Curse

Today we have a map feature by TerrariaOnline forum member PuLSe, but it's not your typical map. It's a world that was collaborated on by many people from at least 10 different countries. The CraTer vs. The Valley is a map that is all about building monuments, giant statues, and other pixelated wonders.

It's also filled with great architecture and underground villages. The world is divided in two, with the CraTer to the west and the Valley to the east. The CraTer is full of monuments to evil creatures like dragons, spiders, and snakes. It's also home to the Gauntlet. The Gauntlet is an underground area that tests your survival skills. It's very tough to get through and survive, but it's fun to see how far you can get. Of course, there is a bed at the beginning to conveniently set your spawn point to. The CraTer is also home to PuLSe's Worm Pit, it's this arena that the world was started with and became something much bigger. The Worm Pit is a neat little arena to fight bosses in, and there are boss summoning items just waiting for you to use them.

The Valley is more peaceful, filled with villages and monuments to gods and other deities. The architecture in the Valley is well thought out and very nice to look at. The use of a pseudo 3-D perspective on buildings make them really stand out. There are some really talented artists building towers and buildings in the Valley. Even the spiral staircase that you can see in the video above is really neat. Whoever built it used planked walls instead of actual wooden platforms on one side and it gives the stairs an awesome 3-D effect.

It's really fun to just explore the large world and see what is all over it. There is even a hefty amount of architecture and statues underground. You never know what you'll come across as you explore, if you are not surprised by the amount of content that is packed into this world I don't know what would. To truly appreciate everything that is built on this world, you should open it up in a world viewer or in TEdit, some things are better seen from a distance like those programs will let you do.

This map was built by quite a few people from all over the world, but it' was started by PuLSe and he also hosts a server of this map. I asked PuLSe some questions and he was kind enough to answer:

ahamling27(AH): This map didn't start out as a collaboration, so how did it turn into one?
PuLSe(P): It was Dralger who egged me into posting in the first place - I really didn't know anything about this forum or any others for that matter. The immediate friendly and helpful feedback I got from forum users here encouraged me to improve the Worm Pit. Once it was finished, it got the attention of Kkslida - he volunteered to add the three original bosses and that led me to look for others to contribute. Without Kk's additions, it's doubtful that others would have agreed - he really deserves the credit for making this happen the way it did. After that, I started sifting through the forum looking for the best builders and I was pretty stunned and gratified to see that most of them agreed to take part immediately - oSIVo was the first, followed by Kieve. I'm still kinda stunned by it. I had never participated in an online forum before, and I'm still grateful for all the positive feedback and participation I've gotten here - it's been an experience I will never forget.

(AH): There are many contributors to this world, are you still accepting new contributors?
(P): Oh, indeed! I've seen many who play for a while and lose interest, some who stay with it, and it's always rewarding and interesting for new blood to show up, whether they're new or old. I've had several new contributors in the last month who have been great fun to work with - Sercease, connery0, Rhytech, GernotTheClonkerer, geo.calin32, Novate and uiomancan come to mind. I'm always interested in working with others. I don't really feel like this is my world - I'm more the caretaker and I'm always open to new ideas and new builders. I love the energy and enthusiasm that new builders bring, and you wouldn't believe how much time I spend just going ingame, taking pictures, updating the OP, posting pics, etc. I didn't plan any of this... it just unfolded in front of me.

(AH): How much of the world was hand built, I suspect that some of it was made in TEdit?
(P): If I had to guess... I'd say it's about 85% hand built and 15% built using TEdit. When I started, I didn't know what TEdit was - I later tapped Maplestrip as my secret Yoda to help educate me. I lugged every bucket of lava from the Worm Pit from Hell (it was... Hell!). I think it was about page 12 where I finally solved my lava duplication problem - I dug 8000 ft. of 'sewers' by hand and lined with active block. I watched Kieve build his HellKeep in 2 nights - that one still boggles my mind. I'm pretty sure RainWanderer uses TEdit for her builds (I don't know how you could build such things by hand), and there are several builds I've inserted with TEdit that I honestly don't know how they were built... but most were built by hand, and too many were built rather laboriously without knowledge of duplication techniques and such. At the far left of the map, Kieve/TheKobold666 and myself even emptied that entire ocean by hand, removed the sand and lined it with silt. I've spent more than a few hours myself assisting, i.e., holding a torch and fending of mobs while others have built. It was only recently that I started using TerrariaServer, which enables me to control time of day to help the builders. I try to keep Kalvindeane working during the day as much as I can, but time zone differences can get in the way.

(AH): Where did the idea of splitting the world up into the CraTer and the Valley come from?
(P): That started with Eldo (Eldoro). I love his work and it shows - he's done a lot here. He tired of the monsters and wanted to create something more normal. His mountain/docks meant that I needed a different location, and a different theme. The CraTeR started as something much smaller until Kieve ran to the far left end to start the Hell Fortress. One of two walls that contained The CraTeR had to come down, leaving just the one. It seemed right to keep the creepy on one side and the idyllic on the other, so once Eldo started his build, The Valley was born.

(AH): I know this is still a work in progress, but do you see yourself starting over on a new world someday?
(P): That's... a good question. This is a large world, and as you know, large is pretty darned large. I've gone underground in The CraTeR, and there's so much room down there... I dunno when it gets finished, if there is a finish. I've certainly had ideas for builds that don't necessarily belong in The CraTeR or The Valley... I dunno. I'd love to do one that focused on airborne builds - spaceships, satellites, flying creatures and such.
This has been almost a 9 month ride and Kalvindeane is currently creating a monster of epic proportions (he's working on it by hand on the server and it will certainly have to go underground to fit - thank you TEdit when that time comes). I don't know if anyone's ever built any single creature this large with this much detail...
RainWanderer is toying with another idea for The Valley, I'm tossing ideas at Enzym in an effort to get an encore performance from him and there are a few other ideas in the works. I don't know where this ends, but it's been one fabulous ride and as long as others enjoy working on it and viewing it, I have a hard time leaving it behind.

PuLSe is continually releasing updates to this map. In fact, if you download it and open it in a world viewer you'll see projects that are still being worked on. It's really neat to be able to view a world and then a week later download an updated world and see how far certain projects have developed. It's a sight to be seen, and it goes to show you that Terraria is still just as active and fun as it always has been. 

For more information, like how to contribute to The CraTer vs. The Valley, or to download this map click here.