Maiden & Spell News

Hello Maidens!

...Are you still maidens?
A lot can change in... 15 months since the last post, gosh.

I've been busy myself with a plethora of different things, so I'll try to bring you up to speed.

First off, new patch notes for a new balance patch!



.........

Uh, on second thought, the patch notes are pretty long.
Maybe I'll separate that out into a different post.

.........


A few months ago, a couple of the top Maiden & Spell players approached me about possibly updating the game with a few balance tweaks. Over the course of years of playing, a few lopsided matchups and weird quirks about particular moves had been rubbing them the wrong way.

So, we did a pretty long, back and forth, feedback-driven beta.

I'd be lying if I said these were carefully considered developer-knows-best changes. The truth is, these people have gotten so good at the game, and know it in-and-out so well, that I can no longer win against them.

So uh, I mostly did what was asked of me. And read lots of Discord discussions. And the results are patch 1.3.2.0!
If you'd like to thank these brave maidens or try your luck playing against them, you can always do so in the Discord!

THE DISCORD

Yes, there are still people playing Maiden & Spell in 2022! It's lasted a lot longer than I honestly thought it would.
It's still a great, welcoming community, so feel free to hop in, no matter your skill level.

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Next order of business, some news about my next game! (it's not actually called 'Rabbit Game')

If you're not in THE DISCORD, you might be a bit out of the loop.

Maybe you only, very vaguely, remember a post saying that I was making a Strategy Roguelite game with rabbit girls...

Uh, I'm not anymore!

Well, I'm still making a Roguelite game with rabbit girls. Just not the 'Strategy' part.

I... completely scrapped the game I had been making, and started anew last November.

Don't worry, you didn't miss anything. The game wasn't very good; that's why I scrapped it.

But, I didn't really start anew either; because my new Roguelite game is... very similar to Maiden & Spell, to be honest. It's reusing a lot of the code, as well as many stylistic choices. And that's made development go very smoothly since rebooting the project.

So smoothly, in fact, that... I'm almost ready to announce it officially! Expect something before the end of the year!

Here's a sneak preview to whet the appetite...



Please look forward to it!

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One final bit of news!

Maiden & Spell characters are making a guest appearance in NOISZ STARLIVHT!


https://twitter.com/noiszgame/status/1565544879958245376

You will be able to fight against the Heroes United to the tune of "The Stars Turned Reverse".

NOISZ STARLIVHT is available on both Android and iOS, so if you guys have phones (you guys have phones, right?), be sure to check it out!


See you all again very soon!

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!

Maiden & Spell is now officially out for the Nintendo Switch!!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Purchase it via the Nintendo E-shop today!



The Switch version has all the things you'd expect in a Switch version...

Take it anywhere, snap the controller in half, hand one half to a stranger on a train, and bond over some bullet hell battles.

Also has some cool new features, like emotes!



I added these so that even people with parental controls enabled can communicate a bit online.
They'll also be coming to the PC version soon (a few days tops), along with a host of bug fixes.

Hope you pick up the Switch version soon!

I'm awake! Alive! What year is it?!

Oh, it's the one year anniversary of Maiden and Spell's launch! Happy birthday Maiden and Spell.

I've come to you on this momentous occasion to announce that Maiden & Spell is finally heading to the Nintendo Switch, with the help and publishing of none other than Nippon Ichi Software!

Check it out!
https://nippon1.jp/consumer/indie_spirits/maiden_and_spell/



When...? Uhhh, soon! Very soon.

Look for a news post as to the official date, and to this Twitter or this Twitter for more news!


Speaking of more news, Maiden & Spell will also be at a VR event; Indie Maker's Syndicate! Hope to see your avatar there!
https://indiemakersyndicate.com/

Stay safe!

Hello everyone!

Maiden & Spell is 30% off during the Steam Summer Sale!
If you're reading this you probably already have the game... but do all of your friends!?

Just think! Social interaction is precious in these dark times. For the low price of just under 10USD, you could make your best buddy feel obligated to play some online matches with you!



(Or you know, just recommend the game to them if you think they'd like it.)


The Steam Sale comes in the middle of an ongoing Balance Beta we were having in the Discord. I didn't want the majority of the player base playing on a Beta Branch while new players came in from the sale, so for now, I've updated the game to the current place the Beta is at!

There are still things that are a work-in-progress (such as the game's Spanish Translation) but for the most part everything is a bit more balanced out!

Here are the Patch Notes so far! The Beta isn't "over" yet, just on pause for a little bit. We'll continue in a few days!






Novi Fire
-Stand time increased 450ms > 550ms




Lat Dark
-Deadzone decreased 180 > 150
-Attack interval increased 150 > 180
-Speed of bullets increased 9 > 10




Stun Wave
-Fixed online behaviour
-Radius 325px > 335px
-Spawn delay 400ms > 425ms
-Move lock 625 > 650




Sniper Shot
-Max charge is now 550ms for arrow speed and movespeedmult reduction

Knife Juggle
-Now knives will fire almost immediately when focused (500ms vs 2100ms unfocused)




Lat Water
-150ms warning added to beginning of move


----Lich of Flowers---

Lat Life
-Flowers now increase in number as they go out




Sunburst
-Bullet raidus 200px > 240px
-Holding focus will make the move shorten itself

Novi Dispel
-Will no longer apply speed down to opponents with Strong Invincibility




Round start invincibility is now strong invincibility
Strong invincibility visual adjusted slightly