Lunar Eclipse - Update 0.41.0

[p]Hey everyone![/p][p]This one took a while — and honestly, it’s the biggest update since the Early Access release. I’ve been working on it quietly for the past few months, taking time to fix, polish, and add things that really make the game feel better overall.[/p][p]Thanks a lot for your patience and for sticking with me through all this. I really appreciate it.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]Important notice about save files[/h3][p]After updating to version 0.40.0, save files from previous versions will no longer be compatible with the updated game.[/p][p]I’m really sorry for the inconvenience and hope for your understanding. Since the game is still in Early Access, some rough transitions like this can occasionally happen during development.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]New Area: Residential Floor[/h3][p]This update finally opens the Residential Floor — a new part of the underground complex with abandoned living quarters, a kitchen, and maintenance corridors.
Depending on how much you like to explore, it should give you around two hours of new gameplay, new puzzles, and a bit more story to uncover.[/p][p]It’s one of the more atmospheric areas I’ve done so far — quiet, lonely, but strangely cozy in some corners. Hope you’ll like it.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]Knives & Combat Improvements[/h3]

[p]There are now three unique knives in the game - each feels and behaves slightly differently.[/p]
[p]Their stats are now visible in the inventory, so you can compare them directly.[/p]
[p]Now zombies can be staggered by chance - not every time, but enough to make a difference.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Outfits & Crafting[/h3][p]The crafting system has been simplified a lot. Before, there were around 14 different crafting materials — now it’s just the essentials: Thread, Fabric, Leather, and Sewing Kit.[/p][p]This change makes things easier to manage without losing the customization aspect.[/p][p]On top of that:[/p]

[p]Added 3 new outfits (Evening Dress, Bikini, Swimsuit) — together that’s 11 new pieces with some color variations.[/p]
[p]Added Pantyhose items.[/p]
[p]Added a Neck Accessory slot for chokers and small details.[/p]
[p]Skin weights on some clothing elements have been improved to minimize intersections with the character or other pieces of clothing.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Puzzles & Interactions[/h3]

[p]There are 8 new puzzles in the Residential area.[/p]
[p]You’ll also notice that puzzle screens now have on-screen hints for key actions.[/p]
[p]Another cool thing — now you can jump straight from dialogue into a puzzle.[/p]

[p]It makes the storytelling flow a lot smoother and helps keep the tension when something’s happening in the scene.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]Gameplay & Balance Tweaks[/h3][p]A few small (but important) adjustments to how the game feels:[/p]

[p]Added player level indicator to the UI. It doesn’t affect anything yet, but I’m thinking of connecting it to stamina or health later — kind of a light RPG touch.[/p]
[p]Dodge distance has been increased from 0.6 m to 1 m, which lets you fully break away from an enemy’s reach — but you still have to time it right, since Ealish isn’t invincible during dodges.[/p]
[p]Dodge speed was increased by about 20 % to make it more responsive.[/p]
[p]Breathing and stamina now behave more predictably (though I still see occasional weird behavior, and I’ll be fixing that).[/p]
[p]Zombies had their code improvements and are less likely to miss at close range.[/p]
[p]Save points now restore the character’s health.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Audio & Lighting[/h3]

[p]Added new footstep sounds for high heels and various floor surfaces.[/p]
[p]Improved lamp flickering and ambient sound handling — overall, things should feel more alive (or… less alive, depending on how you see it).[/p]
[p]The lighting across the environment has been reworked. Dark areas should now appear slightly brighter, and the overall image should feel more balanced between light and dark spots compared to previous versions of the game.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Interface & Quality of Life[/h3]

[p]Journal and Collectibles menus were rearranged for better accessibility.[/p]
[p]Added slot numbering to the save/load screen.[/p]
[p]HUD now hides automatically during interactions and puzzles (still being fine-tuned, so some cases may show it).[/p]
[p]Fixed journal synchronization after loading a save.[/p]
[p]Improved how collectibles and demo-only content initialize — mostly backend, but it’ll make future updates smoother.[/p]
[p]Added a new “Owned” field displayed under each clothing item.[/p][p]It shows how many copies of that particular outfit the player currently has.
The value updates dynamically — it increases when you craft an item and decreases when you drop it from the inventory. This field represents the actual number of owned items, not the number of times they were crafted.[/p]
[p]A short delay was added before exiting to the main menu. From now on, you’ll need to hold the confirm button for 2 seconds to confirm your intention to exit.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Languages[/h3]

[p]A new language has been added - Japanese.[/p]

[p]If you notice any misspellings or other errors, please don’t hesitate to let me know through the Discord Community or the related topic on the Steam Community.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]Visual & Technical Stuff[/h3]

[p]Adjusted hair and ponytail physics — looks smoother now, though I’ll keep refining it over time.[/p]
[p]And yes, there’s now a bit of light jiggle physics on Ealish’s body. Nothing crazy, just subtle and natural.[/p]
[p]Added new small environment decorations to make spaces feel more lived-in.[/p]
[p]General lighting and mesh optimization across the Basement and Residential areas.[/p]
[p]Character skinning has been improved, which means Ealish’s body now bends more naturally — elbows, knees, and other curved areas look smoother and less distorted than before.[/p]
[p]Tons of small fixes and internal cleanup — especially around blueprints and inventory handling — setting the foundation for future updates.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Fixes & Improvements (0.40.0+)[/h3][p]Here’s a list of various fixes and improvements made in version 0.40.0+ during the testing period.[/p][p]General[/p]

[p]Adjusted lighting setup across multiple areas.[/p]
[p]Added option to enable or disable the main HUD.[/p]
[p]Improved item pickup consistency — interactions now feel smoother with both mouse and controller.[/p]
[p]Added new note and two additional lockers in the changing room (3 in total).[/p]
[p]Restored proper visibility of plush toys in the world.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where the music box with two batteries displayed its screen at incorrect brightness, causing it to appear completely black.[/p]
[p]Improved resolution and visuals of clothing icons in inventory and collectibles tabs.[/p]
[p]Updated texture of the clothing magazine to a higher quality version.[/p]
[p]Added glow effect to the electrical panel.[/p]
[p]Added collision to several meshes where it was accidentally missing during recent improvements.[/p]
[p]Removed one unused poster from the build.[/p]

[p]Puzzles & Gameplay[/p]

[p]Fixed issue where the safe keypad displayed more than four input slots.[/p]
[p]Fixed incorrect piano password.[/p]
[p]Fixed bug where the keyholder could be activated twice in one playthrough.[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue where it was possible to remove the inserted item from the box right after placing it, causing the box to enter the second puzzle phase without the item inside.[/p]
[p]Added missing sound effects for puzzle boxes.[/p]
[p]Fixed issue where item application logic sometimes failed when interacting with specific actors.[/p]

[p]Controls[/p]

[p]Fixed an issue where rotation didn’t work when using a gamepad during puzzle interactions.[/p]
[p]Fixed a problem that prevented remapping gamepad buttons for rotating puzzle elements inside puzzles.[/p]

[p]Visuals & Technical[/p]

[p]Fixed issue causing wall flickering when running the game on DX11 instead of DX12.[/p]

[p][/p][p]That’s pretty much it for this one.[/p][p]As always, thank you so much for supporting Lunar Eclipse. If you want to follow development more closely or share your feedback, hop on the Discord — that’s where I usually post smaller work-in-progress stuff and talk with players directly.[/p][p]See you soon in the next patch — and as always, take care down there. ❤️[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]