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.