TheLastBaron

Stardew Valley

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I guess there must be more depth in the socialization stuff then I've seen, because none of the characters besides the homeless guy seem interesting in the slightest. 

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I guess there must be more depth in the socialization stuff then I've seen, because none of the characters besides the homeless guy seem interesting in the slightest. 

 

Well, functionally there's a reason to do socialization as well, as you get some unique recipes and blueprints through friends.

 

 

As for theme and story, you certainly learn more about people as you friend them and get new info about them.  Some are more interesting than others, but I don't particularly want to give anything away.  The extra cutscenes certainly confirmed who I was going to court for marriage though. 

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Hmm, I guess I should just look up the list of optimal gifts then because I'm tired of giving up valuable items just to get a meh from someone.

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Yeah, I finally looked up a bunch of that stuff.  I'd say you only really need to worry about Loved gifts on birthdays, they're worth a huge boost then.  Otherwise cheap liked gifts are good enough. 

 

Here's my generally strategy most weeks now:

 

There's almost nothing that's liked by every single person that you can raise in any quantity.  However, carrying a stack of flowers, vegetable/fruit and one stack of gems will cover everyone.   A few things in those categories are hated by everyone though, like Salmonberry and Poppy.  So avoid those.

 

Tuesdays most of the women work out in the morning at the general store, means you can catch a lot of people in one shot.

Fridays almost the entire town goes to the bar in the evening.

 

Several people at the bar Love things the bar sells (Leah - salad, Pam and Shane - beer, Harvey - Coffee, Sam - Pizza).  That makes them super easy to get up if you've got the extra cash. 

 

The hearts are a point system.

 

250 points per heart

+20 talking to someone once a day

-2 not talking to someone for a day

+45 liked gift

+80 loved gift

+640 (I think) Loved gift on birthday

+150 doing a job that specifically says they will appreciate it

 

I've generally tried to spend one or two days making the rounds to everyone in a week, usually trying to time it up with when I need to go to the blacksmith, library or carpenter so I can hit everyone on the way. 

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Hmm, ok, so I can eventually get hearts up just by talking to people, that's good to know.

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The horrible cooking system makes getting hearts up annoying, most of their favorite dishes can be only gotten by getting someone else to level SEVEN!

 

By the time I got the evaluation I could even afford to give away precious jewels, so the cooking wasn't needed as much... Although it seems all adults like coffee?

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The horrible cooking system makes getting hearts up annoying, most of their favorite dishes can be only gotten by getting someone else to level SEVEN!

 

By the time I got the evaluation I could even afford to give away precious jewels, so the cooking wasn't needed as much... Although it seems all adults like coffee?

 

Oh hell, I think you might be right.  I'm going to be buying 20K worth of coffee next time I play.  Jas and Vincent are pretty easy gifts, so it would just be running around with coffee, a flower and a grape unless I was trying to specifically get someone up. 

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Ooh.. that coffee tip is good. Socializing is the most stressful part of the game for me, and even that is not too stressful. Mostly it comes down to the fear of not finding people when it's their birthday or missing the important day altogether.

 

I think I will start wooing Leah because she likes wine and salads. She seems quite nice too.

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Ok, I bought into this. I've only played a couple hours, but I have one question that maybe someone here can answer.

 

Is this worth playing? (I know that is very dependent on a variety of things, so let me expand on this)

 

I liked Harvest Moon for the snes, it's why I bought this, I get it, it's harvest moon. However, so far, and this could be old nostalgia memory talking, I can't tell if this is any different/better than the game I played in 1998. Since I am a sucker for art, I can say I think I'm playing a slightly worse looking version of the game I played in 1998, so I don't know why I am playing this and not that... is it noticeably different/deeper as you keep going?

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I just watched the Giant Bomb Unprofessional Friday where Dan played this for a while. in that video, he's late in fall, and has already made it to level 95 in the mines, has tons of sprinklers and a huge farm. I guess I've done something horribly wrong, because I've struggled to get past level 20 in the mines, and have had to start buying gold just so I can get some basic farm equipment built. I know it's not a race, but there must be something I'm still not understanding about combat in this game or something.

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Are you bringing food or forage to survive longer in the mines? Maybe you could buy a new weapon or boots? The ones I got from chest and drops were good enough for me, so maybe I was lucky?

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Ok, I bought into this. I've only played a couple hours, but I have one question that maybe someone here can answer.

 

Is this worth playing? (I know that is very dependent on a variety of things, so let me expand on this)

 

I liked Harvest Moon for the snes, it's why I bought this, I get it, it's harvest moon. However, so far, and this could be old nostalgia memory talking, I can't tell if this is any different/better than the game I played in 1998. Since I am a sucker for art, I can say I think I'm playing a slightly worse looking version of the game I played in 1998, so I don't know why I am playing this and not that... is it noticeably different/deeper as you keep going?

 

I've never played a Harvest Moon, so I have zero points of comparison. 

 

 

I just watched the Giant Bomb Unprofessional Friday where Dan played this for a while. in that video, he's late in fall, and has already made it to level 95 in the mines, has tons of sprinklers and a huge farm. I guess I've done something horribly wrong, because I've struggled to get past level 20 in the mines, and have had to start buying gold just so I can get some basic farm equipment built. I know it's not a race, but there must be something I'm still not understanding about combat in this game or something.

 

Having started over once (before my first spring even ended), and having watched the lady play, this is definitely a game where success breeds accelerated success.  Getting lucky or being particularly efficient in the first Spring can pretty radically affect how much you can afford to do in the coming seasons. 

 

Combat wise, I mostly just used the stuff I found in the dungeons, you get new gear on most 10 levels, with a couple of purchases of new weapons at the guild (both of which I think I could have skipped if I'd have powered on through). 

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Are you bringing food or forage to survive longer in the mines? Maybe you could buy a new weapon or boots? The ones I got from chest and drops were good enough for me, so maybe I was lucky?

 

For the longest time, I didn't have any upgrades available to purchase. I finally go to the point I could buy the iron dirk, just to have it replaced by the mine level 20 sword. Neither of those seem to help a whole lot when the screen turns green and foggy and bugs swarm. I just have to leave the mine if I haven't uncovered the stairs down yet, resetting my progress. Food doesn't seem to help much as they generally swarm and kill me before I can switch to food, eat it, and then switch back to a sword again.

 

I'm thinking maybe I've spent too much time fishing and not enough time in the caves I guess. I'm only combat level 2 or something.

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I had rough time with the mines around that point. I bought a  better weapon, reserved the whole day for 5 levels of cave exploration, and brought bunch of food with me (mainly for energy). I do not remember how I dealt with the swarm, though. Exploring the cave gets a lot of easier after a while, and now my only problem is to find time for spelunking.

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Oh man, those bug swarms are the worst, tied for the hardest thing I've fought in the mines (I had a single slime kick my ass around level 80, I think he was super rare, a color I've never seen again).  Just keep yourself topped off on health, bash rocks and rush through that area.  The next 60+ levels are a cakewalk after that. 

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Eventually even the area AFTER you finish the mine will be a cakewalk.... if you bring bombs that is. 

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I accidentally sold all my gold bars, some 30 of them, because I confused them with cheese in my haste. I noticed it only after I had sold a bunch of other stuff so there was no way to recover them anymore. Good times.

 

Actually, it doesn't even matter. I got through the first year, fully explored the mines, built a good mid-sized sprinkler system, have done all but two community center bundles, and my

.

 

 

I guess my next goals will be to expand my artisan goods production capabilities (which will require some iron and gold mining), to upgrading my coop and barn for the second time (looking forward to those autofeeders), to finish the community center bundles, and to get married.

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After some 55 hours of gameplay, having reached the Fall of second year, I think I'm done with this game for now. I was able to set up a nice farm that produces on average about 20-30k a day and fill my greenhouse half full of ancient fruits. I got married to Leah, and finished the community center bundles. The last 10 days of so, I was just going through the motions and waiting for the Fall and those precious 3 apples to finish the last bundle. The rest of the explicit challenges, e.g. finishing Mr Qi's tasks or catching the legendary fish, don't feel that interesting to me, and I'm happy with the state of my farm and don't feel like just maintaining it. If ConcernedApe adds more "late game" content at some point, I'm more than happy to return to this game, though.

 

Nevertheless, holy shit did I get my money's worth with this. Turns out I really needed Stardew Valley in my life, not just because of the stressful experience of XCOM2 but because of all the work, etc. crap as well. This was a lovely experience through and through. Truly a labour of love.

 

 

My biggest complaints about the game is that managing the inventory was a bit of a chore at times, and that there seems to be no way of making Linus not feel shit about himself most of the time.

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A friend of mine bought me this as a gift, having noticed it was on my wishlist, and I'm enjoying it a lot so far. I'm on the 19th or 20th day of Spring, so not far in, and still have to check the map from time to time to locate a certain building. The graphical style is very attractive to me, reminding me most of all of Terranigma on the SNES, and the sounds of rain, gulls, etc. are working well to help me sink into the experience.

 

I very much doubt that I'm playing the game in an optimal fashion, but I don't give a damn. At the moment I'm content to just potter about, water my crops, and catch some fish :)

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I started playing this again after Giant Bomb East put up a two hour video. I apparently stopped in the doldrums just before the game went crazy with a bunch of things to do again. I've just completed my second spring.

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I thought about starting up a new playthrough when he released the big patch with new starting farm layouts, but I know he's also hard at work trying to integrate co-op, and I decided to hold off until that comes out. 

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My brother bought this for me for Christmas, so far I've found it very engrossing and relaxing - I'm towards the end of my first Summer running a River farm. I haven't played Harvest Moon or anything like that, so it's novelty for me to play this kind of game.

 

I like how it very gently pulls you towards several different goals at once, and I appreciate that I can dip into it for a short session and still achieve something. It only saves when you sleep, but I think an in-game day takes twenty minutes, in which time you can work towards a couple of those goals. Although there's never really enough time, which makes the game feel like a cruel analogue for life itself.

The sprite work or the music alone would be an impressive achievement, but it's mind-boggling that one person made the whole thing.

 

My biggest decision of the game so far:

 

20170110130915_1.jpg

 

I'm a little offended that I wasn't then asked to join the band.

 

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I just need a Truffle, 3 Apples, and a Rabbit's Foot to complete the community center. I finally had to look up where to catch some of the fish, and I was lucky enough to get a couple of other misc items from the pig cart.

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