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Hytale Server Launched
haloman30 -
Hey, everyone! We've got something exciting to share today!
We have officially launched our Hytale server!
If you don't care too much about all the details, feel free to hop on at hytale.chaoticunited.net! Otherwise, if you've managed to resist TikTok brain and are curious to learn more, keep reading.
What is Hytale?
Hytale is a sandbox/RPG hybrid developed by Hypixel Studios - yes, led by the same folks who run the Hypixel Minecraft server. They first announced Hytale back in 2018, and continued development for a while, before being acquired by Riot Games. Updates gradually slowed, due to scope creep and a total engine rewrite in C++ (as opposed to their original Java engine, used in the initial trailers and such). It was ultimately cancelled in mid-2025 - until it was then bought back from Riot games by the original creator, and now, has finally (and surprisingly quickly) launched in early access!
For us, this was something we felt was a huge opportunity to dive into - as it was built for modders and server developers in mind, which even in this early access state is overwhelmingly obvious. Without getting excessively technical, the vanilla Hytale server has APIs for permissions, plugins, content mods, and so much more - we're still learning as we go, but it seemingly has the capability of not just something akin to a Bukkit API, but even the ability to actually add new content - and there's already a fairly substantial chunk of mods online.
What's available on the server?
For now, the server isn't anything too special - it's a fairly minimal server setup, with some basic permissions and land claim functionality. As time goes on, and depending on what you folks are interested in, we expect that to change as time goes on, potentially relatively quickly - and of course as both ourselves and the broader Hytale community learn what exactly can and can't be done with the game. Currently, there are no donor ranks, nor any other form of monetization - we're still deciding on how we want to approach this with this new server.
On our Discord server, we've also introduced a #hytale-chatlogs channel, which acts much like our #mc-chatlogs channel.
Cracked Support
Some of you will know that in the past, our Minecraft server has supported cracked players (as in, players who didn't yet own a legitimate copy of the game). Technically, we still do - though we don't actively promote this feature, and we broadly feel that you should probably just buy the game at this point - it's a fantastic value, especially on Java Edition. The only reason we keep cracked support in is purely legacy reasons - the old CU was cracked, and Nuclear District's server was cracked early on, and so we've kept that going in spite of it all.
Hytale, being a new server and a new game, will not be following this trend - and we will not be supporting cracked clients. This is still largely an indie game - and we feel, similar to Minecraft, you should probably just buy the game. With the game being in early access, we encourage you to check videos and reviews online if you'd like to better understand if you'll enjoy it or not.
What does this mean for the Minecraft server?
Overall, not much - our Minecraft server isn't going anywhere. The only real impact is that, depending on the success of the Hytale server (and the game overall), there may be more or less time devoted to the Hytale server - and so this may further impact feature development and updates on the MC server. As always, though, we remain committed to continuing our Minecraft server onwards, and our plans for upcoming custom content (which remains quite expansive) have not changed in any degree - you can still expect to see the return of MagicStuff soon™.
For now, though, that's all we've got! We look forward to seeing you folks on Hytale!
Server Resource Pack Changes
- haloman30
Hey, everyone!
Another quick update today - this time, it's all about our server resource pack.
What's Changing?
As most of you who play Survival have known for a while, that gamemode in particular asks you to download and use a server-provided resource pack - as this allows us to include custom content, complete with GUIs, textures, models, and even sounds. The other gamemodes have no such resource pack - and so if you've played exclusively on those other modes, you've likely never seen the resource pack prompt. If you switch between Survival and other modes, though, you've also noticed the pack turning on and off as you switch.
Going forward, this will no longer be the case. As of today, you'll notice that even when playing on these other gamemodes, the server still requires the use of a server resource pack. This, however, isn't an identical pack to the one we use in Survival - instead, it's a slightly modified version that excludes a few resources which cause issues in vanilla gameplay (mainly, the overriding of note block models and of some sounds).
For those who use the resource pack manually, you'll now have two options for the resource pack - a "global" version (which is what we use for most servers), and the normal version that we've been using for Survival. Keep in mind, however, we don't really advise using the resource pack this way - and for those doing so, you'll want to stick around and read the "Next Steps" section - as there will be some changes later on that will impact you.
But why?
Don't panic - we aren't planning on tacking a bunch of custom content into Vanilla or anything. Rather, there are other more supplemental features that we've had kicking around in the ideas bin for a while - things that, due to the resource pack being limited to Survival, we haven't been able to do. Things like custom emojis (like those seen on our Discord and here on the forums), more custom GUI stuff elsewhere, custom decorations in some of our spawns or other builds, and likely more. These are all things we've wanted to start exploring, but thus far, just haven't been able to - as it'd only work for one group of players.
For things like Vanilla, where custom content goes against the entire point of the gamemode, you won't most of that sort of thing - barring some of those supplementals like UIs and emojis. As time goes on, however, you might start to see a gradual shift towards incorporating more of these custom elements to various builds (particularly spawns/hubs), and some of those other supplemental features as well.
Next Steps
Since the introduction of the resource pack, it has remained a mostly optional feature. Unlike other servers which will kick you if you don't allow the resource pack to be used, we've taken a more hands-off approach. This made much more sense in the early days of custom content, where everything required OptiFine, and there was relatively little custom content outside of Durite and MagicStuff. It didn't make sense to force the resource pack when it required a clientside mod to be usable, and it would've been quite a heavy-handed approach considering that, at the time, the custom content available wasn't quite as integral. The basic look and feel of the server wasn't reliant on it.
However, with some of the changes mentioned earlier, and some of the stuff we've already done in Survival, this is increasingly not the case - playing Survival without the resource pack at all starts to not make as much sense, and some features are entirely unusable without it (such as the Challenges menu). This would only be worsened by the introduction of custom resources across other gamemodes or in things like chat.
As such, in the near future (we don't have a set date yet), the server resource pack will become required - and failing to accept the pack will result in being disconnected from the server. However, for those who for one reason or another want to continue using it independently without any of the loading screens, or who wish to purposefully peel back the curtain, we will also be introducing a workaround that will allow players who wish to bypass the requirement to do so. You'll still need to accept the pack the first time, but afterwards, we'll be including a command that allows you to opt-out of the resource pack requirement. We feel this would be a more balanced approach - it ensures that players can't accidentally join and have a bunch of missing textures and other stuff everywhere, but it also allows those who are more technically inclined to get around that requirement if they wish.
Small update as of 8:21 PM CST:
For those who wish to continue using the pack independently, you can now use /bypasspack to do so. The pack is not yet required, but will be in the very near future - but you can still opt-out ahead of time if you like.
(As of 12/8/2025): Upon further consideration, we have decided that, at least for the time being, mandating the resource pack is a bit heavy-handed. While this may change in the future, for the time being, we've instead opted for a simple prompt upon joining without the resource pack. This prompt informs the user why they should play with the pack, and allows the user to either temporarily or permanently dismiss the message. We feel this is a better balance of encouraging users to play with the resource pack, without being overbearing and potentially causing new players to not stick around - and avoids a bit of hassle for those already around.
We will also be exploring a "compatibility mode" where possible, that will aim to minimize the degree to which the experience is degraded without the resource pack - for instance, if we do include chat emojis, the compatibility mode might display the name of the emoji instead of the image. While we can't promise it'll be perfect - as some stuff will just inherently require the pack, and already does in some cases - we figure this might be a better balance for the time being in this regard as well.
For now, though, that's all we've got! Stay tuned for future happenings on our server - and keep your eyes peeled for some new stuff that might start appearing here and there in the near future. 👁️
Survival 1.21.10 Update
- haloman30
Hey, everyone - we've got some exciting news!
Survival is now updated to MC 1.21.10!
This took a considerably long amount of time - so much so that 1.21.11 is set to come out in just a few days
- but hey, better late than never, right? The main source of the delay was our reliance on a plugin called Custom Ore Generator, which was used for generating Durite Ore in The End.
With this update, we've gone ahead and replaced this outright, with it handled in our custom content plugin instead. This may result in slightly different ore generation (veins might be shaped differently and might not be 1:1 with the previous rarity), but it should generally be about the same as before. One other small (but annoying) issue is that Dynmap is currently offline for Survival, as it remains out-of-date - though we didn't feel this was worth holding the update back over.
Other than that, however, everything should be just as you remember it - no resets or anything, just access to the new stuff added since 1.21.4. As per usual, if you run into any issues, be sure to submit a bug report on the website or by using /bugreport ingame!
Financial Failures - Life Status, Short/Medium-Term Future of Chaotic United
- haloman30
Hey, everyone.
This isn't a typical announcement - this isn't about some new piece of content or some new feature we're working on, but instead, it's about some realities of my personal life that have finally caught up to me - and the impacts it will have on the short-term future of Chaotic United. Before you get too stressed or anxious - no, we aren't closing down the server, and also no, this isn't a permanent change. The specific impacts are sort of up in the air right now, as that won't be fully clear until a couple months or so from now.
So, without any further delay - let's talk about my current life situation and where things are at.
The Situation
A few days ago (this past Friday), I ended up running into a pretty serious issue with my primary vehicle (a 2001 Ford Focus, for those curious). It began seemingly misfiring and then, when waiting for a train to cross a road, the engine stalled out entirely and would not re-start. I had my mom and a friend of hers come and figure out what was going on, and the guy was able to perform some sort of throttle reset and get the car running again, though it quickly began misfiring again.
We did get it home successfully, though it did stall out one more time on the way. From that point onwards, it would not start any more. Eventually, after replacing some spark plugs and trying a couple things, the conclusion was that it needed to see a repair shop. I had it towed to one on Monday, and learned that the issue was actually due to the timing belt breaking entirely - I had the belt and the other timing components replaced on Tuesday, in the hopes that maybe the engine itself would be intact - but unfortunately, this was not the case. The engine still failed to start, likely due to one of the cylinder heads being damaged at the point the timing belt failed.
As such, I'm now scrambling to get a replacement vehicle sorted out - borrowing funds from both my grandma and my own boss - in order to keep getting to and from work. Additionally, in order to pay these things back in a reasonable amount of time and build up a proper financial cushion, I'm going to have to take on a second job to supplement my income.
The Financial Backstory
Some of you who have been around a bit longer may recall that several years back, I came into a fair chunk of money from selling a second property - which belonged to my grandma and grandpa, and later my dad before he passed. You might be wondering, what happened to that money? This unfortunately is the other part of the problem - absolutely none of that money still exists, and hasn't since late 2023. I have kept this under wraps, telling only a select few close friends, but given the severity of my situation now, it's not something that makes sense to hide anymore.
I've been effectively broke and hanging on by a thread for the past 2 years. Every time I have managed to start to get ahead, something else comes up and sets me all the way back to the starting line. Vet bills, missed work, car repairs, more vet bills, massively increasing electricity costs (with multiple summer bills being as high as 600 dollars for one month), being scammed out of 500 dollars, and now this catastrophic car situation. I've been unable to afford to do much in terms of home repairs or maintenance, I've had to keep my file server shut off to reduce my electric bills, and I've had to scale my own monthly costs back dramatically compared to early 2023.
I've had to cut out my cloud backup of all my data, both of the OVH dedicated servers that used to host the Minecraft server are gone - with Michael having to step in yet again to keep things running for the past while. I've not even been able to take a long hot shower as my 40 gallon water heater started leaking, and I've had to make do with a 2.5 gallon unit instead - which in order to last for a shower means having to use minimal water pressure, and even then it means taking fairly quick showers - no lingering under the warm water. And with the potential upcoming healthcare premium expiration, there's a good chance that having any form of health insurance will also be entirely beyond my reach.
The one hope that I've had is that maybe, just maybe, I can find some form of actual IT or career-focused position, instead of relatively menial jobs, to turn all this around. The reassuring and frustrating part is that it truly wouldn't take much - 40k/yr would be a solid step up, and 50k/yr is almost impossible to imagine at this point. But, despite my best efforts, I have been utterly unable to find any sort of career opening in any field that I'd even be somewhat interested in doing long-term. Remote jobs are much more competitive, and in my local area, there really just isn't a large amount of opportunities in this regard.
Digging out of the Hole
Earlier this summer, in late July, I attempted to work a second job at Walmart, doing cart pushing yet again - and while this time around the work itself was manageable, I was unable to mentally cope with effectively doing nothing but working and sleeping. Unfortunately, due to the dire nature of this situation, working some kind of second job is no longer optional, but is now an absolute requirement for me to make ends meet.
The silver lining is that, once I'm stabilized after this initial bump, almost any second job will pay enough to not only make these ends meet, but I will at long last be able to start saving a meaningful amount of money again, though I've got a considerable hole to dig out of. It's going to take time, and I have a great deal of money to pay off, and I have no idea how I will possibly be able to mentally cope with this kind of workload. But the reality is that, at this point, it simply is not optional anymore - I have to bring in more income.
If you're wondering why I don't quit my current job and just work some other higher-paying warehouse job or something - at the end of the day, there's a lot I appreciate and like about my current job. It isn't my first choice and isn't a long-term career - but it's low-stress, I don't have to worry about missing work too much, and the work is at least primarily at a desk, which means I don't have to be in physical pain and agony all day, every day. And considering that this is going to be a temporary change of pace, I'd rather go back to the schedule I have now, with a fairly low-stakes and low-stress job as my main source of income.
The Future of Chaotic United
So - with all of that out there, let's talk about what this means for Chaotic United.
As mentioned at the start, the servers, website, Discord, and so on aren't going anywhere. They will remain online as they have been. Beyond that, it really just depends on whether or not I am able to find any semblance of balance with these two jobs.
The best-case scenario: I find a sort of balance, and things continue to happen, but at a much slower pace. Less hours means less time inherently for me to work on stuff - and so things taking longer is just going to be unavoidable.
The worst-case scenario: I'm unable to find any real sense of balance, I struggle to cope with the sheer amount of work I'm doing, and everything grinds to a total halt. In this case, there would likely be nothing in terms of updates, bugfixes, new content, and so on, until this is all over.
Most likely, in either case, I will not be in voice chats very much at all while this is going on - because I just won't have the time to do so. If I'm able to then I will try to, but it's possible that I will largely disappear from voice chats for a while.
The Road Ahead
All of which brings us into the last question - how long is this going to be the case? What's the time-frame for all of this look like?
At an absolute minimum, I will need to pay off the people who I borrowed money from in order to afford the attempted repairs on my original vehicle, as well as whatever funds I've borrowed from others for its replacement. I'll also want to get at least a small reserve of cash - probably at least a few thousand, if not more - so that in the event of another event like this, I'm not completely destroyed financially. It's hard to say how long this would take, but most likely this could be at least 5 months for the debt alone. If I want to also build a financial cushion, then the total would be closer to 10-12 months, and that's assuming no other catastrophes in between - which, considering how things have gone as of late, is not out of the question.
So, to put it simply, whatever things end up looking like, this will be the new state of things for anywhere from 5-12 months. Considering how long I've been around and doing things, it really isn't that long - but I won't lie, the thought of doing genuinely nothing except work and sleep and survive for even 5 months is a terrifying prospect, let alone 12.
I have no idea how I will cope with this.
Historically, I've found even 40 hours to be on the upper end of tolerable for me, with every attempt of doing more always feeling downright exhausting and miserable. And here I am, now in a situation where I am going to have to work, every single day, without a single day off, for 5-12 months.
Wrapping Up
As I said earlier, I'm not sure how active I will be able to be during this time. If I actually have to just drop off the face of the earth for the most part, I hope you folks can keep things going and keep things active. I want there to be a community to come back to when this is all over.
Additionally, while I won't beg or plead for money or anything - as I arguably have zero right to - I also won't stop anyone who wants to do so, as it might help speed this process up and shorten the amount of time I have to go through this. If you're able to do so, and you're feeling particularly generous, then feel free to head to the store. If not, or if you yourself aren't in a good financial place, then please do not feel any obligation to do so. At the end of the day, this is my mess that I made, and it's nobody's responsibility but my own to clean it up.
The reality is that, no matter how well or not-well I am able to cope, it doesn't matter - I do not have a choice in the matter anymore.
Wish me luck, folks - I think that I'm gonna really need it this time around.
Servers & Services
Minecraft
Our Minecraft server is our flagship service. Featuring a wide selection of gamemodes, custom content, and more, there's something for everyone to enjoy!
Age of Rebirth (Modded MC)
Our Modded Minecraft server features a custom modpack, designed specifically for our community. It features a combination of technical, creative, and immersive mods to create an experience that just can't quite be had anywhere else.
Valheim
Our Valheim server is a simple, vanilla Valheim server - set up for members of our community to play together easily. No fancy bells and whistles here - just pure, unadultered Valheim.
Minecraft Beta 1.7.3
Our Minecraft Beta 1.7.3 server offers that old-school, retro Minecraft server experience. Featuring economy, a livemap, and a large world, this server is sure to scratch that nostalgic itch.
Forums
Our forums act as the go-to place for long-form discussion within our community, as well as the primary place to hear about new announcements, report bugs, and much more.
Discord
Our Discord server serves as the hub for our community. Announcements are posted there alongside our forums, and many members of the community are frequently active on Discord - even if they aren't online elsewhere.
What is Chaotic United?
Chaotic United (or CU for short) is an online gaming community that can have its roots traced all the way back to 2011. What first began as a World of Warcraft and Runescape private server later became a Minecraft-focused community, which it's become known for ever since.
Throughout its earlier years, it underwent several changes of ownership - and very nearly closed for good. In early 2014, many of CU's team branched off into Nuclear District - in order to create a healthier, better community, free from the clutches of their previous rogue owner. Then, later that same year, the "new" Chaotic United was born - under new ownership. While first treated with skepticism, it later joined forces with Nuclear District - until the original leadership and team decided that their time was done, and complete ownership was transferred to Chaotic United's new administration - who continue to carve the path forward to this day.
While we deeply treasure our past - and go to immense lengths to preserve as much of it for the future as possible - we are equally focused on our future. We continue to focus on our Minecraft server, introducing new gamemodes, features, and content - all with two goals in mind: Build the best Chaotic United we can, and build something that those who came before would be truly proud to witness.
The true core of Chaotic United, however, is its community. The people who've stuck around since the early days, the people who've only been around a little while, or the people who joined yesterday - whether you're on Discord, Minecraft, the Forums, or any combination, you'll find our loyal, tightly-knit community. They are the backbone of Chaotic United, and each member - new, old, or even the ones who have yet to find their home - plays a key role in Chaotic United's long and storied history - a history that will continue being written for years to come.