Mladen Mihajlovic Posted January 18 Report Posted January 18 (edited) So now that Hytale is in Early Access and I'm sure some of us are playing and doing the obvious comparisons between the games, let's discuss some good ideas that could make Vintage Story better. To me the first thing that sticks out is the combat. I think Hytale has made the combat feel really nice by making it feel like there's actual force behinds the hits. I think Vintage Story needs to make it's combat better. It's the lowest hanging fruit if you ask me. It's probably a combination of sounds effects, particles/effects and als othe movement of the character and the monster which somehow make it 'feel' better. Playing Hytale has also made me appreciate the detail of the whole world and crafting that has been put in to VS. Wow it's so much more amazing to craft items in a more structured and involved way. Every item I have ever made in VS has meant something to me and I don't think Hytale will ever hit this level of satisfaction with it's crafting (although it is far better that Minecraft for sure) Other than that, I am liking the graphics style of Hytale. Vintage Story is more horror focused and it's more grounded colour palette looks and works great, The monsters in VS fit it's theme much better and look way more scarier which I love - but animations need work. Hytale has made the animations somehow smoother, and I think VS could do a bit better in that regard. So, anyone else playing and comparing? Also I do not want to bash either game so let's keep it positive - this is purely a way to learn what is good in both and highlight some features which might need a bit of work. Edited January 18 by Mladen Mihajlovic punctuation 7
LadyWYT Posted January 18 Report Posted January 18 1 hour ago, Mladen Mihajlovic said: To me the first thing that sticks out is the combat. I think Hytale has made the combat feel really nice by making it feel like there's actual force behinds the hits. I think Vintage Story needs to make it's combat better. It's the lowest hanging fruit if you ask me. It's probably a combination of sounds effects, particles/effects and als othe movement of the character and the monster which somehow make it 'feel' better. I would actually say the opposite. Hytale's combat looks fun from what I've seen in videos, but it's too flashy for a game like Vintage Story. I think it works for a game that's more action-oriented/fast-paced and focused on dungeon crawling adventures(which Hytale seems to be that kind of game), but not so much for a game that has a slower pace and more focus on the process of things(like forging, pottery, etc.) and planning ahead for the future(stocking food for the winter, blazing trails, etc). The flashy moves are also quite unrealistic; not that Vintage Story doesn't have some unrealistic things itself, but most things in the game are grounded in realism and combat is no exception. 1 hour ago, Mladen Mihajlovic said: The monsters in VS fit it's theme much better and look way more scarier which I love - but animations need work. Hytale has made the animations somehow smoother, and I think VS could do a bit better in that regard. Regarding the animation, I think refinement will come for the VS animations, but it's not the highest priority right now. I also think that when the animations are polished, they do need to remain grounded in realism when possible. Flashy combat animations are fun to watch, but very often those flashy moves are actions that would realistically leave the player open to injury. Many of the Skyrim killcams are prime examples of that--the crosscut killcam when dual-wielding looks very cool, but in reality is very easy to block/deflect and leaves the attacker too open to counterattack. Same with some of the killcams for two-handed weapons--they look cool, but take much too long and leave the player wide open to attack. 5
Forceous Posted January 18 Report Posted January 18 2 hours ago, Mladen Mihajlovic said: To me the first thing that sticks out is the combat. I think Hytale has made the combat feel really nice by making it feel like there's actual force behinds the hits. I think Vintage Story needs to make it's combat better. It's the lowest hanging fruit if you ask me. It's probably a combination of sounds effects, particles/effects and als othe movement of the character and the monster which somehow make it 'feel' better. As a new player, I don’t think it’s about combat, it fits with the game while Hytale’s is more fast paced so it won’t fit with VS style. I think the issue is more about the animations, they do feel a little bit clunky, and whenever you’re chopping a tree the sound effects are faster than the whole movement. While it’s not a negative for me and quite frankly I don’t care at all, better animations would improve the feel of the game. 5
Iscariot Posted January 18 Report Posted January 18 I do think that there could be some tweaks to Vintage Story's combat, but the kind of vibe I get is like... Old survival horror games. As in, you're not at all prepared for this landscape and it's less slaying monsters on an epic quest and more.. clamoring and flailing for the chance of survival. I would probably like at least some animation tweaks to make it feel a bit better yeah, but nothing nearly as flashy as Hytale. The other combat tweak that I dream of is damage types and resistances. Like I feel like locusts would be more vulnerable to some kind of blunt weapon over a falx x3 I get the lore reason for having only falxes as the main weapons... But honestly? I think it is such a waste of the best smithing system I've seen in a game. I'd really like to see more threats that are easier to dispatch with different weaponry. And even unique weapon traits that depend on your time as a smith. Like uhh serrating blades or if you wanna make smithing a bit more of a challenge, forging a flammard/flammenschwert type sword. These could come with various downsides like yeah, your serrated blade is doing good damage, buuut it gets you less drops from wild animals because you're tearing at the meat. I also just really like personal touches in games. Like finding a preferred weapon that I think would fit my style (both vanity and gameplay wise. Also would make for nice display pieces!!) This was mainly fueled by how I want more stuff and more mechanics to smithing and general crafting x3 Like uhh.. I do find it a lil weird that we spend a bunch of time carburizing steel, refining the blister steel, then forging that steel into our desired shape... Only to just place it on a stick we found on the ground... 3
HalfAxd Posted January 18 Report Posted January 18 Hytale looks like Wizard101 went to middle school. Too cartoony and frankly looks like a kids game to me.
Mladen Mihajlovic Posted January 19 Author Report Posted January 19 I understand that combat is not the main focus of VS but currently it "feels" very naf. There doesn't seem to be any weight to the weapons, nor any recoil or impact feel from hitting. It of course would not fit to have the flashy cartoony style of Hytale, but I was more talking about feel. Even though combat is not the focus there is plenty of it in VS too though, and as it is currently it's not like it's realistic either. It's ok to show movement being horizontal or vertical (falx blade) but there isn't really a *swing* one way or the other - more like a tap. And the monster just keeps coming. Also the sound of hitting is ... a bell? 1
marmarmar34 Posted January 19 Report Posted January 19 I personally find it funny that hitting a monster made of rust and fabric sounds like you're slapping your cheek. Definitely could be a lot more satisfying, as it's been said in this thread already, combat definitely needs some work. 3
Angie P Posted January 19 Report Posted January 19 Vintage Story has totally re-worked my brain when it comes to these types of games. What do you mean I can't chisel blocks, I have to build with actual squares??? Where's the clay to knap my moulds??? Mine and melt and make, what wizardry is this? And, what is this magical wizardry to begin with?? All aside, I think they're different enough in so many ways that they compliment each other without stepping over each other, and that suits me fine. 3
CastIronFabric Posted January 19 Report Posted January 19 22 hours ago, Mladen Mihajlovic said: So now that Hytale is in Early Access and I'm sure some of us are playing and doing the obvious comparisons between the games, let's discuss some good ideas that could make Vintage Story better. To me the first thing that sticks out is the combat. I think Hytale has made the combat feel really nice by making it feel like there's actual force behinds the hits. I think Vintage Story needs to make it's combat better. It's the lowest hanging fruit if you ask me. It's probably a combination of sounds effects, particles/effects and als othe movement of the character and the monster which somehow make it 'feel' better. In my opinion combat focus is more for Project "Glint", namely because they have stated that is one of the main pillars of focus that they explictly state is 'unlike VS'. I see VS as more of a building/crafting game than it is a combat/adventure game. I think they should double down on that and leave the combat improvements to Project "Glint". That is my opinion 2
CastIronFabric Posted January 19 Report Posted January 19 (edited) 28 minutes ago, Angie P said: Vintage Story has totally re-worked my brain when it comes to these types of games. What do you mean I can't chisel blocks, I have to build with actual squares??? Where's the clay to knap my moulds??? Mine and melt and make, what wizardry is this? And, what is this magical wizardry to begin with?? All aside, I think they're different enough in so many ways that they compliment each other without stepping over each other, and that suits me fine. I am not interested in Project "Glint" or Hytail. That is not to say I think they are bad games but more that I would like to see something that double down on crafting/machines/building/refining etc instead of double down on combat and adventure. I am not really that interested in combat and adventure, I would say that is because I am old but I have always been that way more or less. Edited January 19 by CastIronFabric
ignoramus Posted January 19 Report Posted January 19 Other than both being voxel-based with destructible environments, I don't think there's a reason to compare the two games. VS is heavily focused on survival, building and very deep and complex crafting systems while Hytale is more of an action RPG with light base building mechanics like Terraria. If I were forced to compare them though I'd agree with your comments on combat. I'd like a little more monster, hostile animal and weapon variety. I don't want to overcomplicate the combat the way Minecraft eventually did but even something like a slow swinging warhammer that briefly stuns enemies would be cool. Give each weapon a right click action with high cooldown the way spears can be thrown, like let the falx do a slightly higher damage AOE slice that leaves you open for a couple seconds, shortsword could get a parry or longer range stab... just a few ideas. It looks like we're seeing the beginnings of advanced weapon customization with the next update, annealing and quenching are really hype to me. Also, our mob variety is kinda bad right now, would be cool to see some rare aquatic or flying enemies that require more strategy than just chasing and hacking enemies to death. Maybe some kind of mini boss that spawns during storms and has decent drops to give you a reason to actually engage with them. 2
LadyWYT Posted January 19 Report Posted January 19 7 minutes ago, ignoramus said: flying enemies Given how the phantom turned out for Minecraft, I'll pass on the flying enemies. If they were a rare enemy contained to specific locations, they'd probably be fine, but I really doubt they'd be popular if they were a normal encounter. I think for a normal encounter, the enemy in question would need a very limited flight capacity. That is, they can fly a short distance quickly, which allows them to ambush unsuspecting players, easily catch players who try to flee, or escape a fight that isn't going well. It'd have to have a decent cooldown though, so that the player can still have a chance to run away from the monster or otherwise shoot it/catch it if it tries to flee. 2
AnniPicto Posted January 19 Report Posted January 19 This is a very unusual situation. I agree with everyone. I think the combat animation needs to be improved. But at the same time, it shouldn't be too pretentious.
ignoramus Posted January 19 Report Posted January 19 1 minute ago, LadyWYT said: Given how the phantom turned out for Minecraft, I'll pass on the flying enemies. If they were a rare enemy contained to specific locations, they'd probably be fine, but I really doubt they'd be popular if they were a normal encounter. I think for a normal encounter, the enemy in question would need a very limited flight capacity. That is, they can fly a short distance quickly, which allows them to ambush unsuspecting players, easily catch players who try to flee, or escape a fight that isn't going well. It'd have to have a decent cooldown though, so that the player can still have a chance to run away from the monster or otherwise shoot it/catch it if it tries to flee. Haha I was thinking of the phantom when I put "rare" in front of the "flying" part. I'm not a game developer so I can't imagine how to properly balance one, but I like your idea. I'd imagine something that engages in close combat similar to a drifter but can also leap and make short flights to catch players hiding atop walls or pillars.
Foe Hammer Posted January 19 Report Posted January 19 On 1/18/2026 at 1:53 PM, LadyWYT said: I would actually say the opposite. Hytale's combat looks fun from what I've seen in videos, but it's too flashy for a game like Vintage Story. I fully agree. The low hanging fruit is of course combat, but like most have said it more comes down to the animations. I believe most of the things I would like added to combat that go a bit beyond what would be realistic are best for either a mod, or Project Glint. I almost exclusively play modded and use Combat Overhaul and most all of the suite of mods that accompany it. Have played a little of vanilla after playing that way for so long it felt so different. But in both instances, the animations are the weak spot. When swinging a sword or mace or using a spear your character just sort of stands there as the weapon swings while your arm is connected to it. I am sure this is something that will be improved in time, maybe something from PG is able to help advance VS. Low hanging fruit now eaten, one thing I would love to see implemented is how it handled a huge tree and how it was cut down. Outside of the redwood (unless I am mistaken) all trees are just a block wide at the base, and any log chopped cuts down those above. What I liked was seeing a tree that had a cross section of about 5 blocks, and it came down like in VS but only after it was completely cut through. It is such a tiny thing I know, but I would love to see bigger and more beautiful trees be normal/growable, and tree chopping to be handled in a similar way. 1
LadyWYT Posted January 19 Report Posted January 19 I think the tough part about animations is that a proper third person camera probably needs to be developed first, given that third person and immersive first person will likely share the same animations. For the typical first person view though, the animations have to be more limited, as otherwise the animations can clutter up the screen or otherwise be too confusing to be enjoyable. As far as how many people would actually play in third person...I'm not sure, but typically things like animation are more easily enjoyed from the third person perspective. Skyrim, I think, is a decent example to use here; the animations are quite flashy in third person but more simplified in first person. I used to have a mod that made the player's body visible in first person and used the third person animations as well...and it had some pretty bad side effects. Fun to use overall, but it's not so fun when most melee attacks swing your camera wildly to the side(to the point you lose sight of your target, briefly). 1
Forceous Posted January 19 Report Posted January 19 31 minutes ago, LadyWYT said: I used to have a mod that made the player's body visible in first person and used the third person animations as well...and it had some pretty bad side effects. I remember using that mod on Skyrim as well, made the first person animations too clunky lol
MKMoose Posted Wednesday at 02:29 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 02:29 PM (edited) On 1/19/2026 at 8:56 PM, Foe Hammer said: Low hanging fruit now eaten, one thing I would love to see implemented is how it handled a huge tree and how it was cut down. Outside of the redwood (unless I am mistaken) all trees are just a block wide at the base, and any log chopped cuts down those above. What I liked was seeing a tree that had a cross section of about 5 blocks, and it came down like in VS but only after it was completely cut through. There's a couple other 2x2 tree variants, though they can only be found rarely in the wild. I think oak and two variants of kapok. I feel like trees overall deserve an overhaul. Hytale's trees are arguably better in some ways, but have a few problems as well. There's so many things that could be improved about them in Vintage Story: they should grow more gradually (not necessarily block-by-block, but at the very least with one or two extra stages between sapling and fully grown), there should be something between full logs and branchy leaves, and it would be much better to have actual branches, not unlike on fruit trees (at least some larger branches, not necessarily a branch for every leaf block) small trees should have thinner trunks, because a young 5 m tree has no business having a 1 m diameter, seeds should fall from trees in the appropriate season in large quantity, instead of just having a small chance to drop from leaves, deciduous trees should lose leaves in winter, all trees should ideally have proper stumps and roots, which could potentially be dug up with a shovel without destroying the dirt, as well aa deteriorate naturally over a long period of time when the tree is chopped down. My hot take of sorts is that fruit trees were a mistake. They are too complex for their own good and create an unnecessary divide between regular and fruit trees, while also somehow ending up very samey. Instead of making fruit trees the way they did, I think they should have gone for a simpler system that could be used for all trees universally. Trees are a really fundamental part of the game, and I think they deserve all the attention they can get from the devs. On 1/18/2026 at 6:30 PM, Mladen Mihajlovic said: To me the first thing that sticks out is the combat. I think Hytale has made the combat feel really nice by making it feel like there's actual force behinds the hits. I think Vintage Story needs to make it's combat better. It's the lowest hanging fruit if you ask me. It's probably a combination of sounds effects, particles/effects and als othe movement of the character and the monster which somehow make it 'feel' better. I'm so glad you're mentioning the feel of the combat, and not the specifics like fantasy weapons and special attacks. It's one of the more common pieces of feedback about the game, and a few other discussions seem to have landed on hitboxes as well as a line of sight and hearing mechanic as pretty important areas to improve first and foremost, alongside the status effect system which is planned for the nearest major update. Adding animations and hit feedback to that seems like a very good idea. Honestly, though, I think a much closer analogue to Hytale over Minecraft or Vintage Story is Terraria. Much more similar gameplay style. On 1/19/2026 at 11:00 PM, LadyWYT said: I think the tough part about animations is that a proper third person camera probably needs to be developed first, given that third person and immersive first person will likely share the same animations. For the typical first person view though, the animations have to be more limited, as otherwise the animations can clutter up the screen or otherwise be too confusing to be enjoyable. Having the same first-person and third-person animations can be pretty difficult, because then both tend to have to make concessions so that both look decent. Many multiplayer games which are designed to use the same animations in both perspectives but prioritize good first-person animations end up janky and unnatural when viewed in third-person. Unless they want to entirely switch to the immersive first-person camera (which doesn't seem good enough at the moment), I would say it's fine enough to keep third-person as the secondary focus for multiplayer and the occasional screenshot or something. It's entirely possible to improve the current first-person animations separately. If the third-person camera were to be improved, then the first order of business is to make it over-the-shoulder and not coaxial, because currently I feel like it's borderline unusable for anything except exploration. It would also need to have some sort of zoom function (e.g. bringing the camera slightly in front the shoulder) to allow the precision required for clayforming, smithing and so on. Edited Wednesday at 02:33 PM by MKMoose 4
LadyWYT Posted Wednesday at 04:05 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 04:05 PM 1 hour ago, MKMoose said: Many multiplayer games which are designed to use the same animations in both perspectives but prioritize good first-person animations end up janky and unnatural when viewed in third-person. Yeah, I didn't explicitly say it, but I was angling towards having similar but separate animations for first-person and third-person. Third-person animations don't need to be as restrained as first-person animations since there's no concern about cluttering the screen, but they ought to remain at least somewhat similar so the two views feel connected. To me it feels a little strange when first-person animation is relatively grounded, and third-person is a moveset that obviously doesn't match those motions at all. 2
Foe Hammer Posted Wednesday at 04:29 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 04:29 PM (edited) 3 hours ago, MKMoose said: There's a couple other 2x2 tree variants, though they can only be found rarely in the wild. I think oak and two variants of kapok. I feel like trees overall deserve an overhaul. Hytale's trees are arguably better in some ways, but have a few problems as well. I did forget about those super rare monster oaks, and I have never actually seen a wild kapok so fair enough lol. And I do agree with most all of your points on the trees, they deserve some good love. I think having trees grow in stages other than 'seed>sapling>full grown' would be awesome and incentives letting certain trees grow longer. And I have long thought those massive tree variants should be possible to be grown. I will say small trees having thinner trucks seems like it verges on unnecessary detail. Yes it is absurd for a young tree to have a meter thick trunk, however it is a block game and that feels fully within the confines of 'suspension of disbelief' to me. Fruit trees I am not quite sure on. Yes they should act like other trees, though they should require more care to grow and cultivate at least form a balance point of view. 3 hours ago, MKMoose said: I'm so glad you're mentioning the feel of the combat, and not the specifics like fantasy weapons and special attacks. Yes the feel is such a big aspect that feels lacking. I will not say the game completely lacks it, but it absolutely would benefit from refinement. On 1/19/2026 at 5:00 PM, LadyWYT said: I think the tough part about animations is that a proper third person camera probably needs to be developed first, given that third person and immersive first person will likely share the same animations. For the typical first person view though, the animations have to be more limited, as otherwise the animations can clutter up the screen or otherwise be too confusing to be enjoyable. As far as how many people would actually play in third person...I'm not sure, but typically things like animation are more easily enjoyed from the third person perspective. Skyrim, I think, is a decent example to use here; the animations are quite flashy in third person but more simplified in first person. I used to have a mod that made the player's body visible in first person and used the third person animations as well...and it had some pretty bad side effects. Fun to use overall, but it's not so fun when most melee attacks swing your camera wildly to the side(to the point you lose sight of your target, briefly). The third person view definitely needs some love lol. And making sure the animations look good from the outside, but are playable from first person, is a huge thing that I know I tend to forget. Like it would be cool to do a whirlwind style attack, but I think there are many who would be disoriented or motion sick from their camera getting spun around 8+ times very quickly lol. Honestly I think if you improved third person animations alone that would be a huge improvement. For me at least, theater of the mind of the mind can fill in the rest for first person. That is not to say I do not want improved first person animations, because I really do. I just think if you see other players have more animated characters, your mind can help fill in the gaps for your character pretty well. Edited Wednesday at 05:50 PM by Foe Hammer 2
MKMoose Posted Wednesday at 05:27 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 05:27 PM 5 minutes ago, Foe Hammer said: I will saw small trees having thinner trucks seems like it verges on unnecessary detail. Yes it is absurd for a young tree to have a meter thick trunk, however it is a block game and that feels fully within the confined of 'suspension of disbelief' to me. I would be inclined to agree with this if we didn't have fruit trees, Mediterranean cypress and fern trees already in the game. 9 minutes ago, Foe Hammer said: Fruit trees I am not quite sure on. Yes they should act like other trees, though they should require more care to grow and cultivate at least form a balance point of view. Fair enough, though I feel like gameplay balance, visual appearance and technical implementation can be separated, even though they aren't entirely independent. While any changes to how they grow will inevitably affect balance in some ways, I mainly dislike fruit trees being 1) very similar to each other and 2) completely separate from regular trees in multiple aspects. 1
Foe Hammer Posted Wednesday at 06:01 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 06:01 PM 22 minutes ago, MKMoose said: I would be inclined to agree with this if we didn't have fruit trees, Mediterranean cypress and fern trees already in the game. Fair, though fruit tree trunks cannot be used to build with (at least not in the same way logs can). Mediterranean cypress is a very odd one. We cannot grow that strain of tree in game normally correct? My main worry is having tons of different log models for different growth stages and adding a bunch more complexity in that area. Granted they could all just drop normal logs, then it is almost purely an aesthetic choice for the tree growth. Still feels weird to me, and I want to write off the cypress as the exception but that is not productive to the conversation me thinks. 28 minutes ago, MKMoose said: Fair enough, though I feel like gameplay balance, visual appearance and technical implementation can be separated, even though they aren't entirely independent. While any changes to how they grow will inevitably affect balance in some ways, I mainly dislike fruit trees being 1) very similar to each other and 2) completely separate from regular trees in multiple aspects. Very true, they can be implemented differently on a gameplay and technical perspective, but be similar to other trees visually. And I do agree there should be differences between the different types of fruit trees. I think they are that different to make it easier to tell what trees bear fruit and which ones do not, though I feel that may only be a issue to some and for a time. Like even if an apple tree looks identical to an oak (just an example, do not know off the top of my head if that is accurate), I think the tell would at minimum be the flowering and then the apples. While on the subject, it could be cool to graft fruit tree limbs onto a regular tree. Have an oak that just has one patch of apples growing. Though I do not know if that is even possible with real like plant grafting. 1
LadyWYT Posted Wednesday at 06:26 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 06:26 PM 1 hour ago, Foe Hammer said: Like it would be cool to do a whirlwind style attack I actually disagree. Whirlwind style attacks are fine for fantasy, but realistically it's a very poor attack plan. The whirling motion is not only disorienting, but leaves too much opportunity for the opponent to run away, recover and reposition, or even counterattack. The current enemies in the game may not be highly intelligent to take full advantage of such mistakes, but given that the game as a whole is grounded in realism I think it's best to keep the combat fairly grounded as well. Now Project Glint, on the other hand...that would be a more fitting place for flashy moves like whirlwind. 1
williams_482 Posted Wednesday at 07:39 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 07:39 PM 3 hours ago, LadyWYT said: Yeah, I didn't explicitly say it, but I was angling towards having similar but separate animations for first-person and third-person. Third-person animations don't need to be as restrained as first-person animations since there's no concern about cluttering the screen, but they ought to remain at least somewhat similar so the two views feel connected. To me it feels a little strange when first-person animation is relatively grounded, and third-person is a moveset that obviously doesn't match those motions at all. I believe Vintage Story already has slightly different 1st and 3rd person animations? At the very least, I know my shadow's chopping/mining/digging motion doesn't always match what I see the tool itself doing. Often the shadow is moving at a noticeably different speed, never mind the different angles of attack.
LadyWYT Posted Wednesday at 09:37 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 09:37 PM 1 hour ago, williams_482 said: I believe Vintage Story already has slightly different 1st and 3rd person animations? At the very least, I know my shadow's chopping/mining/digging motion doesn't always match what I see the tool itself doing. Often the shadow is moving at a noticeably different speed, never mind the different angles of attack. Kind of? I think the animations are the same, but the timing is different. You can swing some tools, like hammers, axes, and pickaxes, much faster than the animation that plays.
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