Stardew Valley Creator Announces Version 1.7 Update

"I knew it would freaking happen eventually! Now I'll have to spend another hundred hours in this game sometime in the future!" 🤣

I've actually never played Stardew Valley btw, hence the quotation marks.

......and he said he was done with game and would be working on Haunted Chocolatier.
-.-
I don't care anymore....

The game definitely looks like i would not enjoy it, but for those who do this is really cool that updates are still coming out for this.

Looks like I'll be in for yet another 250 hour playthrough, as has been the case after every other major Stardew update. It's rare to see a game that is inexpensive get so much continued attention, but I ain't complainin'

My character got hungry all the time so I dropped this game within the first hour I think.
Hope he fixes that...

This game could be my new Hollow Knight whereas it was critically acclaimed, widely beloved and although I’ve played very little…nothing seemed to grab me about this game so for now it’s a bit overrated to me. (I love Hollow Knight now after getting over a some slow starts). I’m beginning to really value my backlog amongst the changing landscape of modern gaming. It’s really cool to see this game still being supported after all these years, this dev deserves his flowers. So I do hope to finally give the game a proper play

Oh no, it‘s happening again. Several articles about the course of months for an update, like it happened with 1.6.

I still don’t get the fascination. Other companies announce „New update tomorrow, enables 60 fps on the latest console generation“, update lands, everybody downloads it and is happy. Here? The creator doesn’t even say what he plans as the main content updates.

Please, Liam, you seem to be a big fan, but make articles only in case of substantial news (not „ConceredApe said he‘s still working on update 1.7, still can’t say when it will be released“).

@TrogdorTheBurninator That's not an issue that needs to be fixed- it's a feature. This is a farming game (among other things) and you are expected to grow food. There are multiple ways to increase and replenish your stamina, including various foods, leveling up, and stardrops that permanently increase your maximum stamina. You also can get better tools that do more work faster and with less energy. This is based on the Harvest Moon / Story of Seasons games by the way. It's an established system of starting small and gradually overcoming your limitations.

(for the record, this game isn't really my cup of tea either, though I've given it a fair shot a few times)

Love Stardew Valley. Played hundreds of hours. Loved 1.6. All that said, please stop with the updates. The game is just fine the way it is. Move on and please finish Haunted Chocolatier.

@flighty
Just give me one potato to start growing in the beginning of the game and I'd be happy.

Game didn't click with me but I can see the love and dedication behind it. That being said, considering that there's no mention of the possible features coming with that update, I don't see why it's exciting. For all I know it could just be fixing some things or whatever.

Looking forward to trying this out on Playstation Plus. If I like it enough I might get the Switch version for convenience.

I wonder if he financed this latest update with the money he got from licensing this for PS+? I assume that's how these things work.

@TrogdorTheBurninator It does give you like 15 seeds to plant. And money to buy more.

Ok, I’ve tried to get into this game twice now due to all the hype. But I personally cannot stand the time limit aspect - as a cosy sim meant to be played at your own pace, I just hated the fact that you only have a limited time each day and are forced back before dark. I was so used to the Animal Crossing approach which allows you freedom and leeway to do things at your own pace. Forced time constraints in a cosy life sim just don’t feel right to me, and I can’t believe more people don’t have an issue with this aspect of the game. Forever condemned to the backlog, I fear…

@Rainz I feel the same way! I loved Harvest Moon btw growing up, but in my adult years for some reason the pacing of it / the time sink has made me steer clear (thus far). Really curious about exploring this world one day

@Picola-Wicola This is exactly the reason why I won't play this. 10 minutes just to get to the front door, an hour just to walk to the shed. It makes no sense and it makes me stressed.

Should I ever build a similar game (I won't, but... you know...) you can just select when you want to head into the next part of a day. Morning - Midday - Evening, take your sweet time on each.

@Daniel36 @Picola-Wicola I was like that at first too. I hate time limits like that in video games usually. This game was no different. I tried it once and then put it down for a long time.

Eventually I gave it another go, and tried to push through. I learned to manage with the time limit system, and I had more fun with it. The idea is that you'll make things easier on yourself as you go (like automating the crop watering process), so that you'll have more time for other things more and more. I never grew to love the time limit thing, but it did become just another aspect of the game for me to the point where it no longer really bothered me. Not nearly as much, anyway.

I'm not telling you to give the game another try, but it isn't impossible to get accustomed to the time limit and really start to enjoy the game for what it is, even if at first that time limit didn't click with you. Same with the stamina thing, for that matter, which also bothered me at first. But you can upgrade that later in the game, so that that part at least becomes a lot more manageable.

I do have to admit I don't quite understand the hype this game often gets either, but it's still a really fun game. I hope that if you guys give it another try one day, you'll learn to deal with the time limit like I did and manage to actually enjoy the game! If not, well, there's still plenty of other games to play, both in and out of this genre.

@cvrator
My point is that energy is too much of an issue in the early game for it to be fun.

@Daniel36 you summed up perfectly why the time limit is so off putting: “10 minutes just to get to the front door, an hour just to walk to the shed. It makes no sense and it makes me stressed.”

@Yosher I really do appreciate the points you make, and the game is permanently downloaded on my Switch 2 just in case I ever fancy really trying to get into it. But it seems that when you’re just trying to get used to one aspect of the gameplay, or wanting to just wander and discover the game world, that time limit kicks in and it stresses you out to have to head back no sooner than you are ready to get things going.

A lot of people here seem to not like the time limit and stamina systems, but the game is designed around it and I don't think it would work very well without them. A big part of the fun is managing your time and planning ahead, kind of like Pikmin. I definitely understand why people find that stressful and don't enjoy it though.

@Inc The game sold over 40 million copies I don't think the developer needed any financing for this.

@Max_the_German A patch announcement for resolution & FPS updates is no news at all, a major content patch announcement for a game is

This game is cool, and I know a lot of people sink hundreds of hours into it, but my farm addiction game is Farm Together. That is SO good, and so underrated. I’ve put hundreds of hours into that one and still can’t put it down! Farm Together 2 is also fantastic!

Ive been holding out for a physical which gets updated too. Guess Ill wait some more..

The cool thing about the game getting these major content updates is that it never fades into obscurity.

Stardew valley when it launched got a load of followers but it also attracted a load of clones which try and copy the basic gameplay loop. But what clones have a far harder time copying is a decade of refinement and care by the original creator.

And aye, it's a farming/life sim, that's not for everyone but for fans of the genre it's fantastic.

Like the original Dark Souls game, Stardew took me a couple of attempts to get into, but once it clicks, it really clicks. The early game can be rough initially, (especially the stamina), but once you overcome that, the time limit becomes a lot easier to manage and eventually it's a non issue once you get better sprinklers, a horse and other systems up and running.
I recently started another run for the Joja route so I'm going through the early stages again. Early game tips are to focus on crops early and build chests at the mines and at your farm, (try to resist grabbing the backpack too early as that money can be used elsewhere, I made the same mistake the first couple of times). If you can make a few thousand by the time the egg festival comes on the 13th of Spring, load up on Strawberry seeds and that will give you a great headstart going into Summer. Fishing is also recommended early when you're struggling for stamina and need a bit of extra money, (fishing will drop off late game for making money). I try to use foraged food when I can for energy, the Salmonberries in Spring and Blackberries in Autumn make this easier, but they only spawn for a few select days so I stock up when I can, (there are also spring onions in Cindersnap Forest, south of your farm in Spring).
I also have a habit of hoarding one of everything, (especially if you're doing the community centre), as you'll inevitably need it at some point. Winter is rough until you get the Greenhouse, (which is tough to do on year one), so I normally run the mines instead.
I have put around 400 hours into this game across Switch and PC, one of my favourite games of all time. It's not for everyone, (I normally very much dislike time limits), but once you have that under control it's very addicting.
All of the above being said, I do wish he'd get around to finishing the Haunted Chocolatier. In retrospect, I wonder if he regrets announcing it so early as now it's expected of him by fans of Stardew who are ready to move on.

I really want him to add mouse support on Switch 2.

I absolutely adore Stardew Valley and had a great time playing it by myself and doing a replay with my wife a few years later, but I honestly wish he would just leave the game alone and have complete focus on his new ventures. But at the end of the day, it's his choice and more power to him!

@Joeynator3000 tbh I dont know how much you can push the idea of making chocolate and... ghosts?

@Princess_Lilly ...I mean, it's supposed to be a shop manager or tycoon type game, it just involves ghosts being the customers, or working for you or something...

This game is really unique in terms of the amount of care given by the developer. It's a true phenomenon. I really wish I could love it. Tried to get into it several times but the gameplay is so unappealing to me that I cannot stand it for more than a couple of minutes.

@Bydlak
It took me a few times to get into it, but now it's one of my favorite games of all time.... if you're ever interested in giving it another chance, I highly highly recommend playing while using the Stardew Valley wiki (https://stardewvalleywiki.com/), it's what made the game enjoyable for me.

Stardew Valley: The game that keeps on giving.

I can't think of too many games that have this consistent of content updates that I actually play. I am not sure when I would get around to experiencing the new update since I am playing other things but updates like these are what pushed Stardew Valley into being an evergreen type of game.

Wonder if we’ll ever see Haunted Chocolatier, but this is nice, I guess.

@JackieCMarlow

Thank you. A good hint, I guess. I used a lot of wiki for The Binding of Isaac and it helped me to enjoy the game more, now I got some 2000 hours into it.

I managed to get past the initial stress of the constantly ticking clock (I got into the habit of opening a menu to freeze time every time I was standing still or thinking about something), but what eventually wore me down with Stardew is the inventory system. Having to manually create multiple 30-slot storage repositories (which can't be moved if they have anything in them) makes managing your thousands of items (particularly later in the game - I was on my third year) a real slog. Also not being able to craft items unless you have them on you, or in an adjoining slot to your workbench, was a hassle.

@MetalGearValley Yeah, the one-tile whack n' scoot method got very tiresome quickly and gave me ACNH ptsd flashbacks Tbf I've not actually properly dove back into SV, since big chests were introduced in 1.6, maybe this is the answer to my woes!

The time limit is basically meaningless. There is no true game over if I recall. So what if you run out of time or stamina thou just start a new day

@Galaxy2IsTheGOAT if you pass out outside your home you basically get mugged and lose a few of your items — that's really the only penalty, but it's not worth the aggro

Here's to hoping for a resolution update for the Switch 2. Like every other S1 game, that 720p in handheld mode looks rough on the S2 screen, and this game is very much suited for handheld play. I wouldn't say no to 2160p support for docked mode either, but my TV does a good job upscaling so not a necessity

They can take all the time they need really. This is one of those games that keeps on giving, and it's already chock full of content.

I can wait a little bit longer for this game to consume my life again.

For a game that didn’t cost much and gave a lot in the first place, it’s getting an awful lot of free dlc 😁

Gotta love this guy!

What's this... a game that continues to put out updates and major additions to the game for FREE... no purchased DLC required?

Oh that's right. It's not owned by Nintendo that puts out a $70 game and two months later puts out a paid DLC for said game.

@Yosher He, not they, Eric is a solo developer : )

@SabreLevant I thought as much, but I wasn't entirely sure. Thank you.