Hey everyone!
Been a while since we last gave you our weekly review, but we'll be back with a vengeance!
This week, we've been obsessing over a few ideas that we want to test: what would the Abbey look like at night, how many perspectives do those Abbey's Monks really need, and some mock-ups for the calendar part of our UI. As always, everything is very much WIP!
-- Thinking of character perspectives
So will we need other perspectives? Will the characters ever need to look directly at or away from the player? Messing with perspective can be a laborious undertaking, especially considering that a decision like this could affect the development times needed for all other models of the Monastery's inhabitants.
But, in instances where a Nun would be going up and down stairs that connect floors, or when a Monk feels like breaking the 4th wall... why not?
So far using some initial models we can test one of them cute mugshots!
-- Day and Night cycle
We already have some initial thoughts on how to use both daytime and nighttime when it comes to managing the Monastery in Ale Abbey. It would only make those Monks and Nuns more productive, right?
So far we haven't dwelled deeply on how long an in-game day will up being in real-time, or what tasks will eventually allow for nocturnal activity, but we're still pondering and you'll be the first to know.
Having said that, given the fact that there will be nighttime, it'd be best if we started experimenting with its visuals to understand what other needs that choice would bring.
-- Calendar in the UI
And where there are days and nights, there are weeks and months... and with those, ample reasons to keep track of time with a calendar.
Our Lead's first idea was to use an abacus-looking asset in the UI to make this both visually fitting to the era as well as pleasant. With a bit of effort, we also prepped an animation to showcase it!
-- Does the type of barrel make a difference in lagering/aging?
First of all, let's not forget that we're not talking about using a barrel to ferment the beer, but to age it! Now, one could definitely use a new barrel, but using a barrel that has had some experience in the past, could go a long way in terms of the flavors that can develop during the aging process.
So when it comes to types of barrels (how they were used in the past) and how they affect flavor development, you can consider:
- Rum barrels - preferably for dark beers, bring out alcohol flavors, can build up the original beer's flavor, and can develop notes of coconut, banana, dark chocolate, and oak
- Wine barrels - best for sour beers, bring fruity flavors, and can give rich, smooth, and aromatic notes. The type of wine will affect the resulting fruit flavors
- Port/Sherry barrels - unique flavor profiles (sometimes in after shorter aging) with the presence of earth, oak, and grape skin tones
- Bourbon barrels - very expensive cause this type of barrel can only be used a limited amount of times for aging beer, but it develops a very complex and woody flavor (even stronger than infusing the beer with the spirit itself)
And now we're thirsty...
Make sure you tune in next week for more news! Thank you for your time and enjoy your weekend responsibly ;)
-- Hammer & Ravens
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