Hello Maidens,

Unless you've been following my development updates on my upcoming game RABBIT & STEEL (wishlist it now, do it!), it's been a little while!

After some consultation with the Discord[discord.gg], it has been decided to pull back some of the changes that Lich and Stormbeast got in last year's update.

In addition, some players expressed an interest in playing some older builds, so I have made some of those available as separate branches. Please feel free to play what you'd like! Keep in mind, you'll only see lobbies of players who are on the same branch as you.

Without further ado, the patch notes!


Novi Holy
- Fixed issue where Cooldown Hold would persist between casts


Lat Life
- Draw layer adjusted downwards
- Duration 14s > 12s

Butterfly Thrall (Offensive Special)
- Movespeedmult changed 1.0x > 0.8x (overwrites other movespeedmults)

Novi Life (Defensive Special)
- Cooldown increased 8.5 seconds > 10 seconds
- Flower duration increased 17 seconds > 20 seconds



- Fixed AI to use Basic more often

Dimi Lightning
- Time until fully charged increased 800ms > 765ms
- Speed when fully charged decreased 5 > 4.5
- Size when fully charged 220px > 210px

Doppelganger (Offensive Special)
- Cooldown increased 7 seconds > 9.5 seconds

Flashstep (Defensive Special)
- No longer grants weak invincibility at the start of charge
- Cooldown increased 12 seconds > 13 seconds

Hello maidens!

My next game, RABBIT & STEEL, has officially been announced!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2132850/Rabbit_and_Steel/

Wishlist it now! Do it! You can tell all your friends that you got in before it got big.

Features online co-op, random loot, awesome bosses, and of course, rabbits!

If you enjoyed Maiden & Spell, I garauntee you'll enjoy this one too.
Hope to see you rabbits there!

Garnet Flare (Offensive Special)
- Move slowdown on use .35x > .4x


Sniper Shot (Basic Attack)
- Fully charged fire angle increased 4 > 8 degrees

Bind (Wide Attack)
- Draw layer adjusted downwards

Knife Juggle (Offensive Special)
- Draw layer adjusted upwards

Vanish (Defensive Special)
- No longer has a slowdown at the end
- Using knives no longer resets movespeedmult during Vanish
- Movespeedmult reduced 1.5x > 1.3x
- Movespeedmult length is now 1300ms (previously overwritten by the slowdown at the end)


Dimi Lightning (Basic Attack)
- Fully charged bullet speed 4.5 > 5
- Now categorized as a Spell
- Now adds 700ms SpellLock

Lat Lightning (Wide Attack)
- Sprite adjusted for visibility

Doppelganger (Offensive Special)
- No longer effected by SpellLock or AttackLock
- Cooldown reduced 8 seconds > 7 seconds
- Now has 500ms SpellLock (300 when focused)
- AttackLock increased 500ms > 700ms (300ms > 500ms when focused)

Flashstep (Defensive Special)
- No longer effected by SpellLock or AttackLock
- Now grants 200ms weak invincibility at the start of charge


Sunburst (Basic Attack)
- 3rd hit in combo now has 600ms Movespeedmult (the same as the 1st and 2nd hit, reduced from 1300)
- Alternate color's focus version is now darker rather than lighter (To match with P1 color)

Lat Holy (Wide Attack)
- Number of bullets now ranges from 12 to 62 based on charge (was previously 12 to 60)


Dodge Roll (Offensive Special)
- Cooldown increased 3.5 seconds > 4 seconds

Stun Wave (Defensive Special)
- Now deletes bullets in a radius a second time, 100ms after the first


Lat Life (Wide Attack)
- Draw layer adjusted downwards
- Duration 12s > 14s

Butterfly Thrall (Offensive Special)
- Fixed issue where number of bullets fired was dependant on framerate
- Draw layer adjusted upwards
- Movespeedmult changed 0.8x > 1.0x (overwrites other movespeedmults)

Novi Life (Defensive Special)
- Cooldown reduced 10 seconds > 8.5 seconds
- Flower duration reduced 21 seconds > 17 seconds
- Charge speed reduced 20%


Saphire Flare (Offensive Special)
- Cooldown increased 2.5 seconds > 3.5 seconds

Hydra Head (Defensive Special)
- Cooldown increased 6.5 seconds > 7 seconds
- Now gives 1.1x movespeedmult for duration of invincibility (Duration increases with charge)



Dimi Dark (Basic Attack)
- Attacklock reduced 1000ms > 900ms

Lat Dark (Wide Attack)
- Deadzone decreased ~20%

Novi Starfall (Offensive Special)
- Changed movespeed mult 0.8x > 1x (overwrites other movespeed mults)



-The list of lobbies now displays full lobbies
-The 'search' option has been replaced with a link to the M&S Discord
-The maximum number of players that can use a single lobby increased 8 > 16
-The time to make a decision after an online match increased from 30s > 60s

-There are now separate options for "Magnus" and "Magnus (Moving)" in the Training AI menu

-Fixed bug where, in training mode, border walls would disappear after a hit
-Fixed the 'Spectator Bug', where spectators would desync and see characters getting hit over and over
-Fixed bug where a sound would play when you hit up and down after selecting an option after an online match

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[discord.gg]

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.

------------------

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

If you're not in THE DISCORD[discord.gg], 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!

----------------

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[discord.gg] 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.

--------------------------------------------------------

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)

--------------------------------------------------------

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[mailchi.mp] or the Maiden & Spell Discord[discord.gg]. 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!!

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[discord.gg]. 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

Hello everyone!

After about 2 and a half weeks, the balance-beta is over!
We made a LOT of changes and adjustments. Many of the characters got new movement options, buffed moves, opportunities for counterplay in certain matchups, and more.

If you've been playing with friends on the main branch, you might be surprised at the new tools your favorite character has. Be sure to check them out when you get the chance!

But first: the game also now has an official Korean translation, thanks to one A1NVERSE! He's been a member of the M&S community from the beginning, and was kind enough to make an official translation for the game.


Without further ado, here's all the changes that came out of the Beta!
There's so many, you might just have to try the game out yourself to get the full experience.

- Added a Korean Translation for the game.
- Fixed issue where "ghosts" would be left behind in lobbies.
- Fixed issue where P2 getting hit would sometimes desync match spectators.
- Fixed issue where the Training menu could crash
- Fixed issue where the Training menu option text would bleed over the screen in Japanese
- Fixed issue where bullets would sometimes not be properly erased over netplay
- Fixed issue where the lobby chat would make the framerate dip when people typed in Asian languages
- Fixed issue where the framerate would drop in certain stages if not playing the game in English
- Fixed issue where Stormbeast's Doppelganger would aim the wrong way in netplay
- Fixed various typos


Dimi Dark
- Bullet speed increased 1.1x

Lat Dark
- Attack length 240 > 260
- Movement speed while firing .65x > .6x
- Visual effect adjusted

Time Stop
- Now applies .7x movespeedmult to enemies within clock

Arcane Magic
- "Slow" status affect adjusted
- Movement speed multiplier x0.7 > x0.8
- Attack interval multiplier x1.4 > x1.2

Bolt Strike
- Uncharged shot now fires a faster bullet (speed 28px) when focused, with a spawn delay of 700ms
- Will no longer be erased by Novi Life while charging
- Uncharged movespeedmult .35x > .4x
- Uncharged spawn time 500ms > 400ms
- Doppel's uncharged spawn time 700ms > 600ms
- Uncharged bullet speed 12 > 14
- Movespeedmult while charging increased .1x > .15x
- Full charge time 950ms > 800ms
- Full charge bullet speed 5.5 > 6.5

Doppelganger
- Will now only go half distance if fired while Focused

Flashstep
- Widened window for tap-movement tech to 100ms

Lat Holy
- Time for the attack to have a hitbox now starts at 500ms and decreases to 400ms after 600ms of charge time
- Input window for minimum distance increased 30ms > 60ms

Novi Holy
- Input window for minimum distance increased 30ms > 60ms
- Now gives 1.2x movespeedmult when tapped

Novi Dispel
- Now gives Strong Invincibility to user
- Now gives opponent .25x MoveSpeedMult for 1500ms when hit with initial burst


- P2 color adjusted for visibility

Claw Swipe
- Angle between bullets 13 > 11
- 20px deadzone removed

Lat Fire
- Now has a deadzone of 20px

Novi Fire
- Active time 450ms > 500ms


-P2 Color adjusted for visibility

Sniper Shot
- Input window for minimum charge increased 30ms > 60ms
- Attack lock now happens as soon as shot is fired
- Full charge time 600ms > 500ms
- Full charge angle 12 > 10


Bind
- Attack lock 1000ms > 800ms
- MoveSpeedMult .35x > .8x
- Width is .9x what it was before
- Now only deletes other Bind bullets within a 550px radius
- Time bullets are on screen 10s > 12s

Knife Juggle
- Cooldown reduced 4s > 3s
- Time until knives fire reduced 2.6s > 2.1s
- Knives now have a hitbox while they spin (hitbox becomes active 800ms after firing)

Vanish
- Now has Strong Invincibility for 400ms at the beginning of the move


Stun Wave
- Invin time 600ms > 500ms
- Move Lock 600ms > 625ms
- Spell Lock is now Action Lock, lasts for 700ms
- Direction Lock removed
- Radius reduced 350px > 325px
- Stun time increased 1100ms > 1200ms
- Now deletes bullets that haven't spawned in yet


Lat Life
- Spawn delay increased 500ms > 600ms
- Warning flower visual effect adjusted

Novi Life
- Spawn delay on large flower 500ms > 430ms
- Now grants 1.2x Movespeedmult for 430ms


Sapphire Flare
- Changed to Tap instead of Hold
- Movespeedmult no longer input dependant
- Bullet linger time reduced by 500ms
- Cooldown increased 2 seconds > 2.5 seconds


Now have 100ms of ActionLock at the beginning of battles