2024 will be a very exciting one for The First Explorers and we're starting right away with a new devlog. From now on I will call these updates devlog and number these so I can reference them better.
First Internal Playtest
In the beginning of December the first internal playtest started for the game. I selected a couple of people, that have been part of the TFE discord from a very early stage on and signed a NDA some months ago as well. To recap from the last update, this test was about the new gridless building and how the game is perceived in regards to the Look & Feel.
So How Did The Test Go?
As this was the very first playtest of the game, of course a lot of bugs were found and this is a good thing, because it lets me fix gamebreaking bugs very early in the development. Finding and pinpointing issues is easier when there are not all features yet implemented. So this really helped me in fixing a ton of stuff already.
Also quite some new input was generated regarding the gridless building mode. A lot of features were implemented in that regard in the last weeks and it feels way smoother now.
The test also showed that I'm heading into the right direction for my vision. I want to shortly quote one of the testers preliminary test verdict when being half way into the test:
I would pick this game up over any RTS game so far. The look and feel of it all is taking shape so fast, and it’s going directly into the direction of a game we’ve all missed since the original Settlers 3 and 4. Economy based, simple yet complex gameplay that keeps you on your toes but also allows you to relax and just build and optimize your entire settlement. I seriously can’t wait for the next steps and where it’s all going. I sincerely mean when I say this; I’m extremely happy for you @Buchwald Interactive , that you’ve managed to get this far and amazed by the progress you’ve made so far. Keep this up, this is going to go far.
A lot of stuff is still missing, that's very clear. But it's awesome to get this early feedback, it really motivates me and the game is getting better and better every single day.
Stay tuned for the next internal test. It will happen most likely in this quarter, I will keep you updated!
Community Spotlight
Apart from updates regarding the development I also want to share community releated content in the future. I will start this community spotlight with two really nice submissions I got from two guys from the community!
Lord Helmchen sent over a funny picture of him with the official The First Explorers T-Shirt he got during the last month's special offer and he also suited up with some Roman accessories. Is this the very first cosplay of The First Explorers? :D
Another member of the community, NTL, asked me whether he could make himself a snapback with the TFE logo on it. He said, that he wants to support me and the development of the game and would donate the amount of money that he spends on buying the snapback. Of course I said yes and here are a couple of pictures of him and the snapback. The guinea pigs also loved the snapback as you can see!
The level of support amazes me everyday and shows what a lovely community is shaping up for this game. I can't wait to share more community releated stuff in the future whenever I get submissions from you guys!
And that's a wrap for today. Thanks for stopping by and see you in the next devlog!
Hello I have been working on a new game for a month or so now and I am now showing it off.
What comes with Room 13:
- an endless hotel with spot the difference gameplay - 7 different shaders - 30 anomalies -Realistic art style
About: You are inside an endless hotel but there is a way you can escape. Search in the hallways of the hotel and find the changes within them to reach Room 13. If you find anomalies, turn around! If you think the room is normal continue to the exit. To get to Room 13. Room 13 is a small walking simulator inspired by the backrooms and liminal spaces.
What does it mean for Chapter 3 Of The Paper Trials?
this game isn't going to change any of the plans for the game and I just needed a different project to take a break from developing that. I Have started the development of Chapter 3, and it is still months away from release.
The thirty-seventh version of our all-new "Spotlight Packs" are LIVE in Perfect Team! This week's Spotlight Packs are available until Saturday January 27 at 1 PM ET only and include a guaranteed Silver or better card from Negro Leagues 5 or PT Elite (Part 2 or Part 3) or the new Hall of Fame set! Otherwise only Non-Live cards.
All the details on each card available in the Spotlight packs and its pull rates are here:
Hello I have been working on a new game for a month or so now and I am now showing it off.
What comes with Room 13:
- an endless hotel with spot the difference gameplay - 7 different shaders - 30 anomalies -Realistic art style
About: You are inside an endless hotel but there is a way you can escape. Search in the hallways of the hotel and find the changes within them to reach Room 13. If you find anomalies, turn around! If you think the room is normal continue to the exit. To get to Room 13. Room 13 is a small walking simulator inspired by the backrooms and liminal spaces.
What does it mean for Chapter 3 Of The Paper Trials?
this game isn't going to change any of the plans for the game and I just needed a different project to take a break from developing that. I Have started the development of Chapter 3, and it is still months away from release.
2024 is here at last and we feel like it has the potential to be a huge one in the world of Terraria! Just looking at the existing plans for Terraria development on 1.4.5 and then looking one step beyond that into (hopefully) the world of Crossplay, this year has the potential to be the most impactful year for the game and community since the release of Journey's End. Of course, there is lots to do between where we are today and reaching that potential, but our team is fired up and ready to make it happen. We hope each of you enjoy following along with us this year and here's to making 2024 one of the best years for Terraria yet!
Let's get started, shall we?
PC - RE-LOGIC
TERRARIA 1.4.5 - SLIMEVOLUTION AND AXEARANGS, OH MY!
What started as a "quick and short" update to add our side of the Terraria x Dead Cells crossover content has morphed into a much larger update that we have been working on for over a year now. The team is currently going over more plans and ideas in regards to what else might make it into 1.4.5, timelines, etc. More on that later. For now, let's take a sneak peek at another of the Tree vs Axe war prizes as well as a bit of slimy goodness!
The Axearang - slice and dice those nasty trees from a safe distance!
Slimevolution? What is this madness?!?
2024 is going to be a great one, we cannot wait to show you more from 1.4.5 in the months to come!
STEAM WORKSHOP NEWS
Click the banner above to check out the Terraria Workshop!
We have finally broken the 100,000 packs/worlds milestone in the Terraria Steam Workshop! You are missing out if you haven't taken the time to check out these amazing creations from the community.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
On top of working on the update? Preparing for some really good planning talks to go over what else needs doing for 1.4.5... and what comes next.
TMODLOADER NEWS - TML TEAM
Hello everyone!
The tModLoader team and our amazing community of contributors continue to improve tModLoader. On Feb 1st, 2024 the monthly update release of tModLoader will go live. This month's release mainly contains bug fixes.
This month we've improved support for our Apple Silicon friends, improved GoG compatibility & setup on Unix, and added compatibility for a wider array of language packs.
Modders and users should also keep an eye out for our monthly Steam announcement on the 1st where a complete listing of bug fixes and API changes for this month's release will be listed. The in-game news button on the main menu will direct you to the announcement once it is live.
As always, if you are having issues of any sort, definitely don't hesitate to check out our FAQ on github or reach out to us at our Discord.
TMODLOADER STEAM WORKSHOP
The TML Steam Workshop has over 6000 mods for you to enjoy! Coupled with the in-game mod browser, the TML Steam Workshop is a great way to explore what modded Terraria has to offer - check it out today by clicking the banner above!
WHAT'S NEXT FOR TML?
More features, continuing to evolve and grow what TML can do... and getting ready for 1.4.5.
As always, you can keep track the current progress and much more in real time at tModLoader/tModLoader (But note that the completion percentage doesn't mean anything, because issues and PRs don't have weights.)
PlayStation, XBOX, Nintendo Switch, Mobile - DR STUDIOS
Here we are, back again with the latest in regards to development on the Console and Mobile side of the house. One of the focus areas of 1.4.5 has wound up being in the QOL space - ways of making things that might be tedious or cumbersome less so. One great example is the collection and storage of dropped items, be they something like fallen stars or even an AFK farming setup. The team has introduced the Hopper for that very purpose. Shall we see it in action?
Picking up your drops and placing them in chests is SO 1.4.4...
Until next time, Console & Mobile friends - thanks for all of your love and support!
COMMUNITY
Greetings Terrarians!
Here's the latest and greatest happenings on the Community side of things. Thanks as always for being the most engaged and awesome gaming Community ever!
TERRARIA MERCHANDISE HUB
The Terraria merchandise hub is where you can find all of the latest and greatest Terraria merchandise all year round - with new stuff arriving all of the time! Check out the latest merch drops as well as some classics and pick up that epic Terraria gift for a friend (or yourself!).
TERRARIA X MADRINAS - LIFE FRUIT MANGO LIMEADE OUT NOW!
In case you missed the big reveal last week, our good friends at Madrinas have released the latest in our collaboration - Life Fruit Mango Limeade Charged Refresher. Maybe coffee isn't your thing but you are still looking for that energy boost? This should do the trick!
Pick up yours today by clicking the banner above!
DRYAD PIN JUST LAUNCHED BY EIGHTY SIXED
Eighty Sixed are back again with yet another stylish pin! The Dryad is trying out a whole new hairstyle and we are kind of digging it.
Here we are again with the latest "Designer Diary" entry from the lead designer for Terraria: the Board Game - Chris Kingsnorth. Let's see what he and the Paper Fort team have been up to over the last month! ---
Hello Terrarians!
Chris here, game developer at Paper Fort Games; I’m back with the first Terraria: The Board Game designer diary of 2024. This month, I’m going to be talking about our Kickstarter launch date and showcasing some of our WIP artwork for the game!
Our original aim for the board game KS campaign was March 2024. However, just like the Re-Logic team, we’re committed to ensuring that our games are as good as they can possibly be, which means spending as much time on them as they need. With this in mind, we’ve re-evaluated our timeline and are shifting the date of our Kickstarter campaign to May 2024. This allows us to add more content, carry out additional playtesting and plan extra community-focused activities to run during the campaign. It also gives us the ability to share more of the game’s artwork with you; read on for some such artwork and an explanation of how we go about reimagining the world of Terraria for tabletop.
Painting the World of Terraria When you’re designing a tabletop game, much like the early stages of videogame design, you need a functional prototype, but it’s not always the prettiest. It has to contain all of the necessary elements, but much of the ‘artwork’ is basic. In the example below, you can see three of our Biome Tiles (in this case, forest surface tiles). In the board game, you’ll use these tiles to generate your world, then explore it. At the top of the image, you’ll see my early prototype tiles, with basic shapes and pixel assets borrowed from the videogame.
Once we’re happy with the layout and function of the component, it’s time to pass it over to someone with much more artistic talent than me. In this case, it’s our fantastic artist George Doutsiopoulos. I create a detailed art specification for each component, with reference images (such as pixel sprites from the videogame) and George produces some basic sketches of the asset. We then discuss any changes that need to be made and I make a second art specification with additional information, such as texture and colour palette references.
George then moves on to painting the assets; for me, this is the most exciting part of the process. I always look forward to receiving the painted images and I’m always blown away by what George can create. Even at this stage, the painted tiles (bottom row) look great, but they aren’t finished; we’ll discuss and make changes as required. There will still be finishing touches added once the necessary game icons and other elements have been placed. We are constantly altering and iterating on the artwork for the perfect balance between aesthetics, function and faithfulness to Terraria.
George has been working on some other artwork, including additional layer backgrounds and icons; you’ll find some more of these below.
We’re going to be getting lots more artwork back over the next few weeks, and we can’t wait to share it with you!
---
Don’t Miss Out! If you haven’t already, sign up at Get Ready for ⛏ Terraria: The Board Game! and be sure to click through to the Kickstarter ‘notify me’ page. We’d be very grateful if you could share the link with fellow Terrarians via social media; you’re always welcome to tag us in using @paperfortgames. You can also follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
In case you missed the big reveal, be sure to take a minute to read our post about Terraria - The Board Game, which contains details about timing, how it will be sold, and more!
The Terraria community is filled with incredible fan media. We love to browse Terraria associated social pages and check out the creative minds sharing wonderful creations. We wanted to spotlight some of the trending media that caught our attention this month. Please let us know if any of the shared media has a different original creator.
(CLICK A GIVEN IMAGE TO HEAD OVER TO THE THREAD WHERE WE SAW IT)
FAN ART & BUILDS by Mihael
by MihaDaCaterKiller
by Orange
by Kanggereo Defansa
by DoTExclamation
by Samalu Sketch
by rageman
by Mission_Pomelo4022
by Toastie-V
by vincent__dang
by Suweeka
by SnookyZun
by yangtoufu
A NEW GRAND PRIZE WINNER ON THE TERRARIA DISCORD SERVER
We Have Another Winner - Grand Prize Claimed on Terraria Discord Server! Congratulations go out to qrop aka Halcyon on being an epic Terrarian!
Let us put our hands together and give a massive round of applause to Halcyon for winning the grand prize available in the official Terraria Discord server prize shop. Halcyon earned 2.5 million prize points and used all of them to unlock The Winner role and some incredible prizes including signed merchandise, Terraria collectibles, and much more.
As many of you know, the official Terraria Discord server has its very own prize shop with some epic swag. 24/7 you can log into our Discord server and participate in events, trivia, epic battles, and other fun activities to win prizes. Come stop by the official Terraria Discord server and participate in our fun activities and let us see if you have what it takes to top our activities Leader Board!
Until next time, Terrarians - we hope you have an amazing month, and we look forward to bringing you the latest and greatest next time!
Hello I have been working on a new game for a month or so now and I am now showing it off.
What comes with Room 13:
- an endless hotel with spot the difference gameplay - 7 different shaders - 30 anomalies -Realistic art style
About: You are inside an endless hotel but there is a way you can escape. Search in the hallways of the hotel and find the changes within them to reach Room 13. If you find anomalies, turn around! If you think the room is normal continue to the exit. To get to Room 13. Room 13 is a small walking simulator inspired by the backrooms and liminal spaces.
What does it mean for Chapter 3 Of The Paper Trials?
this game isn't going to change any of the plans for the game and I just needed a different project to take a break from developing that. I Have started the development of Chapter 3, and it is still months away from release.
English ############Content################ [Sealed Palace - Floor of Water]You can now do some fishing here. [Qinuyi]New Location: Cave of Dreamers [Butterfly]Once you have visited the Cave of Dreamers, you can teleport there from Qinuyi. [Butterfly]Added butterfly support to teleport out from the Cave of Dreamers. [Cave of Dreamers]Depending on whether you enter the cave during the day or night, you will end up in different locations in the cave. Butterfly Wings also respects this rule. [Cave of Dreamers]Added to relatively easy puzzles. [Item]New Medicine: Eloquoria (Cure Silence and Fear. It's now sold in many different hospitals.) [Marinas]Added a hospital sign on the hospital building. [Lost in the Sand]If you ally with the Illuminati, when you besiege the Black Pyramid, the Illuminati Quartermaster outside the Black Pyramid now also sells Eloquoria. [Item]Reduced the price of RPG missiles. ############DEBUG################ [Lost in the Sand]Fixed a typo in Chinese localizations. (Thanks to 渺兔's streaming ) 简体中文 ############Content################ 【封印宫殿-水之界】你现在可以在这里钓鱼。 【奇努伊】新地点:梦幻洞窟。 【蝴蝶之翼】在你访问过梦幻洞穴后,可以从奇努伊传送进去。 【蝴蝶之翼】加入了传送除梦幻洞穴的支持。 【梦幻洞穴】白天和夜晚进入后出现在洞穴中的地点会不同。蝴蝶之翼传送进去的时候也是。 【梦幻洞穴】加入了两个较为简单的谜题。 【物品】新的药品:埃洛科里亚 (治疗沉默和恐惧。现在在各大医院有售。) 【玛丽娜斯】在医院建筑上加入了医院的标记。 【迷失于沙粒中】在和光照派结盟的路线中,当你围攻黑暗金字塔的时候,在黑暗金字塔外的光照派军需官现在也会贩卖埃洛科里亚。 【物品】降低了RPG火箭弹的价格。 ############DEBUG################ 【迷失于沙粒中】修复了一处在中文文本中的错别字。(感谢渺兔的直播)