This week happened to be chock-full of discussions on the different ways we could portray assets, specifically UI, in a sensible, easy-to-read manner. We also explored the different ways of portraying the beauty of the Abbey's surroundings - some of which we have already showcased extensively these last couple of weeks.
Detailed work for sure and most of it focused around art, but still very high on our list of priorities since we are hell-bent on figuring out ways to make something that fits aesthetically also be extremely practical.
Due to the nature of these matters it is now more imperative than ever to have you voice your opinions and suggestions. So make sure you leave a comment with your thoughts!
-- Detailing the Abbey's surroundings
We have already talked about Watzmann's importance as an inspiration to the mountains surrounding your future brewing monastery, and with the natural beauty found in the Bavarian region, it would be a shame not to bring some of those picturesque details to Ale Abbey.
If you squint a little, you'll notice that we are working on adding even more flair to the Abbey's surrounding area in the form of extra discreet elements that can be "caught" in the background.
-- Clouds; to pixelate or not
This is the most recent topic discussed among the members of the dev team; deciding whether or not the clouds adorning the Abbey's sky should follow a pixelated aesthetic or have a more realistic approach.
As a game fully built with pixels, it would be natural to expect all assets to follow the same guidelines. However, we did see some amazing examples that came from our artists and we are now quite divided. Although we have not made up our minds yet, we have a few first takes to consider.
Some realistic clouds...
... or maybe their pixelated versions?
If you think you like one over the other, let us know with a comment!
-- More ideas and iterations on UI
This is right now the heaviest work we have in our hands, the reason being that UI does not only satisfy gameplay criteria, but it also has to abide by aesthetic sensibilities for the sake of immersion. You can't be expected to write a recipe with a backdrop that does not account for the era, or look for where to click to choose the lucky Nun that will perform a task.
Still very much on the fence about most of the ideas circulating around the team and our Publisher, but we are definitely making some progress.
A gentle reminder that most assets you see above are placeholders!
-- Using wild yeast for homebrewing (part 1)
If the Monks do it, you can too... with a bit of effort!
Why would you do it? Well, you take advantage of the local terroir and you discover what your very specific local strains can bring to your brew. Surprises can only come with randomness, and surprises can be very pleasant - if we can control some of the variables.
Since this has a lot to do with random strains of bacteria, the biggest issue would be safeguarding your wort against strains that would ultimately destroy the resulting beer. It's not uncommon to have a wort contaminated even in the comfort of your own home and after you have seemingly done all you could to keep it safe from contaminants. So, how on earth would it survive a night in the open to gather all that surrounding yeast without risking it all?
It definitely sounds a lot easier than it really is, but this would ultimately be a PH issue. You make sure the PH of your wort stays below 4.5 and that would mean that most of the bacteria able to inoculate your wort would be the ones that safely produce beer sans the nasty surprises. You make a small batch as a trap, make sure it spends a night safely in the open, and then you corner that strain of wild yeast by making a starter you can use without endangering an entire batch.
Since the actual process can be very complex - and we want to keep our posts on the short side - read next week's post on how to actually capture some wild yeast!
That is all for this week! Thank you for your time and enjoy your weekend responsibly ;)
-- Hammer & Ravens
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