All of these screenshots could have been took with the 1st engine. Coloured lights were in the 1st engine and connected textures is actually a feature I developed at that time, shortly after I entered the team and finished the voxel tools for the builders team. 😉

I can’t say if any of these screenshots were took with the 1st or 2nd or 3rd engine but the 1st engine did not had realtime shadows. The second screenshot with bright colours and blob shadow on character could totally be from the 1st engine like the 3rd one too with the lava.

Not a very early prototype honestly… When I left the 1st engine was still far ahead in terms of features than the 2nd engine. I think the trailer was made with the cinematic features of the second engine the 1st did not have. I left in 2017. The 2nd engine was great and both 1st and 2nd were in C#.

The base engine is the first engine Hytale was based on. That engine did not support 3D models for blocks. I added it. Then later the engine got remade from scratch (2nd engine) then I left. Later again the engine got remade again from scratch… that means there’s at least 3 engines made for Hytale…

Well said like that, that's far from being the best feature which sells the game. 😀
But the base engine was not supporting that at that time and Minecraft was very far from what it is now (and was just starting basic support of basic models for blocks, at that time I released CubikPro) 😉

Also want to give a heartfelt shout-out to Slikey, who did a formidable job during that time, and Tyron (@vintagestorygame.bsky.social), with whom I had the chance to collaborate directly. Two exceptional devs — the experience of working with them is something I’ll never forget. 💪

RIP #Hytale

9/9

Sharing this is my way of saying goodbye—something I’ve never done publicly since 2019–2020.
Huge respect to every dev who poured heart and soul into #Hytale, and a special shout-out to @elisee.bsky.social, @thomasfrick.bsky.social and Polina for the unforgettable moments we shared. 😚

8/9

Back then, #Hytale ’s ambition kept ballooning; the story mode grew bigger and bolder. In hindsight, I wonder if ambition without guardrails eventually sank the project... 🤑

7/9

Those two years at #Hytale were incredible. I stepped away for personal reasons—my first child arrived with tough medical complications—and a chance to grow BDcraft with Microsoft. Slowing down and then leaving was hard, but ultimately the right call. 😌

6/9

#️⃣ Built-in C# scripting for advanced behaviours for level-design, right inside the game with interactive blocks and entities!

🌳 Prefab systems (for houses, trees, rocks, and all), used for ton of assets

🌟 A suite of voxel tools largely used by level designers

And that’s just the shortlist!

5/9

🖌️ Real-time block painting—paint a canvas block, unhook it, duplicate it, rotate it, and hang it elsewhere.

💧 Submerged blocks (way before #Minecraft), 3D meshes for blocks, dynamic colored lighting (torches in hand), animated water (shaders), animated block-destruction (particles).

4/9

🧊 In-game video blocks—drop a block, configure it, and stream almost any video right inside the world (yes, we built a cinema!).

👾 Mini-games on a single block—think 2D arcade cabinets you could place, creating a full arcade in Hytale.

3/9

Passion and ambition fueled us, and the game sprinted forward!

The 1st engine was light, fast and wonderfully extensible (the same tech base VintageStory later built upon), the 2nd was impressive too!
I touched many things, including headline features that instantly forged online camaraderie 😀

2/9

The new pack should have been offered to all the old users of the old pack as agreed with Microsoft. If that’s not the case asking for it on Mojang support should work by now.

WinRAR is our buddy for so many years... I was quite happy and proud to finally pay him as soon as I got money of my own! 😘