Thread: Terraria 1.1 Released

Originally Posted by nroug7

Minecraft = Less enemies, more building, less need for exploration to find loot treasures and no bosses. more mod support though

Terraria = little to no mod support, a ton of enemies, a bit less building, Bosses, loot hidden in caves which you can find and adventure through and actually find cool items rather then just loot veins. Good implementation of a magic system

Minecraft is more building and gathering focused, while terraria is more combat focused and try's to be an actual game with a decent level of progression. I could say terraria is better biased on this fact, but as a PC Gamer i know how much of an impact mods have on a game. that comparison could only be made if i tried to put them in the same group though, which they are clearly not.

you didnt read my post at all did you?

are both sandbox games? CHECK
do both have combat? CHECK
do both have crafting? CHECK
do both have construction? CHECK

that's all you need to be able to compare them! Doesnt matter which is arguably better - they occupy enough of the same categories to be comparable - otherwise, following your above logic, you couldnt even compare Dune 2 with Emperor: Battle for Dune ;P

Originally Posted by Aegis

you didnt read my post at all did you?

are both sandbox games? CHECK
do both have combat? CHECK
do both have crafting? CHECK
do both have construction? CHECK

Lol I would rather beleive that the implementation of the features is key here... and btw

Are Apples and Oranges good for you? CHECK.
Do Apples and Oranges both have low fat? CHECK.
Are Apples and Oranges considered an important part of your diet? CHECK.
Are Apples and Oranges both fruit? CHECK.MATE

haha

Might as well throw my chips on the table, so long as the currency is opinion.

I feel that the two games are very similar in as far as core mechanics and the basic concept. When minecraft survival (the actual game, not creative mode) first appeared, it was unlike anything on the table for it's time, mixing an emphasis on action based gameplay with a completely malleable world created through robust procedural world generation, item/crafting based advancement and a day/night cycle of build/survive gave it a rather specific flavor that has been seldom felt in 'RPG's (the general term) since the days of the Rougelike.

I would make the suggestion that Minecraft is unique to the point where it justifies it's own genre. Terraria has all of the things mentioned, yet I would compare Minecraft in Terraria as I would games in the same genre.

All of this is to support the idea that while the two games are functionally the same in terms of core mechanics (ignoring the fact that one is 3D from the first person, and the other is a 2D plat former), their game design is very different. Minecraft is slower paced, with an emphasis on world creation and creativity. Yes, end-game content has been added, but there isn't as much variety, much less raw quantity to the content of Minecraft. Instead, an incredible level of attention to detail has been put into what content has been added, making it a rich experience. There is a pathos to breaking into a new cavern, not knowing what might be around the next corner, ears straining at all times as you fumble forward into the dark, waiting for the "pchk - hssssssssssss" to initiate a fight or flight response.

In contrast, rather than shaping the world around you, Terraria seems to be focusing more on shaping the character through empowerment. The raw quantity of items, tools, weapons, clothing, vanity items, allow you to develop a humble sprite huddled in a wooden shack, with naught but a companion guide and a set of blunt copper tools into an awesomely powerful being capable of making war upon the very forces that govern his or her plane of existance at the time and place of his choosing, be it in orbit or all the way down to the very pits of hell. There is an emphasis on narrative ... the npc's will interact with the player, but what the discuss depends on which other npc's are present, giving an impression of npc to npc interaction when they aren't busy dealing with the player. It is telling that Terraria is designed from the ground up to preserve the player's character's independently from the saved worlds. Where Minecraft is introducing it's first boss, Terraria is integrating a 'hallow vs. corruption' meta-story that doesn't really get off the ground until the original endgame content has been mastered. This is less a criticism of Minecraft as it is an example of the difference in emphasis.

I feel that both games are more rewarding in different areas, and furthermore, are so by design. To compare the two makes that which either really excels in respectively stand out, because the core concepts are so similar to each other.

Sorry C4Cypher, your post got flagged in the moderation queue for some reason. I've just sent the post live.