Travis: I'm definitely getting this when it launches. It may just go into the group of apps that are basically random timewasters, since when I really want to play I'll play on PC, but I'd love to be able to mess with build ideas on the go.

scrypt: This past year has produced an amazing crop of games. Thinking back on it and looking over lists of what has come out, reminds me of some that I either haven't taken the time to play, or almost forgot about entirely, due to the sheer volume of goodness there was.

Journey

I'll never forget this experience. When I finished my first playthrough, I felt as if it were the first time I had ever played a video game. It hit all the senses in a singularly profound way. It was that deep for me. When I think about what to compare it to, I find myself thinking of real life experiences, rather than other games: Viewing stars and planets from the darkest part of Rabbit Creek Rd on a cloudless winter night. Driving through Portland with Jeremiah in his Volkswagen Golf, on our way to his house from Nampa, Idaho. My first kiss from a girl. My first rejection from a girl... Journey ranks on those levels.

Planetside 2

Not quite the life-changer that Journey was, but epic nonetheless. The players that play this game offer some of the best multiplayer experiences I've had in a shooter. Communication is key, and moving as a massive force across these gorgeously generated landscapes (or defending from such a force) is a thrill I'm glad to only participate in on a digital level. Although, if I actually got the opportunity to pilot a Scythe on some distant planet, I would not turn it down.

The Swapper

Uhh... So, this game just released today, and honestly there are many other games I could put here in it's place, but I like to keep it in the moment. Keep it fresh. I'm only a couple hours in, but I'm hooked, in a "now, this is what I'm talking about" kind of way. All graphic elements are hand-crafted from clay, beautifully haunting music, finely crafted storytelling, set in that Metroidvania-like 2D sprawling dungeon, with maneuvering mechanics (swapping) that remind of the first time you opened your first portal. I'm really liking this game :)

jdodson: The video for The Swapper looks intense.

http://facepalmgames.com/the-swapper/

Looking forward to you talking more about it. I have so many games right now, I think ill hold tight until I get another one but WOW it does look really great. The music alone in the trailer was very cool.

I may need to get Journey. From what you and Travis have said about it and it does have a disc version I can get for the PS3 too.

WhiteboySlim: First off, you're welcome @jdodson for that Terraria recommendation. ;) I look forward to our next CheerfulGhost server when the new update hits!

Also, I watched the video for Swapper and... wow... those graphics. That is a beautiful looking game.

jdodson: Yeah I appreciate you mentioning it. Not sure I would have tried it otherwise.

Travis: My guess is July 1.

scrypt: I'll go with July 17th

jdodson: July 6th.

vdogmr25: July 22nd.

Blue_Element: July 24th.

Travis: ONE DOLLAR

Adym: July 7th.
(I'd say sorry Jon, but I'd be lying lol)

jdodson: https://twitter.com/Demilogic/status/341011246050578433

Blue Element looking really good right about now :D

vdogmr25: Dang it! I was so close! *shakes fist*

jdodson: Well vdogmr you could still win depending on how late July it turns out to be :D

Travis: From what I read, it's only been said that it will be before the end of July, but after the first week of June. So it could be sooner than we think!

jdodson: Second week of June huh? Sounds good to me :D

Travis: Then hopefully the Starbound beta releases in late August.

jdodson: Ha yeah, I don't think so.

I think Starbound and Stardew Valley will ship in the last three months of the year. Id love them to ship sooner, but yeah later part of the year is where my bet is.

Travis: For the final, yeah I'd agree, but they're still targeting release in 2013, so a beta in August is wishful thinking but within the realm of possibility. At least that's what I'm going to keep telling myself. Because I want it.

jdodson: I would love an early release for sure.

Travis: I couldn't even understand about 1/3 of that.

jdodson: This new art looks quite good. The new art here really looks like it fits with the Terraria style, one thing I was nervous about as a new artist to the project might not keep to the rift style.

+1 double plus over good.

jdodson: Ok its official, I want to play this now.

Lately the only games I have been playing are Link to the Past and Legend of Dungeon. Both very fun and I want to try my hand at the new winter Terraria stuff. I just got the idea to do a Santa's Village kind of motif. Totally awesome. Maybe see about hacking a map to be all winter and then running a special Terraria Santa's Village server round the holidays.

Travis: So, next Terraria server.

We need to make theme towns spread all throughout the world. Sandstone houses in the desert, wood houses in the forest, igloos in the snow (which may require making worlds until you find one with snow).

jdodson: Not all worlds contain snow? If not I guess I got lucky because... I think mine all have?

Travis: Nope, they don't. My first one didn't, and I didn't *think* our first CG world had it, though I wouldn't guarantee it.

jdodson: Interesting. Great to know.

Blue_Element: There also appears to be different colored water / biome specific water! :D

jdodson: Ah good point, ill have to talk to the lab about missing that! I wonder how much stuff will be included in the PC update? Hmmmm.

Do some of these changes show up on the console version @ Blue_Element?

Blue_Element: No, all the new features in that screenshot aren't in the console version. :(

Blue_Element: Ooh, and there appears to be a "Bean Sword" in the pic if you look at the hotbar!

jdodson: Huh, interesting. I wonder how that works... I guess we will see :D

Blue_Element: I bought the PS3 version the day it came out, and I think it's amazing how well they ported the controls. Some of the simple things like being able to aim with both sticks, press L3 to jump, and change from manual aim mode to automatic, help tremendously with combat and building so that you can do the same things as a keyboard and mouse can do. And you forgot to mention there's all the new bosses and content!

Blue_Element: I've been playing Terraria on PC for a while and I'm so exited for it to come out for PS3! Me and my brother could play splitscreen, and there's all that new content and stuff. Totally buying it on the 26th!

jdodson: Cool, let us know how it goes! I am kind of half expect to not get a demo for it :D

Skyzefawlun: From what I've read, they're still planning on doing at least one more content update for PC after the console launch. Sadly, it does look like development will focus on consoles moving forward, but that hasn't been confirmed yet. We shall see...

jdodson: Yup. I have high hopes and wouldnt mind paying for the extra stuff.

WhiteboySlim: We had a great run this time. :) We'll have to plan another server event after the Terraria update hits.

jdodson: For sure, looking forward to when that happens!

jdodson: Sweet!

Adym: I got on late, and it was fun! It'll be sweet watching it grow as we play.

Travis: Glad you could join Adym!

BR: Lots of fun. I can't wait for the boss fights.

Travis: When you start fighting bosses and getting demonite, that's when it gets really interesting!

jdodson: Ahh Demonite! I finally hit some Gold deposits twoard the end of the night. Had a blast spelunking around.

BR: I need to figure out how to build all these new things. Its been at least close to a year since i last played.

jdodson: I keep the wiki open while I am playing :D

http://wiki.terrariaonline.com/Terraria_Wiki

Its an amazing resource!

Travis: The wiki is essential.

WhiteboySlim: Definitely make use of the wiki. Last night was fun, I'm impressed with how much everyone has built already.

Side note/suggestion: When on the server, make sure you select the blue team (open your inventory, click the blue icon on the right above your equipment). That tells you the distance and direction of all your fellow team mates. It makes it easier for us to find each other and explore together. :D

Adym: I really need to use the wiki. I feel like there's so much I *can* do in Terraria, but I just don't know. Those pesky known unknowns ;)

Blue_Element: Aww, I'm using a port of terraria on Mac that someone made but the guy only updated it to 1.1.1 (1.1.2 is the current version on windows). So when I try to join it says I'm not using the same version as the server. I really wish I could play with you guys. This sucks. :'(

jdodson: I have had problems with the Linux build, but I saw you in the game so it seems you have figured it out!

Welcome!

Sirdan1013: If at any time you guys can't run the server I'd be willing to run mine so you guys can still play together. Just wanted to let you know.

jdodson: Thanks Daniil, lets talk about doing that for the next Terraria server!

If you want to join us, friend me on steam and ill hit you up with the password.

beansmyname: As soon as this gets ported to Linux, I'm in!

Travis: It kinda works in Linux, but I doubt seriously if there will ever be a port.

http://www.terrariaonline.com/threads/wip-monogame-terraria-terraria-for-linux.72997/

jdodson: I got it working in Linux with a native port, if you can get it working in Wine do that.

jdodson: By the way, been having a ton of fun on the server with you guys. Farming the Eater of Worlds is fun. Plus I just got my star cannon, which is rad.

beansmyname: @panickedthumb I see what you mean about a port being a long shot. I didn't realize it was an XNA game.

@jdodson Wine's out since I only have Terraria via Steam.

jdodson: I think you can run Steam games in Wine... I think... :D

Travis: Yeah you can run Wine through Steam and pull it off for plenty of games. I guess since someone took the time to make a Linux wrapper for it, that doesn't work all too well though. You just need to get the windows binaries though, so you CAN get those through Wine at least.

Travis: Steam through Wine that is.

jdodson: Yep. And speaking of, I should give it a shot and see how it works. If I try it out ill report back.

beansmyname: Bastion uses XNA, too. I wonder how they managed a working Linux port. I'll redownload it from the Humble Bundle and check it out.

If they've used Wine (like they did for Psychonauts), I imagine that's a tougher road for Steam to follow for implementation on Linux (or the forthcoming Steambox).

jdodson: Seems that Supergiant used Monogame which allows one to compile the XNA stuff for a myriad of platforms.

http://supergiantgames.com/?p=1611

http://monogame.net/about

Travis: Speaking of Monogame, that's what the wrapper for Linux uses as well. It seems to work *ok* but there are some flaws. Still, if that's the only way you're going to play it, you should.

jdodson: I think any port requires a bit of fit and finish to make excellent. Plus it may have used a version of Monogame that is quite old or whatnot.

beansmyname: Aren't Steam binaries tied to Steam? I would prefer not to install Steam under Wine since it runs natively now.

jdodson: Yup. Good point, I figured Steam would let you install a Windows client on Linux no matter what to run under Wine.

Nope. Total bummer too.

beansmyname: I'll look for another avenue to pick up Terraria. I'd be willing to suffer through the trials of running it under Monogame. I already run Linux, so I'm used to games working haphazardly, if at all from time to time.

jdodson: AND... I have a platinum coin. Never had one before. So rich now.

Travis: bean, you could fire up Steam-in-Wine, download Terraria, then copy those files out to wherever they need to be for the wrapper to access them. Or while I can't say this is the best bet, you could sail the seas under the black flag, me matey.

beansmyname: I may just boot back into Windows, install Terraria, and then grab the files after booting back into Linux. For some reason, though, I think the executables will still look for Steam to authenticate. It's at least worth a shot.

jdodson: I don't think they will, I believe Steam just wraps most .exe files.

Travis: Whatever attempts to search out Steam will be overridden by the wrapper. The only way to get Terraria is through Steam, even if you get the disc version it installs through Steam like Skyrim did.

Travis: So when are we going to knock down the wall of flesh and start hardmode? I've got us fairly sanitized so we should be relatively safe from the corruption, and even if some gets in we should be able to eliminate it pretty easily.

Also, bean, did you have any luck with the Linux wrapper?

WhiteboySlim: So was it you who wrapped the whole village in the dungeon blue brick? That's pretty awesome!

I'm open to hardmode anytime, and can help kill/farm the wall of flesh (I have like 8 voo doo dolls) as long as it's after 8pm pacific. :)

I'm also willing to help out any less equipped members of the server get caught up gear wise. I can help farm EoC/EoW or provide an escort to the underworld for hellstone. I know there are several hearts unclaimed around the world (especially in the the dungeon and the underworld) for anyone who hasn't hit 400 HP yet.

Travis: Yes, that was me. Encased us in safe brick and put a trench around everything to keep the corruption out. I basically created a new world to farm it for bricks so it wouldn't ugly up our dungeon. The clowns' bombs won't blow everything up now. The stuff above the ground is still susceptible, but it won't screw us up as much as it could have.

Today I made a LONG platform in the underworld to fight the Wall. In the process I found enough dolls to fill a chest, so we can farm the hell out of him.

jdodson: That's awesome, lets setup a time we meet to fight the wall to hard-mode.

WhiteboySlim: I can't do it tonight, but I'm free pretty much any other night this week after 8pm pacific. :)

Travis: 8 PM pacific is when I start NOT being available. :)

How about tomorrow night we get started at 7 or 7:30 PM Pacific, 10 or 10:30 PM Eastern, so we can both do the same event? Hardmode is a beast without some of the stuff you get from the Wall, and it's much better to do the wall with help.

jdodson: Tomorrow 2/20 @ 7P PST is fine by me.

Adym: So what exactly is Hardmode? (I probably could look that up on the wiki, right?)

jdodson: http://wiki.terrariaonline.com/Hardmode :D

WhiteboySlim: I can't promise I'll be on any earlier than 8pm pst, but I'll try. :) If anything you guys can start Farming the wall earlier and I'll just jump when I can.

The greenhouse/mushroom farm I made under my house was intended for everyone's use. Feel free to make up a couple batches of potions to use during the fight. Supplies are in the chests. Since I'll be jumping on late if you could make a couple extra for me that would be greatly appreciated so I can jump straight into the fight when I log in. I have plenty of healing potions, so don't worry about those.

jdodson: Cool, ill need to check out alchemy, this far I haven't brewed something yet.

Travis: "If anything you guys can start Farming the wall earlier and I'll just jump when I can."

Sorry, that's what I meant! I wasn't very clear. Suggesting that we could both do the event if we started it before 11 and it ran until after 11. Or 8, for you west coast freaks :D

jdodson: Ok the world is now in Hardmode. Waiting for WhiteboySlim for more WOF runs!

jdodson: Ok so WBS and I broke up a bunch demon altars and didn't have too hard of a time finding cobalt and a bit of the next hard mode mineral.

I don't think breaking any more demon altars will help us out too much more.

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up.

Travis: More demon altars will always help. We really only need the ones we craft with, the others don't do us any good and we may as well deposit more ores! Adamantite is always so freakin' hard to find.

Blue_Element: Is there a way to "un-follow" a post so it doesn't give me all the notifications? Also I have another suggestion for the site; it would be nice if you could "like/favorite/+1" a post or something like that. :)

jdodson: We are going to add the ability to follow a post, I think it would be possible to un-follow it too. Ill add that to the list. Right now, if you want to un-follow you can delete your comments if its REALLY annoying. :D

We are looking at how to like/favoriate a post for sure. That shouldn't be too far away as with the follow/un-follow a post.

Blue_Element: Awesome! :D

jdodson: Hey everyone I want to submit that we end this current Terraria game next week Saturday or March 9th. It was a good run, but its winding down and I think two more weeks will give us plenty of time to play it and end on a good note.

What say you?

Adym: I haven't been on for a week or so, so I'm good with that lol

Travis: March 9 sounds good. I haven't had enough time to get in lately, so that'll give me some time to catch up. We should talk about the boss fights too-- we still have some hard asses.

jdodson: Yep. @WhiteboySlim and I tackled the hard mode eater of worlds and he was a pain, but I recently got the Megashark so that should help out some :D

beansmyname: Sorry for the delay in responding, @travis. Didn't get a chance to try the Linux wrapper. Was embroiled in an address change and my Windows partition became history before that.

I may have to go the 'Seven Seas' route to find the executable now. OTOH, it is POSSIBLE that Terraria might get to Steam. Bastion (also written for XNA) works without issue with full controller support.

Travis: I'd say that wouldn't happen but the PC dev started work on the game again, and apparently there's a major update coming. If he'd respond to my request to interview him, I'd totally ask him about a Linux version :)

jdodson: Hey y'all. First off, hanging out with you all in the server was rad.

Second off, I think this is the longest site thread ever, so woot.

Third off, server is halting tommorow and a bit after that ill pass out the world for us to all have like last time.

Tha is again!

Sirdan1013: I want to enter this Terraria Contest because I have played Terraria before because a friend let me play it while I was over at his house. It was a ton of fun, I fought the Eye of Cthulu then I beat the eater of worlds,wall of flesh and was trying to beat the twins! I would play all day long with my 2 friends Nick, and Nathan. Nick has a server so I would be able to play with them, together we would defeat the hardest of bosses, mine adamantite and mythril all day long. We would also kill mimics, those pesky impostors! And so I thought it was a ton of fun while watching people playing it and playing it for myself (even though it was only one time). It would be awesome to win this and finally join in on the adventure with overpowered sand!