As a seasoned gamer who has spent countless hours building, strategizing, and conquering in real-time strategy games, I find myself drawn to the charming world of Knights and Merchants. The game has undergone an evolution over the years, with both official and fan-made versions available.
From my childhood, strategy games (and RPGs) have held a special place in my heart. Titles like Age of Empires 2 and Warcraft 3 are deeply etched in my memory. Interestingly, I missed out on the popular series The Settlers for quite some time, unaware of its existence. This may be why Knights and Merchants stood out to me so much. It was the initial game I played that offered such intricate village building mechanics, which I found utterly captivating. Over the years, this fascination has persisted, manifesting itself in my enduring interest in city builders.
Similarity to Settlers isn’t accidental
Joymania Entertainment, a studio founded by Peter Ohlman and Adam Sprys in 1997, released their first project, “Knights and Merchants,” just a year later. The quick completion of this game was no fluke. These two individuals had previously collaborated on another niche title, “The Settlers 2.” Post the release of “Knights and Merchants,” they continued to work on the popular Cultures series from Funatic Development, which bore similarities with the settler series.
Initially, the creators envisioned broadening the Knights and Merchants franchise, but ultimately, players received only The Peasants Rebellion DLC expansion. It seems that development on a full sequel ceased, possibly due to uncertainties regarding its direction and challenges in transitioning to three-dimensional gameplay.
Despite the fact that their ambitious plans didn’t succeed as intended, Peter Ohlman and Adam Sprys have had a profound impact on my gaming preferences. For those who might be curious, I should mention that the studio they founded still operates, but under a new name: Joymania Development. However, it appears that the company’s most glorious days may now be in the past.
Expanding the settlement is no small feat
The similarities between “Knights and Merchants” by Settlers are immediately noticeable, primarily due to the emphasis on expanding the settlement and navigating complex interconnections. To clarify this scenario, let’s follow the path that a loaf of bread takes before it reaches a villager:
Initially, crops are grown and eventually harvested on the farm. Subsequently, these crops are transported to a mill for grinding into flour. This flour subsequently finds its way to a bakery where it’s transformed into bread. The freshly baked loaf journey then leads from the granary directly to a villager’s home and finally ends up in their stomach.
Indeed, every structure shown up there necessitates an appropriate worker to operate effectively. For smooth functioning, you also need roadways for transporting the essential supplies. Workers are indispensable in our survival as they manage the transportation of raw materials between various workstations. Yet, we must strike a balance to ensure they’re not idle and consume our scarce resources like food unnecessarily.
Lastly, it’s important to note that grain isn’t exclusively used for making bread. It’s also suitable for feeding animals like horses and pigs. Moreover, you might find it beneficial to tinker with the sliders within the settings and adjust the ratios at which resources are distributed to different structures.
Of course, man does not live by bread alone – in the brutal world of K&M weapons and soldiers are also needed. The economic chains in this case are equally complicated and differ depending on what kind of soldier you want to “produce” – lightly or heavily armed.
Bring food, give food, time to eat
In the title, soldiers converse following their orders to gather provisions. This sentence has left a lasting impression on me and many other gamers. Just as in real life, the economy in Knights and Merchants is not solely about weapon production; food is equally crucial – it’s essential to ensure everyone eats. Whether discussing soldiers or inhabitants of your estate, everyone requires proper nourishment to survive. I recall that my initial villages perished not due to attacks but because I overextended them without enough food, leading to the demise of my people.
Today, I find myself wiser, realizing the benefits of starting with not one, but two cultivation sites for growing precious grains. This strategy allows for potential expansion later on. Additionally, I’ve learned that it’s prudent to resist the urge to conscript troops prematurely, as they tend to consume more resources than those who are well-trained and prepared.
How one archer won the war
It’s possible that many enthusiasts of “Knights and Merchants” might disagree, but I’ve long felt that the game could be improved if the military element were either eliminated or significantly reduced. Games like those produced by Impressions Games (such as Pharaoh or Zeus: Master of Olympus) serve as examples of this approach, with a stronger emphasis on construction and city-building.
The biggest mistake a beginner Knights and Merchants player can make is accumulating troops and not using them. This is an easy way to economic disaster. At the beginning of many missions, we already received a fairly strong army. It should be used as early as possible.
It became clear to me that it wasn’t wise to engage the enemy head-on as they were strongly fortified with greater numbers. Such an assault usually leads to confusion, which is hard to manage. We don’t know what lies beyond the battle’s mist, and charging into the unknown with spears could lead to a bloodbath, especially considering potential hidden pikemen lurking in the dark, as well as fire from towers and long-range weapons. It would be wiser to focus on self-defense instead.
Here’s a way to rephrase the given text:
AI and army management lost this battle
Regrettably, the management of units and its AI system are identified as the least robust features in the game called Knights and Merchants. Instead of issuing commands to an entire unit collectively, we must give orders to each soldier individually, making it challenging to manage larger armies and synchronize attacks. This isn’t the only issue, though, as soldiers often lose formation when encountering terrain obstacles, creating long lines that can lead to difficulties during marches. Careful monitoring is required to prevent problems, especially when determining where and how our troops move. If other units overtake their commander (the flag bearer) during a march, they will bypass the designated assembly point and continue moving, potentially leading them astray or into danger. In essence, this means that if other units pass the commander during the march, they will miss the assembly point and keep going, sometimes with fatal consequences.
In the middle of a fight, soldiers cannot be pulled back until their squad finishes its engagement with at least one adversary. If enemy pikemen assault your cavalry while they’re already engaged in battle against other opponents, it’s unfortunate but your men will stand firm and fight until the end. These are honorable warriors who won’t retreat – they will battle till their last breath.
Ranged units also have their problems. Fortunately, they can be withdrawn if attacked, although they are quite delicate and losses will likely be considerable. The problem here is different. Sometimes they act like close combat units and close the distance instead of maintaining the appropriate distance. Furthermore, they have a tendency to cease firing when their comrades in the formation begin to die.
It’s clear that archers and crossbowmen lack the ability to engage in close combat, so it would be wise to station them behind a shield wall of spearmen or axemen. This way, they can effectively take down enemies without having to worry about getting into melee themselves. However, it’s important to position them strategically, as their effectiveness can be greatly impacted by the slightest incline towards the enemy. This can turn a deadly volley into a wasted opportunity.
Navigating through an adversary’s settlement isn’t a comfortable experience either. Our ruthless troops must halt and eliminate any civilian they come across during their march, which slows down our progress considerably. Moreover, it’s essential to note that soldiers are more accustomed to dealing with auxiliaries rather than hostile forces.
Combat, fool
Unfortunately for me, it seems that all our missions involve combat, although it takes on different forms. Thankfully, the developers have added some diversity to keep things interesting. In some cases, we must not only defeat the enemy but also protect our allies. Other times, we merely have to survive waves of opponents using a pre-selected army. As in many strategy games, as the campaign progresses, we discover new resources and upgrade our units. This variation ensures that each map presents unique challenges, preventing the game from becoming monotonous. Fortunately, additional DLC offers even more variety.
DLC? What DLC?
Surprisingly enough, you might not be aware that the game “Knights and Merchants” features an expansion called “The Peasants Rebellion.” This expansion was released way back in 2001. I stumbled upon it only after I had grown up, which delayed my discovery. However, it’s quite intriguing. The developers chose to tinker with the fundamental gameplay aspects. The maps are populated with neutral units, and the objectives are more varied than in the original game (although they still adhere to the existing mechanics, as the wheel was not re-invented).
The initial task requires you to protect a diverse settlement using troops available from the later stages of the fundamental game, as well as those you can train according to your weaponry. Unfortunately, there’s no way to restock supplies during this mission. This version of the first mission is similar to the one in the original campaign. On both Steam and GOG, the DLC comes packaged with the main game.
You still play for the details
Despite its many flaws, I find it hard to hold a grudge against Knights and Merchants for very long. The allure of building a settlement and the meticulous attention to detail are two factors that draw me in. I’ve discussed before the intricate web of economic connections, but fine-tuning them really captured my interest. One aspect that I particularly appreciate is that the game allows us to observe the inhabitants of our settlement as they work in their workshops, something not so common even today. Additionally, we can watch different stages of construction and crop growth unfold. If you enjoy these kinds of details, then this game is definitely worth a try.
How to play Knights and Merchants today?
The original Knights and Merchants with the DLC
If you’re keen on playing Knights and Merchants today, you’ve got a chance! You can effortlessly acquire this game via GOG or Steam. I personally own it on the Valve platform and encountered no issues when launching it. However, to alter the resolution settings (you’ve got two options: 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768), I needed to run the game in compatibility mode for older Windows systems.
It should be noted that although this text focused on the basic version of Knights and Merchants, it is not the only option. The game has an HD version and even a fan remake.
- Knights and Merchants on GOG – $11.62
- Knights and Merchants on Steam – $9.99
Knights and Merchants HD
If you buy “Knights and Merchants HD” on Steam, it will come with additional games in the bundle. I believe the same applies to GOG (though I’m not certain), which means you won’t have to pay extra for these games. As the name implies, this version has been slightly modified to meet modern standards but may offer a slightly less advanced experience compared to the original.
The developers made a decision to not revise the DLC, and sadly, there isn’t an option to speed up gameplay (even though the game does run slightly quicker than its predecessor). Additionally, I couldn’t locate any pause function within the game. Moreover, you won’t find any story cutscenes, although these were not abundant in the original version.
If you opt for this version, there’s a chance you might face a technical issue at the beginning – a program called K&M will appear in one corner of your screen, obstructing much of the game. This issue usually arises when your screen scaling doesn’t match your monitor’s native scaling. However, it’s simple to fix. To resolve this, navigate to your Display Settings, find the Scale and Layout section, and adjust it to 100%. Make sure you set this before starting the game.
Knights and Merchants Remake
As a die-hard fan, here’s something you might not be aware of: There’s a fan-made remake of “Knights and Merchants” called “KaM Remake”. Many fellow enthusiasts on forums seem to believe that this is the best way to experience this classic game in today’s era, and I find myself nodding in agreement.
To start with, the revamped version of KaM, or King’s and Magician’s Remake, doesn’t shy away from high-resolution displays; it actually accommodates 4K. Moreover, players have the flexibility to accelerate gameplay up to 10 times and take breaks whenever needed by pausing the action. It’s worth noting that this game offers multiplayer functionality as well (although I personally focus on single-player experiences).
Furthermore, my points regarding AI and military tactics were dismissed due to the remarkable progress in the conduct of our soldiers. Traditionally, archers would fight till death and troops would charge recklessly. However, these modern troops now know when to retreat and engage only when necessary. This tactical change is reciprocal; enemies are more likely to launch large-scale attacks if provoked by a solitary archer. Interestingly, not only can players engage in multiple campaigns, but they can also choose to play individual missions or remain on the map post-victory. For those who prefer to establish a peaceful settlement, this is an ideal environment.
Absolutely, this is a homemade version created by fans. The developers themselves mention potential glitches might occur. Furthermore, you won’t find any cinematic scenes in this game, either those that advance the plot or conclude missions.
Should you be interested in giving the updated game a spin, feel free to proceed! Just keep in mind that the developers won’t be held accountable if any issues arise post-installation. Lastly, it’s essential to note that you’ll need the original version of the game along with its DLC to play this one.
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2024-09-17 12:33