Beyond the Stars: A Terraria Expansion Project

darkrown

Duke Fishron
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We've already reached the Journey's End... where else is there left for us to go? Why, Beyond the Stars, of course!

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Check out the Beyond the Stars Discord server for up to date news on the project, or if you want to get in touch with the team!


We're always interested in hearing from people joining the team! Head to the Discord server and get in touch!

Welcome, friends! Beyond the Stars is an ambitious mod project that aims to put together a Terraria expansion inspired by the official updates! This means fun, unique content, balanced around the vanilla experience and designed to fit in seamlessly with the world and feel of Terraria, capitalizing on the existing framework extensively while staying original and fresh.

The mod is still in its very early planning stages, and as such this thread is more of a feature showcase for the community, and also a call for any and all people interested in collaborating on a more vanilla-based mod. But enough text, let's move on to a few of the planned features for Beyond the Stars!


ASSASSIN CLASS
Bringing back throwing for one more go.
Terraria's throwing weapons deserved better, and now, they're gonna get it! The assassin weapons and armor will focus on mobility, dodges, and a flurry of critical strikes to bring down the strongest Terraria has to offer.



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A sample of the throwing weapons on offer, fully integrated to Terraria's progression system. From early craftables with gems and plain ore to endgame drops from the strongest bosses, assassins will have a sizeable arsenal at their disposal.

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Assassins will also have a plethora of armor sets to choose from, be it completely new sets, or existent ones like the revamped Ninja Armor (pictured above), Fossil Armor or Crystal Assassin sets, rebalanced and retooled for their new purpose.

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Speaking of ninjas, the new assassin class comes with a tie-in NPC: the Shinobi! He will move in after you defeat King Slime for the first time, and sells an assortment of throwing-related items.

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Finally, rumors have been brewing about a fifth herald of imminent doom, the mysterious Quasar Pillar... could there be any truth to these stories? Your vision begins to blur...

NEW BOSSES
Fresh fiends to tussle with for some smooth new loot.
Beyond the Stars will introduce several new bosses across biomes, both pre-Hardmode and Hardmode, each with unique loot. Below are a few samples of the deadly foes you'll be facing throughout your run.


PRE-HARDMODE

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The Harpy Matriarch patrols the skies, ready to unleash her razor-sharp claws and feathers on any who would harm her young offspring.

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The Torch God is tired of Terrarians not matching torches to their biome! He's taking physical shape to make sure they all learn proper feng shui... the hard way. Aside from his blessing, defeat him for a chance to have Lil Torchie
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join you on your adventures!

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Deep in the desert, the Antlion Broodmother is hatching an army of sand-burying insectoids, eagerly waiting for the next adventurer that will become her lunch.


HARDMODE
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The tyrannical Blazing Underlord has the Underworld in his grasp; it would take a true band of heroes to end his reign of terror once and for all.

...and more to come!

THE DECAY
An evil biome alternative with plenty of backbone.
Based on an earlier design plan, the Decay comes in as a third evil biome option with a theme based around bones and, well, decay! The contents are still being adjusted and updated, but for a look at some earlier versions and broad strokes of the planned features of this biome in the meanwhile, take a look at the original suggestion thread.

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COSMIC CATACLYSM
A boss rush event to send you off with a (big) bang.
Based on an earlier design plan, the Cosmic Cataclysm event is a final Boss Rush gauntlet designed to give your Terraria skills and knowledge the ultimate test! The contents are still being adjusted and updated, but for a look at some earlier versions and broad strokes of the planned features of this biome in the meanwhile, take a look at the original suggestion thread.
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SUMMONER EXPANSION
Giving a little more love to Terraria's favorite underdogs.
Journey's End definitely gave summoners a whole lot more to work with, and they can stand shoulder to shoulder with all the other big boys now. That being said, they still lag a little behind the varied options the other classes have to offer, so introducing some new fun tools is in order. Below are some examples of a few of the new items geared towards summoners.

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From pre-hardmode to lategame, summoners will be able to find a greater variety of whips with unique abilities.

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Pre-hardmode, Ghosts now have a chance to drop the Eerie Candlestick, which will summon tiny but fierce Ghostlings that will help you in battle.

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The Dungeon also holds two new summoning artifacts: Dark Casters now drop the Blackwater Tome, which will conjure adorable Dark Wizards to rain water bolts on your enemies, while locked gold chests now have a chance to hold the Keeper's Rod, which will summon the Keeper, a slow but reliable sentry.

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Moving on into Hardmode, Hallowed Mimics can now drop the Gleamhawk Perch, a wand that summons Gleamhawks to peck and claw at your foes.

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Obtain the Frostspear Wand from a mysterious enemy in the Snow biome to control a Glacius Sprite and unleash a flurry of deadly icicles...

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...or head to the Granite biome underground to hunt for the Geode Staff and summon Geodites that will melt enemies down with their beams...

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...or descend even further down to the Underworld and grab a Cerberus Rod and summon your own personal Cerberus! Each summon slot nets you a head, up to three, making your tiny Cerberii faster and stronger!

...and more to come!

BIOMES REVAMPED
Fleshing out some of the often overlooked biomes.
We've come a long way in biome diversity since the days of 1.0! Even so, there's always room to improve and squeeze in a bit more content into some of the underdeveloped areas on each map, such as...

Improving Granite & Marble biomes

The Granite and Marble biomes are, as of the current version, a somewhat bland part of the Underground exploration part of Terraria. While they have their fair share of cool drops and kickass furniture, they're not exactly the most thrilling thing to stumble across while exploring. A first step into making these biomes into more exciting places to explore is kicking up their chest items up a notch.

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Akin to the Bast statue found in the Underground Desert, the Thor Effigy will be found in Granite Chests, while the Aphrodite Sculpture will appear in Marble Chests. The Thor Effigy buffs surrounding players' damage by 5% when placed, while the Aphrodite Sculpture will boost NPC happiness by 1 stage around it.

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New accessories will also show up in each biome! Assassins will make good use of the Black Masque and the Cloak of Shadows, while summoners should be on the lookout for the Myrrh Egg, each with unique and useful effects. Regardless of class specialization, players can now also find the Underdweller's Treads, an alternative to Water Walking Boots, or the Ivory Aglet, an alternative to the classic, surface Aglet. Finally, each biome gets its own minecart, for stylish travel along the underground tracks!

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Later on in Hardmode, the Nemesis and the Core Elemental, powerful mini-bosses, will begin spawning under certain conditions. Defeat them and collect their drops to craft the Feldspar Armor set and powerful new weapons! The Medusa also moves back to pre-Hardmode, being replaced by the stronger Euryale, while the Centurion replaces the Hoplite.

Jungle Updates

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Isn't it annoying that evil biomes simply convert the Jungle to dirt? The Jungle and Underground Jungle can now be fully corrupted or crimsoned, bringing a slew of new, brutal enemies with some unique drops.

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The inaccessible Jungle Mimic is now also spawnable and gets its own weapons and hook! Be wary of any suspicious chests while exploring the Jungle...

Spider Nest Additions

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Spider egg sacs now spawn alongside the walls of spider nests. When disturbed, they will burst into a spawn of Spiderlings, tiny critters that can surprise and overwhelm players while the big bugs close in for the kill. Wall Creepers now also have a chance to drop the Toxic Staff, a pre-Hardmode, weaker version of the Poison Staff.

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After defeating all Mechanical bosses, the Black Widow, a venomous mini-boss, will begin spawning in spider nests, bringing with her powerful loot.

Aside from these, the mod plan includes additions and updates to the Corruption & Crimson, Ocean, Floating Islands, Graveyard, Jungle Temple and Underworld biomes, with more to come!

TEXTURES REDONE
Sprinkling some extra pixels on some of Terraria's older sprites.
Some of Terraria's sprites, iconic as they may be, are beginning to show their age, especially when compared to some of the newer additions (the Empress of Light could make anyone self-conscious about their looks!). The mod plan covers a thorough and comprehensive series of adjustments, from simple color correction to thorough resprites. This part of the mod is also planned to be optional, so that players can choose to use the mod with classic sprites, if they so choose.

Following are some example of boss sprite passes! Please note that these are all heavy WIP and more proof of concept than functional sprites, and as such are subject to extensive potential changes.

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The eye friends can see you more clearly than before, and taste you better, too.

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Skeletron and the Dungeon Guardian are ready to throw hands! Well, one more than the other.

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Less mincemeat, more flesh.

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The Ice Queen is staying frosty, as always.

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A non-boss monster for final, the Chaos Elemental! Making efforts to make it look significantly more chaotic. The full mod release is planned to touch on a variety of sprites, from bosses and enemies to blocks and items.


Thank you for checking this project out, and we'll see you Beyond the Stars!

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Same here, was always my favorite class once i started playing. Think you could share some of other items you have planned for summoners? ;)

haha, all in due time, my friend! though, I suppose one peek couldn't hurt... if you manage to get your hands on a Myrrh Egg, Stinger Necklace, and Pygmy Necklace, you can combine all of them into the Shimmering Band, which will boost your critters' abilities quite substantially!


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(can later on be combined with the Destroyer Emblem for even MORE power)
 
This looks amazing, but I have one rather large issue with it.
The fifth pillar.
There is a reason why no mods currently add a new pillar: Tremor tried it back in the dawn of TMod.
It completely broke the Celestial Events very often.
Now, new fragments usually just drop in small amounts from every vanilla pillar.
Just thought I'd let you know :)
 
This looks amazing, but I have one rather large issue with it.
The fifth pillar.
There is a reason why no mods currently add a new pillar: Tremor tried it back in the dawn of TMod.
It completely broke the Celestial Events very often.
Now, new fragments usually just drop in small amounts from every vanilla pillar.
Just thought I'd let you know :)
well we have to consider that tremor was a buggy mess all around, implementing a fifth pillar could go better depending on how good the coders are
 
well we have to consider that tremor was a buggy mess all around, implementing a fifth pillar could go better depending on how good the coders are
There's another issue: Celestial events are amazingly bad and boring, you don't want to make it even worse.
plus where would you put that new pillar
 
There's another issue: Celestial events are amazingly bad and boring, you don't want to make it even worse.
plus where would you put that new pillar
Agree on this one. The lunar apocalypse is a horrible grindfest, especially considering that if you want endgame armor and stuff, you most likely have to go through it 2-3 times at minimum. it's time consuming, and no fun. (and not sure how could be fixed) so, making that even take even more time probably would be bad.

Otherwise though, everything else looks absolutely amazing here!
I kinda wonder about the resprites of otherwise quite "cultic" bosses, I wonder if you could make an option to leave them as they look in vanilla, if some players prefer that. the re-done sprites looks amazing, but still.

What I find the most intriguing is the "crimsoned and corrupted jungles" I'm really curious about that one!!!
won't clorophyte mess with it though? Considering it stops the spreading of the evil (which is actually a very useful thing that can be utilised. but that might would cause problem with only a very small portion of the jungle would turn corrupt or crimson?
 
There's another issue: Celestial events are amazingly bad and boring, you don't want to make it even worse.
plus where would you put that new pillar
this is true, but this mod seems to have no problem changing vanilla content, so the lunar events could be tweaked or even overhauled to be more engaging and less tedious. as to where the pillar would go, the center of the map seems like the best place. 1.4's pylon system would mean your base is much more spread out from spawn, so that wouldn't be an issue.
 
I kinda wonder about the resprites of otherwise quite "cultic" bosses, I wonder if you could make an option to leave them as they look in vanilla, if some players prefer that. the re-done sprites looks amazing, but still.
they said they were adding an option
 
they said they were adding an option
Ah, okay. Maybe I missed a line or something. then ignore that part XD

this is true, but this mod seems to have no problem changing vanilla content, so the lunar events could be tweaked or even overhauled to be more engaging and less tedious. as to where the pillar would go, the center of the map seems like the best place. 1.4's pylon system would mean your base is much more spread out from spawn, so that wouldn't be an issue.
I think I seen some topic on another mod that had a 5th pillar in the middle (maybe that's Tremor?) which was buggy. but even if it wouldn't be buggy, I think that would be a horrible place to put that pillar.
Almost all cases, the center is your base. You might need to adjust your gear and stuff after the fight with Lunatic cultist, and if you die from any pillar enemies, you respawn there (if no other location is set)

This would mean, as soon as you teleport home after lonatic cultist down, you will be under attack from the enemies of this 5th pillar. it also should be noted that the pillars have no set order the player need to fight them, so everyone can choose the order - and usually will start with the pillar of their class (or stardust, to get additional power via minions as well on the side)
But this way, it would be urgent to clear the spawn first, while you still stuck with pre-lunatic cultist gear.

The enemies would most likely whipe out your forest town, meaning it would take a day or two, to get them move back, so for a little while, your center (forest) pylon wouldn't function (if NPCs are not invulnerable to dmg.) so even though 1.4.1 finally fixed that pylons should work during the lunar events, this would render it non-functional again. very likely.
 
Ah, okay. Maybe I missed a line or something. then ignore that part XD


I think I seen some topic on another mod that had a 5th pillar in the middle (maybe that's Tremor?) which was buggy. but even if it wouldn't be buggy, I think that would be a horrible place to put that pillar.
Almost all cases, the center is your base. You might need to adjust your gear and stuff after the fight with Lunatic cultist, and if you die from any pillar enemies, you respawn there (if no other location is set)

This would mean, as soon as you teleport home after lonatic cultist down, you will be under attack from the enemies of this 5th pillar. it also should be noted that the pillars have no set order the player need to fight them, so everyone can choose the order - and usually will start with the pillar of their class (or stardust, to get additional power via minions as well on the side)
But this way, it would be urgent to clear the spawn first, while you still stuck with pre-lunatic cultist gear.

The enemies would most likely whipe out your forest town, meaning it would take a day or two, to get them move back, so for a little while, your center (forest) pylon wouldn't function (if NPCs are not invulnerable to dmg.) so even though 1.4.1 finally fixed that pylons should work during the lunar events, this would render it non-functional again. very likely.
if it being on spawn would be such an inconvenience, perhaps a better way would be to put it in the middle of one of the two halves of the world? my idea to put it in the center was mostly to make their layout symmetrical, but having 3 on one side and 2 on the other would be a decent compromise. This way spawn is still safe and the fifth pillar has a position where it wouldn't get in the way. well maybe not that, it would still cause problems if it appeared in one of your towns, but that is an issue the vanilla pillars already have.
 
if it being on spawn would be such an inconvenience, perhaps a better way would be to put it in the middle of one of the two halves of the world? my idea to put it in the center was mostly to make their layout symmetrical, but having 3 on one side and 2 on the other would be a decent compromise. This way spawn is still safe and the fifth pillar has a position where it wouldn't get in the way. well maybe not that, it would still cause problems if it appeared in one of your towns, but that is an issue the vanilla pillars already have.
That sounds like a better option, though (or small worlds) the pillars' area might would overlap. (that actually would be so with a pillar in the center too)

plus, wthout midifications on the whole lunar apocalyse, getting one more pillar down - each time you start the events - would be a pain.
 
That sounds like a better option, though (or small worlds) the pillars' area might would overlap. (that actually would be so with a pillar in the center too)

plus, wthout midifications on the whole lunar apocalyse, getting one more pillar down - each time you start the events - would be a pain.
definitely agree with you there, lunar event has always been a pain. but like I said before, this mod doesn't seem to be shying away from changing existing content, so a rework isn't out of the question. I suppose all we can do is wait and see.
 
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