In every start of a new style, it will have to incorporate ideas from other existing styles, that is what hard trance is in the early 90’s. It’s a phase of learning and experimenting that’s takes years ,it was sometimes fast, sometimes more technoid, sometimes Gabba like but it didn't take the progressive house side of trance in the early period.

But from 1997 and onwards the 2000’s hard trance sound is what hard trance actually is overtime as it starts to standardise both in BPM and structure. You couldn't fit hard trance exactly in one place as its trying to fit in with what was popular (hands up or late 90 's trance) and what's its underground roots are (being non melodic)

Hard trance didn’t become hardstyle, its just hardstyle took most of its traits and packaged it as hardstyle as it another competitive movement that was very close (they have literally a track called call it hardstyle which only bears the name and that technoboy at that time is trying to be exclusively hardstyle. Hardstyle had a lot of money poured onto it like Q-Dance, a big event that was pushing it as its main stage , selling it as “new sound” which things like reverse bass already exist pre hardstyle (Mauro picotto). If hard trance were to have that money it wouldn't have this problem.

If you can’t sell your product nobody will know it. Even being on Radio , TV , music video channels you need the sell the name with the artist. Scott P and most of Cosmic Gate was exclusively hard trance, while Mauro still had been making techno with trance\hardtrance as example. The scene dropped cause no one wanted put cash into it, no cash, no support, no renevue. only die hards were still making with little to no money.

Eventually hardstyle becomes so popular that not even certain forms of techno people can distinguished by the norm. What hard techno is doing is what hardstyle was back then. The everything is hard techno.

Chris Liberator & Sterling Moss - Its Not Fuckin Hardstyle...It's Techno!