A Dark Tale

A Dark Tale

MAP

STORY

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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.

Phase 1

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.

Phase 2

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.

Interactive Map

Story

For more information, see A Dark Tale/Story.

The first cutscene started after the Narartor 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. The Umbra wakes up inside the forest, with her eyes now colored a combination of purple and yellow. She gets up and walks to the outskirts of the forest to where she entered. She looks at her village in the distance, and the scream of a man can be heard from afar. When it ends, the Narrator says that she went to go and save her friend and that it drives them to tears thinking about it.

The final cutscene then played after Executioner was defeated. The screen fades into the Executioner being defeated as it falls to the ground, with The Umbra watching inside of the village. The Penumbras could be seen behind The Umbra, screaming for her to get him off of a wooden pole he was tied to. She runs behind the pole, and unties the rope around him. The Penumbras falls to the ground, with The Umbra right in front of him. He questions how she got her powers that allowed her to kill the Executioner. She tells him that she does not know, but she asserts that she could use her power to protect them both and that they do not need to run anymore. The Penumbras gets up and she tells him that she feels as if this was meant to be. He tells her that he will be with her every step of the way. They both walk away, as the screen fades on an annular eclipse.

Rewards

The game calculated how many Coins and EXP you received based on how many waves were survived and if the match was won. During periods of 50% more EXP (08:00 UTC Friday – 08:00 UTC Sunday), any EXP earned was multiplied by 1.5x. The VIP gamepass also multiplied any EXP 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:

Coins Reward	EXP Reward
( 400 ÷ (1 + [(16 ÷ Current Wave) - 1]^1.3) + 100 (Triumph Only)) × 1.2	( 50 EXP ÷ (1 + [(16 ÷ Current Wave) - 1])) × 1.2

Prior to the 31st of October 2024, Coins rewards were calculated as:

( 200 ÷ (1 + [(16 ÷ Current Wave) - 1]^1.3) + 100 (Triumph Only)) × 1.2

It was also possible to randomly get these accessories upon triumph:

	Pumpkid Shoulder Pal	Executioner's Helmet	Executioner's Axe
Stock	25,000	10,000	2,500

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.

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Strategy

• It is recommended to use towers like Golden Scout, Militant, Ace Pilot and Golden 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 final boss 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 needed.

Gallery

Trivia

• 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 Tower of Eggs 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 with Tower Outskirts map.
• Interestingly, there are no audience members in the theater.
• The first phase of the map reuses the soundtrack First Contact from the Rotfield, which was a part of the Solar Eclipse Event.

Update History

Lunar Overture Event
Previous Map	Current Map	Next Map
Start N/A	A Dark Tale Act I	The Haunted Past Act II

Regular
Very Easy	Honey Valley
Easy	Abandoned City • Autumn Falling • Crossroads • Forest Camp • Fungi Island • Grass Isle • Harbor • Necropolis • Portland • Rocket Arena • Sky Islands • Toyboard • Tropical Isles • U-Turn
Normal	Area 52 • Chess Board • Crystal Cave • Cyber City • Deserted Village • Farm Lands • Four Seasons • Happy Home of Robloxia • Iceville • Marshlands • Medieval Times • Meltdown • Moon Base • Nether • Night Station • Retro Lighthouse • Retro Zone • Ruby Escort • Simplicity • Simplicity Remaster • Spring Fever • Stained Temple • Sugar Rush • The Heavens • Tropical Industries • Winter Bridges • Wrecked Battlefield • Wrecked Battlefield II
Hard	Abyssal Trench • Atlas Colosseum • Candy Valley • Cataclysm • Construction Crazy • Dusty Bridges • Forgetten Docks • Gilded Path • Sacred Mountains • The Heights • Winter Abyss
Insane	Badlands II • Black Spot Exchange • Dead Ahead • Derelict Outpost • Enchanted Forest • Hot Spot • Infernal Abyss • Lay By • Mason Arch • Musaceae Kingdom • Pizza Party • Polluted Wasteland II • Space City • Unknown Garden • Winter Stronghold
Special	Badlands II • Pizza Party • Polluted Wasteland II
Hardcore	Autumn Falling • Black Spot Exchange • Crossroads • Cyber City • Four Seasons • Harbor • Hot Spot • Infernal Abyss • Nether • Night Station • Marshlands • Medieval Times • Space City • Unknown Garden • Wrecked Battlefield • Wrecked Battlefield II

PVP Test
Easy	Crash Course • Judging Hall • Laser Stadium • Warm Land

Sandbox Mode
Hard	Classic Candy Cane Lane • Classic Castle • Classic Forest Camp • Classic Island Chaos • Classic Winter
Insane	Badlands • Rotfield • Tower Outskirts
Special	Dev • Headache Headquarters

Other
Normal	Tutorial

Event
Undefined	Area 51 • Village of Despair • Eggy Island
Easy	Rotfield
Normal	Cyber City • Foggy Forest • D00M's Revenge • Cold Ambush • Krampus Frosthold • Outpost 32 (Operation I.C.E)
Hard	The Heights • Nightmare Carnival • Tower Outskirts • Totality Tower • Classic Candy Cane Lane • Classic Winter • Classic Forest Camp • Classic Island Chaos • Classic Castle • Bathroom Approach
Insane	Trick or Threat Town • Outpost 32 (Frost Invasion)
Event	A Dark Tale • The Haunted Past • The Great Finale • Huevous Hunt • Failed Gateway • The Nightmare Realm • Containment • Pls Donate • Korblox Temple

Removed
Undefined	Candy Cane Lane • Doomspire • Island Chaos • Subzero • Castle • Mount Amillion • End of the Line • Canyon • Castle Outskirts • Candy Valley • Fungi Forest • Freight Fright • Graveyard • Winter • Robloxia • Ancient Colosseum • Highlands • Voidlands • PVP
Easy	PVP_1 • PVP_2 • PVP_3 • PVP_4 • PVP_5 • PVP_6 • PVP_7 • PVP_8 • PVP_9 • PVP_10 • PVP_11
Hard	Polluted Wasteland • Nightmare Carnival