Hit city-builder Manor Lords is switching to Unreal Engine 5 soon, but its dev is being "careful about enabling performance heavy features" to help keep things running as "smoothly as possible"

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A new shadows system is being made entirely optional

A screenshot of some sheep in a field in Manor Lords.
(Image credit: Slavic Magic)

Manor Lords is set to switch to Unreal Engine 5 in its next update, but its developer is careful not to enable any "performance heavy features" that would hinder the city-builder running as smoothly as possible.

Switching from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5 was always the plan for Manor Lords' developer Slavic Magic. Earlier this week, the developer announced that fishing ponds would be coming to Manor Lords in the next update, which would also mark the moment where the city-builder simulator makes the jump to the new-gen game engine.

Slavic Magic's new tweet, below, gives a bit of an inside look at the developer's attitude to the new game engine. Slavic Magic knows you want Manor Lords to run as "smoothly as possible" when the jump to Unreal Engine 5 is made, so naturally they're "very careful about enabling any performance heavy features" in the process. 

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Even while holding back, Slavic Magic proclaims the "resolution and sharpness of the new Virtual Shadow Maps system" to be "really impressive." The screenshot in the tweet above admittedly does look really impressive - all the shadows look crisp and clear, stretching out the back of houses, tents, trees, and even relatively tiny bushes on the ground.

And don't worry about this new system tanking your performance. In a follow-up tweet, Slavic Magic notes that the Virtual Shadow Maps system will be entirely optional, so if you find it is having a negative impact on performance, simply flick the menu option to turn it off.

In a tweet elsewhere lately, Slavic Magic said the launch date for the Unreal Engine 5 port of Manor Lords is a "few weeks" away, although this could obviously change very easily. Don't be surprised if the fishing ponds update, along with the big game engine port, doesn't end up rolling around until the latter half of August at the very least.

Check out our guide on how to get regional wealth in Manor Lords to purchase backyard extensions and other bonuses. 

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.