Getting Started with Hytale Modding

Welcome to my first blog post! In this guide, I’ll walk you through the basics of getting started with Hytale modding.

Setting Up Your Environment

Before we dive into coding, let’s make sure you have everything you need:

1. Hytale - Make sure you have the game installed
2. A code editor - I recommend VS Code
3. Basic programming knowledge - Familiarity with any programming language helps

Your First Mod

Let’s create a simple mod that logs a message when the game starts. Here’s the basic structure:

-- my_first_mod.lua
local MyMod = {}

function MyMod:init()
    print("Hello from my first Hytale mod!")
end

function MyMod:onGameStart()
    -- This runs when the game starts
    self:init()
end

return MyMod

Understanding the Architecture

Here’s how the mod loading system works:

flowchart TD
    A[Game Start] --> B[Load Mod Manifest]
    B --> C[Parse Dependencies]
    C --> D{Dependencies Met?}
    D -->|Yes| E[Initialize Mod]
    D -->|No| F[Log Error]
    E --> G[Register Callbacks]
    G --> H[Mod Ready]

Working with Events

Hytale uses an event-driven architecture. Here’s how to listen for events:

local EventHandler = require("hytale.events")

EventHandler:on("player_spawn", function(player)
    print("Player spawned: " .. player.name)
end)

EventHandler:on("block_break", function(event)
    local block = event.block
    local player = event.player

    if block.type == "stone" then
        -- Give the player extra XP for mining stone
        player:addXP(10)
    end
end)

Configuration Files

Most mods need configuration. Here’s a typical config.json structure:

{
  "modName": "MyFirstMod",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "settings": {
    "debug": false,
    "logLevel": "info"
  }
}

Next Steps

Now that you have the basics down, here are some things to explore:

• Custom blocks - Add new block types to the game
• NPCs - Create custom non-player characters
• World generation - Modify how the world is generated
• UI elements - Add custom menus and HUDs

Stay tuned for more in-depth tutorials on each of these topics!

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Happy modding!