Earlier this week, I built a new computer with parts purchased from newegg (and an SSD and HDD I had sitting around). The parts I got include the following:
CPU: AMD FX-4100 4 Core (3.6 GHz) $109.99
MOBO: MSI 760GM-E51 $69.99
MEM: Patriot 1333 DDR3 4x4GB $69.98
CASE: Antec Three Hundred + 430W PSU $69.99
HDD: 1TB (not sure of the details)
SSD: Intel 160GB
DVD+RW stolen from my old Compaq
The total cost including shipping but not the drives came to $327.28. I installed Ubuntu 11.10 on the SSD and I use the HDD for minecraft server backups (daily at 3am). One of the first things I did after putting everything together was to overclock the CPU to 4.0 GHz by increasing the multiplier from 18x to 20x. There's something satisfying about having a computer running at 4 GHz. I haven't had a chance to play on the Minecraft server much, but it appears to be a bit better than my old machine which only had 2GB of DDR2 and an old Athlon X2 5000.
Running a Terraria server on my linux machine is a new thing for me, so I don't have all the scripts in place yet. However, I found it relatively simple to get TShock to work by just installing the new version of the mono runtime. Once I get my scripts in place to make it easier for me to start and stop my two terraria worlds remotely, I'll consider posting a version of the script for other people to use if they are interested.
As those who have been watching my stream know, I've been playing Terraria a lot lately. It's a really fun game with a lot depth and tons of things to find. I personally try to explore and discover things on my own, but there are occasions when I need a little extra help to understand what something is. At times like that I have gone to the Terraria Wiki from wikia. In it's current form, it essentially has all of the essential information, but I think that the organization is somewhat lacking. If you don't mind doing a bit of hunting, you can eventually find what you are looking for.
However, I just now found the official Terraria Wiki, which seems to have a much better organization than the one I've been looking at. I haven't used it much so I can't comment on the completeness of the information, but it should be a good resource nonetheless. So for all of you Terraria players, check them out.
So I've really started liking Terraria and wanting to be able to play with my friends. After playing the game shortly after launch, I've been somewhat disappointed in the server software that is available at this point. However, the developers have said that they are going to eventually release separate server software so that people can run dedicated servers. I for one hope that some software is released for Linux because I personally much prefer running servers on Linux. In addition, they intend to allow for easier joining of games using the Steam API, which would mean you could click on a friend to invite him to your game or join his game. To read more that was said by the developer that goes by the name "Blue" read this forum post.
I decided to pick up a game I saw on Steam today called Terraria. It looked quite interesting being a side scrolling platform type game, but with elements of construction and harvesting. In a way it's very similar to Minecraft, but in only 2 dimensions. You can still build enclosures through the use of wall blocks and they feel a lot like a home you might find in an NES platformer. You can even place tables, and ledges and other things to decorate your homes.
Another good thing about the game is that there seems to be a large variety of enemies to fight in the world. The first thing I found was a green slime, and I hit it a few times to kill it, granting me some coins. Terraria also has some sort of economy built in. I've heard rumors that you can somehow create rooms and have NPCs appear in them that will buy and sell things with you by exchanging currency you get from killing things.
Another feature I enjoy is the large variety of weapons available to use. I logged into my friend's server shortly after installing the game to find people running around with tons of different weapons that I didn't expect. I felt overwhelmed in that world however and left shortly after to explore things a bit on my own single player world. There is a helper guy that starts with you that gives you some idea of how to get started. He recommends you chop down some trees and set up a workbench to craft more complicated designs on. I only had a short time in which I could play the game, so I barely scratched the surface of the many many items there are to craft. This is definitely a game I'll be playing more in the future.
For your information, this is the trailer for the game:
