A new Hytale update makes navigating the map much easier, buffs necromancy, and promises your name won't be stolen

A new Hytale update has hit the sandbox game's pre-release build, and despite word from studio founder Simon Collins-Laflamme that it would be a quieter week, there are plenty of additions to be excited about. Terraria 1.4.5 might have dragged me away from Hypixel Studios' rapidly evolving Minecraft challenger, but the necromancy buffs are pulling me back in. There's also some reassurance that your Hytale username is locked in and won't be stolen by other players, no matter how high-profile they might be.

Hypixel recently announced that it would be changing the way it rolls out Hytale updates, with regular weekly patches for the pre-release build but less frequent pushes to the live version, giving more time for experimentation and polish without disrupting regular players and mod creators. This update is a little more restrained as the team switches cadence into this new model, yet that doesn't mean you should just pass it by.

The ability to place custom map markers (complete with adjustable colors, icons, and labels) was high on my personal wishlist, and now it's here. You can quickly toggle them on and off on both the map and compass, and are able to share them with others in multiplayer. The preexisting in-game icons have also been given a polish, and the compass will now better reflect when marks are above or below you.

The Necromancy Grimoire, which the developer branded as "temporarily bad" when it introduced it last week, has been given a first round of upgrades. Summons and the summoner can no longer hurt one another, there's a greater variety of skeletal minions that you can raise (including a ranged option), they're "faster and more aggressive," and will also respond when you're attacked rather than only when you target an enemy.

On top of this comes adjustments to resolve damage inconsistencies and upgrade variations across certain weapon tiers, and misconfigured stamina costs for guarding on some items. There's a fresh set of cosmetic customization options, including a tweed hat, construction hard hat, mage shirt, styled flats, wedge shoes, another hairstyle, and more color variations for the fashionable shoes.

Hypixel has added several new cracked block textures, updated the Cobalt texture, fixed the tiling on Magma Adamantite, and reintroduced the Incandescent Volcanic Rock. Among the gameplay improvements, doors can now be body blocked to stop them from being closed, teleporters won't reactivate after use until you move a short distance away, and minecarts can no longer move while they're stuck.

There are lots of interface tweaks, as well. Container action prompts have been moved, the sort keybind now works from the inventory, you can 'take all' when processing output items at a bench, and shift-dragging can be used to move items between inventories. The Chicken Coop now only requires a tier-three Farming Bench (down from five). The radius within which chests are connected to nearby workbenches should also be more clearly shown.

Additionally, Collins-Laflamme has responded to community concerns that user's names were being 'stolen' by YouTubers or Twitch streamers that wanted them. He states that, as long as you aren't actively impersonating the person maliciously in game, you won't lose your chosen moniker simply because it happens to be shared with a more popular figure. A name will only otherwise be changed if it violates basic rules such as profanity.

"If a YouTuber or streamer wants a specific username that is already taken, they cannot claim it," Collins-Laflamme writes. He notes that the developer may email the original owner to express the person's interest in taking over the handle in specific cases, but clarifies that there's no pressure to accept. "If they don't respond or decline, they keep the username."