Hytale Puts Modding at the Core
In his “Modding Strategy and Status” post, Hytale technical director Slikey (Kevin Carstens) explains that Hytale is being built with the same tools that will ship to players. The goal is simple: anything the developers can do, modders should be able to do as well. Almost every system—blocks, items, NPCs, world generation, UI and behaviours—is driven by data and code that creators can modify.
A few key principles define this approach:
- Server-side first: all modding happens on the host/server. Players should be able to join any modded world without manually installing client mods or packs.
- One community, one client: Hytale does not plan to support client-side mods, to avoid fragmentation and keep the client secure and consistent.
- Modding for longevity and safety: the team wants modders to build long-term projects and even businesses, without exposing players to security risks seen on other platforms.
Hytale treats even single-player as “joining a local server”, so the same modding model applies everywhere.
Honest Reality Check: Powerful but Rough
Slikey is very direct: the modding tools are behind where the team wants them to be. Years of work need to be compressed into months, there are gaps in tools and documentation, and some systems were originally “hacked together” prototypes.
Instead of delaying access, the team chose to ship what they have now and iterate in public. For modders this means:
- Missing or incomplete editing capabilities
- Some client behaviour not yet exposed to the server
- Rough, inconsistent workflows depending on what you build
Creators are encouraged to give blunt feedback via the official Hytale Discord, X and Reddit, while documentation grows on a public GitBook.
Current Modding Stack: Four Content Types
Right now, Hytale modding revolves around four main technical categories:
Server plugins (Java .jar) – Deep gameplay changes, custom logic, minigames, economies and more.
Data assets (JSON) – Define blocks, items, NPCs, world generation, loot tables and other core game behaviours.
Art assets – Models, textures, sounds and animations, created with a dedicated Blockbench plugin.
Save files and prefabs – Worlds and shareable structures used in creative tools and world generation.
This mix lets programmers extend the server while non-programmers can still change content through data and assets.
No Lua: Visual Scripting Is the Future
One of the most important clarifications is what Hytale will not add: text-based scripting languages like Lua.
The team argues that “helper” scripting languages still require real programming knowledge and force programmers to juggle multiple languages, which actually raises complexity instead of lowering it.
Instead, Hytale is committing to visual scripting, inspired by systems like Unreal Engine Blueprints:
- Designers build logic using visual node graphs.
- Programmers extend the system with Java/C# code and custom nodes.
- Logic isn’t fragmented across half-overlapping languages.
In the long term, visual scripting is meant to live directly in the 3D world: linking levers, doors, spawners and encounters inside the game itself, similar in spirit to DOOM’s SnapMap but fully integrated with Hytale’s asset stack.
Tools Available Today
Even in this early phase, several tools are already on the table:
- Hytale Asset Editor – Main editor for data assets (with current limitations around NPCs, worldgen and interactions).
- Blockbench plugin – Official pipeline for Hytale-ready models, textures and animations.
- Asset Graph Editor – An unfinished internal tool for worldgen, creative brushes and NPCs that the team plans to expose despite its rough state.
- Machinima tools – The same tools used for the 2018 trailer.
- Creative tools – In-game systems for modifying the world and building content.
The team openly warns that creators will feel the “rough edges” but promises to smooth them out with community feedback.
Short-Term Roadmap for Modders
Several concrete improvements are planned for the months right after release:
- Shared-source server: within 1–2 months after release, Hytale aims to legally release server source code so modders can inspect systems and even contribute fixes. Until then, the server will remain unobfuscated for easier decompiling.
- Better asset pack/mod distribution: packaging and dependency management will be clumsy at launch, but streamlining this flow is a top priority.
- Custom UIs with NoesisGUI: Hytale is consolidating its messy UI stack down to NoesisGUI; asset-driven UIs already exist but are limited.
- Stability and backups: crashes and even data loss are expected in this phase, so modders are urged to keep frequent backups while the team focuses heavily on crash fixes.
First-Party Servers and Long-Term Vision
After launch, Hypixel Studios plans to run a first-party server network with classic Hypixel-style minigames, built using the same tools players get. The goal is to dogfood their systems, gather performance data and share code and assets so the community can learn from them not to outcompete community servers.
Long-term, Hytale wants:
- New creators to get into game development without expensive tools
- Experienced teams to build complex systems and even businesses on top of Hytale
- A unified node-editor for complex assets like NPCs and worldgen
- Visual scripting + potential bounties for community contributions using the shared-source server.
The post ends by framing the current phase as true early access for modders: documentation is incomplete, tools are uneven and crashes will happen—but these are the same tools that built Hytale itself. If you start modding now, you’re not just making Hytale content; you’re helping define what Hytale modding will look like for years to come.