Hytale Audio & Sound Design

Add custom sounds and music to your Hytale mods.

Audio Types in Hytale

Type Use For Examples

Sound Effects Actions, feedback Block break, item pickup, attack

Ambient Environment Wind, water, cave echoes

Music Background Biome themes, boss battles

Voice/Dialogue NPCs Greetings, quests

UI Sounds Interface Button clicks, notifications

File Formats

Format Use For Notes

.ogg

All sounds Preferred, smaller files

.wav

High quality SFX Larger files

.mp3

Music Good compression

Folder Structure

MyPack/ └── Common/ └── Sounds/ ├── blocks/ │ ├── my_block_break.ogg │ └── my_block_place.ogg ├── mobs/ │ ├── my_mob_idle.ogg │ └── my_mob_hurt.ogg ├── ambient/ │ └── my_biome_wind.ogg └── music/ └── my_theme.ogg

Defining Sounds (JSON)

Sound Definition

{ "soundId": "mymod:block_break", "file": "sounds/blocks/my_block_break.ogg", "volume": 1.0, "pitch": { "min": 0.9, "max": 1.1 }, "distance": { "min": 1, "max": 16 }, "loop": false }

Sound Properties

Property Description Default

volume

Loudness (0.0 - 2.0) 1.0

pitch.min/max

Random pitch range 1.0

distance.min

Full volume range 1

distance.max

Fade to silence 16

loop

Repeat continuously false

category

Sound category "effects"

Attaching Sounds to Content

Block Sounds

{ "blockId": "mymod:crystal_block", "sounds": { "break": "mymod:crystal_break", "place": "mymod:crystal_place", "step": "mymod:crystal_step", "hit": "mymod:crystal_hit" } }

Item Sounds

{ "itemId": "mymod:magic_wand", "sounds": { "use": "mymod:wand_cast", "equip": "mymod:wand_equip" } }

Mob Sounds

{ "entityId": "mymod:dragon", "sounds": { "idle": { "sound": "mymod:dragon_idle", "interval": { "min": 5, "max": 15 } }, "hurt": "mymod:dragon_hurt", "death": "mymod:dragon_death", "attack": "mymod:dragon_roar", "step": "mymod:dragon_step" } }

Ambient Sounds

Biome Ambient

{ "biomeId": "mymod:enchanted_forest", "ambient": { "sound": "mymod:forest_ambience", "volume": 0.5, "loop": true }, "randomSounds": [ { "sound": "mymod:bird_chirp", "interval": { "min": 10, "max": 30 }, "chance": 0.3 } ] }

Location-Based Sounds

{ "type": "sound_emitter", "position": { "x": 100, "y": 64, "z": 200 }, "sound": "mymod:waterfall", "radius": 20, "loop": true }

Music System

Music Tracks

{ "musicId": "mymod:boss_theme", "file": "sounds/music/boss_theme.ogg", "fadeIn": 2.0, "fadeOut": 3.0, "volume": 0.8 }

Music Triggers

{ "trigger": "enter_biome", "biome": "mymod:dark_forest", "music": "mymod:dark_forest_theme" }

In Plugin

// Play music for a player player.playMusic("mymod:boss_theme");

// Stop music player.stopMusic();

// Fade to new music player.crossfadeMusic("mymod:victory_theme", 2.0f);

Playing Sounds in Plugins

Basic Playback

// Play at entity location entity.playSound("mymod:dragon_roar");

// Play at position world.playSound("mymod:explosion", position);

// Play with options world.playSound("mymod:thunder", position, SoundOptions.builder() .volume(2.0f) .pitch(0.8f) .build());

Player-Specific Sounds

// Only this player hears it player.playSound("mymod:level_up");

// UI sound (no 3D positioning) player.playUISound("mymod:button_click");

Sound Categories

Category Description Player Control

master

All sounds Yes

music

Background music Yes

effects

Sound effects Yes

ambient

Environmental Yes

voice

NPC dialogue Yes

ui

Interface sounds Yes

{ "soundId": "mymod:npc_greeting", "category": "voice", "file": "sounds/voice/greeting.ogg" }

Audio Tips

Do

Practice Why

Use .ogg format Smaller files, good quality

Add pitch variation Sounds less repetitive

Set appropriate distance Immersive falloff

Test in-game Volumes differ

Loop ambient smoothly No jarring restart

Don't

Mistake Why Bad

Too loud sounds Annoys players

No variation Repetitive

Huge files Slow loading

Clipping audio Distortion

Creating Sound Effects

Tools

• Audacity - Free, cross-platform editor

• BFXR/SFXR - Retro game sound generator

• Freesound.org - Free sound library (check licenses!)

Workflow

• Record or generate sound

• Edit in Audacity (trim, normalize)

• Export as .ogg (Quality 5-7)

• Place in Sounds folder

• Define in JSON

• Test in-game

Quick Reference

Task How

Add block sound Define in block JSON sounds

Add mob sound Define in entity JSON sounds

Play from plugin entity.playSound("id")

Loop ambient Set loop: true in definition

Add biome music Define music trigger

Resources

• Pack Creation: See hytale-pack-creator skill

• Plugin Development: See hytale-plugin-dev skill

• NPC Dialogue: See hytale-npc-ai skill