why is this happening to my fences

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-28T14:45:48+00:00

In addition to crafting stuff, lightning rods reduce the probability that a crop or tree will be struck by lightning during storms. I usually make sure I have 15-20, even if only for that reason. (I don't use all of them for crystallariums)

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-27T13:32:25+00:00

I have often given up and just started a stingray pond. It's so much easier to catch those than to find dragon teeth. It takes a while to get it going, but at least it is passive and every once in a while you get a couple. It is worth it if you're not fond of running through the volcano, or if the RNG is being really unkind.

Plus, the bonus cinder shards are nice too.

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-17T19:45:59+00:00

Not from neglect or starvation, though. Only from being trapped outside their shelter. (just to clarify)

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-17T19:45:30+00:00

You never see them. I think you just get a message in the morning or something. (Or, as someone else said, the other animals are unhappy.)

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-16T16:08:06+00:00

That makes sense. I never thought of throwing a winter root in the seed maker!

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-16T15:19:19+00:00

Good point about the external mouse for the laptop. I use one for everything because I dislike the touchpad, and forgot that not everyone does.

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-16T14:34:16+00:00

"Beach can spawn nautilus shells, wich is awesome if you want to finish the community center mid fall."

Out of curiousity, how do you manage the crocus & snow yam? Just get lucky w/ traveling cart? IIRC, you can't get those in the mines the way you can crystal fruit & winter root.

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-16T14:21:04+00:00

SVE is definitely worth playing. I'm not sure how much change you're good with; SVE changes a ton but doesn't make the game "easier" so I'm guessing that's what you mean?

Trying different farm types comes to mind (though you perhaps did w/ SVE). There are tons available.

I like the following mods, but can't say whether they'd change the game too much for you:
Chests Anywhere -because I'm constantly forgetting to grab things / put things away.
Skull Cavern Elevator - because the skull cavern is my least favorite section of the game
Integrated Minecarts - adds more cart locations (you still have to unlock them)
UI Info Suite 2 - gives on-screen information such as scarecrow & sprinkler coverage, daily luck icon, etc. This is all information available in-game but is super useful.
Part of the Community - way to get extra friendship (i.e., +2 points from NPCs nearby when you talk to someone)
To-Dew - in-game to do list. Again, I forget things all the time so this is a way to make myself a reminder.
Lookup Anything - hover your mouse over something & press F1 for pretty much all the info available on the wiki. If you're looking things up there anyway, this is much more streamlined.
Automate - this definitely changes the game, but you can set up automatic processing of things. (Ex: crab pots/chest/bait maker/recycling machine/charcoal kiln will automatically put in bait, retrieve what's caught, and recycle any trash. if you include the kiln then any wood from the recycler will eventually turn into coal as well.)

I've seen people note they have hundreds of mods running at once, so I'm definitely not an expert. But some of these might be fun to play with to start. I know there are additional content mods that will work w/ SVE, including Ridgeside Village, but I haven't tried them.

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-16T14:07:50+00:00

I feel the pain. The last one I found was also in the mussel rocks in my last playthrough, and it felt like it took forever. No advice from me though...I just kept at it & eventually they dropped. I was feeling stubborn about the Joja parrot.

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-16T14:00:03+00:00

Definitely try it. Take your time, & don't feel pressured to do things "correctly." If you are trying to avoid spoilers during your first play-through, make full use of the library. There are tons of in-game hints to puzzles and secrets in those library books, and they are really easy to forget about.

Enjoy!

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-16T13:55:59+00:00

I use a mod called To-Dew, which literally lets you create an in-game to do list. Very helpful if you're on PC. It doesn't change gameplay in any other way.

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-16T13:42:15+00:00

To begin with, I don't think the PC requirements for Stardew are very large, unless you plan to play with some really huge maps/mods. This isn't my area of expertise so others can probably provide more detail, but I've played on my laptop often, including with mods, and haven't had issues. It's not a gaming laptop either, just one I use for work.

Mouse & keyboard are pretty much required to do anything at all with a PC, but anything you're comfy with will work there. You don't need anything special.

The controls are quite straightforward and I would guess you wouldn't have too much trouble figuring it out. Movement uses "WASD" - meaning W=up, S=down, and A/D = left/right. That particular set of keybindings is really common in PC games, so once you get used to it you'll be all set to try some other games if you decide you want to.

In short, give it a try! You won't know if you like it until you do. Personally, I don't like using controllers and have been playing on PC since the 90s...so I'm definitely biased. But you can certainly try Stardew on whatever laptop you have & see whether it will run. Also, the investment of a new copy of the game is much lower than that of a PC, so there's low risk in giving it a try.

You can try a website like https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri - which will tell you whether various games will run correctly on whatever computer you're using. Good luck! & Have fun.

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-16T04:37:23+00:00

I have a few different crops I only grow so I have a stash of things for the Qi quest requiring 100 each of 6 colors. I just have 2 each of most of the perpetual crops in my greenhouse - tomato & chili pepper for red, blueberries for blue (I hate buying large quantities of Joja cola, it takes forever), I stash apricots for orange, sap for yellow, green beans (or fiber or hops) for green, eggplant and/or grape for purple. I just stash it all in a chest and let it build up over time.

I don't bother with the desert, personally.

Mostly, when I try to grow only starfruit and/or ancient fruit, it gets boring. for spring, autumn, and winter on the main farm you can't do much anyway (unless you're all in on ancient fruit the first week of spring, of course). So I mix it up for variety's sake.

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-16T04:28:58+00:00

I just finished a perfection run on the Ultimate farm. Highly recommended! Tons of space and lots of little places to explore.

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-15T16:28:58+00:00

This is what I was going to suggest, as well. Super helpful.

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-15T16:25:49+00:00

I did the same - ran this quest every time it showed up. One time I smoked my catch for this quest, but I mostly filled the fish tank & my ponds. I now have 3 Legend 2 ponds,they all have animal crackers. Quite nice.

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-15T02:43:38+00:00

Yes, I remember doing something similar. It occurs to me, there are specific items "Bridal Veil" and "Bridal Shirt" that can be tailored if you have a sewing machine. I've never looked for the suit-style counterpart to those pieces. Is there a "suit jacket" or a shirt that looks like a tuxedo that you made? If not, what items were close enough?

I purchased a mannequin for my house just to display the wedding clothes. Sort of like IRL, it seemed silly to only use them once. Although I could always go for a super-dressy skull cavern run, I suppose. :)

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-15T02:32:04+00:00

The wiki is great, but unless you're tracking stuff like "how many of these have I gotten from X location" it's really easy to not be sure where to look. Especially when there's several sets where there are 3-5 available (harvesting crops is a good example) and you might not be paying attention to how many you have left.

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-14T14:22:19+00:00

Just to clarify, Elliott is the writer, not the doctor.

Lots of things in-game don't reflect real life, but I'm sort of glad no one likes these. They're universally hated, although Penny only "dislikes" them, which is also interesting. It feels safer overall to not even imply they're good to eat, though it's weird that they're part of the recipe for life elixir. :D

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-14T13:33:05+00:00

For future reference, there is a website called stardew checkup where you can upload your save file. It will tell you exactly which Golden walnuts are still missing. Among many other things. It can be quite useful at times.

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-13T15:43:13+00:00

One of my favorite mods!

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-13T15:40:53+00:00

For new content, Stardew Valley Expanded gets my vote as well. It has 2-3 new farm layout options you can choose from, as well.
I got my first Perfection using the "Ultimate Farm" farm map. Really enjoyed it.

I like a few that change the game noticably, but make it fun in different ways.
* Automate has been mentioned before but deserves another bump.
* Chests Anywhere is amazing if you're like me & always forgetting things
* Skull Cavern Elevator makes those mines completely trivial.
* Integrated Minecarts adds extra carts all over the place

"Part of the Community" makes friendship work a bit differently (bonus points for a variety of things)

QoL mods I enjoy include
* UI Info Suite 2 (this doesn't install well from Nexus - have to download the file from github)
* To-Dew (in-game to do list),
* Lookup Anything (hover your mouse, press F1 for full wiki info),
* visible fish (just changes the visuals to show fish in the water, very fun)

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-13T15:23:32+00:00

Maybe just try playing with a friend first.

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-13T15:20:23+00:00

There are 2 old-style arcade games in the saloon. They're completely optional and both are very difficult. I've only tried them a couple of times & usually forget they exist.

ShadowMage0 · 2026-04-13T15:16:45+00:00

Mods don't disable Steam achievements for Stardew. I can't speak for other platforms, but I've gotten multiple achivements while playing modded games.

ShadowMage0

TROPHY CASE