With Ale Abbey's announcement trailer during the PC Gamer PC Gaming Show (that's a lot of words...) last week, revealing Shiro Unlimited as our publisher, and still working hard on Ale Abbey's ongoing development, the days seem to get shorter and shorter.
This crazy week found the team with the idea that maybe manual labor around the monastery should get reassigned, fixes and additions to assets, and a new pet hitting the Abbey (can never have enough of that, to be honest). And do make sure you read through the entirety of today's Something's Brewing as we're sharing some new ways to keep tabs on Ale Abbey.
On with the show!
-- Pet Abbey
OK, maybe that's an exaggerated title unless we're turning this brewing tycoon into a pet gacha game behind Emiliano's back...
So, in case you missed the announcement at the beginning of this week, a new pet made it into the Abbey. We now have a feline friend for Olaf, the Abbey's doggo, Otto the orange cat. To keep you guessing, much like Olaf (who is inspired by our lead's irl fluffy doggo), Otto too has some easter eggs going about him.
The internal ongoing joke is that Otto seems a little large-ish... like a Maine Coon that forgot it's more of an Orange Tabby. The size decision came from the fact that he does not look half bad in that size, and that we could reuse the petting animations for Olaf, without making adjustments to compensate for their difference in height. Still, Raimo is very, VERY quick in keeping jokes going.
-- Fixing and adding assets (once again!)
In the most recent bout we had with minute details that needed fixin', we had a) an aesthetics issue we identified when placing small-sized furniture in specific pre-assigned slots, and b) an extra preparation layer when placing a specific piece of equipment, the Cellar barrels.
Still investigating how to correct the former, Emiliano, Francesco, and Raimo will be trying out a few ideas (like assigning different anchor points for said troublesome furniture/slot combinations) to alleviate and save those of us with no understanding of interior design.
A "good" example is how small paintings clip around their placement slot, especially when close to arches. They do look ill-fitting and we can't have that!
And, different from all other furniture/equipment that will be placed instantly in their assigned spots, the Cellar barrels will have an added layer of preparation after the player assigns the spot and before your brewers start storing ale in them. This idea came from the fact that the barrels come in different sizes, the UI for choosing the barrels/placement could start looking a bit too packed, and we had to find a way to accommodate the issue in a more physical way. A starting kit appears, it's put together to the correct size, and the ale arrives.
Who will eventually put that together you say? Well... keep reading!
-- Manual work might be changing hands
This is not a finalized decision, but something that we will have to explore, the tasks related to the Carpenter, one of the characters that were created for the odd jobs around the Abbey, might have to be undertaken by its Laymen and Laywomen instead.
For this reason, we have already begun animating them, doing what the Carpenter would be doing.
The role of the Laymen/women in the Abbey is already so crucial to the brewing process (remember they are the monastery's muscle bringing in raw material from the Merchant to the Brewery and taking away the finished brew) that this decision might end up affecting gameplay as well. With balancing in mind, think about upgrading and managing their numbers and availability around the Abbey; you will have a limited number of them at your disposal and they can't be everywhere at all times.
One thing is certain, this role might not be the most attractive one, but it sure is slowly becoming vital!
-- New Socials
Let us claim this otherwise-reserved spot for all things brewing, to give you a small update regarding our social media presence.
So far you have been receiving news from our Hammer & Ravens profiles. With the support of our publisher, Shiro Unlimited, we now run a few extra profiles dedicated solely to Ale Abbey. This will help us better target the new influx of potential players that are in Ale Abbey, without necessarily having that message mixed up with news about the studio or the team.
As Hammer & Ravens, we will still be updating our socials with undeterred fervor and passion (if not even more so), and the team will always be available to answer any of your questions; be it Ale Abbey, beer, or game development. All we ask is that if you are already following us, and comfortable about it, give a follow to Ale Abbey's socials as well:
And to keep you from forgetting Ale Abbey's Steam page ;)
Wishlist, enjoy your weekend responsibly, and remember to join us next week for some more Ale Abbey news!
-- Hammer & Ravens
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