It is really rough starting without any pointers, since the game does kind of expect you to have a wiki open (imo). You can talk to the guide repeatedly (granted he isn't dead) and he gives you some of the picture, but not the full picture.

Usually I build houses (check wiki page for details on this since the guide does not explain it well)

-> go caving to get a few heart crystals and silver/gold armor (usually caves are accessible from the surface, break the pots too for money)

-> visit corruption/crimson to bomb 2 demon orbs/heart thingies, then gtfo

-> visit jungle for some better gear (including an ivy whip) (you may die, so put your money in a piggy bank!)

-> build boss arena (just a line or 2 of platforms with a few campfires and sunflowers works wonders) and summon him (or wait for a "you feel an evil presence" night)

-> after that, you have a pretty good basis to explore the different weapon/armor build options, go deeper in the ground, try some different events, find new accessories, etc.

Terraria is all about exploring and the main progression is tied to bosses that may need a specific place to be spawned, or are tied to some other condition. The guide does update his dialogue as time goes on, so you can keep talking to him to figure out what is next slowly. The wiki can point you in the direction of the next armor set to build, or the next accessory/weapon to try to get for your chosen archetype (which is pretty flexible, you are totally free to mix and match your weapons-- like using a summoner weapon on a melee character). And the wiki can tell you about what boss or event you should prompt next. Enjoy!

Terraria is... basically nothing like a factory game? You can do some crazy stuff with the logic gates but that is mostly a hold over from Terraria being so inspired by Minecraft. But Terraria also had an actual progression system while Minecraft was still almost entirely a sandbox game.

With Terraria? Go look up what defines a "room" (I think the next big patch will have the NPCs help you with that in game) and always have a spare "room" in any housing area. That is where new NPCs will move into.

And then just play the game. Explore caves. Look for loot. Get your poopy pushed in by a boss. Progress will unlock new NPCs who will, in turn, point you towards other activities that will reveal new bosses or encourage you to seek out and build outposts in new biomes and so forth.

Agreed!