In this article, we’re going to introduce the technology that underpins every Hytale server - both how they work and how you’ll interact with them. In order to do so we’ll need to use some technical language, but we hope that you’ll be excited by the work we’re doing to make Hytale servers fast, easy to access, and secure.

LANGUAGES AND PERFORMANCE

We’ve had lots of questions about Hytale’s engine and server technology since the announcement in December - it’s great that so many people are interested in running their own Hytale servers! Here’s the answer to the most common question: Hytale’s client is written in C#, and servers run on Java. We’ll cover in-game scripting in a future post, as it’s a separate topic.

We’ve chosen to use Java for Hytale servers for a multitude of reasons. For one, our backend team is very comfortable writing high-performance Java and that has let us heavily optimize our server code. Furthermore, we know that our community has a lot of experience with Java too - it’s important to us that it is as easy as possible for server operators to get up and running. Using C# for the client provides additional performance benefits, and we’re very happy about the results we’ve seen so far.

SHARED SOURCE SERVERS

Hytale’s server technology will be provided shared source, which means that everyone will be able to read the server code. The game client, however, will be closed in order to provide a common baseline for server operators and players. This allows us to provide a secure and reliable experience, guard against cheating, and provide modders and content creators with a shared foundation to work from.

Because Hytale is designed from the ground up for modding, server operators will be able to create and customize every aspect of the game - from environments and game mechanics to parts of the UI itself. We want our players to be able to build upon what we’re working on, but we also don’t expect the community to do our work for us.

In effect, this shared source system means that it is possible for servers to run a modified version of the game, grounded in a client that is common to every player. Every server represents its creator’s vision for the game - and because server operators have a consistent platform to build upon, it is straightforward for players to jump between wildly different experiences. When you connect to a Hytale server, the client will automatically download all of the content needed in order to play - models, animations, sounds, and everything else.

THE SERVER BROWSER

Eagle-eyed readers of our UI sneak peek article will have noticed a navigation tab called ‘servers’ at the top of Hytale’s main menu. Hytale’s server browser will let players quickly find community servers to play on.

We will allow you to sort and filter by the types of games you’d like to play - adventure mode or minigames, co-op or competitive - as well as by other factors like languages supported. A tagging system will allow servers to designate the type of content they provide alongside traditional server list features like banners and graphics. As an example, users can favorite servers that they enjoy, and you’ll be able to sort the server list by the total number of favorites that each server has received in order to quickly find the most popular places to play.

A concept for a server listing in the Hytale server browser.

The Hytale server browser will be actively moderated, and all server operators - from large minigame networks to smaller community servers - are required to adhere to a lightweight terms of service. Appearing on Hytale’s server browser won’t be necessary in order for players to join a server, but we expect that it’ll be the way that many players find servers to play on.

PLAYING WITH FRIENDS

Furthermore, we’ve implemented technology into Hytale to make playing together as painless as possible. The friends list allows you to jump into servers that your friends are currently playing on, and also allows you to connect to their adventure mode worlds. To ensure that this is a smooth process, we’re using UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) protocols to handle port forwarding automatically when possible - if that is unavailable, then we attempt NAT punchthrough. What this means in practical terms is that you can join your friends’ worlds through your friends list as long as you’re both connected to the internet without ever having to set up port forwarding - regardless of your router’s settings. Making it easy to play with your friends without a hitch is very important to us.

A PLATFORM TO BUILD ON

We've poured everything we've learned in more than six years of running game servers for millions of players into Hytale's server technology. Our ambition is to eventually implement solutions to all of the difficulties that we've encountered over the years - to anticipate the issues that players and server operators may face and have an answer for them. We're looking forward to working closely with the community, and we'll be reaching out to ensure that we factor in your requirements and ideas.

Today we're going to provide a first look at Hytale's world generation system: the technology that underpins every area you'll explore as you progress through adventure mode. As you might expect, there's a lot to cover - so let's get to it!

First, however, a quick note: in order to focus on worldgen and avoid spoilers, we've disabled creatures and enemies in most of the screenshots below.

THE WORLD OF ORBIS

This piece of concept art is one of the first we produced when development of Hytale began. It depicts four of the zones that make up the planet of Orbis, which is where the bulk of Hytale's storyline takes place.

As you can see, each zone is unique. Our world generation system draws from a different set of rules for each one, and each has its own set of biomes. If you look closely, you'll get a sense for how underground topography changes from the winding caves and dungeons of zone 1 to the subterranean forests of zone 4!

GENERATING A ZONE

Here's an example of zone-based worldgen in action. You're looking at a top-down view of zone 1, comprising several different biomes: forests, lakes, hills, ravines and more. Our worldgen system ties these together seamlessly along with topographical features like ponds and rocky outcrops. You can also see a handful of generated points of interest.

Each zone has its own set of blocks and distinct content, including furniture sets, NPC races, creatures and critters, plantlife, weather, and geology. Exploring a cave in Borea will be very different from exploring a cave in the Emerald Grove!

COASTAL AREAS AND THE DEEP OCEAN

Zones have different coastal features, too, including specific biomes for the shoreline. Above you can see a mountainous coast in zone 3, whereas below you can see the sands of zone 2.

These unique worldgen elements continue underwater, with secrets to find if you're brave enough to venture beneath the waves.

That's not all, however! Venture far enough from land and you'll encounter the ocean shelf: a sudden drop-off at the edge of each zone that leads to the deep ocean. The deep ocean is, effectively, a zone all by itself: it holds many dangers - and rewards - for intrepid explorers to discover. You’ll have to prepare carefully in order to survive in the depths!

Beyond the oceans lie the infinite lands. Hytale's storyline won't take you out that far, but our worldgen tech will ensure that there's always something for you to find beyond the edges of the world.

GENERATED CAVES AND DUNGEONS

World generation applies to underground areas too, including caves and dungeons. While these will play differently in each zone, there are a few universal principles that govern each.

Caves are full of secrets and creatures to encounter, and will be an important source of resources. They are entirely procedurally generated, based on rules that differ from zone to zone.

Dungeons are a little different. They comprise multiple chambers and encounters joined by connecting passageways, often culminating in a “Final Room”, providing challenges and special rewards tailored by our worldteam.

PREFABS!

Dungeons are just one example of how prefabricated content is incorporated into Hytale’s world generation. We’ve created thousands of prefabs - 3,785 so far! They run the range from environmental features like trees and rock faces all the way up to ruins, buildings, and special encounters. These are distributed throughout the world at random and sometimes appear only once, but may feature hand-designed challenges, objectives, and rewards.

Each prefab is custom-built, and is the equivalent of a blueprint for a particular piece of content. In addition to their visual design, they can have their own triggers and events attached too.

PORTAL DUNGEONS

Above you can see concept art for a specific kind of prefab: the entrance to a portal dungeon. When you meet the criteria necessary to unlock one, you'll enter a hand-designed encounter with its own rules and terrain. You'll be limited in what blocks you can break within these portal dungeons, challenging you to overcome obstacles using your other skills.

Depending on where you find them, portal entrances can take several different forms:

What you find on the other side will vary massively. Here's a glimpse at an early portal dungeon - the Temple of Gaia - along with one of its component parts, the Garden of Elements.

HAPPY LITTLE ACCIDENTS

You've now got a sense of the broad principles that govern world generation in Hytale - from unique zones to hand-designed dungeons. All of this is governed by a set of rules, and some of our favourite environmental features come about when two contrasting sets of rules collide. We call these happy little accidents: moments when the principles we've laid out for a given zone combine in surprising ways.

We've discovered rivers that carve their way through mountains and dungeons that have been split in half by a ravine. Swampy terrain might creep halfway up a mountain, or you might be exploring a cave only to discover a lost mine deep within. These small touches help ensure that every world - and the adventures you have there - truly feel different.

What’s more, all of the world generation systems we’ve created will be fully customizable by content creators. You can tweak worldgen rules - or write your own - through configuration files. You can also build and share your own prefabs and dungeons, including instanced portal dungeons. You can create and configure your own blocks, environments, and even NPCs. Combining all of these options together gives content creators the power to craft biomes, zones - and ultimately worlds - of their own!

Our first look trailer has given you a glimpse of some of the hostile and friendly creatures that you’ll encounter in Hytale’s adventure mode, but in this article we’re going to dive a bit deeper. Below, you’ll find information on a number of creature types, and we’re going to use each one to explore a different aspect of how Hytale’s NPC system works.

KWEEBECS: A SOCIETY TO DISCOVER!

In Hytale, NPC factions form societies with their own culture, habits, blockset, and role to play in the story. First, let's get to know some of Hytale's friendlier inhabitants: Kweebecs, who will become some of your earliest allies.

Let's take a look at an example of Kweebecs at home. The screenshot below shows several aspects of the Kweebec blockset, as well as the various stages of the Kweebec life-cycle: from sprouting seedlings to autumnal elders.

This life-cycle is an important part of the story of the Kweebecs. As they age, they grow slower and slower until they stop moving completely, release a burst of energy, and become much more like the trees they resemble.

When an elderly Kweebec adopts this new form, their seeds fall to the ground and form the basis of the next generation. Young Kweebecs never get to meet their parents: instead, they learn about their history from Treesingers. These are elders who tend to these young seedlings as they take their first steps into the world.

This isn't just a story that you'll read about - it's an important part of how Kweebecs operate in the game!

TRORKS: MULTI-FACETED FOES!

Trorks make for formidable enemies, and come in many shapes and sizes. Hytale's NPCs are modular, and this means that we can create lots of variations of the same basic creature. In the concept art above, you can see several different Trork classes - from eagle-eyed sentries to powerful chieftains.

Each of these Trork types has a different pattern of behavior, and this is the reflected in the way they look and act in-game.

When you rush into battle against a band of Trorks, you'll want to pay attention to all of the different types of foe you're facing.

We're using Trorks as an example here, but lots of Hytale's NPC factions work this way. There are lots of different subtypes to discover, and with in-game scripting and the Hytale Model Maker, you'll be able to create or customize your own NPC variations too!

ANIMALS: INTERACTIVE INHABITANTS OF THE WILD!

Animals are one of the key ways that we're creating a sense of interactivity in the world of Hytale. You'll have lots of opportunities to hunt, domesticate, and raise animals yourself, but we're working on systems that allow animals to interact with each other in interesting ways too.

These saber-tooth tigers hunt in packs, prowling through the undergrowth to get the drop on prey animals. Understanding this behavior is very important if you want to hunt them yourself: or just stay out of their way!

Whether wild or domestic, we've tried to ensure that animals behave intuitively. Little chicks will follow a mother hen, for example, and grown chickens will jealously guard their eggs: expect to get pecked if you steal one from a chicken that isn’t familiar with you! If you create a safe environment for your chickens - a coop, for example - then you’re more likely to be able to gather eggs without fuss.

There are lots of these interactions to discover as you explore - and each of them, we hope, makes the world feel that little bit more alive.

MONSTERS: A TOUGH CHALLENGE AWAITS!

Alongside the wide roster of characters and creatures to discover in Hytale’s open sandbox, we're also implementing a set of hand-designed boss encounters and combat challenges. These work slightly differently to the creatures you'll encounter elsewhere: each is designed for a specific environment and takes planning to defeat.

Boss encounters are intended to add depth to the game, whether you're playing solo or taking them on with a group of friends. It usually won't be enough to simply show up with strong armor and a weapon that does loads of damage: you're going to have to learn how each monster operates in order to overcome them.

We want these encounters to be a surprise, so we're going to avoid spoiling too many of them before you get a chance to play the game for yourself. Needless to say - there are worse things than giant spiders lurking in Hytale's deepest depths!

THAT'S NOT ALL!

We're going to be providing much more info on Hytale's NPCs in the future. For now, we'll leave you with glimpse at some more of the critters that you'll encounter on your journey.

Behold! A cat.

Regard! This pigeon.

Observe! One snake.

Seek to emulate! The relaxed enthusiasm being demonstrated by this young Kweebec.

We’ve been working on Hytale for several years, and today we finally revealed the whole scope of the project. While we made a choice not to show too much of Hytale’s interface in the trailer, we want to take this opportunity to show what we’ve been working on behind the scenes.

Sometimes you don’t get a real sense of how a game plays until you see how you interact with it, so we hope the following screenshots and concepts give you a deeper sense of what Hytale’s adventure mode is like. Obviously, these screenshots and concepts reflect an in-development version of the game: things are likely to change by the time you get to play it!

Our character creator allows you to customize your avatar to your heart’s content. You can customize everything from clothing to physical appearance, including multiple color options for each item! Avatars are modular, so you can mix and match items from different sets. Look closely and you’ll see that this image also gives you a glimpse of our main menu!

The map helps you find quests, dungeons, World Gates, and even your friends. In this case, the player is exploring a dangerous temple in Hytale’s adventure mode. As you explore, your map will continuously be updated with new things to do.

We’re still experimenting with the UI, particularly when it comes to crafting. One of our ideas is to incorporate crafting and processing directly into the inventory screen, letting you easily and quickly assemble the gear you need to survive in the wilds while also offering flexibility for PvP players.

As you progress further in the game, you will be able to experiment with crafting ingredients and found components to make powerful weapons and gear. This rewarding crafting system allows you to combine and experiment to discover new recipes, while also showing you all of the recipes that you already know.

In Hytale, you'll create and loot increasingly powerful equipment - the above picture shows off some tooltip concepts that we’re experimenting with. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your gear on the fly!

We’ll be showing much more of Hytale’s UI over the coming weeks and months. Keep an eye on our social media feeds - and this website - for more reveals!