Yet another week is over and development is still going strong - no surprises there.
Among other things, we continued last week's work on animations, with the entire team brainstorming on making improvements to make them more realistic, and our artists adding some flair of realism. We also started working on a much-needed new line of miniature assets for their UI equivalents. Finally, a few touches here and there upgrade the Pantry's looks.
To the news!
-- Pantry almost reaching its final form
Starting today's news with a room we have invested quite some time in, the Pantry. You will notice that we continue to "share" design directions over different rooms that could be in varying levels of development. This time taking some notes from our visuals' work in the Merchant's Stall, we added elements that increase the visibility and provide some extra information comfortably found around the scene.
You can expect some more action in the scene in a future post, so stay tuned ;)
-- Smaller pixel icons
We also opened a new can of UI worms this week. Our insistence in nailing the UI (elements and overall experience) is constantly on our mind and we canAlthough we don't talk about UI in every weekly post we are secretly working on it constantly - we can as it is one of the things we really want to nail in Ale Abbey.
This week we played around making some new assets for equipment and tools (so think click-able and set-able assets). In essence a much smaller but still very readable version of what you've been seeing the Monks and Nuns of the Abbey use so far. After clicking on a room, the available tools should become clickable somewhere in the main UI.
We started by checking in and brainstorming over what sizes would work best, both for visibility and cuteness (this is Ale Abbey after all), and so far, we are very happy with their looks!
-- Adding "extra" flair to animations
The devil's in the details, even in a pious game like Ale Abbey. And it seems that Raimo, our pixel artist has indeed shaken hands with the horned dude.
Seeing so many animations of Monks and Nuns going up and down stairs and using equipment, Raimo noticed there was something missing - and then came the wobble. You will notice in all new animations of Nuns/Monks that the models lean ever so slightly to the right and left when walking. With but this discreet correction, the animation of going up/down the stairs became much more satisfying.
And, finally, an addition that we have been seriously considering but can't quite promise yet, is creating random and rare variations of animations in-game. Trying to time these correctly so they won't break the game's flow or create any sort of advantage or disadvantage, these might look something like Sister Pinta jumping off the ramp after stirring some wort.
-- Fixing an over-carbonated brew
You're done brewing your latest batch, made sure you pitched the yeast like a pro, and went through the god-awful task of bottling it your beer-to-be. Finally done. But then you notice bottles popping like it's the 4th of July, seeing all those hours of work you threw onto your majestic brew judging you while fizzing on the floor... You got your first look at over-carbonation, excessive bubbles that increase pressure, making things that shouldn't pop, pop. Science!
So, what can you do now?
- Get those bottles even colder! Extremely cold beer does not foam as much when poured into a glass. Once you pour it, you let it calm down in the glass as it warms up to its proper serving temp
- Give it some time! The longer a beer stays stored in the fridge the less carbonated it ends up being. Remaining in the fridge grants the extra bonus of the yeast staying dormant so - practically - no more carbonation
- Re-Cap your bottles... Sounds bad and it comes with its own learning curve, but... a strong Ace up your sleeve. This would entail putting your bottles in the fridge overnight, to reduce the expected excessive foaming when you finally pop them. You can later cover them with sanitized tinfoil to allow for some breathing to occur and leave them outside for some time (anything between 1-4 hours). This should allow some of the beer's gaseous nature to dissipate and once you recap them again store as intended
We bid you farewell for now, but join us next week for more of Ale Abbey's news! Enjoy your weekend responsibly ;)
-- Hammer & Ravens
Looking for more Ale Abbey? Or maybe want to chat with the team? Find us on:
