Another week comes to a close and with the team still at full speed we have a few development news that you'd definitely want to get in on.
First things first, we have started designing and animating the new Abbess character for the Abbey, the female counterpart of the previously completed Abbot. We are also creating new assets to revamp anything that can be under construction in the Monastery. Finally, we set our sights on the next big room that we will be working on in the next couple of weeks, the Dormitory.
Read on!
-- The Abbess joins the Monastery's ranks!
This week Raimo and Francesco quickly tackled defining the looks and animation basics for one of the most anticipated characters in the Abbey, the Abbess.
The Abbess will be the Nun Superior of the Monastery and will display a temperament very similar to that of the Abbot. For those who need a quick memory jolt, as a player, you will be able to choose either an Abbot or an Abbess to have the overview of the Monastery for a term of about 25 years (still to be precisely decided). The choice will be completely up to you and either of the two will carry a background and certain managerial/personality traits that will provide the Monastery bonuses (both during their term, and after their retirement).
-- Making under-construction rooms look glorious
In a tycoon game where you will be asked to expand a Monastery as full of character as Ale Abbey, we couldn't bring ourselves to slap an under-construction tag in an empty room... we had to go the extra mile!
After a lot of iterations we are very close to calling them done and we hope that they offer the character and sweet mixture of rustique minimalism and complexity that the rest of the Abbey gives off.
In addition to that, thanks to Emiliano's tireless eye for detail, we decided to make sure that even the internal stairs that connect the floors - they too will have to be built... - will have an under-construction version to accommodate the aesthetics!
-- The Dormitories
Finally, Francesco already started working on defining the vibe and character of the next room we will be working on, the Dormitory.
The Monks and Nuns of the Abbey have shown that their mortal coils also need sleep, so we expect to alleviate some early signs of floor sleeping behavior with cozy little bank bed filled rooms. The first take looks very promising!
-- Brewing in the Middle Ages
No thermometers, no stoves or tools to promptly regulate temperatures (raising or lowering them for the pitch)... how in Hops' name could they pull that off with such majestic results?
It all actually boils down to i) amazing planning, ii) trusting the system, and the most awesome part of it all, iii) the ability of the human body and mind to adapt.
Amazing planning came from understanding the locale and time of the year. This helped with knowing when it'd be easier to work with the surrounding conditions, both for the brewing and the fermentation that followed. This is why some brews were named after months; that was the best time of the year to brew them!
Trusting the system came from being able to follow the necessary steps to the letter. This was very important, especially when the brewer would be dealing with decoction mashing... You use this much hot wort for that much lukewarm wort and then you boil it for this long. It could be tedious, but the temperature control if offered was quite impressive.
And then we come to being able to adapt both mentally and physically. Brewers were almost always under the tutelage of other far more experienced brewers. The small hints, tips, tricks, actual knowledge... they would share it and make sure it stuck. And then building the vast experience that would be necessary to physically understand temperature just by feeling the wort? This is something we are right now considering quite impossible. But back then, that was just brewing in March!
Thank you for your time and enjoy your weekend responsibly!
-- Hammer & Ravens
Do you want to know more about Ale Abbey and chat with the team? Follow us on:
