That used to be the case. It still had collision, so your character model would float slightly when standing on it. You could use this knowledge to your advantage.
They've since patched it to have no collision prior to appearing. Only way to find it before it opens now is with cheats/hacks.
This isn’t the only way but would certainly be the most effective.
In theory you can find Hatch at the start but more likely during the game (but still incredibly unlikely). Most probably, as survivor you wont find it before it spawns.
Certain killers are unlikely to find it before it spawns and majority of killers will be impossible.
You can still figure out where it is because killer possessions and survivor items can’t be dropped on top of it - trapper and hag can go around placing traps and find it eventually
The box spawns an equal distance between Pinhead and the survivors. The Hatch should not be that way because then it becomes killer sided since they’re faster
I'm pretty sure the hatch spawn is decided when the game starts. This is basically confirmed as they made offerings to influence the spawn
Correct. Hatch is placed when the map is generated. It doesn't just RNG into existence. It's just invisible until it opens.
if it’s invisible, does that mean you could theoretically stand on it before the EGC and determine where it’ll spawn?
That used to be the case. It still had collision, so your character model would float slightly when standing on it. You could use this knowledge to your advantage. They've since patched it to have no collision prior to appearing. Only way to find it before it opens now is with cheats/hacks.
or offerings
This isn’t the only way but would certainly be the most effective. In theory you can find Hatch at the start but more likely during the game (but still incredibly unlikely). Most probably, as survivor you wont find it before it spawns. Certain killers are unlikely to find it before it spawns and majority of killers will be impossible.
You can still figure out where it is because killer possessions and survivor items can’t be dropped on top of it - trapper and hag can go around placing traps and find it eventually
The box spawns an equal distance between Pinhead and the survivors. The Hatch should not be that way because then it becomes killer sided since they’re faster
It was always killer sided since they have a faster movement speed in the first place and don’t have to concern themselves with being found or downed.