Hytale Fans, you are very welcome here!

[FlareUKCS]

It may all become a moot point, it seems the other CEO of Hytale , Sammy is looking to buy back the IP and try jump starting the game from a older point and getting the game out to players sooner, then add features and such, sort of like what Tyron did with VS, develop while the game is being played and using player feedback (and support) chipping at the games features at a more reasonable pace.

He is quick to stress its a long shot with very little chance, but he is willing to try it and see what happens, keep your expectations at an appropriate level.

[Michaloid]

15 hours ago, FlareUKCS said:

It may all become a moot point, it seems the other CEO of Hytale , Sammy is looking to buy back the IP and try jump starting the game from a older point and getting the game out to players sooner, then add features and such, sort of like what Tyron did with VS, develop while the game is being played and using player feedback (and support) chipping at the games features at a more reasonable pace.

He is quick to stress its a long shot with very little chance, but he is willing to try it and see what happens, keep your expectations at an appropriate level.

Yeah, but if he fails, this is the second best option for the Hytale community or at least using VS's engine to save money

[Echo Weaver]

I find it kind of bizarre and fascinating to try to drill down to what people mean when they say, "grind." I mean, I know what a grind FEELS like, so I'm hardly questioning that it exists. But it seems to be really different for everyone. It's basically doing the same repetitive actions past the point of it being fun, right? And it's challenging when it's still fun? I have so much to do to get my farm running smoothly and deal with temporal storms that I keep forgetting to actually search for a treasure trader to advance the story. There's so much to explore and lore documents to find and also thatch for the roof of my barn and cheese aging and armor to forge. I just finally found bees and am starting my apiary with the exciting prospect of switching out all my lighting for lanterns.

None of it seems grindy at all to me -- just extremely detailed and immersive, which is what I want. I could advance faster, but I don't really want to because there's so much to do.

So... what would be less grindy while being a similar experience? And what, specifically, makes the grind for those complaining about it?

Edited July 4, 2025 by Echo Weaver

[spyjoshx]

4 hours ago, Echo Weaver said:

I find it kind of bizarre and fascinating to try to drill down to what people mean when they say, "grind." I mean, I know what a grind FEELS like, so I'm hardly questioning that it exists. But it seems to be really different for everyone. It's basically doing the same repetitive actions past the point of it being fun, right? And it's challenging when it's still fun? I have so much to do to get my farm running smoothly and deal with temporal storms that I keep forgetting to actually search for a treasure trader to advance the story. There's so much to explore and lore documents to find and also thatch for the roof of my barn and cheese aging and armor to forge. I just finally found bees and am starting my apiary with the exciting prospect of switching out all my lighting for lanterns.

None of it seems grindy at all to me -- just extremely detailed and immersive, which is what I want. I could advance faster, but I don't really want to because there's so much to do.

So... what would be less grindy while being a similar experience? And what, specifically, makes the grind for those complaining about it?

Incoming Hytale fan here (and player of VS at least a little bit). I really don't think it's the grind that people are that worried about. It's just that Vintage Story, while having many of the same engine features as Hytale, is a very different experience overall. Hytale was never meant to be survival-heavy, and had a much more magical, and much less *grounded* feel (or at least that's the vibe we got, seeing as we never played it...). Vintage Story is a great game! It's just not the experience that we've been waiting 7 years for. I, for one, really hope that this separate game mode pans out (even if Hytale does end up releasing as well). You can never have too many block games!

[Echo Weaver]

27 minutes ago, spyjoshx said:

Incoming Hytale fan here (and player of VS at least a little bit). I really don't think it's the grind that people are that worried about. It's just that Vintage Story, while having many of the same engine features as Hytale, is a very different experience overall. Hytale was never meant to be survival-heavy, and had a much more magical, and much less *grounded* feel (or at least that's the vibe we got, seeing as we never played it...). Vintage Story is a great game! It's just not the experience that we've been waiting 7 years for. I, for one, really hope that this separate game mode pans out (even if Hytale does end up releasing as well). You can never have too many block games!

OK, this makes sense to me. When I read about the Hytale plans, it sounded more high fantasy than gritty survival with a side of Lovecraftian horror.

It sounds like Tyron is looking at ways to build something closer to Hytale's concept on top of Vintage Story, and that makes a lot of sense. As folks have pointed out, it's already an incredibly configurable game. Though Hytale is pretty far away from VS on default settings, one could get a lot closer to the right landscape feel with liberal adjustment of settings, then the high fantasy and RPG elements could be built on top.

I would totally play that.

Edited July 4, 2025 by Echo Weaver

[Thorfinn]

23 minutes ago, Echo Weaver said:

Though Hytale is pretty far away from VS on default settings, one could get a lot closer to the right landscape feel with liberal adjustment of settings, then the high fantasy and RPG elements could be built on top.

From what I saw of the Hytale promo vids, you can get a good share of the way there with a texture pack. I mean, they were promo vids, so you didn't get a terribly large amount of detail on, for example, how the quests were going to work, and that may or may not work with VS' lore discovery (books, tapestries, etc.) system. Now that real flying is in the game, a quick look at Combat Overhaul would give you dragons, though my piddling around with it suggests it needs a little more work if it's not going to be in the fog. Looked to me like you would have to flesh out the emoticon system, too, and maybe add a bunch of key-value pairs to blocks, items and entities to specify their expanded interactions, but I didn't see anything in the promos that couldn't be knocked off as a mod (I know, bad word, but I'm using it in the general sense) by a fairly small dedicated team using the VS engine.

[EDIT]

Which means, yes, you would have to buy both VS and Hytale, though that could also be addressed by licensing, just as it is with Unity or any other engine.

Edited July 4, 2025 by Thorfinn

[FlareUKCS]

This is one thing I couldn't square with the idea of Hytale being a mod of VS, how could you monetise Hytale as a mod. I cant see Tyron simply giving up the VS engine as a separate project... first Anego is a studio that has some stake in the block game, second the VS engine is still being developed.

I figured it would be a mode of VS that the old Hytale devs could work on, to bring the game to the fans and not a separate game to be sold separately, if it was not it would stink of DLC... imagine the start a game (SP or Multi) having a greyed out option, kind of go against the grain here. I would prefer a separate game if that was a case, rather than have a option I was not allowed to touch in my VS game... a Hytale DLC to VS, yuck.

Maybe I am too sensitive to the current gaming models of over DLC'ing everything, leaves a bad taste in ones craw I would say.

I would say at this stage, unless Simon actually pulls it off, make Hytale a mod set of VS for gratis, if Simon gets things rolling you can move the mod to the actual game that works on its own. Hytale could carry on, and if things work out go to a actual game, the devs could work on stuff that should translate to the 'main' Hytale game if it goes well, or stay at Anego to develop VS.

Just my opinion.

[Thorfinn]

It would be a little tacky to grey out an option. At the very least you are getting free(?) advertising in someone else's platform. The easiest way to do it is also a little tough when the engine is not fully complete, which is just to license the engine, and Hytale supplies the launcher and assets. That's what Unity did with games as diverse as Valheim, 7Days2Die, Subnautica, Cuphead, Pillars of Eternity, Rimworld, Kerbal, SuperHot, My Time at Portia, Planet Crafter, Going Medieval and Timberborn, to name a few.

In this view, the instances that are the VS game are proof of concept. It would explain why there are so few instances of so much of the game, while others are seriously fleshed out. Why so few crops? How many do you need to see to know that the farming code works? And, yet, some things are heavily instanced, many of which allegedly share a common factor. Butterflies, mushrooms, seashells... And not only do they have a common factor, they demonstrate just how easy it is to add new instances using this engine.

So how would I do it in the current state of development? I think I'd let Hytale, Ltd. market it as a non-Anego mod. In fact, I'd change the launcher around a tad such that if you had multiple Anego-engine games, you would first get a launcher asking you to select the game you want to play, then it loads the game-specific menu. If you have only one game, it takes you straight to the main menu of whatever game you own.

I'm not Anego. I have no idea what their vision or philosophical bent is. I just know that is not an unusual arrangement, it protects everyone's IP, and, frankly, it's not like Hytale is going to finish up before VS anyway. Everyone wins, because those who buy EA in Hytale actually get a playable game relatively soon, even if both game and engine are is still under development.

Edited July 4, 2025 by Thorfinn

[Voldemort]

I might create video about this whole thing  so mutch to cover.

[Deebers]

Super exited to see what comes from this! 

[Voldemort]

On 7/8/2025 at 7:30 PM, Deebers said:

Super exited to see what comes from this! 

It's way too ambitious for an indie studio. I wouldn't say anything if at least one game had been finished
we might end up with 2 EA games  

[FlareUKCS]

One the original game VS was already started by the team, two the other game will just be a mod of the original game... the idea here is that even the core game is a mod, so the engine is a means to power other games is already in the core, it was always the intention of the core team to make a system to power other games, other than the game the VS team intended... the game is a mod already.

[Thorfinn]

2 hours ago, Adnyeus said:

It's way too ambitious for an indie studio. I wouldn't say anything if at least one game had been finished
we might end up with 2 EA games  

We'll see. A texture pack, a handful of entities, and a few items, and you would have to squint pretty hard to see you are playing VS. "What do you mean, VS? VS doesn't have orcs with hand axes!"

[LadyWYT]

47 minutes ago, Thorfinn said:

We'll see. A texture pack, a handful of entities, and a few items, and you would have to squint pretty hard to see you are playing VS. "What do you mean, VS? VS doesn't have orcs with hand axes!"

Someone already did similar with Skyrim--I think the result is called Enderal? Likewise, there's the Skywind and Skyblivion projects that use the same concept: Skyrim's engine, but switching out assets and rewriting the code to make it function as an entirely different game. I think similar has been done with Minecraft as well...modpack overhauls, super-realistic shaders and textures...I think someone even turned it into an RTS, somehow.

[Foe Hammer]

3 hours ago, Thorfinn said:

We'll see. A texture pack, a handful of entities, and a few items, and you would have to squint pretty hard to see you are playing VS. "What do you mean, VS? VS doesn't have orcs with hand axes!"

To be fair, what game would that not work on ?

[Thorfinn]

@LadyWYT, @Foe Hammer, exactly my point. Particularly on an engine which is deliberately designed to do that with.

I'm just not understanding the negativity.

[Deebers]

21 hours ago, Adnyeus said:

It's way too ambitious for an indie studio. I wouldn't say anything if at least one game had been finished
we might end up with 2 EA games  

Imo it's not as big of a deal as people make it out to be and I truly doubt in the end it will have much of anything to do with when VS is "finished" 
It's a separate small team working on what is essentially a officially sanctioned mod.
and because it's a separate team It is unlikely to slow down progress on VS by any significant amount.

Ironically, I think the new gamemode would be far easier to add because it's core mechanics are likely to be much simpler than VS
and let's be real VS as a hardcore uncompromising survival is a niche compared to the potential of "Minecraft but good" and if this gamemode did well for them it could bring a ton of new players/funds so should they decide to hire more people the still could. 

Something I don't think most people understand is the sheer amount of systems and mechanics VS has is what makes it take longer than something simpler like Minecraft or Terraria.
There are so many more considerations to make down to silly things like putting tool molds on shelves lol

and this isn't directed at you but in general I've seen people complain about the pace of updates which I find kinda odd,
Since I've been paying attention they seem to update the game at a fairly decent pace and they're usually pretty big updates considering all the features added and bugs fixed.

[Foe Hammer]

2 hours ago, Thorfinn said:

@LadyWYT, @Foe Hammer, exactly my point. Particularly on an engine which is deliberately designed to do that with.

Oh absolutely, I made the joke but I do 100% agree that VS makes this not just doable, but a valid option. I have barely played vanilla at all with how easy it is to download mods and even set up a server.

 

2 hours ago, Thorfinn said:

I'm just not understanding the negativity.

Honestly in with everything that is happening and has happened, even just with gaming, I cannot blame anyone. it is easy to see all the failures, broken promises, slow decay of game support, once great dev teams gradually being replaced or hamstringed, and feel like you are seeing it happening again. Not to mention the occasional game that cashes checks even the engine cannot cover with wild promises.

For clarity I do not think VS or anyone at Anego Studios fits into these boxes. I am simply saying I can understand why some would be more than just hesitant.

[Maelstrom]

Most of that negativity is by relatively recent players.   I've yet to see anyone that has started playing prior to 1.19 express these fears and negativity.  Additionally, a lot of the comments expressing "concern" assume they know the internal workings of Anego.  

[Foe Hammer]

3 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

Most of that negativity is by relatively recent players.   I've yet to see anyone that has started playing prior to 1.19 express these fears and negativity.  Additionally, a lot of the comments expressing "concern" assume they know the internal workings of Anego.  

Makes sense. People who have been here longer are more invested and rooted into the game/the community. A deep rooted tree is less bothered by strong wind.

That said, I would ask caution when pointing at new players. Not saying you are doing so negatively, nor am I really even talking just to you, just that it is not the first comment on it I have seen. Maybe it is cause I feel I fall into the category of new player, but I am a little hesitant of comments towards new players in that context.

I could be overreaching, and I am aware that on this I am more ignorant than I am aware.

[Maelstrom]

The more established members of this community don't care about the "age" of players.  The reason it's called out in this thread/context is from those newer players generally disregarding the experience us old farts were communicating to them.

[FlareUKCS]

as @Maelstrom said its not how long you have been in the community, we just want all the players to enjoy VS, to comment on what they like, or dont like it is all valuable. We just want people to understand we want the best for the game, not to kill it... the game you see now may adapt, lets shape it together.

[Michaloid]

In my view, i think that Tyron expresses trust through updates and other events. Not by talking big words and failing to keep the promises he makes. But new players haven't seen that side of him, so they think that the team are just like those other developers that wronged them in the past. And both sides are wholly understandable and valid. I think that Hytale's cancellement and this announcement came at an unfortunate time, right after the popularity boost this game got, so the loudest voices are people that still don't trust the team and haven't seen what they're capable of.

Being a fan of this game since 2021, i can confidently say that i fully trust the team and that Tyron has a rare integrity that many devs don't have.

[Maelstrom]

21 minutes ago, Michaloid said:

In my view, i think that Tyron expresses trust through updates and other events. Not by talking big words and failing to keep the promises he makes. But new players haven't seen that side of him, so they think that the team are just like those other developers that wronged them in the past. And both sides are wholly understandable and valid. I think that Hytale's cancellement and this announcement came at an unfortunate time, right after the popularity boost this game got, so the loudest voices are people that still don't trust the team and haven't seen what they're capable of.

Being a fan of this game since 2021, i can confidently say that i fully trust the team and that Tyron has a rare integrity that many devs don't have.

 

^^^^ THIS ^^^^

[Rudometkin]

On 7/4/2025 at 9:27 AM, Echo Weaver said:

I find it kind of bizarre and fascinating to try to drill down to what people mean when they say, "grind." I mean, I know what a grind FEELS like, so I'm hardly questioning that it exists. But it seems to be really different for everyone. It's basically doing the same repetitive actions past the point of it being fun, right? And it's challenging when it's still fun? I have so much to do to get my farm running smoothly and deal with temporal storms that I keep forgetting to actually search for a treasure trader to advance the story. There's so much to explore and lore documents to find and also thatch for the roof of my barn and cheese aging and armor to forge. I just finally found bees and am starting my apiary with the exciting prospect of switching out all my lighting for lanterns.

None of it seems grindy at all to me -- just extremely detailed and immersive, which is what I want. I could advance faster, but I don't really want to because there's so much to do.

So... what would be less grindy while being a similar experience? And what, specifically, makes the grind for those complaining about it?

I originally came from the Minecraft community. Before I discovered Vintage Story, I suggested torches should burn out instead of lasting forever (a key feature in Vintage Story)... these are some objections I got:

• "Torch burnout is a robbery of time"
• "Torch burnout is too stupid of an idea to be implemented"
• "Torch burnout is a joke"
• "Torch burnout is cringe"
• "Torch burnout is a garbage take - it would make survival more tedious and make building infinitely more annoying"
• "Torch burnout would be an annoyance, slowing down progression"
• "Torch burnout would limit the style of survival mode"
• "Torch burnout would make for a boring experience, not a more challenging or aggressive one"

Presumably those same people have accepted the tool durability mechanic. They don't think it's a cringe robbery of time to have to make new tools. Yet a torch is a tool.

So when I hear people complain about "grind" and "tedium", it usually does nothing to me.

Then, thankfully some people from that same community recommended me to Vintage Story. An infinitely better game in my book.

Edited July 12, 2025 by Rudometkin