Board 8 > I am about to wrap up my first Spring in Stardew Valley

(+) Yeah! (+)

I have barely farmed and have mostly focused on clearing out my property. It took me like a week to realize that while my axe couldn't break down large stumps, I could still chop down trees. I saved up enough wood to fix the bridge at the beach, do part of the community center care package or whatever they are called, and I am saving up for a house upgrade and maybe additional scarecrows and a silo or chicken coop.

The vast majority of my time has been spent in the mines and fishing. I am up to Level 55 I think in the mines, and my fishing level is at 4 or 5. I don't know if I should upgrade my fishing pole or not, but I haven't even looked into the costs (whether it be gold-only or gold + resources). I have already upgraded my pickaxe and watering can and am thinking about doing my axe next. I have had pretty poor timing in this game, and it doesn't help that the day goes by so quick, you move relatively slow, and you pretty much have to commit the entire day to go through the mines. I'm still pushing it with not returning to my house until midnight or later, but at least I am no longer collapsing on the roads or in the grass once 1 AM hits.

There are several characters with the word "single" in parentheses, so I'm guessing that there's a romantic element to this game. I am focusing more building my character, resources, and hopefully the farm than building relationships with characters. I hope that it isn't a "Snooze You Lose" affair to where I could be left a permanent bachelor, but whatever. I'm into women, so I won't be going for any of the guys, but I'm glad because these guys blow. We have an emo, an insecure/vain jock (Alex?), a conceited but approachable guy who lives in a beach shack (Elliot?), some raging douchebag who won't give me the time of day, a hipster doctor (Harvey?), and then Sam. He's chill. I talk with him every morning I decide to fish then.

The girls are a much better roster by default. We have a high-maintenance girl who is actually quite pleasant (Haley?), a responsible and cheerful girl who always seems a little off to me and might have some mental issues beneath the surface (Emily?), a nerd, the shy one (Penny?), a whore or maybe a comedic girl who was just making a joke (Abagail?), and an outdoorsy girl (I want to say Leah?). That being said, I hate all these girls for refusing to dance with me for the Flower Dance. I asked Haley and Emily first since I was up to three stars for them, and once they refused, I asked Lewis and Pam (they were at two stars) out of desperation knowing the rest would say no as well.

I'm having a lot of fun having put into roughly 10 hours over the past week, but I'm hoping that I can play at my own pace and my own way as the world adjusts to me instead of me having to adjust to it. I also find it disappointing that the gameplay and story do not line up and could make conversations with characters quite jarring. I had an early cutscene with the homeless guy (Linus?) rummaging through some trash cans. I told him that food shouldn't go to waste, and he responded nicely, and he is gracious for all the gifts that I give him. Any time I speak to him otherwise, he grumbles, "Are you here to ridicule me?" or "I don't trust you." WTF man, I have clearly done you no harm and have actively helped you. There are smaller things similar to that with other characters, but his was the most obvious.
---

There are several characters with the word "single" in parentheses, so I'm guessing that there's a romantic element to this game. I am focusing more building my character, resources, and hopefully the farm than building relationships with characters. I hope that it isn't a "Snooze You Lose" affair to where I could be left a permanent bachelor, but whatever.

Nope, there isn't a Rival system like some Harvest Moon games. Take as much time as you need
---

Fishing pole costs 1800 g to get a better one.
This slightly increases your fishing bar, and allows you to equip bait to it, which makes fish bite quicker.

I usually grab it early (unlocks in the shop at fishing level 2), if I'm fishing.

Which system are you playing on? If you are on PC, I'd be up for some multiplayer sometime! =P
---

Yeah, I am playing on PC (via Steam).

I made it to level 60 in the dungeons. It took me three attempts to get through levels 55-60. The first time, the game froze as I accidentally equipped my fishing rod and the game couldn't handle me swinging my fishing rod deep inside a cave. The second time, I was in those mines for about 13 hours, but I guess you can go past the 1 AM curfew while inside a cave. I decided to purposely exhaust myself, and not only was my penalty just several hundred coins, but I was able to keep all the items that I found. Third time was similarly time-consuming, but I was able to get to my house at around midnight.

I have been putting a lot of focus on the community center stuff now that the fishing BS is starting to irk me. The meter falls at like double the rate that it rises. Coupled with the extreme erratic behavior of fish, fishing has frequently become a chore.

I have earned quite a few seeds, so I have done a little more actual farming but still not a lot. I am about to invest in some sort of homestead enhancement, whether it be house upgrade or buildings.
---

Is there couch co-op for this yet?
---

PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

Is there couch co-op for this yet?

No multiplayer on consoles yet :/
---

Is there couch co-op for PC though?
---

A brief Google search says that co-op is online-only right now.
---

Looks like you still havent met one of the girls you can romance. A little bit surprising since she lives closest to the mine and youve spent most of your time over there
---

Is it east of the adventurer's cabin, or whatever it is called? I finally gained accessed to the railyard northwest of the mine. but I haven't seen anyone there.
---

She's Demetrius and Robin (the carpenter who you buy building upgrades from)'s daughter. They live west of the cave. She works at the doctor's office sometimes.
---

Oh, I have met her. I only briefly talked about her (she was referred to as the nerd).
---

Make sure you give people gifts on their birthday. Also, make sure you check your journal, you can get some decent cash early that way.

I have given everyone a gift on their birthday. I have no idea what anyone likes, but I have had a great success rate thus far. I often just give food or flowers. Only Vincent and Pierre haven't liked my gifts.

Journal as in quests from when people show up to my house, send me letters, or requests posted outside of the general store? I have completed most of the first two. I haven't built a coop or reached the bottom of the mines yet. Some of those requests are hard to do on two days notice, especially fish ones imo, so I have only accepted a handful of them.
---

Guy Rankings:
Sam >>>>>>>>>> Elliot > Harvey > Alex > Sebastian >>>>>>>> Shane

Sam is the only one that I will talk to because I want to. The rest are whatever except for Shane. He can go to hell.

Girl Rankings:
Leah >= Haley >= Emily >>> Abigail >= Maru >=Penny

I have barely spoken to Leah, but she seems to have some personality. I have spoken to Haley and Emily more than the rest combined, and they show more promise than everyone except for Leah. Abigail and Maru seem fine, but I have barely spoken to them. I've probably spoken to Penny the third most, and well, she's not all that interesting. I guess her mom is Pam, and having an alcoholic mother whom I have never seen with Penny helps explain things, but I will not romantically pursue someone out of pity.
---

Leah is the correct option so well done
---

trdl23 posted...

Leah is the correct option so well done

This. Also, try not to look things up on the Wiki or the like. It's much more fun finding out all of Stardew Valley's quirks and secrets yourself.

What is there to even look up? Things seem pretty straightforward on how to play and how to unlock stuff from the community center
---

Obvious things like which people like which gifts, as well as certain more obscure secrets Stardew Valley has. You're right, the game is generally signposted well, but it's not universal.