Welcome to The Terrarian Times' first official post on the Terraria Community Forums. After opening up applications back in December, allowing members to get involved with the project, the TT is finally back and up and running with this first ever official post detailing what we can expect from the 1.3 update, what YOU, the community, thinks of the upcoming update, and an exclusive interview with developer and community icon Cenx!
Joining me in this endeavor is community member Tsuki who is taking part in the TT's team of writers. You can look forward to her writing for The Terrarian Times in the months to come!
As most of us know, progress on 1.3 has been plowing forward by the amazing Relogic team as is evident by the recent spoiler threads showcasing some of the amazing new features being added!
One of these threads, which was posted back November (for those of you who missed it), revealed a video which was chock-full of spoilers including multiple new mechanics, new weapons, and a special new type of furniture. Rewatch the video below!
One month ago, Cenx posted a thread which consisted of a .gif image showing off some very interesting mechanics being added in 1.3. Can you spot them all?
In addition to this image which reveals several new features, another spoiler was released in the form of a video by the Youtuber HERO. This video, which speculates on the features in the above image, also showcases a new image which reveals a new weapon and new items! Watch it below.
One of the more recent spoiler threads was posted by the hard-working developer, Yoraiz0r. This thread contains a HUGE amount of spoilers, showcasing multiple new quality-of-life features and mechanics which are being added along with several very pretty Player Interface upgrades. Rather than reposting everything shown in the thread, why don't you go check out the thread itself (click here)? Below are several of the images shown in the thread.
Yesterday, Crowno tweeted a picture of a revamped Solar Eclipse event.
Spooky!
This Issue we have a special guest interview with the lead developer for the 1.3 update, beloved community member, and all around awesome person: Cenx!
Mystery: Hey Cenx! So, as you know, the community is very excited for the 1.3 update. The recent spoilers have gotten people on their toes, waiting in anticipation. That being said, what do you think we can expect from the update? How do you think the community will react once it's released?
Cenx: This is a tough question to answer with the level of hype that is surrounding this update now. It is definitely way larger than we had originally intended it to be. We are hoping that with the completion of this update Terraria will feel complete. I personally think that the overall reaction from the community is going to be incredibly positive.
Mystery: It's been a long journey for Terraria... and Redigit himself. Since his break from development in 2012 to the eventful return with 1.2, and, after this update, his departure onto different projects. What would you say, as a player and as a developer, was your favorite update for the game?
Cenx: Technically I think I have to say that 1.3 is my favorite update out of them all because it was the update that was mostly designed by me . Joking aside this update has been huge for team building and growing. We have all learned so much about game development, one another, and it has been a ton of fun. On top of all the sappy stuff we are finally in a place where we can go back and do all the things we couldn't previously do due to the size of the team and that is so exciting!
Mystery: The community shares in your excitement! Speaking of the growing Relogic team (now consisting of new programmers, Yoraiz0r and Skiphs, along with artists Crowno, Lazure, and Jimmarn), what has it been like working with this group of talented individuals? What do you consider the best part of working on an indie development team such as this?
Cenx: I cannot say enough positive things about our team. It has been such an honor working alongside all our of employees and it has been such a fun experience. The best part about being indie is you get to be yourself. You don't have to hide behind all the super corporate constrictions that other companies have to run by. We get to decide what we want to do on the fly at times, speak the way we want to speak, and have fun while we work. I wouldn't trade this job for anything.
Mystery: In 1.3 there are going to be many quality of life changes, along with quite of a few of the suggestions made by the community. What has it been like working with Terraria's large community, either by communicating with beta testers or by browsing the forums, and what is your favorite aspect of working with a community like Terraria's?
Cenx: Oh man, it has been a roller coaster ride! It is so awesome to be involved in our community. It is amazing to see how passionate people are about the game and read suggestions that you can tell someone put a ton of time and effort into. Even when we cannot implement a suggestion it is still really cool to see what people would like in the game. Our beta team was mostly hand selected by me through getting to know members of the community by watching their interactions with others on the forums. The best part about working with our community is that everyone is so vocal and active. Even when we are reading something negative it is always appreciated to get feedback.
Mystery: It's awesome to see developers who are willing to get involved with the community, and willing to accept feedback such as you guys are. It's good to know that you guys listen to what the fans want, and it is so very appreciated! Thank you for your time and thanks for all the hard work you're all putting into 1.3 -- we cannot wait!
And, as a parting gift, Cenx left us with a little treat:
If these spoilers don't get you excited for 1.3, then nothing will! The devs have been working very hard on this update, and as we can tell from the spoilers above it's going to be great. I, for one, cannot wait for the update to be revealed.
Let us know in the comments what you think of the 1.3 update, the spoilers shown above, and the awesome devs who are putting this together!
Next up, Community News with brand new journalist, Tsuki! Take a look at what the community thinks of all the above spoilers, and get the chance to know the new member of the team. Mystery signing off.
Thanks for the warm introduction, Mystery, I look forward to working with you to bring you the latest and greatest that this amazing community has to offer. I'm just a humble writer who's dabbled in literary mediums from poems to novels, and songs to interviews, so it's really quite a thrill to be able to put my skills to the test and work on this well-established project.
That being said, let's get right into it, shall we? The piece I'm bringing you all today focuses on the community itself, as well as some of the happenings going on inside of it. Without further ado, I bring you the aptly named...
With the fabled 1.3 update casting a shadow of hype over the forums, each and every spoiler that is posted is meticulously scoured for details that may or may not have been noticed by the previous person. Grasping at every little bit of information they can glean from even the smallest spoiler, to satisfy their thirst and curiosity. The pursuit of secrets that may (or may not) be hidden in each picture, each .gif, each status update, every word that comes out of the Staff's collective mouths. There is limitless speculation about how items will function, where they will be obtained, how much damage they will do, and whether they are part of a new tier; the questions are endless, just like the possibilities. A community so excited for an update that they spend so much effort and energy trying to decipher the secrets of an unmoving picture, with no words to accompany it...
And who can honestly blame them? The update looks good. The most recent spoilers have given a lot of people reason to look forward to it. Highly requested and anticipated features. There's new blocks for builders, new furniture sets. New banners. Terrifying new Solar Eclipse monsters. A cat-sword. As if cats weren't dangerous enough, they attached an infinite number of them to a sword and then added rainbows. Oh yes, the hype is quite real, my friends. It's just a question of how real? A question that this investigative journalist went not-so-deep undercover to find out. I briefly chatted to a couple members to gauge the hype-meters for what looks promising to be a legendary update.
First off, we have [B]Darthmorf[/B], resident mad scientist who may or may not wish to mix new potions for explosive results.
Tsuki: How do you personally feel about spoilers in general? Do they heighten your excitement of the update or make you feel worse about waiting for it?
Darthmorf: I like them. They help to keep people looking forward to the update, and keep the hype train fueled. I always look forward to them!
Tsuki: How happy are you with the frequency of the spoilers?
Darthmorf: I am fine. If they where any quicker, there would be nothing new left of the update, and it's fun to find the new items.
Tsuki: What is your favorite new feature or item that has been revealed in the spoilers?
Darthmorf: It's got to be that miner mount. It looks so bad-!
Tsuki: How do you feel about that really cool pink grass? Yeah, it's painted, but what kind of theoretical biome would you expect to have pink grass and trees?
Darthmorf: I'd be up for a hallow alt, I think that's the most likely to be added. Personally, I quite like the Cyber and Confection, but this pink grass seems to be more similar to the confection. It would be awesome to see it in game! Although if one is added, it will probably be one of the dev's ideas.
Next, we have Milt69466: Known for his awesome art, which includes the beautiful Helena, currently represented in his avatar.
Tsuki: How excited are you for this update in regards to previous updates?
Milt69466: I'm not very sure as I wasn't around back then, but I'd be extremely excited anyway!
Tsuki: What about this update has you the most excited in particular?
Milt69466: Ooh, that's a tough one. I'm probably most excited for the changes to the user interface, specifically screen capture mode.
Tsuki: Do you have any concerns about anything you've seen in the spoilers?
Milt69466: Not yet!
Tsuki: We already know this "Lunar Event" is going to be a thing, what sort of mobs are you expecting to see and how would you want them to behave to create a challenge?
Milt69466: Well, we've already seen some of the newer "alien" mobs, but all I really want is for them to have new more interesting AI and less standard fighter AIs
That's not all, however. My partner and I also managed to track down some community members that have had their suggestions accepted to be put into the game! It's exciting to know that members of this community are capable of being able to influence the game in some way. Let's check in and see what they had to say about it.
First off, we have Ilmarinen, with the suggestion of Pink Gel. I'm not sure how much of the suggestion made it in, but I'm hoping that beautiful pink slime gun is among them. Mystery had a few questions to ask.
Mystery: How do you feel about 1.3?
Ilmarinen: I'm rather excited about 1.3. I've been really curious about the Lunar Event ever since 1.2 was released.
Mystery: How do you think the update will change the game?
Ilmarinen: I think the update will complete Terraria in terms of progression. Meaning any future content could be focused on lateral improvement (i.e. more vanity and quality-of-life type stuff, parallel/alt equipment, and maybe even new Biomes or Seasonal Events).
Mystery: How does it make you feel to have your idea implemented in the game?
Ilmarinen: I was shocked! A couple of months ago Redigit posted a reply on the suggestion that said: "I'll make sure you get credit for your idea." I had to reread it several times just convince myself that I had really seen what I'd thought I'd seen.
And even then, I was still halfway convinced that it had been an accidental miss-post by Red until about a month later when Cenx posted the spoiler thread with all the suggestions that had been implemented.
Mystery: What are you most looking forward to about 1.3?
Ilmarinen: I think more than anything, Expert Mode.
I've also kind of fallen in love with the black granite stone and all the things made from it.
Mystery: Where did the inspiration for your idea(s) come from?
Ilmarinen: The pink gel was sort of, halfway inspired by the "Pink Tail" item dropped by the Pink Puff(Flan Princess) in Final Fantasy 4, but only in a general sense of a special item dropped from a rare pink slime enemy. The "bouncy" theme to all the stuff made from pink gel was inspired from the huge amount knockback Pinky takes when attacked.
There is, as well, a "reverse function" theme to all the pink stuff: slimed consumables stick to surfaces so pink slimed consumables bounce, a water candle increases mob spawning so the peace candle decreases it and so on.
It's funny enough that when I first posted the suggestion, I added pink gel as an afterthought to fill out the post and I didn't give it much more thought.
When I decided to repost the suggestion here on the new forums it struck me that a crafting material is a far better item to add to the Game than simply a weapon or a piece of vanity equipment. Especially since any weapon or item I could think of could be crafted from that material (and more importantly anything the Developers could think of!)
So I reformatted Pinky's half of the suggestion around that.
Next up is Zimberzimber, with the much needed Staff of Regrowth changes. It's come a long way since we used it to just smack people around, but it still needs that extra little kick to elevate it. That's where this guy comes in. I'm sick of waiting for trees to grow anyway.
Mystery: How do you feel about 1.3? How do you think the update will change the game?
Zimberzimber: I think the 1.3 update can be considered as, if not bigger, than the 1.2 update.
Re-Logic manages yet again to surprise us with colorful and unique new features, and even though some are minor changes, they add quite a lot if you ask me. It would change so much, ranging from new mobs and UI improvements, to a nice addition to world generation, and adding a new weapon which is based on a meme we all love.
Also the builders of Terraria get some awesome new blocks to build and customize with, allowing their awesome imagination to spawn some more great builds!
The only thing that makes me sad when thinking about the 1.3 update is that one of our beloved developers is moving on to a different game, but things don't last forever, so this was bound to happen sooner or later.
Mystery: How does it make you feel to have your idea implemented in the game? What are you most looking forward to about 1.3?
Zimberzimber: I feel happy about finally contributing to the game, and although not in a dramatic or very visible way, its something none the less!
Well, I'm looking to start a clean play through, again, obtain all the items including the new ones, again, and beat all the new events, again!
It's fun when there are new features!
Mystery: Where did the inspiration for your idea(s) come from?
Zimberzimber: My brain, some lack of logic, and the shower.
Next to the plate is stormconure, with a simple yet much needed suggestion of Fishing Pole Modifiers. Quite self explanatory, which begs the question, "Why isn't it in game yet?" Well, now it is! At least, in some way.
Mystery: How do you feel about 1.3? How do you think the update will change the game?
stormconure: I am greatly anticipating this update, and I even reserved a section of my fanfiction for the upcoming lunar boss. I honestly can't wait to see all the other cool stuff the devs have in store.As for how it will change the game: expanding on the playthrough is only the beginning. I saw what happened with 1.2; a whole bunch of new bonus missions and other random stuff we just couldn't live without. I think 1.3 might do twice that much if not more.
Finally, I would like to thank all of the devs for adding my idea to the game. It really meant a ton.
Mystery: How does it make you feel to have your idea implemented in the game? What are you most looking forward to about 1.3?
stormconure: I really appreciate that the devs have actually paid attention to the community. It makes TCF feel like something that is actually worthwhile, not just a place to put in an idea that will never make it in. And the fact that mine got in means even more.What am I most looking forward to: hard to say. From what I already know, have to say the Lunar. But I can't help but to look forward to all the things they added that were community suggestions.
Mystery: Where did your idea for Fishing Pole Modifiers come from (along with the inspiration for the many other suggestion threads you've made)?
stormconure: Well, I just have one of those minds that comes up with stuff randomly. I'm pretty sure at the time I came up with it I didn't even have Terraria PC yet. I just saw mods on tools and accessories and thought, "well, fishing poles are tools too, right?" But since they are, yaknow, fishing poles, I figured they couldn't have melee mods. Instead I just figured they should have their own, and that's why I started that thread.
As for all my others: about half of them came from me playing the game and thinking, "something needs to be changed about THIS." The other half was just like this one: it just popped into my head.
Mystery: Is there anything else you want to say to the devs or the community?
stormconure: Again, thank you so much to the devs for listening to the community's suggestions. And to the community, thank you for all of your support that ultimately caused the devs to notice my thread. It really means a lot!
Last, but certainly not least, is Baconfry, hailing from not just one corner of the suggestion forum, but every corner! His suggestions, Flask of Frost and Frost Bullets, as well as Summoner Prefixes, have both been confirmed as existing in the game in some shape or form. I ask him some hardhitting questions about what he thinks concerning the state of the game, and other things.
Tsuki: What would you say is most missing from Terraria, in terms of content?
Baconfry: Terraria's actually quite well-balanced right now, with a large variety of weapons available in almost every stage of the game. However, there is definitely room to expand.
For one, the Snow biome, added in 1.2, leaves little incentive to perform a thorough exploration (especially post-Hardmode). Unlike the Jungle (an exemplary biome in my opinion), the Snow lacks environmental treasures like Jungle Spores and Chlorophyte Ore. The only reason to even go hunting for chests, if you ask me, are for mandatory tinkers like Ice Skates (and Blizzard in a Bottle, to a lesser extent). I suggested a logical ore quite a while ago (Glacial Ice) but it looks like that's a no-go.
A larger problem lies in biomes that have been around since forever, but for some reason aren't being expanded upon. The Desert, and the Ocean. Now, the Desert has been covered by zimberzimber in detail. But the Ocean, I haven't seen a major thread for, yet. I'm actually currently working with some other people on a biome thread for that, but I'm procrastinating (predictably). The essential thing, however, is that just like there is an Underground Crimson, Corruption, Snow, and Jungle, there needs to be an Underground Desert and Ocean for these biomes to be considered equal. And the Ocean has loads of potential as a biome. There's just as much biodiversity in our planet's oceans as on land, if not more.
Tsuki: What would you identify as one of the biggest issues in the current version of the game, and how do you hope 1.3 will address that?
Baconfry: A big issue that I'd like to point out is that the debuff system needs a lot of work. The only viable debuff, in my opinion, is Ichor. Confused has its applications here and there, but it only affects Fighter-type enemies, which are hardly relevant. The rest (Poison, Cursed Inferno, Venom, Frostburn, On Fire!) deal enough DPS to deal serious damage to something like a Zombie, and nothing else. And while it's true that increasing the DPS dealt by these debuffs would help, I feel like there should be more ways to differentiate the five. I kind of started the job myself (Providing a damage debuff to Cursed Inferno), but there needs to be more. The way I see it now, there's only one useful Flask.
Tsuki: With what you've seen and heard of the recent spoilers, what major area of the game are you most looking forward to them expanding on. Building? Fighting? Mining?
Baconfry: A lot of the recent spoilers were quality-of-life changes. While these are good changes to make, none of them reveals anything about how our combat options will change. Perhaps that is intentional. Perhaps there are major additions planned that will blow us out of the water. But I feel like I should point out that combat in Terraria is extremely straightforward and blunt. Most of the time, it's the repeated use of the same weapon. Those who do a little more thinking might pause to apply a Golden Shower here or there, but most of the time, it's a spamfest. One thing that might bring a few more dimensions to combat is an improvement of the debuff system, but out-of-the-box thinking would also help. (The Frost Hydra and Queen Spider Staff were excellent additions that began to address this issue.) That's the area I want to see expansion on.
tl;dr more combat options that take the focus off spamming weapons.
Tsuki: What sort of features are you expecting for the "expert mode" we've been hearing about? Any concerns about it?
Baconfry: I'm not particularly concerned about expert mode, but I am a bit interested in how it would breathe difficulty into things with the Fighter AI. Are we going to see more things sporting the Nutcracker AI? Will we find previously-innocuous creatures spouting wallhacking projectiles at us? I'm curious, but not worried.
For our final piece of community news, this issue, we're going to briefly talk about the men and women responsible for keeping this forum safe from the forces of evil, ne'er-do-wells, and occasional robot incursion. I'm of course talking about the moderators! I received a retroactive heads-up that this brave team may be in need of a couple more active and willing members to fill out some gaps in coverage, and to prepare for the inevitable spike of activity that will come when 1.3 drops.
One such member is our very own Ghostar. Previously known as "Black and White" on TO, she's been incredibly active with the community, well-known and loved by many. She's accepted the task set before her, willing to go forth and, using her massive hammer, pave the streets of TCF so that an even better foundation might be built upon it. I'm sure she'll be a welcome addition to any staff, as she is friendly, but both firm and fair.
But she is not the only willing individual that the team is ready to take on. There is still room for another new moderator or two. Do you have it in you? Are you willing to be on the side of justice? If so, I happily direct you HERE, so that you may read up on the criteria that they are looking for. If, after reading through the opening post, (I recommend reading through the rest of the thread as well, many staff members have given helpful information too) you still think being a moderator is for you, then you can apply in the secret application sub-forum. No worries, as only you and the staff will be able to see your application.
As our last piece of news, but most certainly not least, Terraria has officially been added to the wonderful Humble Store! In case you've never heard of the Humble Store or experienced it firsthand, basically you can buy games while being assured that a percentage of your money will go wonderful charities like Child's Play, and the American Red Cross. By buying games from this awesome website, you're not only getting quality games, both indie and AAA alike, but you could be helping children in hospitals get the same joy from these games that you are. Definitely worth a look if you're considering purchasing games in the future!
That about wraps things up here, for this issue of the Terrarian Times. As always, if you have questions, comments, concerns, feedback, or anything else, feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected]. And if you haven't quite yet got your fill of wonderful news-y goodness, you can head right on over to the fancy Terrarian Times archive, and read previous issues! Until next time, friends. Tsuki, out.
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. Joking aside this update has been huge for team building and growing. We have all learned so much about game development, one another, and it has been a ton of fun. On top of all the sappy stuff we are finally in a place where we can go back and do all the things we couldn't previously do due to the size of the team and that is so exciting!
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