit it in my face, and then he tried to carve me a new nipple!