Senior Sunset news & patch notes

Version 1.2.1 includes the following:

• Fixed an issue where lanterns would flicker (in a majority of cases)

• Fixed an issue where the player flashlight was not toggling off in the epilogue

• Fixed an issue where the player’s cursor was visible during the opening cutscene

• Fixed a mismatched “Quit” label in the main menu

Senior Sunset Eclipse (v1.2.0) is the largest content update for the game, as well as the last major update. Any further updates will be game patches to fix any remaining issues.

Version 1.2.0 includes the following:

General Changes

• Ending 2

• Log 7 rewritten and re-recorded

• Log 8 rewritten and re-recorded

• Added more detail to various areas within the school and adjusted some existing map details

• More clarification has been added for some lore that was confusing for players- hopefully some parts make a little more sense now

• Hint system has been remade to be in the physical world in order to better guide players on certain interactions

• Added a flashing light and jumpscare warning to the splash screen

• Added the new DecagerDev logo

• Voice logs will now contain the voices of whoever is talking (if applicable) to not cause confusion about which characters are which (I felt bad because I voiced so many of them)

• UI was adjusted to fit the above change

• Pausing and toggling the inventory is now possible when hiding

• 2 new autosave points were added in the ending 2 area

• End credits have been reworked and now include the ending that the player unlocked

• Replaced blood overlay with a more detailed post processing effect (also may improve the lag spike that can occur during that sequence)

• Improved obstacle climbing animation

• New podcast equipment icon

• Removed the “Confirm Quit” menu as it was causing conflicts in certain menus and is no longer needed with the saving system

• End credits logo has been switched from the classic red style to the black & white version

• Log 4 is now placed beside its corresponding key

• Adjusted dialogue after log 8 to be more fitting with the tone of the log

• Minor post processing adjustments

Bug Fixes

• Fixed incorrect post processing during the beginning of ending 1

• Fixed an issue with some audio replaying on load

• Fixed an issue where the vent cutscene would reset upon loading the game

• Fixed an issue where the “General” option tab would appear with the incorrect background color

• Fixed some interaction indicators not saving their status upon loading a save

• Fixed volumetric fog flickering at far distances

Note: There are a few known issues that are being looked into such as flickering lights in some areas and incorrect UI labels in some menus. They will be fixed as soon as possible.

Version 1.2.0 will contain lots of bug fixes, gameplay adjustments, and quality of life changes as well as an alternative ending route that you may take at any time. It'll involve more puzzle solving and it'll be a completely alternate path.

This alternate update is (mostly) non-canon aside from some dialogue and the actual locations you will visit in order to reach the ending. It's purely for people who may want a little bit more story context and it will clear up a few things that were left vague in the true ending.

As far as gameplay changes go, there are quite a few things added / changed. The map has had some changes, with increased detail in some areas. The hint system has been completely revamped. They will now be physically present in the world with you, since people seemed to miss the small on-screen prompts more commonly than I had expected.

You can now use your inventory and the pause menu while hiding. This has been the most requested change since the last update, so I'm happy to report it'll be making its way into version 1.2.0.

There are lots of general fixes as well. Most of them weren't "bugs" but rather things that I was not too happy with or small issues I overlooked in last update. Some of these changes include:

• Fixing the ground fog so that it no longer flickers at far distances.

• Replaced the ending title card with a higher resolution, white version of the logo seen in most of the promo material.

• Fixing the ending scene's post processing (which was somehow broken since launch and I never noticed- it was meant to switch between the "walking" part and the "post-impact" part).

• Lots of things that didn't have correct save & load states will now function correctly

This isn't everything, and I'm still working on fixes and improvements as I start finalizing the update, but hopefully this gives a good idea of what it'll look like.

I also did want to note that I'm aware of the lag spikes in the ending. I've been working at it with each update but it's difficulty to fix (because I can't replicate it myself). This update may finally fix that issue as well, but I'll keep monitoring this for a future patch if necessary.

Thanks for all the support (especially after v1.1)! This next content update will be the last one, but I hope you all stick around for my future projects. The horror isn't going anywhere just yet :)

1.2.0 -- 2026

Version 1.1.0 includes the following:

• A complete saving system has been added including 4 autosave points

• Raised player running speed from 5 → 5.5

• You can now “jog” with your backpack on, giving you a running speed of 3.0 (replaces the boosted walking speed mentioned in an earlier announcement)

• Your flashlight is no longer tied to your backpack. Instead, Amanda just carries it with both hands, so you can’t pick up items without it.

• After catching the player, the Lurker will now spend significantly more time in the vents and will only begin making noise once it begins hunting for you once again. This aims to prevent how tedious the AI can become, allowing the player more time to safely navigate throughout the school

• Reworked the fuse puzzle. Fuses can now be found around the map rather than just within the room

• Fuse puzzle room has been redecorated

• Fuse box interact text has been changed from “Use” to “Place Fuse”

• Removed performance mode (will rework this & improve the base game’s performance)

• Increased the player respawn cutscene’s animation speed from 100% → 120%

• Rearranged final log positions to make the order a little bit more obvious

• Added interact indicators for pullable & climbable objects

• Removed some unneeded post processing options

• Fixed an issue where some UI button graphics were displaying incorrectly

• Fixed an issue where a log would play itself a second time if it was started after the enemy was already targeting the player

• Improved some log interactable collisions

• Minor performance improvements

• Adjusted final cutscene to prevent a lag spike

• Journal pages now require the backpack to be held in order to pick them up

• Loading screens will now automatically transition into the next scene without user input

• Loading priority has been decreased to increase performance at the cost of (slightly) longer loading times

• Amanda now comes equipped with podcasting equipment to justify her heavy backpack (you’re welcome)

• Changed the position of one shortcut key to ease progression

• AI max detection radius & vent detection radius increased from 25 → 30

• Updated the calculation system for the Lurker entering the vent if they player is out of range (25% less chance to enter & 7 → 8 second delay between calculations)

• If the Lurker is in the vents and the player begins listening to a voice log, the Lurker will no longer exit the vents until after the voice log ends

• Decreased the distance the Lurker will chase the player for

• Added a hint to guide the player on how to climb obstacles

• Added an interact indicator for the garage door lever

• Flashlight visual quality has been improved

• Smoothed out some cutscenes & fixed clipping issues

• Added new dev tools

I have been hard at work the past few days to get the next version of Senior Sunset ready for you all to play! Originally, the plan was to release a somewhat large content update 1-2 days after my last announcement. Plans have slightly changed, but for the better overall.

Version 1.1.0 will now be a much larger update, including things like a full saving system, some major AI reworks, many quality of life features, puzzle changes, feature additions and removals, and way more than I can add here right now.

Because of how big this update is, it'll take a little bit longer to finish. This just so happens to be a very busy week for me so the progress is slower than I would've liked, but I'm about 80% done with the update now.

I'm still keeping an eye on your feedback with the game, adjusting things as needed. Being a solo developer I didn't have outside testing so the difficulty was heavily tuned to how I myself played the game. It'll be a much easier and less tedious experience once the update drops.

For those interested in playing the game, I'd actually urge you to wait for the update. It won't take more than a couple more days and I can guarantee you'll have a much better time. It might be counterproductive for me to say that, but it's better to just wait.

The next post will be the update announcement. I look forward to sharing it with you!

I'm currently working on update 1.1.0, set to fix as many of the issues that players are having, as well as taking into account some of the things that you guys aren't enjoying about the game & fixing up some of those problems as well.

My goal with Senior Sunset is for this game to be as close to perfect as I can make it, so I will continue to update the game to improve issues found. This starts with just a few of the following changes:

• The player's walking speed will be increased. This was originally set slower for a more cinematic feel, however it doesn't match the game's fast-paced nature at times.

• The Lurker will now have much larger gaps between attacks. Specifically after catching the player, the Lurker will now wait a minimum of 30 seconds before beginning its hunting state again. To clarify: the hunting state is when the Lurker roams the vents, so you will have a grace period before even hearing the vent noises.

• Puzzles & certain gameplay segments will be made more clear. Sections like the fuse box puzzle and certain climbable areas seem to be stumping players more than intended, so I'll be adjusting some of these to be a little bit more forgiving. Climbable objects will have an interaction UI appear above them now and other interactable objects will stand out more to the player.

• Performance mode will be removed. This is a temporary one, as I'll be reworking a lot of the visuals within the game to improve performance even without performance mode, and performance mode will return in a future update in a way that doesn't interfere with the visual fidelity of the game as much as it currently does.

As much as harsh feedback can hurt sometimes, even more than that it helps push me to make something better. I appreciate everything that's been shared with me so far, positive or negative, and I will continue to let it allow me to improve the game as much as possible.

Expect update 1.1.0 within the next 1-2 days.

Version 1.0.4 includes the following:

• Added a “Performance Mode” options toggle for cases of extreme framerate issues or game crashing

Please report any issues found.

Today's the official launch day! You can now play Senior Sunset for free. This game pushed me to my limits in almost every aspect, pretty much consuming my life for the past 6 months. I hope everyone that plays it can get some enjoyment out of it. Of course, feedback is always appreciated!

For those with access to the game a few days early, the launch came with version 1.0.3 which includes over 25 changes/fixes/improvements to the game which can be found below.

• The Lurker can no longer catch the player while stunned

• The Lurker now remains in the vents for longer during its normal cycle

• The Lurker will now automatically lose aggression when entering a vent

• The Lurker will no longer immediately track the player if a sound is made and will instead wait for a few seconds

• Increased the Lurker’s despawn radius to prevent it from disappearing and to balance the updated vent timings

• All climbable objects can be climbed from both sides now (aside from the one in the tutorial)

• Disabled backpack dropping in one area to prevent a soft lock

• Interactable lockers no longer require backpack to be opened

• Lowered fire alarm cooldown from 180 seconds > 120 seconds

• Fixed resolution scaling in the intro cutscene

• Added the option to skip the intro cutscene

• Removed player radius light

• Inventory sounds will no longer play if the inventory can’t be opened

• \ To Unhide prompt no longer blocks subtitles

• Added more audio context to the \ to Hide tutorial sequence

• Made it more obvious that some objects can be climbed over

• Removed unused out of bounds props

• All items will now only show that they are interactable after a tape ends

• Shortcut keys will now specify their use when picked up

• Fuse box now requires the backpack in order to place fuses

• Added “Some obstacles can be moved” hint

• Added more invisible walls to some areas in order to prevent soft locks

• Adjusted some geometry to make progression more clear

• Improved the map

• Adjusted some animations & object positioning

• Added sound effect for the main menu Start button

• Updated “Skip” UI and added it to all appropriate cutscenes

• Fixed the grammar on some journal entries

• Added a voice line that I somehow forgot