One of the most impressive Terraria mods has added a new controllable laser cannon that gives us huge Death Star vibes to the crafting game. Starlight River is a hugely ambitious mod project that overhauls Terraria with a wealth of new gear and enemy encounters. It’s been in development for several years, and includes a whole range of cool trickery for melee, ranged, and mage builds among other fun features for the indie game such as wall-climbing mounts.
While there’s plenty of juicy details to be found on the mod’s official forum thread and Twitter account, it’s their latest addition that’s got us really excited. The Breach Cannon is a sentry turret that can be placed on the environment and will fire a powerful laser at wherever the player’s cursor is currently pointing. That by itself is pretty cool, but it’s the ability to combine multiple beams together that gives it a real Star Wars Death Star cannon feel.
When multiple lasers cross paths, they will be combined into a death ray that increases in size and potency with every additional contributing turret. The developers showed off the cannon in action, and it looks incredibly smooth – though the team notes that the player must be actively holding the remote to aim the beam. It’s also confirmed that multiple players in co-op can “cross the streams” Ghostbusters style to maximise their damage output.
This is far from the only highlight to be found in Starlight River, however. Among the other cool features are enemies that will work together in smart ways, such as shield users that will protect archers behind them (with a clip showing the ranged enemy flipping off the back of their companion for extra height). In addition, a keyword system helps to greatly polish up item tooltips while also giving as much useful information as possible.
Check out the Breach Cannon, a sentry that launches a deadly laser towards the cursor. If multiple lasers cross, they combine into one giant laser – but be careful! You can only aim them while holding the remote. #terraria https://t.co/YblQRNKiqR pic.twitter.com/2oPYbjmgft
— Starlight River (@projectslr) August 2, 2022
There’s plenty in the works for Terraria proper, too – the Terraria 1.4.4 update is extremely close, according to developer Re-Logic, and the recent reveal of “the thing” means that your Terraria corrupted jungle woes will soon be a thing of the past. Meanwhile, be sure to check out our guide to Terraria happiness if you’re looking to set up those handy pylons, and take a look at the upcoming Farworld Pioneers for a space game twist on the Terraria model.