Hey everyone and welcome back to another Something's Brewing, your one-stop for everything Ale Abbey, our upcoming monastery brewery tycoon!
Overall, things are going very well in the front of developing Ale Abbey, with a new ice-cold seasonal addition we worked on this week and still quite a lot of work on the UI side of things (you know us...), touching both aesthetic and structural design.
On with the news!
-- Breaking down UI
If you ever wanted to see what the rumblings of a madman looked like, look no further. Take a step back and enjoy the view from Emiliano's workspace.
If a picture speaks a thousand words, this picture screams pain.
As we discussed last week the bottom part of Ale Abbey's main UI will be the predominantly interactable part of it. So this is where menus and submenus will rest until you need to build new rooms, furnish them, read about your staff, or even catch up with your research. Fitting all this information and lists of assets in there needs to feel familiar and easy to navigate through. It's a quest for efficiency and good form, and definitely one we are willing to take on.
And all of this work on the UI does not mean we didn't try to tackle its looks...
-- UI aesthetics intensify!
Spending so much time on the UI's wireframe doesn't mean that we forgot about the eye candy. And having the artistic compass of trying to make things as fitting and readable as possible, you can understand that we have (and will for the foreseeable future) been clocking quite a few hours on this aspect as well.
A quick shot to remind you where all that magic is taking place (bottom side of the display):
And now that you are locked on, the different designs we will be testing for the different menu and submenu items:
Far from done, expect to see more ;)
-- Winter in the Abbey
Something we didn't expect to work on this soon, was a new seasonal version of the monastery's surroundings. We also did not expect to make so much progress in so little time (our pixel artist Raimo works fast, you see), so we already have some fine results already. As you might have guessed from that little hint on this post's preview, the one version we worked on this week, happens to be the monastery's cooler-looking snowy winter take. There is no one season for making and appreciating beer, so of course the rest will follow suit.
A reminder here that our initial plan was not only seasonal variations of the monastery's background but also different biomes. But that's something we'll have to keep you posted about.
-- Beers made for summer!
We're pulling a sneaky on you here. Working on the snowy version of the Abbey's surroundings kind of made the heat wave that has been ravaging Europe more "present"...
So what beers could you be dreaming of drinking (or drinking already, depending on your timezone) in the middle of all this? We have 3 cool suggestions for you:
- Pilsner: Pilsners are light, crisp, and refreshing lagers with a clean taste and a subtle hop bitterness. Their light body and refreshing qualities make pilsners perfect for hot weather. They’re easy to drink and if you do find yourself closer to a beach, they pair really well with seafood.
- Wheat Beer (Hefeweizen or Witbier): Wheat beers are often cloudy due to the yeast and wheat used in brewing. They have a smooth, creamy mouthfeel and flavors of banana, clove, and citrus. The fruity and spicy flavors of wheat beers are refreshing and invigorating. They are particularly good for outdoor activities and pair well with salads, fruits, and light seafood dishes.
- Session IPA: These IPAs have all the hoppy flavors and aromas of regular IPAs but with a lower alcohol content, usually around 3-5%m which practically feels like cheating... The lower alcohol content makes them more suitable for prolonged drinking sessions, while the hop-forward flavors provide a refreshing bitterness that’s perfect for warm weather. They go well with grilled meats, spicy foods, and barbecues (HINT HINT).
Enjoy your weekend responsibly and remember to join us next week for some more Ale Abbey news!
-- Hammer & Ravens
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