Stardew Valley: A Spiritual 'Successor' to Harvest Moon

DaScorpion wrote:

That's exactly what I did as well. I can't stand having all that mess on my farm and I just want to clean it all up but I know I gotta do other objectives too. But I figured maybe getting that done early on when I don't have to worry about keeping up with people would be bet. Not sure.

You really dont need to clear the whole thing.

Clear a nice spot near your house and plant. Let the rest grow a little wild. You'll need *lots* of wood to craft and your woodlot is a resource that renews itself over time if you manage it properly.

I usually don't spend all day clearing my lot. What I'll often do is that if I get back from doing something else and I still have a bit of time before midnight, I'll run and chop a few trees or break stones until the time runs out. I've gained a few resources and my lot has gotten clearer, but I'm not doing it at the cost of other things I want to do.

Not to say that I *never* spend a day clearing, but it's usually for some purpose other than just clearing.

Yeah, I'm sure I'd get tired of just cleaning. I think I'll definitely be clearing out what's visually visible to me when I'm around my house. Just something about clutter that I'm not a fan of.

bekkilyn wrote:

Not to say that I *never* spend a day clearing, but it's usually for some purpose other than just clearing.

You don't clear to clear. You clear to harvest materials for crafting.

Jonman wrote:
bekkilyn wrote:

Not to say that I *never* spend a day clearing, but it's usually for some purpose other than just clearing.

You don't clear to clear. You clear to harvest materials for crafting.

Yep and don't forget to replant some of those seeds you get from taking down the trees.

Zaque wrote:
Jonman wrote:
bekkilyn wrote:

Not to say that I *never* spend a day clearing, but it's usually for some purpose other than just clearing.

You don't clear to clear. You clear to harvest materials for crafting.

Yep and don't forget to replant some of those seeds you get from taking down the trees.

I've got a stockpile of seeds, but the entire western half of my land is completely overgrown with trees, so I'm good for lumber for a while

Have any of you caught a sardine while fishing? The wiki says that you can get them from the ocean during the day, in all weathers and seasons. But I'm starting to suspect that they don't show up in the summer. I've fished for several mornings and I caught everything BUT sardines, including several huge tunas.

Tamren wrote:

Have any of you caught a sardine while fishing? The wiki says that you can get them from the ocean during the day, in all weathers and seasons. But I'm starting to suspect that they don't show up in the summer. I've fished for several mornings and I caught everything BUT sardines, including several huge tunas.

Caught one yesterday, while trying to get a squid in winter at night.

I finally got the entire farm cleared. The whole thing is pure white snow, except for fruit trees and one of each of oak, pine, and maple, with taps in them. I have a chest with several thousand lumber, and huge stacks of seeds if I decide to replant. (the entire western half was completely choked.)

I think I'll probably put a few more down to get some taps in them, but not for chopping. If I ever do need more lumber, I can probably just cut it from the game world -- those trees seem to automatically regrow after a month or so, and there are just tons of them everywhere.

I'm one Large Goat Milk away from getting the greenhouse up. I wish I could give them carrots or something to make them happier. They just have to be happy one time.....

I can't seem to stop catching sardines. I don't remember what I was catching in the summer, but sardines have been plentiful in the fall and winter. Catching them might also have something to do with your fishing skill. Mine's up to 9 now and they are fairly easy to catch at this point.

I only have a very small area for planting right now, but I spent some time today reorganizing the plots and making them pretty with stone paths around them and perfectly set up for the scarecrows and the best sprinklers (for whenever I can get them.) It took all (game) day, but I am very pleased with how they turned out. It is currently winter in my game and I had just harvested everything, so I didn't even have to hoe up anything to get it done. Then I went and upgraded the hoe too!

Finally bought the coop and a silo, so once it's spring and I can harvest hay, or whatever it is that goes into the silo, I'll be all ready for the chickens. Upgraded the house for the kitchen and found out I needed tons of eggs for cooking, so getting the coop moved up to being top priority.

Can't believe the stable will require 100 hardwood! I only have 4 right now and those large stumps aren't exactly everywhere. Well I'll get it eventually!

Maybe I'm just unlucky? Where exactly are you guys fishing? I've tried both docks at the beach and I get nothing but tuna and tilapia. I've read on the forums that some people have the opposite problem, they keep getting sardines and can't catch a tilapia to save their lives.

Tamren wrote:

Maybe I'm just unlucky? Where exactly are you guys fishing? I've tried both docks at the beach and I get nothing but tuna and tilapia. I've read on the forums that some people have the opposite problem, they keep getting sardines and can't catch a tilapia to save their lives.

Tilapia and tuna are definitely rarer for me than sardines, though I catch them too. I've used a bunch of spots, but my most recent where I know I've definitely caught sardines is on the docks near Willy's shop. One other thing I do is that I regularly vary how far I cast and make sure I cast to all the lines on the meter from minimum to maximum. If you always cast at maximum (for example) you may miss some types of fish.

bekkilyn wrote:
Tamren wrote:

Maybe I'm just unlucky? Where exactly are you guys fishing? I've tried both docks at the beach and I get nothing but tuna and tilapia. I've read on the forums that some people have the opposite problem, they keep getting sardines and can't catch a tilapia to save their lives.

Tilapia and tuna are definitely rarer for me than sardines, though I catch them too. I've used a bunch of spots, but my most recent where I know I've definitely caught sardines is on the docks near Willy's shop. One other thing I do is that I regularly vary how far I cast and make sure I cast to all the lines on the meter from minimum to maximum. If you always cast at maximum (for example) you may miss some types of fish.

Yup. Dock by Willy's shop.

I just caught another sardine. I was positioned on the dock in front of Willy's shop in the spot to the right of where Willy stands whenever he's out fishing. (Willy's left). The cast meter was at half. Oh and it was about 2:50pm and sunny in winter.

Every time I think I'm done I just play a little more. I'm in the 2nd year of spring and I'm going parsnip crazy. Basically growing them in mass to give them away as gifts. Grew some cucumbers and rhubarb too. The rhubarb netted me about 40k which was insane. No longer have any animals besides a duck. Did just get the void egg though. Not sure if worth it really. I'm hoping to complete the rest of the challenges by the end of the year, and be married. Not sure who too though.

Well I feel silly. I spent quite a bit of time obtaining all of the items listed for a particular bundle, and then when I went to turn it in, I realized that I only needed to turn in SOME of the items... I could've turned it in quite a while back. Oh well.

Yeah if the number of items is equal to the slots you need all of them, but some of the bundles only need 3/5, or 2/4 and such.

Also no dice on the sardine. I'm pretty sure they are simply not a summer fish.

The TV tells you the fish in the summer and where to catch them. Luckily I took a screenshot. Sadly I'm not on my computer to post it right now.

Heh, I'd give you one of mine if I could. I'm pretty sure sardines are ocean fish, and I think I remember catching them in the spring. They're pretty easy, IIRC, about the same as herring.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/gvh4zL3.jpg)

Gamasutra has a feature with the creator, focusing on that 4-year "self-imposed crunch".

(I had no idea about the dog's water bowl.)

Has anyone tried out the beta branch? I'm curious how it compares with similar systems in other games (like Minecraft or Starbound) but I don't want to accidentally end up with a wonky save file.

Watched the entire Giant Bomb Quick Look at the gym last night. Dan was falling all over himself the entire time with his enthusiasm for the game.

Doesn't mention a single time that it's a one-man production.

Oh, Dan.

Fall finally came, I immediately caught that sardine I was looking for and managed to complete all the fishing bundles. In fact I had trouble catching anything BUT sardines, seems like it just isn't a summer fish. It's now Fall 20 and I just hit 30k in spare cash, I'm saving up as much as I can to fund an expensive orchard for next spring.

Tamren wrote:

Fall finally came, I immediately caught that sardine I was looking for and managed to complete all the fishing bundles. In fact I had trouble catching anything BUT sardines, seems like it just isn't a summer fish. It's now Fall 20 and I just hit 30k in spare cash, I'm saving up as much as I can to fund an expensive orchard for next spring.

You finished all of the fishing bundles!? I can't find half the fish. I'm assuming some have to be in specific locations and such. I have the last which I thought was holding me back.

Hot tip:

Spoiler:

If you click on the cat during the pre-menu credits (the one that shows "Developed by ConcernedApe"), the cat will open its eyes / take off its sunglasses.

I'm about ready to give that Marnie a piece of my mind! I was trying to buy more chickens for my coop and went to her shop at around 2pm. She wasn't there. I came back in an hour and she was there, but was standing in her kitchen staring at the microwave. She did this for over 2 hours before I got annoyed and left.

So the next day I went back promptly at 9am when the shop opens and found a note on her register that she would be out all day. Apparently she doesn't work on Tuesdays. Or at any other time when she doesn't feel like it despite having "office hours". Grrr. Stupid lady!

Finally got the chickens at 9am on Wednesday morning.

It's so amazing all the detail that was put into this game. When I bought the chickens, I expected to just get chickens and that was that, but it turned out that I had baby chickens. Cute fluffy baby chickens! And then they grow while on your farm. That's so cool!

Chimalli wrote:

You finished all of the fishing bundles!? I can't find half the fish. I'm assuming some have to be in specific locations and such. I have the last which I thought was holding me back.

Yes, I had to read a fishing guide to do it and I knew most of the locations from starting over 3 times. I also got lucky and bought a fish I don't have access to yet from the gypsy to complete the set. The gypsy has inflated prices most of the time but her stock is useful for community bundles.

Here are some general tips I wish I had known when I started and that the game doesn't explain:

1. There are 5 distinct fishing zones, the forest pond to the south of the farm, the mountain lake by the mines, the river that runs through town and the forest river that spills out to the sea. The pond is basically the kiddie pool, you won't get much out of it except for smallmouth bass but it's good for training. The two small ponds on your farm only give trash items afaik.

2. If you imagine fish stocks as a table there are a couple metrics that determine what you will find. Some basic fish show up all the time. Some only appear in a specific season or seasons. Some fish only show up at night or during the day. And some only appear when it rains or snows. Except for the pond there is usually one "unique" fish for each combination.

3. When trying to catch night-specific fish, day ends and nighttime begins at 6pm even if it isn't dark yet.

4. The farther your bobber lands from a walkable space, the higher quality fish you will catch. Distance has no effect on what kind of fish you get afaik however the closer to land you cast the more trash you will get. Look for locations with the maximum amount of open space and always cast your bobber as far as you can.

bekkilyn wrote:

I'm about ready to give that Marnie a piece of my mind! I was trying to buy more chickens for my coop and went to her shop at around 2pm. She wasn't there. I came back in an hour and she was there, but was standing in her kitchen staring at the microwave. She did this for over 2 hours before I got annoyed and left.

Yep, Marnie doesn't have the greatest work ethic. I really wish there was a way to ring a bell and call them over to the desk so you can buy something. Or make it so that you can buy something if the proprietor is in the building but not at the desk. Sometimes I try to buy seeds from Pierre at the last minute and find him stocking shelves instead of manning the counter. At least Clint is always available if you get into the shop before 4pm.

Once you pass a couple months you gradually learn everyone's personal schedules. Marnie isn't in on tuesday because she goes and excercises with Jodi, Robin and Caroline at the shop. On a similar note Penny teaches Jas and Vincent at the library on tuesdays. One thing I will never EVER get used to is Pierre's shop being closed on wednesdays. Grr.

You could always just shop at JojaMart.

Just started this and I have a quick question. Does it matter how much I get done each day? By that I mean is there any real time pressure or just your own intrinsic interest in making progress a quickly as possible?

This becomes relevant to me when I am wiped out but it's only 4pm and I have to decide if I should go to sleep early or eat something for a bit more energy to get stuff done. If there isn't a time constraint (countdown to failing, rent due or some such thing), I may as well go to sleep and keep the extra money/items.