Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom (abbreviated TSK) is a medieval-time based Real-time strategy
(RTS) game.
It was developed by Joymania Entertainment (since changed to Joymania Development) and published by TopWare Interactive
in 1998. The player takes the role of the captain of the palace guards and leads the soldiers and citizens to victory. The game did not receive a strong critical or popular reception in the UK
and the US, but elsewhere it was more popular, consequently a follow up game was released called Knights and Merchants: The Peasants Rebellion
. Recently it has also been made available in the US as a value game. A digital version of both games is currently available on Good Old Games.
The game also offers a multiplayer mode by using either IPX
, TCP/IP or Modem
where up to 6 players can play. There are 10 different scenarios to choose from including a number which focus specifically on the combat element of the game.
Every citizen and soldier must eat in the game meaning that you need to produce a great deal of food creating a more naturalistic limit on army size. There is no population limit in game, instead population is limited by how much food you produce. If a unit is not fed for a sustained amount of time it will die.
The every day life aspect of this game is considered a notable feature. You can place many different structures, forcing the player to consider where and when to place each structure. However for new players this greater complexity can lead to a process of trial and error but once experience has been gained it becomes an interesting take on RTS economics.
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
(RTS) game.
It was developed by Joymania Entertainment (since changed to Joymania Development) and published by TopWare Interactive
TopWare Interactive
TopWare Interactive is a video game publisher and developer located in Paradise, Nevada.TopWare Interactive started out in 1995 as a video game publishing subsidiary of the TopWare CD Service AG based in Mannheim, Germany— which included a inhouse development studio based in Poland. In...
in 1998. The player takes the role of the captain of the palace guards and leads the soldiers and citizens to victory. The game did not receive a strong critical or popular reception in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the US, but elsewhere it was more popular, consequently a follow up game was released called Knights and Merchants: The Peasants Rebellion
Knights and Merchants: The Peasants Rebellion
Knights and Merchants: The Peasants Rebellion is a historical Real-time strategy game, developed by Joymania Entertainment and published by TopWare Interactive. The scenery is inspired by the Anglo-Saxon period, circa 1000 AD...
. Recently it has also been made available in the US as a value game. A digital version of both games is currently available on Good Old Games.
Overview
Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom has a single player campaign that consists of 20 scenarios with scenario length ranging from around 30 minutes up to 7 hours depending on difficulty.The game also offers a multiplayer mode by using either IPX
IPX
Internetwork Packet Exchange is the OSI-model Network layer protocol in the IPX/SPX protocol stack.The IPX/SPXM protocol stack is supported by Novell's NetWare network operating system. Because of Netware's popularity through the late 1980s into the mid 1990s, IPX became a popular internetworking...
, TCP/IP or Modem
Modem
A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
where up to 6 players can play. There are 10 different scenarios to choose from including a number which focus specifically on the combat element of the game.
Economy
The economy is very complex in Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom, more so than most other RTS games, with a greater range of resources and a need to combine basic resources in a number of ways to create a functioning economy. For example, in order to get loaves of bread, the player is required to first build a farm to get wheat, then a mill to get flour and also a bakery to bake loaves of the flour. The many different resources in the game require a large amount of corresponding buildings and units in order to fully utilize them requiring greater than usual micromanaging for an RTS.Every citizen and soldier must eat in the game meaning that you need to produce a great deal of food creating a more naturalistic limit on army size. There is no population limit in game, instead population is limited by how much food you produce. If a unit is not fed for a sustained amount of time it will die.
The every day life aspect of this game is considered a notable feature. You can place many different structures, forcing the player to consider where and when to place each structure. However for new players this greater complexity can lead to a process of trial and error but once experience has been gained it becomes an interesting take on RTS economics.