Lenna's Inception news & patch notes

The patch that went out just now (v1.0.11) is a small one. This update fixes the GIF upload feature on the arcade challenges. Apologies that this wasn’t fixed sooner–I only found out about it yesterday! In case you missed it, we announced our new game Cassette Beasts last month. Some of you may have noticed hints about it in Lenna’s Inception, in the lead up to its announcement! Cassette Beasts is a monster-collecting RPG where you transform into the monsters you collect, and then fuse with your companions to create combined forms! Check out the website, store page, and the trailer: The v1.1 update for Lenna’s Inception is coming along too. And–oh, what’s this? Are these monsters fusing? I wonder what else Cassette Beasts and Lenna’s Inception have in common… 🤔 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35840112/4ca222d672da5a2b664f2bd735e2f2a3ad242e61.gif Until next time!

Hi folks, hope you're all keeping safe! I haven't left my flat or spoken to another human being in two weeks, but there's nothing new about that :) Luckily, the way we prefer to work at Bytten Studio is remotely, so we're still mostly unaffected at this stage. In fact we've been working on something very exciting that I hope will provide some of that positive news we all so desperately need. We'll be sharing that with you soon! In the meantime, patch v1.0.10 is on the way out. Here's what it contains:

Fixes

• Removed a trademarked term from one of the books.
• Fixed a cause of ever-growing memory usage. (And the memory limit has also been raised in case there are other 'leaks' that haven't been reported yet.)
• Fixed a crash that could occur if input rapidly oscillates while talking to a pet.
• Fixed an exploit that would allow a player to clear the cheat-indicating 'C' next to their timer.

Update Plans

The v1.1 update we announced in the last post is still on the way and planned for this Summer. As a reminder, here are the features we have planned for it:

• A "New Game+" mode
• New enemies
• New biomes
• New items
• Manual seed entry for challenges
• Spoiler log generation (for story mode speedrunning)
• Improved moddability

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35840112/2e3514e15b380c977de81995acf82e5a926e9085.gif Many of these are already at least partially implemented! We'll be sharing more details about them in a blog post prior to starting an open beta for the update in the Summer. Follow us on twitter to stay tuned in, or join the discussion on Discord!

Hi folks, a new patch is on the way out! Here’s what it contains:

Improvements

• Changed the color of the cursor on the 8-bit equipment menu to contrast better with the background
• If you’re playing with a timer and use a cheat or take a map screenshot, a letter C will be appended to your time (indicating that a cheat was used)
• Time spent in menus, dialogue and cutscenes is counted by the timer (only generation is excluded now)
• Your final time, and the name of the ending, is now shown in the credits if you play story mode with the timer enabled
• Added an easter egg

(Note that the timer still works by counting frames and dividing by the frame rate. It’ll still drift a bit versus a clock on your wall, but after discussion on Discord, it was determined that this was marginally better than people being able to game the system by forcing a low framerate.)

Fixes

• Fixed some challenges starting the player off with two bows
• Fixed items hanging in the air if you pick up and throw a snail

Due to the timer-related changes, the challenge leaderboards will be wiped. Old scores will still be accessible by link, but will not be shown by default.

Update Plans

And we have more good news for you: a content update is coming this summer! Here’s what we’ve got planned for v1.1:

• A “New Game+” mode
• New enemies
• New biomes
• New items
• Manual seed entry for challenges
• Spoiler log generation (for story mode speedrunning)
• Improved moddability

We have some huge surprises in store for you in the coming months, so follow us on Twitter to stay tuned in, or join the discussion on Discord!

Hi folks, a new patch is on the way out! Here’s what it contains:

Improvements

• Made the Tab Left / Tab Right buttons (used in the inventory) configurable.

Fixes

• Fixed co-op players getting stuck off-screen when jumping a ledge on the edge of the screen
• Fixed the dungeon generator sometimes failing to place item checks–this caused for instance, the seed ‘Agulo’ to allow you to simply walk out through the screen where Lance dies, and skip it entirely.
• Fixed one of the endings giving back control to the player without the ability to warp or save.
• Adjusted some dialogue that occurs at certain times if you have memory #7 but not the others.
• Fixed Blast Protection tunics and potions not protecting the player from bomb-arrow explosions.
• Fixed the coins display on the inventory being hidden off-screen in ultrawide resolutions.
• Prevented use of memories during certain end-of-game moments when using them breaks things.
• Fixed dead players (in co-op) picking up items.
• Fixed Archangel Headraniel getting stuck if you throw him too soon.
• Fixed the I AM ERROR challenge not being glitched.

In other news, the Chairman seems to have set up his own twitter account! I wonder what he has to say. That's all for now. Have fun! - Tom ːsteamhappyː

Hi folks, a new patch is on the way out with bug fixes and a couple of speedrun-related improvements! Here’s what it contains:

Improvements

• Added an optional in-game timer to story mode to aid with speedrunning. See below for details
• Made the positions and types of enemies spawned by the hallucination potion deterministic. On the same screen and the same seed, the same enemies will always spawn in the same positions

Fixes

• A few users have reported an inability to launch the game on their machine. I've made some internal changes to the way the game starts that will hopefully resolve the issue, or if not, to at least log some additional information that will help track down the cause of the problem
• Fixed the cave music not looping correctly in 32-bit mode
• Fixed the perfect ending final boss fight locking up if you go into it with the hover effect on
• Black bars are now drawn along the side of the screen in ultrawide resolutions to avoid spoiling the locations of hidden rooms
• Fixed out-of-date dialogue in the Hallucinatory Battle Arena -- there are 9 rounds, not 11
• Fixed the Missinglasses breaking when using speedrun tricks to skip memory cutscenes
• Fixed a dungeon generator bug that caused water to sometimes be placed on the edge of a screen where you're not guaranteed to have the swimming shorts, potentially causing the player to be trapped there until death
• Fixed the temporary files the game creates not getting erased on Windows
• Removed an unintentionally bombable wall from a certain secret area

About the new story mode timer

Story mode has a new timer that can be enabled in the options screen. This was provided for players who want to speed run the story, but exclude the time spent generating maps from their time. There are a few caveats about what specifically it includes and excludes to be aware of:

• The timer excludes time spent generating maps
• The timer is actually counting frames instead of time, so you might notice some drift versus wall-clock time
• The timer excludes time spent in menus, dialogs and the map
• Despite excluding the time spent in dialogs, it still includes time spent in cutscenes (however cutscenes are generally independent of player input so this won't affect relative rankings, etc.)
• It doesn't currently record your time upon completion of the game, but this is something we can add in future. For now you'll need to make a note of your time yourself

Depending on feedback, we'll make further improvements to it in future. If you're interested in speed running Lenna's Inception, join our Discord server! There's a lot of discussion around its speedrun potential right now, among other topics. That's all for now! 🎃

Hey everyone! We've got a patch rolling out tonight with a ton of bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements!

Improvements

• We've added a 'Multiplayer' menu option to Story Mode. This menu option lets you assign controllers to player characters. If you haven't yet unlocked multiplayer it gives you a quest that will walk you through it
• All arcade challenges now start with the bicycle
• Made sparing Sandolphin and Delvin less awkward, and more like the other bosses: bring them down to their last hit point and then use the Power of Compassion
• The summary card for arcade challenge GIFs has been polished
• Removed the hovering effect from the blue, exploding, on-fire buff combo used on the final dungeon's minibosses and late-game cave monsters
• Whirligigs no longer receive buffs in miniboss rooms and caves
• Shortened the hallucination tunic minigame and made it more challenging

Fixes

• Fixed inability to enter the palace via the sewer during multiplayer
• Fixed the incorrect functioning of the Missinglasses during multiplayer
• Fixed the inability to launch the game under the Turkish locale
• Fixed the overflow in the slot machines minigame
• Fixed the inability to use potions on a dead player in multiplayer
• Fixed the Chairman's bull projectiles launching early if you pause while they're spawning
• Fixed the Chairman's cashmehameha homing in forever on a dead player (in multiplayer)
• Removed the unused inventory slot
• Fixed spurious yellow dots in hidden cave rooms
• Fixed music sometimes stopping if you use the Missinglasses in Glitch City
• Fixed a few stray pixels in some animations on Shadow Lenna's sprite
• Fixed the incorrect description of the marshmallow quest
• Fixed the UI locking up while processing newly-recorded arcade challenge GIFs
• Fixed library books flipping 2 pages at a time if you bind the movement controls to the same keys as menu controls
• Fixed text entry breaking if you bind pause and/or cancel to alphanumeric keys

What's next?

We're planning a few more fixes and improvements, including, in a few months, an update with new modes, manual challenge seeds, and a couple of additions to story mode. If you've completed the game already and are wondering what to do now, join our Discord server! We have ongoing discussions of (safely spoiler-tagged) secrets, speedrun strategies, interesting seeds, and a few initial forays into modding! As always, if you enjoy our game, please consider leaving a review on the store page! 🐔 Tom

Thanks for the warm reception everyone! ːsteamhappyː We're currently working on fixes for the issues you folks have been reporting. Lenna’s Inception might be a game about glitches, but some of them are unintended it seems! A couple of patches went out last night and just now. Here's what's in them!

Patch v1.0.4

• Fixed a couple of ways cut-scenes could be interrupted by phone calls and pizza deliveries.
• Fixed a bug that sometimes randomly returned control to the player during cut-scenes.
• Fixed some items of the player’s weaponry unintentionally palette-swapping to match the currently-equipped tunic.

Patch v1.0.5

• Fixed one of the final bosses dying instantly if you run into him at the right time.
• Fixed the map generator sometimes putting cave ladders in the way of dungeon entrances.
• Fixed a generator bug that created dungeons that can’t be completed due to blocked pathways.
• Removed a particularly annoying section of the Goldilocks stealth side-quest.
• Removed the “I AM ERROR” mode from circulation in the daily seed, and made general improvements to the daily seed’s ruleset randomisation.
• The locations of NPCs who trade with you are now shown on the map screen (in newly-created files).
• I’ve also made some experimental changes that should hopefully help with the memory leak that reportedly happens after 6 hours of continuous playing.

More fixes and quality of life improvements are planned for this week — I just wanted to make sure these critical ones got out there first! If you have an issue you would like to report to us, the best ways to report it are on our Discord server, or by email: [email protected]

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I set up co-op?

Co-op has to first be enabled in Story Mode:

Player 1 plays through the story until obtaining the Power of Fortitude (about halfway through the first dungeon, 5 minutes into the game).

At that point, player 1 can exit the dungeon and enter the Shadow Temple, pictured below, which is always near the starting town. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35840112/c4d7fbd3fbabbc303169dc0df8c75d2f10bb2d57.png

Inside the Shadow Temple, activate the altar. A short cut-scene will play out, and end by telling you to plug in a second controller. You currently need two controllers attached regardless of whether player 1 is using the keyboard. This is something we’ll address in a patch.

How do I set up Steam’s Remote Play Together?

Steam’s new Remote Play Together feature allows you to stream your game to a friend to play “local co-op” remotely, over an Internet connection. It currently seems like controller input is not being synced from the remote player correctly. We’re investigating the issue! For now, the remote player will need to be playing as player 1, with a keyboard, and the host will need to play as player 2, with a controller!

What's the best way to support you? ❤️

If you've enjoyed Lenna's Inception, the best way to help us out is to leave a review on the store page. Also, stick around! You can follow us on Twitter and join our Discord server! This (hopefully) won't be the last game we make that interests you!