[previewyoutube="SgZZiBp4Jcs;full"] This week we’ll be taking a look at the stationary enemies of Dandy Ace, Turrets and Totems. While these enemies may not be able to move or avoid Ace’s attacks, they provide ranged support and buffs to other enemies. Ace will run into a variety of different types of Turrets and Totems in each map as he makes his way through the Cursed Mirror to Lele’s Palace.
TURRETS
Turrets are stationary enemies with offensive ranged attacks and no defensive capabilities. Ace will need to constantly watch his back for flying turret projectiles as he faces off against other enemies. They’ve got a long range and can be positioned in different ways around the maps. Turrets are most often placed on their own platforms outside of the regular playspace but can also appear alongside groups of enemies within it. While Ace should be able to reach most turrets with melee and close-ranged skills, longer ranged skills are recommended.
Between attacks, turrets are vulnerable and have no way to defend themselves which opens up a window for Ace to take them out. Turrets come in four different types: Basic Turret, Homing Turret, Multi-Shot Turret, and Poison Turret. The easiest way to determine which type of turret you are facing during an encounter is to look at the type of projectile located above the turret base.
Basic Turret
The Basic Turret is the first type of stationary enemy Ace will encounter right away as he enters the Entrance Hall. It was designed to introduce the Turret enemy type to players without being too overwhelming or complicated. It can be distinguished by its Flaming Projectiles. When Ace is within range, the Basic Turret will fire a Flaming Projectile in Ace’s direction every few seconds. The projectile will continue to travel over obstacles and through enemies in a straight line until it reaches its max range or hits Ace. If the projectile hits, Ace will take a significant amount of damage.
Homing Turret
The next turret type is the Homing Turret which can be found in the Guest Lounge. While the base of the Homing Turret is the same, the projectile itself is different from that of the Basic Turret and can be seen pictured above. The Homing Turret fires a Homing Projectile that will attempt to chase after Ace for a short period of time. If it collides with Ace, the player will take a significant amount of damage.
Multi-Shot Turret
Found in the Palace Shop and Central Hall, three projectiles can be seen floating above Multi-Shot Turrets. The Multi-Shot Turret will make Ace question how close he should attempt to get when fighting it. Acting as the shotgun of turrets, the Multi-Shot Turret fires Spread Shot towards Ace when within range. Spread Shot sends out 3 projectiles at the same time in a cone, each dealing its own damage on successful hit. The effectiveness of this turret drops off the further Ace is as it becomes more difficult for multiple projectiles to hit.
Poison Turret
The final turret type found within Dandy Ace is the Poison Turret. First encountered in the Garden, the Poison Turret is great for denying large areas and forcing Ace to maneuver around smaller pathways more carefully. Poison Turrets utilize their Poison Cloud attack every few seconds to send out a large projectile in Ace’s direction. The projectile travels slowly in a straight line before disappearing once it reaches its max range. Poison Cloud will deal AoE damage over time to Ace for as long as he remains within the cloud’s radius. Poison Turrets can also be found in Courtyard.
TOTEMS
Totems do not have any offensive capabilities and their defensive options are very limited. These stationary enemies focus on buffing their allies to make them more powerful. In most cases Ace will want, or even need to, take out the Totems first during a combat encounter as the buffs they provide to other enemies are significant. They are extremely vulnerable with no way to fight back against Ace and rely on their allies to defend them.
The Totem will often spawn in the middle of enemy groups, towards the center of stages. This provides them some level of protection while buffing as many enemies as possible at the same time. The Totem enemy type has its skill active at all times while it is still alive and its massive AoE range is clearly displayed to players to know when enemies are receiving a totem’s buff. Just like with Turrets, there are four Totems types: Protective Totem, Explosive Totem, Health Totem, and Power Totem.
Protective Totem
One of the Totem types Ace will encounter is the Protective Totem, found in the Central Hall. Protective Totems are blue in color and provide a Defensive Buff to any enemies within range. When under the effects of Defensive Buff, enemies will take significantly less damage from Ace’s skills. Enemies will feel almost immune to Ace’s skills so taking out the Protective Totem as quickly as possible will be important.
Explosive Totem
The next totem type will have Ace keeping his distance from enemies and being a lot more careful if utilizing AoE skills. The Explosive Totem applies Explosive Buff to enemies within its range. Any enemy with the Explosive Buff active will explode on death dealing damage to Ace if he remains too close. The Explosive Totem appears in the Courtyard but can also be found in the Garden.
Healing Totem
The one totem with some defensive capability is the Healing Totem, designed in the shape of a layer cake. Any enemies, including the Healing Totem itself, will have Health Regen when within the totem’s radius. Under the effects of Health Regen, the enemy will constantly heal over time very quickly. This can make taking down the Healing Totem really difficult in one go. Players will encounter the Healing Totem in the Art Gallery.
Power Totem
The final totem type is the Power Totem. Pink and purple in color, this totem’s buff is fairly straightforward and can be found within the Palace Shop and Gala Hall maps. If within range of the Power Totem, enemies will gain Power Buff increasing all of the damage they deal. Ace’s health will quickly go from full to 0 in a matter of seconds if he isn’t careful around the buffed enemies and especially against larger groups in smaller spaces.
Tune in next week as we meet with the voices behind some of the characters of Dandy Ace and learn about the process of having unique voices created for each character. Be sure to add Dandy Ace to your Steam Wishlist and follow us on all social media to stay up to date as we post new announcements such as upcoming betas and events leading up to the launch in early 2021! You can also join us on the Mad Mimic Community Discord to chat with members of the development team as well as other community members.
This week we’ll be diving into a few of the Magic Cards you’ll have at your disposal as you make your way through Lele’s Palace. As mentioned previously in our Introduction to Magic Cards, Dandy Ace’s core mechanic revolves around the Magical Cards which act as skills in the game. Players are able to create countless combinations of skills, upgrades, and play styles by combining the different cards they come across on each run.
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We can not begin talking about Blue Cards without mentioning the two main types of mobility skills found in Dandy Ace; Blinks & Dashes. Nothing will get you through the palace quicker than the wide variety blinks, dashes, and other mobility based skills that make up the Blue Magic Cards. Dashes allow Ace to travel forward and pass through enemies but do not offer any invulnerability frames during the dash. Ace is vulnerable to enemies and can’t dash through attacks without taking damage. Blinks on the other hand allow Ace to teleport forward a short distance, avoiding any enemy attacks that may be between the start and end points.
While these skills let you move between enemies and around obstacles, they can also bring a lot of utility as well as additional offensive options during combat.
Dashing Dash
Starting off with dashes, the most basic Blue Card you’ll come across in Dandy Ace is Dashing Dash. Using Dashing Dash will have Ace dash forward dealing damage to anything in his path. Ace is able to travel through enemies during the dash dealing the full damage to each enemy hit. As mentioned previously, Ace will need to be careful though when dashing towards enemies due to Dashing Dash not having any invulnerability frames.
One of the strongest aspects of Dashing Dash is its Upgrade Effect which adds Haste (Buff) to any card it is combined with. If a card is activated while upgraded with Dashing Dash, Ace will gain Haste for a short period of time increasing Ace’s movement speed by 50%. Some Upgrade Effects, such as Haste, will have internal cooldowns. While the Upgrade Effect is on cooldown you may still activate the base card but will not receive the additional upgraded bonuses. Any cooldowns for cards used as upgrades can be seen below the base skills on your action bar when activated.
Blazing Sprint
Light your path ablaze with Dandy Ace’s Blazing Sprint Card. When activated Ace will dash forward, leaving a trail of blue fire behind him for a short period of time. Any enemy that Ace dashes through takes a small amount of damage. While the initial damage may be weaker than that of Dashing Dance, the fire will continue to deal damage to any enemies that remain in it. This can be useful when attempting to kite groups of enemies around obstacles or immobile enemies such as Totems that are unable to avoid the blue flames.
Looking for a different Magic Card but really like the trail of blue fire? Use Blazing Sprint to upgrade another card with Blazing Shoes (Buff). When the upgraded skill is upgraded, Ace will start leaving a trail of blue fire behind him for a short period of time. Blazing Shoes allows Ace to move around freely and lay out the trail of fire in a more strategic way rather than in a straight line when dashing. The other benefit of Blazing Shoes is the amount of area you are able to cover while it's active.
Shocking Arrival
Another dash in Ace’s arsenal, Shocking Arrival, will specifically punish mobile enemies looking to chase after or run from Ace. When activated Ace will dash forward, creating an explosion at the end of the dash that deals damage to anyone within range. Any enemies hit by Shocking Arrival will also gain a Hex (Debuff) during which the affected enemies take damage while moving.
If you choose to instead upgrade another card with Shocking Arrival, that card will gain the Hex (Debuff) effect that is applied to enemies on hit. This can often be a very powerful tool when combined with Pink Cards and skills that can hit multiple targets quickly. It is important to note that Hex will only deal damage if the enemy moves while they have the Hex debuff. This makes it ineffective against Totems and Turrets but can be paired with knockbacks, pushes, and other displacement skills to maximize Ace’s damage when using Shocking Arrival.
Jump Scare
One of the more unique blink based Blue Cards available to Ace is Jump Scare. Activating Jump Scare blinks you forward, dealing damage to and scaring away any enemies within range. Fear (CC) is applied to all enemies hit causing them to move away from Ace and restricts their attacks for a very short period of time.
The Upgrade Effect will vary depending on the color of the Magic Card Jump Scare upgrades. Fear (CC) is added to Yellow and Blue cards. Taste of Fear is added to Pink cards. Taste of Fear causes any enemies affected by Fear to take additional damage from the upgraded skill.
Resonance Cascade
Travel back and forth between portals when you use Resonance Cascade. When used, Ace blinks forward and opens two portals. The portals are located at the initial location Resonance Cascade is activated and the end point Ace blinks to. For a short period of time, Ace will be able to travel between the portals. Damage is dealt to any enemies near the portals every time Ace travels through them.
If you’re constantly dealing with multiple enemies surrounding you, consider using Resonance Cascade to upgrade another card. The upgraded card will gain Dimensional Burst which causes Ace to deal damage to all nearby enemies when the upgraded skill is activated.
We’ll be covering the rest of the Blue Cards in Part II as well as the other types of cards as we approach the launch of Dandy Ace in early 2021. Be sure to add Dandy Ace to your Steam Wishlist and follow us on all social media to stay up to date as we post new announcements such as upcoming betas and events! You can also join us on the Mad Mimic Community Discord to chat with members of the development team as well as other community members.
Welcome to the Art Gallery: Art Apprentice & Axolangelo
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ART GALLERY
The next level in our Map and Enemy spotlight series is the Art Gallery! Home to Dandy Ace’s first boss Axolangelo, the Master of the Arts, and his Art Apprentices. Take a look around at the showcased museum assets, paintings, and sculptures found within Axolangelo’s Art Gallery but don’t stare too long and most importantly.... DO NOT TOUCH!
The Art Gallery comes after the Entrance Hall and Banquet Hall levels if Ace chooses to continue down that path. Players can expect the difficulty to begin to ramp up upon entry into the Art Gallery leading up to Axolangelo’s Atelier, where you’ll take on Axolangelo himself. Cuckoo Nightmares, Totems, Midnight Phantoms, Art Apprentices, and Bunny Butlers & Jesters stand guard over the valuable pieces of art Ace will have to maneuver around while avoiding attacks.
Ace will also need to watch his step as the ground is littered with one of the first environmental hazards found in Dandy Ace, Spike Traps. After stepping onto the trap and a short delay, the trap will activate dealing damage to anyone found on top of it. Ace is able to utilize the traps himself by luring or knocking enemies onto them to deal a good chunk of damage. It's always important to be careful where you blink and dash to!
ART APPRENTICE
A somewhat miniature version of Axolangelo, the Art Apprentice utilizes it’s art skills to battle against Ace. The Art Apprentice is easily recognizable by its weapon of choice, its trusty giant paintbrush. While the paintbrush may not look too dangerous up close, it excels in ranged combat by covering large areas in waves of paint.
When at range the Art Apprentice will swing his giant paintbrush sending a blue Paint Wave that expands over time as it travels. The wave begins fairly small but quickly grows to cover entire pathways and larger parts of the level so Ace will need to quickly move out of the way or run quite a ways back to avoid taking hits. The real difficulty comes in when attempting to avoid several waves coming at Ace at once from multiple Art Apprentices at different ranges as the waves will vary in size. Similar to the Bunny Jester discussed previously, the Art Apprentice will Tumble away if Ace manages to get too close before continuing to send out additional Paint Wave attacks from range.
AXOLANGELO
Once you find your way through the Art Gallery, you’ll stumble upon Dandy Ace’s first Boss in Axolangelo’s Atelier. The development team wanted to lean into the artist stereotypes when creating a boss centered around the Art Gallery and really liked the Axolotl animal. By combining the Axolotl with famous artist Michelangelo the team was able to create Axolangelo, the Master of the Arts! With a paintbrush in his hand and an art apron around his neck, Axolangelo is ready to unleash his art skills to kick Ace out of the Art Gallery.
With a wide range of paint based attacks, Axolangelo will have the player constantly on the move trying to avoid them. Axolangelo’s most basic of attack’s is his Brush Stroke. If within range, Axolangelo will attempt to swing at Ace in an AoE cone in front of him. The area will remain covered in paint for a short period of time dealing damage to Ace if stepped on. Similar to that of the Art Apprentice but bigger, Axolangelo is able to send out a large Paint Wave that expands over time as it travels to prevent Ace from remaining at range safely.
The Atelier is a large open space so Axolangelo has to cover areas of the level in paint from above to restrict Ace’s movement options. Axolangelo relocates himself to the center of his Atelier after which he begins to rain Paint Drops down on top of Ace’s current position one by one. Upon landing the area will remain covered in paint for a period of time dealing damage to Ace if stepped on. Axolangelo will also periodically surround himself with Painter’s Aura damaging anything he is able to get close enough to as he chases Ace.
While Axolangelo may be big, he sure can move! If you manage to anger Axolangelo he’ll start looking to charge at Ace utilizing his Paint Rush. Ace will have a short opening to move out of the way before Axolangelo charges in a straight line, dealing damage and carrying Ace if caught in its path. The combination of these skills creates an exciting and challenging experience that will leave players experimenting with different builds before being able to efficiently and consistently take him on!
If you’d like to visit the Art Gallery to take on Axolangelo and his Art Apprentices you can do so today by downloading our Free Demo available on the Dandy Ace Steam Page! If you haven’t already done so, please consider helping us out by adding Dandy Ace to your Steam Wishlist. Tune into next week’s spotlight as we dive deeper into some of the Magic Cards you’ll come across in Dandy Ace.
EVENT EXTENDED: The Leaderboard Challenge will run until October 26th!
The Leaderboard Challenge Event has been extended to run until Monday, October 26th!
We’ve been enjoying watching you all attempt the Leaderboard Challenge and have been impressed with some of the times we’ve seen so far! We had initially planned to end the challenge Saturday, October 24th but decided to let you all continue attempting to defeat Axolangelo over the weekend and work on improving individual leaderboard placings.
We’ll be posting updated leaderboards for each difficulty regularly on the Mad Mimic Community Discord as well as on our social media channels which you can find below. Check to see how you compare to other members of the community as well as the Dandy Ace Dev Team as you compete for the fastest times.
As a quick reminder, if you recently participated in our Twitch Mode testing as a streamer or viewer we would love to hear from you! We will be hosting a Dev Talk on our Discord tomorrow Oct. 24th at 18:00 - 19:00 (UTC).
If you haven’t already, make sure to add Dandy Ace to your Steam Wishlist, it helps our team out a lot <3
One of the most important and core mechanics in Dandy Ace revolves around the Magic Cards which act as the skills in the game. Players can create countless combinations of skills, upgrades, and playstyles by combining the different cards they come across. Additional Cards can be earned through multiple ways during your playthrough such as by defeating groups of enemies, picking up Card Blueprints, using Shards at the Reward Tent, and purchasing them with gold at Shops you find. Ace will begin each run with access to one Blue Card, one Pink Card, and one Yellow Card randomly selected from the starting pool.
Every Magical Card has a default skill associated with it. These skills can be upgraded further by combining Magical Cards together to change how the skills function and/or provide additional utility or damage potential to a skill. There are more than a thousand possibilities for you to play with!
Players are also able to find stronger versions of each card as they progress through the maps and experiment with different skills. The Tiers of a Magic Card will impact things like cooldown time and the damage of a card’s base skill effects but not its effects when utilized as an upgrade to be combined with another card. Upgrade effects can only be impacted by the Tier of the base card it is being combined with. Tooltips will be available in-game to explain to players what each type of Buff, Debuff, and Skill does as well as how a card will affect another when it is used as an upgrade.
It is important to note that players are not guaranteed the same cards each run so it will be important to learn them all! We feel like we have done a pretty good job so far of creating viable skill effects for each Magic Card so that players can utilize different combinations that not only suit their own playstyles, but also create interesting combat scenarios between different runs and against each type of enemy.
Blue Cards function as the Movement based skills. These are split into two main categories: Dashes and Blinks.
Pink Cards are the more damage oriented cards, split into Melee and Ranged skills.
Yellow Cards have the widest variety of mechanics associated with them. The skills can range from giant barriers & personal shields to slow fields and stuns.
That about covers all of the basics for the Magic Cards in Dandy Ace. Make sure to hop in during our Challenge Event that is currently ongoing until Saturday, October 24th. The Challenge Event features lots of new Magic Cards to experiment with as well as enemies that were not previously available in the Demo or our first Beta test. You can find more information on that HERE as well as the Mad Mimic Community Discord. We’ll be diving deeper into the individual cards next month so be sure to follow us on all our Social Media channels found below and Wishlist Dandy Ace on Steam, it helps us out a lot!
The Leaderboard Challenge Event is now live and will run until Saturday, October 24th!
Compete against other players and the development team for the top 10 spots on the leaderboards for each difficulty setting. Players will face certain gameplay limitations specifically for this challenge and compete to reach and defeat Axolangelo, Dandy Ace's first boss, as quickly as possible. We've also got new enemies and cards/skills for you all to try that were not previously available in the Demo or during our Betas so be sure to check out each difficulty setting as they will vary in enemy types.
How to Participate:
In order to make it as easy to participate as possible, we have swapped out our current Demo for the Challenge Event build. If you already have the Dandy Ace Demo downloaded you will just need to update the game. If you have the Beta branch or any other special branches enabled, you will need to opt-out of them all in order to update to the Leaderboard Challenge version of the game.
You can download the Demo build with the Leaderboard Challenge and Wishlist Dandy Ace on our Steam Store Page HERE.
If you have any problems or would like to provide feedback or bug reports to the team you can find active members of the dev team on our Mad Mimic Community Discord. Come and join our growing community and chat about the Leaderboard Challenge event as well as all things Dandy Ace!
Available Challenge Event Difficulties
Normal
Hard
Very Hard
Nightmare
Objective
Players will try to complete runs of the specified event content in the fastest time possible while competing against others on each of the leaderboards at the different difficulty levels.
Predefined Path
Entrance Hall > Banquet Hall > Art Gallery >Axolangelo (Boss)
Rules/Constraints:
Full Clear - Players can only advance to the next level after successfully clearing and defeating all possible enemies on the current level.
No Tea Potions - Players do not start with any Tea Potions and can’t earn them through any other means (Trinkets, Reward Tents, or the Shop)
Players will still have a chance of Cupcakes dropping from defeated enemies to heal
Challenge Limitations -
No Blueprint & Shard drops
Jolly Jolly & Nnif Reward Tents will be disabled
Jenny Jenny’s Reward Tent will be available with a limited pool of Trinkets
We just want to say a big thank you to everyone who helped us test out this fun and interactive new feature for Dandy Ace! We were excited to see multiple Twitch content creators giving Dandy Ace a try for the first time while taking on the extra challenge of using Twitch Mode and playing with their communities.
We want to sit down and have a chat with both streamers and viewers to see how we could improve this new feature. Join us in the Mad Mimic Community Discord this Saturday October 24th to let us know what you thought of Twitch Mode. We want to hear what you liked, what you felt should change, and your overall thoughts on the game mode as we work hard on improving and fine-tuning Dandy Ace for its launch early next year!
And don’t forget—If you enjoyed the game at all please consider adding us to your Steam wishlist! It helps us a ton and will help the game out when it launches if we can get enough people!
Take on the Dandy Ace Development Team and other community members during our Leaderboard Challenge Event starting Tuesday!
Players will compete to reach and defeat Axolangelo as quickly as possible while confined to a specific rule set and predefined path. We’ll also be hosting a developer Twitch Stream where you can watch one of the more experienced and skilled members of the Mad Mimic team attempt the Leaderboard Challenge himself by battling it out for the top spots on the Nightmare difficulty leaderboard with the rest of the community.
We’ll be making all of the Magic Cards available for this event so players will be able to try out some new skills and combinations that weren’t previously in the demo or our first Beta! Players will also have access to 4 difficulties during the event, each with its own leaderboard showcasing the top 10 players and their fastest time. A player can hold a position on the leaderboard for each difficulty but may not hold multiple positions on a single leaderboard. In order to be featured on the leaderboard a player will have to fully complete a run. The Mad Mimic team will be competing on the Nightmare difficulty leaderboard throughout the event if you’d like to see how you stack up against members of the development team!
Available Challenge Event Difficulties
Normal
Hard
Very Hard
Nightmare
Objective
Players will try to complete runs of the specified event content in the fastest time possible while competing against others on each of the leaderboards at the different difficulty levels.
Predefined Path
Entrance Hall > Banquet Hall > Art Gallery >Axolangelo (Boss)
Rules/Constraints:
Full Clear - Players can only advance to the next level after successfully clearing and defeating all possible enemies on the current level.
No Tea Potions - Players do not start with any Tea Potions and can’t earn them through any other means (Trinkets, Reward Tents, or the Shop)
Players will still have a chance of Cupcakes dropping from defeated enemies to heal
Challenge Limitations -
No Blueprint & Shard drops
Jolly Jolly & Nnif Reward Tents will be disabled
Jenny Jenny’s Reward Tent will be available with a limited pool of Trinkets
Gold drops and Card Shops will remain available
We’re still finalizing the build as well as some of the details but will have more information and instructions on how to participate in the Leaderboard Challenge available on Tuesday at the start of the event so be sure to check back here as well as our Discord and other Social Media Channels which you can find below.
Welcome to the Entrance Hall: Bunny Butler, Bunny Jester, & Cuckoo Nightmare
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ENTRANCE HALL
Starting today, we’re going to begin slowly introducing you to the maps, characters, and enemies you’ll come across in Dandy Ace as you make your way through the Cursed Mirror!
You’ll begin your journey into Lele’s Palace in the Entrance Hall, the first and shortest map in Dandy Ace. This map is home to the most common and basic enemies, easing you into the challenges you’ll face later on. After being trapped in the Cursed Mirror, Ace will pick up his initial Magic Cards as well as have his first encounter with Lele, the Green-Eyed Illusionist, here at the start of the Entrance Hall. Depending on the keys Ace has acquired, he will also gain access to numerous paths in the Entrance Hall leading to other maps such as the Banquet Hall or Art Gallery. Depending on how often you are defeated, there is a chance you'll get to know the Entrance Hall and its inhabitants very well although the layout of the maps does change with the start of each new run providing you with a slightly different experience.
BUNNY BUTLER & BUNNY JESTER
The first enemies Ace encounters are the Bunny Butler & Bunny Jester. These are the most basic enemies in Dandy Ace but this does not mean they are to be taken lightly! As a melee based enemy the Bunny Butler looks to get close to Ace whereas the Bunny Jester attacks from range. The team chose the bunny because of the stereotype of performing magicians often utilizing bunnies in their tricks.
Bunny Butler
This is the most common enemy in Dandy Ace and players can often come across them spawning in groups in the Entrance Hall. Being a simple and straightforward enemy meant to introduce players to the combat in Dandy Ace, the Bunny Butler has one offensive ability and no defensive abilities. The Bunny Butler’s weapon of choice is a giant fork which he uses to poke at Ace. Once within range, the Bunny Butler will prepare to Charge at Ace. After a short delay he will lunge quickly in Ace’s direction dealing a significant amount of damage if you stay in its path.
Bunny Jester
A variation of the Bunny Butler, the Bunny Jester relies on ranged attacks when taking on Ace. Although still a fairly straightforward enemy, the Bunny Jester’s kit features both an offensive and defensive ability that Ace will have to play around. Capable of dodging Ace’s attacks if he gets too close, Ace will need to quickly close the distance while also utilizing his own ranged attacks to bring the Bunny Jester down. The Bunny Jester utilizes its Throw ranged ability to continuously lob projectiles in Ace’s direction. However, if Ace gets too close to him, the Bunny Jester dashes away using Tumble before resuming its attacks.
CUCKOO NIGHTMARE
Heavily inspired by Alice in Wonderland, like many of the other enemies found within Dandy Ace, the Cuckoo Nightmare is players’ first taste of a more challenging enemy. A cuckoo clock with legs and teeth, the Cuckoo Nightmare is a tank with a higher HP pool and multiple offensive attacks for both up close and ranged encounters.
Cuckoo Nightmare
Be careful when getting close to the Cuckoo Nightmare as its teeth are not just for show! The Cuckoo Nightmare’s Bite attack will deal a heavy amount of damage to Ace if you are found within biting distance. Meanwhile, if you remain at range for an extended period of time the Cuckoo Nightmare will utilize Crazy Cuckoo which will send a wave of damage out towards the player before it continues to advance towards Ace.
That about covers the Entrance Hall and what players can expect to run into at the start of each playthrough. Later this month we'll be covering the Art Gallery next as well as our first boss Axolangelo so be sure to follow Dandy Ace on all our Social Media below. We also ask that you please add Dandy Ace to your Steam Wishlist as it helps us out a lot!
In this patch we added a lot of new features such as Twitch Mode, Narration and Game Records! We used some of the community suggestions to help improve aspects like UI, gameplay, and visual feedback of card cooldowns and enemy behavior. We also made some changes and balance adjustments to some of the blue and yellow cards.
New Features
Twitch Mode (Content Creators Build Only)
Twitch Integration is a feature focused on streamers, giving them a lot of room and tools for direct interactions with their audiences. It allows them to play the game in a unique way that can only be experienced while streaming the game.
The chat of the streamer can interact with the game through:
Lele Mode: One viewer is picked from the chat, being granted the power to control Lele. This allows them to use skills, spells and spawn enemies.
All Chat Interactions: During the streamer’s run, there will be many interactions that Twitch chat can vote on to decide what will happen in the game. Like deciding which kind of card the streamer will receive as reward and which level they should go to next.
Narrator
Throughout the game, Lele will comment on Ace's actions and interact with him through a wide variety of voice lines.
Dialogues
We added a new dialogue system with all of the NPCs, bosses and tutorials. In addition to some new UI for it, now all of the characters have their own unique art and voices.
Game Records
We added an interactable mirror at the entrance to each level. With it, players can check their:
Unlockable information: Most used cards, trinkets and permanent upgrades. As well as which items the player has already unlocked.
Progression information: How many times they died, beat the game and their best times on each level.
Enemy information: How many times the player has killed or been killed by each enemy.
(Community Suggestion) Cooldown Feedback
We heard players complain about not really knowing when their skills are off cooldown and having to look at their skill bar, averting their focus from the gameplay, and potentially putting them in danger while doing so. To help with this issue, we implemented the following changes based on feedback regarding skill cooldowns:
Yellow Card's icons briefly appear above Ace when the skill gets off cooldown.
Added visual feedback on all cards to show when a card is still on cooldown (on skill bar HUD).
Added visual feedback on all cards to show when a card gets off cooldown (on skill bar HUD).
Added audio feedback on cards with longer cooldown to indicate when a card is still on cooldown.
Tooltip System
We noticed some important mechanics of the game weren’t being easily understood and used as quickly as we wanted players to use them. To help players understand them a bit better, we added a simple tooltip system that is triggered when cards are equipped in a certain order.
Changes & Balancing
Blue Cards
- Reduced all of the dash and blink cooldowns and adjusted the damage accordingly.
Yellow Cards
- Reduced the overall cooldown of Yellow Cards and adjusted the damage accordingly.
Difficulty
(Community Feedback) Entrance Hall reduction: We heard a lot of new players talking about the length of the first level and that it took longer than it should. We agreed that as an introductory level it didn’t need to be that long. So we removed some rooms and rearranged the map to make it shorter.
Cupcake drop: On every level, cupcakes would drop 2 to 3 times. We have increased the drop rate to make sure that 3 cupcakes will spawn on each level.
(Community Feedback) Initial Pink Card: We felt that for new players the constant change in skills for their first few attempts could be a bit too difficult. To improve that we made the starter pink card always be Five of a Kind (similarly with how the start blue card is always Dashing Dash). Once players get to the Banquet Hall for the first time, they can unlock a cheap upgrade that will expand the number of starter pink cards the player can receive.
(Community Feedback) Card Gold Prices: We updated the shop’s Card prices, making them more accessible.
(Community Feedback) Enemy Attack Feedback
We improved the feedback that indicates when an enemy will be making an attack. This makes it a lot easier to predict and react to the various attacks enemies have. To get to this result we did a few things:
Enemies grow bigger before attacking
Enemies glow in white for longer before attacking
Floating Damage numbers from Ace’s attacks were made a bit smaller and spread out more to make it easier for players to see the enemies while damaging them
Now there is no overlap between feedback on enemies. Before this change, enemies would glow in white before attacking, but would get overlapped by a red glow when they got hit by Ace
