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Stardew Valley for Nintendo Switch |OT| Starving for a Harvest

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
I've got this on PC but don't want to devote the time to it. The Switch version is soooo tempting though. I feel like I'd get more out of it.
 

totowhoa

Banned
I too would like to get a better understanding of how this works. How labor intensive is this game?

B/c I know so little about this game, let's assume that you have 48 crops on a 12x4 grid, like so...

* * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * *

Now, do you have to walk around and water each individual plant?
Do you have to then have to harvest each plant individually?

I guess I should watch some YouTube videos to make sure this is a game I am willing to invest in. I just don't like monotony

When the game begins, you have to water and harvest plants individually. You’ll quickly begin leveling up your equipment so that your watering can will cover multiple tiles though. And then you’ll begin crafting sprinklers to auto-water every day (and continue upgrading your sprinklers to cover more tiles — more efficiency = more tiles for crops with fewer sprinklers everywhere).

This game has TONS to do besides that though! Mines that are randomly generated with basic combat ... but materials here are great for crafting. This game has tons of crafting, in fact!

Fishing is also a lot of fun. Different lures and baits impact the mini-game. Or just go forraging for fruit and chop some trees down along the way - especially when wild blackberries are in season for a week and are literally everywhere!

Spend time with townspeople and give them gifts. Learn what they love and try to acquire those things. Search for hidden treasures. Try to repair the community center. Customize your home interior with TONS of options and lots of unique color choices - and same goes for your farm layout. Sidewalk types, lamps, trees, fences, etc etc etc. Enjoy unique festivals/holidays that are regularly occurring. As you get to know townspeople better, you’ll experience unique events on a regular basis to better connect with them and understand their personal struggles.

This game is packed to the gills with content! When it released on PS4 I easily spent 60+ hours on it playing through almost 2 years in-game. And I’m probably going to double dip to replay on a totally different farm type with the other gender!
 
Ive heard nothing but good things, but can someone help me understand what makes these games so appealing and attractive?

I mean, just watering my plants in a game I can't say tickles me in anyway.

A sense of building and preserving your own little farm is pretty much the draw. Sure watering shit can get tedious (buy sprinklers) but the attraction comes from seeing what success you can get from season to season IMO. There's also a bunch of sidequests of course but if the sound of doing the upkeep of a farm doesn't sound interesting it may just not be for you.

Personally the only thing I found truly tedious was the opening where I spent a lot of my time running out of energy too fast or not having the time in a day to do what I wanted. By the second season the game had gotten into more of a flow where I could largely let my farm run itself other than grabbing eggs/milking.

I haven't played this before, but I'm interested in getting it. Does the game ease its players to its mechanics well? I don't want to be overwhelmed.

It doesn't exactly bash you over the head with them but it gives you enough guidance. There may be some smaller details that slip by you as you go but for the most part the game explains what it needs to. There's a lot you CAN do rather immediately but setting up the farm will take priority anyway. By the time you're ready to go see what else can be done you'll be comfortable with farming and it doesn't just dump literally everything on you at once. Stuff will open up over time so it gives you the space to work out the important stuff.

The thing that will take some getting used to at first IMO is not burning all your energy too fast in a day but also making sure to get the most of it. This becomes largely trivial later however anyway.
 

Brizzo24

Member
When the game begins, you have to water and harvest plants individually. You’ll quickly begin leveling up your equipment so that your watering can will cover multiple tiles though. And then you’ll begin crafting sprinklers to auto-water every day (and continue upgrading your sprinklers to cover more tiles — more efficiency = more tiles for crops with fewer sprinklers everywhere).

This game has TONS to do besides that though! Mines that are randomly generated with basic combat ... but materials here are great for crafting. This game has tons of crafting, in fact!

Fishing is also a lot of fun. Different lures and baits impact the mini-game. Or just go forraging for fruit and chop some trees down along the way - especially when wild blackberries are in season for a week and are literally everywhere!

Spend time with townspeople and give them gifts. Learn what they love and try to acquire those things. Search for hidden treasures. Try to repair the community center. Customize your home interior with TONS of options and lots of unique color choices - and same games for your farm layout. Sidewalk types, lamps, trees, fences, etc etc etc. Enjoy unique festivals/holidays that are regularly occurring. As you get to know townspeople better, you’ll experience unique events on a regular basis to better connect with them and understand their personal struggles.

This game is packed to the gills with content! When it released on PS4 I easily spent 60+ hours on it playing through almost 2 years in-game. And I’m probably going to double dip to replay on a totally different farm type with the other gender!

Ah, that really helps. Thank you. I watched some video footage of the Switch version, but that was the first 30 minutes of the game and it had a very slow start. If you can upgrade your equipment so that it's possible to be efficient then count me in!

The last game I played that had micromanaging as a major gameplay element was Lost in Blue 2. Ugh. All that meal prepping, and tending to two whiny brats is not my idea of fun. Glad to know this game is a lot smarter than that!
 

one_kill

Member
It doesn't exactly bash you over the head with them but it gives you enough guidance. There may be some smaller details that slip by you as you go but for the most part the game explains what it needs to. There's a lot you CAN do rather immediately but setting up the farm will take priority anyway. By the time you're ready to go see what else can be done you'll be comfortable with farming and it doesn't just dump literally everything on you at once. Stuff will open up over time so it gives you the space to work out the important stuff.

The thing that will take some getting used to at first IMO is not burning all your energy too fast in a day but also making sure to get the most of it. This becomes largely trivial later however anyway.
Thanks UDLR
I guess it's all just a matter of time and investment
 

Imur

Member
I'm SO excited! Played it on PC for like an hour and stopped because it yells HANDHELD so loud.

My only concern is that I will miss the Rune Factory Elements. I did like the old Harvest Moon Games, but I absolutely love RF IV. I know this has combat, but it seems more basic and without the crazy Weapon crafting and Boss fights. It's like one half of the game I love so much.
That could be a problem for me, because I need hard goals. I loose the motivation in games like Minecraft or even Animal Crossing really fast.
 

totowhoa

Banned
Ah, that really helps. Thank you. I watched some video footage of the Switch version, but that was the first 30 minutes of the game and it had a very slow start. If you can upgrade your equipment so that it's possible to be efficient then count me in!

The last game I played that had micromanaging as a major gameplay element was Lost in Blue 2. Ugh. All that meal prepping, and tending to two whiny brats is not my idea of fun. Glad to know this game is a lot smarter than that!

I also wasn’t a fan of Lost in Blue (but Survival kids tho...)

Another poster mentioned season 1 can be a little tedious, which I can see. But if your ever played a Harvest Moon game and enjoyed it, Stardew easily outdoes every HM game I’ve played (which has been every one except for the releases in the last ~10 years... couldn’t handle where the series was going).

Also, don’t worry about trying to min-max this game. I like to play that way, but my fiancé just wanted to make a pretty farm and enjoy the things to do in the town, build relationships with people, etc.

She picked the forest type farm which has very little space for farming. She didn’t like to spend a ton of time farming either, so she didn’t. Spending less time farming and more time foraging and mining isn’t the path to extreme wealth in this game, but it’s how she had the most fun
 

zokie

Member
Honestly , i bought only the steam verson when this game was on sale but i didnt play much as my PC is not a powerful one

will be getting the switch version on day one , now i can fully enjoy the story and , mainly cos of the controls and portability
 

taoofjord

Member
Chalk me up as another person interested in the game (and owns it on PC) that never wanted to play it on PC. Totally pumped to play it on a handheld, though, and the Switch will be perfect for it.
 

OmegaDL50

Member
Might try this out. (Anyone know if SNES controllers work on switch if you have a USB adapter?)

Hope I can cheat on Hayley with Abigail.

The 8Bitdo SN30 and SFC30 controllers work as is on the Switch natively through bluetooth. You'll need to have them on the latest firmware of course.
 

Pastry

Banned
Ill be home sick tomorrow, like legitimately sick, so I’ve got all day to lay on the couch and be miserable while playing this!
 
Ill be home sick tomorrow, like legitimately sick, so I’ve got all day to lay on the couch and be miserable while playing this!
tumblr_oji598zNrc1r1ult6o1_500.gif
 

nick_b

Member
Am having anxiety over the fact that I have this to play, golf story, MHXX, Mario+Rabbids, and I just looked at the coming soon section of the eShop and fuck do most of those look interesting to me. I have a week's vacation coming up before the end of the year. I can do this.
 

ReaperXL7

Member
I think I'll go for Haley

Honestly unless they changed the characters since I played , she has the most noticeable personality change over the course of the game. The other girls stay mostly the same from when you first meet them to after you've maxed out your relationship.

I still ultimately went with penny on my main play through because I have a soft spot for red heads, she's a teacher/good with kids, and her conversation situations had the most impact on me overall.

Best I can say don't take Haley at face value.
 

Cerium

Member
Honestly unless they changed the characters since I played , she has the most noticeable personality change over the course of the game.

Best I can say don't take Haley at face value.

These people are picking her precisely because I labeled her as a Tsundere.
 

Jintor

Member
I'm still sad no game has ever quite hit Friends of Mineral Town loving the community for me, but this always came pretty close
 
Honestly unless they changed the characters since I played , she has the most noticeable personality change over the course of the game. The other girls stay mostly the same from when you first meet them to after you've maxed out your relationship.

I still ultimately went with penny on my main play through because I have a soft spot for red heads, she's a teacher/good with kids, and her conversation situations had the most impact on me overall.

Best I can say don't take Haley at face value.

yeah I already spoiled most of the relationships stuff reading wikis one night I was bored and Haley seems to be more fun to win over since she is the only one that changes

but maybe as I play the game my mind will change as I actually interact with each character

These people are picking her precisely because I labeled her as a Tsundere.

no I've been watching videos and reading wikis for about 2 weeks now also I love anime :3
 

Blues1990

Member
Apparently, this Abrigail chick owns a SNES & has a poster of Chrono Trigger on the wall in her bedroom.

If it weren’t for my weakness to blue hair women, then I would go out with her in a heartbeat.
 
one thing I did not find out, If I play one day for a few hours and turn off the game and don't play for a few weeks does time advance like Animal Crossing or does time only advance when the game is on?

this is important if it is like Animal Crossing I don't want to make a commitment to that type of game with such huge games coming out soon
 
Another poster mentioned season 1 can be a little tedious, which I can see. But if your ever played a Harvest Moon game and enjoyed it, Stardew easily outdoes every HM game I’ve played (which has been every one except for the releases in the last ~10 years... couldn’t handle where the series was going).

Also, don’t worry about trying to min-max this game. I like to play that way, but my fiancé just wanted to make a pretty farm and enjoy the things to do in the town, build relationships with people, etc.

She picked the forest type farm which has very little space for farming. She didn’t like to spend a ton of time farming either, so she didn’t. Spending less time farming and more time foraging and mining isn’t the path to extreme wealth in this game, but it’s how she had the most fun

I second this. I'm a Factorio player; when I see an in-game economy I go straight for automation and other labour-saving measures, because opportunity cost is a thing and the more you offload manual labour, the more room you have to scale up your whole operation. By Year 2 of my first Stardew farm my workflow was: pet the animals, loot, dump items in crafting machines, and get off the farm to play the rest of the game by about 9am. No watering or tilling and hardly any planting apart from maybe one day a season. And I was making a killing. In my books, efficiency is fun, and min-maxing is as much about time as money. There are a lot of resources/items that you need to get off the farm to obtain.

one thing I did not find out, If I play one day for a few hours and turn off the game and don't play for a few weeks does time advance like Animal Crossing or does time only advance when the game is on?

this is important if it is like Animal Crossing I don't want to make a commitment to that type of game with such huge games coming out soon

Time only advances when you are playing the game. You can take it as quickly or slowly as you want. I just went back to a file on PC I hadn't looked at in nearly a year and picked up exactly where I left off.

For reference, players should expect to take about 10 hours per in-game season (or about 20-25 minutes per in-game day). The game only saves at the end of each day but obviously, on the Switch you can suspend at any time if needed.
 

Bog

Junior Ace
I assumed this was out in Mexico based on all the discussion earlier. You fucked me.
 

totowhoa

Banned
Is this game different than the PS4 version in any way? as far as I can tell, the game is basically the same as the version that launched on console December of last year (but likely has some bug fixes and QOL improvements from the couple of console patches that came through).

Is that correct?
 

Fireblend

Banned
Is this game different than the PS4 version in any way? as far as I can tell, the game is basically the same as the version that launched on console December of last year (but likely has some bug fixes and QOL improvements from the couple of console patches that came through).

Is that correct?
That is indeed correct afaik.

A multi-player patch is coming next year and the Switch will be the first to receive it, but it'll make its way to other consoles soon after.
 

Soule

Member
I want to get this in the next few weeks. I played a fair bit on PC but there's been a lot of updates since I last played. My sister played a lot too so I'm excited for multiplayer when that comes.
 

supergiz

Member
I got a $100 Best Buy gift card for my birthday. Want to use it to get a Nintendo eshop gift card on their site. Do I need to wait for it to arrive to use the eshop gift card or do they give you a digital redeem code online?

If not I'll just use my credit card to get stardew valley tomorrow.

Edit: NM I'm an idiot just figured out there are digital download gift cards.
 
So I was thinking either this and Volgarr or this and Earth Atlantis tomorrow.

Help.

I adore tough as nails Platformers, but also love shooters. Can't justify buying all three with Mario and Rabbids, Golf Story, Pankapu and...like 10 other Switch games unbeaten.
 
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