Almost a year after Terraria's monstrous patch 1.3, version 1.3.1 is being released to mark the game's fifth birthday.

From Sunday, May 22, you can embrace your inner electrician thanks to big additions to the wiring system. Logic gates, from AND to XNOR, join the likes of conveyor belts and Large Gem switches.

Controller support is also on the cards. Not all that exciting to your average PC player, no, but it's good to have the option, particularly as the console versions have been doing it since 2013.

Lead developer Cenx has posted a checklist of every fix Re-Logic hopes to cram into 1.3.1 before Sunday. It includes some priority items, like tooltip flickering above 60 fps, and general tidying. My personal favourite: "You can see breath bubbles while dead."

It's rare for the best mods to pop up for a game years after its release, but here we are: the Terraria mod scene keeps on rolling. In the five years since Terraria's release, the sprawling survival sandbox has been treated to countless players, a vast number of updates and thousands of user-made mods—a list which spans the suitably sublime to the outright bizarre.

The following slides offer but a smattering of our favourites, which add new soundtracks, items, settings and overhauls to Re-Logic's two-dimensional adventure playground. Heck, there're even mods in here which transform the game into fully-fledged RPGs, so you're bound to find something that tickles your fancy. Have fun experimenting!  

Let's start big, shall we? The Tremor Mod Remastered is one of the best Terraria overhaul mods out there, and is as close to a total conversion as you're likely to get. Packing over 522 items (including weapons), seven NPCs, loads of mobs, and six new bosses, the mod's seven-person team isn't kidding when it says "our goal for the mod is to make Terraria even bigger and to fill it with even more content than it has." Furthermore, Tremor adds exclusive expert mode treasure which should keep even the best Terraria players/intrepid loot hunters going for some time.

Terraria is a game about growth about building up your character, your skills and, crucially, your chances of survival. Crafting plays a very large part of this and while there's something to be said about perseverance and successful scavenging, imkSushi's mod lets you craft whatever the heck you want, whenever the heck you like. This quality of life addition makes items that are usually found in chests and drops readily available, therefore this naturally this suits action-oriented players. It even lets you buy boss-summoning items from NPCs, so long as you've previously defeated the adversary in question.

Terraria is already a time-sink to rival any RPG, but N Terraria turns it into a fully featured roleplaying experience with all of the trappings: classes, races, a level system, NPC companions and even quests. It s got it all. It s a perfect way to add some longevity to what is already a very deep game. It also makes the game harder than Adamantite, but it s all part of the charm.

TerraFirma is the premier mapping tool for the curious adventurer. This invaluable tool pulls the world map out of your save and makes it viewable, taking the guesswork out of spelunking for resources. You can also use it to sneak a peek into chests, search for statues or even find the underground desert.

The grandmaster of Terraria overhauls. Tremor, as featured elsewhere on this list, is a great mod excellent, even however Thorium is above and beyond the best there is. Think new bosses, new NPCs, new enemies, new items, a new multiplayer healer class, new just about everything you can think of this 'un upgrades Terraria's vanilla state in just about every way imaginable. What's more, bosses harness unique attack patterns and have a tendency towards projectile offence, which makes expert mode only suitable for those with utmost skill and a cool temperament. Or at least a replacement keyboard/control pad.

Another utility, TerraSavr lets you fiddle with your items: point it at your Terraria .plr and you can edit your character’s variables, imbue your items with buffs or—if you’re a filthy cheat—give yourself new items.

This isn’t limited to shiny new gear either, the tool makes every item in the game searchable and from there you just click and drag it into your inventory. It’s web based, so you just click the link and get to work.

Like Tremor and Thorium, Calamity adds a ridiculous amount of new stuff by way of both standard and unique weapons (melee, ranged and magic), armour loadouts, items, and accessories. The mod also flaunts five new types of mineable ores and tiles, not to mention ten new bosses each with its own distinct strengths and weaknesses. While perhaps not quite as sophisticated as the overhauls noted above, creator MountainDrew runs regular polls on the mod's tModLoader page where he or she asks for suggestions regarding what to add next.

Omnir describes his Nostalgia Pack as a mod based on Final Fantasy, Tibi and Lord of the Rings. It adds over 100 new creatures, a bundle of new bosses, and a host of great special items.

Also you get to fight Sauron, which really doesn’t happen enough in videogames.

Some caveats: This mod requires tAPI and also Grox’s Base Mod. It’s worth the fiddle to get it working.

If you just want to level up, but want to preserve the vanilla Terraria experience, then Terraria Levelled does just that. The mod doesn’t have many overt features beyond the levelling system, but the elegant UI and well-paced progress curve adds a moreish sense of achievement to your exploring. Equipment trumps levels, so you don't have to grind to wear that new set of armour or legendary sword.

Terraria+ takes the base game and bulks it up with extra weapons, armour and accessories. Additions include The Lihzarhd Lantern ("fires lasers randomly"), a Piranha Staff that summons pet piranhas and the Soul of Pow, which confuses enemies.

It’s unobtrusive, but adds a lot of extra diversity to the crafting tree. Some of the accessories are invaluable and I’d recommend even the more mod-adverse take a swing on this.

It’s another tAPI mod, so if you get on well you can add a lot more to it, but it works well as a solo effort that keep things interesting when you think you’ve seen it all.

After a hundred hours or so, you might start itching to change the music. There’s a lot of different music mods for Terraria, but I use the great Legend of Zelda Wavebank, which adds classic tracks from Ocarina of Time. There are a whole lot of other choices on the Terraria forums, including original compositions and renditions of the Mario and Halo soundtracks.

Installation is easy. Go to Terraria’s content folder. You’ll need to make a copy of the file Wave Bank and move it somewhere safe, then drag the sound pack into the folder and make sure it’s called Wave Bank. Voila. The game will start playing the music from the pack next time you launch.

Super Terraria World has been around for a couple of years, but has continually impressed with the speed in which it's grown. This mod transforms the base game into a fully realised RPG (it bills itself as a "standalone MMORPG overhaul mod") including intricate quests, skills, NPCs and all that's expected from a role-playing adventure lark. Once a part-time endeavour, its creators have recently launched a Patreon with the aim of pushing its boundaries further still, and its most recent update number 1.12a launched alongside an official trailer. This mod is ideal for those not just after extra mileage in Terraria, but also additional structure.

Another tool to round things off, this actually doesn’t interface with the game at all. However, it is an essential companion.

Terranion is a lightweight search-based guide for Terraria for you to run in the background while you’re playing. Need to know information about a boss, where to dig for cobalt or how to craft a certain item? It’s all presented in an easy to navigate format and, because it takes information directly from the game, it’s reliable. One to have on your bookmarks to load alongside every game of Terraria.

Are there any Terraria mods you've enjoyed that you'd like to share with others? Do mention them in the comments.

tModLoader's creator describes it as a mod to make mods, which makes it a vital resource for anyone interested in modding Terraria. It follows in the footsteps of the discontinued tAPI, and helps modders keep their creations compatible with one another.

Not quite as sexy as a total conversion, rebalancing or slew of new items, but tModLoader helps keep new mods ticking along years after Terraria's release.

tAPI is a powerful tool that allows creation, management and handling of multiple mods at once. A member of Re-Logic helped out with development, though a disclaimer insists that "this mod is first and foremost community made".

tAPI lets you combine smaller mod complementary arrangements that you can easily tweak. Whether you want Dark Souls weaponry, inventory management or animal masks, tAPI lets you mix and match to your own tastes. Though now discontinued, it's an important tool in the Terraria mod scene.

Last month, Terraria got its largest update in nearly two years. The 1.3 update was the third major content drop the game has received since it launched in 2011, with dozens of additional updates in between—including a Halloween update and a Christmas update, both of which brought end-game events that are now staples of Terraria's progression. The 1.3 update finally added what developer Re-Logic has called a "final boss" to the game, so I was curious what the future of Terraria held. I caught up with Andrew "Redigit" Spinks, the CEO and Lead Developer at Re-Logic, to talk about what's next for Terraria, mod support, a creative mode, Terraria 2, and yoyos.

PC Gamer: How did the rollout of the 1.3 update go?

Andrew "Redigit" Spinks: The launch of 1.3 went better than any of us expected. It is actually out performing our last major update. There were a few bugs that cropped up here and there but we were able to fix a majority of them relatively fast.

How much larger would you say Terraria is now than when it was first launched? (How many new items, enemies, etc.)

Spinks: Since the release of 1.0 we have added 2,827 items, 490 creatures, and loads of new content/features/mechanics. We have made a lot of improvements to the engine and added a lot of new backgrounds and world gen variations. It is crazy how far this game has come since release. It feels like a completely different game now.

Why did you decide to support the game for so long? Why not release DLC or expansions?

Spinks: Making Terraria was always about making a game that I wanted to play. Every time I would think we were done we always found new inspiration to come back and add to the game. Our community has been really good to us and we felt the need to return the favor.

Did you ever consider charging for extra content?

Spinks: No, not really. As a gamer I have never really been a fan of paid DLC.

1.3 added a final boss to Terraria, does that mean the game is actually finished. Is it finally at the point you had originally envisioned it?

Spinks: I was never happy with the idea of Terraria not having a final boss. This will likely be the end of the game's progression, but we do intend to continue updating. There is a lot we can do without pushing progression further. We have a lot of ideas for new mechanics and alternate biomes.

If Steam Early Access had been around in 2011, would Terraria have been an Early Access game? Or did your ambition with the game grow after its release?

Spinks: I would not have done Early Access had that been an option. I would have continued to work on the game until I felt it was ready for release. Because Terraria was leaked, I felt forced to release the game sooner than I would have liked and worked towards getting it to my ideal release state.

I d heard that 1.3 will be the last major content update to Terraria, is that true? If so, why?

Spinks: This will be the last update that I work on personally so it is hard to say what the future holds. That decision will be left up to the team that continues to work on Terraria. We like the idea of switching to smaller more frequent updates moving forward.

We have always felt that Mod Support would be the best final update to Terraria so that the community could keep the game alive.

Any idea of how frequently?

Spinks: Not yet, this is something we will play by ear. It is very dependent on what the team wants to add at the time. If anything, I would say every 1-3 months. We are hitting a limit within the engine so we need to be careful about how we add things.

What s next for Terraria?

Spinks: Terraria will continue to be updated and be expanded upon. Before we finish we would like to look into mod support as well as creative mode. We have always felt that Mod Support would be the best final update to Terraria so that the community could keep the game alive. I think it is great that we have such a passionate community interested in expanding on our game.

Now that 1.3 is done, will you be switching focus to Terraria 2? Can you share any details on it or how it will differ from Terraria?

Spinks: Now that Terraria is done I would like to start working on a new project that is not Terraria 2. I already have a lot of plans and ideas for Terraria 2, but that will be much later.

Can you share anything about that new project?

Spinks: I want to make a game that is very modular, that includes mod support, and makes it very easy for players to add their own content.

How does Terraria: Otherworld factor into your plans for Terraria and Terraria 2?

Spinks: Terraria: Otherworld is more to show another take on Terraria, whereas Terraria 2 will expand upon Terraria much more.

Do you plan to do a similar release and update pattern for your next games? What do you plan to do differently?

Spinks: We will likely stick to this same model since it worked so well for Terraria. I would rather put out games that are more polished than Terraria was at the initial release.

Out of curiosity, can you talk about the addition of One-Drop YoYos to Terraria, and now the creation of a physical Terraria yoyo. That seems like an unexpected partnership, how did it come about?

Spinks: I have been throwing for years and One Drop made some of my favorite yoyos. When I went to add them to the game I thought it would be really cool to add some of the yoyos I have in real life. Once that conversation started we both thought it was a good idea to make the end game yoyo real. I am beyond excited about this partnership.

Thanks very much for your time, Andrew.

Update: The livestream is over, but you can watch a VOD of the whole thing right here. 

We saw new biomes like the Underground Desert, new events like Slime Rain, and new items and weapons like the yo-yo! 1.3 is a huge update, even if a lot of the additions and changes are more subtle, like tweaked world generation. And Expert Mode is a severe kick in the pants. Even basic zombies can kill you in two hits, so it's much harder to get a foothold at the start of the game. I am looking forward to exploring the late game when the patch goes live tomorrow, if I can make it that far.

Original: Tomorrow,  Terraria will get its third massive update since it launched in 2011. Once again, the game will be getting a free content drop that adds hundreds of items, new enemies, new modes, updated graphics and sound, and a very long list of more.

We will be livestreaming the 1.3 update to Terraria in its brand new "Expert Mode" today from 2-5pm PDT, ahead of its official release tomorrow. Come watch as we find as much new stuff as we can (and there is a lot) while some of the devs from Re-Logic hang out in Twitch chat. You can watch on the embed above, or  right here on our Twitch channel.

There have been some incredible computers built in Minecraft using redstone circuitry, but comparatively fewer in its 2D counterpart Terraria.That s probably because although Terraria includes wiring mechanics it doesn t have a built-in creative mode, which makes this sort of work a pretty hardcore pursuit. But not impossible, as YouTuber Joe Price has proved. Price has built a working binary calculator in the game, which can automatically convert binary into decimals and display the results on screen.

Creating the contraption required using a glitch called hoiking . Introduced in Terraria s 1.2 patch, a hoik is a series of sloped blocks which pushes players, NPCs, and items through solid areas almost instantaneously. If a game object is on or inside a sloped block it gets forced towards the top of the slant. So, by lining up multiple slopes, you can force a player from one block into the next, shoving them along at an incredibly fast pace.

Using hoiks, Price is able to push NPCs down pre-built paths and place buttons for them to hit along the way. The button inputs are interpreted as binary, which he can then convert to decimals, and… Well, it s about here that I stop grasping how any of it works, but the results are undeniably impressive. Hoiks! Maths! Burn the witch!

Check the calculator out in the video above. (Special thanks to ZeroGravitas on the Terraria forums for his detailed guide on the history of hoiks.)

When Re-Logic announced a follow up to Terraria last month, the studio stopped short of explaining what it actually is. But now we're in the future, a pleasant future bearing details on Terraria: Otherworld, and the gist of these details is that Otherworld adds "strategy and roleplaying" elements to the pixel art sandbox, as well as "purpose", in case building things for no reason isn't your bag.

"Set in an alternate dimension within the Terraria universe, Terraria: Otherworld places the player in a life-and-death struggle to restore a once-pristine world," the update reads. "Along with a rag-tag band of survivors, will you be able to successfully harness the power of an array of weaponry, magic, defenses, and even the world itself to thwart the designs of this unseen evil?"

For every life and death struggle comes the inevitable levelling requirements, and Terraria: Otherworld will add them in spades while still retaining the open-ended nature of the original. That means the story-focused elements won't be linear, the NPCs will do more than just sell stuff, and skill trees are in.

On the topic of "purpose", you'll be tasked with "pushing back the Corruption until it is no more". You'll do this by finding or crafting Purifying Towers and then activating them. Once activated, you'll need to defend them also. That activity forms the basis of the story-driven game, but if all you want to do is explore and build, it sounds like you'll be free to do that, too.

The full details are on the Terraria forum, but no release date beyond a vague 2015 window has been announced. 

Terraria: Otherworld is a newly announced follow up to the 2011 crafting and survival game, but it's not a sequel, according to the developers. In an announcement on the official Terraria forums, collaborating studios Re-Logic and Engine Software stress repeatedly that it is not a sequel. Which is fine, but what is it?

There's not a heap of information out there at the moment (the studios are inviting fans to speculate on the forum) but according to the official line, Otherworld will "explore what might have been, and approach gameplay in a new direction". 

"Set in an alternate dimension within the Terraria universe, Terraria: Otherworld places the player in a life-and-death struggle to restore a once-pristine world now overrun by a malevolent force that has corrupted nature itself to its original splendor," the announcement presser reads. 

"Along with a rag-tag band of survivors, will you be able to successfully harness the power of an array of weaponry, magic, defenses, and even the world itself to thwart the designs of this unseen evil?"

The game will be on display at GDC next month, so no doubt we'll hear more about it then. In the meantime, why not watch the teaser trailer below, which shows a very familiar looking Terraria setting.

People prepare for the night of ghosts and goblins in different ways. Some go trick-or-treating, while others get so drunk they start believing they are their costume. Only a select few lock themselves away to craft free Halloween updates for their games, and it turns out Terraria’s developers happen belong in the latter group.

Terraria’s “Halloween event” update fills your biome with Halloween-themed pets, costume paintings, gear, and friendly NPCs to sell you those items. Here’s hoping they don’t use your hard-earned cash to egg the impenetrable fortress you spent hours refurbishing. Slain monsters will also drop goodie bags containing “fun surprises” that hopefully won’t include mini bottles of toothpaste or, ugh, pencils. People who give those away on Halloween are the true monsters.

There’s also a “Pumpkin Moon Event” that can be triggered in hard mode. Developer Redigit was light on the details, but made the thing sound like a survival mode where you stave off waves of enemies. The more waves you survive, the better the spoils. The Halloween event lasts until Nov. 10, probably to let you recover from whatever candy coma you fall into.

There are also a bunch of non-Halloween themed bug fixes and balances. I found the most adorable one was “Mice can no longer spawn in hell.” That’s just my personal pick. Feel free to check out the full list and make your own decisions. Or, you could just tinker around while munching on your sugary-dessert of choice—preferably in a soundproof chamber where no doorbell can reach you.

Listen, Terraria fans. I don't want to rush you, but that giant patch you received a few days ago? You might not have the eternity to enjoy it that you previously assumed. Terraria's creator, Andrew 'Redigit' Spinks, has revealed that he's working on a sequel to the side-scrolling craft-'em-up, and despite some core similarities to the first game, he's teasing "infinite worlds" to be explored.

"I’m super excited about starting Terraria 2," Spinks told RPS. "It’s a ways out, but it’s gonna have a lot in common with the original. It’s gonna be quite different as well. I really want to expand on the whole Terraria universe.

"There’s a lot of stuff I’m locked into with Terraria. The way loot works, the way character progression works. In Terraria 2, I really want to have infinite worlds so you’re not just stuck to one world. You can travel anywhere. I want more biome diversity in that, too. There’s a lot of stuff ."

Not that development on Terraria: The First has finished just yet. While Spinks isn't planning anything on the scale of 1.2, he does want to finish the endgame progression within the next couple of months, as well as work on a possible Halloween update.

You can read the full interview over at RPS.