Knights and Merchants

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Knights and Merchants
KaM Logo.gif
Studio Joymania Entertainment
RuneSoft (port)
Publisher European UnionEuropean Union Zuxxez / TopWare Interactive Linux Game Publishing
United StatesUnited States
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 1998
platform PC ( Windows , Mac OS , Linux ), MorphOS
genre Real time strategy game
Game mode Single player ; Multiplayer via IPX , TCP / IP , modem
control Mouse , keyboard
system advantages
preconditions		 TSK: 100 MHz CPU (133+ recommended), 24 MB RAM , 70 MB free hard disk space
TPR: 233 MHz CPU , 64 MB RAM , 90 MB free hard disk space
medium 1 CD , download ( GOG )
language German English
Current version TSK: v1.32
TPR: v1.60 SR3 (semi-official patch)
Age rating
USK released from 12

Knights and Merchants (English for "knights and merchants") is a German structure and real-time strategy game published in 1998 , developed by Joymania Entertainment . Similar to the early games in the better-known Die-Siedler series , it is devoted to building a city and then producing military units. Despite the age of the game, there is an active community.

Games of the series

  • Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom , short: TSK (1998, PC, MacOS, MorphOS)
  • Knights and Merchants: The Peasants Rebellion , in short: TPR (Gold Edition, 2001, PC)

Gameplay

The core of the game is the construction of a small economic system (village) with a focus on food production and the manufacture of weapons. The end of a mission is carried out in a warlike manner, i.e. the units produced serve to destroy the enemy soldiers and branches.

Development history

Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom (short: TSK) was developed by Joymania Entertainment , which was founded by two former Die Siedler II developers, Peter Ohlmann (programmer) and Adam Sprys (graphic designer). In 1998 TSK was published by Zuxxez in Europe.

Gold Edition: The Peasants Rebellion

The 2001 published The Peasants Rebellion (TPR for short) is the Gold Edition of the basic version The Shattered Kingdom . Originally TPR was supposed to appear as a separate mission CD , but this was not released due to problems with the producer TopWare Interactive . TPR added some new cards and units as well as new screen resolutions to the base game .

However, the players found it difficult to get used to TPR, as this version was released in an immature version and contains a number of bugs. In addition, the game via the multiplayer mode is technically useless or sometimes impossible. For example, saving and loading the game in multiplayer mode, as with TSK, is no longer possible due to bugs (this is sometimes necessary due to synchronous errors). However, there are several updates that fix most of the bugs, making the game mostly playable. The multiplayer bug has not been resolved, however, so TSK should be used for multiplayer games.

End of support

Since the official development of Knights and Merchants 2 was stopped in 2002, the sequel is no longer expected. However, a fan base on knightsandmerchants.net has kept the game alive on the Internet for many years. Some gifted fans are working on programs for editing missions / maps, on modifications and on various other tools related to the game.

Since support by ZuXXeZ was also discontinued in 2002, the player community is now trying to guarantee support via unofficial patches . On the one hand, remaining game mechanics errors should be corrected and adjustments should be made to maintain compatibility for new platforms , the current version 1.60SR3 lists many of such resolved problems.

Glimmers of hope are the projects "Knights and Merchants: The Kingdom Expanded" and the TPR remake of two other fans, which are complete replicas. The games are being actively developed and are already making very good progress.

Republication

In 2007, Nottingham- based Linux Game Publishing released a port , performed by RuneSoft , for Linux. In 2009 Knights and Merchants: TPR was re-released in a version prepared for Windows XP and 7 by Good Old Games .

KaM remake

Several fans are working on reprogramming the game for modern systems. The project aims to completely rewrite the game engine, partly using the existing game files. Essentially, an exact reproduction of the original game is sought. In addition to eliminating errors, changes to the game mechanics are also implemented in some cases, for example the introduction of a building for trading in goods. The resulting application is provided as freeware, but a version of the original game must already be installed in order to use the KaM Remake. An executable version for Windows exists and is made available on the project website.

Game mechanics

Military system

The weapons produced in workshops are stored in the barracks and can be used there for recruitment. For such training you need a recruit, the respective weapons and armor and, if necessary, a horse for mounted units.

The military is divided into the following groups:

  • Infantry (militia, ax fighter, swordsman, (barbarian / warrior))
  • Staff bearer (lance bearer, pikeman)
  • Ranged fighter (archer, crossbowman)
  • Cavalry (scout, knight guard)
  • Mercenary (rebel, vagabond, squire, barbarian / warrior, (militia))
  • Siege machines ( catapult , ballista )

The strengths of the melee units roughly follow a classic rock-paper-scissors system. Horsemen are somewhat superior to infantrymen, staff-bearers are very effective against riders, infantry is superior to staff-bearers. Each unit occupies one space on the map grid, which is why not all melee fighters can usually fight at the same time in larger battles. As a result, the combination with ranged fighters who attack across allied units but are extremely vulnerable in close combat plays a key role.

With the Gold Edition The Peasants Rebellion , mercenaries were introduced that can be purchased with gold in the town hall. However, these units are very weak or very expensive, the advantage is that no production chains for weapons and armaments have to be set up. Equally new are the war machines, which use stones and arrows to decimate opponents very quickly from a distance and thus make the game a lot easier. However, these are quite expensive to manufacture.

Economic system

Goods dependency of the buildings among themselves

Goods management

Unlike many other RTS games, there is no global merchandise account. As in the game series The Settlers , all goods in the game are always in one place on the map, never in a global account. For processing or storage, they must be transported piece by piece to the destination or to a warehouse. The transport requires roads that must be built using the stone resource, as well as carriers that automatically transfer goods between production sites and warehouses.

Unit management

Carriers for the transport of goods and construction workers for the construction of new buildings as well as workers for production buildings must be trained with gold. All workers are specialized, each building needs a specific type of worker like farmer or miner. Trained units can neither change their specialization nor be disbanded. Civilian units act independently and cannot be controlled by the player. Soldiers can be grouped into troops manually. Troops are controlled by the player, but control is removed when a troop is in combat. In this case all soldiers move to fight and can only be controlled again once all opponents have been killed.

Housing development

At the beginning of the game you start building a settlement. Initially, only very basic buildings are available. As a rule, new buildings only become available as soon as a building required for supply has been erected, for example a farm is required to be able to build a mill. The first and most important buildings include the warehouse, school and public house. If these buildings are destroyed, the following applies: a. a mission as lost

First of all, quarries, lumberjacks and sawmills are needed to produce the building materials stones and boards. The production of simple weapons can also be started with boards. After building material production, food production becomes available. Wineries produce wine, farms grow grain. This can be processed into bread or used in pig farms for the production of sausages and leather for simple armor. Fish can also be caught with the The Peasants Rebellion expansion . In mines you extract the resources coal, iron ore and gold ore, which are necessary for the manufacture of weapons and money. Eventually blacksmiths become available, where iron and coal are used to make the most powerful weapons and armor. In addition, the expansion TPR can be used to build a town hall and a war machine shop, which provide access to mercenary units and siege weapons.

Food supply

Each unit has a stamina value that decreases over time. When supplied with food, the stamina is replenished. If the stamina drops to zero, the unit dies. All civilians automatically go to an inn when they are hungry and eat there. Depending on the type of food consumed, a different amount of stamina is restored. Soldiers are supplied with food at their current position on the map by porters as soon as the player gives the order, and stamina is fully restored regardless of the type of food.

music

A notable aspect of Knights and Merchants is the choice of different music themes that play in the background during the game. Imposing pieces of classical music from the 18th to 19th centuries, e. For example, an arranged part of Sonata No. 11 in A major KV 331 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is used.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Support Update / Mod 1.58sr2 for Knights and Merchants - The Peasants Rebellion available. , ZuXXez support page
  2. ↑ Patch "TPR Service Release 2" . knightsandmerchants.de. October 6, 2011. Accessed on February 7, 2012: " The" TPR Service Release 2 "(SR2 for short) is an unofficial patch for The Peasants Rebellion, which was created by fans of this website. The reason for this development is the support that ZuXXeZ stopped at the end of 2002 "
  3. ↑ a b website of the KaM Remake project. Accessed December 9, 2019 (German).
  4. ↑ website of KaM Remake project. Retrieved December 9, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Mod presentation for Knights and Merchants at gog.com. Retrieved December 11, 2019 .