A Discussion about the decision to pickup Hytale and include it into Vintage Story as a Mode instead of making a separate game, & on if picking up Hytale is a good idea. RESPECTFUL RESPONSES ONLY.

[cosmobeau]

2 hours ago, Thorfinn said:

@Teo9631, I'll admit to being triggered. @Dark Thoughts was a little terse in his reply, true, but your first reply in the thread included, 

Do you not understand that was much worse than what @Dark Thoughts said? The only plausibly problematic bit was "ignorant and uninformed", though that is true for literally everyone who is not in the Anego inner circle. Including me. Including you. He said he did not understand the outrage. Neither do I. I think that's probably because we are operating under a different set of assumptions than you are. We (or at least I) see the potential opportunity, you see only the potential failure.

I do kind of understand the sentiment. I've seen lots of people get their knickers in a bunch because they think the hoi polloi are stupid. Heavily skewed towards one ideological bent, which, I'd note, you seem to be. I'd agree that people as a group are not too bright, but no one knows his own interests like the man himself. I don't care if your IQ puts Einstein to shame, you cannot know what another person values. You cannot rationally say he should feel outrage at the same things you feel outrage about.

Bro I am begging you to stop replying to someone who clearly is a overly aggressive person  What is the point of arguing with people like that. Y'all aren't going anywhere with this. Ignore the trolls and move onnnnn, that's why I didn't reply to half the messages here anyway.

[Koobze]

16 hours ago, Teo9631 said:

With all due respect, your perspective is precisely the problem. It’s the result of a consumer base that has been so thoroughly domesticated by the Early Access model that you now willingly defend a lack of accountability.

 

14 hours ago, Teo9631 said:

Valve's own rules explicitly define Early Access as a tool to sell a game "while it is still being developed" with the explicit requirement that you "plan to continue to develop for release." They go out of their way to state what it is NOT: it is not a way to crowdfund, and it is not a pre-purchase. It is a tool for developers to "gather feedback while finishing your game."

I am pretty sure that the team plans to continue to develop the game for release, so this implicit contract is still being upheld. Certainly we can say it would not be in good faith for the developer to take money and divert 90% of their resources to do something entirely different - as a purchaser of an EA game I expect some continuation of the (apparent) current development effort to continue being invested into the product that I paid for. I do not see any slowdown in development effort, but I admit that I am not visiting the developer's offices and have no idea how many resources they have and how they have distributed them. I think that if I wanted that level of oversight and control over the developer's roadmap and deliverables, I would consider being an actual investor or producer or similar, and write thorough legal contracts with roadmaps, milestones, and all of the KPIs. 

 

On 8/22/2025 at 5:47 AM, Katherine K said:

And at the end of the day, if we want games to be art, we have to recognize the need for the artist to take artistic risks. I think that's one of these moments.

This is exactly the point - Early Access is just crowd-funding artistic ambitions. When I give money to an artist or musician, it is because I want them to continue doing art and music. I may really like their style and hope they continue in it, but I also don't want the same painting/album for the next 20 years - I expect some evolution in their output, and that may go in a direction I don't like.

 

14 hours ago, Teo9631 said:

When Anego Studios sells "Vintage Story Early Access" and outlines a plan to finish *Vintage Story*, the reasonable expectation is that the money will be used to... finish Vintage Story. Not to fund their friend's failed game.

I agree that "early access" is a pretty loaded term nowadays, and this can be misleading if used in a way that implies "Steam-style Early Access" distribution - however even on Steam there are disclaimers saying the product is unfinished and may not be finished. That said, I don't see "Early Access" anywhere on the Buy page on this website, and in fact it just says:

Allows you to play Vintage Story.

Included in this purchase

• Access to the client area, which lets you download the game and all future updates

I do think they are upholding that part at least, though I admit I did not thoroughly inspect all fine-print related to my purchase - because my intent with purchasing the game was to support a developer that seems capable of delivering a game I want to play. 

So then - what portion of the developer's income was from consumers who believed this implicit contract to deliver a full game in some (5 year? 10 year?) time frame? What portion of their income came during the ukraine-support offer? Or even now, specifically because of the Hytale announcement? I've bought copies of games for friends before just to support a developer's social cause. I would consider that income to be "fair game" for the developer to use how they see fit - hire new people for another game, go on a team-building event at a resort or casino, or whatever. I'm not attempting to micromanage a developer who seems able to manage themselves.

I understand the concern that a developer splitting efforts for multiple products reduces the effort on the original product, but then it is a question of: how good is the developer at project management, business management, human resources etc. From reading the original announcement + followup about Hytale, I see no reason to be concerned - they don't seem to want to copy Hytale entirely - but rather agreed with the vision of that game and saw value in the creative folks working on that game. I am willing to let the studio try it and see, and maybe in 6 months to a year we will see some impact, and if it's negative maybe then I'll complain.

It just seems premature to raise such a big fuss over what is basically the developer saying "we are willing and able to grow our team to develop a second product with some level of shared infrastructure alongside our first".

[Rorax]

Be warned. This topic is at risk of being locked if emotions do not simmer back down and civil and reasonable discussion cannot be had. I see and appreciate the efforts of those who are trying to guide it back there so let this be a message to those who are not.

Thank you.

[cosmobeau]

7 hours ago, Rorax said:

Be warned. This topic is at risk of being locked if emotions do not simmer back down and civil and reasonable discussion cannot be had. I see and appreciate the efforts of those who are trying to guide it back there so let this be a message to those who are not.

Thank you.

Is there any possibility you could lock @Teo9631 out of this forum post specifically? They're kinda the source of them problem. They are talking about all kinds of hot button not related to this post topics including bringing Nazis into this, it's really just them stirring the pot to a degree where it's no longer appropriate. Everyone else has been *mostly civil* at the least, and just passionate at the most

Totally cool if this forum gets locked though, as well.

Edited August 23, 2025 by cosmobeau

[LadyWYT]

20 hours ago, Echo Weaver said:

ETA: It occurs to me that the early access framing really did have a big effect on the way the original announcement thread went down in flames. When you say, "We have a roadmap going out 10 years," and the new content is considered expansions on a released game, that's exciting. When you say that about a game that's considered incomplete, you're really saying, "Don't expect a finished game for at least 10 more years," and that doesn't feel so good.

I'm curious as to whether that framing of VS as a fully released game with regular planned content updates affects your view of the Adventure Mode project. 

Trying to steer the thread back on topic--I think this is a great point, and maybe one missed in the "About" section of the Vintage Story home page, or a point missed by many in the playerbase. It is early access, yes, but I'm not quite sure it's the conventional sense, as much as it is what you stated--it's an early version of a finished product, with planned expansions as work progresses(and you don't have to pay for the new content). It's not unheard of for games like this to operate like that--Minecraft did pretty much the same thing: offer an early version of the finished product, and then add more content over the life of the game.

Point being, they're both still technically early access, but it's two different "game plans" regarding such, so to speak. I'm not sure that Minecraft could have been successful if Notch had tried to build it all at once, instead of making a solid foundation and building off that over time. Same case with Vintage Story--the game needs time and resources to develop, and one way to get resources for such a large, ambitious project is to release a solid early foundation to build off of, and add to it. That also comes with the advantage of having player feedback earlier as well(both good and bad), so bugs can be rooted out more efficiently and gameplay can be balanced a little faster(how many times have chapter 2 challenges been adjusted from their original incarnations? It's been a few!)

While I don't agree with all of OP's initial remarks and sentiment, I can also understand why @cosmobeau and others might have a pretty heated kneejerk reaction to the news. The gaming industry isn't in good shape right now, for many reasons, and old titans are falling. Anego Studios isn't immune to making mistakes, certainly, but from what I've seen, Anego Studios has been making some great decisions and hasn't been making the mistakes that others have been, so I think Adventure Mode will turn out well as a result. I'll also note that Adventure Mode, while touted as a separate game(eventually, it may or may not begin life as an alternate mode for VS, similar to Homo Sapiens), is not the only game that Anego seems to be working on. I recall seeing a teaser for another game project in one of the News bits a while back(though I can't seem to find said teaser now ), that looked similar to Ty the Tasmanian Tiger and other oldschool adventure-platformers, so I would assume it's maybe something along those lines. Hard to say for sure, but in any case, Vintage Story is not the only thing that Anego Studios has cooking at the moment...it's just the game that everyone is most familiar with, for various reasons.

[cosmobeau]

8 minutes ago, LadyWYT said:

Trying to steer the thread back on topic--I think this is a great point, and maybe one missed in the "About" section of the Vintage Story home page, or a point missed by many in the playerbase. It is early access, yes, but I'm not quite sure it's the conventional sense, as much as it is what you stated--it's an early version of a finished product, with planned expansions as work progresses(and you don't have to pay for the new content). It's not unheard of for games like this to operate like that--Minecraft did pretty much the same thing: offer an early version of the finished product, and then add more content over the life of the game.

Point being, they're both still technically early access, but it's two different "game plans" regarding such, so to speak. I'm not sure that Minecraft could have been successful if Notch had tried to build it all at once, instead of making a solid foundation and building off that over time. Same case with Vintage Story--the game needs time and resources to develop, and one way to get resources for such a large, ambitious project is to release a solid early foundation to build off of, and add to it. That also comes with the advantage of having player feedback earlier as well(both good and bad), so bugs can be rooted out more efficiently and gameplay can be balanced a little faster(how many times have chapter 2 challenges been adjusted from their original incarnations? It's been a few!)

While I don't agree with all of OP's initial remarks and sentiment, I can also understand why @cosmobeau and others might have a pretty heated kneejerk reaction to the news. The gaming industry isn't in good shape right now, for many reasons, and old titans are falling. Anego Studios isn't immune to making mistakes, certainly, but from what I've seen, Anego Studios has been making some great decisions and hasn't been making the mistakes that others have been, so I think Adventure Mode will turn out well as a result. I'll also note that Adventure Mode, while touted as a separate game(eventually, it may or may not begin life as an alternate mode for VS, similar to Homo Sapiens), is not the only game that Anego seems to be working on. I recall seeing a teaser for another game project in one of the News bits a while back(though I can't seem to find said teaser now ), that looked similar to Ty the Tasmanian Tiger and other oldschool adventure-platformers, so I would assume it's maybe something along those lines. Hard to say for sure, but in any case, Vintage Story is not the only thing that Anego Studios has cooking at the moment...it's just the game that everyone is most familiar with, for various reasons.

Yep, like I said they are currently already working on new games, and I'm stoked about that.

It was a heated take... And the original post will stay the way it is, just additions, out of respect for all the people who responded to or discussed under the context of the original post.

At this point I'm checking Riot & Hytale dev pages. I got RSS for vintage story updates already.

No hard feelings @Echo Weaver and I am happy that I was able to convince you that some of my concern at least makes some sense. Again, I have changed my mind a lot as well. 

I have mentioned, to those late or who missed it, in 3 posts here why and what parts of my position has changed. Mostly as @Echo Weaver stated, a lot of confusion was around the announcement and what was said. Well put, and thanks for that context.

[Katherine K]

16 hours ago, Koobze said:

This is exactly the point - Early Access is just crowd-funding artistic ambitions.

My Steam library is full of indy games that I'm never going to play, but I want the teams that made them to make more games.

I'm not saying it as "This is the way," and I also realize that people have very different budget constraints on gaming. But it's weird that we're letting giant corporations get away with turning games into services that can be shut down any moment they stop being profitable, but we demand a finished product from indy devs. I really think we should flip that around. An attitude where we demand ownership of a complete product for our money from the corporations and treat purchase of indy games as an investment in the team would be more healthy for the industry and result in better games on both ends of the spectrum.

Edited August 23, 2025 by Katherine K

[Deaderpan]

my opinions no one asked for
1. as long as they are able manage two games at once without compromising vs or other game it doesnt matter that they are making two games
2. as far as i understand it, there is a plan to bring over things that work in the new game into VS, i dont mind that since VS's combat and class system needs some rework, just as long as VS doesnt just turn into the other game whilst both games exist at the same time... whats the point of have 2 games by the same studio that play the exact same

3. they shouldnt just copy paste features from one game into the other. like if i play the other game, i shouldnt find the VS bear with the exact same code, model and animations. yes the idea of using what works in one game in the other sounds neat, but at least make tweaks and a different model.

4. what ever BS behind the scenes that caused hytale to die shouldnt be brought over to Anego in anyway. even if none of the people hired caused the issues for hytale, just dont bring it. imo the biggest reason for VS's success is the fact that it actually released and works, every other block game competitor either never released or was stuck in pre alpha tech demo mode

[Bumber]

On 8/21/2025 at 7:12 AM, CastIronFabric said:

But I am unaware of any project in which an 'entirely different game experience' was incorporated into the existing game as a mode.

Dead Ops Arcade is a secret top-down shooter contained in the FPS game Call of Duty: Black Ops.

The Founding of Durotar bonus campaign is an RPG contained in the RTS game Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. (Complete with WoW-style side quests.)

Adventure mode in Super Smash Bros: Melee turns the fighting game into a side-scroller. Kirby games usually have additional modes after you beat the main story, and Kirby Super Star consists entirely of 8 different game modes.

Dwarf Fortress has a fortress mode that plays like a colony sim / dungeon keeper, and an adventure mode that's a dungeon crawler roguelike. KeeperRL is the same concept, but with seamless swapping.

Edit:
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle also has a multiplayer racing game, etc., in it.

Edited August 26, 2025 by Bumber

[CastIronFabric]

31 minutes ago, Bumber said:

Dead Ops Arcade is a secret top-down shooter contained in the FPS game Call of Duty: Black Ops.

The Founding of Durotar bonus campaign is an RPG contained in the RTS game Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. (Complete with WoW-style side quests.)

Adventure mode in Super Smash Bros: Melee turns the fighting game into a side-scroller. Kirby games usually have additional modes after you beat the main story, and Kirby Super Star consists entirely of 8 different game modes.

Dwarf Fortress has a fortress mode that plays like a colony sim / dungeon keeper, and an adventure mode that's a dungeon crawler roguelike. KeeperRL is the same concept, but with seamless swapping.

I was unaware thanks for illustrating how common this approach is.

I personally do not own any game that does this but I see now its common place, thanks all.

 

Just to clarify though, I am talking about games in which you double click the icon for one game(using common explanation of how it works), to get into the other game.

I do not know if those you have listed are that way or not but that is what I am refering to. so for example, double click on Space Engineers to get into Medieval Engineers.

Edited August 26, 2025 by CastIronFabric

[Thorfinn]

57 minutes ago, CastIronFabric said:

Just to clarify though, I am talking about games in which you double click the icon for one game(using common explanation of how it works), to get into the other game.

I don't believe that's where this is headed. Not if the plan in the back of peoples' minds is to have a separate game, not just a game mode.

I see the desktop icons taking you to the current VS main menu, and to the Secret Project main menu, and to the renamed Adventure Mode main menu. Hopefully, each would have a button to take you to the Anego engine main menu, which would be a glorified ModDB, basically laid out like Nexus Mods, but where you can browse games that use the Anego engine, and limit ModDB to whatever mods are available for the currently selected game.

[LadyWYT]

12 minutes ago, Thorfinn said:

I see the desktop icons taking you to the current VS main menu, and to the Secret Project main menu, and to the renamed Adventure Mode main menu. Hopefully, each would have a button to take you to the Anego engine main menu, which would be a glorified ModDB, basically laid out like Nexus Mods, but where you can browse games that use the Anego engine, and limit ModDB to whatever mods are available for the currently selected game.

Or instead of desktop icons, it could just be Anego's own launcher. The desktop icon pulls up the launcher, and then you just pick which particular game you want to play from there. Minecraft does this, as does Blizzard and other companies.

[CastIronFabric]

15 minutes ago, Thorfinn said:

I don't believe that's where this is headed. Not if the plan in the back of peoples' minds is to have a separate game, not just a game mode.

I see the desktop icons taking you to the current VS main menu, and to the Secret Project main menu, and to the renamed Adventure Mode main menu. Hopefully, each would have a button to take you to the Anego engine main menu, which would be a glorified ModDB, basically laid out like Nexus Mods, but where you can browse games that use the Anego engine, and limit ModDB to whatever mods are available for the currently selected game.

I am struggling to understand what you wrote here but I think you are saying the same thing I am saying.

[CastIronFabric]

3 minutes ago, LadyWYT said:

Or instead of desktop icons, it could just be Anego's own launcher. The desktop icon pulls up the launcher, and then you just pick which particular game you want to play from there. Minecraft does this, as does Blizzard and other companies.

perhaps. Is there any talk of that?

I would agree that is different from what I am talking about and what I am assuming is the plan. I assume the plan is you start up Vintage Story main menu (just like now). Then you start a new game and pick the new 'mode'

 

We might have to go back to the original announcement to formulate a better assumption

Edited August 26, 2025 by CastIronFabric

[Thorfinn]

6 minutes ago, LadyWYT said:

Or instead of desktop icons, it could just be Anego's own launcher.

Yes. My mention of that was lost to the Edit Gawds. It would be kind of cool if the Anego Engine launcher listed "Continue" options for the last half-dozen game and world combinations you played, maintained similar to the current, um, Single Player or Multiplayer menus. So if you never play Adventure Mode, it's not on the "Continue" list at all.

[LadyWYT]

2 hours ago, CastIronFabric said:

perhaps. Is there any talk of that?

I would agree that is different from what I am talking about and what I am assuming is the plan. I assume the plan is you start up Vintage Story main menu (just like now). Then you start a new game and pick the new 'mode'

Officially? No, not to my knowledge. It's pure speculative guesswork on my part. But if a game studio is going to have multiple games available to buy, download, and play, it makes sense to build a launcher to hold them all.

[CastIronFabric]

9 minutes ago, LadyWYT said:

Officially? No, not to my knowledge. It's pure speculative guesswork on my part. But if a game studio is going to have multiple games available to buy, download, and play, it makes sense to build a launcher to hold them all.

Here is what Tyron said

Quote

In short, we will attempt to create a new game mode as part of Vintage Story!

I do not have any reason to believe at this time that the 'mode' would not be any different from the game modes existing now as far as it relates to how to instantiate it.

 

[cosmobeau]

On 8/26/2025 at 12:49 PM, CastIronFabric said:

Here is what Tyron said

I do not have any reason to believe at this time that the 'mode' would not be any different from the game modes existing now as far as it relates to how to instantiate it.

 

Yeah it does suggest that you would select it much like you just select a game mode like homo sapiens on world creation menu, which is why I thought that specific decision sounded wank since they also say that the goal is to make it it's own game.

TBH I don't want a Angeo Launcher I just wanna click my VS button and load the game, which is always an option even if they do have a launcher but some games like Civilization and Stellaris have annoying launcher you have to go through regardless. I think you can mess with some stuff w ur PC settings to change it but bruh who wants to do that.

It would be cool if they just made a website for it like they do with Vintage Story. This is my thing:

They want to revive this game and keep "it's dream alive" and the goal is to make it it's own separate game.

- Make a website like this one for the new game with a forum and integrated mod database. Not all at once obviously.

Why? Because look at how much activity Vintage Story gets because it has its own dedicated site, forum, and integrated mod DB. If you think VS deserves it, then this new game does too.

- On the website, include a client area

This way people can install the game, since it's not a mode, it's something they intend to be it's OWN GAME, completely different in genre, aesthetics, and gameplay. Belittling a game by calling it a mode is not the way you build hype for a game or lay out a good foundation for things like game specific mods, forums, wikis, gaming groups, server listings, etc.

- Modes in other games like Dwarf Fortress & modes in Sonic, Call of Duty, etc. still feel much like the same game, but a mini game or mini matchmake. They usually are in the same universe, have the same lore, same aesthetic (with maybe differences in POV or one shot collabs) It is confusing to people getting into your new game to call this a mode when clearly it's going to be a fully fleshed out completely different experience and not a mini game or a mode like Dwarf Fortress which is just fortress mode but one unit traveling around the world with very similar game logic.

Make your goal align with your beginning intentions and advertisement (not speaking business wise, but attracting a crowd). That's why I think this should be seperate and not built into VS.

Edited August 28, 2025 by cosmobeau

[Apoaxis]

From a purely business point of view, to combine Hytale and VS into a one paid product would be a legal nightmare, it would force Tyron to either arrange for transaction of IP for all developed resources or cause the VS team to re-make Hytale in VS assets. above all else, there is merit to the "we paid for VS, not this" argument, Early access game devs do this far too often, and if the other horse looks prettier, why focus on your first. or at least that's the view point seen when both are actually off to the races. to wit, if Hytale is more appealing to a general community after joining the VS fold, we could easily see a reality where VS falls to the wayside, and that's not what a current majority of us are purchasing the game, or continuing to support the devs for. with that, the opportunity for IP arguments would only skyrocket if popularity goes up after this. If Tyron is willing to extend this nuclear olive branch, he'd better be wearing some lead gloves and have an incredibly solid plan.

none of this touches what would be required of existing users, if Hytale has networking built in, and is added to existing update pipelines for VS, it requires a re-work of TOS. I wont lie, I likely wont be willing to agree with it, and that would be the end of my time playing VS if provided no option to opt out and stay on the current build.

[CastIronFabric]

9 hours ago, cosmobeau said:

Yeah it does suggest that you would select it much like you just select a game mode like homo sapiens on world creation menu, which is why I thought that specific decision sounded wank since they also say that the goal is to make it it's own game.

TBH I don't want a Angeo Launcher I just wanna click my VS button and load the game, which is always an option even if they do have a launcher but some games like Civilization and Stellaris have annoying launcher you have to go through regardless. I think you can mess with some stuff w ur PC settings to change it but bruh who wants to do that.

It would be cool if they just made a website for it like they do with Vintage Story. This is my thing:

They want to revive this game and keep "it's dream alive" and the goal is to make it it's own separate game.

- Make a website like this one for the new game with a forum and integrated mod database. Not all at once obviously.

Why? Because look at how much activity Vintage Story gets because it has its own dedicated site, forum, and integrated mod DB. If you think VS deserves it, then this new game does too.

- On the website, include a client area

This way people can install the game, since it's not a mode, it's something they intend to be it's OWN GAME, completely different in genre, aesthetics, and gameplay. Belittling a game by calling it a mode is not the way you build hype for a game or lay out a good foundation for things like game specific mods, forums, wikis, gaming groups, server listings, etc.

- Modes in other games like Dwarf Fortress & modes in Sonic, Call of Duty, etc. still feel much like the same game, but a mini game or mini matchmake. They usually are in the same universe, have the same lore, same aesthetic (with maybe differences in POV or one shot collabs) It is confusing to people getting into your new game to call this a mode when clearly it's going to be a fully fleshed out completely different experience and not a mini game or a mode like Dwarf Fortress which is just fortress mode but one unit traveling around the world with very similar game logic.

Make your goal align with your beginning intentions and advertisement (not speaking business wise, but attracting a crowd). That's why I think this should be seperate and not built into VS.

exactly.

in fact your first sentence basically sums up what I have struggled to say for weeks now.

spot on

 

[Echo Weaver]

I think it's worth keeping in mind that Tyron listed a bunch of possibilities, not concrete plans.

At the very beginning, it's probably going to be a game mode in VS like Homo Sapiens or Exploration. Depending on how the project goes, it MIGHT become its own game. It MIGHT stay a game mode of VS. 

It's also not going to use Hytale IP. It's intended to be a fantasy adventure mode/game that incorporates a lot of the ideas that Hytale was trying to realize. Tyron left Hypixel due to creative difference over Hytale. I'm going to make a wild guess that Adventure Mode will embody his creative vision for what Hytale could have been. With that in mind, if the Hytale project is revived, that doesn't necessarily affect what VS does at all -- the result were already going to be different.

The concrete things that were announced were that Anego was looking to hire some of the folks laid off from Hytale -- people Tyron may well have worked with in the past and holds in respect. The project will be fantasy adventure rather than gritty horror. Since at the time of the announcement, Anego hadn't even hired anyone, pretty much everything else is understandably going to evolve.

[cosmobeau]

31 minutes ago, Echo Weaver said:

I think it's worth keeping in mind that Tyron listed a bunch of possibilities, not concrete plans.

At the very beginning, it's probably going to be a game mode in VS like Homo Sapiens or Exploration. Depending on how the project goes, it MIGHT become its own game. It MIGHT stay a game mode of VS. 

It's also not going to use Hytale IP. It's intended to be a fantasy adventure mode/game that incorporates a lot of the ideas that Hytale was trying to realize. Tyron left Hypixel due to creative difference over Hytale. I'm going to make a wild guess that Adventure Mode will embody his creative vision for what Hytale could have been. With that in mind, if the Hytale project is revived, that doesn't necessarily affect what VS does at all -- the result were already going to be different.

The concrete things that were announced were that Anego was looking to hire some of the folks laid off from Hytale -- people Tyron may well have worked with in the past and holds in respect. The project will be fantasy adventure rather than gritty horror. Since at the time of the announcement, Anego hadn't even hired anyone, pretty much everything else is understandably going to evolve.

Tyron combatted two common questions about making this seperate from VS so we will VERY LIKELY see this implemented inside of VS. I do understand that they said might- but the goal is to make it it's own game if it's successful. Which means:

- They are picking up a failed game that they cannot make successful unless they reduce it down to a mode in an already existing game in development. Then, cross fingers that it will be successful enough to make it separate from VS.

- They are not building a good foundation for a successful game- they are putting it inside a completely different franchise. Regardless of what the project looks like, it will always be tied to VS while its inside of VS, and this will take away from the individuality of the game. Meaning, when you log into Minecraft or VS, that's what the visuals, HUD, everything is all about. A game deserves its own separate client, not just for immersion but for making that game concretely its own.

- Flip flopping between saying the goal is to make it it's own spin off game and calling it Vintage Story adventure mode makes no sense. Tyron told us this game is going to be completely different in feel, lore, gameplay and aesthetics. That means it is NOT CANNON VS LORE AND A SEPERATE UNIVERSE, Calling it Vintage Story Adventure Mode is confusing because it's *not* a story or adventure mode for VS, because this game has nothing to do with the Vintage Story Universe.

Imagine you just play the game and you're not a forum nerd, which is a majority of players. You see that there's a new adventure mode in Vintage Story, you get excited like it's a continuation of the gritty Eldritch lore in the Universe of VS, but when you load in you're in a completely different game, that looks nothing like VS, plays nothing like VS, and the lore has nothing to do with VS.

Are people picking up what I'm putting down yet? Lol

Edited August 28, 2025 by cosmobeau

[Echo Weaver]

1 minute ago, cosmobeau said:

I do understand that they said migh- but the goal is to make it it's own game if it's successful. Which means:

Do you have a quote from Tyron that said it's definitely the goal to make it its own game? My memory is that he threw it out as a possibility. That's far from a stated goal.

It's possible that he did say that it was a goal. I'd have to sift through his statements. But I think the distinction is important.

2 minutes ago, cosmobeau said:

- Flip flopping between saying the goal is to make it it's own spin off game and calling it Vintage Story adventure mode makes no sense. Tyron told us this game is going to be completely different in feel, lore, gameplay and aesthetics. That means it is NOT CANNON VS LORE AND A SEPERATE UNIVERSE, Calling it Vintage Story Adventure Mode is confusing because it's *not* a story or adventure mode for VS, because this game has nothing to do with the Vintage Story Universe.

There isn't any flip-flopping because nothing has been committed to yet -- just some brainstorming that Tyron apparently shouldn't have shared with players so early in the process. The only thing I recall Tyron saying is that IF it looks like should be its own game, existing players of VS would get free licenses.

I guess I don't understand why a deviation from lore is such a concern. The rust world lore only applies to default survival mode. It's hard to deviate further from lore than existing modes have already done. We already have a Homo Sapiens mode that is totally different lore -- instead of playing as a Seraph in a post-apocalyptic eldrich-horror world, you're playing as a Human in the dawn of tool use. What makes fantasy adventure so much more of a jump?

10 minutes ago, cosmobeau said:

Imagine you just play the game and you're not a forum nerd, which is a majority of players. You see that there's a new adventure mode in Vintage Story, you get excited like it's a continuation of the gritty Eldritch lore in the Universe of VS, but when you load in you're in a completely different game, that looks nothing like VS, plays nothing like VS, and the lore has nothing to do with VS.

Are people picking up what I'm putting down yet? Lol

Honestly, this is the part that confuses me most. Why would this be a negative? You start a game in Adventure Mode, which will have a clear text description like the other modes. You see that it's more brightly colored and has magic and quests or whatever. Isn't that awesome? I think it's awesome. If I don't want to play like that, I just go back and make a world in default survival. We didn't lose eldrich horror. 

[CastIronFabric]

42 minutes ago, Echo Weaver said:

I think it's worth keeping in mind that Tyron listed a bunch of possibilities, not concrete plans.

At the very beginning, it's probably going to be a game mode in VS like Homo Sapiens or Exploration. Depending on how the project goes, it MIGHT become its own game. It MIGHT stay a game mode of VS. 

It's also not going to use Hytale IP. It's intended to be a fantasy adventure mode/game that incorporates a lot of the ideas that Hytale was trying to realize. Tyron left Hypixel due to creative difference over Hytale. I'm going to make a wild guess that Adventure Mode will embody his creative vision for what Hytale could have been. With that in mind, if the Hytale project is revived, that doesn't necessarily affect what VS does at all -- the result were already going to be different.

The concrete things that were announced were that Anego was looking to hire some of the folks laid off from Hytale -- people Tyron may well have worked with in the past and holds in respect. The project will be fantasy adventure rather than gritty horror. Since at the time of the announcement, Anego hadn't even hired anyone, pretty much everything else is understandably going to evolve.

Here is what Tyron said in the within the first few sentences of the announcement

 

Quote

In short, we will attempt to create a new game mode as part of Vintage Story!

I do not see any reason to assume it would be instantiated in way different that 'homo sapiens' is currently for example.

I also do not see that there would be any reason that it would not be '...part of Vintage Story' given that is exactly what Tyron said explictly.

 

 

[cosmobeau]

2 hours ago, Echo Weaver said:

Do you have a quote from Tyron that said it's definitely the goal to make it its own game? My memory is that he threw it out as a possibility. That's far from a stated goal.

It's possible that he did say that it was a goal. I'd have to sift through his statements. But I think the distinction is important.

There isn't any flip-flopping because nothing has been committed to yet -- just some brainstorming that Tyron apparently shouldn't have shared with players so early in the process. The only thing I recall Tyron saying is that IF it looks like should be its own game, existing players of VS would get free licenses.

I guess I don't understand why a deviation from lore is such a concern. The rust world lore only applies to default survival mode. It's hard to deviate further from lore than existing modes have already done. We already have a Homo Sapiens mode that is totally different lore -- instead of playing as a Seraph in a post-apocalyptic eldrich-horror world, you're playing as a Human in the dawn of tool use. What makes fantasy adventure so much more of a jump?

Honestly, this is the part that confuses me most. Why would this be a negative? You start a game in Adventure Mode, which will have a clear text description like the other modes. You see that it's more brightly colored and has magic and quests or whatever. Isn't that awesome? I think it's awesome. If I don't want to play like that, I just go back and make a world in default survival. We didn't lose eldrich horror. 

"The Goal

The new mode would be departing significantly in aesthetics, setting and game mechanics compared to Vintage Story. More focused towards fantasy and adventure/rpg-y compared to the gritty, realism based nature of the current experience. Personally, I would love to see some Elves and Dwarves in there

For the time being it would ship alongside Vintage Story at no additional cost but in the purely hypothetical scenario where it really takes off we could spin it off into a fully separate game”.  -Tyron

Meaning his stated goal is to make it it's own game. As he titled it.

People are also confusing my personal preference for wanting a shortcut to launch directly into THAT game and not other games. with thinking having two games for the price of one is bad. 

Of course having more games is good. If you read over my concerns, it's not about getting more games, it's about keeping seperate games actually seperate for the good of both games. Likely if it becomes a mode, it will only show up on world creation screen which is a little hidden and not the best way to build hype for a game.

Edited August 28, 2025 by cosmobeau