How are you all doing hopeful brewers?
Your end-of-the-week review for all things Ale Abbey is ready so don't skip it before you go skedaddling away from work and deep into your weekend plans.
This week we have been busy with UI, some front/back-end preparations for in-game barrels of ale, and of course, working on the Laymen who will be moving said barrels around the Monastery.
Let's go through these in detail!
-- Laymen working!
We can't just stop at designing them, we have to put them to work... With the entire team rushing through tasks before we hit the Merry times ahead, Raimo has been on fire developing their animations and testing their design and size requirements. All WIP, but still gave a few pointers on what works and what doesn't.
Checking on proper dimensions, not of muscle and hair, but the actual barrels, we also found out that the size of the barrel will be important for two reasons. The first one is how the NPCs in the game will interact with them.
The second one is far more substantial... and it has to do with stacking those barrels in the Abbey's rooms!
-- Placing/stacking barrels in-game
There have been (and will still be) cases where the team had to go back and forth correcting earlier designs in Ale Abbey's development. This is an expected outcome when there is progress and standards, and we're happy we got both in Hammer & Ravens :p
The latest such occurrence of redesign happened when the team started discussing the Laymen and their in-game tasks. One of these tasks is carrying items around the Monastery. Going into specifics, moving barrels of Ale, presumably from the brewery to the Cellars (or from the Cellars to the Cart that transports them to the Markets). So we also have to make sure that regardless of furniture, equipment, or other extras present in the room, there is still room to stack barrels. It's a long process, but we shall prevail!
-- UI - beer glasses and colors
We like to call beer "liquid gold", especially when it's a beer we've brewed ourselves, but we all know our favorite beverage comes in more than one color.
Because color has a lot to do with a style's recipe, brewing technique, and expectations we already gave it a significant gameplay role in Ale Abbey. It's of course one of the four Virtues that will classify and give a caliber to your beer when it's being sold to one of the Markets. How it fares in those Markets and how it answers (or not) the populace's preferences, will make or break your beer... so be weary! You wouldn't like to see a stout-dark Pilsner now, would you?
It should come as no surprise then, that we had to make the colors available in the Abbey as diverse and realistic as possible.
And, picking up where we left off last week, we worked extra on stylizing those beer glasses in the UI as well, endowing them with some extra boozy realism.
More to come, so stay tuned!
-- Great water quality? Where?! How?!
We know we can sound like a broken record, but when it comes to homebrewing, water quality probably comes second only to a brewer's skills. There are a couple of ways you can deal with water. You're either born with great water nearby (good for you!), or you make it great...
In the slight chance you find yourself in:
- Burton: High in sulfate and carbonate, ideal for hoppy beers like IPAs.
Best for: Pale ales, IPAs, and other hop-forward styles - Dublin: Low in mineral content, suitable for dry stouts and porters.
Best for: Dark beers like stouts and porters - Vienna: Balanced mineral content, suitable for malt-forward beers.
Best for: Vienna lagers, Märzen, and other malt-centric styles - Dortmund: High sulfate content, good for enhancing hop bitterness.
Best for: German-style lagers, especially Dortmunder Export - Edinburgh: Moderate mineral content, suitable for a wide range of beer styles.
Best for: Scottish ales, wee heavy, and other malt-focused styles - Pilsen: Soft water with low mineral content, ideal for pale lagers.
Best for: Pilsners and other delicate, light lager styles
or
- Munich: Higher mineral content, good for malty beers.
Best for: Bocks, Munich dunkels, and other malt-driven styles
Then maybe you got the water jackpot and you can focus on brewing local beer like a pro!
In case you're not... and let's face it, chances are most of us fall under this category, these are a few things you can still do.
- Spring water: Consistent mineral content, free from off-flavors.
Best for: Lighter beer styles like lagers and pale ales - Distilled water: No minerals present, allowing for precise control of water profile.
Best for: Allowing brewers to build their own water profile from scratch, suitable for any style - RO (Reverse Osmosis) water: Low mineral content, a blank canvas for adjusting minerals.
Best for: Customizing water profiles for specific beer styles
Don't forget to hydrate peeps! Especially while consuming beer ;)
As always, enjoy your weekend responsibly, and join us next week for more Ale Abbey news!
-- Hammer & Ravens
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