Brewers wake up, new Something's Brewing just dropped! It's me Yannis from Hammer & Ravens and today I bring you yet another quick update on Ale Abbey's development... the one and only Monastery Brewery tycoon you know you need in your life!
This was another week the H&R team worked on multiple fronts, so we chose a few highlights to brighten up your Friday and the weekend that follows ;) In brief, we found ways to showcase status effects on our little brewers, worked on the icons of the three Traits categories, and *drum roll* finished working on the Monastery's character portraits!
Let's get in the thick of it!
-- ALL the brewers of Ale Abbey
Before doing anything else, please, celebrate with us a major milestone considered crossed out! We just completed working on the portraits of all the Monks and Nuns we have designed for Ale Abbey. We hope you'll enjoy seeing them as much as we enjoyed working on them.
Quickly updated from last week's post, the gang in all its glory:
These should be the Abbey's familiar faces for the time being. Although there are no plans for further changes or additions, if any other archetypes/models are to be developed, you will be the first to know ;)
Now, time to choose your favorite!
-- Experimenting with Traits icons
Not much else to say here but maybe ask for any potential feedback from your side, because we started working on the Traits' icons that can "bless" your beers with buffs and perks and we're kind of done! We took a few shots and found our favorites, all in a week's time.
There are quite a number of Traits that can be developed during Recipe crafting (although Brewing could make a few random ones appear) and we have decided to split them into three categories depending on their effects. These are Gourmet Traits, Popularity Traits, and Universal Traits. Gourmet Traits will have to do with a beer's profile as perceived by the senses; Popularity Traits with how the beer is perceived by the masses; and Universal Traits for uncommon traits that don't otherwise fit the other two categories.
The selected winners (on the two categories that actually had more than one contestant), are highlighted with a red outline below.
Feedback is always more than welcome, drop us a comment with a yea or nay, we promise we'll listen!
-- Status effects
As a final update for this week, we chose to show you the progress with the two status effects that can affect the Monastery's denizens.
If you follow our socials you might have caught a glimpse of our work on these status effects that will more vividly showcase what's happening with your little brewers. For the time being, we're working with tipsy and sleepy Monks and Nuns, and we're still figuring out styles of getting the message across.
This can be the height of the effect, as shown below:
or a completely different style as with the cute buggers below getting their beauty sleep:
-- Beer: calms you down or energizes you?
Let us explain the amount of sleep and tipsy brewers in the Abbey and why they would still need those portions of ale in their everyday lives... with science!
First things first, beer is an alcoholic beverage. Drinking in moderation will of course produce an initial relaxed state because the alcohol found in beer is a central nervous system depressant that can contribute to feelings of relaxation. Larger quantities though, going past the point of moderation, can and will lead to intoxication which manifests as drowsiness, slurred speech, and impaired motor skills. The latter is neither relaxing nor good for your body and mind.
Having said that, beer has one very intriguing ingredient and a rather important nutrient. The nutrient in question is carbohydrates which can greatly contribute to caloric intake. With this caloric intake, a small energy boost is also kicking in to give you a bit of energy. Although that is the case, it's still not a significant boost that can keep you going for days.
And what about that intriguing ingredient you say? Well, those would be the hops! Hops contain various compounds, including alpha acids and essential oils. One of the notable components found in hops is a compound called myrcene. Myrcene is also present in other plants and herbs and is known for its potential relaxing and sedative properties.
Bear in mind, that the amount of hops in a typical beer may not be sufficient to induce significant sedative effects, but coupled with the alcohol content in beer, can contribute to feelings of relaxation.
So, if you're looking to kick your feet up after a long day, count those carbs, and drink that beer - not necessarily in that order!
As always, enjoy your weekend responsibly, and join us next week for more Ale Abbey news!
-- Hammer & Ravens
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