Project Keystone is easily one of the most exciting things announced for Habbo Hotel: Origins.
For about a month now, we've known that Sulake (Dave) has been working on replacing the ageing Shockwave client with a brand new C++ client that keeps everything we love about classic Habbo while bringing it onto modern technology.
The official announcement gave us our first proper look at Keystone, but since then Dave has been dropping little teasers across Discord and Twitter. While none of these have been officially announced as features just yet, they give us a much better idea of what's waiting for us when Keystone finally arrives.
Here's everything we've spotted so far.
Dynamic lighting is looking incredible
One of the biggest surprises has to be the lighting/shaders!
In several preview videos in the Discord (Please see bottom of article) we've seen candle flames flickering, lamps casting a warm glow off walls and sunlight shining through windows. It's the sort of dynamic lighting you'd normally expect from much more modern games and it gives rooms a whole new atmosphere without losing that classic Habbo look. Perfect edition in our eyes.
What's even more impressive is that Dave mentioned these effects are being added manually. Every candle, lamp and light source has to be configured individually, which really shows the amount of love and attention to detail that's going into Keystone.
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But hang on there a second.... This feels a litrtle familiar... Oh, we're not imagining it!
Back in the Mood Lights Infobus poll, community member Folklore suggested introducing "more lighting modes". The idea was voted on by the community and passed, giving players hope that room lighting could become much more atmospheric. While Habbo/Dave hasn't confirmed these new lighting effects are the direct result of that poll, it certainly feels like we're finally seeing that idea come to life. If that's the case, it's definitely been worth the wait.
From one of the settings menus we've also spotted options relating to lighting and the time of day. It looks like players will be able to enable or disable these effects, as well as change the time of day.
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Could we finally be getting proper daytime and nighttime rooms? Imagine hosting a spooky event in a room that's actually dark, with nothing but candles and fireplaces lighting the way.
Nothing has been confirmed yet, but it's certainly an exciting possibility.
Loading times are unbelievably fast
If you've played Origins for any length of time (Who am I kidding, we're all addicted), you'll know the routine.
Open the client > Wait > Connect to the hotel (maybe not first try) > Wait > Load into your room > Wait some more.
The current Shockwave client has always been part of the nostalgic experience, but nobody's going to miss the loading times. On a technical level, the first room load does some loading from your disc and the client startup holds the bulk of the cast loads. That's why the shockewave client can sometimes feel a lot slower at first.
We're sure Keystone will do something similar, but it seems to be doing it at lightening speeds!
The current Shockwave client has always been part of the nostalgic experience, but nobody's going to miss the loading times.
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Logging into the hotel takes just a few seconds and entering rooms appears almost instant compared to the current client.
It's one of those improvements that doesn't change how Habbo feels, but makes the whole experience so much smoother. More chatting, more trading and more Danger Rabbit (Wilf, please tell me the rules at some point). Less staring at loading screens.
You can also see in the video that Dave has shared, that previously slow menus like challenges are also lightening fast!
Background music could be on the way
Another teaser shared by Dave on Twitter got people talking for a completely different reason.
The preview clip can clearly be heard playing background music while the client is open.
Naturally, that got our [overactive] imaginations going.
Could rooms have their own background music? Will public rooms finally have unique soundtracks (imagine ambient noises in the welcome lounge)? Or, could this eventually tie into Trax, letting players burn their own CDs and choose custom music for their rooms?
At the moment we simply don't know, but it's certainly sparked plenty of discussion.
Whatever the answer, hearing music playing alongside the modernised client makes the hotel feel even more alive... In the words of Dave, it's always felt a little quiet in there.
New settings reveal some interesting clues
As with every teaser, the community immediately started pausing every video looking for hidden details. Althought we didn't need top do much searching for this first one.
One of the most interesting discoveries came from the settings menu shown on Twitter.
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Alongside the graphics settings, we can clearly see options to choose a server, complete with server languages listed underneath. There's also a completely separate option called "Client language".
That immediately raises some interesting questions.
Could Keystone allow you to play on one hotel while viewing everything in your own language? Could we eventually see players from different language communities sharing the same hotel without needing separate clients?
Right now that's purely speculation, but it's definitely an interesting detail that wasn't present in the old Shockwave client.
The community will help shape Keystone
One of the most exciting things we've learned is that members of the Origins community won't just be playing Keystone when it's finished. Dave confirmed in the article that some of us Habbos will actually be helping test it along the way.
Dave has confirmed that some community members will be invited to take part in proper beta testing, giving players the chance to get hands on with the new client. Exactly how this testing will work is still unknown but it sounds like much more than a quick preview. It sounds like a fullk working client. With a client this important, I hope he's ready for be plenty of feedback from whoever is let through those doors.....
For some older Habbo players (most of us), this might feel very familiar. Oldies will remember the Flash client beta, where selected members of the community were invited to test it before its wider release.
Could Keystone follow a similar approach? We don't know yet, but if it does, it would be a fantastic opportunity for the community to play a real part in making sure the new client is as polished and authentic as possible before everyone logs in.
After all, who better to help test a client designed to preserve classic Habbo than the people who've spent years playing it?
Final thoughts
Everything we've seen so far suggests Project Keystone is far more than just a replacement client. Dave appears to be keeping everything that makes classic Habbo feel like Habbo while removing many of the technical limitations that have existed for years as well as news ones popping up. We've known that Mac/Apple is going to no longer support the way we're able to use their hardware to play. We're already seeing this with Mac users unable to have sound anymore.
Faster loading, beautiful dynamic lighting, modern graphics options and hints at completely new features all point towards a client that's been built with the future in mind.
Of course, some of what we've covered here is still speculation based on screenshots, videos and comments shared by Dave. Until they officially confirms these features, nothing should be considered final. One thing is certain though. Project Keystone is shaping up to be one of the biggest and most exciting updates Habbo Origins has ever seen (Apart from when he finally added Holiday Romance).
We'll keep updating this article as more teasers and announcements are revealed, so check back soon for the latest discoveries.