Lenna's Inception

I might be forced to halt purchases of Lenna’s Inception through itch.io in January due to new EU laws. The details of why (in my rant below) are quite tedious, but please be assured that:

• I’m still absolutely committed to finishing the game!
• I’m currently investigating other ways to make it available (several other stores look like possibilities).
• If you’ve already purchased it, your itch.io download page will still work, and you will still be able to access all future updates through there.
• I still think itch.io is bloody amazing and want it to succeed.

As I write this, you can still get it on itch.io. If you want it soon, buy it before the 31st December:

The owner/operator of itch.io has said that he is working on EU VAT compliance, so it’s possible that nothing might change for Lenna’s Inception come January. Although it is still quite hard for me to imagine what he would be able to do.

If you’re reading this in January, while the game is unavailable, and you really can’t wait for it:

• Press, youtubers and twitch streamers – shoot me an email
• Otherwise, have you got an awesome piece of original Lenna’s Inception fanart to share? :)

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Lenna’s Inception version 0.6 (beta6) is live. Get it from the usual place. (There was no beta5, I’m just doing a Windows 9.)

As per usual, in order to access most of the new features you’ll need to visit the starving artists’ house in the town and speak to the NPC inside to regenerate your maps. This won’t cause you to lose any progress.

By the way: I’m going to be giving at talk about procedural generation at the start of #procjam on the 8th of November. Tickets have already sold out for attending in person, but the talks will be streamed online! Check the website and @procjam to keep up to date on the details for that.

I strongly encourage you to take part in the jam as well if you’re curious. I’m really looking forward to it!

What’s New

Features:

• New story-line character Delvin is introduced during the “save the prince” quest.
• More story-line content occurs after completing the “bring Rupert peace & quiet” quest, including:
  • A laboratory location.
  • A new NPC.
  • Progression in the main arc pursuing the Archangel that killed Lenna’s students.

• Unfriendly guards in the main town.
• New boss fight at the current end of the story-line content. This is the penultimate boss fight, so the final boss is still yet to be added.

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Lenna’s Inception version 0.5 (beta4) is live. Get it from the usual place.

As per usual, in order to access most of the new features you’ll need to visit the starving artists’ house in the town and speak to the NPC inside to regenerate your maps. This won’t cause you to lose any progress.

What’s new

Features:

• Random ursine (i.e. bear) NPCs have been added.

• The shopkeeper is now an ursine person at the start. The shop is taken over by the human shopkeeper halfway through the game.
• The ursine blacksmith Rupert has been added. (GIF)
• The Damascus Katana is no longer found in a dungeon. You must do the blacksmith’s quest to get it.
• More story-line and cutscenes have been added (roughly 50% complete now).

• The chicken pet will now evolve when given a certain item. (GIF)
• There’s a slightly modified cutscene inside the palace if you find the prince before visiting there.
• There is new music:
  • On the game over screen
  • When you use the Missinglasses
  • In the town and inside certain buildings
  • In the palace
  • By the sea
  • (Some of these require you to regenerate your map by visiting the starving artists’ house.)
• There are new transitions between tracks in some places:
  • When you enter a boss’s chamber, the dungeon music fades out.
  • In the overworld, most tracks don’t swap immediately, but only after the current one has finished.
  • Temporarily switching into the glitch or victory music will no longer cause the previous track that was playing to reset and start from the beginning.
• The lost library books “Tursiops Sapiens” and “Ursus Sapiens” have been written.

Bugs fixed:

• NPC and pet AI has been improved to hop over the fewest obstacles necessary to reach the required tile.
• Roads no longer disappear under obstacles (and avoid going under walls and obstacles where possible).
• A bug causing randomized NPCs to sometimes sell “Urine Tunics” has been fixed. (There are meant to be urine potions around, but not tunics. It’s one of the few potion-only effects.)
• A bug causing the virtual screen to sometimes (rarely) move permanently from its usual central location is believed to be fixed.

Polish:

• Tunics appear as random drops more frequently.
• The secret room in the library has moved.
• Roads are better designed now. Rather than go everywhere, they tend to hint at the way to go. Going off-road is more likely to get you interesting loot, however.

Lenna’s Inception version 0.4 (beta3) is live. Get it from the usual place.

As per usual, in order to access most of the new features you’ll need to visit the starving artists’ house in the town and speak to the NPC inside to regenerate your maps. This won’t cause you to lose any progress.

What’s new

Features:

• Randomized potions have been added. These potions have a variety of effects, not all beneficial. You can use potions in a number of ways:
  • Drop it on yourself to try out its effects and find out what it does. If you’re standing in the same place as your pet, you’ll both get the effect.
  • Throw it at a distant pet or enemy to grant that pet or enemy the potion’s effects.
  • Throw it at the ground to create a puddle. When any mob (enemy, pet or Lenna herself) walks over this potion, it’ll be granted the potion’s effects.
  • Launch a potion across the room with the bow (which does not require any arrows). This is often the most convenient way to deliver the potion to a pet that is standing next to you without also taking the effect yourself.

• Rare alternative tunics have been added. When you find or buy one, you can equip it by choosing “Change Lenna’s Tunic” in the inventory screen. Like potions, these tunics are randomized and have effects on the player character, much like the potions.

• The hammer can now be used as a weapon.
• Randomized NPCs have been added to the “town” area. Some give you items, and some sell items, although most tell you the latest gossip.
• The palace location has been added and is the first destination you must head to after the school (if you’re following the storyline, otherwise it’s optional).

• The first four bosses in story mode now speak before attacking.
• New music has been added to the palace location and the dungeons styled after abandoned buildings.

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