The new pre-release patch for Manor Lords has just been released for all to try out, and it sure does fix a long list of problems, more so than the developer Greg «Slavic Magic» Styczeń had previously promised.
Styczeń had already promised fixes for inefficient sawpits, a homeless bug, harsh oversupply trade mechanics, poor archer damage, and an overpowered AI, but the actual patch includes this and much more.
The biggest change is that the King's Tax or Annual Royal Tax (the name's still to be decided) is enabled for all players. «This tax is collected annually from all players (main player and AI) and goes to your liege,» Styczeń says in the patch notes.
It's counted per population and therefore should become a counterbalance for players who hoard huge wealth despite having non-optimized economies." For the time being, you'll be able to go into debt without any consequences, but this won't be the case forever.
In the future, you'll begin to lose the king's favour if you fail to pay back what's owed, and eventually, the king will even send his army to your front door to collect the money if you refuse to pay.