The developer of the sweet game Stardew Valley, ConcernedApe, has announced that a feature-filled update is coming.
Coming with the update is a big variety of new things. Their main aim with it, they said is to "polish" the game more. So they're going through fixing various issues that have been hanging around and add a lot of quality of life features. They don't go into too much detail though as they said they don't want to spoil it all, but it sounds like a massive update. One thing they did say is that Wild Bait, as an example, used to be "essentially worthless" but now gives you a chance to catch double fish. Also, every spouse option now has a unique 14-heart event after marriage.
While the update is still in the final stages for the finishing touches, they've announced the plan is to release it on November 26. One of the really great sounding additions is the ability to get a screenshot of your entire farm, or any other area with an example included that looks pretty great:
While ConcernedApe has usually worked on Stardew by themselves, they also said this is the first time they've worked with others on new content. After working solo for 7 years, they've now formed a small team to continue Stardew development. This is after they took back control to self-publish last year. They also mentioned they're working on a new game too, although no details on it yet.
You can read the whole bit on their blog here. If you wish to pick up a copy, you can do so on Humble Store, GOG and Steam.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
I'm a little confused by the note that this is the first time they/he worked with other people on the game though, because I'm pretty confident I read the same thing about the multiplayer feature maybe a year ago (whenever that was developed and released). Maybe just hairsplitting, but figured I'd mention it.
It's a lovely game, and as odd as it must sound to some who hated that aspect, I loved just sitting around and fishing.
Going into the never-ending dungeon was always stressful because you only have so long before the guy passes out (2am iirc), but it was a fun challenge. A good example of what great games can still come out, as long as big developers are not involved.
Last edited by Pangaea on 15 November 2019 at 12:41 pm UTC
Not played this in a while, not since before the multiplayer version came out, so it may be time to try it out again.
I'm a little confused by the note that this is the first time they/he worked with other people on the game though, because I'm pretty confident I read the same thing about the multiplayer feature maybe a year ago (whenever that was developed and released). Maybe just hairsplitting, but figured I'd mention it.
If I remember right, and I may not, the announcement about working with a team was an upcoming thing that hadn't started yet. So with this update, which he's been working on for quite a while, it's the first time he's actually had the team together.
It's a lovely game, and as odd as it must sound to some who hated that aspect, I loved just sitting around and fishing.
Fishing in Stardew is actually pretty good. It's frustrating until you get a level or three in it, but after you get the second rod it gets a lot more enjoyable. I even got one of the legendaries!
LordDaveTheKind Nov 15, 2019
If I remember right, and I may not, the announcement about working with a team was an upcoming thing that hadn't started yet. So with this update, which he's been working on for quite a while, it's the first time he's actually had the team together.Found a relevant bit in other blog posts actually. I suppose he doesn't consider it as technically part of the game.
For the multiplayer update, which came out on PC 2.5 years after the game first launched, a Chucklefish employee did create the multiplayer net-code, but that was the only case where Chucklefish was directly involved in development of the game.
When I first released Stardew Valley, I was a complete novice to the video game industry. Chucklefish, as my publisher, oversaw the distribution, console ports and translations of the game. They set up the official wiki and helped me redesign the website, to great effect. And of course,Tom Coxon did amazing work adding network code to the game, making multiplayer a reality.
Not a big deal obviously, it's just something I had read before, although it's a little different now, since the new team (one other person?) will be working directly on the game.
In any case it's a wonderful game, and it's very impressive that one person can do all that: code, artwork, music, story, etc.
(Believe I got a few legendary fish actually, though I do recall missing some of the items from stuff you dig up. Probably something very rare as I went around digging up loads of 'worms').
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