A belated Happy New Year to our fellow Pallbearers!
First, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has joined us on this bizarre journey. Since our last update, we’ve been carefully reviewing your feedback to ensure The Hilltop Funeral meets player expectations.
This update addresses our two most critical community concerns: physics instability and a punishing learning curve that hindered exploration. To solve this, we have redesigned the majority of Levels 2 and 3, overhauled Level 1, and introduced a new Level Rating system to make every action—and every collectible—count.
By fine-tuning physics behavior, timers, and damage thresholds, we’ve rebuilt our core systems to work in unison, offering a more consistent and enjoyable experience. Whether you are a returning veteran or a new Part-Timer, we invite you to take up the coffin once more.
May the moonlight wash over the shoulders of our brave pallbearers and guide them to the mountain top.
— BROKENCIGS
Features
Level Rating System
We have replaced the old coin-based progression with a performance-based Time & Integrity system.
undefined Five Tiers: Ratings now range from C (Base Completion) to SS (Mastery).
undefined Four Criteria: Each level features three specific time thresholds and one "Corpse Integrity" requirement (keeping the corpse intact).
undefined Smart Timer: The timer only runs during active gameplay. Cutscenes, tutorials, and repair phases are excluded.
undefined Time Penalties:
undefined Environmental Hazards: +10 seconds per failure.
undefined Dropping the Corpse: +5 seconds per drop.
Impactful Collectibles
Collectibles now directly improve your final ranking by reducing your total time:
undefined Coins: Deducts 30–60 seconds (scaled by level difficulty).
undefined Repair Materials (Wood, Nails, etc.): Deducts 2–5 seconds per item (scaled by level difficulty).
undefined Pro-tip: Materials provide this time bonus regardless of whether they are used for repairs or held until the finish line. (Note: Materials spawned at pity checkpoints do not grant time reductions.)
Improvements
Level Design & Physics
undefined Level Overhauls: Redesigned Levels 1, 2, and 3. Level 2 is now more concise with the "Fog Area" removed, and Level 3 features improved pathfinding and guidance.
undefined Jump Stability: Improved the physics connection between players and the corpse. The corpse is now significantly more secure during standard jumps.
undefined Enhanced Movement: Slightly increased jump height and distance when both players move and jump in sync.
undefined Coffin Handling: Improved the "weight" and stability of lifting the coffin for a smoother cooperative feel.
Multiplayer
undefined Lobby System: Local Multiplayer now features a dedicated input-pairing lobby (Pair, Ready Up, Leave).
undefined Online Stability: Fixed multiple disconnection issues and reduced "jitter" caused by physics synchronization over the network.
undefined Steam Integration: Fixed UI display errors when accepting invites through the Steam chat window.
Durability & Resources
undefined Corpse Integrity: Increased the damage threshold; a limb will now only be lost after 10 drops.
undefined Spawned Collectibles: Increased the fail threshold to spawn collectibles at a given checkpoint; repair materials will now spawn after 10 respawns at a same checkpoint.
undefined Streamlined Crafting: Updated the repair recipe:
undefined Old: 1 Wood + 2 Nails = 1 Plank
undefined New: 1 Wood + 1 Nail = 1 Plank
Visuals & Audio
undefined Lighting: Migrated to baked lighting for significantly better performance.
undefined Camera: Added slight damping to player movement for a more cinematic feel and fixed erratic behavior when skipping failure dialogue.
undefined Audio: New sound effects for wheelbarrows, mud, and multiplayer lobby events.
undefined Environment: Added special effects (VFX) to Respawn Points, Breakable Pots, and The Cross for better visibility.
Obstacles
undefined Haunted Graves: Refined both behavior and visual assets for a more atmospheric (and fair) challenge.
undefined Mud: Overhauled mud appearance and friction behavior to provide a more realistic "trudging" experience.
UI & Display Updates
undefined Active Timer: Added a timer display near the top of the screen to track total time used. This timer only runs during active gameplay and can be toggled off via the Settings Menu.
undefined Level Intro Cards: Each level now begins with a title card displaying the current stage and its four performance criteria.
undefined Updated Evaluation Sheet: The post-level screen now features a detailed breakdown of all collectibles. These are calculated to show your total time reduction before the final grade is revealed.
undefined Checkpoint Progress Window: A new window on the left side of the screen now appears at every checkpoint. It displays your total corpse drops and current respawn index to help you track your progress through the cemetery.
Leaderboard
undefined Visual Redesign: The Leaderboard UI has been modernized to show not just time, but each player’s Final Rating (SS–C) for every level.
undefined Legacy Data: Existing records will be preserved. Your previous ratings will automatically update to the new system once you enter the game.
undefined Top Performance: We now track the Top 500 records globally, with unique icons awarded to the top three players on the podium.
undefined Personal Tracking: Your own record will now be pinned to the bottom of the Leaderboard for easy comparison against the world's best.
Dialogue & Narrative
undefined Expanded Script: Added new dialogue strings for various gameplay scenarios to keep the journey of the Undertaker and Part-Timer feeling fresh.
undefined Pacing: Increased the interval between regular conversations to ensure the dialogue feels like a natural part of the journey rather than a constant distraction.
undefined Bug Fixes: Resolved an issue where the opening line of the first cutscene would incorrectly repeat at the end of the sequence.
Bug Fixes
undefined Fixed erratic physics behavior caused by inconsistent player group setups.
undefined Fixed a dialogue loop bug in the opening cutscene.
undefined Improved "Fade In/Out" transitions to prevent seeing through the environment during loads.
undefined Note: The "Rotate Corpse" feature in the Repair Menu has been temporarily removed to prevent ragdoll physics conflicts.