Unique Spouse Help, Disasters, and more?

Discussion in 'Suggestions' started by seth0et0holth, Dec 9, 2016.

  1. seth0et0holth

    seth0et0holth Star Wrangler

    So I thought I'd throw in a few ideas, as I love Stardew Valley (it's one of my favorite games right now) and I've also played a lot of similar in the past (Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, Sims series)

    So the first idea - make the spouses unique in other ways than just the room they add and their dialogue. Make them offer something that no other spouse can, due to their abilities and character before the marriage. For example, here's a few I've thought would be nice:

    Sebastian: Gives you your own motorcycle. Who needs a horse when you have an iron horse! Become a bad-ass biker along with him.

    Elliott: Writes books, which sell every so often to provide a financial boost, and quotes poetry to you.

    Harvey: TWO Stardrops not one, and occasionally free medicine items (and prevents sickness if that is added, see suggestions after this)

    Sam: Band practice in the house, with unique to him music. (EDIT to add something cool: Once every week you can opt to go with the band to perform in Zuzu City. If you do, you'll collect a varying amount of money and get a special cutscene.)

    Alex: Adds gym to house. Using gym regularly increases your stamina.

    Shane: An extra chicken coop, free of charge, which he maintains.

    Maru: Random mechanical items/creations (such as sprinklers), increased chance of meteorite.

    Emily: Custom clothes and the parrot is a pet.

    Haley: Decorates house at random with high end stuff at your expense.

    Penny: Can cook ANYTHING, more frequent meals

    Abigail: Adds arcade minigame to your house

    Leah: Forage items show up on non-forest farm, unique art items that can be sold or kept.

    -----

    Second idea (for more of a challenge) optional disasters and sickness.

    Could be toggled on and off as in Sims games for those who don't want unhappiness or the challenge. If toggled on, an insurance office is built in the town. Buying insurance at the beginning of every season means that even if disasters are on, their damage will be reversed within two days and you are paid for all lost crops. Otherwise you clean it up yourself ;)

    Potential disasters and what they'd do/when they'd hit:

    Tornado: A small chance of any thunderstorm day in Spring or early Fall spawning a tornado, which would cause random damage (anywhere from a couple crops being removed to house being knocked down to starter house or the loss of buildings)

    Hurricane: Very small chance in summer of a hurricane. During the hurricane day you could not leave your home at all, and there would be unique dialogue from the spouse/children and the TV. After the hurricane day, all crops destroyed and some chance of building damage, but the beach may have unique items that have washed ashore.

    Fire: Very small chance in fall of a fire starting on the farm. If spotted, can be put out with watering can. If not spotted, will burn crops and trees in specific area. A fire can also be started by leaving the house with the fireplace going - the house fire would cause loss of house expansions requiring them to be bought again, or replaced by insurance.

    Meteor lands in the wrong place: The meteor hits a building or crop field. Said building or crop field and everything in it is obliterated.

    Mummy Curse: Mummies overwhelm your farm, spawning everywhere. You can try to work around them, they will go away in two days if you have insurance, and if you don't Kent will show up on the third day, and you have to kill the mummies and place mega bombs to rid yourself of them.

    As for sickness, ideas:

    Cold/Flu: Small chance in fall and winter, that your farmer or spouse will develop a cold or the flu. Stamina is reduced to half and slowly drains. Staying inside by the fire and eating a certain item should help, and recovery in two days.

    Severe infection/fever: If you don't treat the cold/flu this can develop - your farmer will have stamina meter reduced to near zero and may faint. If you faint and/or can get to the doctor's office, you will spend a day in the doctor's office. If you're married to Harvey, this will not happen. If this happens to your spouse, they will be in the doctor's office and there will be a cut scene of the doctor/nurse talking to you.

    Injury/broken bones: A small possibility if your farmer jumps in the holes in the calico desert mine and falls too far, explodes a bomb too close, or loses all stamina in a monster attack. You will wake up in the hospital, two days will pass with your spouse/the townspeople taking care of your farm, and you will be in a wheelchair and have a reduction in your stamina meter for the season.

    Passing out/Addiction: If you consume more than eight alcoholic items or eat ten Poppies, you will pass out and awaken in the doctor's office for a cut scene (with your worried spouse if married). If you drink too much alcohol (e.g. more than four alcohol items a day) for more than a week or eat Poppy every day for four days, your farmer's stamina meter will slowly drain, your spouse and kids will lose hearts and express concern, and you will have the "tipsy" debuff constantly until three days without alcohol or poppies.

    Two spouses may develop this - Sebastian or Shane. If they do, you will have a cutscene with multiple choice reactions.

    Animal sickness: Animals can become sick and die unless given medicine for their sickness, which can be obtained from Harvey or Marnie or Demetrius.

    ---

    New farm type?

    So a suggestion for a new farm type, inspired by those of us who like the western aesthetic in some ways (I have a farmer that's a cowboyish type) the Desert Farm. If you have the Desert Farm you're on the edge of the Calico Desert so it's immediately open to you without the bus, and you have an awesome Western style farm - but in trade, it never rains and only very few crops and forages can grow there - to succeed, you'll have to be reliant on animal products and selling animals, slimes, mining, a greenhouse if you can get one, and perhaps a spouse with a moneymaking skill if those are added.
     
      Last edited: Dec 10, 2016
      Dcarlos likes this.
    • seth0et0holth

      seth0et0holth Star Wrangler

      Bumping to add more ideas for disasters:

      Blizzard: You can't leave your house for the day, and your animals lose one heart across the board from being cold.

      Burglary: Introduces a new character, the Treasure Hunter ;) Befriending the Thie-UH Treasure Hunter can get you some rare and expensive items if he or she likes you, but he/she may also break into your farm and steal any three items not in your backpack at the time whether befriended or not.

      Alien Abduction: One of your cows disappears.
       
      • Xamerzan

        Xamerzan Cosmic Narwhal

        All some interesting ideas... the only problem with the idea behind spouses offering additional unique benefits would end up breaking the game. I could see people only wanting to marry Harvey or any of the money-making characters as those would be useful to progressing in (in-game) day-to-day life, making the other marriageable candidates obsolete. I don't believe this was CA's intention for the game as you should feel like you can marry whoever you want because of who they are, not what they can offer you if you marry them.

        As for the disasters those are pretty nifty ideas too, though I don't entirely see how some of them would take place (for multiple reasons which I won't bore you with right now ;)). Also a few of the disasters seem a little too punishing even WITH the insurance idea in place. Some of these would be cool to see in-game... maybe if they're a little less punishing as they're written here.

        All this to say, I do think these are interesting ideas that could be discussed and improved on. Good job otherwise! :up:

        On a side-note, I actually had a dream about a month ago (from when my reply here was made) where Stardew Valley was being bombarded with meteors with a very big one on it's way... it was very sad because I saw Abigail (my main save's spouse) and our two children right in front of the house, holding tightly to each other as the larger meteor fell on the valley. I almost cried when I woke up... :cry:
         
          seth0et0holth likes this.
        • seth0et0holth

          seth0et0holth Star Wrangler

          Maybe the unique spouse benefits could be nerfed a bit so as to make them unique but not break the game? For example, make them a chance rather than a certain thing, or make them less valuable (though, honestly, I think as I set it out it could work without breaking the game any more than unique farms do, for example, both have their advantages and disadvantages - for example, marrying Harvey means no motorcycle or no custom clothes even if it means "easy mode" with more medicine/stardrops, like a riverfront farm means more fish but less forages and less usable space, or a combat farm is incredibly difficult at the beginning before you have better weapons) - I think it's the same as unique farms in that everyone has a different playstyle and interests.

          I agree that maybe I made the disasters a little punishing - that's for a hard challenge. They could be nerfed to be a little less challenging, too. :)

          Also, AWWWW.
           
          • Jayfeather980

            Jayfeather980 Subatomic Cosmonaut

            With the farms that is their intended purpose, the spouses however are mostly aesthetic, and the only real game play element is what type of stuff they give you. That's about as far as it needs to go. A big issues is that it would also tie gender/sexual orientation to style game play, something I don't feel is in the spirit of this game.
             
            • Surenu

              Surenu The End of Time

              I now feel the need to write apocalyptic fanfiction about Stardew Valley. I won't do this though, because everything I write turns unnecessarily grimdark by chapter three at least, and my poor little heart just couldn't bear killing and maiming any inhabitant of Stardew Valley. Not even Pierre. Not even Morris.
               
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              • seth0et0holth

                seth0et0holth Star Wrangler

                Not necessarily IF you made the special spouse gifts/items buyable or quest earnable as well. Which could work - the spouse is just a shortcut to them, otherwise you can get them via money or a quest if you're 100 percent hung up on say the farmer you want a motorcycle for being straight or you want custom clothes and a pet parrot but also want your farmer to be gay :)

                It would be similar to the "vegan farm" idea - in that you can have a vegan/vegetarian farm, you just have to go with the warehouse instead of the community center (pure vegan version), or get the animal products and fish required for the community center quests from the merchant (impure vegetarian version, in that you're buying animal products as gifts but you're not making them/using them) :)
                 
                • Xamerzan

                  Xamerzan Cosmic Narwhal

                  I have the same feeling! I was thinking of writing out the scenario I dreamt and turning it into a mini-animation of sorts... but it was so sad! I know it'd break my heart too. D=
                   
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                  • Surenu

                    Surenu The End of Time

                    I even had a title and a loose description of what would happen - "The last drop of Stardew", in which global warming makes the whole place into a desert.
                     

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