Curiousity getting the better of me

I see a lot of "look how fast I did the community center" or "look how much money I'm making" comments, but I don't see much in the way of "this is such a relaxing game!" comments. Given that Stardew Valley is incredibly open-ended and there is no right way to play the game, I wonder people use the game to try maxing everything out early...

I wonder if I'm the oddball for wanting to play SV relaxed and not stressing about maxing profit and getting the CC done ASAP. I (usually) get the CC done by the end of year one anyway thanks to the traveling cart lady because I'm honestly not really interested in upgrading the coop or barn, and money isn't a big motivator with me.

So...are people here more interested in maximizing things early, are there others that also enjoy a relaxed approach to SV, is it 50% maximize everything/50% relaxed, or what?

 

i did my first play-through really lackadaisically but i am finding that it is kind of rewarding to get a lot done early

 

I treat it like life to a degree. The sooner I get something set up to generate a solid income and meet my needs. The sooner I can relax and do what I want to do. Which is whatever strikes my fancy that day. The comunity bundle completion is not the goal for me. But the minecarts, greenhouse, bus, quarry, and friendshipa boost, are very rewarding to my playstyle. Not to mention the rewards like a keg, preserve jar, lightning rod etc.

That said I draw the line at staying out until 2am each day. I'm going to sleep in my own bed along the way for sure.

Everything is so exponential in the first year that it is hard for me not to push. Since the ultimate goal is to see how quickly I can just walk away from it all and still afford whatever I need.

 

You're not an oddball, Musk. Nor are the mini-maxers. It's the kind of game that allows a lot of customized playing according to what you want to get out of it. I play it in a pretty relaxed fashion, too. The stress and pain of recent surgeries fades a bit that way. Others prefer to play to get the CC done earliest, or find all the library objects, or build the largest, best organized farm. And that's cool, too.

Great game, isn't it?

 

Two of my saves are strictly for relaxing and playing around. I created some saves explicitly for tackling challenges. One I play only in another language for practice.

Keep in mind that when you read these forums, you really don't have a full sense of all the players and how they play. I'm happy to come here and report on a completed challenge, but I don't feel the need to come declare "I just had the most relaxing week of farming!" It's enough for me to enjoy those on my own.

 

So, so very relaxed in my play-style. I've set aside whole days just to wander the woods in the Autumn or hunt for forage. Every farm I make a little firepit area where I can sit out after sunset to watch fireflies in the Summer. I'm in no hurry; money comes so easily in this game that you can turn a decent profit at a nice leisurely pace. Definitely here for the ambiance.

 

i'm hurrying a lot (still kinda new), as i'm not good with the short time you have for a year
we can do certain things only at certain times, and the day is over before you even started to do a dungeon
my days are a lot like:

days where i do community stuff (with villagers+relationship) are like:
"ok, gotta plant/water crops now, then talk to the first villager i need now, then give my future spouse a gift she likes/loves"
and days where i do (what i call "the dungeon") the mines, i go water my crops, run from the back, talk to Linus everyday, so i get that bait recipe for easier fishing level ups (i suck badly at fishing with a rod), kill enemies, search for the entrance to the next floor, and if possible, go through the 5 floors, and repeat when i do the mines

my problem with this game (which i have seen many talk about), is that time goes way too fast
"finally, at the next 5th level of the mines .... owwwww, i'm gonna lose energy tomorrow (ingame) !!"

i'm not really able to enjoy the scenery, as time goes so fast, after i took my upgraded tool, i MIGHT barely get 5 more floors in the mines unlocked
if time would be some slower (be it an option or just plain update), i'd be able to do more that i planned, and not being distracted by all things i need to do within the very short time we have

but i do like the game, as i have goals, i just pause the game a lot (with the inventory screen) to think things through.... and many times fail

but otherwise, i like to relax while befriending villagers, so they send stuff (i'm greedy, haha)

anyway, should we ever be able to have more time each day with some update, i'd do my stuff, and then just kill enemies for the slaying list.... or rare drops
and if i don't wanna do that, i'd try fishing the REAL way, as costs lots of energy, and i suck at it, as the bar falls down like a brick, while i'm getting tired of clicking my mouse button,a nd need to get back to the fish, which then goes another way.... up or down
fishing costs me more energy in reallife than ingame, haha
but yeah, with more time in each day, i'd try more stuff

anyway, i do enjoy the achievements i get (including my own goals in the game)

i DO sometimes take the time (still in a hurry) to forage stuff, and give presents to villagers which they like.... but its rare, to be honest

sorry for the long comment, i just wanted to show what kind of player i am
oh oh, in the winter i take it easier, after my crops are done (winter seeds) and my farming level is at least at 5, so i can choose my option (which is "Tiller")

completion is 1 thing, but its not just completing everything i can in the game, in my case, i have to hurry just to complete 1 goal i have set for the day
from the Community Center, i at least want minecarts unlocked, bridge repaired and greenhouse, which will help me a LOT, and make me able to take it easier a little bit

i made a few characters, and each went faster, as i learned more
now i'm busy with 1 that did bridge and minecarts early on, so that i can travel quickly, and get some gold ores, diamonds etc.
plus upgraded my house twice easier than the previous character

i wanna make characters, and make most of them marry 1 of each of the girls
i got penny with a male character, but wanted to see a female with her, so now did that
then i got maru, haley and abigail with others... now i want 2 more characters for emily and leah, but i don't wanna choose the same maps again
the one with enemies is funny, but takes too long, as i already need to run back home before i faint (short days), so i have 4 maps to choose from
if time would be slowed down, and there would be at least a few more farm maps, i'd be able to try more

.... yeah, i'm more of a person who likes to try all ways (all girls and maps, in this case), rather than just complete the game and then next
i wanna see more than just the main quests and missions in MMORPG's, too
counts for any game, to be honest, i try new stuff with each save file

example: Breath of Fire 3 on PS1, i have a save file where i just go through the story, and i have 1 where i focus on the masters you can get, which change stats with level ups, and try to balance and train my characters to avoid weaknesses and such
if this game had more farm maps and slower timer, i'd be able to do many, many more diffferent things

BoF3 is a game you play to complete mostly, yet i make more out of it and i do that with every game (not gonna talk about Guild Wars 1's 35 character slots i have, lol.... people find me weird)

but i think now you might have an idea of how i play games, which is exploring possibilities

all games have speedrunner kind of people, you just gotta find the people of your own kind of playstyle

 

I am not big into doing anything in x amount of time. The only time I really hurry is in Spring of year 1. I try to have 36 quality sprinklers by the start of Summer. Not that easy with the latest update but still very doable. Once I get my Summer crops sown, because of the sprinklers I have each day free to do what I want to do.

While I can understand the personal challenge of completing the the CC in year 1, but it really serves no purpose and you end up losing 2 hearts with Kent. I always hold off on completing the bulletin Board till Year 2.

 

I'm such a reeeeeeeeeeeelaxed player, and that may have to do with the fact most of my other games are high paced & goal set; MMO's as an example. So since I've taken up this one, I just kind of... Do as I wish on any given day. The first two years I really focused on getting my farm set up, playing around with all of the features like coops/barns, upgrading my house, & crafting some things. When I'd think about it, I'd throw stuff at the CC. I also worked on maxing most of my skills (besides mining & combat, just maxed those on year 5.) And I married Elliot. Year 3 I finished the CC. After that, I decided to divorce Elliot, work on the story-line with each character, and work more on mining while slowly building my craft materials. As of year 5, I just reached 10 hearts with everyone and have my wine factory about half way to where I want it to be, and finally got that pretty return home scepter, making my challenge of reaching level 100 on SC all the easier.

However, I have a set morning routine for almost each day. I made my farm in a circular fashion. So I go up by the beehives, grab honey, water the cat (I don't need to anymore but I just do), run into my mushroom cave, go down by the green house for ancient fruit and/or my orchard crops, grab any saps that may be ready then more fruit from another larger orchard. After that, I run into my animal barn, pet & release them, gather/process animal goods, throw any ancient fruit or starfruit into my keg barn & shed if applicable, repeat animal barn with coop, grab my horse, grab my bait, batteries if applicable, and by this time I've circled my farm to the shipping bin. Toss in anything to be sold, run in the house and store the rest. If it's not ancient fruit days, I'm usually done before 10 AM & I'll go work on my slime shed, in which I'm determined to create some kind of funky rainbow. If it's Friday or Sunday, I grab any seeds from the Gypsy cart & run by the Secret Forest for a little more slime and hardwood. After all is said and done, I have plenty of time to do just about anything else. Edit: And at night, I close the barn, & grab anything my juminos may have gathered! So small nightly routine.

All of the above is negligible on super lucky days though, lol. Then I just take care of the animals & attack the mines directly after.

So I guess the best way to say it is, I've set some min-maxing goals for myself while being able to try out all of the features the game has to offer, but I still find it extremely relaxing; not a chore at all like some other games with daily's. I made my own dailys, after all. Everything previously leading up to year 5 was also my own goals, set when I decided to do them.

My next goal set is: Continue expanding my farm as much as I can, buy all those super expensive items, finish the museum collection (4 artifacts left!), and play around with marriages. After that idk, maybe a new farm. I'm putting off Journey of the Prairie King for very last, that much I know, because I'm not into bullet hells.

 

Honestly, the first time I played the game I took it really slowly, I didn't care to make friends with the villagers, I was told I was disappointing by Grandpa because I hadn't done much in the first three years x'DD

The next few playthroughs I kinda horsed around, messed around here and there, seeing what worked and what didn't... and my last gameplay I got super lucky, the cart woman had everything I ever needed, I found a dinosaur egg quickly in the first month or two of playing, I got the greenhouse working quickly and managed to get an entire house full of ancient seeds so I made the money flow like rainwater x'3
I had already made over a million currency within the first three years, had everything fully upgraded and was married by the time year three hit, I was told Grandpa was proud of me that time. This time... I'm taking my time, I mean I ALWAYS marry Sebastian (unless I have a male character because my mom is super triggered by homo relationships even in games so-) but I decided to try to hold back unlike before, I want to see everyone's events, get to know more than just Linus and George this time and while I can admit the other characters are a bit lacking mainly... It's still nice to get to know them for once. ^^; I'm on my second-year early fall right now, I have about 34 ancient seeds ready for once I manage to get the greenhouse up again so money won't really be a problem sooner or later this time around...I'm just waiting desperately for the update to come out though, I didn't even want to play again until then but it's been almost a full year since I stopped playing, and I've gotten rusty at the game as a result. There isn't a lot to do once you figure the game out, to me most of the characters aren't all that interesting to mingle with so I never tried to get closer with them until now, now that that is one of the only things I haven't done yet but I'm hoping the multiplayer update has quite a bit in it to explore and new things to do! I just have to wait until the update rolls around for PS4 but until then I'm trying to take my time and do everything I didn't do before, get all the achievements and not just horse around like usual this time.

 

Thank you all, for responding. I was wondering if the min/maxers were dominating the board and I was one of the few relaxed ones, but it looks like it's more 50/50. Admittedly, bragging about completing the CC in 4 years isn't exactly newsworthy but when the vast majority seem to be "look how fast I made a million!!" it made me wonder.

 

We all play the game a little differently and I don't think that's a bad thing. Even when I start a new game, insisting to myself I'm going to put off the CC and just relax, I quickly fall into a push toward getting stuff built and bundles filled. It's just how the pleasure centers in my brain work. I think the forums a pretty good mix - at least the Any% speedrun crowd leave us alone.

 

Thats about how I always start now x'D
I start off thinking I'll leave the town center alone and just have fun but then I see the wagon woman has something I need for a bundle and it just becomes a rat race after that to hit her up every Friday and Sunday to see if she has what I need for the bundles x'3

 

well, i have an update on my own playstyle now, haha
using the FishingMod (set on instant catching fish and treasures) and the TimeSpeed (set on its default "14"), i have plenty of time now, and easy fishing, which i do for fun now
i have so much time, i can do stuff like do quests, go fishing and talk to NPC's for friendship gifts, and after that go to the mines

its ONLY the fishing and timer that made it so much better already
i hope i can use these always, cuz i now catch fish that i had huge troubles with (sometimes 1 catch 1 day, or none on 1 day), and the time i have being doubled, make it so much more fun, it now reminds me of animal crossing more, but with more adventures
i did several floors mining in the mine (want to level my mining skill), and when looking at the clock, it was far from bedtime
i now mostly go fishing after a day of hard work

this game is now truly relaxing to me

ps. also added bigger greenhouse, but not unlocked yet, and better quarry, which still gives only a few per day anyway, but its nicer
i love this game way more than before starting to feel better in reallife, too

EDIT: i also plan on making 1 character to play more with animals in coop and barn, and starting with these mods makes it way more fun to do

 

When I first got the game it was for my PS4 and there were no mods or cheats. I had to do everything the hard way. It took me nearly 3 years to get the CC done and get married and have every building upgraded. Then I discovered the item ID number cheats, using a number for any item you can name your farmer and animals to get items. For example 74 is prismatic shard and 337 is an iridium bar, give your farmer the name [74] [337] and every time someone says your name you get one shard and one iridium bar, don't forget the brackets. If you go to the saloon Gus may say your name repeatedly and you can get as many of each as you want to tap the button to keep him asking. Everything in the game has a number here is a list of them https://pastebin.com/9GXjEcfJ make sure that you put the brackets in. When you do this for animals you get the item when Marnie says the name but you can't have two critters with the same name. Just get the ones you need and then go and change their name and go back to get more. This is really helpful for the museum stuff when you just can't find that stupid dino egg! Of course I now have the PC version of the game too and I have loved all the mods I use. One of my favorite is the tractor mod. The fact that you can spawn it in the mines as really clean up is awesome. The Automate mod is a great one too. Once set you just place a chest next to a furnace, tapper, lightning rod, keg etc and as long as you fill the chest with the needed material it will automatically make and place finished product in the chest. There is also a mod to stop time either everywhere or when inside or when in the mines. It makes getting things done so much easier. I have games where I've used nearly all the mods available and then games that I use just a few to make it more relaxing. No matter how I've played the game though, I love it. I've been playing a year and I'm still having fun.

 

......that cheat is absolutely wild reminds me of box naming in the original pokemon games

 

One question while I think about, for those that play it more relaxed: do you play the whole game relaxed, or just pieces of it? By that, I mean will you be relaxed on the farm but aggressive in the mines, or you don't care about the mines but you are going to get everyone at max hearts, or what?

 

Depends on the particular save. I take full advantage of the CJB Item Spawner on my themed files (Stormwind Farm, Hyrule Farm, and my Japanese get-away) so I don't stress about any one particular part of the game. On my first save and main, I don't use any major game changing mods, though I was gung-ho about getting all my skills up to 10.

On any new files, whether they're made for challenges or just playing around, I tend to try as early as is reasonable to get the greenhouse for both utility and aesthetics.

 

since i have 2 mods (timespeed and no friendship decay), i relax sometimes by just looking at my farm, and i even use another mod (automate) to make trees and crab pots a lot, while not needing to watch them

grown up maple trees like this
x_x
_C_
x_x
C = chest, and the trees have tappers on them
since Automate works diagonally, i need 1 chest for each 4 trees, just to tap them, and let the maple syrups go into the chest automatically

in the mines i calmly walk and try to get geodes (at least magma geodes, which drop iridium ores sometimes), and kill enemies (especially the ones i didnt get enough from for the slayer rewards
timespeed is by default halved, meaning 1 day is the time of 2 days (instead of 7 seconds, 14 seconds per 10 ingame minutes)
since my timer goes slower, i have more time to use in the mines, so instead of rushing to the next 5th level, i kill enemies and destroy enough rocks for geodes (and fibers are useful, too)

i tried skull cavern before, but since the health i lost from 1 hit, was 36-ish, i deceided to do that one with maple bars i cook myself (that's the reason for maple trees with tappers and automated chests)
i sometimes rush to get or do something, like when i see some "artifact wurms", i get the Hoe out, smash the spot and walk further home
but that's when it's like 11:00 PM

a few mods that make the game so much easier (plus a few reskin mods, like epona for horse, and umbreon for cat), and makes me sometimes just walk around to see if i can do anything, and if not, i just talk to villagers, sometimes gifting them