My vote is to just roll with expert. :) I think we will be fine. Plus if we really get into a bind we can pull plenty of gear/resources from other characters of we absolutely need to.

http://www.twitch.tv/pcgamer

=) I thought I'd share that link for anyone else who was interested.

So, as far as the server goes, I guess we'll have to pay attention to TShock's site to see when the new version will be available. Here's a notice at the top of the page of their site: "TShock for Terraria 1.3 has not been released. The TShock Team will start reverse engineering and building the updated ServerAPI for Terraria 1.3 at 1:01pm EST on June 30th, 2015. When the update has been released, this notice will be disabled. No plugin updates will be approved until API version 1.18 is released, and plugin updates that ensure compatibility with 4.3 before 1.18 will be deleted." https://tshock.co/xf/index.php

If you don't see Steam downloading the update, exit Steam completely and reload it. It will update right away. Game on!!

Start out with normal and then go expert? If so, yeah, I'm in.

I thought I'd take a look at the multiplayer options. You can select "Join via IP" or "Join via Steam." I clicked the latter and it was if I hit Shift-Tab. I didn't see any Terraria world joining options there. Perhaps there is or will be more info online.

I think I might know what you're talking about. You mean, on top of a hill that's pretty much hollow on the inside, easily able to walk through? That's what I built my mega house on. I've done it this way before, I think it's one of the best ways to keep NPCs safe. However, it seems they can defend themselves now.

My Guide moved in, but then went outside and thus fell off the hill, so he was underneath the house for a while. At night, I stayed inside where it was safe. He was outside under the house taking out zombies. Later, he moved back in, after I had exited the game for a bit and came back to it. I'm kind of surprised at how quickly I built my mega house. It's 5 stories high with 5 rooms on each floor. There are 21 NPC rooms with 4 extra without tables or chairs.

So far, even after only playing for an hour or so, there are plenty of changes to talk about. One difference I see from the mobile version is that on there your character has a bit of an aura, which makes it easy to see in the dark without torchers. On the PC version, you don't have that. Anyway, it doesn't seem as though NPC portraits appear in their room now unless you click on the "Housing" button to the right near your equipment in the menu. I think that might make housing look a little cleaner.

Access Camera Mode on the menu in-game near where your equipment is (to the right). Play with it. If you go into Windowed Mode, you can open up the folder in-game. However, it seems by default, images are stored under C:\Users\(User)\Documents\My Games\Terraria\Captures. I found out by playing with it. I don't think the wiki is quite up to date now that 1.3 is out, but I imagine new content there is coming soon.

Anyway, I took a screen shot of my mega house. Notice where I'm standing, the only way in the house. Mobs can't seem to figure out how to jump up. =) http://imgur.com/SnP99U9

Oh! If you're like me, you probably have TONS of characters and worlds. Click on the "Favorite" button (looks like a star) on the character and world selection screens to move those to the top of your list. Then your new stuff will be easier to find. =) It seems that the way of telling if you got Crimson or Corruption is by the color of the leaves on the tree on your world selection screen, one half of the tree is either red or purple.

Wow that looks great! Everything I build basically looks the same. Maybe I'm just not that creative or I just don't even try. I'm always impressed with what you build.

I was just figuring out an issue I noticed. My game resolution (1920x1080) didn't match my desktop (1920x1200) and every time I changed it, it would revert after an exit and re-open. I fixed it by setting the resolution to what I wanted, then going into Windowed Mode, and then going back to Fullscreen. Still, the game looks so small. On the mobile version, I always zoom in, I'm not sure you can do that on the PC. What resolution are you all using?

Oh, that explains how you were able to make all that in so little time. I don't know what materials you used to build everything.

I wanted to share this comment with you all I found in the forums the other day. Someone posted a comment on the changelog post, "this changelog has so much stuff I'm so excited." Cenx replied with, "you should be more excited about the stuff it is missing. :)"

I found out the easiest way to get a minecart. If you find tracks, just right-click on them. I haven't found one, but I found some tracks.

Oh and be wary in the ice caverns, you could end up falling to your death through ice. This has happened to me at least twice now.

Yeah, I think so. I think there's also one for your grappling hook.

Wow! Even by looking at that you can see that there are obviously many new items in 1.3. There are also new monsters and blocks, such as granite and marble. I personally love the granite as it's a beautiful blue! There is also new music, potions, buffs, and so much more!

Yeah, that portable piggy bank is amazing!

I agree with Greg, the granite biome is really cool looking. I kind of want to collect enough granite to redo my house in it.

Yeah, I enjoyed exploring that area with you recently. It turns out that granite drops from granite biome monsters. So, I didn't have to do any digging. =)

I still have the extra 4 I bought on me, I had to log out pretty quick after we camped him, but I'll toss them in the starting house too later tonight.

Last night I jumped into a single player Expert mode world. Here are a few thoughts:

First up, I don't know if this is because I have a small world or the expert mode, but I feel like treasure chests are a lot more common as are heart crystals. I also ran into a lot of railways underground. Oh, and there are a LOT of traps everywhere! I had wirecutters with me, so it was pretty easy to disarm everything. Only one dynamite trap got me at one point.

Regular mobs are a little tougher, but being geared out from our current Multiplayer server they didn't feel tougher. I did notice some zombies now carry melee weapons that they use against you, but they have a pretty short reach. I only felt the extra damage from mobs twice: once when I got swarmed and killed by spiders and once when a Medusa turned me to stone and let her skeleton friend murder me.

I fought the Eye of Cthulhu and the Brain of Cthulhu and the new AI isn't so bad. The EoC just fires out more little eye minions and now he dashes at you like the Twins do. The BoC fight starts the same with all the little floating eye things you need to kill, but once they're gone the BoC disappears and reappears with 3 additional clones. Only the real BoC takes damage (it's pretty easy to tell which is which though).
I tried to take on Skeletron but he does SO MUCH damage now and everything I was throwing at him only did 1 damage. Granted I didn't do any prep work for the fight: no arena, no potions, nothing. I didn't notice any AI changes during the fight, but it was a pretty short fight. :P

Cool info, Tim. I may have missed you guys yesterday. I've kind of reached a point on the server where I'm not really sure what to do, so I started a new single player character and world just as I did when 1.3 was released. This experience is slightly different from others as I've built the town house slightly underground. Anyway, if I'm not on the server, but you see me on Steam, feel free to send me a message if you want.

BTW, we've often seen the Dryad do something neat. What she's doing is casting a buff called Dryad's Blessing. I haven't looked at what all of the NPCs do now, but I did notice when she cast this buff on me recently. So, it seems fighting around the NPCs isn't always a horrible idea. http://terraria.gamepedia.com/Dryad

Unlike Tim, I didn't create an expert world. I decided to start out fresh with a new single player character and world. As I progress, I'll upgrade/switch worlds. IAmGregoPeck is my server character. It's hard to keep up with so many created characters and worlds. Hahaha

From my game play they seem pretty effective, especially the Guide at the beginning. However, Travelling Merchants keep getting killed in my world presently. I think they might be drowning in the pond to my right or getting slaughtered by mobs that get trapped down there with them. I haven't bridged it yet.

That's ok with me. As for when, perhaps after those ingredients are ready to be farmed. Really, it doesn't matter too much to me. I usually farm for them.

I'd say just after hard mode.

Awesome, I noticed that after looking up the Ice Mirror as I have quite a few of them now on my own world.

I'm OK with importing the Ankh shield. Even if those items are farm-able, given the difficulty of gathering everything I'd consider them in the same camp as rare items we need to farm/import from other worlds.

Woo! I desperately want to spawn 30 Eye of Cthulhu again! :D

On a side note, when do we want to pop Hardmode and when do we want to switch to Expert?

Honestly, I think that's why I've hit a wall on the server, I think I'm ready for hardmode. That will open up so much more (even if it's more dangerous) to do. Again, if you see I'm not on the server, but playing Terraria, feel free to send me a message on Steam and I can join you or chat. Expert mode after normal hardmode sounds like a good idea from what you guys have said about it.

I like how even after 400+ hours of playing Terraria, there's still stuff for me to do and enjoy. I also like how there are different ways to go about playing the game. I thought about playing things a bit differently this time as there are some things I usually don't bother with. I guess, I figured I'd try a little variety. My current single player game is different than on the server. On the server, I've pretty much explored the surface, but not underground so much. On my own world, I've hardly explored the surface at all, but am instead undground.

I also decided on a different town house build because of the default spawn area. There was a slight hole and I just dug into it and expanded underneath some sunflowers. I may take a screen shot and share it some time. Another game difference I've recently noticed is that your world generates different ore. I guess I forgot about that and was thinking that only applied to hardmode. My current world has tin, iron, silver, and gold. So, I'm trying to get some platinum from slush (I've been in ice caverns).

One of the changes I don't think we've mentioned yet that I've really noticed is the game's ambience. Before, I liked the addition of bird sounds, but now there's plenty of dripping or running water and other things that make the game sound more alive.

Yeah, I checked out your Terraria hours last night, I'm at 445 right now. I'm not used to building much after the first town house, which I almost never upgrade. I've done that differently on the server, especially since I didn't have to build a town house. I did change up my rooms with different materials. On my own world, since I built into the ground, I've used more stone brick, even red stone brick (made of clay) to match what was there or the surrounding area. It looks a little Neopolitan at the moment. I could rebuild some of it with new blocks, which I'll probably do eventually. So, yeah building is one of the things I'm trying to add to this play of Terraria.

Travis is right, 505 does the mobile and console versions. I know the console version recently upgraded in the last few months. It's been promised that the mobile versions will be updated soon. The version on my Kindle was updated in January and it's still not up to par with the last 1.2 PC version. I remember waiting for ever for it to update. It also crashes often. The next Kindle update has been announced (months ago), but no release date has been posted. As for iOS and Google Play, they've received more updates this year, especially bug fixes. The wiki has a version history for each platform along with (if possible) an expected release date. http://terraria.gamepedia.com/Version_history
Check that and the forums for more info. http://forums.terraria.org/index.php

2. I never worry about Corruption/Crimson/Hollow creep, ever. I know Crimson has creeped up on my town house in at least one world, but I usually don't see the problem with it or have a problem with it. I usually don't mind letting it go about it's own growth.

Ok, I got logged in. Someone has been busy! About the biomes where certain NPCs can move into to sell unique items, how do players move them in there? I didn't look into it, but I thought maybe you could set rooms using the Housing button.

That's cool that we can do it that way. I just assumed. I think some time I might try it out, but I'll probably wait until I feel the need to. That goes for all of the extra biomes you added, I'll probably just wait until I feel the need to use them in whatever way.

I haven't tried the auto cursor on this version yet. I've used it before on the PS3 and Kindle, but not yet here. I didn't use it very much, but I prefer using my mouse (or finger on the Kindle).

CG5 definitely looks like an ultimate Terraria world. I'm sure it's not complete yet either. Even though you've put in some Hallow, this world is still missing the new alien stuff. I re-watched some of the videos posted before the update was released, we still have much to look forward to. I know there are tons of things I still haven't seen (like some of the new awesome weapons and gear).

So when are we popping hardmode? I think we're all pretty much ready to go at this point.

That's a good question, Tim. I think I've been ready for a week or more, that's why I've been playing my single player character. I'm almost ready for hardmode on it. I'm pretty much where I am with my server character, which helped remind me that I needed to upgrade my server weapon. There's still stuff for me to do on my own world and on the server. I'm not in a rush.

I'll probably be on in the evenings over the next several nights, but I'm not sure how much I can really nail down a time. We're getting ready to move so I'm packing and doing all the fun stuff that comes with moving this week. So if you get a group of people on and are ready to kill the WoF, feel free to do so without me.

That sounds a bit tedious and exciting. I'm ok with waiting for a time when you and others (like Travis) are on and ready, too.

So.... possible bug with TShock. I decided to set up an area outside the temple to farm life fruit and plantera bulbs once we pop hardmode, but first i needed to drain out some water and lava patches. One slight problem... Apparently liquids don't move anymore.
I thought it might just be lag, but I stuck around for probably ten minutes and it never updated. I even tried leaving the area and coming back, but nadda.

I then tried to use buckets to move some of the water. Which kinda worked. I could scoop up the water in the bucket, but turned to stone every time I did. Then when I dumped the water out, it just hung in the air where ever I dumped it and never settled on the ground.

I experienced a bug when I was trying to talk to the Merchant, but he was too close to a weapon mount. Since that area is "protected from changes," it seems the mount ate my weapon. I tried to get it back, but it ate my pickaxe then my hamaxe. This was by right-clicking on it. Luckily, I looted another world and was able to retrieve the same things that I lost. Sometimes an NPC is too close to a bed when I try to talk to them and I end up accidentally changing my spawn point. So, it's important to be careful talkint to NPCs around things that you can right-click, especially around areas that are "protected from changes."

Oh wait, yeah, Tim, I did notice that, too when re-mining for Hellstone. I think lava wasn't flowing.

Check out what I found on the wiki, a bit of trivia:
"The plural of "terrarium", besides "terrariums", is "terraria", which is also the name of the game.

it says I don't have access to /settle.

Tim, I just figured out what that "Strange Plant" is. I've seen them and had no idea what they were until I decided to check it out. I got Glowing Mushroom dye, 3 of them!!!! I'm obviously excited.

Yesterday, I finished all the fishing I need to do on the server. So, I decided to go back to my single player game and do it there, too. However, I've decided that TShock is extremely helpful with that Time Lord trick I can do "/time 04:25." So, I set it up with my single player game. I had thought about doing this before to test our server options and also to be able to access certain limited time things (like the Moon events).

I don't really want to cheat or go overboard with things. I like what I'm doing with the /time and Fishing Quests. It really helps speed things up.

"You are not using the same version as the server." Dang.

They are "working on the update, as usual" as of 5 hours ago https://twitter.com/NyxStudios

That's what I hate about waiting, "soon," and other unspecific terms. I wonder how long it usually takes them after an update like this. Originally, out of three versions of TShock, I was only able to get the oldest version to work, the others crashed. It turns out it was because of that bad/errored world I emailed to you. Once I removed it, I was able to run the latest version of TShock. I was having fun, and then I had to go and update the game, sheesh. Haha

So, recently Tim mentioned to me that he got a really awesome dye by giving the Dye Trader a "Strange Plant." These plants seem to be spread throughout the world, growing nearly every where, except in Glowing Mushroom biomes. You may have already seen them and overlooked them. There are a lot of dyes now and they're really awesome. My single player character has Acid Blue dye and more, but that's my favorite.
http://terraria.gamepedia.com/Strange_Plant

That world works now. There's hardly anything on it, except a very small, yet unfinished, one room house.

As for the Dye Trader, I never really bothered with him (or dye) before. Now I have all kinds of Strange Dye and I know how to make blue dye. =) I have been looking at the wiki a lot as I play, but I haven't looked at everything.

Oh, but the best Time Lords don't invent time machines, they steal them from the Council. =)

I was just about to say that. =)

Released! https://tshock.co/xf/index.php?threads/tshock-4-3-5-for-terraria-1-3-0-5.3898/

I haven't tried to log in to the server yet. However, running TShock locally after the update, I noticed a bug. Often opening chests doesn't show their full inventory. It takes a few times of re-opening them for everything in the chest to show up. The NPCs on TShock act kind of strangely, too. Often, I see them move from right to left only to teleport back to the right, but that was even before the update.

I'm hoping to find some more Blue Acid Dye for my server character. My single player character looks really awesome right now. It may be time to update my user pic.

That's odd to me. Still, locally, on my server I'm noticing some lag. I think that's some what related to the weird NPC movement. Sometimes it takes a few seconds to pick up stuff like coins. Last night, I couldn't pick up any Fallen Stars, I haven't tried today or since the new release. I'm still working on single player fishing.

It seems also that my imp is despawning. Sometimes it takes me a bit to notice, but I have to use my wand again to summon it. It shouldn't work that way according to the wiki, "the summoned imp is invincible and follows the player for an unlimited amount of time, unless the player dies, summons a replacement minion, or cancels the buff." It's one of those things I'll hae to try to remember to pay attention to so I can figure out when and why it occurs. http://terraria.gamepedia.com/Imp_Staff

"Incorrect password"

I'll try again later. I decided instead of putting my single player into hard mode, I'd create a new single player and world. This time I was wanting to do a fresh Crimson world, since my other is Corruption. I'm excited about what awaits for us in hard mode. It's kind of like right before you open a gift about the size of the thing you've been waiting all year long for and you hesitate to open it, savoring that exciting feeling. Once you open the gift, you're excitment is at it's peak, but it's a down hill slope from there. I want to keep my 1.3 excitment boiling for a bit and I think what I've just done will help.

Anyway, I think I'm ready for hard mode on the server, but I'm still in no rush. As before, if you see me on Steam and not on the server, feel free to send me a message and I can join.

That arena looks huge! We could perhaps place some banners that might be helpful for those mobs that get in it. Funny that you mention pressure plates and doors, I was recently thinking of that, too, but haven't tried it out. I think I did that in Minecraft, though.

This new world I created for Crimson is similar to my previous one where I got Tin, Iron, Tungsten, and Gold. I want Platinum, so I have to mine for slush and silt again. The sad thing is that this takes me quite a while and yet once I get the armor and beat a boss, I'm ready for the next armor upgrade. So, it's a lot of work that ends up becoming obsolete too quickly. Luckily, Tungsten is better than Silver, but I'd rather have Platinum than Gold.

Once again, I ended up building under ground for the second time. It's pretty cool though and there seems to be a lot of space so far, it feels a bit empty. The ceilings are high, which is something I'm trying to make sure of in my builds now. Usually, I grab a table and stand on it and right above my head is where I place the ceiling. To get in and out, I created what I call the "out house." It's a small building with three rooms and ropes to climb up to reach the door, so mobs can't get to the doors.

Well we'll just have to kil 50 or more of those and get their banners. Haha.

That's great that you've built all that and much more. I'm happy to leave the building to you as you seem to have a better knack for it than I do. I'm used to building the NPC town house and that's about it. Well, other than a hell bridge, but I'm finding out that with the right shoes, those bridges aren't really necessary.

Sat. is ok with me. As I said, feel free to hit me up on Steam if you see me there, but not on the server.

I think you're probably getting bored waiting for it. I'm still playing a 2nd new character and world, so I don't mind waiting. Yet, again, feel free to hit me up on Steam.

I wish the Magic Mirror had a shortcut key like the grappling hook uses "E" to use it. I hate accidentally teleporting myself back home when I don't mean to.

It sounds like only me and you are available. I have no problem waiting long since I'm still playing single player, too.

The Wall of Flesh has been defeated (numerous times)! So, be careful! Check the boss treasure chests for new items.

I thought I mention a bug we've found before it startles you. Sometimes pieces of the world look like your NES screen did back in the day when the cartridge was dirty or poorly inserted.

Oh! The Tax Collector has moved in thanks to Travis. See if he'll give you any money. I talked to him and he said it was too early to hit him up (not his exact words).

Travis can answer that better than I since I only noticed it today. Today's the first day in maybe a week or so that I got on the server, I've been playing single player since my character on the server was WoF ready.

I just put something in Jon's house for him. =) I already have one.

That could be the problem, if there were chickens, then why stop there? Why not cows or horses? Before you know it there are dinosaurs. LOL

Where's my "like" button?! LOL

Well, Tim might not be on for a while, congratulations again to him and his wife. Jon and others are randomly on. So, perhaps this will keep us a bit more in check. Hahaha. I've upgraded my gear to the third ore, including sword, but I'm still not confident about beating any of the bosses alone. That is to say, I completely forgot about the Destroyer and how easy that one is. I did die quite a few times to Mothron, "/warp arena" during Solar Eclipse, which seemed to happen quite frequently. I didn't defeat it. This reminds me to set spawn point at arena before dying there.

As for my single player game, even with my top gear I'm not too confident about taking on the WoF. I think what I need to do on all worlds is get my gear perfected and figured out, especially accessories. Please share you builds with me

That's how I usually reforge my accessories, but choosing which ones to use is some times difficult. I'll refer to the wiki for some more info, but you pointed out some good tips.

I'm glad those bugs are (getting) fixed!

Niiiice! I loved that King Slime spawned so many slimes. That is awesome!

Ok, so you've been switching the server from TShock to vanilla, it seems. I overlooked that and haven't been on the server since the TShock went down days ago. I was playing my 2nd new single player character and am about ready to fight the Wall, but I need to reforge my gear, which is expensive and I'm so poor.

Anyway, the newest Terraria 1.3 update is very small and doesn't have an official change log. It pretty much opens up Linux/Mac beta testing. So, I imagine it shouldn't take TShock too long to update for this new one.

Jon's suggested timing is ok with me, I'm pretty open.

Excellent and that's great advice. I'll have to get a flying mount for him. Since he defeated me, I decided to go back to my single player Crimson world. Eventually, I'll get those Vampire Knives here. I now have two single player 1.3 hardmode worlds.

Oh, Travis, I've realized some of the enemies I've seen on the server, but couldn't identify due to their quick deaths. I now know what they are, a lamia and basilisk.

My availability is going to be wildly unpredictable for awhile. So you should probably plan stuff without me at this point. I'm keeping up on the event chatter here, and I'll jump in for activities when I can. If i'm horribly behind on gear I'll just loot stuff from my other characters/worlds as needed.

My personal vote is to create a new Expert mode world, import in our base and characters, and just plan on going to hardmode pretty quick.

Oh, and thanks to who ever left me that Kraken yo-yo in a chest outside my house. That thing is awesome! Right after I got that I found the skeleton merchant and picked up a yo-yo glove and then crafted that into the yo-yo bag. It made fighting the hardmode stuff a lot easier!

FYI, fighting Plantera while still equipped with molten armor doesn't end well.

Good grief dude.

I'm now realizing how lucky we were on the server, because Life Fruit was easy to find. I've beaten the Destroyer and I still can't find any on my world. Apparently, this has happened to others.

Vinny's home and now playing Terraria on Mom's laptop. He's pretty excited about all the new 1.3 stuff. Hopefully, he'll be able to join us on the server. For now, I'm letting him play on his own and get better prepared.

Yeah, I ran there again later and still none. I think what I'll do is keep fighting the Destroyer until I have all the Hallowed Bars and stuff that I need to upgrade and then go check the Jungle again.

Oh that's very sweet! Is that on the server? I haven't been on in a while, still working on my single player game.

I just wanted to point out real quick that it seems as though farming Ankh ingredients is easier now. I've farmed them at least twice now and believe the amount of time I spend doing so has been drastically reduced. It's still a randomized numbers game, but to me it just seems easier. You can tell how many enemies you've killed, even without the Tally Counter, because you get a banner for every 50th. I think that helps, at least perhaps mentally letting me know when I should expect a drop.

That said, if you need any items, check the NPC chests as Travis and I collected extras.

I know all of the changes weren't included in the change log. I think the wiki is still working on getting updated with 1.3 info. Drop rates may not have changed, that is true. The wiki does seem to be pretty good at documenting drop rate changes for items, though. Right now, I'm trying to figure out how you got all those Paladin's Hammers, I haven't had one drop yet (on my own world). I'd like to get that and his shield.

I found the thing that starts Martian Madness if it finds you. I managed to survive. I ran away from one big ship to heal, but the invasion didn't follow me, so I had to go back to where it started to finish it. At that time, that big ship despawned and I was able to survive the rest. I haven't killed the cultists yet.

Wow, well I got a wisp in a bottle some how, but so far I only have one hammer. I only need one, but I want the shield, too.

It hurts me deeply that I am not one of the "west coasters." I must do something about that some time in my life. LOL

Yes, I'm pretty much always playing Terraria and I'm ready to go. I do want to beat the Duke, perhaps soon I'll get on and we can do that together. Maybe I'll borrow the Vampire Knives from the character I'm playing on my own, though I haven't really tried them out on much of anything yet. Also, I want to make sure my server charcter has the right armor. I realized that I might not have created the Beetle Shell, which I think I want instead of the Mail because of its higher defense.

I actually might be on tonight. About what time were you thinking of starting the event(s)?

I accidentally started a lunar event on my own the other night. I haven't read much of anything about the 1.3 update, and I've just been discovering it on my own. As such, I found the cultists by the temple and proceeded to slaughter all of them. I then pwned the special boss cultist that spawned afterwards, which then brought down the wrath of the lunar jerks. Killed all four of the pillars or whatever they're called, but the moon boss slaughtered me. When I respawned and went back to where he was he had apparently despawned. :P I'm looking forward to a rematch though!

8ish pacific time? Is that too late for everyone else?

That's fine with me. It's 9ish right now here.

I don't know how people do it at all! Wow! I think some research is in order.

lol, awesome. Way to go Travis for figuring that one out.

As far as less cheesy but easier ways to do this, would a huge asphalt skybridge be worth while? Can we run faster on asphalt than minecarts travel?

We took a break afterwards, but tried to continue on later. We were unable to do a /invade as the server said we didn't have permission for that. So, I tried to experiment with my own server, which I managed to get up and running and Tim connected. The only problem was that he couldn't do /invade and I couldn't figure out how to give him that access. So, I can actually run a server and get you guys connected. If you want, I can do this and use CG4 or another world that we could loot if we want or need to. I experienced lag during this, but he did not. Perhaps it was because I had other things open and was switching between windows.

I have all of the accessories you mentioned, I just haven't really used them all and need to get some reforged. As for the strategy, it looks like what I read on the wiki. I'll give it a try some time. It may take some time to fully absorb. Tim and I were also working on collecting ingredients for potions, he only caught one of the fish we need. I haven't done any hardmode fishing yet, but I guess it's not a bad time to start. I did cook all the fish I could and came up with multiple stacks of cooked fish, which I included in the Potions chest. I made some ironskin and regen potions. I took a third of what was in there after that, but we need more (at least regen).

Oh and I was also trying to get a Deadly Sphere staff. I'm also still trying to get enough money to reforge my accessories.

Yeah. I actually have a lot of worlds (including some CG) in a backup folder, so they should be as fresh as I received them. They're really great for looting. I like to use TShock for that and fishing (/time really helps).

As we saw, my permissions seemed to work just fine for /invade and I was able to turn it off.

Thanks for the achievement notice. I had some trouble with some not unlocking. I still haven't gotten the Slime Rain one, even though I'm sure I've done it, perhaps I didn't do it on single player (SP). As for Mecha Mayhem, I got it on SP after using each of the summoning items. I had my own small arena and used some buffs and was able to get it.

Thanks for giving me a walk through of your boss strategy. I didn't pay attention to the signs you created, which explain the operation of the structure at first. It's a great set up and I've created a warp for it (/warp pit). I think it works very nicely, especially since the doors can close you in protecting you from spiky balls and attacks, while providing health regen.

Sweet, I'll look into it.

I've been doing some prep work, trying to create enough potions that we may need or as many as I can. I've run out of room on some of the NPC chests, so I've been making some decisions as to what should be in there. One of the things I'm trying to do is not keep more than four of one kind of item in a chest. We may not need that many and if so they're easy to obtain. Therefore, I've sold some extra things. There are many chests throughout the world that contain items related to that biome, where we've stored some things. I'm sure there are more chests that haven't been found.

Another part of this process has lead me to crafting items, which has actually helped inventory management a lot. For instance, instead of a chest containing many duplicates of multiple pieces of an accessory, it contains fewer pieces and/or the accessory instead. Other chests still contain duplicates of random things. This also means that anyone working on the Ankh Charm can find pieces already crafted, instead of a bunch of smaller pieces. I've already stored a couple of shields. There are other more important ones we may need or want such as Frostspark Boots, Star Veil, Charm of Myths, and some others. I have looted previous CG worlds for some things. I'm going to continue to do so because need to make some Bottles. So, I'm trying to gear up for the Duke (because I haven't beaten him alone) and the rest.

Oh and I've left the pit trap on, which has helped provide some money. Every now and then I just run through and collect it.

Yay! I can finally beat the Duke on my own without even healing! Knowing how he attacks and moves is very helpful, dodging is definitely important (or flying away). So is the UFO mount, which removes the need for boots or wings, which may help open an accessory slot or two. Of course buffs, too, ironskin, regen, endurance, and taking advantage of the other objects that boost power. I finally decided to try the Celestial Shell, which seemed to have really helped. Now to get some of those drops.

Loving Death Ghost 2000! That needs to be a thing we implement on all future servers.

Yeah, the platform looked almost like the Ghost. Wow, how'd you do that?

Oh, there are currently (as of the last time I checked when I added them many hours ago) three Gold Rings in the accessories chest. Help yourself! Lucky Coin hasn't dropped yet.

I ended up losing my Terra Blade by talking to the Merchant. It ended up on that Weapon Rack that caused me issues before (I lost another weapon to it). Luckily, it was still there and I was able to retrieve it. So, I moved the WR to the trophy room. I see it's been put to use and the room has been added to. Sweet.

Are the banners still in the mouth of Death Ghost? It might be cool to add some torches to the eyes to make them look like fiery pupils.

Wow, cool. It's a very sweet spot!

Yeah, like I said that weapon rack caused me problems before, which caused me to have to loot another CG world for what I lost. But, you fixed it and so this time I didn't lose my weapon (trying to right click on Merchant and some how right-clicking on weapon rack instead). So, I decided it was time to move it and looked good in the trophy room. There was a copper sword or pick in there, which I sold.

This also happens when I talk to him and he's over at the Nurse's place and I end up accidentally changing my spawn point. That's ok, though, I can live with that. Making sure to right-click on him when his speech bubble is above his head is at least an attempt at avoiding those issues, which sometimes works.

It seems the merchant some how died. A new one is here, but some where else. Tshock is telling me that I don't have permission to relocate NPCs.

Ok, I've defeated the Moon Lord twice on my own now. Thanks to the pit, he's not much of a problem (until you destroy his eye and hands, then you'll probably need to heal at least once). However, the pillars (not themselves, but their mobs) killed me. It was easier once I upgraded to Solar armor. So now, I think I have everything I want, including Solar Wings. I really love Meowmere, thanks for storing an extra, Travis. However, the Terrarium is the master in comparison. I didn't realize there were already about three in the chest, so the one I was using was dropped for me.

As for the Frost and Halloween events, do you have to do those SP to get the achievement or does it work on the server, too? Working on completing all of the achievements looks like the next thing for me to do.

I stored all of the potions I used as buffs, except for one stack of cooked fish since I made plenty of them. More are needed, which I may work on soon.

When I first read your comment, I was thinking you meant Moon Lord, which I was going to say that there's no way in hell I'm going to do that without my own copy of CG5 for that pit. I don't want to have to build that thing on my own. You know I'm not the builder, you are. But, then I realized we were talking about Frost and Pumpkin moon events. On my own, hopefully I should be ok with my Solar Armor and stuff.

Yeah, the NPC relocation thing was weird. I even made sure I was logged in, by logging in again, and it still wouldn't let me.

So, achievements are my current to-do list (I think that's what some people refer to as a "bucket list"). I'm not sure what else to do, but at least I have something. I still need to do some fishing quests for that one. Vinny is dying to play Terraria with me or us, so it's good that I've hit this point (ceiling). I think everything I need to do on the server is pretty much done, everything else I think I can do on my own in SP or by using TShock (as I have been doing). I guess I'm pretty much ready for Expert mode, which I may start on my own some time.

I haven't tried Expert Mode yet, so I'm not sure what we should bring other than the basics. I wonder how each of the armor and weapon sets stand up against Expert Mode compared to Normal and Hard.

I don't know much about Expert mode/worlds. I assumed the gear would be less effective since the enemies were more difficult. I knew some of them have new mechanics on an Expert world. But I'm glad you explained it and, as usual, I can agree with you.

BTW, fellow Ghosts, my son has joined us on the server. His name is Vinny, he is 11, feel free to say hello if you see him on.

Whatever you guys decide is fine. Also, you don't have to import my house onto the new server. I think I will try to make something a little less boxy this time around. :)

I guess we're not all living in the castle? I'm not really concerned with my house. Like Tim, I think mine is too boxy, but if I re-created it would probably not look any different, I don't seem to have much of a creative building aptitude. That's cool that you can do that, though. I should check out TEdit, perhaps. That pit arena is awesome!

That sounds good. I thought about saying that you could build me something if you want. Haha It probably would be cool to look at your /r/Terraria recommendation. I'll have to look into it. Maybe I'll come up with something. I do like all the blue stuff, Glowing Mushroom, Slime, Granite,....

I've just been using the current server to farm stuff. I don't have anything too big I want to get done still.

I might be on Thursday for a short time, but it wouldn't be for very long most likely. I won't be on much until next week, so don't feel bad if you start expert mode without me. I'll get caught up later.

No, I wasn't kidding when I said I was thinking of getting you to build something for me. I wouldn't want to add to your work, but I know you like doing it, too. I've looked around at /r/Terraria. I can't even imagine anything other than my standard box type, so I'm not sure what I'd like to see. Just about everything being blue is great, though you know I love Rainbow Brick, too.

I'm thinking of trying to play differently when we go into Expert. Travis and I have talked about how I use NPC chests. I tend to use those instead of my own chests so that I'm contributing to the community chests of items. I do have a few chests in my own place, some have remained empty. I do store some of my own stuff, but not much. I may look into changing that and utilizing my own place for storage.

Originally, I told Vinny to take my Chlorophyte armor, then realized I had my Beetle set, so I told him to take that instead. We did fight the Duke together a few times. I'm not sure if he's gone through Martian Madness, the moon events, or the Moon Lord stuff. However, he can do whatever by himself or any of us. I still have some achievements to complete on my own.

What if we started out with new characters and nothing? Would that be too brutal? The recommendations I've seen thus far here are agreeable. I do support copying over whatever structures that can be brought over. I know you, Travis, have a castle for the NPCs. I think that and both arenas should be copied over as well.

I wonder when it's supposed to be released. Is it going to be on the PC at the same time as the consoles? It looks cool, though!

"No chance of Fallout 4 on XBox 360 or PS3" http://www.gamespot.com/articles/no-chance-of-fallout-4-on-xbox-360-or-ps3/1100-6427876/

Bethesda at 6:30PM PDT, today. Head on over to http://www.e3expo.com/takeover for more info including the E3 schedule.

Whut? No new Maryo, they're talking about some game called fall out? WTF? LOL

http://www.gamespot.com/fallout-4/

I haven't ever played any Half-Life game, that is until I started the demo recently. I decided to join the event, even if I only play the demo. I might be tempted to get the game (and all related content). I'm not sure yet, I'll have to play the demo more as I only spent a little bit of time with it so far.

I'll be playing it on PC, as soon as I get the mod downloaded. I'd like to experience the updated textures and whatnot :).

Thanks, Jon, you're awesome! I can't decide whether to accept or decline, yet I kind of feel like I shouldn't pass it up. =) I still haven't played the demo for a while. I got side tracked by the Diablo III: Reaper of Souls event. Now that it's over, I'm disappointed because it's over, but still playing it. I got my Monk up to level 86 and beat the game (and Ros) on Torment II. I did die once by Malthael. I just created a new character, a Witch Doctor. Anyway, I figured I'd start playing the HL2 demo again once this event got under way.

I'm thinking I should take you up on the offer. I might as well not pass up a free game, especially one that's as popular as Half-Life 2. I had friends that were playing it during its release, but my PC at the time didn't meet some of the system requirements. I think that would be a cool idea because I can then fully participate in this event. =)

A few hours in, just entered Ravenholm. The first time I played through the HL2 games was on XBox 360, and, though playing on the PC now, I'm sticking with the 360 controller. The smoother, sweeping motion of the controller, I think, allows for a more cinematic experience. Definitely not optimized for a controller, and the default configuration is frustrating at times (how do you equip a grenade?).

I forgot how much of a maze this game is to run through. Level design is stellar, but it's a pretty simple formula: run through extensively long corridors, shoot some stuff, (load screen), solve a puzzle, maybe swim a little, (load screen), awkwardly drive a hover-boat through extensively long hover-boat-sized corridors, (load screen)... Then I remember that this game is over 10 years old(!), and it still looks amazing, the writing is solid, voice acting is spot on. It's that attention to detail that elevates Half-Life 2 to the classic that it is.

I want to talk some about the actual story, but I'll wait until I know more people have started and at least gotten to Ravenholm.

I am now downloading the game thanks to Jon. I played the demo a bit more recently. I got to an interrogation room where a couple of friendlies helped me get out the back door. I climbed over some stuff and went to the plaza. From there, I wasn't sure what to do, but many paths were blocked. I think I ended up going into a bathroom and the demo seemed to point me to another part of the game. This time, I had weapons and there were a few creepy looking monsters to kill. I exploded some fuel tanks (or something) and didn't know where to go from there.

After I get the bundle installed, I'll check out the mod Travis shared and get that installed, too. Then I'll jump in.

That's funny, @jdodson. I took that same screenshot of the "Portal Wars," and wondered the same thing.

I'm kind of in the same boat with Ravenholm. It's not a happy place. In fact, all this talk of portals has me longing to hear GlaDOS coyly belittle me while I put her in her place...with science.

I've made it out of the mine, which is passed Ravenholm, it seems. It's cool that you kind of have to figure out where to go and how to get there with a few snags along the way. Some how, it seems, most of this is a bit intuitive. By the way, Ravenholm was the second part of the demo. Anyway, I seem to love the crowbar, I tend to use it a lot. I'm kind of stuck where I am now as there are snipers above me. I found out how to take out one of them, but the next is where I'm at. I'm sure I'll figure something out.

That's where they got the idea for the actual portal mechanic, but I thought Valve had been working on the story of the game prior to approaching the NB team?

Right on. Thanks for the clarification! :)

All I can think now is, "I thought I'd never..." Such as, I thought I'd never get passed those snipers. I thought I'd never take out that first gunship (aim red cursor at it to guide rocket). I thought I'd never get my buggy flipped right-side up (use "special g weapon"). Some times I thought I was stuck, but managed to figure out how to progress. Like I said before, the game seems a bit intuitive. At one point, I wasn't sure how to get passed a barrier, but used the "special g weapon" to push a heavy transport to break the power line. At another barrier, I found out that I could get under the bridge and make my way to the other side, pull a plug with the "special g weapon," and then head back to get my buggy through. Also, I thought I'd never find that third car battery to get that one gate open. Anyway, I'm done with the buggy, I made it to my destination and now have to go on foot.

I like that the game auto saves. There are really only a couple of "issues," which are hardly issues, that I've found. When the terrain, or whatever, is shaking, the graphics get kind of odd looking, it's not smooth. I noticed this at the beginning on the train and while crossing under the bridge (previously mentioned). Loading between areas takes a few seconds or so. I am playing the "update" mod.

No, I just called it that hoping to avoid spoiling the game for anyone, although I may have with my last comment. I'm in City 17 now.

Well, I'm done, at least with Half-Life 2 Update. Next is Episode 1, 2, and Lost Coast. I thought that was Michelle Forbes as Dr. Judith Mossman. I think I first saw her in Star Trek: The Next Generation. I saw her again in Battlestar Galactica.

Ravenholm is spooky! Glad that's over with. A few questions about that reverend: What is he living off of? Raven meat? Head crabs? I suppose he could take trips out to the city at some point for a Combine burger, but if that's the case, why continue to go back to Ravenholm? Not that I don't appreciate his help and weaponry. Maybe he's the last survivor of what went down there, or he feels responsible in some way? Also, he seems to be the only person in the game who doesn't know who Gordon Freeman is!

I've switched over to the keyboard/mouse configuration. Much easier to play that way. I'm surprised they didn't to a proper implementing of the Xbox 360 controller, especially after releasing the Orange Box on that console.

I liked the guy in Ravenholm, he had a cool name, hehehe. I thought I'd never make it out of the Sand Traps, either. I have had to consult a walkthrough a few times. Anyway, Episode One complete.

I just finished Episode Two. Did you finish the game and the extra stuff, rettisawesome?

It's funny that you mention Gary's Mod because while I was playing HL2, my son kept saying that it's like Gary's Mod. He ended up watching me play at times and even offering some help.

Lost Coast was very brief. In fact, it is essentially a tech demo. I did run the video stress test and it said my frame rate was about 291 fps. Info Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_2:_Lost_Coast

From wikipedia: "Lost Coast serves as a technology demonstration, specifically showcasing the high-dynamic-range rendering implemented in the Source engine. The level was designed with a variety of appropriate environments to emphasize these effects."

Welcome to the club, dannytron! You nailed it with what you said about level design, which I think is one of the greatest aspects of the game. I mentioned, twice, that the game seems pretty intuitive and that certainly points at level design. I think it was definitely designed well in a way that getting through it was some what obvious. I did get stuck a few times and referred to a guide, but otherwise I found the game mostly easy to traverse. It wasn't always extremely obvious what to do or how to progress, but in many cases it certainly makes the player think a bit. So, I think aspect of it was certainly done well.

I love how the game just drops you straight into a horror film. It almost feels like a seperate game.

So true. There is very little in the way of cheap shocks in this level. It's more a deeper feeling of lonlely terror, that maybe your character could be trapped here, joining the soulless masses, if he doesn't follow the voice of a slightly crazed preacher. In fact, just by putting a preacher in that role adds a gravity of the supernatural to the whole situation that might not otherwise be felt. Brilliant!

Horrifying, and yet adorable!

I was glad to join and glad to play a seemingly classic and obviously very popular game.

Terraria 1.3 is expected in June, although officially I only saw that a June release was their goal. Hopefully soon they'll give us a release date or just release it. I found out about it in late November and have been eagerly awaiting its arrival ever since (like a kid waiting for Christmas again). I'm still playing Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls and the way I'm playing might hold me until then. If not, Terraria 1.3 will get my immediate and primary focus. =)

Since it's already May and Terraria 1.3 is expected in June, I think it's safe to go ahead and start another Games Club month, but that's just my opinion. I don't know anything about Last of Us, except I only recognize the title.

Looks like I'm Taion.4056. If there's any way to send me an invite to the guild feel free to do so. I will probably be on later tonight around 8 or 9 pm PDT.