Well, hello again, and welcome back to another Something's Brewing, the only place to find out anything about everything related to our upcoming monastery brewery tycoon Ale Abbey and its development.
With yet another busy week behind us, we have quite a few things to showcase from some new UI that will help with the monk/nun hiring and overview, further development on the main UI with its icons getting a makeover, and extra work on the new "Custodians" role that your monks and nuns can undertake :p
Oh, and all of that is not including our behind-the-scenes work with SFX and BGM since we're right now preparing heavily for its very imminent in-game implementation. Soon!
On with the news!
-- Custodians assemble!
Talking about keeping the monastery clean these past couple of weeks kind of implies someone will have to do it, right? That would of course be your brewers when assigned the role of the Custodian. We will be sharing a lot more information about the Custodians' role in the Abbey, along with the room that will be designed to support the role in future updates. For the time being, all you need to know is that monks and nuns who are assigned as Custodians will also care for the Abbey's well-being when given the time and opportunity.
As would be expected, we have already started animating the monastery's brewers doing their new "thing" with the tools of this trade.
Quite the depart from the mash paddle! Oh, and before we forget, there is one more general asset that needed to be created, you know for when you notice the mess before your little monks do? A cursor that will help keep that room clean even if your Custodians haven't had the chance to deal with it yet.
This is one of the many first takes, so consider this very WIP.
-- Revamped UI icons
This week we took another stab at the main UI menu, this time redesigning its icons. With the UI's overall structure pretty much cemented we now shifted the work on completely re-creating the icons to make sure that they are self-explanatory, readable as possible, and looking like a part of the "larger picture."
We started the week with a good draft that sat amazingly well on the main UI...
... and we are finishing it with some of them already completed and in color!
More to come.
-- Hiring and managing your brewlings
Hiring, upgrading, staying on top of their roles, quickly checking on your supportive staff... why not keep it all in one place and make it easy on you?
So here is the overview we came up with. We took a page from the Ale Orders book UI (pun very much intended) and so we're keeping a format that will be familiar in-game and has already gone through the process of making it easy to navigate. The obvious notion that adding more information could be as easy as adding extra pages - if needed - is an interesting one as well.
Pay no attention to the Genofeffa triplets and click on it for a larger version ;)
-- Traditional roles in a brewery
In the Late Middle Ages, running a brewery required several key roles to ensure efficient production, quality control, and management. Even if the Custodians now added as an extra role for your brewers in Ale Abbey didn't make it to the list, the following roles were crucial for maintaining a successful brewing operation in a brewery of the time:
- Brewmaster (or Head Brewer): The brewmaster was - and still is - the most essential role in any brewery. This individual was responsible for overseeing the entire brewing process, from selecting ingredients to managing fermentation. Brewmasters were very skilled in all facets of brewing, knowing methods to produce high-quality ale, understanding raw material and other ingredients inside out, and more importantly, usually came with vast experience.
- Maltster: The maltster handled the malting process, which involved soaking, germinating, and drying grains (typically barley) to produce malt. To this day the quality of malt is critical, so imagine having to check for standards on grain selection and the matling process back then!
- Cooper: Coopers made and maintained wooden barrels used for storing and transporting beer. The quality of those barrels was crucial, as they could affect the flavor and preservation of the beer.
- Cellarman: The cellarman was responsible for maintaining the cellar, where the beer was fermented and aged. They ensured that the beer was stored in the right conditions, monitored fermentation, and handled absolutely necessary tasks like racking (transferring the beer between barrels to separate it from sediment).
From that point forward, and always depending on the financial ability of each establishment, there would be an array of other laborers and handymen who would be able to provide an extra pair of hands and know-how to help with the brewing process and everything in between :)
With this, we'll let you enjoy your weekend responsibly, but remember to join us next week for some more Ale Abbey news!
-- Hammer & Ravens
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