Luthien's Firefly Hollow Thread

I like the edge forest too, I may edit my next farm save to have some sort of forest trim too lol

 

Another farm completed, so it's time to yet again pull this thread from the depths of the forum.
Just a short post for tonight to drop a few last updates on Misthaven Manor, as I have just finished playing out the last day of the last season of the last year. A bittersweet occasion since I do spend so long on a single farm, but its always exciting to get to start over again with a blank slate and fresh ideas.

So, without further ado, here's the final scraps.

One last family photo:
Both Junimo "kids" were hanging out in the kitchen so I took the opportunity to grab a family picture.


My Prismatic Shard collection:
It got pretty big again. I was keeping them in a chest but I got bored one day and decided to display them rather flamboyantly, for no other reason than they look pretty all lined up. >u<


The final count of gem nodes at the quarry:
Not too bad this time, I'd say I averaged at least 1-2 new nodes each season.


Mushroom trees:
They would have spread much further eventually, had I been able to give them the space.


The last Winter Star gift:
Sam was my Secret Santa, a fact I find amusingly prophetic given he's my intended husband in the next save. ;D He gave me wine, which I promptly drank and went home. lol


And the final numbers:
Just shy of 15 million, even after selling every last item from all my chests on the 28th. I never purchased the gold clock or the return sceptor, and only one Statue of Endless Fortune. My savings were built largely on goat cheese.



So guys, that's that. I'm going to be starting up my next save first thing tomorrow morning, and I already have some artwork lined up to go with it. I'll speak of my plans for the new farm in the next post, I just wanted to give Misthaven Manor one last look on here before moving on.

For those new to the forum who might be browing this post, hello and welcome. This is where I keep track of all my farm stuff - layouts, decor, creative projects etc. I also sometimes showcase mods I'm using, to help others get ideas and find things they can use on their own farms. I typically update at the end of each season with full farm and house screenshots, and sometimes other bits of info regarding my current progress. Because I use Timespeed, a full save played out to the end of the fourth year can take a few months, and updates happen every 1-2 weeks depending on how often I play. (I used to follow a schedule to keep updates regular but I've stopped doing that in favor of a more relaxed pace.) I love hearing from readers about their farms as well and swapping ideas back and forth, so don't be shy. n_n

See you guys soon with all the info for the next farm.

 

Awe, your junikids sure took after you! look at those matching colours! what a heartwarming sight indeed! And lol, Wine for the occasion, for the next future! looking forward to that apparently Sam has farsight and has prepared for it!

 

Alright lets get this thing going! I'm back with some info for my newest farm, which I've decided to call...


......drumroll please........



Welcome to Ambrosia Vale! This lovely farm is destined to become a sprawling cherry orchard, with cherry wine and preserves being the star of the show. It will be overseen by my OC Maraschino, who is returning this time to reprise her roll as Farmer Mara, and spruce up the farmhouse with her own unique style. I've been working on a custom furniture set for several months now and I'm excited to finally be able to show it off.

I've chosen the Hilltop map for this farm, however I'm using one that's been modified to add just a bit more space down at the bottom. The blank map looks like this:

You can find it over on Nexus here: http://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/1343/?

I will also continue to use mods I've previously used, including the 2cute farm cave, stove in first house, and Eemie's seasonal victorian buildings.


So, lets meet our farmer! Say hello (again) to miss Mara (short for Maraschino...and now you see why cherries are such a big deal.)

<--- A portrait and ref sheet I made for her. To the newbies, yes this is my art.

She's pretty much just how you remember her, but I switched a few things up just to fit this playthrough better. She will eventually be marrying Sam, though I do plan to "date" all 12 Singles just so I can witness their 10-heart events firsthand. Just this once. She typically graces my artwork with a pair of wings and plenty of mischievous faerie magic, but for purposes of our story, she'll be playing a plain ol' mortal.

I did come up with a fun way to explain how she got here though:



Basically the story goes like this - Maraschino is a flirty gal who likes to toy with people's emotions and she usually gets away with it, but apparently this time she messed with the wrong guy (or girl!) and he/she put her under a Sleeping Curse. While she's sleeping, she's dreaming of this strange place where she runs a farm and talks to magical apple-creatures and somehow solves all the town's problems. You get where this is going. lol The curse will keep her asleep until the dawn of the fifth year, because I stop a farm after four full years. No prince required for this one, just time.

Meanwhile, as our sleeping beauty slumbers and dreams of a farm called Ambrosia Vale, I plan to sprinkle fun sketches into my updates. On my last farm, I tried to do a journal thing, and I wore out very fast. This time, I'm going to try doing art (because that's more my thing anyway) and to avoid burnout, it's just going to be simple, loose sketches that highlight some of the more important moments on the farm. The amount and content will vary, but I think it'll really be a cool way to showcase this farm in a way that I haven't done before. I hope you guys enjoy it.

I'm only two days into the save so far, but I worked these up this afternoon:


Easy, lighthearted sketches, doodles, stuff that I don't have to finish and color and make perfect. In addition to the sketches, I'll also continue to post full farm and house screenshots at the end of the season just like I always have.
I hope everyone reading has fun seeing this farm's story unfold, I'm definitely excited to be sharing it with you. n_n

See you at the end of Spring!

 

Oooh, that is a very interesting way to get into a new farm! I like the backstory, and sketches you have drawn, they really lay out who the character is c: poor Sam, looks like he wont have it easy this time!

 

So in your farytale the main character messes with the feelings of the people around her and get's cursed. She then has a nice dream of a magical valley in which she can mess with the feelings of 12 singles without consequences. After five dream years she automatically wakes up without outside help of a blueblooded person.
I doubt that she will learn her lesson

(I am just fooling around. Your idea sounds great and I look forward to future updates)

 

Well...you're probably not wrong. lol This character has a reputation of promiscuity for a reason. ;3

 

Płot Twist: She falls in love deeply with one of the singles in Pelican Town and loses her heart to him/her. Five years of joy and happiness pass by and suddenly she wakes up, realizing it was all just a dream and her eternal love will always be a product of her dreams and never be real! Draaaamaaaa!

Sorry, I got...carried away?
I am excited to see more about your new farm and your beautiful art! I love the idea.

 

That kind of drama makes for great art though. lol I'll suck people in and get them all swooning over Sam and Mara and then POOF it was all a dream! hehe

 

Ahh I love the concept of the curse! Totally looking forward to more.
And that portrait is a nice! I'd like some of my chars In the meantime I'd love for you to draw my farmer/oc in your chibi style next time you're open~

 

I'm open right now actually for September's queue, I'd be happy to put more Stardew art out there. ^_^

 

Ah cool! I thought I'd missed this months chance~ Should I message you on FA or something?

 

Yes. There's a submission that has all the info, it'll be in my recent uploads but if you can't find it note me and I'll send you the link.

 

Hello everyone! I've completed the first Spring on Ambrosia Vale and I have some stuff to share.

FARM:


I wish I could say I was further along in terms of getting the farm laid out how I want it, but because this one wasn't pre-planned, its proving pretty difficult for me to decide where I want things and how I want them to look. Add to that the fact that there are so many oddly-shaped spaces on this layout and you pretty much have a stumped Luthien trying to settle on something that looks nice and functions well. I'm spending tons of time and energy putting things down, then pulling them back up, and getting frustrated at my inability to do the things I want because there's still debris in my way. Normally by now I've at least got all the pathways laid in and foundations placed for where the buildings will go. Not so for the current playthrough.

So far, what I have settled on is a small area south of the house for tapped trees, and the raised area below that is going to be for the shed and fruit trees other than cherry. This shed is where Mara will produce artisan goods from all crops other than cherries, which will be processed in my modified slime hutch/brewery over on the quarry area. I had my initial garden up at the top next to the house, but eventually ended up choosing the bottom right section for the main garden, and I moved all my forage crops down there. I'm saving the bottom left for livestock, though I won't get those until year 2 so for now I'm just using it as a grow area for trees.


I made a really basic plan to just rough out my layout ideas but once I started placing pathway tiles down I begin to have a lot of second thoughts, and as of Spring 28 I'm still not sure what I want to do. I like the idea of having separate areas for flowers, berries and the vineyard, which would encourage me to walk all over the farm and see the scenery every day... but now my tendency to need everything neat and tidy and symmetrical (which I'm really trying to fight for this one lol) is putting a huge damper on those plans. At the moment, I've simply set up a quick garden for my summer crops but I don't think that's going to be the final look. Really, the only things that are permanent are the fruit trees, and I'm satisfied with their placement so I'm good there.


HOUSE:



I've managed to get a fairly cute and comfortable setup for Mara's house so far - I check Robin's shop often and if I see something I can afford and I want it, I grab it. Much of what's displayed right now is museum rewards, and as I always do for the first season, I've kept all chests in the house for convenience. Now that I'm getting into Summer, I'll most likely move them out into the storage room under the mushroom cave. Furnaces and mining items will be moved to the caves.

SKILL SETS:

For this update, I decided to use the Skill sets as a theme, since I'm still actively working on leveling them up. Here's the progress I've made thus far:



For my level 5 Professions I went with my usuals:
Farming: Tiller
Mining: Geologist
Foraging: Gatherer
Fishing: Trapper

When I hit level 5 for Combat I'll choose Fighter.
My reasoning for why I pick these over the other options can be found here, if you're curious: https://community.playstarbound.com/threads/what-skill-perks-do-you-take-and-why.134788/


ARTWORK:

There's SO much that happens in your first season that it would be impossible to try and sketch every single special event, so for this season's batch of sketches I kinda just picked one thing for each Skill category. It could be something that stood out or just a general idea that any Stardew player could relate to. n_n I kept all the sketches on one sheet in order to cut down on scrolling, but let me know if you guys would prefer I do each one separately next time.

The first sketch (top left) though was actually based on Mara's pet Junimo arriving at the farm, which is always an occasion deserving to be marked. ^u^ As tradition requires, she named him Cherry.



Top middle: Farming ~ Mara wheels a cartload of freshly picked produce to Pierre's, excited to cash in on all her hard work. She focused mostly on growing crops from the wild forage seeds she got and had a pretty hefty batch of them by the 28th. Good thing too, the cash was badly needed in order to purchase a pomegranate sapling before Spring was over!
Top right: Foraging ~ The first Salmonberry Run, a chance to finally stock up on some food to take into the mines. The energy budget is tight right now so trips have had to be very short, but not any more!
Bottom left: Fishing ~ Mara was fishing early one morning in the rain, and was quite shocked to see the mercreature make a brief appearance.
Bottom middle: Combat ~ A lucky drop from a shattered barrel gave Mara the beautiful Forest Sword, and she's been using it to wreck monsters ever since. Despite being rewarded the Insect Head, which is a slightly stronger weapon, she's keeping this one at her side while traversing the mines for now. Perhaps her feelings will change going into the ice levels though, there are tougher monsters down there.
Bottom right: Mining: So far, Mara has gotten down to level 40, keeping a steady pace of 10 levels per week so as not to descend faster than her tool upgrades can keep up. This means a lot of repeat runthroughs and quite a decent haul of geodes each time. Here she is seen gleefully dumping a pile of them on Clint's counter, ready to break them open and see what's inside. She's been keeping all gemstones and minerals (and artifacts as well) aside from the first one that gets donated to the museum. (I'm curious to see how many I can collect if I never sell any of them.)

So that's it guys, we're off to a decent start. I'm hoping I can sort out my layout issues and finally decide where I want things to go - might be easier once the logs and boulders are gone. I'll be upgrading all tools to iron this season so I should have it all set up by the end of summer. If money is good, I'll start buying a few cherry trees too. The farm is going to have dozens of them so I need to start asap. Not focusing too much on villager relationships yet, I've been talking to people if I pass them in town and doing side quests when I'm able, but no birthday gifts yet. Year 2 is when I'll really start focusing on that stuff. So far, Linus is Mara's top friend, at a whole whopping 2 hearts. lol

See you at the end of Summer!

 

You probably know about this mod already, but I think these building retextures would match your pink aesthetic:
https://community.playstarbound.com/threads/alis-secret-forest-farm-map-and-buildings.117561/

It's not updated to 1.1, but someone made a shed and mill on the 5th page to match the retextures. I think they're really cute buildings, just a suggestion to throw out there.

 

You know what's funny is I actually had planned to use those for this playthrough and then found out they were missing the 1.1 buildings (this was before that other person made some), so I ended up going with the victorian ones again and just changing the flowers to pink. (I've also gotten quite spoiled having the seasonal variations, which that set doesn't have yet.) It would be cool if those got a complete update though, they are quite cute.

 

Finally sent a note!

 

*peeks in* Man, this forum is quiet today. >.> Let me see if I can wake everyone up. lol



I finished Summer a few days ago but it took me this long to get everything ready. It's been an okay season, not a lot happened but Mara has been chugging along doing her best to make money and spend it just as quickly. lol I feel like I'm further behind right now than I usually am at this point, and I wonder if the lack of planning before starting the farm has anything to do with it.

HOUSE:

As I said I would in the last update, I relocated the chests to the underground storage room, but the space they took up was promptly filled with preserves jars. A few more museum rewards, including the lovely plant shelf, helped round out the decor, and towards the end of the season (just in time to have to change things up again lol) Mara got a matching couch and wallpaper set that replaced the pinks from Spring.

FARM:

(Finally got it to work! I was having trouble getting it to upload.)
My farm is starting to look like something now. There's not much by way of design yet but as most of it is going to be cherry trees (as indicated by the black squares), that part is going to take a few seasons. I did manage to get some pathways laid down and I settled on a garden design I can live with, at least for right now. Might change later on if I think of something better. My tapper trees are all grown in so there's at least one functional section of the layout finished.
I decided to place my shed down next to the garden instead of up on the hill where I had it. I found out fruit trees have to have two squares between them instead of just one so that messed with my original idea a bit. This will probably make more sense though, having all the gardening stuff right there in one place.
Nothing yet in the livestock area, I've just been chopping trees and growing the grass out. I'll probably fill that area out during winter so that when year 2 rolls around I'm ready to start buying animals.
I have to say, I really don't like not having my farm layout pre-planned. lol Its made it very difficult for me to settle on things and all the indecision has taken up time that could have been spent on other things. I can say with almost 100% certainty I won't go into another save without planning it first.


I also started to decorate the farm cave with some trees. I'll eventually have cherry trees planted down here as well but that's a distant plan for now.



Other highlights, illustrated with some sketches:


* Completed the Boiler Room bundle and unlocked the minecarts
* Planted more cherry trees (and still not even close to being done)
*Visited the undground spring many times to replenish health and stamina - Mara's not using food much outside of the mines so having this is a huge advantage. It allows her to sell everything instead of eating it.
*Dropped a spice berry in the Luau soup, the governor liked it. He didn't LOVE it, but he liked it.
*Completed many smaller bundles and got some nice things as rewards
*Obtained the Rusty Key and unlocked the sewer, met Krobus.

End of Season stats:


Still working on the skills, but getting there slow and steady. I also wanted to attach Mara's artifact collection, as I have decided in this save I will not sell any but instead keep them and see how many of each thing I find. Money is still pretty tight - seems like every time she gets a bit saved up, it either goes to Clint to get a tool upgraded or Robin when she's selling something cute Mara wants for her house. There was one point where I could have purchased the wallpaper catalog but I held off in favor of having plenty to buy seeds with at the beginning of Fall. I think I'll be able to hold off getting it until year 2, hoping to roll in a good amount of cash over the winter through making wine and preserves, though Mara's current operation is still pretty small.

 

Awesome update! I love seeing the progress, and of course those little sketches for flavor. I'm looking forward to seeing the start of some cherry trees!

 

Mara's been planting lots of them (21 total as of today)! They won't be in their full splendor until Spring but there are already quite a few growing.