Month: October 2017

Stardew Valley – Into the Mine

Day 3

It was raining as I woke up today. I cleared some space just outside my house, and planted some more seeds. As I was working on my farm, I heard a weird noise, a few times. It sounded like a ghost! I suppose it could have been the wind, but it sounded more like a ghostly manifestation than breezy precipitation.

Aside from the ghostly noise though, I was also noticing some static as music or sound effects would play. It started to get quite annoying. Apparently it’s a glitch, and you just have to restart the game to get rid of it. I did that after the day was over, but in the meantime, I just put up with it as best I could.

Anyway, I noticed my energy was getting low, so I went over to the saloon. I bought some bread, and ate it…once I figured out how. So I threw it up into the air, waited for it to fall, jumped up, and gobbled it down before it hit the ground. 😉

Eating bread (animated GIF) in Stardew Valley for Nintendo Switch.
Some people do this with popcorn. I use an entire loaf of bread.

Since it was already getting dark, I went home and went to bread bed.

Day 4

The rain was gone today, so I watered my crops in the morning. I then set off to explore a bit. I returned to the tent I visited before, but this time somebody was outside with a campfire. It was an old guy named Linus. Doesn’t he get cold living out here? Good grief. Maybe he can carry a blanket with him at all times.

The mines were nearby, but some rocks apparently fell and blocked the path. I tried to free the worker on the other side, but it was no use. Oh well. It’s his problem, not mine.

Rocks blocking the path to the mines in Stardew Valley.Over at Pierre’s shop, I really wanted the backpack upgrade. But I don’t have nearly enough money for it. But Pierre’s also had some seeds for sale. I was hoping for some ice cream seeds, but no such luck. 😉 But I had my eye on potato seeds, so I bought one. Actually I didn’t realize I was only buying one seed until I got home and planted it.

After working on my farm a bit, I went on to bed.

Day 5

It was sunny again today, and I saw that my first batch of crops was getting bigger. I got a letter in the mail from JojaMart. Apparently the landslide by the mines was their fault! It was a result of their nearby drilling! So basically, I had Joja on my mine. 😛

The good news is that they have cleaned up the mess, so I was able to check out the mines today. Inside, there was a man named Marlon. He wears an eye patch, and he gave me a rusty sword for some reason. But aside from the strange guy with the sword, this seems much like the mines you find in some Harvest Moon games.

Mining in Stardew Valley.You can smash rocks and dig in the dirt to find ore and other goodies. But since my inventory was full and I couldn’t keep everything I dug up, I didn’t stick around for long. I made my way back to town, and I saw the mayor Lewis peeing standing near the fountain.

Lewis: I hope things are going well on Ravine farm. I'd hate to see it all dried up.
Yet you didn’t mind it being a disaster zone for the past XX years?

Haley was nearby, and I tried to talk to her. But the game flat out told me that she was ignoring me.

Haley is ignoring you.When night fell, I headed over to the saloon. It was the busiest that I’ve seen it, with over a dozen people inside. I took a look at the jukebox; you can choose the song that plays. I also spoke with everyone…well, at least everyone that would speak to me.

A busy night in the saloon in Stardew Valley.After that, I checked my journal and saw that I have now spoken with 27 of the 28 people I’m supposed to meet. I have no idea who I’m missing, but I’m sure I’ll run into him/her eventually.

Once I was done at the saloon, I returned home and planted a few more seeds I had leftover. I then went to bed for the night.

Level Up: Level 1 Mining. +1 Pickaxe Proficiency. New crafting recipe: Cherry Bomb.

Other Notes

As you may have guessed, I’ve decided to continue making blog entries for a while, at least. The videos will also continue. Here’s one showing some of the highlights from Days 3-5.

One last note that I forgot to mention last time: The time it takes to save your game at the end of each day is about 20-25 seconds. That seems excessively long. It’s something you’d expect on an original PlayStation game from 1996. 😛

This game does seem to have some technical flaws and glitches (like the static), but perhaps some of them will be fixed in an update. I’m still enjoying the game regardless. See you next time. 🙂

Stardew Valley – Getting Started

As of October 5th, Stardew Valley has finally been released on Nintendo Switch. If you’re not aware, it’s a 2D farming/life simulation game much like Harvest Moon. It’s available in the eShop for $14.99 (U.S. price). Even though it’s been on other platforms for quite a while, I’ve generally avoided videos and spoilers, so I’m really heading into this blind.

Anyway, I started up the game by customizing my character. I chose Ravine as the name of my farm, coffee as my favorite thing, and I decided to wear the shirt that has a “J” on it. The intro tells the story of how I became a farm owner, and then I arrived in town. Robin, the local carpenter, showed me where I’ll be living. The farm is quite run down, and this all sounds just like Harvest Moon so far.

Robin: Sure, it's a bit overgrown, but there's some good soil underneath that mess!I met the mayor of Pelican town…when he came out of my house. He was supposedly cleaning it up, but I think he was really just using my bathroom. After a little chat, the intro ended.

I then woke up and began my first official day on the farm. Since I’m new to the game, I was just checking everything out. I turned on the TV to see each channel, and I opened up a gift from the mayor that contained 15 parsnip seeds.

Then, I went outside and started chopping up sticks and weeds to make my field a bit less of a disaster zone. I examined the menu options a bit, and then set off to explore. One of the tasks mentioned in my journal was to greet all 28 people in town. This girl Haley seemed nice…until she called my clothes horrendous! How rude!

Haley: Hmm... If it weren't for those horrendous clothes you might actually be cute.So I tried chopping her up, but it didn’t work. I continued exploring, and later bumped into her again. But she was “too involved with her camera” to notice me. LIES!

Haley's too involved with her camera to notice you.At the Stardrop Saloon, I played an arcade game called Journey of the Prairie King. It’s a dual-stick shooter like Robotron or Smash TV, but with a western theme.

The arcade inside the Stardrop Saloon in Stardew Valley for Nintendo Switch.The Journey of the Prairie King mini-game in Stardew Valley.I didn’t do very well, but I’ll give it another try in the future. It’s always nice to have a game within a game, though.

I met an old couple in a house, and the woman was quite nice. She even told me I could call her “Granny.” The man George, who I assume was her husband, was a bit rude though. So I stood in front of him to block his view of his TV. 😛

Standing in front of George's TV.Night soon fell, and I returned home to sleep. In the morning, I set off exploring in a different direction. This must be the town park, with a fountain and a playground. Wow, public works projects I don’t have to pay for! 😉

A park in Stardew Valley.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t play on the playground equipment.

Down on the dock, I met a guy named Willy who had a fishing rod to give me. The fishing process is a bit more complicated than what I’m used to in Animal Crossing games, but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it before long. I caught my first fish, only to realize my pockets were full…so I had to let the fish go.

Fishing in Stardew Valley for Nintendo Switch.Once I made my way back home, I made sure to clear out some pocket space. And I finally planted my first seeds (and watered them) before turning in for the night. Although I haven’t played the game much yet, I imagine this could become addictive once I get into the flow of things.

Here is a video showing my first two days in town.

I realize the blog entry and the video are a bit redundant. I’m considering just making this a video series and not posting regular blog entries. Or maybe just occasional blog entries. I haven’t decided for sure yet. Any thoughts?