Histatu Stole My Mod (Endless Leveling), the "#1 Server in Hytale"
Histatu Stole My Mod and Action Needs to by Taken
Hello everyone,
I'm the developer of Endless Leveling, and I want to explain why I left Histatu and why I'm making this post.
I recently ended my partnership with Histatu after discovering that they were planning to replace me. As soon as I learned about it, I chose to leave immediately. While there were already ongoing internal issues and drama within the community, this was the final straw. I no longer wanted to be associated with a community that no longer reflected the values I originally joined for.
What makes this especially disappointing is that Endless Leveling was one of the biggest reasons Histatu experienced the level of growth and success it did. Looking back, I regret supporting the server.
After leaving, I discovered something far more serious.
The owner of Histatu appears to have decompiled Endless Leveling and used it as the foundation for their own mod. This wasn't simply inspiration or similar ideas. Their code still contains names and identifiers that are unique to Endless Leveling, including several that they forgot to rename after copying.
This includes content from Endless Leveling, along with features from its premium add-ons.
Endless Leveling is the largest public mod in this space by a significant margin. There isn't another public project with a comparable amount of content to copy from. Recreating a mod of this size from scratch in such a short period would be extremely unlikely. The remaining unique Fate names, variables, and structures make it obvious that the project originated from a decompiled version of Endless Leveling rather than being independently developed.
Below are side-by-side comparisons showing these similarities and the leftover identifiers that were never renamed.
Endless Fates vs Histatu Artifacts
Endless Guilds vs Histatu Clans
Endless Marriage vs Histatu Marriage
Endless Class/Race vs Histatu Class
Endless Leveling vs Histatu Skills
Endless Quests vs Histatu Tasks
Endless Title System vs Histatu Title System
If nothing is done, Histatu will likely face no consequences for this. I was even willing to give them a seven-day grace period to continue using my partner key after I left, but given what I've since discovered, that is clearly no longer appropriate.
Most players are completely unaware of what has happened, and without speaking up, everything would remain hidden.
To the Hytale team: please protect your modding community. Modders invest countless hours creating original content, and that work should not be decompiled, copied, and repackaged by server owners for their own benefit.
This is especially important because Histatu is currently the #1 Hytale server. If the largest server in the community can get away with copying a creator's work without consequences, it sets a dangerous precedent for every other server and sends the wrong message to both current and future modders. That's not a good look for Hytale or for the future of its creator ecosystem.
A healthy modding community depends on creators knowing that their work will be respected and that blatant infringement will be taken seriously.
Edit: To clarify, the request for a 3× payment was not about greed. It was about fairly reflecting the impact Endless Leveling had on Histatu and the additional responsibilities I would have been taking on.
I was never in this partnership for the money. For months, I knew that other people were being paid more than I was, and I accepted that because I had multiple partnerships outside of Histatu. Compensation was never my primary motivation.
However, by that point, Histatu was dealing with significant internal issues, and I was being asked to continue supporting the server, during the fallout. A 3× payment was the only arrangement that I felt fairly compensated me for the value Endless Leveling brought to Histatu and for the increased workload I would have been taking on.
When that wasn't possible, and after learning I was being replaced, I decided it was time to move on.
Also, yes, I originally yoinked their partnership key (knowing schemes behind the scenes). I ended up giving it back the next day for a whole week. Obviously, that isn't needed anymore.
Histatu has its own problems that I don't have the right to mention, but it was one of the main deciding factors why I shouldn't stay in that environment. I've seen screenshots of what Dimotai and his few staff members have said. I already knew that I wouldn't need to post his own messages because these screenshots are enough to explain everything for themselves.
What's Next for Me
My original goal was to help Histatu as much as possible by gatekeeping a lot of my content, creating a content gap between servers. Now that we're no longer partnered, I may start releasing some of those features with a few adjustments.
Instead of trying to help only a handful of servers grow, I want to help Hytale grow as a whole. It might hurt me in the short term, but I think it's the right decision for the game and the community.
This also isn't the first time this has happened to me. I've had server owners in the past try to rebrand Endless Leveling or hide that I was the original developer. That's one of the reasons I became so protective of my work. Looking back, though, that also made things harder for the good servers.
Going forward, I'd rather stay optimistic. Running a server myself has given me a better understanding of the challenges server owners face. I'll still protect my work, but I also want to trust people more and do my part to help Hytale succeed.
