An unusually challenging player-created save file prompted important performance improvements in the popular early access medieval strategy game, *Manor Lords*. Developers at Slavic Magic reportedly dedicated their holiday period to optimizing the game’s CPU performance after receiving the file, which contained over 3,000 citizens and 2,000 sheep [[1]]. The resulting optimizations boosted framerates from an unplayable 2-5 fps to a more stable 30-40 fps, demonstrating a responsive approach to community feedback as the game continues development.
The developer of medieval city-building strategy game Manor Lords has significantly improved the game’s performance thanks to feedback from its community – specifically, a particularly demanding save file submitted by a player.
A “Nightmare” Save File
On January 18th, the game’s creator announced upcoming CPU performance improvements, revealing that the team spent the holiday period optimizing around a challenging “nightmare” save file provided by a player. The save was notable for its exceptionally large number of in-game objects.
“Significant CPU performance improvements are coming in the next updates. Over the holidays, we worked on a ‘nightmare’ save with over 3000 citizens and 2000 sheep that one of our players sent us. We managed to increase performance from 2-5 fps to 30-40 fps – and that’s still not our last word.”
The announcement was met with enthusiastic responses from players, many praising the developer’s approach. One commenter highlighted that the developer treated the demanding save as a benchmark, rather than dismissing it as an outlier. The performance boost is particularly welcome as the cost of PC components remains high, making upgrades a significant investment for many gamers.
“Great approach to treat that player’s save as a reference point for optimization, instead of dismissing it as ‘only 1% of players will reach this state.’”
“Really appreciate you guys working on performance improvements. God knows games in the coming years will need to be heavily optimized to cope with the fact that players will have much less access to powerful hardware (thanks, AI).”
Manor Lords is currently available in early access on PC. As of January 22nd, the game is available on Steam at a promotional price of $24.99. The developer recently voiced strong criticism of artificial intelligence, a discussion that reflects the ongoing debate about AI’s role in game development and the broader tech industry.
