# Manor Lords Major Update #5 - Core Systems Rework, Castle Overhaul, and New Maps

- Product: Manor Lords (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/manor-lords)
- Vendor: Slavic Magic
- Date: 2025-12-19
- Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1363080/view/532118242491106310
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/manor-lords/releases/2025-12-19-major-update-5-core-systems-rework-castle-overhau

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Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'.

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- **added** — Ability to select the starting location in the game setup screen for the player and adversaries
- **added** — New maps: Devil's Hill, Jagged Cliffs, Divided and Lake Lemm
- **added** — New game modes: Duel (1 vs 1 with AI) and Fractured Realm (4 Lord free-for-all)
- **added** — New buildings, jobs and resources: Quarry, Stonemason, Lime Kiln, and their connected resources Rough Stone, Dressed Stone, and Mortar
- **added** — New system for positioning units on walls
- **added** — Units now climb ladders to access higher floors
- **added** — Ability to hover castle fortifications to see the soldiers inside
- **added** — Ability to open and close each castle gate individually
- **added** — Module upgrades allowing every castle module, including walls and gates, to be upgraded to level 2
- **added** — Wall platforms that can be attached to castle walls, with platform level capped by wall type
- **added** — Affinity system where each region is divided into multiple environment types with different building affinities
- **added** — Maintenance system requiring resources to be delivered to workplaces for them to function properly
- **added** — Yield system measuring workplace production affected by Labor Speed, Efficiency, and Productivity
- **added** — Seven approval tiers providing various penalties and bonuses to growth, influence, and income
- **added** — Expanded food resources: Cabbages, Carrots and Beetroots replacing single Vegetables resource; Pears and Quinces as new Orchard options; Mutton, Chevon, Pork, Beef, Chicken, and Small Game replacing single Meat resource; Carp and Eel as separate fish types; Milk passively produced by Goats; Mushrooms reintroduced as Foraged Good
- **changed** — Castle module placement is no longer restricted by distance to nearest major module
- **changed** — Approval memory weight shifted to dramatically favor current events versus past events
- **changed** — Burgage Plots now require a variety of foods from different categories to encourage diversity as they upgrade
- **changed** — Deer replaced by Small Game as a wild animal resource
- **changed** — Honey is no longer consumed and is intended for future use but can be sold while Apiary Extension boosts farm and orchard yield

Hello everyone,

This update is now **live on the main branch** after spending time on the Beta Branch. Over the past weeks, it focused on bug fixes, AI improvements, and balance and gameplay polish. Thank you to everyone who tested the beta and took the time to share feedback. It was a big help.

You’ll find the full list of changes included in this release below.

If you have a moment, a Steam review sharing your experience would be appreciated. Hearing what’s working and what still needs attention helps guide what we focus on next.

##### Important to Note

**Saves: **To avoid any potential issues, it’s recommended that you back up your saved files before switching to a new version.

**Mods:** Please remove any mods. They will most likely crash the game.

**Previous Version: **If for some reason you enjoyed the previous version more, it will be available on it's own Beta branch _0_8_029a_ password: _ILikedItMoreBefore_

You can report (https://steamcommunity.com/app/1363080/discussions/3/) and [bug reports](https://steamcommunity.com/app/1363080/discussions/2/) on the Manor Lords Steam forums or join us on (https://discord.com/invite/manorlords) for bug reports and discussion about the latest patch.

##### Patch Notes — Version 0.8.029–0.8.050

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##### Major Changes

- **Starting Location Selection**: Ability to select the starting location in the game setup screen for the player and adversaries.

- **New Maps**: Devil's Hill, Jagged Cliffs, Divided and Lake Lemm.

- **New Game Modes**: Duel (1 vs 1 with AI) and Fractured Realm (4 Lord free-for-all).

- **New Buildings, Jobs & Resources**: Quarry, Stonemason, Lime Kiln, and their connected resources: Rough Stone, Dressed Stone, Mortar.

- **Wall Positioning**: A new system for positioning units on walls.

- **Ladder Climbing**: Units now climb ladders to access higher floors.

- **Hover Fortifications**: The player can now hover the castle fortifications and see the soldiers inside.

- **Gate Control**: Added the ability to open and close each castle gate individually.

**Castle Upgrade System:**

- **Module Upgrades**: Every castle module, including walls and gates, can now be upgraded to lv2.

- **Placement Logic**: Module placement is no longer restricted by distance to the nearest major module. The planner now displays the total Bailey Area. The Bailey area allowed for construction is limited by your lord's or lady's Rank (still WIP).

- **Wall Platforms**: You can now attach platforms to the castle walls. The level of platforms is capped by the wall type.

**Affinity System:**

- **Environment Types**: Each Region is divided by area into multiple Environment Types: (Meadow, Woodland, Farmland, Urban, Rural).

- **Building Affinities**: Different buildings can have Affinities with different Environment Types, for instance, the Animal Pen has a "Pannage" Affinity which decreases the time to yield for Pig Pens relative to the Woodland area.

**Maintenance System:**

- **Workplace Maintenance**: A lot of workplaces now must be maintained by delivering resources to function properly.

- **Failure Risks**: Failure to maintain a building can result in various risks, such as collapse for mines, injury and even a minor death chance.

- **Rate Tuning**: You can tune a workplace's level of maintenance, affecting Labor Speed.

**Yield System:**

- **Yield Definition**: Yield is a measure of how much your workplace produces. Various buildings use different timespans and benchmark values depending on their nature.

- **Yield Influencers**: Yield can be affected by Labor Speed, Efficiency, and Productivity.

- **Labor Speed**: Labor Speed measures how fast your workers perform workplace related tasks.

- **Efficiency**: Efficiency measures how much output you get per input when crafting, per plant when farming or per passive income cycle, depending on the production type. High Efficiency means your Gardens will produce more Vegetables and your Crafting tasks may produce extra item

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