Following right on the heels of their release of Earth 2140, Mac, and Amiga porting house e.p.i.c. interactive entertainment gmbh has yet another TopWare title almost ready for publishing. This game of Medival warfare and empire-building is a classic combination of battle strategy, economics and politics. e.p.i.c. has been working on this one in stealth, and should have it ready to publish in May if all goes well. Here are the details:

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.

Knights and Merchants 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 do not 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.

Knights and Merchants Web Site

e.p.i.c. interactive

Runesoft

Knights and Merchants

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