WARNING: English is not my first language, therefore big mistakes in spelling and grammar may be seen. It is known for everyone that to have children in the game is pretty... well some people find it anti-climatic, almost disappointing, and some other players who are not completionists just right away ignore that feature as it adds nearly nothing interesting to the game in the long run. There are lots of mods who try to work their way to make them a more interesting feature, but little of them pass over re-texturing them or adding more colors, but in the end, more colors are almost never more interesting content. That's where my suggestion comes along! For a hypothetical future update (probably quite far), I suggest: Enhanced children! how? well, adding the following changes: - The new stage after toddler: Kid After a year, the toddler would grow in their birthday to a new stage in which they reminisce the other two children villagers: Vincent and Jas. Now I know what you are thinking, How could this be done? it would require to create a sprite and that could look very strange depending on who are the bachelor/bachelorette chosen or how the player look like! I know I know, but I have also thought of a possible solution: Every bachelor and bachelorette would carry some "traits" these are: Eye color, skin color and hair color, in the exact same way as the player, these numbers would them get mixed up with the numbers of the player, resulting into a mix, along with a random hair style, no facial hair whatsoever and randomized clothing color or maybe color palette depending of personality (will explain later) and so creating a sprite similar in form and size as Vincent and Jas but with different hair and colors. Also if the kid is adopted, then the numbers could simply be completely randomized! Ta-da! now your toddler is an actual kid... but what else? This kid could now follow Vincent and Jas with Penny when she teaches in the library, a little new extension to her routine could be added in which after leaving Jas at home she also walks your kids to the farm from the forest south entrance, with this, you can also put them to interact with certain items of the farm, same as the dog or any animal can get out of the house and roam around, the child could do as well. COuld be possible for the child to even gift an item related to their personality same as your partner gift you food when interacted some mornings. - Personality based on affection and attention: In the toddler stage, the child would actually accept gifts, and keep some record of them... or well, more like of what player skill do they belong. At the end when the toddler grows into a kid the skill that is been more present in their life (AKA the skill whose most items gifted bellows) is the one to which the kid develops a special interest in: - Combat: If you gift your toddler with slimes, bat wings, bombs, insect meat or other combat/monster related loot they will become a fighter child, the differences could be that they have sort of a red/black color palette, all their interactions would talk about how much they desire to become strong like you (the player) and how they want to grow to slain monsters and protect people. During festivals they would also appear following the adventurers' guild member Marlon, and maybe a voice line added to him talking about "How they want to befriend him so bad" or how the child wants to impress him or things of the like. When Penny is watching over the children when they play near the river, this type of child could be seen wielding a stick and making moves as if using a sword, and finally their interactions with farm items would be to follow your pet dog or cat around, while again wielding the stick or a wooden sword, ofc when asked they say they won't harm the pet, but rather that they are going into an adventure to save the world. Sometimes this kid would gift you monster related loot. - Fishing: If you gift your toddler with fishes, bait, bobbers, hooks (yeah i know who would give that to a toddler) and the like, they will become a fisher child, this one could have white and blue palette, their interactions would talk about how they want to get over all the fishing records of you, and explore the sea, during festivals they would stay near Willy and same as the previous case the man would be surprised for the child determination, or maybe would congrat you for inculcate the tradition of fishing on your offspring. When Penny is watching the children next to the river, this one type would simple chill next to the rives using a string attached to a stick (the same stick??) to make as if they are fishing something. Their interactions with the farm would most likely be them fishing in the pond. Sometimes this kid would gift you a common fish. - Foraging: If you gift your toddlers with wood, any foraging item, seasonal seeds, truffles or syrup, they become a forester child: The palette of this one could be two different green shades. This child would talk mostly about how they want to explore the forest, become one with it, and discover its secrets. During festivals they would try to stay close to Leah and a line to her could be added acknowledging the child or maybe sharing seasonal tricks with them. When the other kids at the river, this one child would stay close to the fence, kneel down kind of scavenging in the floor. In the farm this child would walk around the trees or be kneel down digging something in the floor. Sometimes this kid would gift you a common seasonal foraging item. - Mining: If you gift your toddler with rocks, ores, ingots or gems they will become a miner child, they could wear gray and brown color palette and when interacting would talk about how they want to explore the caves and find all their secrets. During festivals they would stay close to Clint and maybe a line would be added to him saying how the child is overwhelming him a little with so many questions. In the river with the other kids, this one could maybe hold a little wooden pickaxe looking around or trying to hit the ground with it. In the farm they would walk around rocks with their faux pickaxe and maybe sometimes do the animation as if they are trying to hit it. SOmetimes this child would gift the player with stones or common ores (copper and iron mostly) And finally - Farming: If you gift your child with any animal product (except truffles) or any crop or seed, they will become a farmer child. They could wear a yellow and green palette or a yellow and brown one. Interacting with them would result in them estating how much they want to grow up to start helping with the farm and become a farmer just like you (the player). During festivals they would stay close to else Marney or Evelyn (maybe depending if they are more animal liking or gardener liking) and a line could be added, maybe Marney saying that she would love to let the kid play with her cattle sometime or Evelyn enjoying kid energy. In the river with the others, this one maybe be playing with a watering can, going to the water to fill it, and then back to some patch of floor to water it. In the farm, they would follow any free animal or the pet, or standing close to any terrain with a seed planted, in winter could stay inside or "caring" for a clay pot if present. Sometimes this child say that they have watered one seed or feed an animal, meaning you save one hay or save the energy to have to water it. Their affection for you and the affection displayed to you could also be decided for how many hearts the toddler has when growing into a kid if you don't care at all for the child they will develop a random personality trait and will act cold to you, almost never gifting you back. However with a good amount of hearts the child would be much more close to you in the interactions, maybe unlocking new cutscenes and often gifting you. You could always become a better parent, same as any other villager, by improving your relationship Now we get to the end, this is what I think would be a "doable" way to enhance the children in the game and making them a more interesting feature, it is true that it would require a lot of writing and work, and I being a writer myself can't but offer a hypothetical hand not only writing but also translating from English to my native language (Spanish), because this game deserves all the good it can happen to it. Please tell me what do you think about this, do you think it is really doable? what problems do you think it could produce? Would you like it to make it to the game? That's all! A hug to all of you and good evening
I love this! Personally, even though I'm usually a completionist, I'm not into the idea of having children in SDV, and may only do so in my Penny file, but stuff like this would make them worth it. The only thing I think might be better is to have the child have the same traits as just your spouse, seeing as you can change your appearance. Otherwise, you would have to choose whether to use your appearance from the pregnancy, meaning it would be stuck with whatever you chose then, or your current appearance, meaning the child might change with you, even though you might have just changed your character's appearance to reflect them dyeing their hair.
This is a great idea, I'd love to see even more such as your children growing up into teens and eventually adults. The whole "aging process" in Stardew Valley is kind of odd currently, with your children not really aging much than past toddlers, George and Evelyn never dying even if you're on something like year 100, (same with other villagers,) and Jas and Vincent never growing up. I could go on forever and you get my point, not that I'm complaining though. We'd all love to watch our children, the teenagers, and Vincent grow up. But this leaves one big question, what will happen to the player's age?
I completely agree with all of this, but I think after kid, they would be a teen, same rules apply, just stronger/more efficient, then after teen, there would a cutscene where you would see them going onto the bus, moving out while you and your wife say goodbye. It could have some closure instead of them being eternal kids. I actually came to this forum to post this. hope it makes it in the game!! I mean, the 1.3 updates coming out soon... hint hint devs
I haven't finished reading all of this yet, But I love this idea! The gifting the children items to make them pursuit something is fantastic! Read it all, I now love the idea of the children I have in the game running around holding sticks.
Well, this is surprising! I knew the general opinion of the community towards the children wasn't that good but I never expected the thirst for them to be useful to be so real xD True I forgot that you can change your appearance, maybe it's the most fair option, the children look like your spouse but you decide their traits xD Honestly in these types of games it is design wise the usual thing to do, if not you would eventually be alone in a phantom village or one day you would have to give the player a "game over" screen because the player is death or have to design every single generation after the initial with more and more results of people growing, getting paired, reproducing and aging and again and again forever generating each procedurally and honestly? That is not what the game is about, was never the point and it is a heck of a lot more of work, I understand the developer there. We are talking about taking a (very) uninteresting feature and make it a little bit more interesting! Not about re-booting the whole tittle xD Well this would be a more reasonable way to develop the children rather than making the whole valley grown too for the same reason I said early, it would be strange that you and your spouse keep having kids eternally while Vincent and Jas stay as kids though xD but it would be a way to unlock all the children types! Just have 2, let them grown, say goodbye, and have another two of a different type, there would be a moment where you get letters of any of your children everyday! I want to thank again for all the support and ideas! Maybe we can bring enough attention to this to make it into the game! Also, what about cutscenes? Every child type could have several little scenes depending on how much hearts do they have and some other conditions. I am thinking maybe about a scene where the over enthusiasm of the child put them in danger and maybe other where you bond with them! Ofc not necessarily limited to those. - Fighter child: You could unlock a cutscene in wich you caught them in the slime hut trying to fight the slimes, with a brush in the knee and you could tell them that they have to be more careful and not do it again or boost your hearts saying that it's ok, but next time they should tell you so you both can do it together. Another cutscene could be in the entrance of the mines, after you promise to take him in a day to the mines they are quite happy and enthusiastic, and you promise to watch out for them and they are just too happy! Parental bonding - Fisher child: There could be a scene in which they fall in the river and you have to rescue them, and same as the first you can scold them or tell them to trust you or a day in which you take them to fish at the lake with them - Forager child: There could be a cutscene where whey get distracted or lost in the secret woods and you must find them, and another where you go in a picnic with them! - Miner child: Well for the miner child is easy, you could find them lost in one of the very early levels of the mine crying because they are lost, and as for the boding, maybe you show them the quarry as a place for them to prospect safely - Farmer child: this is a challenge because there are not many immediate dangers to be a farmer, but maybe they got bitten or pick for a chicken or another animal for annoying them too much, and you have to tell them to calm a little bit. And for the bonding experience, maybe they could assist you with a pregnant animal or an egg hatching! Probably I am not done with my ideas for the enhanced child experience, but for now I believe this will be enough. As always inputs are welcome! A hug to everyone! And thanks again
This needs to become a thing. Yes, it would be a lot of work but it isn't like there is no demand for it. Im sure people would throw money at this if it became a DLC. In most threads someone brings up the issue of npc aging. Now as cool as it would be to have our kids reach adulthood or even their teen years, it would cause too many problems. However, if they only grew up to age 7, children would have enough depth and complexity to keep us involved with them while remaining young enough to stop most npcs from any drastic changes. These are my ideas for the Family Update. First, there would need to be changes to pregnancy and the infant stage. There should be a better introduction for opposite sex couples. If you are a male, after you decide you want to have a child, your wife will feel sick one morning and when you go to the hospital you find out she is pregnant. After one week your wife will be visibly pregnant. One week later, your wife will give birth. The only difference during this stage is your wife won't leave home until the baby becomes a todler. From this point, your wife will take the toddler into town with her. If your wife is Penny, Pam will help babysit while Penny is at work. If your wife is Maru, Caroline will babysit while Maru is at work. If your wife is Emily, Caroline will babysit while she works. If your relationship with Caroline is over 6 hearts she will babysit for free. If your relationship with Caroline us under 6 hearts, she will charge 300g a day. If you are a female, you are the wife in the cutscene. every day until your child is born, your energy will be cut down. If your energy gets too low you wont be able to perform energy actions, saying (I need to rest for the baby's sake). After one week the baby will show and one week later the baby will be born. Your husband will take care of the baby until it becomes a toddler. Your husband will take the todler with them into town. If your husband is Harvey, Caroline will help babysit. For same sex couples you will have a cutscene at the adoption agency where you have to answer questions and sign the form. Just like opposite sex couples, your partner won't leave the house while your child is a baby and they also takes the toddler into town with them. If your partner is Harvey, Caroline will babysit. Once your child reaches stage four (the longest stage) they won't become a 7 year old child for 2 years. If you don't want your child to grow up in 2 years you can gift them a pacifier. After your toddler grows up in 2 years the marriage candidates, Jas an Vincent will change. The bachelorettes will look and dress more mature while keeping their original style. For example, Sebastian could get his hair slightly shorter and wear a black dress shirt with white pinstripes, a grey vest and a red tie. As for George and Evelyn, it wouldn't be necesarry to kill them off. I could reasonably see them still being alive just 7 years later. Evelyn could stay completely the same and George could get a Hoveround, allowing him to leave the house more often. Finally, the marriage candidates shouldn't all live with their parents. Here are my ideas for the marriage candidates, had you not chosen them. Maru moves into Harvey's Clinic, Abigail and Sebastian get an apartment together in the city, Elliot moves into Leah's Cottage, Haley and Alex move into Elliot's Cabin, Shane moves into Emily's house and Penny and Sam get an apartment together. Sebastian, Sam and Abigail live in the city because they have their own band and used the money to move out of the vallety. Penny went with Sam because its better than living in the trailer. Even though they move to the city they still come to stardew valley every day, they just leave earlier. If you married Sebastian there are 2 cars parked near the bus stop. If you married Sam there is 1 car perked near the bus stop. If you married Abigail there are two cars near the bus stop. As for your romantic rival, they would move to where they would live had they married their counterpart. This is my ideal family overhaul. I know it looks complex but I think its possible. I would prefer it be this complicated but in paid dlc than have it be too plain and simple for free. Again, I really hope this is added into the game!
I’m fairly new to Stardew Valley but you can build houses on your farm for friends, right? Maybe when your children become adults they could move into one of those. And if something like this was actually implemented in an update, if a home like that wasn’t available maybe they move into the city and send you letters about their life and how they’re doing until it is, at which point there’s a certain chance every day/season that they move back home.
This sounds wonderful! I really wish this would happen. I want this so much, I kinda want to take a course on programming so I could try and do it...
I think rather than being based on the player's appearance it could be the spouse's, or maybe even their other family members (if present) since that is how genetics work after all I love this idea a lot though! I especially love how the child's personality could be influenced by player action. Maybe there could even be a bit of randomization, like the spouse also influencing the child or "outside influences", or personality hybrids even (just a mix of 2 personalities, weakened so that it's not 100% better than non-mixed. For example, a farmer/combat child could interested in "making a fighting style that uses farm tools as weapons")
+1 to this idea! Theres mods to make your children work but I just dont feel right sending a toddler into the fields xD
I love it! There’s so much potential for expansion with the children. There could also potentially be the option to assume the role of your kid, like in Harvest Moon, to start a new game. Not mandatory, but the option there.
Or, you know... Could approach this like they did with Harvest Moon A/nother Wonderful Life, where the entire town ages, people die or move out, or move in, life goes on. And then when the player character dies at the end and there's a funeral with the characters closest to you talking about things you did in your life and how great of a person you were (or how terrible lol) and then at the end, Grandpa leads the player to their own version of heaven. Now, you can have your endless farming years, all people are alive and well, you can choose which characters are their younger or older selves, do your whole schtick. Skipping ahead a few years could help with time skips. And to make the town more lively, why not add in matchmaking and having the other bachelor/ettes get paried off and let them have their own child. Go all Animal Parade on it. And maybe some people just don't want Penny and Sam together, or maybe someone likes Emily and Clint. Who knows. It's all just mod speculation, you know.
I’ve been wanting better children since I first saw a video involving children(since I haven’t been playing for all that long) and this looks like a really good idea so 1) has this been made a thing DLC, mod something? And 2) will it be a thing? I hope so because this is a great idea for the players who don’t want children b/c there useless
Hopefully, in 1.6 this can be implemented. I really really like this idea and it would add more variety to the game that mods don't provide.
