Hello. I had a concept for a mod, but unfortunately I have no training on how to make any mods myself, so I'm here to just suggest the concept. I am really enjoying Stardew Valley so far, but the way implementation of JoJa mart in the game as-is kind of bugs me. I am aware that they are supposed to be the somewhat unpleasant global antagonist of this game of this game, and, as such, you're not really supposed to overly like them or let them have their way, but, that said, it still seems both unrealistic and kind of a waste when virtually the only worthwhile item that's worth buying in their store is JoJa Cola (and then only just barely). Part of the primary reason big name chains are typically so successful in real life is their ability to *undercut* the prices of smaller markets, as well as the ability to offer a more diverse selection of goods... both qualities that Joja Mart somehow completely lacks in game, despite their apparent success. The wiki even *says* they use 'aggressive pricing' to compete with Pierre's but it must mean 'aggressively stupid' considering that Pierre's place is almost categorically cheaper on every front than they are. I realize that, in order for Pierre's store to remain viable in it's own right, concessions need to be made as to how things 'should' operate, but, nevertheless, I think it'd be a nice touch if Joja Mart's inventory list could be modded to be more useful, as well as reflective of how a big-name chain would actually operate, without going so far as to make Pierre's place and other shops obsolete. First is the seed issue... In this, I actually agree that the majority of seed prices between the two stores should be left as-is. The cheap produce seeds are Pierre's most noteworthy advantage over JoJa (especially so since this happens to be a *farming* game) and it'd ruin Pierre if we caved in to actually trying to portray 'aggressive pricing competition' on this front. (Also, the wiki makes a good point that JoJa 'probably wants to prevent competition with its own farmers/retailers' by lowering its produce seed prices too much... BUT! I think one reasonable way to compensate would be to add *flower* seeds to JoJa's inventory (that fluctuating in availability with the season) which will allow them to have an advantage of their own. After all, JoJa is primarily concerned with staying in good terms their local *produce* growers. They may thus well consider selling non-foodstuff-producing seeds less of a conflict of interest and feel more free to sell decorative/gift plant seeds at more competitive prices. A possible competitive pricing list for each (purely) floral seed type might read as follows - Fairy Rose - 170gp Summer Spangle - 43gp Tulip - 17gp Second is their overall selection of foodstuff goods. One would think that an enormous grocery store like JoJa would offer some popular choices for the modern consumer family, like frozen pizza, or dairy products, or breadstuffs... or anything at all edible beyond just JoJa cola. The quality of any available goods would have to always be the base lowest, lest the player just buy something like eggs from JoJa and make an infinite money chain by just selling the stack right back, but, having a wider variety of goods means that, for just a bit of spare cash, the player is in a much better position to find just the right sort of gift to help satisfy a friend's friendship score... Or for a bit more, buy a cake in case one of your friends birthdays snuck up on you and you don't have the goods on hand to make anything good yourself. Here's a list of some common in-game goods I assembled that would be very appropriate for a big grocery chain like JoJa to carry. Aside from a very few basics like milk, eggs, and cheese, most are *processed* and precooked goods like pizza and spaghetti... Finished products for customer convenience that would be appropriate for a chain like JoJa to carry for sale - Beer - 230gp Bread - 69gp Cheese - 115gp Cookie - 161gp Egg - 29gp Honey (WIld) - 115gp Ice Cream - 138gp Maki Roll - 253gp Mayonnaise - 115gp Milk - 98gp Chocolate Cake - 230gp Pale Ale - 345gp Pink Cake - 572gp Pizza - 345gp Rice Pudding - 299gp Spaghetti - 138gp Finally there's the decorative, household customization goods, such as walling and flooring... These, too, I think Pierre's place should retain the price advantage, just like the produce seeds, as that is yet another major benefit of Pierre's place... The compromise that i think we should give to JoJa is in the category of *selection*. While the price of JoJa's walling and flooring options should remain greatly inflated over Pierre's, JoJa should offer *three of each* randomized walling and floor options each day, as opposed to Pierre's one random option for each each day. That way, in case you've *really* got your heart set on a particular type of flooring, and you happen to have a bit of money to burn, it might pay off to visit JoJa and see what their daily selection is. Odds are good they'll get it in stock a lot sooner than Pierre will, albeit for a fair few bit of GP more. Anyway. That's the sort of changes I had in mind. I don't know just how difficult such a mod would be, but since it doesn't involve the creation of any entirely new items, and just is an expansion in availability of already in-game items, i'm hoping that it's at least somewhat feasible an idea. Please feel free to share what you guys think. Thank you for listening.
I wholeheartedly endorse this idea. It baffled me, the first time I entered Joja-Mart, that the place was somehow still in business despite categorically overpricing EVERYTHING. Worse still is the fact that I can go around inspecting all of the food on the shelves, the specialty items, the various things on sale... and then go up to the cashier and purchase NONE of it. Where's the food that everyone keep telling me is so cheap? Where are those fruits and veggies I'm seeing in the produce section? Joja-Mart is shipping in truck-loads of groceries for low low prices, but all I personally get to purchase is a bunch of overpriced crap? As it stands, from the player's perspective, there's absolutely no way to tell why Joja-Mart is even a threat. Everything's cheaper at Pierre's. The ONLY advantage Joja has as far as the player is concerned is that they're open on wednesdays. -EDIT- That being said, I think a mod such as this would be best served by getting coupled together with a project to completely re-evaluate the economy of Pelican Town. The economy is so screwed in Stardew Valley that changing too much with Joja would only serve to highlight the insanity of the rest of the region.
What items are sold in a store is currently hardcoded and beyond the reach of SMAPI. Wait for Storm to release, and we should be able to edit shop inventories by overriding that function.
Ah. Alright. I suppose that certainly presents a hard counter to the idea for now, but I'm glad to know that it should probably be possible in the future. Thank you for letting me know. Probably a very legitimate concern. I'm definitely also in favor of the idea of setting the valley up with a more viable and enjoyable economic system, and it'd be great if anything I came up with could help in the process of managing that and making the game even better someday.
I'm not sure why more people aren't concerned with this strange store on the very edge of the town map that has a poor location and high prices. I support all of the above ideas, but I had my own I'd like to share with someone and maybe a modder (because I'm not) will pick it up. My balance idea is that what if Joja Mart had better prices, but (as with most big-box stores) they sacrifice price for quality? Say for each seed pack you buy that there's a small chance that it won't grow? That could potentially reduce the over all profit on the large scale, but make it more viable small scale. Basically it would reduce the chance of giant vegetables happening since some spaces would be dead spots. Alternatively what if there was a lower chance of producing higher quality produce? Just exactly how that would balance I think would need some tweeking (or fancy Excel spreadsheets) but I think it would make Joja Mart somewhat viable, and continue to make then an evil big-box store.
It's not that nobody is concerned. It's just that it's not possible for modders to do 95% of the things suggested in REQUESTS threads.
