It's been a little while, but Dash Blitz is back with a huge update! There's been lots of tweaks for characters, some big and some small, a heap of gameplay updates, and even some new music!
Most noticeable is the inclusion of two new mechanics - grappling and sprinting. This gives all 10 playable characters many more options!
This would've been kept for v0.5, but things are taking a bit longer than anticipated. This update sets the framework upon which v0.5 will be built, though, so look forward to new characters and stages there.

Until then, we've got a lot to get through, so let's get right into it! As per usual, everything included in the list below applies to the free demo, there's just a few less characters.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue with clashing attacks that would cause players to float awkwardly in midair - clashes now push both targets apart relative to the force of the involved attacks without dealing damage.

General

• Guarding now ends invulnerability time. This sounds like a bad thing, but this means you can choose to blitz multiple times in a row.
• Shot charge is now indicated with an overlayed circle of sparks rather than with small particles - the circle fills up with each level of charge, allowing you to quickly identify when your shot's ready.
• Shot caps are now tracked separately for each type of shot a character can use, and shots produced from items are tracked separately again. Basically, even if you've filled the field with uncharged shots, you can still fire a fully-charged shot. This will go unnoticed for most characters, but for characters like Manny, this is very important.
• If you have too many shots active when you try to fire one off, it will now automatically downgrade to the next available shot. Again, this is largely for characters like Manny and Puffin who have very long-lived shots.

Stages

• Sherpa and Kero have their themes playing on Everlanche Climb and Trueclear Glade respectively, giving the stages a bit more personality.
• Blast zones are now being replaced with out-of-bounds teleporters. Falling off-stage will take you out of the action for a bit, then pop you back onto the main stage with a bit of a damage penalty. Not only does this make launching less effective in open-air stages, but it makes a little more sense.
• The water spout in Metro Sewers is now a timed hazard, launching a platform into the upper layers when the water pressure builds too high.

New Content

• Grappling is here at last! Characters can now grab in the air or on the ground, and throw their targets in the four cardinal directions. Everyone approaches this in a slightly different way, so be sure to experiment!
• Bridging the gap between a run and a dash, fighters can now sprint by holding in the dash button! Sprinting is slightly slower than dashing, but should prove fast enough. Sprinting doesn't open up any unique attacks, but does allow for fast Run Swings on approach.
• First-time players will now be treated to a tutorial, walking them through the basics of play. You can access it from both lobbies, too, and even play along with multiple players. There's also a quick primer on the lobby system which should clear a few things up.

Removed Content

• Qualifiers (time attacks) have been removed from the game. I don't like the idea of removing content, and I'm sincerely sorry to anyone who enjoyed this aspect. Without getting too deep into the reasoning behind this, Qualifiers gave the wrong impression of the type of game Dash Blitz was, and they made for poor tutorials. Race Mode also proved to be a more elegant way of handling time attack challenges.
The removal of Qualifiers should allow for more time and energy to be directed towards the core of Dash Blitz. It's possible these could come back at a later date, but I have no plans to do so.

Characters

Edge

• Changes have been made to Jump Swing, Hover Swing and both forms of Airdash Swing.
Jump Swing is now a spinning multi-hit slash, making it a more effective air-to-ground approach and offsetting Edge's greatest weakness. His original Jump Swing has now been moved to Hover Swing, allowing him to more effectively juggle airborne foes. Airdash Swings are now more effective attacks, allowing Edge to make his hits count instead of just rushing through foes - the Horizontal Swing is a momentum-cancelling multi-hit flame attack, useful for racking up damage, and the Vertical Swing is a powerful aerial strike ideal for catching foes unawares.
• Edge's hover-state now slows his descent more, making it more useful for juggling airborne enemies.
• Tweaked the launch direction and stagger of Run Swing and Dash Swing to more effectively link into Edge's aerial attacks. Also improved their shield damage - they're weak attacks but they're still viable options for pressuring shields.
• Improved visuals on jet-flares.

Bluster

• Bluster's hover now falls a little bit slower.
• Bluster's up/down full-charge shot, the cyclone, now lasts longer. This increases its damage potential but forces Bluster to commit to an unsafe attack for a long stretch of time. To compensate, he can now move at low speed in all directions during the attack. I fully anticipate this will need to be changed, so please, King of Bullies, enjoy it while it lasts.

Valerie

• Made some small improvements to Valerie's model and visuals on jet-flares.

Sherpa

• Sherpa's laser now more accurately extends itself, independent of Sherpa's current position - this means launching yourself around with your laser doesn't change the laser's end-point, allowing you to blast people above and below much more effectively.
• Sherpa can now launch himself horizontally with his lasers - simply input the opposite direction while firing to release the inhibitors and blast away!
• Removed the third hitbox on Sherpa's Dash Swing which sat underneath his forward-facing hitbox - this was intended to catch people trying to dash underneath Sherpa during the attack, but in practice just caused it to deal absurd damage. The initial hitbox has been scaled up to compensate.

Kero

• Made Kero slightly bulkier to make her easier to identify at a distance.
• Replaced Kero's Uncharged Shot with an improved tongue attack - officially moving Kero's swallow-and-spit ability to Uncharged Shot. This allows her to grab projectiles from any state and fire them back, too. She can even lash her tongue out vertically!
• Replaced Kero's Standing Swing with a launching kick, giving her another combo tool and a more straight-forward attack.

Percival

• Percival's Fully-Charged Shot now includes a melee attack right at the start as Percival sweeps his sword. The projectile itself now has a larger hitbox, better reflecting the new animation.