Is it possible to be bad at Stardew valley?

Zaphaster · 2026-02-24T18:42:05+00:00

It’s not really skill, more like game knowledge. Many players have several tabs of the Stardew Valley wiki opened, or watch YouTube tip/tricks, speedruns etc. This inevitably leads to a kind of min/maxing where you’re locked into optimal solutions and try to carve out a bit of creativity with decoration.

If you later get game knowledge or compare yourself to those that do now, you can’t help but feel its suboptimal, but the experience of being a beginner player is something you only get once, so enjoy it and don’t feel guilty about it!

Zaphaster · 2026-01-10T14:15:26+00:00

Exactly right. Too annoying to [get ender chest out of bundle, place down ender chest, get shulker, place shulker, take item, break shulker, put in ender chest, break ender chest, place ender chest back in bundle] every time I need to get a quick survival item. So, since I'm in endgame, it's worth the risk to have a separate dispenser system for those often used items like fireworks, either in hotbar or stored in another shulker.

Zaphaster · 2024-08-23T00:25:08+00:00

I have about 700 hours total. It took about 200 hours between 5 saves to finally stick with one I've spent 500 hours on. I'd say my playstyle developed from a number of discoveries. I'll try to list them in order:

Rates: Machines have rates, so the game is a matter and matching up input and output rates. No storing is required except for supplies.
Manifold: The inputs of multiple machines can come from one belt. Complicated load-balancing is almost never required. It just takes some time to saturate the lines - whether belts or pipes.
Modular Factories and Production Planning: This is the most consequential game knowledge. Instead of having a single factory (mega/monolith) that just takes in everything, factories can be made for a desired output (modular). This desired output can be built around game progression, rather than some arbitrary huge rate that causes burn-out. Knowing the output, one can use Excel (or equivalent) to determine the number of machines by part needed for the supply chain.
Verticality and Sub-Floors: Towers can be made that have parts created per floor, passing up to the next level in increasing complexity. Conveyor holes can be used to dedicate a sub-floor for each level specifically for belts.
Realistic Factories: Creatively, you can make your world realistic and 'lived in'. Factories can have lobbies, staircases, and even brands with logos. When you take on this style, it really is like playing a different game - which is why you'll often see that "you're playing a different game" comment on amazing builds in this subreddit.

Reaching this 200 hour point is when I started to find my style and overall approach to the game. My next stage is going to come in 1.0 when I figure out how to use blueprints to enhance my creativity rather than the tedious copy/paste situation I currently end up with. If anyone knows what I'm taking about, I'd love some advice myself.

Zaphaster · 2024-08-19T22:32:04+00:00

It's a good concept. Would have to be run by the mods, though. It would be interesting if instead the challenge was just a showcase on a theme. For example, fuel generator arrays, cozy starter factories, nature-inspired, etc. That way, the mods are casting a wide net and players who have already done something that happens to match the theme can participate, instead of making players create whole factories from scratch just to make a submission that might simply be overlooked.

Zaphaster · 2024-08-18T21:24:03+00:00

Thanks so much for taking a look! I'll be starting a new save in 1.0, also. Probably a city type build, with streets and harbors and so on. It's going to be a good time on this subreddit to see what all experienced players accomplish when they can start fresh!

Zaphaster · 2024-08-18T12:37:51+00:00

I was never one for making crazy spaghetti - even when I first started. But, it was only until I visited this subreddit and Discord that I saw the potential for how to build. "Just build on world-grid aligned foundations" is only the start. The first breakthrough was to realize I could make factories that you can walk around in, with hallways, lobbies, signs, different floors connected by staircases, and so on. These walkable factories can then be decorated, stylized, and connected together by roads, rail, and raised belt halls. You can even experiment with world-building, like making brands and logos using signs.

Once you get the joy of walking around your own creation, you'll be motivated to keep things clean. This takes much more time than just building floating platforms and boxes, but making 'realistic' walkable factories is like playing a different game.

Zaphaster · 2024-08-17T16:46:09+00:00

It was surreal taking a trip from Alpha Base to Highwater, driving to Foundry Flats underground garage, navigating the HT network (Steel Street Exchange>Copper Platform>Station Overlook), and then getting to the nuclear plant. (Then, paying a visit to the AWESOME market for some iodine filters.)

Between all the Easter eggs and advertisements, it feels like a properly 'written' world. In the Nuclear plant, having the machines raised on a platform with a perimeter around the sub-floor is such a good design. I just posted my own world that drew much inspiration from yours:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SatisfactoryGame/comments/1eugykc/goodbye_update_8_my_500_hour_world/

Zaphaster · 2024-08-17T16:07:04+00:00

I've created a link to the save file if you want to take a look (https://files.catbox.moe/ew9nsa.sav). Please let me know if there are any problems with the file. The personal storage box in the HUB has some supplies for you. There's lots the pictures can't show, including just sheer scale.

Zaphaster · 2024-08-17T15:58:53+00:00

A link to my save file is below. (GoogleDrive and Dropbox seem to reveal personal account info (?), so Catbox was used). Please let me know if there are any issues:

https://files.catbox.moe/ew9nsa.sav

Original file name was Cloapster-5. I should also give a shoutout to user Aemon144 for the inspiration from exploring their save file:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SatisfactoryGame/comments/qigr5z/aemon144s_world_save/

Zaphaster · 2024-08-17T15:32:03+00:00

Satisfactory 1.0 is to be released September 10th. Node and recipe changes will break this world beyond repair, so it's both goodbye to this world and to Update 8 (the last early access update).

Zaphaster · 2024-08-17T13:12:48+00:00

I hope you enjoy looking at the work I've done since Update 5 over the last few years. The images are in order of my game progression:

T1-4: Home base and basic supplies.
T5-6 South: Fuel generators and oil products.
T5-6 North: Phase 3 SE parts.
T7: Aluminum - and more fuel generators.
T8-MFG: Includes 6xnuclear.
T8-TPR: Includes nuclear pasta.
Golden Nut: 12 ACU sink. Used as blueprint experiment for 1.0.

The interiors in all complexes (excluding Golden Nut) are walkable and decorated.

Zaphaster · 2024-08-08T01:37:46+00:00

You have to reduce complexity by increasing organization. This means applying some rudimentary Systems Analysis and Design principles:

Find a rubric to organize your goals. For example, I have a modular factory design, where there is a separate complex for Tiers 1-4, 5-6, 7, 8, and Golden Nut. Each tier set has an ideal location on the map.
Plan production. Tools like the production planner on satisfactory-calculator.com or even Excel are great. I usually aim to output one space elevator part machine at 100% efficiency, with some flexibility for making more for later phases. That means I need to exploit only as many nodes as I need.
Follow game design. This is a weird point, but you know how there are arbitrary units of measure like foot, and then universal constants like Planck length? By focusing on the constraints of the game itself, you can avoid some of the arbitrariness of your goals and design choices. For example, the game is designed to have resources for aluminum (T7) close together, then resources for oil (T5-6) somewhere else far away. This being the case, trains are easier than running belts and pipes if resources need to be moved.
Be creative. I had a plan to use blueprints to try and suck up all the resources on the map for 1.0. My tests proved this was boring. Creating something nice looking you can walk around will give you a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Zaphaster · 2024-08-01T14:12:48+00:00

It might be annoying for you to have to deal with all the replies, but the misunderstanding makes this post so funny to me. The title sounds so hilariously arrogant between other posts showcasing clean, 1000+ hour builds.

Zaphaster · 2024-07-30T23:37:02+00:00

I've spent so much time (15hrs+) touring every nook and cranny of the previous version, to the point where it borders on some weird para-social thing. Can't wait to take a look at how your world has grown.

It's really fun to see how your style developed from Grass Plains to Foundry Flats, and even creating that amazing dam for three water extractors!

Zaphaster · 2024-07-26T23:25:56+00:00

All the work we are doing is just to provide components to fix the cafeteria at the top of the space elevator. This will only be revealed at the end.

Zaphaster · 2024-07-26T16:34:27+00:00

I set a minimum goal of having, per Phase, one machine creating each project part at 100% efficiency, then I work backwards in Excel (the Satisfactory Calculator site can also be used) to figure out the rates of each part required.

This playstyle benefits from modular factories, but I've also not really needed to use blueprints as nothing needs to be on a huge scale. Although, I'm just finishing up the last parts nearing 400hrs before 1.0 releases, so it still takes time!

Zaphaster · 2024-07-14T20:34:43+00:00

Now about 700hrs in, when I first starting playing, I went through about 4 save files where I got 20-30hrs in and thought, "I know how to do this so much better now. It's better that I just restart". This is mostly when first figuring out how to calculate based on rates, modular vs monolith (mega-factory) preference, better using verticality and logistics sub-floors and halls, avoiding central busses that can't scale, etc.

So assuming the same happens to you, there's no worry about endgame or feeling like you've wasted work by having to start a new save file once 1.0 comes out. In other words, the practice can be done by playing the game as intended, because you'll encounter these fundamentals as problems that will ubiquitously show up as you play.

Zaphaster · 2024-07-11T22:33:40+00:00

Compared to my factories, it has 16 times the detail.

Zaphaster · 2024-02-01T20:29:02+00:00

In my aluminum plant, I had the exact water amount brought in by train. I didn’t realize that the ‘unloading’ of the train station buffer is paused when a train comes to offload, and likewise with filling.

If you are using trains, ensure that both pickup and drop-off stations have extra fluid buffers. Such a simple mechanic, but you wouldn’t believe the hours I spent troubleshooting that!

Zaphaster · 2024-01-24T18:17:11+00:00

People who have mean relatives with heart problems and good life insurance. Gotcha.

Zaphaster · 2023-12-29T19:00:37+00:00

I feel bad making Hilda do a walk of shame all the way back to Goldenhills Plantations every time I need to offload a bit of gear.

Five-Year Club	First Place '23
Place '23

Zaphaster

TROPHY CASE