You know, I have a bad habit of being over-skeptical about Hytale. Even after "Rising expectations" dropped, I already took their original claim of "posting every few weeks" with not just a grain, but a megaton of salt. They did post again on July 2019, which meant my salty defenses were worth the wait.
They posted "Custom Content in Hytale" one month later, so that broke down my salty defenses by about 30%, thinking that Hytale was finally becoming consistent again.
But on late October 2019, in a fit of Barbarian rage, I reinforced my salt defenses to 420% as Noxy released a public apology through a thread of Tweets and Hytale itself announced an "update in the coming weeks". Keep in mind that "Custom Content in Hytale" was two months old at this time, so even though the new blog posts were posted a month later, my rage still feels justified to me. (It's totally fine if you think my rage is not justified lololol)
On November 22 (November 23 on my time zone GMT+8), Noxy replied to a poll by Hytale News, saying "Next week [a blog post will be released]. I have a source." presumably referring to himself or Simon, according to Legion Gaming (formerly The Game Gurus).
Okay, I admit this cut down my defenses to...maybe 169%. I think Noxy said that with confident certainty...but of course, the unexpected can strike anytime. The only way to know when a blog post will come out is by actually checking the Hytale website...kinda like that meme I saw which said the best way to know a baby's gender is through childbirth. (By the way, turn on your notifications for Hytale's Twitter account and YouTube channel. lololol)
Anyway, on the day I started drafting this (November 28, 2019), I awakened at 11 AM after a birthday party that tired me out 'cause I beat three kids (one about as tall as me) in karate sparring. I turned on my tablet's Wi-Fi, and to my shock, I was bombarded with notifications of Hytale's new blog posts and music tracks five days after Noxy's "next week" reply. I quickly put on my casual clothes and rushed to the store to read these blog posts with maximum concentration and Wi-Fi signal.
November 2019 development update
Let's get this out of the way first: the explanation as to why blog posts have been slowing down at such an inconsistent rate.
Expectations are high and rising all the time, and the level of anxiety on the team has risen alongside them...
Hytale is an ambitious project and we have set high standards for ourselves, but the bar has been raised even higher by the community response. It’s fair to say that we weren’t prepared for the degree of intense analysis that we’ve received, and we’re highly aware of the risks that have faced highly-anticipated games in the past. We know we’ve only got one chance to make a strong first impression with the finished game." (emphasis added)
Yeah, this reminds me a bit of Pokémon Sword and Shield, with Junichi Masuda and Shigeru Ohmori stating that they were pressured and saddened by the lack of a full National Pokédex. (I'm glad MysticUmbreon started the #ThankYouGAMEFREAK hashtag to restore GAME FREAK's morale. As for Hytale, Noxy feels "teary-eyed" after reading messages of support for Hytale. Can I "plagiarize" MysticUmbreon and start a hashtag #ThankYouHypixelStudios?)
But back to Hytale. This is why they're delaying the beta: the beta will be the public's first chance to play Hytale first-hand, so they gotta make it near-perfect thanks to the sky-high expectations. (I forgot who said something similar to this.) In other words, go big or go home.
To that, I say in Michael Groth's voice, "Bold predictions."
This is actually much sooner and more plausible than I thought, assuming nothing gets screwed up along the way. I was originally undecided on the release date, though in my reaction to ThirtyVirus's speculations, I asserted that I don't care even if Hytale takes 10 years to release, which was clearly an exaggeration.
I actually predicted this post would say Hytale would still be in the state of "ready when it's ready", and to be honest, in my mind, Hytale is still in that state, despite ThirtyVirus's early statement "most of the groundwork is already done." That way, I keep my expectations low and don't go into a violent rampage on my punching bag when things don't go my way.
Well, if things go smoothly, I should be able to play Hytale a few months after I graduate.
CATTLE FECES!
Okay, sure, some were expecting an early 2019, summer 2019, or Christmas 2019 release, but for a game this big, a 2019 release is extremely unlikely in my opinion especially with a lot of "work in progress" content, which Hytale will be showing more often from now on. I mean, have you seen this error message which Noxy posted?
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| somebody must've screwed up a texture image lololol (intentional bad grammar) |
I'd like to talk about this amazing screenshot that was included in the post:
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| Funny thing is, I didn't notice the bookshelves to the left and right when I was looking at this on my tablet while in my store. Our store is lit up by strong sunlight during daytime, rather than a light bulb. |
My weird first impression was that this is a prison cell because of the pillars on the window, and the prisoner was writing on that table. lololol
To me, this screenshot represents Hypixel Studios's quietness as they work in isolation and sorrow, with the sunlight representing the path leading them to the eventual release of Hytale and the positive reception of the gaming community. Currently, this dark library is representative of Hypixel Studios's feelings of not being able to release a blog post within the promised "few weeks".
(Take my criticism with a grain of salt. I'm not a professional artist.)
Maybe the Hytale community should brighten things up a bit. We should cast Pass Without Trace on each other, sneak into this dark library, and spam Light or Daylight while placing #ThankYouHypixelStudios letters all over the place. Heroes' Feast is optional but highly recommended. lololol
By the way, I actually let Shadrok read a draft of this post, so he and fan artist Dairy Panda beat me to the punch with this Tweet. It got replies from Noxy, Oscar Garvin, BuddhaCat, and the main Hytale Twitter account. Well done, you two, and thank you, Hypixel Studios! You're real kind!
By the way, I actually let Shadrok read a draft of this post, so he and fan artist Dairy Panda beat me to the punch with this Tweet. It got replies from Noxy, Oscar Garvin, BuddhaCat, and the main Hytale Twitter account. Well done, you two, and thank you, Hypixel Studios! You're real kind!
I actually prefer to see completed parts of Hytale, but I think this is a much better strategy business-wise. Go for it, Hypixel Studios!
Yeah, you'd better do that. Knowing what the community wants when you show "work in progress" content makes development much faster and more guided rather than completing it blind and having to change a lot of stuff later on due to negative criticism.
Speaking of criticism, expect me to be here criticizing like the lunatic I am. lololol
Anyway, to end this, notice that they did not mention an interval for blog post release like "every few weeks". I'm glad they didn't say it because that's what caused outrage in the first place: not releasing "every few weeks".
That said, it's realistically more possible now to release "every few weeks" since Hytale is "planning to open up much more than [they] have in the past."
I'm still setting my minimum to once a month, though, except for the Hytale trailer's one year anniversary on December 13, 2019. Advanced Happy Birthday to the Hytale trailer!
Now that this blog post is out of the way...
Progress Update: November 27, 2019*
*November 27, 2019 on their time zone. On GMT+8, it was released on November 28, 2019 1:43 AM.
Not to be confused with the development update I talked about before. While the development update was focused on the team's mood and future plans, this progress update talks about the things they've done recently in Hytale's development.
New Biomes
The autumn forest looks nothing special to me so far; it looks mostly like a reskinned forest to me, except for the glowing mushrooms. Well, those should be useful for navigation.
The oasis, however, is amazing. While staying true to zone 2's color scheme, it introduces a feeling of relief and energy with its abundant grass, a bit more water than I expected, and those purple flower things that contrast with the dry terrain and complement the water amazingly.
Supposedly, there will be other creatures competing for the oasis as well, so I may have to cut down the grass and trees to ensure I can see incoming threats. Gang wars are fine since neither side is trying to be stealthy, but I gotta be careful when dealing with predators.
Supposedly, there will be other creatures competing for the oasis as well, so I may have to cut down the grass and trees to ensure I can see incoming threats. Gang wars are fine since neither side is trying to be stealthy, but I gotta be careful when dealing with predators.
Farming Progress
Seems to be largely similar to Minecraft: till the earth with a hoe (yes, hoes are officially in Hytale), plant crops, and wait for them to grow.
Interestingly, they made no mention of watering in this section, and there's consistently no water blocks near any of the farms in official media. Why are they not talking about watering? Hmmm...
Anyway, let's talk a bit about this screenshot:
This is one of our first glimpses of the GUI outside of a menu like a crafting screen. (FREAKING FINALLY!)
The hotbar works pretty much the same as Minecraft; it's still 9 items. (Why not 10 so we can use the 0 button lololol)
Rarities are shown in the hotbar, as shown by the seeds in slot 2. Although the official rarity "name" of green items is not yet stated, I'm guessing it's uncommon. (The rarities we know so far are common (gray), rare (blue), epic (purple), and legendary (yellow).)
If you look closely at the icon on slot 4, which the player is holding, there's poop labeled on the pouch. (Or pot? idk) This is most likely to be fertilizer, which is made of poop, including cattle feces. Hmmm, how will this work in gameplay? Will it speed up plant growth like bone meal does? Or increase harvest quantity like in Pokémon X and Y?
The bottom right shows a bunch of icons. Three of them have ??? on the bottom; might mean that there's currently nothing to do with any of them. The compass thing has M, which might mean pressing M will open the map. The pouch has E, which might mean it opens the inventory just like in Minecraft. (Yeah, Minecraft players will quickly feel at home with this GUI.)
"The next step is livestock farming and animal domestication, including an animal happiness system that will react to a variety of factors, including feed, the availability of good bedding, and the company of similar creatures."
"The next step is livestock farming and animal domestication, including an animal happiness system that will react to a variety of factors, including feed, the availability of good bedding, and the company of similar creatures."
Immediately, this reminded me of the minigames where the player can feed and play with their Pokémon, such as Pokémon-Amie, Pokémon Refresh, and that camp thingy in Pokémon Sword and Shield.
It also reminded me of the "cage-free" labels I see on packs of eggs where they say something around the lines of "happy hens make better eggs!" I enjoy meals that my mom makes with those eggs, like pancakes and yang chow rice.
From the get-go, it adds a memorable and realistic personality to animals, making it a huge improvement from the aimless, robotic movements of most Minecraft animals. Simply stuffing a featureless enclosed space with thousands of cows isn't enough and isn't pretty to look at for both players and cows.
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| No. Just no. |
I'm excited to see what kinds of rewards I get for properly taking care of animals. Does meat from poorly-treated animals taste "meh", disgusting, or even poisonous to the point of inflicting debuffs? For well-treated animals, does meat give buffs like increasing physical damage and defense thanks to the abundant and high-quality protein and fat?
By the way, does this mean, every time I kill an animal for food, I have to isolate it from the rest of its friends or stealth-kill it to avoid losing animal happiness for the other animals? Either way, my dagger and shortbow are ready.
It'd be even better if I can grapple small animals like chickens just like grabbing humanoids in the Prototype series. That way, I don't have to rage whenever baiting animals with food goes wrong such as a bear attacking a chicken that's too slow to keep up with my ninja speed.
Also, can I carry over some of these farming features to real life? I want to be ready in case of a real-life apocalypse...or at least when I'm too poor to buy things for myself.
New Monsters and Mysteries
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| Gross. |
This looks to me like an "uglified" hybrid of a zombie and a crawler. The wavy pale blue hair might suggest "watery" origins, similar to the drowned.
Fan artist DecLXIV thinks this is "something out of Silent Hill".
Fan artist DecLXIV thinks this is "something out of Silent Hill".
Let me tell you first-hand that I am terrified of vertical mouths. Fortunately, this monster as a whole doesn't look very strong to me, so it's not as bad as, say, this thing from Adventure Time:
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| Now that I think about it, its head kinda looks like a butt. |
Those hands look kinda big to me, so I assume the new undead creature attacks primarily by pouncing towards its prey then scratching.
Or it could be a good swimmer.
I'll be ready though in case this monster can shoot some kind of acid.
I'm guessing this screenshot is from zone 4, but I'm not 100% sure. It looks like something that's part of an underground cavern that has been inhabited by a sentient race. There's what looks like a railroad near the NPC's feet.
Speaking of the NPC, armor covers the vast majority of its body so I'm not 100% sure, but for now, I'll assume it's a human.
I see a lot of speculation that this is from an unannounced zone, but I'm too lazy to form my own opinion right now. So far, I see no connection between this and the lightning element, though void (zone 6?) is more plausible.
I see a lot of speculation that this is from an unannounced zone, but I'm too lazy to form my own opinion right now. So far, I see no connection between this and the lightning element, though void (zone 6?) is more plausible.
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| Another screenshot I struggled to understand because of the bright light in my store. |
The creature in the foreground camouflages well with the surrounding stone and plants. Looks like a dinosaur to me, with maybe a little inspiration from the Pokémon Drednaw. (Thomas Frick has been playing a ton of Pokémon Sword and Shield.) I guess this is what they meant with the caption "Why is my glass of water shaking?"
Edit: "Why is my glass of water shaking?" is a Jurassic Park reference.
Edit: "Why is my glass of water shaking?" is a Jurassic Park reference.
What is REALLY significant is what's in the background. Look closely in the middle and you'll see Propzie running from a red T-Rex-like monster. It has bioluminescent...I guess, antennae?
Yep, this is zone 4 alright.
Okay, that was quick. They weren't kidding with showcasing more content. Next blog post.
Four new pieces of music from the Hytale soundtrack
I have a strange feeling that this was influenced by Shadrok's questions and request to Oscar Garvin about the Hytale OST. Besides, Shadrok thinks D&D-style campaigns would go well with Hytale and Kweebec Corner thinks "a Hytale D&D server would be so cool", which may have influenced Oscar Garvin to make his D&D soundtrack public.
Note that I know nothing about music, so again, take my statements with a grain of salt.
Herbalist's Refuge
While describing this track, it was mentioned that zone 1 has "enjoyed the protection of Gaia" before. I think this confirms Gaia's status as a goddess, if not some super-powerful being. Kweebec Corner's Gaia and Varyn theory has a little more evidence.
The semi-silence was weird to me considering that this doesn't have a sad theme like "Gaia's Lament" does. (I don't hear it when playing on loudspeaker in a public area or outdoors.)
It's not as weird though when I put on headphones and turn up the volume; there are bird-chirping ambient noises in the background and some long notes. I'll take a wild guess and say that Oscar Garvin expects the player to just look around the forest and appreciate the wildlife. (Fudge it, I'm still gonna look for things to kill!)
The semi-silence was weird to me considering that this doesn't have a sad theme like "Gaia's Lament" does. (I don't hear it when playing on loudspeaker in a public area or outdoors.)
It's not as weird though when I put on headphones and turn up the volume; there are bird-chirping ambient noises in the background and some long notes. I'll take a wild guess and say that Oscar Garvin expects the player to just look around the forest and appreciate the wildlife. (Fudge it, I'm still gonna look for things to kill!)
When I explore the Biomes O'Plenty forests in my no damage playthrough, "Herbalist's Refuge" adds a magical calming feeling to my exploration, especially when I just stare at the leaves and ponds.
Canyon of the Many Suns
I know this track is related to zone 2, but it hits me close to home in a wide variety of ways.
Similar to "Gaia's Lament", it starts off with a sort of feeling of loneliness and tiredness, which goes well with what Oscar was imagining: trekking through a dry canyon. It hits me the hardest when I'm alone in the store while Mom is napping, when I'm doing a long-distance travel in my no damage playthrough alone, or when I'm joyriding my bike during sunset at areas with few pedestrians and moving vehicles.
Similar to "Night on the Dunes" (besides both being set in zone 2), it starts with a sort of sad theme then becomes energetic at the end, and let me tell you: the near-end of this track reminds me with a TON of things.
The melody which kicks in at 3:21 reminds me somewhat of the musical style of The Sims 3, which has one of my favorite video game soundtracks of all time.
Once the chanting kicks in at 4:21, I get reminded of "Id (Purpose)" from Fire Emblem Awakening. Too bad it's kinda short because it has a "legendary" feel to it.
After the chanting, the track ends with a seemingly victorious and peaceful melody to represent the player getting to the "lost temple" Oscar described.
Once the chanting kicks in at 4:21, I get reminded of "Id (Purpose)" from Fire Emblem Awakening. Too bad it's kinda short because it has a "legendary" feel to it.
After the chanting, the track ends with a seemingly victorious and peaceful melody to represent the player getting to the "lost temple" Oscar described.
By the way, I play the Hytale OST in sequence based on their order within the blog posts, from "Traveling Band" to "Snowfall", so naturally, the next track I play after "Canyon of the Many Suns" is "Ancient Tombs", and let me tell you something about that transition:
Ancient Tombs
Remember the "lost temple" Oscar described when talking about "Canyon of the Many Suns"? I think this is his representation of the inside of that temple. The way he starts the track, I imagine the player is bracing themself for danger as they prepare to leave the "canyon of the many suns" by opening the hypothetical big and ominous door.
Befitting the creepy theme of an Egyptian-style dungeon, this zone 2 track strikes fear with its quiet yet ominous notes. It makes me want to slow down and think twice as I explore zone 2's dungeons...especially when turning across a corner because a Scarak might pop out and I need to be ready to counter or shoot an arrow.
Oscar Garvin also mentioned "evil magic" when talking about the location where this track is played. Interesting how he didn't say "void magic".
When I listen to this track, I keep imagining the music getting interrupted by the wild Pokémon battle music from Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon.
The sudden rock music fits very well with the creepy theme of "Ancient Tombs" in my opinion, like I'm bracing myself for a battle and I'm ready to pull off some amazing action hero moves.
A wild VOID SPAWN appeared!
The near end of this track has a similar melody to "Canyon of the Many Suns". Interesting connection... I'd be surprised if "Ancient Tombs" was composed first.
When I listen to this track, I keep imagining the music getting interrupted by the wild Pokémon battle music from Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon.
The sudden rock music fits very well with the creepy theme of "Ancient Tombs" in my opinion, like I'm bracing myself for a battle and I'm ready to pull off some amazing action hero moves.
A wild VOID SPAWN appeared!
The near end of this track has a similar melody to "Canyon of the Many Suns". Interesting connection... I'd be surprised if "Ancient Tombs" was composed first.
Snowfall
Oscar Garvin said, "I write [music] in this ‘roleplaying’ kind of way to try and give a level of cinematic immersion to the player."
Considering how he's a D&D player and D&D encourages players to roleplay their characters, this comes very easily to Oscar.
I'd say this track was released spot-on, considering Christmas was right around the corner. It's not designed to be festive, but for some reason, I get flashbacks in my own childhood when listening to this. Christmas was my favorite time of the year as a kid (besides summer vacation), and it still is now.
At first, though, I associated this track with zone 2 for some reason as I wanted to avoid having the title influence my first impressions of the track. Some of "Snowfall" feels lonely or desolate just like a desert rather than a polar region.
"Snowfall" sort of worked though when I was feeling cold at night while driving across a highway on my way home.
It does not snow here in the Philippines, so I wonder how different it would feel to listen to "Snowfall" in a place that actually snows, especially Norway which Oscar Garvin got inspiration from.
At first, though, I associated this track with zone 2 for some reason as I wanted to avoid having the title influence my first impressions of the track. Some of "Snowfall" feels lonely or desolate just like a desert rather than a polar region.
"Snowfall" sort of worked though when I was feeling cold at night while driving across a highway on my way home.
It does not snow here in the Philippines, so I wonder how different it would feel to listen to "Snowfall" in a place that actually snows, especially Norway which Oscar Garvin got inspiration from.
Hytale OST-related Side Notes
Oscar Garvin replied to a Tweet asking for sheet music for the Hytale OST, saying that it may be available upon Hytale's release. For now, he's okay with helping others making arrangements or covers of the tracks.
Speaking of arrangements and covers, Oscar liked my Retweet with comment saying I want "Ablaze" remixes similar to Fire Emblem Awakening (though I'd prefer them in the Fire Emblem Warriors style which uses electric guitars). (In some Fire Emblem games starting from Fire Emblem Awakening, map music has a normal version and an "Ablaze" version; the normal version is typically calm and has soft sounds while the "Ablaze" version has louder, more energetic, and more battle-like sounds.)
In particular, I want "Ablaze" remixes of "Traveling Band", "A New Adventure", and "Canyon of the Many Suns".
I bet there are many traveling bands and new adventurers who are itching for a good fight, though not necessarily in a canyon (even though that's an interesting battlefield).
"Ablaze" remixes of "Kweebec Village", "Gaia's Lament", and "Ancient Tombs" would be weird but interesting.
"Kweebec Village", for example, is typically associated with joy and playfulness, but setting it "ablaze" would probably represent the shock of witnessing an enemy army invading an otherwise peaceful faction.
An "Ablaze" version of "Gaia's Lament" would maybe represent players or a faction desperately clinging on to their last hope as they endure not only the searing heat and raging sandstorms of zone 2 but also the enemy's relentless onslaught.
Just like playing the USUM wild battle music in the middle of "Ancient Tombs", I think an "Ablaze" remix should emphasize the action-packed potential of fantasy dungeon explorers.
Hytale graphics update
Now here's where the big daddy is. I'll tell you why later, but if you've read through this entire post before or seen others' analysis videos, you'll know why.
Real-time Shadows
Real-time shadows are a huge deal for me—probably because I don't like looking at lazily drawn shadows underneath objects or characters in earlier or low-end 3D games.
Considering that I expect Hytale to have much better graphics than Minecraft, I set a high standard on Hytale's graphics, so I was admittedly disappointed when the trailer didn't have detailed shadows.
Compare these two images:
Yeah, the zone 2 trees don't have detailed shadows besides those lazy top-down Minecraft-like shadows.
But real-time shadows can also be used in tactics.
When sneaking around in my house or walking on the street, I know a person is coming when I see their shadow, so I can react before actually seeing the person's body.
In Hytale, when sunlight coming from a window disappears all of a sudden but it's still daytime, that might mean there's an intruder and it's my cue to check outside the house.
(TheLividLion pointed this out in a video that was released after I finished my first draft of this post.)
Of course, there should be an option to use "lazy shadows" instead in case real-time shadows mess with gameplay and prevent players from seeing where they're going while they don't have light sources.
Water Effects
Actually, I found nothing special between the current water effects and those of some previous media. Compare these two screenshots:
Both of these screenshots have reflections, waves, and edge whitening, despite the lower screenshot being released much earlier.
I guess water was made more transparent in this graphics update? I struggled to see under the water in this screenshot:
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| I know this is from "A peek at some of zone 1's wildlife", but I'm speculating that this really is a super early screenshot that was taken before releasing the trailer. It lacks the water effects in the Kweebec screenshot above. idk. |
Bloom and Sunshafts
Not a big deal for me, though I'm curious as to what the screenshots would look like without these graphical effects.
Sunshafts add a cinematic feel, like you feel victorious or hope is near.
It kinda sucks that they're not available on integrated GPUs because I only have a puny Intel HD Graphics, but hopefully the lack of sunshafts don't interfere with my ability to perceive incoming threats.
Other Improvements
I really like how the sun and leaves affect the light blue sweater's appearance. (It's a sweater, right?) The sunshafts really add to how powerful this shot is. Are they also affecting the sweater?
Speaking of the sweater, I like how detailed the fabric is, along with the pants and boots.
Despite the trees being spread-out, this still invokes a sense of danger and the unknown. You bet I'll keep my bow clutched tightly while sneaking around here.
I'd like to see how creators make their own shadows using vanilla Hytale and "build" some amazing things.
THE BIG DADDY
FUUUUUUUDGE YEEEEAAAAHHHH!!! OUR FIRST HYTALE GAMEPLAY VIDEO! Where do I even start? I don't really care about the graphics at this point, so let's do what Hytale expects us to do: ANALYZE IT LIKE CRAZY!
The player with the first person view is Propzie.
Let's get one important thing out of the way: IT'S CONFIRMED THAT HYTALE MELEE COMBAT IS BASICALLY LIKE A HACK-AND-SLASH GAME! This means clicking extremely fast does not make a weapon attack faster than its normal attack speed, but clicking fast doesn't punish the player with reduced damage either. Take that, Minecraft 1.9!
The player with the first person view is Propzie.
Let's get one important thing out of the way: IT'S CONFIRMED THAT HYTALE MELEE COMBAT IS BASICALLY LIKE A HACK-AND-SLASH GAME! This means clicking extremely fast does not make a weapon attack faster than its normal attack speed, but clicking fast doesn't punish the player with reduced damage either. Take that, Minecraft 1.9!
(With that said, for those who prefer to fight in Hytale using Minecraft 1.8-style combat, how about modding in a dagger or sword that can only thrust and block but has infinite attack speed?)
Notice, at the very start, NinjaCharlieT was wielding a two-handed axe at first, then switched instantly to a sword and shield.
Ooh, dual-wielding on the fly!
Round 1: Interestingly, that first maul attack on the sword and shield-wielding skeleton didn't interrupt the skeleton's first attack. It did knock the skeleton to the left, though, since the maul was swung left.
Upon swinging right, the skeleton was knocked to the right as expected. I suppose knocking an enemy to the side means you don't have to strafe in order to knock your enemy into disadvantageous or hazardous terrain? Eh, I'd rather shove an enemy forward with a palm strike or shield bash.
The melee-attacking skeletons give very little time for the player to react to their attacks. It's fine for those with quick reactions like martial artists and first-person shooter players, but not for casual players. Oh well, at least they're weak enemies, so I can excuse a little bit of extra attack speed.
The archers and mages let the player know they're attacking, though.
By the way, the melee skeletons and NinjaCharlieT attacked at roughly the same speed and animation.
Notice that taking damage from melee and ranged attacks are shown differently. For melee attacks, it's shown as a wide arc pointing towards the attacker's location, just like in first-person shooters. For ranged attacks, it's shown as a much narrower arc further away from the player's target.
This is a nice quality of life feature since the player isn't knocked back as far in Hytale as in Minecraft and not everyone has headphones to determine an enemy's location using sound.
YOU CAN KNOCK CREATURES ONTO EACH OTHER? Now THAT's what I call crowd control! Yeah, bludgeons might be game-breaking, especially in SkyWars and similar "push your enemy off the ring" games. pls nerf. (intentional bad grammar)
The skeleton was killed in 3 hits. Either its armor was sturdy, the maul was weak, or both. I'd imagine a maul to do more damage realistically. At least the lack of extra damage weakens my idea of bludgeons being "armorslayers".
Interestingly, the skeleton didn't block with its shield.
Round 2: A charged downward strike disintegrated an archer in one hit while knocking it forward. Well, that's promising in stealth missions, though it's predictable in PvP. It didn't cost extra durability, which is pretty interesting, unlike Combat Arts in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. (I know because this maul has kinda low max durability.) Expect me to spam charge attacks against easy enemies like zombies.
Notice how the charge bar was full for a while before striking. Unlike Dynasty Warriors and Prototype, this allows the player to prepare a charge attack then wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.
That said, I think there should be an option to make charge attacks trigger as soon as the charge bar is full for those who prefer speed over accuracy, though it might be game-breaking in PvP.
That said, I think there should be an option to make charge attacks trigger as soon as the charge bar is full for those who prefer speed over accuracy, though it might be game-breaking in PvP.
Also, did you notice the spike pit in front of that same archer? Kinda hard to build a bridge or cover over it during combat, but the pit is fairly easy to go around.
(Why is that spike pit there in the first place? Unless I was paranoid, I wouldn't place traps on such random, pointless places, even while I'm the Dungeon Master in a D&D game. If I wanted to leave the spike pit where it was, I would've made it bigger to make it harder to jump over, let alone walk around it.)
Round 3: an uncommon Silversteel Blade versus a spellbook-wielding skeleton. It was killed in 3 normal hits.
The sword didn't knock the mage as far as the maul did to the other skeletons, but it makes sense because a sword isn't designed to push away an enemy anyway. Knockback can mess up a player's aim in Minecraft.
The Silversteel Blade didn't lose as much durability as the maul because, come on, it's silversteel. Stone kinda sucks.
Side note: Shadrok theorized about the possibility of combining different metals in the same tool, weapon, or armor piece.
Side note: Shadrok theorized about the possibility of combining different metals in the same tool, weapon, or armor piece.
The player picked up the spellbook afterwards. NO WAY, WE CAN ATTACK WITH TOMES LIKE ROBIN DOES!!! GIMME A TACTICAL BOLT TOME NOW!!!
The spellbook didn't do anything special besides charge up a basic magic projectile. I think it's a charge attack-only weapon, similar to a bow. (But does it deal more damage than fists when used as a melee weapon in emergencies? lololol) Unlike the maul, however, the spellbook attacks as soon as it is fully charged, so, combined with its rather slow projectile speed, it requires good accuracy and prediction of the enemy's movement to hit.
Upon hitting, the magic left behind a small, floating green "orb", but it seems to do nothing besides look cool before fading away.
Interestingly, the spellbook didn't lose any durability despite being used 4 times by the player and coming from a killed mob. (In Minecraft, equipment pieces dropped by mobs are usually heavily damaged.)
If this is true for the released game, then fudge it, ALL THREE OF US (me, BoltOLightnin, and YoSquid) should be magic users!
Then again, it's kinda unfair to have a weapon with infinite durability during "Survival mode"... So does the spellbook actually use some kind of mana or ammunition, kinda like D&D spells that consume material components?
By the way, I saw a lot of speculations about the green magic bolts from the purple spellbook suggesting that the magic is connected to zone 1.
By the way, I saw a lot of speculations about the green magic bolts from the purple spellbook suggesting that the magic is connected to zone 1.
Round 4: NinjaCharlieT and the other player, now wielding the purple spellbook, killed a staff-wielding skeleton in 2 hits each.
Interestingly, the staff wielder's attacks weren't as obviously "announced" as the spellbook attacks. The staff just emits a few particles, and the skeleton hardly moves. I still think it doesn't matter which one is used in PvP (assuming staves and spellbooks have the same hardcoded stats like damage and attack speed) because players are skilled at spotting tiny details during combat.
Notice that, after killing the staff wielder, the player did not charge up their spellbook attack. This may be stronger evidence to spellbooks not being able to maintain a charge like the maul did.
NinjaCharlieT was shown blocking with his shield, just like the Trork fight scene in the trailer. But there seems to be nothing special besides not being slowed down while blocking and not taking knockback.
Strangely, the mace-wielding skeleton that NinjaCharlieT killed before opening the chest did not count towards the quest "Kill the Skeletons!" even though a skeleton was killed off-screen right after the maul-wielding player killed the archer. Maybe that mace-wielding skeleton was a naturally spawned skeleton that wasn't part of the quest? Yeah, another piece of proof that Hytale isn't ready yet.
Speaking of "not ready yet", NinjaCharlieT's name tag still looked similar to these:
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| Original video by EGX This is a super early screenshot of Hytale. Yeah, these name tags suck. Élisée's, Winghide's, and NinjaCharlieT's name tags almost overlap and are difficult to tell apart from one another. |
Interestingly, NinjaCharlieT's character did not do that chest opening animation shown in the trailer where the staff wielder lifted her left arm 90 degrees. He instead opened it with an animation that's very similar to Minecraft's player attack animation.
NinjaCharlieT swung a two-handed fire sword after closing the chest. The animations were noticeably slower and had more "attack preparation" time similar to the archers and spellbook wielder. (In fighting, it's called "telegraphing".) Well, better not fight me with a two-handed weapon 'cause I can block, dodge, or counter VERY quickly with a shield or dagger.
He also blocked with the fire sword in a pose which kinda looks like Chrom's and Lucina's artworks:
He also blocked with the fire sword in a pose which kinda looks like Chrom's and Lucina's artworks:
That long red bar above the hotbar? That's the health bar. (Because displaying huge amounts of health with lots of hearts like in Minecraft would clog up the screen.) It regenerates fairly quickly when the player hasn't taken damage in at least 7 seconds, so the player can quickly get back to a battle after some fleeing or stealth.
I actually suspended judgment on what that red bar is before watching this gameplay video.
When health drains or heals, it does so smoothly, but doesn't show the original amount of health before healing or damage. This is not ideal; I prefer either instantly showing the new amount of health (like in Minecraft) or temporarily showing the lost/gained amount of health (like in Pokémon Showdown).
I don't know what those yellow and light blue bars in between the health bar and hotbar are, though. They looked the same throughout the entire video. They could be for pure decoration, but I won't assume too quickly.
Codiak from Legion Gaming has several ideas on what those bars could mean.
Codiak from Legion Gaming has several ideas on what those bars could mean.
Only the spellbook wielder dropped its weapon during the video. This may suggest that, just like in Minecraft, mobs have rare drops, which, in Minecraft, include equipment pieces.
Anyway, how do I end this?
I think this video is one of the major reasons, if not the number 1 reason, why Hytale took SO LONG to release new blog posts. They wanted to show us vanilla combat footage (including magic and charge attacks) which we've been waiting for SO long. They were extremely cautious about how the combat will be received so they needed to get it right before showing it off.
I personally rate this combat 8 out of 10. This is clearly a step beyond Minecraft, building on Minecraft's combat system while effectively inheriting from hack-and-slash games. There are several balance issues though like melee attackers not telegraphing and ranged attackers not walking away from nearby players.
I acknowledge that a "dumb AI" was intentionally shown and Hytale actually has a "much better monster AI" in the works, so my comment about the balance issues is just a nitpick and has only a small impact on my overall scoring.
That said, I'm excited to see the true AI and critique it.
I acknowledge that a "dumb AI" was intentionally shown and Hytale actually has a "much better monster AI" in the works, so my comment about the balance issues is just a nitpick and has only a small impact on my overall scoring.
That said, I'm excited to see the true AI and critique it.
Combat Suggestions
DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional competitive gamer, game developer, or martial arts instructor.
- Make ranged attackers slowly walk away from the player if the player is too close, similar to GTA San Andreas. However, do not make it unpredictably "wiggly" like Minecraft 1.9 skeletons. (I'm not 100% sure yet that Hytale melee weapon attacks can hit enemies in an arc like in hack-and-slash games.)
If the ranged attacker has a melee weapon, give it the option to switch to the melee weapon instead of backing away. - Make charge attacks do more than simply deal heavy damage. For the maul, it can maybe create a small earthquake or shock wave that damages nearby foes. (Why did it not do the spin attack that was shown in the trailer? Is that a separate special attack?)
- Make enemies telegraph their attacks a bit longer so casual players have more time to block or dodge. Also reduce enemy telegraphing on higher difficulties.
- Allow players to shoot magic bolts as fast as the fire sword's or maul's attack speed. This way, magic attacks won't be telegraphed as much while ensuring defending players won't get overwhelmed like they're avoiding a machine gun. The current magic attack can instead be a more powerful charge attack.
- Compensate for two-handed weapons' slow attack speeds—especially during PvP—by letting players do a dash attack as a special attack. This allows two-handed weapons to quickly reach dodgy players while ensuring that players get to escape or counterattack if the dash attack misses. (If dash attacks were normal attacks instead, they'd probably get spammed to the point that either they're unavoidable or they become substitutes for dodging.)
Real-life examples of dash attacks include lunging with a sword or spear, a flying kick, and a Superman Punch.
Outside of fighting: In swimming races, have you ever placed your foot on a wall before kicking it to increase your speed instantly? That's how dashing works.
While drafting this, my first idea was to inflict debuffs such as stunning or preventing enemies from blocking, but I thought, why try to inflict a debuff if a dodgy player can avoid it in the first place, therefore making the debuffing attack pointless? - Immediately after blocking or dodging, allow the player to execute a unique and powerful counterattack. (Might be game-breaking in PvP, but extremely useful in PvE.)
For example, kicking forces a person to stand with one foot for a while. Right after avoiding or blocking that kick, while the person's kicking leg is still in the air, tripping the standing leg would knock the person off-balance and deal a ton of damage. - Talk to different "kinds" of competitive gamers to find out what makes something competitively viable, in their opinions. To start, I recommend consulting Super Smash Bros. competitors since I see Smash played competitively more often than other fighting games and the battlefield actually matters. Also, Smash has a simple set of controls that is common for all characters but has a lot of intricate and complicated mechanics, making it appeal to both casual and competitive gamers.
- When quickly picking up several of the same item, show them in a single box (such as "Picked up Pile of Bones x2") rather than separate boxes for each item. This will keep the rest of the game screen clean.
- Indicate the specific enemies to be killed in a quest. They could be surrounded with a glowing aura, pointed at by an arrow above their heads, or something. This prevents confusion between quest-generated skeletons and naturally-spawned skeletons, for example, though I'm not sure how to do this without making the enemies too easy to detect.
- LET ME GRAPPLE AND SHOVE ENEMIES INTO EACH OTHER! I'm a huge fan of unarmed combat, dang it! Just kidding; we don't even know if Hytale will have unarmed combat besides maybe 1 damage punches.
Behind-the-Scenes
I wrote 90% of this from the time I woke up at November 28, 2019 11:30 AM all the way to 12:30 AM the next day.
I admit, I slacked off in-between, but still, for a 36-second video, that gameplay clip in the graphics update had a GINORMOUS amount of content. I am immensely excited for others' takes on this combat system and how Hypixel Studios will respond to the feedback. I encourage you to download the assets of that blog post and watch that battle on repeat while spotting as many juicy details as you can so you can confidently say "yes" to this question from Dairy Panda.
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