Terraria Techno-Babble - and stuff

Well - I ... can't do it. I've had some idea, something about "Closure" ... and putting like ... a stamp on it ... but I can't. Not right now anyway. I'll probably have to play some more Terraria and do this ... whenever.

I mean, to say that I'm "done" - that all led to me thinking ... about like ... the concept of it all. What I mean certainly is that I don't know what else to say. I suppose my biggest fail is that I could have put more emphasis and weight on the basics. But then ... I'll have to swim where MY rivers allow me ... not attempt to walk accross a highway with no legs to speak of.


Also ... my heart.
I barely can do THIS anymore.

There's a lot of thoughts ... and will. So much "to do" - and so little time "to do it". Or hands. I mean, that's like ... a thing. And ... looking at my Terraria situation makes for a neat comparison.


So, I started a fresh Character - and then generated a new world. I laid my hands on the computer and that's the seed I'm playing on now. As always I'd look around, develop visions - and then start by approximating a first best guess as what to build. Often my idea doesn't work well with the rigid structure of 'blocks' ... other times my visual and my structural thinking collide ... as either one may have taken the rod and went on a bit too far without the other ... or not far enough, who knows?
The first task is to get the NPCs housed ... with shoddy tools ... and so, maybe it's best to have a starter base and work from there, but I also noticed that things have a tendency to stick ... IRL. Though with the power of Editing a lot can be "unstuck" ... but You sit where You sit. Your habits extend from there ... as the actions we commit to need "highways" to come along ... and whenever we have to undo one in favor of another ... that's extra work unless it is done for You.

So, I gathered some wood, erected some walls, made space for three NPCs and then went into the cave. There I found a ... hut? ... in a neat spot and decided that that's where I want to build my underground base. I dug out a second room ... moved the Guide and the Demolitionist in ... and then I ... thought of it. I wrote of that. And enough time passed for me to get a Diamond Staff and Diamond Robes.

I just recently "rediscovered" the first Diamond Tree ... I have decided. I'm not sure if it was this exact one. But it's in the area and enshrining it in the build is kind of ... merely a matter of respecting its presence and locality.
I mean, it's a straight line from that other hut ... I have thus far incorporated in my build. There's three.

So, uh. I've almost caught up ... in my Master-Mode world ... to where my Expert-Mode world was/is. In Expert I've beaten Skeletron already and in Master I've beaten the Eater already. But I stick to Master Mode progression. I just recently re-enacted my Jungle trip ... so, gear down, no Bezoar ... or what it's called.
And I suppose I got out with more resources for less time spent ... all in all; Than in the Expert world.

But uh ... anyway.


The thing is ... starting with the Master Mode world ... it ... went kind of differently. Though he did survive a few in-game days, the Guide certainly did not survive the early game; And that due to a lack of housing. So, in an attempt to build 'well' ... it took a little longer for any usable housing to emerge from the rubble. And by the time I was able to actually use my Underground base as in the Expert world ... I had already beaten the Eater of Worlds there. And none of the Outposts are functional at this point. So, ... of course that.

It's the equivalent to playing the Long Game in a game of Magic The Gathering; As opposed to an aggro deck.

But IRL ... it's the long long game. Like, I've been waiting to do something with all those building blocks I've gathered ... and figure out some builds that work for me ... from amidst the pile of items at my disposal. And legit ... I'm currently building up my third ... what's the name ... Terra Boots ... with some Spectre and some Lightning boots currently in rotation.
Hmm ... I suppose I spent the last two days ... just gathering and collecting. I'm still not sure where to put what ... entirely. Between Expert and Master.


But it's nice. I mean ... in my Expert World I was thinking of beating the Eater next. I had thus far spent a lot of time in Crimson Worlds; And the Brain of Cthulu is fairly easy. The eater ... I wasn't sure. And I wanted to find confidence in fighting him; So, I started - ... well, I thought I should start with just a flat arena. And make sure that he/she/it can dig through it, so ... solid blocks. Naturally I should take care of "SOME" form of higher ground, but I made sure it can't function as a runway.
And yea, with Demon Scythe and (??? Ivy Whip? Whipthorn ... uh ...) ... I had a Flynx (???) also ... good enough.

I thought of eventually adding an overhang of solid blocks, like islands ... as to add some verticality to the fight ... that can be actuated on and off or whatever ... but uh, so ... yea. I ended up 'building' an arena rather than just attempting to flatten out the ground. It ... I like how it works with the environment where I have this little graveyard next door ... which is where I want to also have my Barkeep (is that the guy? The Eternia Crystal guy) ... so ... all in all I'm having a good time.

So, of course, for building I'm using all the tools ... and if I remember, I also switch my Hand of Creation for a Chisel or a Stepstool if I go spelunking. And ... what was I getting at?


Well - I had a thought recently that kind of ... "fused" with this ... in terms of Terraria. Like ... uhm. So ... I have my Expert world which looks a certain way. So, everything is shoddy ... more or less ... primitive, maybe underdeveloped. Later structures tend to look better ... and so, yea, I haven't come around giving it all a second pass ... with better resources. For simplicity. But that's neither here nor there. For the moment, it is what it is. In the Master World, where I took my liberties, I have some kind of alternative version. Like ... when You ask the Party Girl to switch Music ... I suppose. For which ... You'd first need the Party Girl ... also.

So, things look slightly different. I also have taken more space to first of all build a proper base ... with Loadout Units (Armor Stands and Chests) and Arsenal Storage.

Who knew ... all the shit I had ... . It's fun ... going through the chest ... "Hmm ... what's this?" and from exploding boulders to hailstorm ... oh, a flamethrower ... ...

But uhm ... yea. Thanks to whoever removed the Banner Clutter.


I have like ... at least two chests full of banners ... and then some here and there.

Anyway. So, the shoddiness ... that, in this "fused image" ... is to compare to me; My life. How things went. And the way they went, they kind of had to. Like ... the Guide needs housing if he isn't to be slain. Not that that was or is the goal ... per se ... but it is for a fact still true.
So, I would not always have the luxury to stand there and reason things out. And from when I do, I also know that sometimes You just don't have "all the facts" - and yet You have to move. So, although You know that You're missing something that might come around to bite You in the ass, You have to do something ... and so You're taking an educated guess.

So, things look the way they look - then You give it a second pass maybe. And this is where ... I see a problem. A disconnect. An error in the Matrix maybe. Well ... sure. I'm looking at two worlds I'm building from my legitimate accomplishments ... . And still, in some cases, I use them as opposites. Not to call one pure. If anything, my Master World is where it's at. I mean ... I have shroommite Plating and Pillar blocks, rainbow moss bricks ... pine ... and am currently creating a Granite Garden of sorts.

Fun Fact: I'm rocking ancient cobalt armor - which I had complete (taking the helmet from a different character) around the same time I was able to build that Jungle set.
But what's it with those helmets? I have like ... four ancient shadow armor sets by now ... well, minus the helmets.


The main difference is ... what in one sense is my entitlement to liberty, is in the other liberties that create some kind of false equivalence between the two. And ... I don't know why I'm stuck here. I mean, I can explain it away ... for myself ... like "duh" and "go figure" ... like, it's barely worth mentioning.
So, in this "fused" idea - this one makes more sense to me.

Here the Master World would be the fantasy. I mean, it does ... in fact ... resemble the Expert world rather Truthfully. Sort of. It's not quite there yet in some ways, but for what is there, it's a lot more and better ... and best of all, I can do it while I'm legitimately progressing through it legitimately. I mean, it matters for me - having the experience of a legitimate playthrough ... so, for the parts I care about.

But so, it is many things.
The Fantasy ... it's differences can be put as manifold. Not merely in presence, but in the ways that the presence came to be. I may emphasize that it's all legit ... to play with the "if" ... of the what nots ... and how You might imagine it's presence ... You may also change the context of its emergence. As a likeness.

Now, I have luck. Loot Luck. Sometimes. So, I went into the Jungle and took of my Bezoar ... to go on until I got another. After that I might visit the shimmer and then upgrade it, but ... so ... . Bee comes, I kill ... get Bezoar. Well ... long story ... short.

And it's kind of how it went the first time around. I had to get to the cavern layer ... before one would drop, I think ... so, I still had SOME fun with those nasty slimes ... but not for too long. Right around the time where I thought of needing one.

Sounds familiar? Well, what are the odds? If they so happen to be in my favor, would this be a tall ask for You to belive in? You may also just take my word for it ... but so it also happens to me IRL. That's not weird. What's the cost of a Staff in Defender Medals? Well, however, the odds that like ... 200 Defender Medals worth of Equipment just manifest out of thin air however ... well ... I'm not sure if I can put that up to "random chance".

Maybe I should really try the lottery, but then ... I was never really lucky with Gambling.


And yea. Sure. In as far as Terraria is concerned ... there is an explanation for where that Crystal stand comes from ... although there is no Tavernkeep there just yet (I wonder) ... and it's all perfectly Legit ... and sure, You might also say that it's been a matter of "Loot Luck" ... but within the confines of an absolutely legit playthrough ... it's a sign of something being fishy ... we might say.

So, put like this ... it's a thing. And it may matter to You. It's a building, a structure ... where the truth that I meant to express is ever so slightly ... different.

There so is a "Gravitas" that ... "the general perception" has ... which inevitably, perhaps, contorts the facts as some equilibrium needs to be found.

And maybe this is true ... in the greater continuum of consequences. That now ... I'm part of a riffles that course through the system demanding satisfaction. The Antagonist thereby seeks their own resolution, to which reality would have to bend - as people would also have to break in order to carry it along.
A lie ... there and then ... a horrible deception with a cost so high ... . There's a "deeper meaning" that any one might see within the picture ... through which the picture then becomes a symbol, perhaps ... at that point however being no longer the original that once was, but a representation for something else.

Like, how would Achilles feel ... when he heard about his Legacy?


Whatever he fought for ... whatever he sought ... whatever drove him ... well. For what it's worth ... not everyone can say that they're in the dictionary.

So yea, the Gravitas of our Linguistic Comprehension demands that Achiles' ... well. Be known for a certain something ... . It's not my fault ... and ... I guess, this is as close to a Retribution as that might come to at this point.

Neither one of us is guilty ... of what we were taught. But within reaso we hope to learn to redeem us from the guilt, or shame of ignorance. Right?

Well, we can hope to do better ... by the time we come around to it.


More Terraria ...

My Underground Base ... well. It was practically the first spot in the Cavern Layer ... that I found. I knew that eventually I'd have to do some digging - so, at this point I figured that I might not find a better spot any time soon. I may have dug around to check the vicinity ... but so I was also looking at a solid chunk of rock to carve into - and I had a few bombs to play with. Enough ... .
Anyway. From the back of the hut it's a straight line to some larger cave ... with another hut in it. From there it's another straight line to a spelunker cave with a stash of gold and a campfire. There I thought ... well, this would be a great place to build the Hellevator. In the end ... it wouldn't have mattered much. A bit further down come some minecart tracks ... and along those there's an opening into some cavern with a Diamond Tree in it. From within the accessed complex then a third hut becomes visible ... and ... You know the rest already.

So, while I didn't have a lot of 'needs' in terms of my Base ... and since I had some experience I meant to expand on ... I got away with fairly little space. One core philosophy is that any storage system may eventually run out of volume ... and so the first priority is to look at the structure rather than the space. But now I'm running out of space and ... so the next step is to understand the specific needs and to then find solutions. So, while I had space with no need, but also Gemtree Acorns to cultivate ... I built out a small Gemtree farm. Later I envisioned it to be "outside" ... in that cavern that my base opens into. Following that exit in a straight line leads to a Glowing Mushroom Biome. It's not the closest, but ... going on and on, there's another one with a hut in it. Is that in the generation algorithm? I mean, if it goes off a seed it may very well be that they all generate within ... some pattern? [shrugs]

I like it. But so ... this stuff is kind of ... within the odds, but ... obviously ... once the seed is set ... that's also pretty much it. In the moment I may feel like I discover something ... as a card drawn from a deck; Or a roll of the dice even. But really, it's more like the Card because ... it's there already.

So, Loot Luck in terms of Seed selection? Believable?


Well. I've been Gaslit ... into having low self-esteem. In a way I feel like Cinderella sometimes. The part where she's stuck at home and ... her relatives want to relief her of what's hers.

The fallen leafs ... tell a story.


I mean, sure ... "Random Chance" would have it that I'm so incredibly lucky ... so much in fact, that we can't call it mere Luck ... as there doesn't seem to be much "Random" or "Chanced" about it.
So, obviously there's something "fishy" - and yet I act like it's all legit.

Well, it still is as legit as it comes. And for it ... I've here been blessed. Fortune within misfortune.
Well, Project Alice had a different progression. I had a Platinum Bow before I had a Platinum pickaxe. I had too much problems ... feeling like a little bit more DPS would help. The progression is more straightforward. Fishing and overall being in the Desert Helps I suppose. Generally You'd hope for spelunker potions, crate potions, bast statues, an ancient chisel and perhaps a fishing rod. Oh, and the beach teleportation thingy. Meanwhile there's the Hellevator to build ... working towards Obsidian Skin Potion and that Pickaxe whichever one ("Evil") to mine Hellstone - by the end of which You're also well prepared for Skeletron. At least, this works well in a Crimson world because Brain of Cthulu is easy. Well, in Expert at least.

So, this is ... a different way forward. One that doesn't rely on the seed, can easily be replicated and is as straightforward as it gets.
With Ashera I ... well. It's ... interesting. I'd say that I didn't have a desert fishing spot, so ... I considered the endeavor worthless. Thus I didn't care much for the Angler either. But there's an oasis right there. So, the ability to fish in the desert alone ... wasn't the issue. It's that it's a bit out of the way ... and just sitting there, fishing, wasn't what I wanted. So, I never got around to "secure" it ... and to this point I'm not ... quite sure where to have them.

If You wanted to go mage, You'd hope for a Thunder Zapper ... I suppose. The point is ... well ... luck isn't everything. Sure.
I mean ... certainly.

But then ... how do You go forward ... in a game like Terraria?

And there's like ... a bazillion ways - all depending on different factors, Yourself included. One may feel like studying up and moving strategically. Another one may feel like just playing until something emerges.

Well, at some point Terraria may fail to be a good example. Unless we make it Hardcore perhaps.
When it comes to this and the many ways ... there are also two extremes. There's the dominant and there's the passive end of dealing with the environment. Are You the type that wants to build a castle atop a mountain, or the type that wants to turn a flat plane into a diorama?

(There are Boulder Blocks and Furniture ... that's ... my unspoken prayers were answered!)

So, here ... it's just a thing. You either feel like turning everything flat - or like adapting to the situation. But then reality sometimes is like: "Nope" ... and then You either go on trying, or You adapt. Which on the other side means ... that sometimes You just have to make something flat ... or else ... .

So, obviously ... at long last ... after the topic has been abstracted far and wide enough and is itself obliterated to its principal aspects ... the duality remains and what we can say is: Balance.


[Sigh]
What a tedious word sometimes?
I mean ... whatever.

I suppose I've said my piece ... now it's time to rest ...