Hello maidens! It's almost halfway through the year now. I hope that news doesn't bring you dread!
If you're the kind of person who would click into this announcement, you might be aware that the Maiden & Spell Discord has been doing a bit of a balance thingamajig.
That has now ended; thanks everyone for your feedback!
I think we've gotten the game to a place where it's pretty okay. There are still a few difficult matchups here and there, but characters got some desperately needed buffs and nerfs.
Also, thanks to a very generous member of the Discord (thank you Alec!), the game has been translated into Brazilian Portuguese.
First, patch notes! Then some other things.
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Wide Attack
-Number of bullets 22 > 20
-Attack lock 425ms > 550ms
-Takes an additional 75ms to gain a hitbox
-Added a visual effect to indicate direction of bullets
Basic Attack
-Unfocused bullet speed 12 > 10
Wide Attack
-Movespeed Mult x.85 > x.75
-Movespeed Mult duration 800ms > 1100ms
-Attacklock duration 700ms > 1000ms
-Time bullets are active 750ms > 650ms
-Range decreased
Stun Wave
-Stun time increased 1200ms > 1400ms
Basic Attack
-Spell lock decreased by 300ms (previously went from 700ms > 400ms based on charge, now goes from 400ms > 100ms)
-Angle now decreases from 90 > 4 (was previously 90 > 10)
-Movespeed Mult while casting .3 > .5
Knife Throw
-Focused move color adjusted
-Focus knives now fan at an angle of 9 degrees between each shot (36 total)
Basic Attack
-Hitbox linger time 600ms > 850ms
-Spawns 10% faster when focused
Wide Attack
-Attack lock reduced by 100ms (before it was 1000ms > 300ms based on charge, now it is 900ms > 200ms)
-Spell lock reduced by 100ms (same as attack lock)
-Time until hitbox is active is now a flat 500ms (up from 400ms-500ms based on charge)
Offensive Special
-Number of bullets on tap 24 > 28
-Attack lock reduced by 100ms (before it was 1000ms > 300ms based on charge, now it is 900ms > 200ms)
-Spell lock reduced by 100ms (same as attack lock)
-Cooldown reduced 5s > 4.5s
-Movespeed mult on tap increased 1.2x > 1.3x
Wide Attack
-Spawn delay increases 600ms > 700ms > 800ms with combo (was previously a flat 600ms)
Basic Attack
-Speed increased from 3.5 > 3.75
-Rate at which size increases matches speed increase
Time Stop
-Cast time reduced 550ms > 475ms
Basic Attack
-Bullet speed at maximum charge decreased 6.5 > 4.5
Wide Attack
-Order in which bullets appear has been reversed (shallower angle appears first now)
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Now that's out of the way...
How have you all been spending your year so far?
I've been working hard on my next game.
...Uh, I know that I said I would be doing extra character costumes for Maiden & Spell in the past but, unfortunately, I'm not sure that's happening anymore. Maybe in the sequel (my next game is not a Maiden & Spell sequel).
If I'm being honest, I've not done a great job of managing my time and priorities this past year. It's caused me to fall behind on a lot of things, the care and maintenance of Maiden & Spell just being one of them.
It's been over a year since I launched Maiden & Spell, and after a number of game prototypes that I threw out, a personal break that went on a bit longer than it should have, and some Switch port troubles, I have only just semi-recently cobbled together a solid direction and plan for the next game.
It's a roguelike! Featuring cute girls. Cute rabbit-y girls. Also the gameplay is pretty unique, if I do say so myself.
I'm not quite ready to show the game to the world. I'll put out an official announcement a bit closer to when it's actually ready to play this time around. Maybe around 6-8 months out from launch or so!
If I've at all piqued your interest, consider joining either my mailing list or the Maiden & Spell Discord. You'll get a notification one way or another (and maybe a sneak preview or two...?). And the Maiden & Spell Discord is still the best place to find a great community and battle people online! In case you need something to pass the time.
Hope to see you again soon!