An Introduction
The Minecraft modding scene is filled to the brim with all kinds of mods. Small quality of life changes, mechanical marvels, magical mysteries, all the way up to entirely new worlds. Many mods have come and gone as time goes by, and it’s natural with how old the game is, and to an extent, the modding scene. However, there are a select number of mods that have stood the test of time and continue to develop.
This brings us to the subject of today: Twilight Forest. With a mod that’s been around since 2011, it almost needs no introduction. For those that do need an introduction, Twilight Forest is a mod for Minecraft: Java Edition that adds a new forested dimension in perpetual twilight. With a slew of features such as unique treasure, new equipment with special mechanics, and a smattering of new structures, it’s the right mod for those looking to expand upon the vanilla experience in a new world.
The new Lich Tower
With Twilight Forest being as old as it is, there are features that are improved, enhanced, and polished upon over time. We see this with the Naga Courtyard as it was made larger and more intricate, and smaller feature changes such as boss death animations. As of a few months ago, the Lich Tower became the next big change to the mod, bringing with it more than just a fresh new look for the structure.
One of many, many new rooms in the Lich Tower.
There’s quite a lot to go through with this new structure, and though I am a developer of Twilight Forest myself, I need some help. So, back in the interview seat, we have one of the main architects of the Lich Tower, Killer Demon.
An Overview of the Structure
Let’s start with the overall architecture of the Lich Tower. What was the objective for the new design?
The basic premise I follow for reworking any existing content is to have as the main objective to preserve the old feature's identity. If it becomes too different or unrecognizable for long-time players I consider myself having failed, for I want players both old and new to be able to enjoy something to the fullest.
I see the Lich Tower has a new entranceway when the previous had no doors or entrances. Was this also key for the new look?
The new entrance was more so for gameplay purposes. Since this is the second dungeon, I wanted to add a small area that lets players fall back to and offer them respite when delving into this. Something most people won't notice, but that is why we've also made it so no mobs can spawn in there!
The vestibule of the Lich Tower, the way in.
How about the interior decorating, how faithful is the new design to the old, and are there any new elements of interest?
Redesigning the interior to be faithful to the old one was a big challenge that isn't to be underestimated. Everything that could be adapted was adapted. I can account for nearly every old side tower room existing in a new coat of paint in the new Lich Tower with the rework. Besides that, there are triple (and maybe even quadruple) the amount of side tower rooms that existed in the old version!
There looks to be a lot of new blocks in this structure. What inspired their creation, and which ones are your favourites?
For me, Terrorcotta did a lot of the heavy lifting. Drullkus really knocked that blockset out the park. Every single side tower room has a unique floor pattern because of them. Not one of them is the same. That says a lot when you have nearly triple digits of side tower room floors to make! One of the Terrorcotta blocks was inspired by me playing a game, seeing a tiled floor, showing it to Drullkus, and him working his magic to expand it to what it is today. He's a very artistically talented guy.
The Resident of the Lich Tower
You can’t have a Lich Tower without the Twilight Lich.
So, let’s move onto the main attraction that is the Twilight Lich. I see it has a new room and arena, how much does the fight change in the new Lich Tower?
While the overall experience may seem unchanged, it is quite interesting how much a differently sized and shaped boss room can shake things up. The boss room is bigger and there are now four pillars in it. This offers players much more manoeuvrability in a fight that is explicitly designed around players positioning themselves properly and keeping their surroundings in mind. Overall, this makes the fight much more fair for players.
Has the Twilight Lich also had some changes in the rework, and what change do you like the most?
Too many to count for a blog post with a Q&A! The main gist is that we've extensively referenced the older versions of the mod and restored a lot of mechanics that were lost to porting errors and even some no one even knew about. The fight because of this feels like he has a lot more mechanics than he originally did, but a lot of it was in fact how he was originally! Kinda confusing... Other than that, we've taken a lot of time and effort into polishing up how everything looks and functions visually. It's the smaller, subtle changes like him spawning in with a Scepter of Fortification, a slight delay on him reappearing after a teleportation, the clone's eyes being lit up, him extinguishing himself when he teleports, and so much more.
What do you say is more challenging about the Twilight Lich now?
Definitely the second phase solely by virtue of an old mechanics being restored where the Lich buffs his zombie minions if he hits any of them with one of his attacks. This can give his zombies both Speed and Strength, so it's all about positioning for the player. Either you position yourself in a way his attacks won't hit the zombies, or you damage the zombies and let the Lich finish them off so they do not get those buffs. Be smart about it!
Would you say the Lich Tower is now fit for a king, or are the rumors that the Twilight Lich is a king false?
I can neither confirm nor deny the Lich has royal blood. Mostly because he doesn't have any blood left.
Loot and Treasure
When all is said and done with the Lich Tower, there has to be something to take away from it. How much new loot is there in the Lich Tower now?
Quite a lot, really. Decorative blocks are aplenty now with it no longer just being Stone Bricks and Birch Planks. Other than that an interesting item called Exanimate Essence which has more than a few uses was added, and Flasks existing to let players carry more potion doses on them without clogging up their entire inventory.
Take a scenic tour of the Lich Tower and get rewarded for it.
Do you have a favourite treasure, and why is it your favourite?
Much like the treasure itself, I'll let my opinion be a secret!
Are there any particularly rare or secret treasures that people should look out for, and any hints about finding them?
The new Lich Tower was made with long-term enjoyability in mind. Some items and things are more rare than others, but none will lead to the players missing out gameplay-wise. While the Greater Potion Flask that doesn't break is nice, Brittle Potion Flasks are so common that you will never be left wanting which makes it little more than just a trophy.
Final Thoughts
That should be a wrap. Do you have any final words for those looking to explore these structures?
The new Lich Tower was made with long-term replayability in mind. Many, many hours have gone into features like the side tower rooms and such, making it so that players will hopefully still see new things after having already played with it for years.
And there we have it! Safe to say, the Lich Tower has been a labor of love from the development team. There’s more content to find within, so now is the right time to get in and start exploring.
To check out the reworked Lich Tower, download the latest version of Twilight Forest here. For those looking to get started with Twilight Forest on a server, take a look at our available plans, then set up a NeoForge server and follow our guide on how to install mods to your server.