Stardew Valley

[Jazz 347]

I cannot in good conscience recommend this game.  It's nothing short of pure crack, it is digital meth in the form of farming... yeah that's right farming...  I keep meaning to play Grim Dawn but the Valley won't let me... :'(

https://www.gog.com/game/stardew_valley

 

[Lasraik 2,800]

Someone say digital meth and farming?

[Elovia 614]

Does it contain any violence? 'Cus, you know, I watched the video and knew any moment something violent was going to happen ... maybe it was the foreshadowing music. /shrug

[Jazz 347]

13 hours ago, Lasraik said:

Someone say digital meth and farming?

Hey, you can't have one without the other!

8 hours ago, Elovia said:

Does it contain any violence? 'Cus, you know, I watched the video and knew any moment something violent was going to happen ... maybe it was the foreshadowing music. /shrug

There is if you want it, there's a 'dungeon', an old abandoned mine you can go adventuring down into in order to acquire ores and kill slimes.  I think the foreshadowing music was just your inner wrath and violent urges bubbling to the surface though.

[Elovia 614]

I'm going to have to side with Pasanda on this one ... (even though he hasn't yet replied) ... the graphics look terrible and the fact of which would break any sense of immersion for me.  This looks like just another mobile game app to distract the kids while the adults do other things.  Not my cup of tea.

Seriously Jazz (ok, not so seriously then) ... between this and Craft the World that you also recently recommended, I have to question your taste in games. 

 

[Jazz 347]

That's because you are a filthy graphics whore!!!  It's all about the gameplay bitch, gameplay!  Go back to your cods and warfields!  

Craft the World I have to admit not touching after a couple of days.  And it wasn't recent, it was like on the old forum, jeeze man must be like a year ago!!!  

[Dunnar 630]

We're all whores TYVM!

[Jazz 347]

17 minutes ago, Dunnar said:

We're all whores TYVM!

Yes, but there are different degrees and types of Whores.  I'm a Gameplay Whore, also known as a hipster gamer, we talk about indie games while sipping exotic teas in expensive hipster cafes, turning our noses up at games we previously liked because they gone mainstream.  Filthy Graphics Whores are the streetwalkers, giving handjobs in the backs of cars in return for pretty pixels.  

[Elovia 614]

Despite my concerns posted above, I went ahead and purchased this game and have now logged sufficient hours to have spent a full year in Stardew Valley (i.e., all four seasons).  The game is not without its charms.  In fact, the game is sorely lacking in any testosterone at all ... not that there's anything wrong with it.  It is completely rated "G", and interactions with the villagers borders on the sickeningly sweet ("everyone wins just for showing up!  Yay!).  Combat in the Mines is about as simplistic as it gets - swing your sword, many times, pick up loot (nothing to write home about).  Kids will enjoy the game.  Adults too.

The game is an open sandbox with plenty to do; there are quests - some timed, others not - and tasks that can be performed for the villagers for additional interesting things to do.  There is even an overarching quest to complete as you go about everyday activities..  The player can plant/water/grow crops, raise standard barnyard animals (e.g., cows, sheep, chickens, etc.), go fishing, participate in lumberjack or miner activities (/sings ... "oh he's a lumberjack and he's okay ..") ... all with the associated time and energy intensive required tasks.  For example, you have to feed your animals hay, which is acquired either by purchasing it from the feed store or by harvesting grass.  Before you can do that, you have to have a silo, which requires wood and stone to be gathered along with a small sum of gold coins before the local carpenter will build it for you.  You have to keep your animals happy, which means petting them, feeding them, keeping them warm in the winter, etc.  There are plenty of different crops that may be grown, and most are season specific (although there are a few that span through two seasons).  Some crops are harvest once, while others keep producing once harvested.  You can grow flowers, fruit trees, vegetables, etc.  Non-tree plants require daily watering or they won't grow.  Weeding is a thing.  So is fertilizing.  Crafting is also integral to the game.  You need to create things from stuff in order to move on toward bigger and better challenges.  For example, you need to mine ore to create metal bars which are used to create items around the farm.  These crafted items can help add value to your farm products (i.e., you can ferment wheat in a keg to produce beer, or pickle vegetables in a pickling bin, or create a mill to grind wheat into flour after you weave cloth on a loom from wool harvested from sheep ... etc.

Gameplay has depth in execution, but the interface seems inconsistent at first (i.e., when to left- or right-click to achieve a result) until you get used to it.  The player has a daily energy pool from which to draw to perform activities.  Once depleted, it is replenished either by consuming food or resting in the bed in your house.  Days have maximum length ... from 6am to 2am.  After 12am, the player's energy level won't be fully replenished the next day.  If you're caught outside at 2am, you collapse in exhaustion and pay a penalty (e.g., rescued by a local who finds you and puts you in you bed after having your backpack picked through by thieves).  The same or similar is true for combat if you deplete your health pool.

There are a lot of stereotype personalities in the Village.  For the most part, villagers have upbeat and perky attitudes with few exceptions; I'm looking at you sad-sack blacksmith Clint, and trash-scrounging borderline mentally ill hermit Linus.  Unsurprisingly, the only villager whom I've taken a liking to is the old wheelchair-bound curmudgeon and his grandmotherly wife.  Villagers have their own schedules, likes, and dislikes.  If the player chooses, he or she can woo and eventually marry eligible bachelors or bachelorettes (yes, it is possible to form non-hetero relationships, so no one is left out).  The potential marriage choices have different personalities, so you can pick one that isn't too terribly annoying most of the time.  Interestingly, once married, children can be produced (or in the case of non-hetero couples, adopted).  Even more interesting is that divorce is a potential thing, as is disposing of your children through the services of a local witch - once they're gone, they are gone for good.

Overall, I give the game a solid 4/5 stars.

[Jazz 347]

So... you have succumbed?  They all do in the end...

I haven't played this in while, not because I don't want to or whatnot, I've actually been thinking of kicking this back up again actually.  Elo pretty much sums this up aptly.  I don't recall there being a witch the last time I played, there was a wizard but no mention of a witch nor the ability to divorce or 'get free of' your children, that may have been an update.  I have heard they are adding stuff to the game, including one rumour of potential multiplayerness which I have no idea how it would work.

[Elovia 614]

Apparently, update to version 1.1 brought a lot of new things.  I wouldn't know, since I have no experience before that version.  There is a lot of information out on the greater internet regarding this game, but I found the Official Stardew Vallley Wiki to be the best all around source of reasonably current information.

[Jazz 347]

Yes, that wiki is pretty awesome, I used it on my first playthrough and was one of the first things I looked up when I started playing again last night.  Only got a day's worth of play in since I started quite late, but right from the start I could see the changes and I looked up the rest.  You never had a choice of farm originally, you just had the Standard Farm.  Since I had played with Standard originally I decided to go with the Forest Farm this time, partly because I got so fed up having to trudge all the way over to the Secret Forest last game to get more hardwood every day, but mainly because it looked so nice.   I am worried that I am not going to fit all the buildings in however, especially since they have added more.  Gonna have to do research...

So which one are you banging?

[Jazz 347]

OMIGOD YOU CAN NOW MAKE FLOUR!  You used to have to buy it, you couldn't produce it, no mill.

Totes changes the game!

[Elovia 614]

I'm playing the map where monsters come out at night. I occasionally get jumped by a slime, bat, or golem if I'm outside at my farm after 7ish pm.   I trudge over to the Secret Forest only for hardwood. I may have made an error in judgement when deciding how much to plant in 2nd year summer. By the time I've watered and harvested my crops, the day is already past noon which leaves little time to clean out and re-bait my crab pots down at the beach. I'm also processing harvested and foraged crops in my spare time which leaves very little social interaction time left. I'm usually pushing close to midnight when I finally get to bed.  Mine on rainy days ... down to level 50 so I can mine iron.

[Jazz 347]

Sprinklers will be your best friend.  Early game is quite a handful until you get the sprinkers that can water at least 8 tiles.  I didn't bother with crab pots due to this issue, I planned on doing them once I had the actual farm up and running, though thinking about it I may have been able to get my fishing up with less time if I had done so (don't actually have to waste time fishing, just doing the crab pots).  Stick at it though even if you have over-planted, as while it is hard now once you reap the crops you should make a decent profit that will help buy things that will make things easier in the long run.  Hope you been doing the bundles too, once you get all the ones in a room done then it will fix both the room and some aspect of the town or farm, such as the greenhouse or bus if you haven't already.

Yeah, I used the Secret Forest just for hardwood too, it just took too much time for me to talk all the way over there and back, especially since the later stuff needed so much hardwood.  This time through, I'm thinking that since mead can now be made I might focus on mead production.  Loadsa hives, loadsa kegs!  With the Forest Farm I see I will now be able to produce plenty of maple syrup without having to plant rows like last time.

[Elovia 614]

I have a few sprinklers, but haven't invested enough in gold ore (to make gold bars) needed to craft them. I'm not yet deep enough in the mines where gold ore would be more commonly found. Mining and combat have been my least developed skills. I've already topped out farming.

I spent/am spending a big chunk of money investing in seasonal fruit trees to have an almost year-round orchard. That way I reduce the amount of watering required. I also have my maple, oak, and pine “orchards” set up in orderly fashion with taps.

I spent most of the past winter working my way down the mines. Net result was to upgrade my axe and pick (steel), hoe (copper), and weapon. Still need to upgrade my watering can at some point.

And I have most items required for bundles (all seaons), but just haven't gotten around to turning them in yet. I'm not really in any sort of rush to “complete the game”.

 

[Elovia 614]

Pro tip on mead production: top end honey can sell for more than mead made from it. Watch prices, or study the wiki for the break point between sales price on different types of honey vs price of mead made with that same honey.

[Jazz 347]

Hmm, damn you're right, especially if you haven't aged the mead then over half the different types sell for more (and the Fairy Rose honey still sells for a lot more even if you have aged the mead).  Looks like meading the honey other than the normal honey won't pay off until I get a cellar.  

I went down the mine a lot before the first winter season, I realised later this was a mistake as it put back the actual farm a fair bit.  I think you're doing it the right way with waiting until Winter before going down there.

I mentioned the bundles because they unlock features that may help, such as minecarts for getting around town.  I don't know if you have realised this, but there are a collection of bundles for each room, and it is only when you have done all the bundles in one room that you unlock a feature.  You unlock the second room's bundles when you complete one bundle, a third when you do a second, etc.

[Elovia 614]

Yes, I know of the bundles. I'm actually on my second character (neglected to mention that) and had started down the road of turning in bundles on my first character, who at the time didn't know squat about farming and how to maximize profits so the experience would easier. My first character was in the forest map and made it to sometime mid-summer before I thought I would reroll and start again.  This second character is doing much better cash- and development-wise. I just haven't fiocused much on the community center (or the community - for that matter) this time around.

[Elovia 614]

12 hours ago, Jazz said:

OMIGOD YOU CAN NOW MAKE FLOUR!  You used to have to buy it, you couldn't produce it, no mill.

I believe I said that earlier.

 

On 10/30/2016 at 7:35 AM, Elovia said:

These crafted items can help add value to your farm products (i.e., you can ferment wheat in a keg to produce beer, or pickle vegetables in a pickling bin, or create a mill to grind wheat into flour after you weave cloth on a loom from wool harvested from sheep ... etc.

Why yes ... yes I did.  (emphasis added) 

 

[Jazz 347]

14 hours ago, Elovia said:

Yes, I know of the bundles. I'm actually on my second character (neglected to mention that) and had started down the road of turning in bundles on my first character, who at the time didn't know squat about farming and how to maximize profits so the experience would easier. My first character was in the forest map and made it to sometime mid-summer before I thought I would reroll and start again.  This second character is doing much better cash- and development-wise. I just haven't fiocused much on the community center (or the community - for that matter) this time around.

Well dog, I was just worrying that you had missed that!  If I had known this weren't your first rodeo I would have been like totally chill.  You know what I'm saying like?

9 hours ago, Elovia said:

I believe I said that earlier.

 

Why yes ... yes I did.  (emphasis added) 

 

Well yeah, that's how I knew to look that up, I was just pointing out how that was one of the new additions, you dig?  Imagine playing without the ability to make your own flour...  Big change man!  Big change!

[Elovia 614]

Now 25% off at GoG's Monstrous Fall Sale (i.e., $11.19US).

[Jazz 347]

You know you are a goddamned bad influence right?  Been playing this again thanks to you, and when I'm not playing it I am thinking constantly about it and when I can get back on playing it again.  You bastard, I had broken free, I was free and clear...

[Elovia 614]

I live to serve. /evil grin

[Jazz 347]

4 minutes ago, Elovia said:

I live to serve. /evil grin

To serve crystal meth in digital form you mean!