Simon reveals Hytale's future: chapters, combat, runes, mounts… what you need to know

Simon Collins-Laflamme spent several hours answering questions from the Hytale community directly on X. Chapters, the combat overhaul, bosses, runes, WorldGen V2, mounts, farming, the store and even a console version: this lengthy Q&A gives us an especially rich glimpse at the direction Hytale could take over the coming years.

Since early access launched, the Hytale team has made no secret of how much work still lies ahead. Successive updates are gradually building the game's technical foundations, while Chapter 1 is set to mark a much more significant step in its evolution.

Simon Collins-Laflamme, Hytale's Game Director and founder of Hypixel, has just shared an impressive amount of detail about this long-term vision.

Across his replies, one point keeps coming up, unsurprisingly: a large part of the Hytale we know today is still set to evolve.

Note: the information below is a condensed summary of answers Simon gave directly to the community. Much of it concerns features still in development or long-term intentions, so it may change before reaching the game.

Early access should include 6 or 7 chapters

One of the most interesting pieces of information directly concerns the structure of Hytale's development.

According to Simon, early access should consist of around six or seven chapters. And reaching version 1.0 absolutely will not mean the end of development: Hytale is intended to keep receiving content for many years.

Chapters represent the major milestones in that evolution. Unlike regular updates, which focus more on systems, tools and improving the game, each chapter should introduce a more substantial set of new features, generally built around a theme or faction.

This philosophy matches what the team had already presented with Chapter 1 and its content tied in particular to the Goblins.

^{The Goblin faction}

The mode currently called Exploration is also expected to evolve gradually until it becomes Hytale's true Adventure mode.

Why is Chapter 1 taking so long?

Because it is not simply a matter of adding content.

The first chapter goes hand in hand with creating or overhauling many systems that will later serve as foundations for the chapters that follow. The team had already explained this during its Chapter 1 presentation: building these tools requires a lot of work today, but should make it possible to speed up the creation of future chapters.

Simon goes even further: at least one part of the game should undergo a particularly radical transformation, one the community probably is not expecting.

As for Chapter 1's release date? There is no question of rushing it: it will arrive when Simon considers it truly ready.

It is also still too early to determine exactly how much time will separate two chapters.

As for the resources available to make this vision a reality, Simon sounded particularly confident: he says the team has the time, developers and financial resources it needs to live up to its ambitions.

Hytale's combat system is going to be extensively reworked

Another major area of work: combat.

Simon himself acknowledges the limits of the current system, including a lack of precision in how it feels and some animations that are still too jerky. The goal is therefore not simply to make a few tweaks: combat is set for a true overhaul.

This evolution will be particularly important for future bosses.

Some encounters could take an approach close to Souls-like, especially at the highest difficulty levels. And the team does not seem afraid to offer extremely demanding content.

Some optional bosses could therefore be deliberately designed to be so difficult that most players will never manage to defeat them.

Creatures mentioned as potential candidates for future bosses include:

• the Void Spiders;

• the Krakens;

• and even a potential dinosaur boss, an idea Simon approved.

On the other hand, do not necessarily expect a huge final boss followed by credits that definitively bring the adventure to an end.

The philosophy seems to be more about a world that keeps growing, with new challenges added over the years.

Simon also cites boss fights and rune development among the elements he is personally most excited to see evolve.

Runes will partly replace traditional RPG classes

Runes could become one of the most important systems in Hytale's gameplay.

Rather than locking players into traditional classes (warrior, mage, healer and other classic archetypes), the team wants to use runes to offer much more flexible progression.

The concept had already been revealed for Chapter 1: some runes grant active abilities, while others let players modify how they behave.

The system is intended to start relatively simply, with only a few runes, before gradually gaining depth and possibilities.

Eventually, players should therefore be able to build their own playstyle by combining different abilities rather than choosing a permanent class.

And this philosophy will extend to modding: creators will be able to develop their own runes.

Runes will mainly be combat-oriented, but magic should not be used exclusively to eliminate enemies. Simon also mentions the possibility of introducing magical elements tied to calmer, even cosy activities.

Some weapons already seen in Creative mode, however, will have to wait much longer before they truly become part of the game's progression.

WorldGen V2: much more varied underground areas

Hytale's world is also far from having reached its final form.

The WorldGen V2 is still in development and should notably transform underground environments considerably, with more variety in how they are generated.

But the team does not intend to replace the current system prematurely: WorldGen V2 will become the main world generation system only once it is mature enough.

Rendering technologies are also receiving significant work. Simon hopes Hytale can benefit from a substantial visual upgrade over time.

This notably includes topics such as:

• view distance and LODs (level of detail);

• water rendering;

• the different graphics pipelines;

• and, more broadly, how environments are displayed.

An ocean overhaul will come as well… but clearly not right away. On this point, Simon takes a much simpler approach: he will tackle it when he feels like taking on that project.

No hunger: food should provide bonuses instead

Hytale should not automatically adopt every traditional convention of survival games.

At the moment, no hunger system is planned (phew).

Simon would prefer food to be used as a positive mechanic: eating could provide various buffs and temporary benefits, rather than becoming an additional meter that regularly forces players to eat or suffer a penalty.

That is an important difference in the gameplay philosophy.

Farming, animal breeding and various forms of automation are already being explored by the designers, however.

For advanced automation, the team remains cautious: it will only be developed when it genuinely adds something to the gameplay experience.

Humans could also appear in Hytale's universe in the future, but that clearly does not seem to be planned for the early stages of early access.

Finally, good news for players: the issue that allows some mobs to spawn directly inside players' bases is known and is due to be fixed.

A new mount system is confirmed

Movement and travel are set to evolve too.

Simon confirms that a new and improved mount system is planned for Hytale.

And rideable creatures should only be one part of the available transportation options. The team is also considering other systems, including improved minecarts.

And what about dragons?

The idea of a dragon that can be used as a mount is not considered particularly difficult to implement from a technical standpoint. The issue is more its impact on game design: being able to fly freely could make it too easy to bypass exploration and certain obstacles designed by the developers.

A dragon mount therefore remains a possibility, but certainly not a confirmed feature.

Hytale's interface is going to be completely overhauled

The current version of Hytale probably will not keep its interface forever either.

Simon says he is not satisfied with its current form and confirms that a full UI overhaul is planned.

Some early changes to the HUD and interface have already been visible in Chapter 1 presentations.

Other elements are also on the table: more emotes, improvements to avatar customization and an overhaul of the NPC Memories system.

One anecdote shows just how temporary some current systems still are: according to Simon, the current version of Memories was created in a single day before early access.

Direct YouTube integration into Hytale is still being considered too, though with relatively low priority.

Even some small details continue to be discussed with the community. The name of the item currently called “poop” could change, for example, after Simon directly asked players for suggestions.

The Cursebreaker edition should receive additional content over the next few updates.

What role will the store and creators play?

Hytale's future store should focus first and foremost on cosmetics for avatars.

However, the system still seems far from being finalized: Simon acknowledges that he has not spent a huge amount of time on this part of the game so far.

One possibility would be to introduce a few items with each chapter to help fund the creator ecosystem.

This intention aligns with a strategy already visible elsewhere in Hytale: the team wants to build an ecosystem where creators and modders can be rewarded while mods remain free to access.

Official merchandise is still planned as well, although the team still needs to find the right partners.

Finally, new developer positions should open in the future. But before accelerating hiring, the team first wants to keep refining its organization.

Hytale should be playable offline, while Steam and consoles will have to wait

Simon also answered several more general questions about the game's future.

Hytale should be playable offline. The planned system would simply require reconnecting periodically to validate access to the game.

For consoles, no release window has currently been announced and porting is not an immediate priority.

The same applies to Steam.

Simon clearly does not want to expose Hytale to a new massive audience (and rightly so) before the game has reached a level of quality he considers sufficient. A Steam release will therefore have to wait.

And French in Hytale?

Good news for the French-speaking community: French is indeed on the roadmap.

Simon explains that the language is important to him, as well as to the person handling translation work on the team.

However, no specific date has been announced.

For creators, Simon also continues to encourage a particularly direct relationship with the team. He notably praised the mod Aetherhaven, which he considers very promising based on what he has seen.

He also invites developers working on combat-related mods to share the tools or features they are missing: when relevant, the team can try to evolve Hytale to meet those needs.

Hytale is still a long way from showing its final form

If there is one thing to take away from this enormous Q&A session, it is probably this: Hytale is still very much under construction.

The game available today already lets players play, create worlds, develop mods and discover the first building blocks of its universe. But a considerable number of its core systems still need to evolve.

Combat, interface, progression, runes, bosses, world generation, mounts, farming, transportation, graphics rendering… almost no major pillar seems to be considered definitively finished.

That is obviously a source of impatience, especially around Chapter 1. But it is also what makes this period of early access particularly interesting to follow: we are watching the Hytale the team wants to keep alive for many years being built in real time.

And after several months spent rebuilding its technical foundations, the outlines of that future are finally starting to become much clearer.