A Dark Tale

Stats

Developer

Your_Adversary

Difficulty

Event

Length

Short

Level Requirement

5

Mode

Event

Waves

No

Starting Cash

Solo: 1,200; 1,300 (Group Bonus) Duo: 900; 1,000 (Group Bonus) Trio: 750; 850 (Group Bonus)

Description

A Dark Tale was the event map for the first act of the Lunar Overture Event. Like other event maps, this map had a specialized wave structure with special enemies. Players started with a varying amount of cash, based on how many players there were in the match. In solo it was 1,200, in duo it was 900 and in trio it was 750. If you were in the Paradoxum Games group, it was increased by 100. This map had the HP Locked modifier, which set the base health to 100 and increased the rewards gained by 20%. This map had a unique system of giving players cash for killing or damaging enemies. You only got cash from them if they are killed, or in some cases, damaged by a specific amount of health. Additionally, the amount you got is a set amount of cash, which was not always equal to the enemy's health. In solo, you received 100% of the cash when an enemy was killed or you damaged it enough. With each additional player, this decreased by 25%, which means that in a trio, you only got 50% of the cash. This amount was distributed between players based on how much damage they dealt. However, if a player did not deal any damage, they would receive a percentage of the enemy's full cash upon its death or when it was damaged enough, which was 12.5% in duo and 16.7% in trio. If it was a decimal, it got rounded up. For example, the Citizen Plush gave 100 when killed in solo, 75 in duo and 50 in trio between the players that damaged it. Players that did not damage it received 12.5 in duo, which was rounded up to 13 and 16.7 in trio, which was rounded up to 17.

Design and Path

For both stages, the map was set in a large purple and yellow colored theater. Multiple lights and chandeliers could be seen on the walls or on the ceiling. It had multiple seats that were empty. The actual map was separated from the audience by a large gap, with only small ropes with lines connecting them. During the first stage, the map resembled a swamp with large trees and rock surrounding the area, which blocked you from placing towers. There was a cave on the map and a large black and purple cube, called the God Cube, which had a half-corrupted humanoid standing next to it. Next to the cave, there was a wooden shack, while next to the God Cube, there was a wooden sign that with "Do not enter" written on it. The ground around the God Cube was corrupted, dark and had purple cracks. The path started at the cave and ended at the God Cube. During the second phase, the map resembled a medieval village with houses. Next to the houses, multiple stone walls, crates and barrels could be seen. Additionally, there was a large stone gateway in the place of the cave. The God Cube and the corrupted humanoid stayed despite the change, though another humanoid tied to a wooden pole was also there. The path started at the gateway and ended at the God Cube.

Story

The first cutscene started after the Narrator introduces themselves to the players, in which the screen fades to black afterward. The screen then increases to a giant, glowing purple cube in the middle of a forest with the sounds of crickets in the distance. It then cuts to a man, which is a younger version of the Penumbras, in purple armor, running in a village. He then stops in front of a woman, who is a younger version of The Umbra, and tells her to leave the village. The Umbra asks if she can help him, but the Penumbras insists that she runs away and that he can buy her some time. Out of nowhere, a Knight appears from behind a house, and the Penumbras pushes The Umbra to go. He then faces the Knight who's about to attack, and he uses magic to attack it. It then cuts to The Umbra who is running in a field. She runs into a forest and falls to the ground, she looks up to see the giant purple cube, that is covered in binary numbers and small purple humanoids. She gets closer to the cube but it causes her to fall to the ground as the screen becomes black and white and she screams in pain. The screen returns to normal, and she is even closer to the cube as she is being electrocuted by it as she screams in terror. The cube shoots a giant purple beam of light in the sky, and in the distance, a Swamper and a Pumpkid can be seen walking towards her. The second cutscene then started after Wave 9. It began with the purple cube shooting out a bunch of energy from it, and the small purple humanoids on it disappear with the cube being much dimmer than before.

Rewards

The game calculated how many Coins Coins and you received based on how many waves were survived and if the match was won. During periods of 50% more (08:00 UTC Friday – 08:00 UTC Sunday), any earned was multiplied by 1.5x. The VIP gamepass also multiplied any earned by 1.25x. Any reward that ended in a decimal point is rounded down, no matter the first figure of the leading decimal. Rewards were calculated as: Prior to the 31st of October 2024, Coins Coins rewards were calculated as: (200 Coins ÷ (1 + [(16 ÷ Current Wave) - 1]^1.3) + 100 Coins (Triumph Only)) × 1.2 It was also possible to randomly get these accessories upon triumph

Wave Structure

The formula for calculating wave bonus on each wave was: (250 + (Waves Completed - 1) × 75) × (1 - 0.1 × Players) The wave clear bonus appeared when no damage was dealt to base health during the wave. In solos, it was one fourth of the wave bonus. In duo or higher, it was one fifth of the wave bonus. The waves in A Dark Tale could not be skipped, though the cutscenes could be. They followed these timings: Bolded names indicates an enemy type's debut. ---- Wave Structure

Strategy

It is recommended to use towers like Golden Scout, Militant, Ace Pilot, Golden Pyromancer and Pyromancer in the early-game. If enough of them are placed, they can also be quite effective against harder enemies on later waves. The Farm should not be brought as it does not generate any cash. The Cowboy and Golden Cowboy can still be used if you want extra cash, although they are not needed. High DPS towers like Minigunner, Ranger, and Accelerator can be used to beat the Executioner. However, be aware that you may not have sufficient cash to get them due to the low amount of waves. The Pursuit is also a viable option as it is unable to be stunned and has moderate DPS. The Golden Minigunner is a great option since it deals high amount of DPS on earlier levels. Also, having both Minigunner and Golden Minigunner is enough to take down the Executioner with affordable prices. It is however, recommended to just use the towers that you brought for the early game to beat the boss. You cannot place cliff towers in the first 9 waves of the game, but they can still be used. After the second cutscene, all your towers are sold, so make sure you quickly place them back when wave 10 starts. The Commander and DJ Booth can be useful by boosting your towers, but they are not required.

Patch history

This is the first map to: Have cutscenes with voice acting that all players could watch or skip. Have the scenery change midway through the match after a certain wave. Have animated narrators. Delete the player's towers automatically, but refund the player afterward. Give the players a UGC by a set chance if they triumph. It can be considered that Eggy Island has the same function, however the is not an UGC item, being an official Roblox item. All of the enemies the player fights on this map are actors or puppets, as confirmed by the Narrator. Because of this, it can be assumed that the cutscenes are what had actually happened to The Umbra, while what the player goes through is a play version of what had happened. This can be proven by many enemies having plush-like features, enemies having "plush" in their name and by the map being set in a large theater. This map was originally meant to have custom dialogue upon losing, with two different tracks that could be chosen. These are: "Dying right before the turning point? No no no no- I gotta play the audience booing sound effect because you deserve it!Dying right before the turning point? You're no fun!" While custom dialogue upon losing was never used in the event, in The Great Finale a laugh track did play when losing on the final wave. This map shares a similar path layout with Tower Outskirts map. The first phase of the map reuses the soundtrack First Contact from the Rotfield, which was a part of the Solar Eclipse Event. There are multiple audios which were meant to, at one point, play on this map.