Hytale Modding Strategy and Status

Hello, I am Slikey (Kevin Carstens), the Technical Director of Hytale.

I want to give you a clear, honest overview of where Hytale modding stands today, what you can expect in the short term, and where we're taking this in the long run.

This is not a polished marketing post. It's a status report from the people building the game and its tools, written for the people who want to build with us.

Hytale gives you a lot of tools to express your creativity and in this post we want to cover the current status and future vision for scripting, programming, modelling and configuration.

MISSION: MODDING AT THE CORE OF HYTALE

We will always strive to create an immersive adventure for Hytale and continuously expand it in the future. The fortunate fact for modders is that we built the game with the tools that we deliver with the game. Our goal is that anything we do, you can do as well.

As a modder, you will benefit not just from the tooling we used but also from the content we create to deliver the block game we have always craved for.

We're building Hytale with modding at its core. Most of what you see in the game can be changed, extended, or removed entirely. Blocks, Items, NPCs, World Generation, UIs, systems, and behaviours are all driven by data and code that you can influence.

In this post we will talk about the game “client” and the “server”. Usually “servers” are only relevant when joining multiplayer. Hytale is different - even when you join singleplayer, you join a local server that is just for yourself. So when we talk about servers, we mean both singleplayer and multiplayer.

A few key principles guide us:

Server-side first: All modding in Hytale is based on the host of the server or host of the game. You should be able to join any modded Hytale server without downloading external mods or juggling client packs. Use any combination of plugins and asset packs to customize your gameplay experience or rely on a server to offer you an experience. You create a singleplayer save and select the mods you want to use for that savegame.
One community, one client: We want to avoid a fragmented ecosystem where every server requires a different modded client. For that reason, we don't intend to support any client mods. The client should remain stable, secure, and consistent, while servers provide the creativity and variation.
Modding for longevity: We are committing to modding for the long term. We believe modders like us have been looking for a project that doesn't just tolerate them but actively embraces and supports them.
Empowering modders without exposing players: We want modders to benefit from their work and build a future they can rely on, with as much freedom as possible - without exposing players to the security and safety risks that exist on some other modding platforms.

That's the standard we're holding ourselves to. We're not there yet - but that's the direction.

TECHNICAL REALITY CHECK

Now for the blunt part: we are behind where we want to be.

We are missing years of development time that we now need to compress into months.
There are gaps in our tools, our documentation, and the ways systems are exposed.
Some features exist only because they were hacked together during prototyping and never polished.

We made a deliberate decision:

Ship access now instead of waiting for perfection. We chose to fix up what we reasonably could in the short time we've had with the project, and then open things up so you can start experimenting while we work toward the long-term modding vision.

What this means for you right now:

You will run into limitations due to missing editing capabilities.
Certain aspects of client behaviour are not yet exposed to the server.
Some tools and systems are rough, inconsistent, or painful to work with.
Modding maturity is wildly uneven depending on what you want to build.

We decided not to hide valuable features just because they're not up to our current standards. If something is useful to you, we'll try to make it available and iterate on it in public.

You are absolutely encouraged to hold us accountable for that.

Hold us responsible for this progress. Tag us, reach out, demand answers. We commit to being transparent and telling you the truth - even if the truth is "this is not good enough yet" or "we don't know yet."
Don't just take our word for it. Demand results. Give us feedback. Don't hold back.

Community and Communication

You don't have to figure this out alone. We're anchoring the creator community in a few core places:

Discord: Official Hytale, where you can talk directly with us and other modders. There are also other Discords with UGC (User-Generated Content) focus such as CurseForge. We may join other Discord communities and listen to you. Discord has been absolutely brilliant in supporting us on setting up the Hytale space.
X / Reddit: Tweet at us or post on Hytale related subreddits. We can't reply to everything but we are actively scanning posts and comments to guide us. A lot of this post was based on exactly those questions.
Documentation (GitBook, in progress): We are working on public creator documentation hosted on GitBook. This will start incomplete and uneven, but we'll expand it as we go and based on your questions.

CURRENT STATE OF MODDING

We're currently not satisfied with the state of modding in Hytale.

However, we believe that holding access back until everything is perfect would be a disservice. If you join us now, you'll be part of shaping the ecosystem and you'll learn the concepts as they evolve, which will give you a deep understanding over time.

Four Major Content Categories

Right now, Hytale modding largely falls into four technical categories:

Server Plugins - Java .jar files
Extend the functionality of the server programmatically.
Extremely powerful and allows deep modifications to the gameplay experience and core server system.
Use them to build minigames, economies, commands, custom logic, new asset type, and more.
Data Assets - JSON files
Drive gameplay behaviour and define core content:
Blocks, items, NPCs
World generation
Drop tables, loot, and more.
Art Assets - Sounds, models, textures
Provide the visual and audio representation of game elements.
We support Blockbench for creating Hytale models, textures, and animations.
Save Files - Worlds and Prefabs
Share whole worlds or specific builds.
Prefabs are used in creative tools and world generation to place prebuilt structures like trees, houses, or large landmarks.

WHY WE'RE NOT ADDING TEXT-BASED SCRIPTING

A common question: "Where's Lua/scripting?"

Short answer: We do not have text-based scripting and we do not intend to add it.

Here's why:

Text-based scripting is usually introduced to "help non-programmers" like designers building custom behaviours.
In reality, script languages like Lua are still programming languages:
Programmers now have to juggle two languages, one of which usually feels "nerfed".
Designers are still expected to learn actual programming concepts.
In the end, it's less inclusive and increases complexity for both sides.

We see that as a false compromise.

Our Direction: Visual Scripting

Instead of text-based scripting, we will add visual scripting:

Our experience with Unreal Engine Blueprints showed us that:
Designers feel genuinely empowered when they can build logic visually.
Programmers are more productive when they stay in a programming language (Java/C#) and expose high-level nodes.

The goal:

Designers are empowered through a visual language that matches how they think about behaviours.
Programmers can extend and optimize this system by adding new visual nodes and performance-sensitive implementations.
We avoid fragmenting logic across multiple "half-languages".

We believe this is the most empowering approach for modders without compromising on capabilities.

TOOLING AVAILABLE TODAY

We currently offer the following tools for creating Hytale assets:

Hytale Asset Editor
Editor for data assets.
Supports most asset types, with notable limitations around NPCs, world generation, and interactions.
This will expand over time.

Blockbench Plugin
Create Hytale-compatible models, textures, and animations directly in Blockbench.
Replaces our own modelling and animation tools used in the past to better support established creative workflows in the community.
Intended for release as soon as possible

Asset Graph Editor
An unfinished internal editor we used as a temporary solution for world generation, creative tool brushes, NPCs and hopefully more soon.
It is not at the quality bar we want, but it's useful enough that we'd rather expose it and improve it than hide it.
Currently working on releasing it aswell

Machinima Tools
The tool we used to create the trailer back in 2018
They have some technical issues we will need to fix but they are usable and delivered great results for us.
Creative Tools
An interactive suite of tools to modify the world and express your creativity.
Expect dedicated videos / blogs about them
We also released some footage of them being used in the past
And more..

You will feel the rough edges. That is expected at this stage, and we intend to fix them with your feedback.

SHORT-TERM IMPROVEMENTS

This is not a complete roadmap, but it covers the biggest short-term issues we see in terms of urgency and impact for modders.

Shared Source Server

We know that the lack of documentation for assets and systems is causing serious friction. We feel the same pain internally.
We commit to releasing the server source code as soon as we are legally able to. Expect this within 1-2 months after release.
In the meantime the server is not obfuscated, so you can decompile it easily.
This will let you:
Inspect how systems work under the hood while documentation is catching up.
Unblock yourself by reading the actual implementation, not guessing from trial and error.
Contribute improvements and bug fixes back to us if something bothers you enough that you don't want to wait.

Asset Pack / Mod Distribution

Because we're releasing the game at this early stage, we did not have time to design a polished, first-class distribution flow.
For now, expect friction when:
Bundling creations into clean, sharable packages.
Managing dependencies between plugins, asset packs, and worlds.
This is one of our top modding priorities. Expect quick iteration as we see how you actually try to ship and share your work.

Custom UIs

Right now, our UI situation is messy:

We are using three UI frameworks at the same time.
We are in the process of ripping out two of them and consolidating on NoesisGUI.
Noesis Technologies has been extremely helpful to us, and we want to acknowledge their role in helping make Hytale happen.

What this means for you:

We already have asset-driven UIs, but they are incomplete and limited.
You can start experimenting with them now.
Tell us what you are trying to build and where you get blocked, and we will prioritize unblocking you.

Stability

This one is simple and painful:

There are crashes.
Some of them are severe and can cause data loss.

Our stance:

We are fixing crashes as they come in and you can expect rapid improvements.
But right now, we cannot guarantee data integrity.
You should assume you will be affected at some point.

Practical advice:

Take frequent backups of your savegames and important creations. We are currently setting up automatic solutions but we can not guarantee safety.
Treat this phase as true early access: valuable, but not yet safe for irreplaceable work.

We are genuinely sorry for any issues this causes you, and we are treating stability as our top priority.

First-Party Server Network

We plan to launch a first-party server network, operated by an internal team, that offers a selection of classic Hypixel Network-style minigames after launch but work has not started on this yet.

Why we're doing this

Bring back familiar minigames: Offer experiences you already know from our previous work, rebuilt for Hytale, as well as original new minigames unlocked by Hytale's capabilities.
Dogfood our own systems: Use the same tools and workflows available to you so we can validate and improve minigame creation, live ops, and server management in real conditions.
Gather real-world data: Observe how Hytale servers behave at scale so we can optimize performance, reduce hosting requirements, and drive costs down for everyone.
Share what we learn: Partially or fully release the code and assets from our minigames so you can study how we build things, reuse components, and adopt best practices.
De-risk Hytale's early days: Ensure there is a strong, reliable network of playable content even if community infrastructure takes time to ramp up. Our network's job is to pave the way until we can hand the torch over to you.

What we're not trying to do

We're not trying to outcompete you: The goal is not to dominate the server landscape or undercut modders and server owners.
We're not diluting adventure development: This work is done by a dedicated team and does not reduce our focus or investment in Adventure mode.
We're not using it to ignore feedback: We won't bias our roadmap around our own servers at the expense of the wider creator ecosystem or player needs.

Ultimately, our incentive is to grow a broad ecosystem with many successful servers and a wide variety of experiences. We do not benefit from having a monopoly inside our own game.

LONG-TERM VISION FOR MODDERS

In the long term, our goal is to provide a comprehensive suite of tools and services that allow you to flourish in Hytale, regardless of your starting point.

We want:

New Modders to enter game creation without needing expensive software or years of experience.
Experienced modders to build complex systems, businesses, and communities on top of Hytale.
Hytale to blur the line between "playing games" and "creating games".

Shared Source Server & Bounties

Beyond simply releasing the server source:

We plan to open development bounties for specific improvements and features.
This will take time to set up properly, but the goal is to reward contributions that strengthen the ecosystem.

Node Editor

Some asset types are currently painful to configure in raw JSON, such as:

NPCs
Interactions
World generation

We've been using internal tools to make this manageable. Our plan:

Release node-graph-style editors for these asset types.
Integrate these node editors directly into the Hytale Asset Editor, so you have a unified creator suite instead of a patchwork of tools.

concept vision for the future of the node editor

Visual Scripting

Visual scripting is a core pillar of our long-term vision:

Java plugins will continue to exist and are extremely powerful - but they require programming skills and come with safety concerns.
Visual scripting will:
Provide a sandboxed, safe environment for sharing logic.
Offer great learnability and modifiability for modders of all skill levels.
Allow programmers to extend it with performance-critical nodes.

Over time, we want to:

Bring visual scripting directly into the 3D world:
Link levers, doors, spawners, triggers, and other elements in-game.
Build intricate adventure maps and encounters directly inside Hytale.
Take inspiration from systems like DOOM SnapMap while keeping it fully integrated with our asset and scripting stack.

CLOSING WORDS

We are, very deliberately, in "early access" for modders.

The tools are uneven.
The documentation is incomplete.
Some workflows feel great, others are frustrating.
There are crashes, and you will lose work if you don't back up.

We're not pretending otherwise.

At the same time:

These are the tools we used to build Hytale itself.
In many cases, we were building tools and content in parallel, with modding in mind.
We know this approach works, because it already produced the game you're seeing.

Our commitment to you:

We will keep improving the modding experience, step by step.
We will focus on learnability, onboarding, and the ability to "ramp up" from beginner to expert.
We will be transparent about what's ready, what's not, and what we're prioritizing next.
And we will listen when you tell us where it hurts.

If you're willing to join us in this phase - bugs, rough edges and all - you won't just be modding Hytale. You'll be shaping what Hytale modding becomes.

I know there are a lot of details missing and you probably have more questions than before. I will be on our Hytale Discord server chat (Modding / Creative > #discussion) on Saturday, 22nd November 2025 at 12pm EST / 5pm GMT to answer your questions for a full hour and reply to as many questions as I can.

See you in your version of Orbis,

Slikey