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Hytale Modding Manual

Inheritance and Templates

Overview

Hytale’s configuration system uses a template inheritance model. Instead of defining every field for each entity, you create base templates with shared properties, then extend them with specific overrides. This pattern appears across NPC roles, items, gameplay configs, and damage types.

How Inheritance Works

flowchart TD;
    A["Base Template<br>Template_Beasts_Passive"] --> B[Chicken Role];
    A --> C[Rabbit Role];
    A --> D[Sheep Role];
    B -->|"Reference + Modify"| E["Chicken<br>HP: 15, Speed: 1.2<br>Drops: Feathers"];
    C -->|"Reference + Modify"| F["Rabbit<br>HP: 10, Speed: 2.0<br>Drops: Rabbit Hide"];
    D -->|"Reference + Modify"| G["Sheep<br>HP: 20, Speed: 1.0<br>Drops: Wool"];
    H[Shared from Template] --> I[AI: Passive Wander];
    H --> J[Flee when attacked];
    H --> K[Sensing range: 10];
    H --> L[Sound reactions];
    style A fill:rebeccapurple,color:white;
    style E fill:darkgreen,color:white;
    style F fill:darkgreen,color:white;
    style G fill:darkgreen,color:white;
    style H fill:steelblue,color:white;

Resolution Order

flowchart LR;
    A["Role File<br>Chicken.json"] -->|"1. Read Reference"| B["Template File<br>Template_Beasts_Passive"];
    B -->|"2. Load Base"| C["Full Template<br>All fields defined"];
    C -->|"3. Apply Modify"| D["Override<br>Appearance, Stats,<br>Drops, Speed"];
    D -->|"4. Result"| E["Final NPC Definition<br>Template + Overrides"];
    style A fill:darkgoldenrod,color:white;
    style E fill:darkgreen,color:white;

Inheritance Mechanisms

Reference + Modify (NPC Roles)

The most common pattern for NPCs. The Reference field points to a template, and Modify overrides specific fields:

{
  "Reference": "Template_Beasts_Passive_Critter",
  "Modify": {
    "Appearance": "Chicken",
    "MaxHealth": 10,
    "MaxSpeed": 3.0,
    "DropList": "Drop_Chicken",
    "NameTranslationKey": "server.npc.chicken.name"
  }
}

The resulting NPC inherits all properties from Template_Beasts_Passive_Critter (AI behavior, view range, hearing, flock patterns, etc.) and only overrides the five fields listed in Modify.

Parent (Items, Configs)

Items and gameplay configs use a Parent field for single-level inheritance:

{
  "Parent": "Template_Food",
  "TranslationProperties": {
    "Name": "server.items.food_bread.name",
    "Description": "server.items.food_bread.description"
  },
  "Quality": "Uncommon",
  "Recipe": {
    "Input": [{ "ItemId": "Ingredient_Dough", "Quantity": 1 }],
    "Output": [{ "ItemId": "Food_Bread", "Quantity": 1 }],
    "BenchRequirement": { "Type": "Processing", "Id": "Cookingbench" },
    "TimeSeconds": 8
  }
}

Inherits (Damage Types)

Damage types use Inherits for classification hierarchies:

{
  "Inherits": "Physical"
}

This creates a chain: Bludgeoning inherits from Physical, which inherits from the base Damage type.

Variant Type

Some NPC files use "Type": "Variant" to define multiple variations of the same base entity:

{
  "Type": "Variant",
  "Reference": "Template_Livestock_Cow",
  "Modify": {
    "Appearance": "Cow_Brown"
  }
}

Parameters and Compute

Templates can define parameters with default values, which concrete entities can override:

{
  "Parameters": {
    "BaseHealth": {
      "Value": 100,
      "Description": "Base health for this NPC tier"
    },
    "SpeedMultiplier": {
      "Value": 1.0,
      "Description": "Movement speed modifier"
    }
  },
  "MaxHealth": { "Compute": "BaseHealth" },
  "MaxSpeed": { "Compute": "4.0 * SpeedMultiplier" }
}

A child entity overrides parameters to change computed values without redefining the formulas.

Template Hierarchy

Templates are typically organized in _Core/Templates/ directories:

Server/NPC/Roles/
├── _Core/
│   └── Templates/
│       ├── Template_Beasts_Passive_Critter.json
│       ├── Template_Beasts_Hostile.json
│       ├── Template_Livestock_Cow.json
│       └── Template_Intelligent_Villager.json
├── Critter/
│   ├── Chicken.json          (References Template_Beasts_Passive_Critter)
│   └── Rabbit.json           (References Template_Beasts_Passive_Critter)
└── Beast/
    ├── Bear_Grizzly.json     (References Template_Beasts_Hostile)
    └── Wolf.json             (References Template_Beasts_Hostile)

Best Practices

  • Always reference a template when creating new entities — don’t define every field from scratch
  • Override only what’s different — keep Modify blocks small
  • Use Parameters for tuning — makes balancing easier without touching formulas
  • Check the template first — read the template file to understand what defaults you inherit