Not content to wait for the release of medieval city builder Manor Lords, one fan has created a custom Cities: Skylines build of a fully functional medieval village, bringing together one of the best city-building games on PC with the indie up-and-comer. The old-school village transforms the modern infrastructure of the Paradox management game into more period-appropriate alternatives, including such functionality as a local well to provide both water and a fire service to the town.
The build, which comes from Redditor ‘Coffeemate99,’ went through several iterations, starting with a coastline build that they say is based on London circa 1066, “before William’s conquest.” They then filled out the rest of the city along with the surrounding fields – home to the farming industry, the primary source of employment for the settlement – and appropriate Roman walls to get to their final iteration, which they titled Styford Manor (seen below).
Along with the well and fields, there are several other period-fitting changes. The church acts as the hub for both education and dealing with funeral services, while the Lord’s manor serves as the central point for both the police and the prison. The build combines a number of great Cities: Skylines community creations, and Coffeemate99 helpfully lists everything they made use of to create this wonderful throwback village.
In response to the build, one commenter jokes, “Manor Lords still not out. OP: Fine, I’ll do it myself.” Coffeemate99 responds, “Literally, been waiting ages for that game.” They say that they started the Cities: Skylines build prior to the Manor Lords demo during Steam Next Fest but that missing the ability to play that demo after it finished, along with time spent playing Kingdom Come Deliverance, “made me really get into it and do a lot of research to make my builds more realistic.”
Coffeemate99 adds that they’re considering a follow-up detailing how their approach to medieval-style building changed after studying games such as Manor Lords that focus more directly on that era of town construction and management. We’d certainly love to see the lessons they took away from their studies!
If you’re looking to add some more regional flavour to your next city build, a Cities: Skylines expansion series has kicked off in November with the release of two creator packs called Heart of Korea and Skyscrapers. You may also be interested in more of the best Cities: Skylines mods if you’re trying to pursue builds such as the one above. We’ll be sure to keep you up to date on the latest from Manor Lords, as well as more of the best strategy games on PC, so stay tuned.
Image credits: Coffeemate99.