Player Chat

The PlayerChatEvent fires when a player sends a chat message. This is an EventBus event (not ECS), so you register it with getEventRegistry().

API Reference

See full API: PlayerChatEvent | Message | PlayerRef

Concepts

Before reading this, familiarize yourself with the Event System (specifically the EventBus section).

Basic Usage

@Override
protected void setup() {
    getEventRegistry().register(PlayerChatEvent.class, event -> {
        PlayerRef sender = event.getSender();
        String message = event.getContent();

        System.out.println(sender.getUsername() + ": " + message);
    });
}

Modifying Chat Messages

You can change the message content before it's sent:

getEventRegistry().register(PlayerChatEvent.class, event -> {
    // Replace bad words
    String filtered = event.getContent().replace("badword", "****");
    event.setContent(filtered);
});

Adding Prefixes/Ranks

Use a custom formatter to add prefixes or change message format:

getEventRegistry().register(PlayerChatEvent.class, event -> {
    PlayerRef sender = event.getSender();

    // Set custom formatter with rank prefix
    event.setFormatter((player, message) -> {
        String rank = getPlayerRank(player);  // Your rank system
        return Message.raw("[" + rank + "] " + player.getUsername() + ": " + message);
    });
});

Default Format

The default formatter produces messages like:

<username>: message

Using the translation key server.chat.playerMessage with params username and message.

Cancelling Messages

Block messages from being sent:

getEventRegistry().register(EventPriority.EARLY, PlayerChatEvent.class, event -> {
    // Block messages containing spam
    if (event.getContent().toLowerCase().contains("spam")) {
        event.setCancelled(true);
        event.getSender().sendMessage(Message.raw("Message blocked: spam detected"));
    }
});

Filtering Recipients

Control who receives the message:

getEventRegistry().register(PlayerChatEvent.class, event -> {
    List<PlayerRef> targets = event.getTargets();

    // Remove certain players from receiving the message
    targets.removeIf(player -> isPlayerMuted(player));

    event.setTargets(targets);
});

Event Properties[^1]

Method	Returns	Description
getSender()	PlayerRef	Player who sent the message
setSender(PlayerRef)	void	Change the apparent sender
getContent()	String	The message text
setContent(String)	void	Modify the message
getTargets()	List<PlayerRef>	Players who will receive the message
setTargets(List)	void	Change recipients
getFormatter()	Formatter	Current message formatter
setFormatter(Formatter)	void	Set custom formatter
isCancelled()	boolean	Check if cancelled
setCancelled(boolean)	void	Cancel the message

Full Plugin Example

package com.example.chat;

import com.hypixel.hytale.common.plugin.PluginManifest;
import com.hypixel.hytale.event.EventPriority;
import com.hypixel.hytale.server.core.Message;
import com.hypixel.hytale.server.core.event.events.player.PlayerChatEvent;
import com.hypixel.hytale.server.core.plugin.JavaPlugin;
import com.hypixel.hytale.server.core.plugin.JavaPluginInit;
import com.hypixel.hytale.server.core.universe.PlayerRef;
import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.UUID;
import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;

public class ChatPlugin extends JavaPlugin {

    public static final PluginManifest MANIFEST = PluginManifest
        .corePlugin(ChatPlugin.class)
        .build();

    // Store player ranks (in real plugin, load from database)
    private final Map<UUID, String> playerRanks = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();

    public ChatPlugin(@Nonnull JavaPluginInit init) {
        super(init);
    }

    @Override
    protected void setup() {
        // Add rank prefixes to chat
        getEventRegistry().register(PlayerChatEvent.class, this::handleChat);

        this.getLogger().info("Chat plugin loaded!");
    }

    private void handleChat(PlayerChatEvent event) {
        PlayerRef sender = event.getSender();
        String rank = playerRanks.getOrDefault(sender.getUuid(), "Member");

        // Custom formatter with rank
        event.setFormatter((player, message) ->
            Message.raw("[" + rank + "] " + player.getUsername() + ": " + message)
        );
    }

    // Called by other plugins or commands to set rank
    public void setPlayerRank(UUID playerId, String rank) {
        playerRanks.put(playerId, rank);
    }
}

Async Nature

PlayerChatEvent implements IAsyncEvent, meaning handlers can perform async operations if needed. For simple modifications, synchronous handling is fine.

See Also

• Event System - Understanding both event systems
• Player Component - Player data access
• Message - Creating formatted messages

[^1]: See PlayerChatEvent API for all available methods and the Formatter interface