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| Screenshot from the Hytale announcement trailer |
As most of us already know, Hytale is not only heavily inspired by Minecraft, but also comes from a group of developers with experience developing a Minecraft server filled with--you guessed it--PvP. It's been confirmed starting from the trailer that there will be PvP in Hytale. Naturally, die-hard fans of Hytale are on the edge of their seats, itching for the time Hypixel Studios will finally talk about this controversial yet wildly popular form of gameplay.
I admit I'm no longer a competitive PvP player; in fact, I don't like competitive multiplayer in general. (I'll post about that on January 3, 2021.)
But as someone who has done competitive PvP before and enjoys competitive analyses, not gonna lie, I'm excited for what Hytale's PvP has to offer, especially for less "hardcore" players like me. In particular, I hope the learning curve isn't too high and there's more emphasis on defensive tactics and strategic thinking than just charging at foes while mashing the attack button.
When's The Best Time to Post This?
Disclaimer: I am not fully aware of how much work developers (especially indie ones) put into balancing competitive game mechanics.
I recommend at least two months before the beta.
From November 2019 to August 2020, Hytale rolled out progress updates every month. These updates mainly show recent additions and changes to the game, some of which may not be "launch-ready" like the posts before them. Considering the scales of these posts, I'm confident Hypixel Studios can make quick balance changes to PvP within a month, even if it means drastically changing technical stuff in the process, not just simple variables like base attack power.
Giving an additional month, for me, is a "just to be safe" decision. I have no clear reason for this other than me expecting Hypixel Studios to be Crazy-Prepared...especially with Cyberpunk 2077 being a bug-tastic mess.
How Detailed Will This Blog Post Be?
For the sake of argument, I will assume the post will have roughly the same amount of detail as most previous posts.
If Hypixel Studios wants to add more detail, this may turn into a series of separate blog posts to avoid walls of text. How they want to publish them is what I'm less certain of.
Publishing Rate
Not counting large gaps due to "rising expectations" and "reaching spoilerific development stages", Hytale blog posts were mostly published one-by-one in regular intervals. In early 2019, it was once a week, while the progress updates, as I said earlier, were every month.
Some posts were published together almost simultaneously. For example, a whopping four posts were published on November 27, 2019.
If Hypixel Studios wants to maintain a trend, they could publish the PvP blog post series simultaneously on the same day.
This ensures players can give loads of feedback as soon as possible and Hypixel Studios can collect the feedback in one fell swoop.
On the other hand, Hypixel Studios could break the mold and publish the series one post at a time over the course of a week. For example, if the series is 3 posts long, they could publish part 1 on Sunday, part 2 on Wednesday, and part 3 on Saturday.
I prefer this publishing rate. This allows Hypixel Studios and the community to focus on a few bits and pieces of PvP at a time as opposed to "spreading" things out. In other words, we may have more time to, say, analyze sword combat specifically and make more detailed conclusions, as opposed to many short analyses about every single weapon.
I admit the main reason is I don't want to be tempted into cramming every PvP-related feature into a single post of mine.
Level 1: One Post About The Most Basic Mechanics
This level of detail contains all the mechanics every Hytale fighter needs to know before fighting other players. Discussion about complex strategy is minimal; everything is kept as simple as possible. Hypixel Studios will also hide as many combat-related spoilers as possible.
Because this post mainly concerns the average Joe multiplayer gamer, unlike the technical "An Overview of Hytale's Server Technology", this post may contain instructions on how to create or join a multiplayer server, as well as how to set up PvP. In particular, the post may talk about how to enable or disable PvP, how to make PvP zones and "no-fight" zones, and maybe how to quickly give a combat-ready kit to a player or group of players.
This mainly assumes that Hypixel Studios will not make a separate "how to get started with multiplayer" tutorial.
As for the combat itself, the post may briefly talk about how PvP is different from Player Versus Environment (PvE). It may include a slow-mo video of comparisons between players' sword combos and Trorks' sword attacks.
If a PvE-dedicated post doesn't get posted before this, a basic description of character and mob stats may be included, including what exactly some of the icons in the UI sneak peek mean. They may continue not revealing the identity of the blue icons, as well as the thin yellow and blue bars under the health bar, for spoiler reasons.
The post may end with a checklist of items to bring before doing any kind of PvP, including your favorite weapon and armor types and lots of food.
Coincidentally, I posted this 5 days before Christmas. Santa's also working on a list. Make sure you Hytale fighters also check your lists twice, whether they're for gift-giving or skull-crushing.
Level 2: The Principles Behind Hytale's Combat
This is where Hypixel Studios can get a little more personal, similar to VALORANT's own blog posts about game balance. They can talk about why they designed a particular combat mechanic in a particular way and how they think players can use these mechanics to their advantage.
In the eyes of the players, they can either experiment with Hypixel Studios' intents, or they can break the mold and use a mechanic in an unexpected yet devastating way. Think about, say, demolishing an entire competitive Pokémon team with a Magikarp.
This, I think, is the most likely level of detail Hypixel Studios will put into the PvP post/series.
By the way, higher levels include all previous levels. For example, this one discusses the basics of PvP and why those basics were designed the way they were.
Level 3: PvP Minigame Showcase
This is not directly related to tactics or stats, but more of a way for Hypixel Studios to flex the possibilities available for server creators.
In addition to the minigames we're already familiar with in Minecraft, I expect Hytale to have its own original minigames, even some that weren't featured in the Hypixel Minecraft server. Hypixel Studios could even gush about how some of Hytale's minigames would be near-impossible to recreate in Minecraft, most likely in staff Tweets.
This level of detail could teach newer creators how to quickly set up a server or minigame and maybe even set up teams and toggle friendly fire, especially for co-op Adventure Mode.
I think the difference between the chances of Level 2 and Level 3 is slim; maybe 1-4%. For example, if the chance of Level 2 detail is 30%, Level 3 is at best 29% and at worst 26%.
This, I think, is consistent with Hytale's goal of making the world's most empowered gaming community, as well as Hypixel's experience developing Minecraft minigames.
Level 4: Equipment Stats and Basic Combos
This, I think, is the minimum level of detail most players will expect.
At worst, Hypixel Studios may describe equipment stats only in general terms; for example, "Daggers are fast. Swords are in the middle. Two-handed weapons are slow." After all, we've seen specific equipment stats in the UI sneak peek, so I figured maybe revealing too many exact stats would be spoilerific.
Regardless, it would be an injustice to talk about PvP at this level of detail without at least one video showing how fast or slow some attack combos are.
Somewhere in the middle, Hypixel Studios may talk about how some weapon types are superior to others in some ways. An axe may do better for crowd control while a spear may work better for 1v1 combat, for example.
The most ideal scenario for this level of detail requires two things for me: All exact weapon stats and strategies for using every equipment type. Heck, maybe they can even give us the mathematical formula for determining damage dealt.
This helps us plan our character builds early on and give content creators opportunities to discuss their own changes to equipment stats.
Level 5: Advanced Tactics + 10-Minute Battle Showcase
Note that 10 minutes is the bare minimum required for me to truly consider it "ideal". I'd be even happier if I could see, say, multiple 20-minute videos, each with a different combat situation like a 1v1 and a player-only gang war.
This level of detail is designed to prepare as many kinds of fighters, from recruits to veterans, for PvP as much as possible.
In particular, I expect discussions on tactical maneuvering, psy-war, and deception, among others. This also gives Hypixel Studios an opportunity to flex Hytale's multiplayer communication features, if any.
Some players have preferences for the number of allies they want to fight alongside in team-based PvP. Given the sheer number of shy people I encounter, I expect tactics for those who are not so good at fighting and prefer to help their team passively, as well as tactics for One-Man Armies.
The 10+-minute battle showcase is designed to end the post with a bang (just like the graphics update) and show the fans what every PvP feature looks like in practice. It may even teach us something that wasn't discussed in all the other PvP-related media.
Obviously, this is the least likely because of the sheer effort it takes and the number of spoilers it has. (I don't even know if Hypixel Studios has any lunatic tacticians among their staff.)
Why Talk About PvP In Detail Before The Beta?
Because Hytale has been unplayable by the general public for 2 years now, I think hardcore fans, especially content creators, will be more lenient towards Hypixel Studios and can give them more valuable feedback that won't be heavily biased.
Plus, reading is boring. Why read when you can experience a game first-hand? That's what I think about the average Joe gamer.
Accessing the beta feels like actually playing the game, so I expect many people who have nearly forgotten about Hytale to come flocking back. It's unlikely they would sympathize with Hypixel Studios considering they're only here to play and not waste time "going to history class" by reading the blog posts, so they would not hold back on their feedback.
The hardcore fans, for me, are the mediators between Hypixel Studios and the average gamers. They understand Hypixel Studios' goals and the average gamers' expectations and seek to create a balance between the two. Hypixel Studios listens to their fans, after all, and the content creators serve to make the opinions of the masses known.
So you content creators better work extra hard when Hypixel Studios starts talking about PvP. Go get 'em!
You bet I will also go crazy. I ain't called LunaticTactician for nothin'.
Anyway, in other words, the hardcore fans' feedback ensures the average gamers enjoy the beta from the very beginning, even if they've only watched the Hytale announcement trailer.
TL;DR summary: Ideally, the PvP blog post (or series) should be posted at least two months before the beta to give Hypixel Studios time to adjust game balance based on hardcore fans' feedback before the...less sympathetic average gamers play the beta. I predicted five levels of detail for the PvP post/series, ranging from the simplest and most important mechanics to the tiniest details and most advanced tactics.
