Let’s be honest: when you hear “voxel game,” you picture cubes. Lots of cubes. Stacking cubes, breaking cubes, living in a cube-shaped world. And Hytale absolutely has cubes—but it’s also moving beyond them in ways that actually matter for builders.
The official “Building with blocks in Hytale” blog post from March 2019 gave us our first detailed look at the block varieties that will be available at launch. This isn’t just Minecraft 2.0; it’s a genuine evolution of what voxel building can be.
The Confirmed Block Types
Hypixel has officially documented the block varieties that will be available. Here’s what we know for certain:
Regular Blocks with Texture Variations
The most basic form—blocks that can be stacked or placed next to one another. But Hytale goes further by providing multiple texture variations for the same base material.
The blog post shows four different blocks all derived from the same basic stone material, each with unique textures and finishes. This means builders can create visual variety without needing different block types.
Slabs: Half-Height Variation
Slabs are exactly what they sound like—half-height blocks that allow for subtle height and width variation within a build. The official blog shows them being used to fill in parts of an archway without blocking it completely.
This is the kind of variety that makes builds look polished rather than blocky. Instead of having to use full blocks for everything, you can add nuance and detail with slabs.
Stair Blocks: Beyond Just Stairs
Stair blocks serve the obvious purpose—building staircases—but they also allow you to create “more subtle tapered edges than are possible with full blocks.”
This dual purpose is worth emphasizing. Stairs aren’t just for getting from point A to point B; they’re a building tool for creating smooth transitions and architectural detail.
Beams: Narrow Connections
Beams attach to the center of blocks and allow you to create narrow connections between surfaces. The blog shows quartzite, stone, and wood beam variants.
If you’re picturing the kind of detailing that goes into timber-framed buildings or structural supports, you’ve got the right idea. Beams are about adding both visual interest and realistic detail.
Wall Blocks: Fences and Railings
Wall blocks are custom shapes that let you create fences, walls, and railings that are thinner than a regular block allows. This fills a gap that voxel games typically struggle with—how do you make something that’s not a full block but still looks substantial?
Pillars: Model Maker Integration
Pillars are a great example of how Hytale Model Maker integrates with the building system. These special block variants feature additional details that add variety and visual interest—details created in Model Maker, not hand-coded for each variant.
This shows the integration between tools: Model Maker creates the detailed assets, and they become available as building blocks in the game.
Roof Blocks: Sloping Surfaces
Roof blocks are another Model Maker-integrated variant. These sloping surfaces can be used to create detailed rooftops, and they come in multiple styles. No more blocky approximations of roofs—you can build actual pitched roofs with proper geometry.
Decorative Elements: Ivy and More
Decorative elements like ivy can be attached to any surface to add detail and help tie builds into their environment. The blog shows ivy growing on structures, but the system presumably supports other decorative attachments as well.
Material Variations: Quartzite as a Case Study
The blog post uses quartzite to demonstrate how many different building blocks can be created from a single base material. From quartzite alone, you get:
- Regular blocks (multiple texture variants)
- Roof blocks
- Stair blocks
- Wall blocks
- Pillars
- Slabs
- Beams
This suggests that each major material in the game will have this full suite of variants, giving builders tremendous flexibility.
Furniture and Interior Decoration
The blog also mentions that “combining furniture sets with block variants provides a lot of options while decorating the insides of buildings.” The example image shows pillars and stair blocks being used to create a fireplace, with multiple stone and quartzite block variants creating visual variety in the wall behind it.
This confirms that blocks and furniture are designed to work together, not as separate systems.
What We Don’t Know Yet
The March 2019 blog post focused on Zone 1 content, so there’s likely much more we haven’t seen:
- How many materials will have full block variant suites?
- What other decorative elements beyond ivy are planned?
- Will there be glass/transparent blocks with similar variety?
- How does crafting interact with block variants?
The Spring 2025 update mentioned “block placement” as one of the core systems coming online for internal playtesting, so we may get more details soon.
Creative Mode Tools
The Spring 2025 update also confirmed creator-focused features in development:
- Block selection — Choosing from available blocks
- Copy/paste — Duplicating structures
- Undo/redo — Reversing mistakes
These are standard features for modern creative building, but essential confirmation that they’ll be available at launch.
Physics Blocks
The Spring 2025 update mentions “blocks impacted by physics” as something they’re “hoping to get as far as testable versions” of for the first external creator team to test later in 2025. This suggests physics-affected blocks will be part of the creator toolset, though the exact capabilities aren’t fully detailed yet.
What This Means for Builders
The confirmed block varieties mean Hytale’s building scene is going to be significantly more detailed than what’s typical for voxel games. When you can use slabs for subtle variation, stairs for tapered edges, and proper roof blocks for pitched roofs, the aesthetic gap between voxel games and other building games narrows considerably.
The integration with Model Maker is particularly exciting. Custom pillars and other detailed elements mean builders aren’t limited to Hypixel’s assets—they can create their own.
Bottom Line
Hytale’s block system is designed to give builders the tools they need to “bring their ideas to life,” as the blog post puts it. The confirmed varieties—slabs, stairs, beams, walls, pillars, roofs, and decorative elements—provide a comprehensive toolkit for detailed building.
The examples from Hypixel’s own world team members (like Propzie’s Zone 1 mansion, Roddan’s Lonely Castle and Citadel, and CptCharles’ Palace) show what’s possible when these tools are in the hands of skilled builders.
We’ll see how it all plays out when we can actually get our hands on it. But based on the official blog post, Hytale’s building system is shaping up to be one of the most powerful in the voxel space.
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