RELEASED Longevity v1.0->v1.2

Discussion in 'Mods' started by RTGOAT, Oct 24, 2016.

  1. RTGOAT

    RTGOAT Cosmic Narwhal

    Being one of my favorite games; I wanted to give this game more play-ability. I felt that hitting 90-95% of the game's content was too quick. With this mod I aimed to increase the lifespan of the game by slowing down the rate at which money is acquired.

    ===============================
    PRICE BALANCING:
    ===============================


    -Profits from farming are significantly reduced.
    -Crops with higher profit margins have higher seed prices

    ===============================
    PRICE INFLUENCERS:
    ===============================


    -Selling prices increase as a player levels their respective skill (EX: Farming level slightly increases crop profits or minerals / metals increase as mining level increases).

    -Items are worth more when they are out of season (EX: Strawberries are a spring crop; they sell for normal price during spring, but more in summer/winter and most in the Fall).

    -Relationship with shop owners give player price benefits (Currently: Pierre discounts his seeds, Willy increases the value of fish, and Clint increases the value of gems/minerals/metals).

    -Cooked meal values are increased by 25% (More incentive to cook, less incentive to buy. Passively increases the value of stamina and gifting).

    -Almost all items have random variable price influence (Prices will fluctuate every single day from a random 0-15% [positive and negative] depending on what kind of item it is).

    Seasonal influence will take into account artisan goods and what they were made from. Strawberry jelly will have the same seasonal influence as strawberries; same goes for blueberries, etc.

    ===============================
    STAMINA BALANCING:
    ===============================


    -Axe and pickaxe have less stamina benefit from upgrading (Upgrading still reduces stamina used, but not as much as before).

    -Scythe uses 2 stamina per swing.

    Stamina use is slightly harder to test as it has quite a few variables that affect it over time.
    Because I am limited on ability to test, I've only currently made minor changes and will continue to tweak as needed.

    ===============================
    TAXES/BILLS:
    ===============================


    -At the end of each month (Morning of the 28th), a simple menu will pop up to notify the player of all monthly expenses to be incurred. The player will then have the costs deducted from their bank. If a player has less money than the costs, they will go into debt which will be displayed as a 0. The bill will give the player their debt amount, however the game doesn't account for negative money so its display will remain 0 until the debt is covered.

    -Taxes: Taxes are computed based on the player's house size, how many buildings are on the farm, how much capital the player has placed [on the farm and inside buildings] (bee houses, preserve jars, etc), and tax breaks based on if the player is married and how many kids the player has.

    -Water: Water bills are calculated by the players current house size, how many buildings are on the farm, and how many sprinklers are placed on the farm.

    -Electricity: Calculated based on the players current house size, how many buildings are on the farm, and how many light objects are placed on the farm and inside buildings.

    ===============================
    FUTURE ADDITIONS:
    ===============================


    -Currently my top priority is to monitor the release status and make sure you guys are having a good time.

    -I would like to add dialogue that has a more dynamic trigger. For example, NPCs have special dialogue that is triggered on certain events (Like you became friends with one of their friends or that you have a new love interest, etc).

    -More mail based on special triggers like dialogue.

    -More paths for NPCs. My goal here is to make their schedules less predictable, giving them more realism/life.

    -Your suggestions and ideas.

    ===============================

    I highly recommend starting a new game with this mod. While it will work with a current save, the flow of the game is so different that it would be best experienced from start.

    This mod should play nicely with other mods, but I did not test with any of them. If you have any mod conflicting issues, please do let me know so I can make it as universally compatible as possible.

    I will be checking this post and any pms here on this forum on every 30 minute interval until late tonight.
    If there are any unexpected issues with the mod I will be here for today to handle them as quickly as possible. I appreciate all feedback and ideas for the future.

    I hope that you enjoy this mod as much as I did making it. I plan to continually update and add what I currently have here. As a super broke and busy college student, my time is limited; however, I'm dedicated to spending as much free time as possible to progress this mod alongside your feedback.

    Thank you! :)


    UPDATE v1.0 - [OCT 24]:
    -Hot-fixed a bug where artisan goods (jelly, juice, wine, pickles, honey) were not recognized and being set to a value of 0 if the prefix of the good was more than a single word (EX: Summer Spangle Honey)
    The mod will update and fix any items that were affected by this bug to reflect their intended price.

    UPDATE v1.1 - [OCT 28]:
    -I have added a simple config to allow users to disable any of the three major features. (All future features will also be added to the config)

    UPDATE v1.2 - [NOV 4]:
    -Hot-fixed a bug where prefixed artisan goods (jelly, juice, wine, pickles, honey), purchased from the traveling trader, caused crashing.
    -Random Influence fluctuations have been rebalanced (Same disadvantage, less advantage).


    INSTALL:
    -Extract folder from zip download into SMAPI v.40 'Mods' folder.
    -If you already have an older mod version installed, overwrite the old folder with the new folder.

    IN THE CONFIG: Use true or false (case sensitive) to indicate on/off.

    Download v1.2: On Nexus Mods


    What I am currently working on:
    -Creating more influencers to make prices even more dynamic (Diminishing returns, disaster effects, other economic variables)
    -Content additions: Currently I am working on some dynamic dialogue. I've also been working on another feature, but it requires artwork help since I am no artist!
     
      Last edited: Jan 2, 2017
      britestar90, Exiom, ninsect and 16 others like this.
    • tegobash

      tegobash Big Damn Hero

      I don't know much about prices or balance, but the taxes section looks fantastic. Can't wait to try this one.
       
      • General Chaos

        General Chaos Pangalactic Porcupine

        Wow this looks like exactly what Stardew needed for long term playing. Gonna try this out if it works fine with cooking skill (love that mod).
         
        • senlim

          senlim Subatomic Cosmonaut

          I like the taxes and bills idea but not the price rebalance.
          I have two suggestions.

          "Diminishing Profit" and "High Demand"
          1. The more item A you sell the lower the sell price (profit) gets for item A.
          Example: you sell blueberry for $100 today. Tomorrow it becomes $90. It keeps going down until $1 profit; Diminishing value resets on Spring 1 (next year).

          2. Random "high demand" item for random duration
          Example: gold bar sells for $250 today but tomorrow suddenly has high demand and sells for $300 for 2 days (random).
           
            GustheTruBus, Snarkypie, Med and 3 others like this.
          • RTGOAT

            RTGOAT Cosmic Narwhal

            I plan to setup a config in the future to allow players to pick and choose which features they want and do not want.
            I also plan to put in tweaks within the config to give more refined changes to each of the features.

            Please do let me know if it causes any issues with the mod. I would be happy to look into making it compatible if there are issues.

            1. Diminishing profits were most certainly an idea I initially had. I do plan to add something similar in the future. I liked the idea of promoting the player to farm as many different types of crops as possible.
            The only current set back is that I wanted a clean and simple way to track what the player has sold/harvested. When I figure out how to save and track that information; I will implement it.

            2. This is something I hadn't thought of. I really like the idea; I feel it may create or put the player in a position to be spontaneous with their saved goods.
            I'll certainly look into implementing the idea.

            Thank you for the suggestions!
             
              senlim likes this.
            • Naesaki

              Naesaki Void-Bound Voyager

              This seems really fantastic, definitely going to keep an eye on this :D
               
              • General Chaos

                General Chaos Pangalactic Porcupine

                Wanted to make a quick note bug Spangled honey has 0 sale value. Tried selling one at pierre's but it was worth 0. Basic honey still has value but not spangled, I will assume the other "varied" honey probably have 0 value as well.The honey had value before installing your mod but now it does not, not sure if this is intended or not.
                 
                • RTGOAT

                  RTGOAT Cosmic Narwhal

                  Most certainly is not intentional. Majority of my testing was done on 1.0.7; 1.11 may have caused some bugs that I didn't get a chance to test out.
                  I'll get that fixed up asap!

                  Edit: Should be Fixed!
                   
                    Last edited: Oct 24, 2016
                  • wooby6

                    wooby6 Scruffy Nerf-Herder

                    The PRICE INFLUENCERS Section is genius. But I can see a number of people disliking your Scythe changes.
                    (one of the main tricks people learn is to equip the Scythe in town so even if you make an accidental click you won't loose stamina)
                    What you should add next is Config options
                     
                    • RTGOAT

                      RTGOAT Cosmic Narwhal

                      Config options are coming next.
                      If needed, you can use a sword/weapon as a substitute to the scythe.
                       
                      • Jim Jones

                        Jim Jones Void-Bound Voyager

                        Once a config file is made I can see using this and loving it. I don't like the scythe stamina use, I don't like the axe and pick getting less efficient in usage of stamina, but I like most everything else so far, especially the concept of bills.
                         
                          Last edited: Oct 26, 2016
                          spiritslive99 likes this.
                        • RTGOAT

                          RTGOAT Cosmic Narwhal

                          Axe and pickaxe don't get less efficient, they just don't get AS much efficiency as they did before.
                          The only reason I didn't release with a config initially is so that I can track how well the features all work with each other first.

                          I wanted more time and testing before I allowed for specific configurations of the mod to be chosen upon.
                          I'm hoping to have a configuration setup released before the end of the month!
                           
                          • Jim Jones

                            Jim Jones Void-Bound Voyager

                            Poor choice of words on my end, sorry. Anyway, is there an upper limit to how many preserves jars/kegs/casks are taxed or is it just a flat rate per item?
                             
                            • RTGOAT

                              RTGOAT Cosmic Narwhal

                              Currently it is flat rate per item taxed. The math behind all of these features will only become more complex and realistic as the mod progresses.
                              I want to start somewhat simple so that further changes can be made in the right direction to save myself and my user's time.
                               
                              • yarpirate0920

                                yarpirate0920 Aquatic Astronaut

                                In order to install you just need to extract it so the Mods directory with SMAPI installed?
                                 
                                • RTGOAT

                                  RTGOAT Cosmic Narwhal

                                  I'm not entirely sure of what you're asking. This mod does require SMAPI v.40.
                                  To install you just place the mod folder named "Longevity" into the mods folder of your SMAPI install directory.
                                   
                                  • yarpirate0920

                                    yarpirate0920 Aquatic Astronaut

                                    Ah sorry bad grammar. Your post is exactly what I was looking for.
                                     
                                    • RTGOAT

                                      RTGOAT Cosmic Narwhal

                                      UPDATE v1.1:
                                      I have added a simple config to allow users to disable any of the three major features. (All future features will also be added to the config)

                                      IN THE CONFIG: Use true or false (case sensitive) to indicate on/off.

                                      -Price Balancing: This includes anything that changes object prices [static price changes and influencers].
                                      Turning this off will revert all prices of future items to the game's original price. (Any items created with this feature on will retain their price, only newly created items will revert)
                                      Turning this on will change the prices of all current items (anything on the player or saved in chests) and all future items.

                                      -Stamina Balancing:
                                      Turning this off will restore all stamina costs for using tools. (Game default)
                                      Turning this on will enact all stamina balance changes listed.

                                      -Taxes:
                                      Turning this off will prevent any taxes, bills or refunds from occurring.
                                      Turning this on will enact all tax features listed.

                                      *NOTE: Taxes are designed and impacted based on the profits gained from price balancing. If price balancing is off, taxes will have less intended impact on the player.
                                       
                                        Last edited: Oct 29, 2016
                                        randomAnon123 and General Chaos like this.
                                      • SKKN

                                        SKKN Big Damn Hero

                                        Wow really loving this idea. Prices going down until $1 might be a bit of a overkill but maybe have a limit to like say, 40% of the original price? So if blueberries cost 100, and the more you sell it will go down but once it hit that break-even limit as to the cost of seeds and whatnot, the devaluation will stop at that point.
                                         
                                        • RTGOAT

                                          RTGOAT Cosmic Narwhal

                                          Yes! I have plenty more influencers like that to add in!
                                          I'll continue to keep you guys updated on progress :)
                                           
                                            Last edited: Oct 30, 2016

                                          Share This Page