Summer 2024: Hytale's Entity Component System Revealed

Hypixel Studios has released a comprehensive technical explainer detailing Hytale’s engine architecture, confirming the adoption of the Flecs Entity Component System (ECS) framework.

Engine Reboot Complete

The blog post confirms that Hytale underwent a major engine reboot, switching from a Java-based server with C# client to a unified C++ codebase. This decision was driven by three main goals:

1. Multiplatform support - C++ enables easier deployment across multiple platforms
2. Performance on lower-end hardware - The new engine runs better on less powerful devices
3. Long-term maintainability - A robust foundation for years of updates

Why ECS Matters

The Entity Component System architecture provides several key benefits:

Performance Through Data Locality

By keeping related data packed together in memory, the CPU can process information more efficiently, resulting in significantly faster performance compared to the previous implementation.

Smarter NPCs

The new Combat Action Evaluator framework allows NPCs to make intelligent decisions about attacks and targeting simultaneously through parallelization, rather than the slower sequential processing of the legacy engine.

Better Modding Support

The data-driven architecture means modders can create new behaviors by attaching different components to entities, potentially without writing deep code changes.

Flecs Framework

Hypixel chose Flecs over other ECS frameworks for its extended features like “relationships”—data that connects entities to each other, enabling powerful queries like “find all NPCs bearing swords that are aggressive to the player.”

This technical foundation positions Hytale for both excellent performance and extensive moddability when it launches.