Mastering Organic Growth: Advanced City Planning
Manor Lords champions organic, gridless city building grounded in historical authenticity. True success lies beyond simple building placement; it demands foresight, strategic terrain use, and optimized resource flow. This guide explores advanced techniques to elevate your settlement from a mere village to a prosperous medieval town.
Harnessing the Landscape: Terrain and Logistics
Your starting location and expansion choices are critical. Analyze the terrain carefully: hills offer defensive lines, fertile valleys boost agriculture, and proximity to rich resource deposits (Iron, Clay, Stone) fuels industry. Plan your initial settlement near essential resources and consider how roads will connect key areas. Efficient road networks are vital for minimizing travel time and ensuring goods reach their destinations swiftly.
Engineering Efficient Production Chains
Streamlined production chains are the engine of your economy. Minimize the distance workers and goods must travel between resource extraction, processing, and storage. Group related buildings logically to reduce transit time and maximize output. Wasted travel time is wasted potential.
For instance, position a Smithy near both a Mining Pit (for Iron Ore) and a Storehouse, with Burgage Plots housing the smith's family nearby. Similarly, place a Weaver Workshop close to a Sheep Farm or Flax fields and assign families skilled in weaving to adjacent Burgage Plots.
- **Logging Chain:** Logging Camp (Forest Edge) -> Sawpit (Near Construction/Storage) -> Joiner's Workshop (If needed)
- **Bread Chain:** Farmhouse (Fertile Land) -> Windmill (Requires Grain) -> Communal Oven / Bakery Extension (Requires Flour)
- **Clothing Chain:** Sheep Farm / Flax Field -> Weaver Workshop -> Tailor's Workshop (Burgage Extension)
Securing Sustenance: Food Production & Storage
A stable food supply is non-negotiable. Diversify sources – Farming (Wheat/Barley/Flax), Hunting Camps (Meat/Hides), Forager Huts (Berries), Vegetable Gardens, and Chicken Coops (Eggs) – to build resilience against famine caused by harsh winters or blight. Strategically place Granaries to minimize spoilage and ensure market stalls are well-stocked. While bread production offers high yields per field, it requires a multi-step chain (Farm -> Mill -> Oven/Bakery).
Strategic Hamlet Design: Placing Burgage Plots
Burgage Plots house your workforce and form the core of your settlement. Their placement dictates travel time, market access, and overall approval. Position them thoughtfully: close to relevant workplaces, within range of a Well for water, near the Marketplace for goods, and served by a Church for faith needs. Maximize their utility by utilizing backyard extensions (like Gardens, Goat Sheds, or Artisan Workshops) to create decentralized production hubs.
- Ensure access to a nearby Well (essential for upgrades and fire safety).
- Minimize commute time to primary workplaces.
- Provide convenient access to Marketplace stalls for food and goods variety.
- Consider future expansion and road network integration.
- Balance plot size for desired extensions versus population density.
Expanding Horizons: Trade and Regional Wealth
No settlement is entirely self-sufficient. Trade is vital for acquiring resources unavailable locally and selling surplus production for Regional Wealth. Establish a Trading Post to engage in inter-regional trade. Identify lucrative export goods based on your region's strengths (e.g., abundant iron for tools, fertile land for grain/flour). Use Pack Stations primarily for transporting goods *within* your region efficiently, supporting your Trading Post and distant work sites.