Stardew Valley

it's a bummer it can't be local/splitscreen, though. there's no way i'm gonna buy another ps4/display/copy of stardew of valley so that i can play a game with someone sitting on the same couch.

the slow death of local co-op is a real thing and it sucks

this is an idiotic theory but here me out:

is the slow death of split screen happening largely because of the format of modern displays, which are almost always widescreen? 420 caveats apply here, but think about it: in the old days, splitting a CRT squarish display would result in two pleasingly widescreen format viewing areas. splitting today's typical displays, though, which are already widescreen, results in either A) two very wide and short, unplayably widescreen areas, or B) two portrait-style (taller than wide) areas, which don't tend to work well with modern games which are designed for (of course) widescreen.

HEAR me out

oof, sorry

if this disturbing theory is correct, the only way to bring local multiplayer splitscreen back into fashion is to somehow push the display industry to make superwide displays, so that when they're split vertically they result in two normal widescreen areas. and doing THAT would require convincing the general public to buy superwidescreens that are visually repulsive for the sole benefit of playing local splitscreened games. which seems unlikely. fuck, there's no way but down in this age

Hacking multiplayer into a game that wasn't designed for it is tricky enough without the additional UI and game engine burdens of split screen

local multiplayer went out of fashion because of broadband internet and because it's at odds with graphics fetishism. i think the pendulum is probably swinging back currently with the rising popularity of tabletop gaming - there's clearly a growing audience for social interaction + gaming, but i don't know that it's the same people that are paying $60 for the annual mediocre assassins creed game or getting hooked by lootboxes.

Local multiplayer still works for small screens that you can hold in your hands and that share a LAN

like iPads or the Switch

I’m still looking for a local multiplayer Terraria buddy though

terraria was $3 on psn recently but the minecraftiness scared me off

I recommend it. The controls for mobile sucked at first but now I’ve got an apartment building with an attached cathedral with a rose window and an indoor pond and extra fuckoff doors so the goblin army can’t get in

Bought Terraria twice and didn't get on with it either time. Just feels a bit clumsy.

Finally got my ass kicked in the dungeon, that sucked a lot.

I'm guess I'm committed to opening all the packages in the old community center, though I'm not looking forward to the fishing bundles. Also, where the fuck did the Mayor leave his goddamn purple underwear?

Marnie's bedroom ;)

Spoilers I guess, sorry

new update! i think the load times are a lot faster.

i am almost at Christmas. i can't wait to be done with winter and get back to making a garden! in the meantime i have been building up my coops, bringing in chickens and cows. love this game =)

Accidentally chopping down an expensive, almost-mature fruit tree with a single swing of an upgraded axe is a bad feeling :(

when you have an upgraded axe, maybe the whole world starts looking like an expensive, almost-mature fruit tree, you know?

i have the axe in the shop now getting a steel upgrade.

Accidentally chopping down an expensive, almost-mature fruit tree with a single swing of an upgraded axe is a bad feeling :(

― Dan I., Monday, December 11, 2017 11:11 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol i did this to 3-4 trees in a row before i figured out that it looks like any other tree you would cut down and i need to pay more attention. i lost like 10k to chopping down trees i had just planted :)

I keep taking way too long in between sessions with this game. I need to be a less busy person

I don't really get into the decorations and landscaping froofery, but now I see that putting a path or something around my orchard serves a useful purpose.

I continue to chip away. I got a Rarecrow at the fair; I finally bought chickens for my coop; and I am wondering where the Big Love cheat code is, because I cannot choose between the Scavenger Artist and the Trailer Park Schoolmarm.

I just started this during the weekend. 14 hours in, I'm still not sure if this game is actually "good" or like, just good-enough variation on bits of design from Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon. It's slowly addictive... key being slow...

its a better harvest moon is all. good enough for me. the length of a single day is like perfectly timed to make it addictive

A year in. Soooo tempted to cheat more, I've already looked up some stuff on the wiki - especially for those fish that never seem to appear for the bundles.

I love this game. But I am in autumn of year two, and I have not caught a single fish. Lo, how I have tried. But I cannot do it. Fuck a chub.

You guys have made me feel better about myself

i'm the fishing golden boy. i have 2 left to finish off the fish tank bundles. i still can't get near the super slippery rare fish tho. i think you need to really plan ahead, have that fisherman's breakfast meal on hand. none of the tackles seem to really help.

xp oh god the fish thing drove me CRAZY until I finally understood you can hold down Button 1 instead of mashing it like a psycho

I know I can/should optimize my gardening by growing a single high yield crop in a staggered plan using strategic sprinklers. but I like the idea of growing a varied garden and making wacky dishes to sell back as i need cash. I am sure I will be in year 78 before I get shit right.

No dude playing this game ”optimally” is for wankers. Trust your instincts

I just.. I don't know why I'm so addicted to this game which is ostensibly super boring and repetitive

Starfruit?

i had to stop playing because i was losing days at a time to the lulling, hypnotic rhythm of it

of course now i'm similarly addicted to marvel puzzle quest

at least stardew doesn't have criminally-tempting in-app purchases :(

https://kotaku.com/black-panthers-director-is-very-into-stardew-valley-rig-1823243607

Oh no he’s hot

https://www.gq.com/story/stardew-valley-eric-barone-profile/

it's finally happening!

https://kotaku.com/stardew-valley-s-multiplayer-has-been-worth-the-wait-1825656907

That explains why SD has blown back up on twitch. I promise to go back to playing it once I do everything else on my list of stuff

yeah i never finished my first year even

So I plumped for this and not regretting it so far.

Fishing is hard, but that's good.

And I cannot seem to get my fence gates to open.

..and will have to try out that multiplayer beta, my godson will be pleased to hear about this.

I started playing this again this week after dropping it for months (thanks Yakuza). Now I’m married to Abigail and I’ve got one of those irridium generators. I also constructed a cabin on my property without realising it was meant for a multiplayer friend, d’oh.

I also want to continue working on my friendships with people, but Abigail was sore about me giving pink cake to Haley.

Also, my cellar is full of cheese and wine and I want to produce more animal products but Marnie is never there.

https://www.fangamer.com/products/stardew-valley-guidebook
I bought this and it arrived today and it’s very lovely and useful.

I stopped playing for months again but am back on it again. Who should I marry next time?

go chaos mode and marry alex

that guidebook looks amazing. if i was 10 i would be absolutely obsessed with it

this is an addictive game. my 8-year-old daughter and i have been playing separate games of it and she's like a season ahead of me already. we bought her that book for a "good job on school this year" present

Have you tried multiplayer with her? I guess you’d have to have two switches, unless cross-platform multiplayer is a thing

i don't think we have a way we can do that

both of my kids are playing this now. the 8-year-old is zooming ahead and spoils everything that's going to happen for me. the 4-year-old makes a new character (we have to spell out whatever names she wants to give the character and farm letter by letter), plays about a day, then goes back and starts a new game to make another new character.

the 8-year-old mainly seems to be interested in building relationships. she already has sam as her boyfriend in year 2. she doesn't farm or mine or fish at all.

big update out. Anyone tried yet? Not ventured into finding out about it yet as i'm ready for bed but just saw it trending

new one from the stardew guy

Haunted Chocolatier early gameplay video: pic.twitter.com/dYws8GgsKB

— ConcernedApe (@ConcernedApe) October 21, 2021