See where roleplay is happening.
Roleplay in The Old Republic went into closed circles because there was no way to find people out in the world. Hydian shows every roleplayer who shares their position on the game's own maps, down to the floor of the cantina. Open source, no account.
Open source on GitHub
Darth Malgus · Nar Shaddaa · Lower Promenade
The mission
We love open world roleplay.
We have played The Old Republic since the beta. Its cantinas, promenades and temples were built for stories, and for years that is where they happened: with whoever walked past.
Roleplay has since moved into closed circles: strongholds, guild channels, Discord servers, groups who already know each other. Nothing wrong with any of that. But outside a few hotspots there is no way to know another roleplayer is standing in the same building, so the world itself went quiet.
Hydian gives you that one missing thing, so the open world can be busy again.
Out in the world, where it started.Why it exists
Roleplayers in other games have addons. We have a text file.
It's the question every newcomer asks. Here is the answer, the way it usually gets told: over a drink, in the game.
The file never says which instance you're in, so you set that yourself. Everything else, Hydian reads for you.
- Ysolde Marr says: In my old game an addon showed who was in character. Where is that here?
- Talyn Ressk says: There isn't one. This game doesn't let addons in.
- Ysolde Marr says: Then how did you find all these people?
- Talyn Ressk says: The game writes a text file on your computer. Where you are, what you're up to, line by line.
- Talyn Ressk says: Hydian reads it and puts everyone who shares on a map. That's how I saw you.
- Ysolde Marr pulls up a stool and opens Hydian.
The map is the game's own
The real maps. Every floor.
Planets, regions and every interior: the artwork the game itself shows, with the game's names. Your floor comes from the log, so the Academy's second level means the second one. Stacked floors switch with a key, or open up in the 3D view.
Four things you do in it
Status
Say what you are up to.
In Character, Out of Character or Invisible, per character. Flip on Looking for RP and your pin sends out a beacon everyone on the planet can see. Set the instance you are in so people can actually find you.
Registry & friends
Find players sharing right now.
Active characters set to In Character or Out of Character, with their current location and status. Friend the people you play with and they sort to the top when sharing; your in-game friends come along on their own.
Notes & journal
Remember who owes you credits.
Notes on the characters you meet, your in-game notes included, and a rich-text journal for your own character's story. Both are stored on your device and nowhere else.
Slippery Slopes, Tuesday
Runs the sabacc table by the bar. Owes Vashti 200 credits and knows it.
Asked about the shipment to Hutta. Did not say why.
from the game's friends list · “sabacc, do not lend”
In-game overlay
A card over the game.
Who is on Hydian near you, sorted by distance, with beacons, instance numbers and your floor. Transparent, click-through, locked with a shortcut. Hides when the game is not running.
- Tess MarrowLFRP12 m
- Dorn Vashti38 m
- Kel Arano140 m
Your data
Three things to know.
Hydian reads
SWTOR combat logs for characters, positions and encounters, and game settings for character names, friends and notes.
Hydian sends
Gameplay updates and log history for shared characters, nearby-player sightings and friend connections. Each character starts Invisible; its status controls public visibility.
Others see
Active characters set to In Character or Out of Character appear with their status and in-game location. Your note text and journal stay on your device; friend connections are also stored by the service.
Do not take our word for it.
Everything on this page is in the code, and the code is public: what the app reads, what it sends, what the server keeps. Read it, open an issue, send a pull request.
Hyperspace route
Where this is going.
Now
- Windows & macOS
- Live map, registry, overlay
- Friends, notes, journal
- Heat map & activity
- Automatic updates
Next
- More languages
- More planets, every interior
With enough support
- Verified characters and optional accounts
- Guild registry
- Guild tools: rosters, events, recruitment
- Discord integration: who is in character, posted to your server
FAQ
Questions.
Is this allowed?
Hydian reads the combat log the game writes to your Documents folder. It is the same file the parsers read that raiders have used for a decade, StarParse and Parsely among them, to measure their damage. Reading that file is part of the game. Hydian also reads game settings for characters, friends and notes, and checks whether SWTOR is running for its overlay. It is an independent fan project.
What do other people see?
For a character you set to In Character or Out of Character: its name, server, planet, position and status while you play. Class is sent along but never shown. There are no bios and no free text.
Who appears on the map and in the registry?
Active characters whose players have chosen In Character or Out of Character. Invisible characters stay out of public lists. Your own characters remain available privately in My characters.
Does it run on a Mac?
Yes. Apple Silicon and Intel, with the overlay, the menu-bar icon and the shortcuts, the same as on Windows.
What does it cost?
Nothing. Hydian is free and open source under the MIT licence.
Ready to meet new people on Hydian?
Free, open source, no account. Windows and macOS.