And when we thought we couldn't work on UI any more than before, this week proved us wrong! But the team didn't stop there.
The menu for this week's review also includes spicy character animations, specially created for those that got lost in the Cellars (if you catch our drift), and some ideas about reworking the aesthetic aspects of the Monastery.
Read on!
-- Aesthetic reworks
A long time coming, following a few experiments a while ago, our focus came back to the outward appearance of the Monastery; more specifically on a part that needed fixing and polishing, AKA the roof/tilling, and one that can be considered optional, a realistic wall covering the - otherwise transparent - sides of the Monastery.
Still very early to be even called a WIP we have found a tilling pattern we want to further explore and one that we will be testing in two potential colors, black and red/brown. So far we have completed the black version with the second one already in the works for testing.
And, if we decide to go ahead with this toggleable option, the players will be given the choice to either hide or show the Monastery's outer wall, when they zoom out the scene entirely. As you will notice it still lacks the detail level (texture and colors) found in the rest of the building so be gentle!
-- UI evolving even further
It's high time we mentioned that the team grew with the addition of a new member, Umborobot. Umborobot's focus will be UI/UX, something we have been working quite extensively on, and definitely, something we could use an extra hand with!
With Umborobot joining we don't only work on the new interface demands we have identified for Ale Abbey, but also reworks on UI that - although already progressed - definitely needed some extra TLC.
So... so far we have been hard at work putting the building/equipment UI menus together. The menus you would see in the main gameplay scene, parts of which we touched upon recently.
And of course, the recipe creation UI that begins to look like it can accommodate all the information we want it to. Exciting times ahead!
-- Some "necessary" animations!
In some previously released scripture, we had mentioned that your monks and nuns will be bestowed a daily allotment of beer. You can't expect them to brew it and not try it now, can you? In gameplay terms, if you hold back on giving them their beer they might get sad (increasing their chances of relocating to a Monastery that knows how to treat their brewers!), and if you let them run amock with it, they won't be as... productive.
It's therefore imperative that their state of be(er)ing is somehow obvious. What better way to make it so than through a realistic depiction of extra-happy brewers? And - as if we couldn't make it any worse - we completed a few animations of them going up and down stairs in said condition.
No monks were harmed during making these, we promise.
And a normal animation from the newer Monk models to accentuate the difference between the two states.
-- Chilling your wort
When you're done boiling your wort to timely perfection (your recipe and ingredients tell you when that is), it's time to pitch your yeast. Knowing how capricious the bug can be, you of course need to temper its environment to its liking - or deal with yeast that will choose not to thrive!
A huge subject we can analyze in a separate post, but overall, anything above 7° and below 26° Celsius will make sure you won't inhibit or kill your yeast by pitching it in either too cold or too warm of a wort. Making a mental note here, to discuss the intricacies of temperature in pitching yeast in the future!
Since your wort starts off from a boiling temp and needs to be habitable, it's all about cooling/chilling it. The ways you can do this are:
- Ice bath - Whether you fill a bathtub with ice, place ice packs around your container or any other way you see fit or more economical, this is as easy and straightforward as it gets. It will be a little slow, but it gets the job done.
- Immersion Chillers - Copper tubes that circulate cold tap water or food-grade ice packs that you dip inside the container and fully submerge in the wort. One way or another there's something cold going through the wort chilling it extremely fast. These are usually the ones chosen by no-frills, practical homebrewers. Copper tubes, albeit a bit pricey, work WONDERS.
- Counterflow Chillers - For the prosumer level of homebrewing. Works almost like Immersion Chillers, but will definitely need better cleaning prior to and after use and will set you back a little more. Definitely needs you to pay more attention to the process too.
- Plate Chillers - For the prosumer level of homebrewing. Possibly the fastest way to cool your wort, but definitely the pricier.
- "No chill brewing" - There are these maniacs that will not chill their wort but instead let it cool down on its own, which could take a couple of days depending on the weather. If you're just starting, do not try this at home as a simple mistake can introduce a host of issues to your wort. If you still want to try it, follow your normal rules about oxygenating your wort before pitching, and make sure you use a food-safe HDPE (high-density polyethylene) fermentor and NOT a glass container. Godspeed...
Whether a personal or financial decision, the one suggestion we always give is to choose the one you feel more comfortable with!
Make sure you join us next week for more of Ale Abbey's news! For now, enjoy your weekend responsibly ;)
-- Hammer & Ravens
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