The Shattered Kingdom


Story

After many battles, a former kingdom has been divided into many small principalities and earldoms. The kingís troops were pushed back into one last royal province, and the rulers of the other provinces waged terrible, destructive wars against one another. The whole land fell into a state of chaos and now the former royal capital itself is under siege by the armies of the rebel lords. You belong to the last remaining group of loyal kingís men, and have been commanded to go to the king in view of the imminent attack.


Game Scenario

Knights and Merchants recreates the era of the Middle Ages. Apart from the purely fictitious geography of our world, all game elements and scenes are based on the European, but more particularly, the Anglo-Saxon period, around 1200 A.D. We have not used imaginary elements like, for example, fabled creatures. The player takes on the role of a ordinary captain in the Palace Guard. A conspiracy against the king catapults the captain into a situation where he finds himself responsible for the defense of the last royal province. This is all that remains of the shattered kingdom, which has been split into numerous small principalities and earldoms. And now even the king himself, ensconced in his capital, is threatened by enemy armies. This is the starting point of your Middle Ages adventure. Now you, the player, must win back all those provinces which once belonged to your king.


General info about the game system

Knights and Merchantsî can be described as a strategic economy simulation. In the main, the economics play a major role in this real-time action game. The player can manufacture different products, making use of numerous buildings and producer goods of the Middle Ages period. He can use his serfs to construct and maintain buildings and roads. The economical structuring is very specific. You manufacture finished products using various raw materials which go through your production processes. All these manufacturing systems are highly detailed and visually understandable, enabling fast and dependable control of your economy. One result of all your productive labors is the manufacture of weapons and armor. But the logistics, too, are really worth a mention. You decide where and how merchandise will be transported on the network of streets which you yourself have planned and constructed. Your serfs transport all wares between buildings, so your town planning plays a major role in production time per building, and , resulting from that, just how efficient your economy as a whole is going to be. Transported goods are displayed graphically. Each figure in the game has his/her own mission area and carries out individual tasks independently. They donít depend on your commands or actions. You, the player, only give indirect commands for the construction of buildings, streets, corn fields, etc. However, you do have complete control of the military units.