Hytale is coming and we are more excited than ever to know more!
Had questions about modding in Hytale? We have collected answers from across the web provided by Co-Founder Simon and Tech Director Silkey.

Our motivation when we started Hytale was simple.. We wanted to provide a place where people like us would flourish, be supported and feel good about the future. When we started we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We didn't even compare ourselves against other games.. Maybe a certain block game... But even today, we aren't driven by what competitors are doing or not doing as they have completely different incentives for the performance of their product.  We are just Hytale and we are a bunch of modders that turned game devs out of necessity to maintain who we were and what we enjoyed doing...

Question: Will there be an integrated server list?

Answer: Automatically populated server listing may not be ready at first. That said, we have a server list which you can manually add servers to by domain / IP. We plan to bring server discovery into the game soon after launch.

Question: How does ranking on the server list work? Player count, featured servers?

Answer: The game needs core fixes first, so that’s my main priority. Once the foundation is solid, I’ll shift focus to the server tech and how the ranking system will work.

Question: Will servers or mod creators have to share revenue with you?

Answer: I won’t take anything from servers or modders for the first two years.

Question: Will the client and server source code be available after launch?

Answer: Only the server code will be shared, while the client will remain closed. We want to ensure modding compatibility with all future platforms and avoid players having to download unknown software to their device. 

Question: What UI framework are you using for Hytale?

Answer: We’re using Noesis UI in Hytale. The UI pipeline has been a bit messy, and we’ve been putting serious work into fixing it. The legacy engine ended up with three different UI frameworks: CoherentUI, NoesisGUI, and a custom one. We’re currently removing CoherentUI, then the custom system, so we can fully transition to Noesis for everything.

We’ve had great results with Noesis in the new engine, and their team has been incredibly helpful throughout this process. It will take some time to complete the full switch, but we’re confident it’s the right direction.

Question: What is your main priority right now?

Answer: The top priority is building a solid core game. Without a strong base and active players, modders don’t have a real audience to create for.

Question: Do you think releasing the game in a more bare bones state, even in early access, could drive players away? Or will there be enough on day one to build a player base beyond modders?

Answer: It won’t be on Steam on day one, and the purchase flow includes clear warnings. creators and YouTubers are also ready to help set expectations. I don’t want the hype cycle to spiral again. I’ll just launch and keep things grounded.

Question: How will name reservations work? I heard some progress has been made on that.

Answer: Tokens are used for VIP. The general name reservation will happen with pre-order and allow 3-16 characters, no symbols and be alphanumeric. Usernames are unique.

Question: How deep do you want creators to go with modding? Are you aiming for something like Roblox or something more controlled?

Answer: The plan is to keep things more controlled so the game still feels like Hytale. We’re not trying to turn it into a full platform like Roblox or build a massive team around that. The goal is to support creators while keeping the game’s identity strong.

Question: Will Hytale have a global currency similar to Robux or Minecoins?

Answer: There won’t be any global currency at launch. Servers can run their own web stores and keep their revenue. Looking ahead, I’d prefer to avoid a universal currency altogether, but certain platforms like iOS might require it.

Question: If the server code will be open, is there any real need for mixins?

Answer: The goal is that servers are as open and wild west as possible. You can modify it or even write your own server. If you want to add mixin support, you can but generally the server is already heavily customizable and we don't want to bring technical solutions without a solid understanding of the problem it solves. The server uses and ECS which allows strong modularity already.

Question: What’s the plan for client side mods in Hytale?

Answer: I’m not sure I’ll actively support client side mods. I want to avoid situations where custom clients or hacks undermine control and stability. The long term goal is to make server side modding strong enough that you won’t really need client side mods in the first place.

Question: Will there be a simple discovery system like Minecraft has?

Answer: Yes, there will be discovery systems for many things, such as mods, servers, minigames, friends, etc.

Question: Will work primarily be similar to Minecraft with plugins extended on the server with an in-built API, or more like Roblox in a studio environment?

Answer: When Simon says "no client modding", we are really looking at replicating the capabilities of client modding but entirely driven by server operators. I think instead of communicating the details (yes, plugin-based), I am going to talk about why we are doing this:

•  We want to avoid the version jungle. We don't want the mess that comes with mods requiring different versions of the client and the resulting puzzle that modding can become.
• We do not want to expose the majority of Hytale users to running untrusted code. I know most creators are good-hearted, but even then, client performance is extremely important to us and user security even more so. We have seen too many accounts being stolen and sold (my first one included lol) because of malicious mods.
• We want a flawless experience with modding. All that should be required for a player is to join a server with the intended modded experience, and other steps are not needed. The client should make sure you get the experience.
• For singleplayer it should depend on the save you decide to load. You probably don't want to have to load a different modded client in order to play your world. All you should do is start a world, select your mods and play. You switch over to a different save with different mods, and that's it.
• We want to work with the community to add more capabilities to the client, so the experience will become more customizable for the client over time and based on your requirements. Expect it to be limiting initially and expanding rapidly.
• So, in summary, we say "no client modding" because we believe it will make modding mainstream in Hytale to the point that it becomes a flawless experience with nice flow and great UX while maintaining safety for users

Question: Will there be out-of-the-box Kotlin support? (for server mods)

Answer: We don't do anything to officially support it, but in theory, it should be pretty easy to make a jar with Kotlin that would load

Question: How much freedom will servers have to define or modify core gameplay systems such as combat rules, progression, and AI behavior?

Answer: You will have the ability to change large parts of the game and if you are extremely dedicated, you will be able to create your very own version of Orbis. We allow you to change pretty much every gameplay element and if it’s not possible right now, it is just a matter of time until we make it possible.

Question: Will servers be able to deliver custom assets like models, textures, animations, and sounds directly to players when they join?

Answer: Yes! When a player joins a server, they will automatically receive any missing assets and server owners can rely on players always having the same gameplay experience that they have.

Question: How customizable will world generation be, and will creators be able to add new biomes, structures, or full custom world types?

Answer: Our world generation algorithm is very complex but luckily it is completely data-driven. You will be able to use our tools in game to build structures and use them in the generator. The configuration can be done using the Asset Editor provided by the game. There is no programming involved and while configuration can be a learning curve, you can look at what we did and learn by copying us.

Question: Will creators have access to performance diagnostics or profiling tools to track heavy scripts, lag sources, or resource bottlenecks?

Answer: The server has an extensive suite of profiling, which we needed to build the game in the first place. You can run commands like /server stats and /server dump to get valuable information for exactly which parts of the server are using up your resources. Mods are natively supported by these systems and you’ll be able to see exactly what is going on.