Exilian

Off-topic and Chatter: The Jolly Boar Inn => General Gaming - The Arcade => Topic started by: The Seamstress on August 09, 2025, 02:18:55 PM

Title: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 09, 2025, 02:18:55 PM
I've been getting back into gaming recently and started playing Stardew Valley!

I thought I'd document my adventures here a bit, if that's okay! There'll be spoilers for the game so if you haven't played it and plan to, be aware of that. I try to not give away too much about how things are done, just what happens and what I encounter while becoming a virtual farmer.

I've played through the Spring season and am now on Day 1 of Summer in Year 1. Which obviously means that my precious spring crops all died overnight?!? Noooo  :'(

the crops are dead.jpg
The crops... are dead.

I spent so much money on the seeds!! That's a bummer. My beautiful beans and strawberries are gone. (And yes, that's a scarecrow.)

I'm kinda addicted to this game already, lol. I love foraging, collecting things like wood, stones, plants and other stuff. Currently I'm exploring a mine north of town, there's even monsters so I got a sword to defend myself while looking for geodes, gems and more interesting things...

Here's the inside of my house. The strawberry you see on the table is the first strawberry I ever harvested, and it now sits there, fortunately somehow magically preserved, for me to look at and be proud of. I'm saving money and collecting raw materials now to get a kitchen made by the local carpenter, that stuff is expensive...

home.jpg
Home sweet home! There's spaghetti in my inventory.

It's been very fun so far, and I've even seen a bunny! It ran from one bush to another, but hey, a bun's a bun.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on August 09, 2025, 10:25:27 PM
Quote from: The Seamstress on August 09, 2025, 02:18:55 PMI've played through the Spring season and am now on Day 1 of Summer in Year 1. Which obviously means that my precious spring crops all died overnight?!? Noooo  :'(
So it's like my real attempts st growing plants then:)

Looking forward to hearing more! SV has a whole like town & NPCs element to it too right? I've never played it myself.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 10, 2025, 12:53:30 PM
Quote from: Jubal on August 09, 2025, 10:25:27 PMSo it's like my real attempts st growing plants then:)

The game is very realistic, also considering the fact that everything's expensive and I'm currently chopping up trees all day to sell the wood and be able to afford house upgrades...!

QuoteLooking forward to hearing more! SV has a whole like town & NPCs element to it too right? I've never played it myself.

Thanks! :)

Yes, you start out with a one-room farmhouse and a plot of land but there's a town nearby full of people with different personalities who you can befriend (and apparently you can even get married, since that's one of the achievements on steam). You can talk to them and give them gifts, and they give you little quests such as "I want a cauliflower for a new recipe" or the more recent "I lost my favourite purple shorts" lol. (The latter came from the mayor and I haven't been able to find the shorts yet... There's no clue as to where he lost them! Pff.) It's quite funny. There are shops where you can buy seeds and sell crops, they have a saloon that sells food and drinks, and there are events/festivals or days when a bookseller is in town... things like that.

Apart from the town you get to explore the surroundings, there's another farmhouse with cattle, a wizard who lives in a tower (who somehow gave me a magic ability by making me hallucinate trees...), some abandoned houses, a beach, a mine, the forest etc. At the beginning of the game you can choose a landscape and I chose the forested area, so I guess there's more. And there are also wild animals, which is nice. So far I've seen rabbits and different birds!
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 10, 2025, 07:47:49 PM
Finally saved up enough to get a barn constructed. I want animals!

barn-in-progress.jpg
Barn in progress.

It was expensive... so I'm still chopping up trees (and planting new ones) and selling everything I harvest and forage so I save enough money for upgrades.

My summer crops are doing well. I saw a squirrel!
And a guy promised to put fruit bats into a cave near my house?? (I could choose to get either mushrooms or bats in there, so of course I chose the bats.)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 10, 2025, 08:48:09 PM
Behold! My brand new barn and brand new dairy cows, Queen Moo and Lady Bovine I.

I'm very proud.

cows.jpg
Moo!

I wanted sheep but apparently you have to construct a deluxe barn for those. Well then...
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on August 10, 2025, 08:54:32 PM
Quote from: The Seamstress on August 10, 2025, 12:53:30 PMThe game is very realistic, also considering the fact that everything's expensive and I'm currently chopping up trees all day to sell the wood and be able to afford house upgrades...!

Hm, yes, though not many people make a living cutting wood by hand (I did recently have some social media recommend me a lot of videos of someone cutting wood with an axe, but I suspect that the money in that person's business is coming from that being their thing on social media not from them selling the wood!)

I have also been tree-cutting, but in Return to Moria. A game which also has bats, but sadly not friendly bats. I hope your bat colony is fun! (My parents have a real life bat colony this year, I think they counted 136 soprano pipistrelles that are living in their roof).
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 10, 2025, 09:04:27 PM
Quote from: Jubal on August 10, 2025, 08:54:32 PMI have also been tree-cutting, but in Return to Moria. A game which also has bats, but sadly not friendly bats. I hope your bat colony is fun! (My parents have a real life bat colony this year, I think they counted 136 soprano pipistrelles that are living in their roof).

I googled pictures of soprano pipistrelles (what a name!), cute! :)

Collective tree-cutting and bat watching... Do you collect materials for buildings in Return to Moria too?

Here are my bats. Or rather, the fruit they kindly left for me. Look closely and you can see a pair of red eyes glinting in the darkness... Sometimes one of them flies across the cave, also they make little squeaky noises.

bats.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on August 10, 2025, 09:58:04 PM
I enjoy the idea of fruit bats that provide fruit, which I think is somewhat the opposite of how fruit bats typically work :)

Quote from: The Seamstress on August 10, 2025, 09:04:27 PMCollective tree-cutting and bat watching... Do you collect materials for buildings in Return to Moria too?
Yes, absolutely - different sorts of wood, stone, etc. You don't build buildings in the sense of having eg "a barn" as an option, it's more modular than that: you have individual segments of wall, floor, roof, etc that you can use to put buildings together, then various particular furnishings and amenities that can go inside (forges, ovens, meal tables, beds)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 10, 2025, 10:13:38 PM
Quote from: Jubal on August 10, 2025, 09:58:04 PMYes, absolutely - different sorts of wood, stone, etc. You don't build buildings in the sense of having eg "a barn" as an option, it's more modular than that: you have individual segments of wall, floor, roof, etc that you can use to put buildings together, then various particular furnishings and amenities that can go inside (forges, ovens, meal tables, beds)

Sounds really cool. I like collecting and building stuff. :) (I have RTM on my wishlist too but I'm pretty sure my laptop won't cooperate on that, I guess I'll have to wait until I get better gaming equipment!)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Spritelady on August 11, 2025, 11:19:51 AM
Having only just spotted this thread, it's possible my advice about similar games that are also excellent maybe should have gone in here, but ah well!

Glad you're enjoying SV. As I said, it's one of my absolute favourite games. And let me know if you want a hint about the purple shorts...they've ended up in a very amusing location XD
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 11, 2025, 11:43:28 AM
Quote from: Spritelady on August 11, 2025, 11:19:51 AMHaving only just spotted this thread, it's possible my advice about similar games that are also excellent maybe should have gone in here, but ah well!

Glad you're enjoying SV. As I said, it's one of my absolute favourite games. And let me know if you want a hint about the purple shorts...they've ended up in a very amusing location XD

Thank you for the advice! Will look into it :)

Yes, it's quite fun! The kind of "turn off your brain and relax" game I need sometimes. I like that you can silence the music completely btw and just have the other sounds (rain and such) because that's actually a more calming experience for me. I also really enjoy the foraging/collecting aspect of it, as I already said. (Whenever I played RPGs in the past I loved to just walk around cutting grass and finding things. Fighting monsters can wait, lol.)

I've not given up my search of the shorts yet, but thanks for the offer! Maybe I'll need the hint at some point...
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 11, 2025, 07:14:59 PM
It's autumn! I'm collecting mushrooms :)

autumn.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 11, 2025, 07:17:24 PM
Uhm...

giantshroom.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on August 11, 2025, 07:28:26 PM
Quote from: The Seamstress on August 11, 2025, 07:17:24 PMUhm...

giantshroom.jpg
COLLECT IT
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 11, 2025, 07:30:33 PM
Quote from: Jubal on August 11, 2025, 07:28:26 PMCOLLECT IT

OF COURSE

(Well, I chopped it up like a tree and it exploded into several smaller mushrooms I then could collect, lol.)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Son of the King on August 11, 2025, 09:23:18 PM
Quote from: The Seamstress on August 11, 2025, 07:17:24 PMUhm...

giantshroom.jpg
Is this as big as they can get?
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 12, 2025, 11:38:26 AM
Quote from: Son of the King on August 11, 2025, 09:23:18 PMIs this as big as they can get?

That's the biggest mushroom in the game I've seen so far. It was the only one of its kind apparently so I'm probably responsible for its extinction...
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Spritelady on August 12, 2025, 11:43:38 AM
Don't worry, you'll find more!

Which kind of farm layout did you select at the start?
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 12, 2025, 12:00:32 PM
Quote from: Spritelady on August 12, 2025, 11:43:38 AMDon't worry, you'll find more!

Which kind of farm layout did you select at the start?

That's good! More shrooms!

I'm not sure what you mean by farm layout, I'm in the forested area, is that it?
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 12, 2025, 12:21:01 PM
Time for an update (and I hope uploading the pictures works). I finally got my house upgrade! Yay! It cost 10.000 coins and required 450 pieces of wood. Phew. Worth it though.

house.jpg

I have a kitchen now where I can actually cook meals and store food in the fridge, very nice. Also I have more space for decorations and furniture.

There was some sort of fair in town where I displayed some of my foraged and harvested things, also my precious cows' milk, the mayor was quite impressed. I now own three cows and named the new one Moonique. Queen Moo is still my favourite though.

display.jpg

Speaking of the mayor... I found the purple shorts...
Spoiler
...in Marnie the cattle farmer's bedroom. Uh... why exactly did that guy ask me to find them then?? Creep.
lies.jpg
Lies!
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 12, 2025, 12:28:43 PM
Harvey the town doctor likes me... ???  :-[

flirting harvey.jpg

He actually seems nice though, lol.

harvey.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 12, 2025, 12:30:33 PM
I also now have a silo to store hay in, but not enough hay, so I desperately am scraping it together before winter comes. My cows have a heater in the barn to keep them warm and happy, but they need to eat! That's my next mission.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on August 12, 2025, 12:55:35 PM
Yes, starving your cows does not sound like a good plan!
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 12, 2025, 06:50:33 PM
Reporting live from the Haunted Maze, wearing my fancy new red shirt. That's Harvey right there who told me he's scared and therefore hiding. Aw. Well, I think I'll go explore the maze now.

maze.jpg

I acquired around 200 bales of hay (240 fit into the silo) and I hope it's enough. Hopefully I can buy some more if not... My cows eat a lot, but it pays off. I can sell the milk for a good price! Invest in dairy cows, friends!
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 12, 2025, 07:33:58 PM
Winter!! Why don't I have winter clothes?

winter.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on August 12, 2025, 08:39:33 PM
QuoteReporting live from the Haunted Maze, wearing my fancy new red shirt.

Has your character never seen or heard of Star Trek, or are they just keen not to survive the maze? :o
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 12, 2025, 08:59:21 PM
Quote from: Jubal on August 12, 2025, 08:39:33 PMHas your character never seen or heard of Star Trek, or are they just keen not to survive the maze? :o

I just pretend I'm Scotty, "the only guy in a red shirt that doesn't die", lol. I survived the maze btw, no problem. The scary things were all harmless props and I even found a golden pumpkin in a hidden chest! I fear no maze!


I just got a fourth cow, named Cowmilla, the barn is now apparently at maximum capacity. Next goal: saving for a big barn so I can get sheep (?). That thing is even more expensive than the house upgrade and I'm low on money because I can't grow crops in winter. Selling wood, stones, and homemade jam from the fruit storage... and milk! But it's gonna be tough.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 13, 2025, 09:04:32 PM
I now have a big barn! Which unlocked goats (I can't afford one yet). Still no sheep though. Apparently "deluxe barn" is not the same as "big barn" like I've previously assumed. And after consulting the carpenter, I now know that a "deluxe barn" costs 25.000 coins, 550 pieces of wood, and 300 pieces of stone. Are you kidding me?? I worked so hard for the 12.000 coins + materials the big barn cost... Argh. Sheep are a luxury item in this game it seems.

I might get another cow in the meantime though. Once they're grown up and happy and give you larger amounts of milk, that's a sure way of making a good sum of money every day. (Like I said, invest in dairy cows, friends!)

I discovered that the wild bunnies in winter are white! So cute!

The shop keeper sent me a letter informing me that if I had any romantic interests in town I could now buy a bouquet of flowers at his shop to give to my chosen person. Interesting.

Also upgraded two of my tools (axe and pickaxe), got two fermentation thingies to make jam/jelly, and have divided my possessions into three separate chests in my house, one for seeds and fertilizer, one for decorative stuff and clothes, and one for everything else. Very practical. The fridge is full of food, too.

I love digging for treasures in the mine, but the monsters are so utterly annoying. There's one type of monster that's THE WORST, some buzzing insect type thing that attacks you from all sides and does quite some damage when it hits you. Leave me alone! I just want to break stones with my pickaxe and find gemstones and geodes!

Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on August 13, 2025, 11:26:51 PM
Quote from: The Seamstress on August 13, 2025, 09:04:32 PMOnce they're grown up and happy and give you larger amounts of milk, that's a sure way of making a good sum of money every day.
Have you ever seen the Mitchell & Webb farming sketch? If not, remind me to dig a YouTube link out for you :)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 15, 2025, 08:47:10 AM
Quote from: Jubal on August 13, 2025, 11:26:51 PMHave you ever seen the Mitchell & Webb farming sketch? If not, remind me to dig a YouTube link out for you :)

I haven't! I'll remind you :)



More News from Stardew Valley:

Got another cow, named Bovinia. That's the fifth cow I own and I'm quite happy with them. Still saving for the deluxe barn, almost halfway there!

In the meantime I completed a few little quests for the townsfolk (gifting an amethyst, delivering hardwood to the carpenter, giving a cave carrot to Marnie, who wanted it for her goats...). Harvey is now my bf <3 lol. I got another item chest in my house to store my growing stock of jam/jelly, the fruit bats deliver fruit even in winter which is very nice (though there's not as much as in summer).

I'm collecting copper ore and coal to smelt copper bars, which then can be turned into iron bars, needed for all kinds of crafts and upgrades. I really hope I can get sheep soon... Another goal: getting a chicken coop. This is not as expensive as the barns but still...
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 15, 2025, 08:56:33 AM
Some Harvey lore:

Spoiler
I walked in on him participating in a dance aerobic class at the shopkeeper's house, lol. I had to promise to not tell anyone. Which makes zero sense because a lot of other townspeople were there, too?? Oh well.
harv.jpg
There was a cutscene so technically I had no choice...
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on August 15, 2025, 10:59:54 AM
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 15, 2025, 11:41:55 AM
"Look at all this milk. I'm gonna make a f***in' fortune!" Yes indeed, lol.  ;D

(Thanks for the link!)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on August 15, 2025, 11:48:53 AM
Actual farming of course has raaaaather weaker profit margins than our games, as I understand!

(My Moria farm can be harvested once or twice an ingame day for the core crops, which, uh, yep, that would create much higher productivity than a real farm gets!)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 15, 2025, 12:01:21 PM
Wow, daily crops... that's quite a lot indeed! My Stardew Valley crops take some time to grow, and it's different for every kind of crop - usually a few ingame days, but the seasons are about 30 days each, so it's a bit more realistic I guess!
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 15, 2025, 10:03:04 PM
Aaand we're back to spring! Year 2 has now begun. I constructed a stone wall instead of the wooden fence around the barn, since the fence broke in winter... The cows are happy to be outside again. Their milk is really valuable now. I'm so proud of my little farm!

spring2.jpg
Rain means I don't have to water the plants. Nice!

I finally can grow crops again, this time it's beans, potatoes, garlic, and some other stuff I forgot... Also again some mystery seeds I found while foraging, and an "ancient seed" that's even more mysterious. I'm curious to learn what will grow! I also purchased an orange tree sapling as well as an apple tree sapling, and am now continuing my quest to save up money for the deluxe barn and the chicken coop...

Some skills were automatically upgraded and I have a handful of new stuff to craft (a loom! I need sheep asap!!)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 16, 2025, 04:53:17 AM
THERE SHE IS!! My very first sheep! Her name's Baarbara and I love her.

sheep.jpg
She's a perfect little sheep.

I got the deluxe barn, finally, which unlocked sheep and pigs. One sheep is 8000 coins, a pig costs 16.000... I prefer sheep anyway... Maybe I'll get a goat soon. But the chicken coop still is next on my list.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 16, 2025, 11:52:52 AM
It was the annual Egg Festival, and they had a plush bunny for sale. OF COURSE I bought it.

bun.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 16, 2025, 01:38:57 PM
Baarbara gave me some wool, which I then made into cloth, which can be used to make clothes!!

The local dressmaker, Emily, now lets me use her sewing machine, which is fun. You can combine cloth and random items and get surprise clothing. A tulip + cloth produced a pink skirt, for example.

sewing2.jpg
The little sewing nook in the dressmaker's house!

sewing.jpg
Experimenting...

More news:

I now have a chicken coop! Time to get some chickens.

I'm engaged to Harvey <3

I'm getting an upgraded pickaxe soon so hopefully I'll be able to break previously unbreakable rocks.

I can make cheese now!! :)

Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on August 16, 2025, 10:58:14 PM
Quote from: The Seamstress on August 16, 2025, 01:38:57 PMI can make cheese now!! :)
This is a VERY important moment in any crafting game :)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 17, 2025, 04:23:52 PM
Quote from: Jubal on August 16, 2025, 10:58:14 PMThis is a VERY important moment in any crafting game :)

cheeses.jpg
Behold! The Cheese!
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 18, 2025, 05:59:45 AM
Sooo! More News from Stardew Valley. (This game is so addictive.)

Uh... Reader, I married him. (He now lives on the farm too.)

loyal.jpg

He's actually a good husband. Helps around the farm despite still being the town doctor. Thanks, Harvey! <3

I had a chicken coop and a shed constructed, the latter for all the tools used in food processing, like the cheese press. They were cluttering my house already.

I now own a lot of animals, as follows:
3 chickens - Henrietta, Eggwina, and Bokbok
6 dairy cows - Cowmilla, Bovinia, Lady Bovine I., Moonique, Queen Moo, and Baby Moo (who was a surprise because one of the cows gave birth?? I can't remember clicking on that option but anyway, I appreciate the extra milk)
3 sheep - Baarbara, Baathseba, and Hephzibaa
1 cat - Gandalf

The sheep are my absolute favourites, of course.

I have a bee house now, so I also get honey!

I further explored the mines and got a reward for slaying a certain amount of monsters: a new weapon that's very effective and therefore the whole exploring got a lot more manageable and less frustrating.

mines.jpg
The icy depths...

The deeper you go into the mines, the more interesting the items you find are, so I'm having fun. Found tons of gemstones, geodes, ore, coal, etc. And the monsters drop stuff too. I encountered slime blobs, unfriendly bats, worms, ghosts, and some others... Only downside is that I never have enough exploring time because I have to take care of the farm in the morning and then get out of the mine and back home before midnight.

And there are dwarves?? I met one. Talks a language I don't understand. I also found some artefacts of dwarven origin I donated to the town museum. Very mysterious.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on August 18, 2025, 08:40:57 AM
Quote from: The Seamstress on August 18, 2025, 05:59:45 AMBaby Moo (who was a surprise because one of the cows gave birth??)
Do... do you even own a bull?

Quote from: The Seamstress on August 18, 2025, 05:59:45 AMAnd there are dwarves?? I met one. Talks a language I don't understand. I also found some artefacts of dwarven origin I donated to the town museum. Very mysterious.
I was not aware this game had dwarves in it! I look forward to hearing more :)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Spritelady on August 18, 2025, 11:09:50 AM
This has been a fascinating read for me, as someone who has played several hundred hours of SV.

I almost always get a chicken coop first and work towards the barn later, I've never thought to do it the other way around (although I generally do tend to start at the top of lists and work my way down when it comes to buying any form of upgrade/building/animal etc). There's no reason why you can't, it just didn't occur to me. In a similar vein, I also tend to buy the basic version of all the buildings and then work towards progressive upgrades, rather than upgrading one building fully and moving on to the next. I'm now really interested to know which method is more common.

Making cheese is a much better way of making money than just selling milk - I strongly recommend building enough machines to allow you to load most (if not all) of your milk on the day you get it. The first time I played, I just made one of every machine and processing goods took an inordinate amount of time. Don't know why I never considered having multiple machines XD

Have you investigated the Community Centre at all yet? :D that bit is one of my favourite elements of the game
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Spritelady on August 18, 2025, 11:11:38 AM
Oh! Forgot to say: I believe there is an option to turn off your animals producing baby animals every now and then, but the default setting is that they can reproduce (somewhat miraculously), which can be frustrating if you run out of space, but usually they don't reproduce very quickly
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 18, 2025, 08:04:10 PM
Quote from: Jubal on August 18, 2025, 08:40:57 AMDo... do you even own a bull?

There are no bulls in this game as far as I'm aware. Parthemoogenesis.

QuoteI was not aware this game had dwarves in it! I look forward to hearing more :)

What would a mine be without at least one dwarf, lol. I'll keep you updated!
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on August 18, 2025, 08:11:21 PM
Quote from: The Seamstress on August 18, 2025, 08:04:10 PMParthemoogenesis.
*applause*

Quote from: The Seamstress on August 18, 2025, 08:04:10 PMWhat would a mine be without at least one dwarf, lol.
And they call it a mine. A mine! :gimli:
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 18, 2025, 08:12:40 PM
Quote from: Spritelady on August 18, 2025, 11:09:50 AMI almost always get a chicken coop first and work towards the barn later, I've never thought to do it the other way around (although I generally do tend to start at the top of lists and work my way down when it comes to buying any form of upgrade/building/animal etc). There's no reason why you can't, it just didn't occur to me. In a similar vein, I also tend to buy the basic version of all the buildings and then work towards progressive upgrades, rather than upgrading one building fully and moving on to the next. I'm now really interested to know which method is more common.

I wanted sheep so badly, so as soon as I realised you get them with the barn upgrades, I worked towards that. Chickens weren't a priority so I got them later!

QuoteMaking cheese is a much better way of making money than just selling milk - I strongly recommend building enough machines to allow you to load most (if not all) of your milk on the day you get it. The first time I played, I just made one of every machine and processing goods took an inordinate amount of time. Don't know why I never considered having multiple machines XD

Yeah that's why I got that shed now, so I can place more machines in there :) I already had three of those jam/jelly making barrels and one cheese press, and I'm planning to get a lot more.

QuoteHave you investigated the Community Centre at all yet? :D that bit is one of my favourite elements of the game

I've been there once or twice, but haven't properly thought about what to actually do there... I'm so busy collecting stuff and upgrading things and tending to the farm, but the Community Centre is on my to do list, of course. I'm currently obsessed with exploring the mines though ^^

Quote from: Spritelady on August 18, 2025, 11:11:38 AMOh! Forgot to say: I believe there is an option to turn off your animals producing baby animals every now and then, but the default setting is that they can reproduce (somewhat miraculously), which can be frustrating if you run out of space, but usually they don't reproduce very quickly

Oh I didn't know, thanks for the info!
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 18, 2025, 08:14:11 PM
Quote from: Jubal on August 18, 2025, 08:11:21 PM*applause*

*bows*

QuoteAnd they call it a mine. A mine! :gimli:

lol
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 18, 2025, 11:22:36 PM
A HORSE. I have a horse now! You can even ride it! Finally a faster mode of transportation, I'm terribly slow on foot. I named it Horsington btw.

horse.jpg

That fence was probably unnecessary because unlike the farm animals, the horse doesn't seem to wander around, but let's just leave it there for the ~ aesthetic ~.

omg.jpg

Wheeeeee
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 19, 2025, 05:15:52 AM
I gave the dwarf a hazelnut as a gift, and this is what they said. I wish I knew what it meant and if they even liked the hazelnut... I want to be friends!

dwarverish.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on August 19, 2025, 09:56:11 AM
Aw, the dwarf looks like a jawa :)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Spritelady on August 19, 2025, 11:09:00 AM
I promise you can in fact translate the dwarf language. Exploring the mines is a good way to work towards this goal, as is digging up lots of the little worms that appear around the place. Lots more of these will appear in winter (I think to make up for the lack of crops and reduced foraging)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Spritelady on August 19, 2025, 11:19:15 AM
Also did you know that you can play it multiplayer? It's super cute, you all get your own house on a big farm map
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 19, 2025, 05:49:18 PM
Quote from: Jubal on August 19, 2025, 09:56:11 AMAw, the dwarf looks like a jawa :)

I had to look that up (am not really knowledgeable in Star Wars matters) but you're absolutely right!
This dwarf is quite cute I think :) (The little ears on the hood! Adorable!)

Quote from: Spritelady on August 19, 2025, 11:09:00 AMI promise you can in fact translate the dwarf language. Exploring the mines is a good way to work towards this goal, as is digging up lots of the little worms that appear around the place. Lots more of these will appear in winter (I think to make up for the lack of crops and reduced foraging)

Good to know, thanks! I suspect it will be some item(s) I find, so I guess I keep exploring. I made it down to level 80-ish in the mines recently, it's currently my favourite part of the game. I love finding cool rocks and mysterious items :)

Quote from: Spritelady on August 19, 2025, 11:19:15 AMAlso did you know that you can play it multiplayer? It's super cute, you all get your own house on a big farm map

That's the coop option in the start menu, isn't it? Sounds fun actually! If you'd like to play together some time, let me know. :) Maybe we can convince Jubal to join too, now that he knows there's cheese and dwarves, lol.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on August 19, 2025, 07:22:58 PM
Quote from: The Seamstress on August 19, 2025, 05:49:18 PMMaybe we can convince Jubal to join too, now that he knows there's cheese and dwarves, lol
I am probably convinceable with cheese and dwarves, yes:)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 19, 2025, 07:24:46 PM
Quote from: Jubal on August 19, 2025, 07:22:58 PMI am probably convinceable with cheese and dwarves, yes:)

See? I knew it.  :)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 20, 2025, 09:46:41 PM
Another year, another Stardew Valley Fair. This time I won 2nd place with my display of farm goods! Yay!

town fair.jpg
Milk, cheese, honey, fruit jelly, apple, mayonnaise, wool, cloth, more honey

I'm at level 100 in the mines, the monsters are getting more annoying again, but the treasures are more interesting... My gemstone collection is growing. I also found another dwarven scroll, that makes three. I wonder how many there are.

One huge improvement is a device that automatically collects the milk and wool from my animals and I can just pick it all up at once. That thing was really expensive but so worth it, saves a lot of time and hassle with the cows (the sheep weren't as bad).
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 20, 2025, 11:14:32 PM
Back to winter. I finally own some more appropriate clothes... Having my character walk around in a short-sleeved shirt and skirt during winter felt so wrong, lol. Also look at Horsington! Isn't he cute?

winter2.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 21, 2025, 08:03:26 AM
Reached the bottom level of the mines! Got a mysterious item I don't know what to do with yet, but I hope to find out. There are a lot more items to find in there I guess, because you can donate them to the town museum and there is a lot of space still left unoccupied where items need to go. I found a few dwarven artefacts and a lot of gemstones/minerals so far.

I purchased a goat and a pig, named Goatzilla and Grunter. Goatzilla is giving me milk (which can be made into cheese), but I'm not sure what to do with Grunter yet. He doesn't do anything? Somehwere it said you can train the pigs to find truffles (?). We'll see.

crowd.jpg
It's getting a bit crowded in here.

We had another parthemoogenesis incident, which means I now own another cow, Baby Bovine. (I haven't figured out how to stop them from randomly multiplying, but again, I don't mind the extra milk/cheese.) Maybe I should get a second barn...

Next I'll probably look into the Community Centre mystery, and save up more money for upgraded tools and stuff.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on August 21, 2025, 10:37:53 AM
I mean I presume Stardew Valley doesn't require you to actually do the normal thing with your pigs (that is, butcher them), or it'd be a bit awkward for its nominally cosy vibe...
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 21, 2025, 05:47:25 PM
Quote from: Jubal on August 21, 2025, 10:37:53 AMI mean I presume Stardew Valley doesn't require you to actually do the normal thing with your pigs (that is, butcher them), or it'd be a bit awkward for its nominally cosy vibe...

I guess... uhm. Hopefully I'll learn how to unlock Grunter's potential as a truffle detector soon.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 22, 2025, 07:51:34 AM
Farmer Grandpa's ghost appeared to me.

großvota.jpg
Why does he look like Santa Claus?
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 22, 2025, 08:05:07 AM
I found a random truffle on the farm. Probably dug up by Grunter the pig? Though the thing was outside the animal enclosure, so he obviously has teleportation skills or something. I won't complain.

I'm making tons of money with my cheese and cloth (and other stuff) now. My shed is full of looms, cheese presses, mayonnaise machines, kegs, and fermentation thingies, and I also own a mill but don't have any crops to use it for so far.

I have started the Community Centre quests (bring certain items to get rewards), I upgraded my house again and I received a sewing machine as a gift for completing a task for the local dressmaker! Yay! Making clothes in my own house!
The upgraded house now includes a nursery. You can't even put away all the potential-future-kids furniture?? I want that extra room for my rock collection! Pfft!  >:(
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Spritelady on August 22, 2025, 09:18:10 AM
Pigs do indeed randomly dig up truffles, I think at a rough rate of one or two every couple of days, but I could be wrong. They just need to be able to go outside to do it, so they won't in winter or when it's raining but will otherwise :) 

I believe once you have the upgrade that adds the nursery, you can ask Robin to remove the crib. After that, you can redecorate as you like. Hope that helps!
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 22, 2025, 01:30:46 PM
Quote from: Spritelady on August 22, 2025, 09:18:10 AMPigs do indeed randomly dig up truffles, I think at a rough rate of one or two every couple of days, but I could be wrong. They just need to be able to go outside to do it, so they won't in winter or when it's raining but will otherwise :)

Alright, thanks, I'll let Grunter do his thing then :)

QuoteI believe once you have the upgrade that adds the nursery, you can ask Robin to remove the crib. After that, you can redecorate as you like. Hope that helps!

Thank you, I asked Robin and it worked! The crib was blown up in an explosion. *BOOM*
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Spritelady on August 22, 2025, 07:56:49 PM
Excellent!

Also I would be very keen to play a multiplayer game with you sometime! I may wait until you've played through some more, just so I don't wind up accidentally revealing anything you haven't had a chance to find out yourself!
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 23, 2025, 08:09:21 AM
Quote from: Spritelady on August 22, 2025, 07:56:49 PMAlso I would be very keen to play a multiplayer game with you sometime! I may wait until you've played through some more, just so I don't wind up accidentally revealing anything you haven't had a chance to find out yourself!

Yeah, that's reasonable :) I'm addicted to that game now so I guess I'm making good progress, lol.

Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 23, 2025, 08:15:51 AM
My current goal: Saving 200.000 coins for the furniture catalogue, so I can have all the furniture to decorate my house. I already got the wallpaper & flooring catalogue and finally got rid of the terrible original kitchen tiles... I have over 100.000 coins already, thanks to all the cheese and crops. Earning a million (counting everything from the beginning of the game) is a steam achievement and I have around 600.000 currently. Tee hee hee. Dairy cows will make you rich! I told you!  :moo:

Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 24, 2025, 07:21:37 AM
My fancy rock collection finally has its own room. I'm very happy with this.

rock collection.jpg

I got the furniture catalogue and spent a few ingame days redecorating my house... Also added an attic room. Now saving for a cellar. Expanding and decorating the house is fun :)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 26, 2025, 06:14:06 AM
BNUUY!!.jpg

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH BUNNIIIIESS <3 <3

The deluxe coop unlocked rabbits. I had no idea there were rabbits, I'm so happy. They're angora so you get wool! Oh my gosh!! I purchased three at once: Floofers, Bunbun and Cinnabun, lol.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 26, 2025, 06:16:24 AM
Other achievements: The bus station was repaired so I could go to the desert. There are mines, too! They seem dangerous, but I'm very keen on exploring them soon.

Making good progress with the Community Centre. The rewards are pretty nice!

Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 26, 2025, 09:23:52 AM
Bunny floof <3

bunnyfloof.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Spritelady on August 26, 2025, 09:34:48 AM
The bunnies are indeed an excellent element of the game. This really is making me want to go back to SV once I've finished my current replay of Tears of the Kingdom.

Which of the community centre packs have you completed so far? The bus is a great one, and I love watching the lil Junimos work
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 26, 2025, 10:28:19 AM
I'm tempted to sell everything else and become a bunny wool farmer only, lol. They're adorable, I'll definitely get more.

Quote from: Spritelady on August 26, 2025, 09:34:48 AMWhich of the community centre packs have you completed so far? The bus is a great one, and I love watching the lil Junimos work

The junimos are cute too :) I've got the four seasons foraging bundles, the construction bundle, exotic foraging bundle, the artisan and spring crops, the vault... So the bus stop is done, also the big bridge, and I'm working on getting the greenhouse, it seems so cool.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Spritelady on August 26, 2025, 12:03:12 PM
The greenhouse is brilliant, it means you can grow anything out of season. I believe it also unlocks a couple of additional crops that you can't otherwise produce, which is cool
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on August 27, 2025, 06:27:40 AM
Got another deluxe coop, moved the three rabbits I already had in there, added five more, I love it so much.

bunbuns.jpg

I'm currently re-arranging everything on the farm, moving buildings around and getting new ones so I can separate the animals, it's really getting too crowded. So the sheep get their own barn soon, which also means I can get more sheep. (Yay!) Chickens and ducks are in the original deluxe coop which I placed next to a little pond. Cows and pig stay where they are.

I'll post some screenshots of the house interior & farm buildings when everything's done!
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 02, 2025, 03:43:40 PM
Since I'm ill currently I've been playing a lot of Stardew Valley, so here are some screenshots of my farm. I love all the animals! The sheep and goats have multiplied and I think I've lost track, but well...

farm_sheep+goats.jpg

The bunnies are fabulous, my absolute favourites, apart from the sheep.

farm_rabbits.jpg

Cows and pigs...

farm_cows+pigs.jpg

...and chickens and ducks. I had hoped the ducks would go swim in the little pond but alas, that's apparently not a feature of the game.

farm_chickens+ducks.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 02, 2025, 03:46:15 PM
I have moved the shed into a corner of the farm and now use it solely for cloth production. You can decorate it so I made it into a cosy little work space.

farm_shed.jpg

I also have a fish pond on my farm now, and the fish demand sacrifices

fish demands.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 02, 2025, 03:54:42 PM
I also expanded my house again and it is now HUGE. (Still need to get some screenshots, it is constantly changing so I guess I wait until everything's settled.)

I have won 1st prize at the Town Fair with my great display of farm goods! Hooray!

town fair display.jpg
Milk, wool, mayonnaise, truffle oil, truffle, large egg, broccoli, pumpkin, pickled something (can't remember...)

The mayor was impressed.

town fair win.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Jubal on September 02, 2025, 03:55:16 PM
What do the fish need the gems for?
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 02, 2025, 04:02:17 PM
Quote from: Jubal on September 02, 2025, 03:55:16 PMWhat do the fish need the gems for?

To eat/grow, apparently (?) It's quite strange. I started with three halibuts (which I put into the pond) and at the end had ten, and every time before they multiplied they wanted geodes, gems, and other stuff. I'm not sure I want to know the details of what they did exactly.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 02, 2025, 04:08:07 PM
Still happy about choice of husband, lol.

introvert.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 02, 2025, 04:10:19 PM
But he also somehow managed to get stuck in the wall, or float? once and I still don't know how or why.

harvey got stuck.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 02, 2025, 04:15:02 PM
Bunnies, again, just because.

bunnies galore.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 02, 2025, 08:49:08 PM
FINALLY! The greenhouse! <3

greenhouse.jpg

Now there are only two quests in the Community Centre left I think, one of them is the fishing bundles, and I'm currently trying to get better at fishing. Making good progress!

I removed the halibuts from my pond and put salmons in there instead. Let's see what kind of sacrifices they will demand...
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 04, 2025, 09:20:29 PM
Completed the Community Centre quest! Yay! I'll miss the junimos though, and the little chirpy noises they make. They're really cute.

junimo.jpg

Received an award from the mayor for restoring the Community Centre to its former glory. It was a fun part of the game!

Farm life is going well. I'm very rich now... The salmons demanded acorns and a crawfish so far, which seems a bit more reasonable to eat than gemstones. Maybe the halibuts are just a weird bunch.

I'm still exploring fishing, also recently got a copper pan, if I see glittery spots in the river I can use it to look for ore, so my miner's heart is happy. I'm still on the lookout for dwarven artefacts in the mines but haven't had much luck regarding their language.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Spritelady on September 05, 2025, 09:51:17 AM
The junimos are excellent, probably one of my favourite game elements. And I'm very glad you didn't side with the evil corporation instead!

Out of interest, do you pick one or two goals (like the bundles, for example) and focus on doing those as much as possible before moving on to another goal (like upgrading the house)? Or do you work on bits of everything all at once as you go?
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 08, 2025, 05:59:05 AM
Quote from: Spritelady on September 05, 2025, 09:51:17 AMThe junimos are excellent, probably one of my favourite game elements. And I'm very glad you didn't side with the evil corporation instead!

We do not like the evil capitalists here!

QuoteOut of interest, do you pick one or two goals (like the bundles, for example) and focus on doing those as much as possible before moving on to another goal (like upgrading the house)? Or do you work on bits of everything all at once as you go?

Hm, both, kinda? Sometimes I work towards a specific goal (like the barn upgrades because I wanted sheep) but do other stuff in the meantime, most of the upgrades take a few ingame days anyway. But yeah I also get obsessed with one quest, like exploring the mines or collecting all the stuff for the Community Centre. The way the game is built though enables you to do multiple things at once, I think!
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 08, 2025, 06:00:16 AM
So here comes the house. First, what it looks like from the outside:

farmhouse.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 08, 2025, 06:05:51 AM
When you go inside, this is the entrance, with the kitchen to the left and the living room to the right.

home_entrance.jpg

From the kitchen you get to the room where I keep all the cheese presses and other food processing devices...

home_kitchen-etc.jpg

...and to the cellar with more food processing stuff and also storage chests (with the different colours indicating what's inside - the pink one is fruit, the green one is vegetables, etc).

home_cellar.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 08, 2025, 06:09:11 AM
Living room (and Harvey's hobby room)...

home_livingroom.jpg

Downstairs from the living room, we have a little study and craft room (one of my favourite rooms in the house).

home_study.jpg

Upstairs is the sewing room...

home_sewingroom.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 08, 2025, 06:12:23 AM
The music room:

home_musicroom.jpg

And my fancy rock collection!

home_rocks2.jpg

home_rocks1.jpg

(There are even more rocks now than in the screenshot, I love them.)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 08, 2025, 06:13:23 AM
Last but not least, in the "attic", the bedroom.

home_bedroom.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Spritelady on September 08, 2025, 09:40:13 AM
Amazing! You've put so much more effort into decorating your house than I usually do, I think I've been missing out XD

It looks beautiful
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 08, 2025, 09:45:51 AM
Quote from: Spritelady on September 08, 2025, 09:40:13 AMAmazing! You've put so much more effort into decorating your house than I usually do, I think I've been missing out XD

It looks beautiful

Thank you!! I very much enjoyed decorating my house. :)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 08, 2025, 09:53:52 AM
I met a goblin (?) btw, basically saying "you shall not pass" - I'll have to find out how to convince them to let me go into their mystery cave. They're a bit scary.

scary.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 08, 2025, 03:23:29 PM
What the...?

what-the.jpg

It's a giant melon? How? Why??
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Spritelady on September 09, 2025, 11:58:35 AM
Ooh very lucky! It's rare but that can happen if you plant lots of the same crops together :)
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Glaurung on September 09, 2025, 12:50:28 PM
It's a Melon of Unusual Size, presumably.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 10, 2025, 09:03:57 PM
Very unusual! And quite funny :)

The latest news:

I now have two dinosaurs, living in the chicken coop. One of the monster dinosaurs in the desert mines dropped an egg and it actually hatched, then I got a second egg from my own dinosaur. I'm rather disappointed though that they don't grow bigger than that, I had hoped they would look like the ones in the mines eventually (these are big and breathe fire). Alas, mini dinosaur it is:

dino.jpg

I solved the Goblin Problem (but had to look it up in the game wiki, I wouldn't have managed otherwise)
Spoiler
You have to bribe them with Void Mayonnaise. Which you can get from a Void Egg. Which is magicked into the chicken coop by the Witch sometimes when she flies over your farm at night. You can also get Void Chickens, I have two, they're black and very cute.

I now also reached Ginger Island, you get there after you help repairing a boat. It's quite nice. (Parrots!) I haven't explored it fully yet, but found a few cool fish and items.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: Spritelady on September 11, 2025, 02:13:18 PM
Glad you worked out the goblin!

In game, there is a clue - I believe one of the books in the library is about goblins and says their favourite food is void mayonnaise  :) the books are very helpful but you do have to have found them
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 16, 2025, 12:33:10 PM
I'm not sure I got/read all of them, I've found a few though! I guess I'm better at finding objects for the town museum than I am at finding books...

-----

I'm currently exploring Ginger Island. If you collect and give golden walnuts to the parrots, they repair or build stuff for you, so I now got a little farm house with a kitchen & bedroom (which means I can stay on the island overnight!). There's a plot of land right in front of it where you can grow things, thanks to the island climate there are more options for normally out-of-season crops, which is nice. The parrots also built a resort where the townsfolk sometimes show up in their bathing suits, lol. (Harvey is there getting a sunburn while I'm in the Volcano Dungeon fighting monsters...)

It's quite fun though. I've met another dwarf in the Volcano. Also - tadaa! - I can now  understand the dwarven language. I want to be friends with them! Time to get them some presents I guess.
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on September 24, 2025, 06:22:43 PM
I have new neighbours. Look at them! They seem to be happy now that I completed some quests for them.

neighbours.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on October 06, 2025, 05:57:56 PM
I met a bear. Gave him some maple syrup and now we're friends. He sometimes calls to tell me how much he loves the maple syrup.

bear1.jpg

bear2.jpg
Title: Re: Stardew Valley Journal
Post by: The Seamstress on October 06, 2025, 05:58:35 PM
Also...

pot of gold.jpg