It’s borderline a glitch. I mean, I get that it makes sense, but he should allow such a major purchase like a tree to go back into your inventory. It should be like digging up a sapling and replanting it elsewhere. My lost pomegranate tree cost me 6000g I think. Huge.
I just started it yesterday…very fun. I loved the original Harvest Moon for the SNES and this is just like that, only better. I can already tell this is going to fill my days for the next month or so.
My kids and I have been playing it for 2 1/2 months or so and we keep going. We’re having an absolute blast.
The creator is adding more late-game content sometime, hopefully in the next couple months. I can’t wait.
This and The Witness are game of the year contenders for me.
Bump
I got this game last weekend, figured I’d play a bit of it, a bit of Pillars of Eternity (which I’m maybe halfway through).
Nope. Good god this game is fun. I’m almost done with autumn now, and I can’t stop thinking about how to schedule my winter season most effectively.
Thanks all for the recommendation!
Bump. The 1.1 update was released last month, and I’m enjoying the hell out of it. Especially growing your own COFFEE!!! 
This is the first game that I’ve got my wife to play. And my seven-year-old. Neither of them cares much for the mines, but they love the hell out of the farming.
I’ve got almost all my bundles complete, still waiting on my stupid pomegranate tree to mature and then it’s all done. Leah’s building great sculptures in my house and loves the daily goat cheese gifts. Been to level 45 in the desert cave. I should be done with the game, but every few days I come back.
Just started playing this game yesterday. Only about a week and a half in. Looks very fun and addicting. I have a meager little farm, have harvested my first crop of parsnips, and am looking for gifts to give all the townpeople to start on the various friendship quests.
Just bought on the Steam sale, I’m in Day 11 of Spring, and I’m getting my ass handed to me.
Nothing new under the sun, there. I’m notoriously terrible at these games, but they sure are fun.
Cooking. How in hell do I cook? I bought recipies. Do I need to own a stove?
IIRC you already do own a stove, just to the left of the fridge. It was a little bit awkward to activate until I got used to where I needed to stand - the first few times I just kept opening the fridge again.
I really enjoyed that game. Very relaxing. Er, actually I had a heck of a time with my time and energy management, and was very frustrated that I could do only very little in a day. So I found a cheat program that let me pause the advance of time and ignore energy requirements, things like that.
After that, it was a very relaxing game, but obviously a bit of a different game than the vanilla version. It became more about planning and realizing a beautiful, fully developed farm at my own pace rather than a painfully limited time management game. Kinda took too much of the challenge out of it, but it was a nice diversion anyway.
Thanks. I think I found out I have to upgrade my house in order to have stove.
Yes, you need the 2nd tier farmhouse to get a stove. Personally speaking, though, I always put off upgrading the house until late in Year 1, since there are many higher priorities (such as upgrading your tools) and the really good recipes don’t come until Year 2 anyway.
Well yeah, time & energy management are a huge part of this game. FWIW, energy’s only a major roadblock during the first spring (and becomes a complete non-issue by Year 2) and while time limitations are indeed frustrating at first, the game does open up later on with speed-boosting food (coffee, pepper poppers, etc.) and really opens up once you buy a horse. Unlocking the minecarts early also helps a ton.
I recommend aulddragon’s Let’s Play for learning more about the game, he’s a bit derpy at times but does show good strategy, as well as having (fairly decent) inventory management skills.
If YouTube’s not your thing, check out SunTide’s Walkthrough at the Sundew Valley Forums; he does min/max TO THE EXTREME so don’t feel like you need to get done half of what he does, but he does provide lots of helpful tips for all kinds of players.
I came back to post because I realized that I forgot you probably need to upgrade the house once or twice first to get the stove, but I see that’s been sorted out.
I’ve been thinking about trying the game again sometime, without the cheat program. Make an honest farmer of myself. If I do, I’ll undoubtedly find that walkthrough useful.
actually we sprung for the hardcover guidebook … id advise that for all the newcomers it makes certain concepts clear and it a joy to read …
Now theres a disc version for ps4 and xbone that includes strategy book but I don’t know if its the same one …
You can find it on the official wiki page … or Stardew Valley Guidebook - Fangamer
Such a good game!
IIRC, here were my priorities early on:
-Plant some parsnips and potatoes as soon as you can. You want income.
-Meet everyone as soon as you can.
-When you get access to the bundles, stay on top of them: see what you need for spring crops and for spring foraging, and make sure those happen that season. They’re much harder to get if you don’t plan ahead.
It’s worth reading some guides on this game. The interface leaves something to be desired in a few ways (e.g., it’d be real helpful if once you gave someone a gift, the game recorded their reaction to it, so you don’t need to flip back and forth to a Wiki to figure out what they like), but overall it’s a wonderful game.
LOL. I married the creepy doctor (surprise) though I played as a guy character, because he was easiest to find, he loved pickles, and I always pissed the ladies off.
I’m only at the end of 2nd year, but I have almost all the bundles done because my daughter had played this and kept giving me tips whether I wanted it or not. My
interest has kind of dropped off. If I make a bigger farm, I just have to make better sprinklers…and then what? I’m tired off milking/mayo-ing the livestock every day. It was fun while it lasted.
Oh, also…fishing could have been a bit more reasonable…
I still can’t figure out relationships. Shane is such a douchecanoe, he yells at me every time I try to talk to him. The only one who pays attention to me is the sporty guy and he won’t shut up about how many pushups he’s done. Ugh. Slim pickins in Pelican Town.
LOL. I could have married Marnie or the sweet hobo guy in a few weeks, but they aren’t eligible. Fabio down by the seashore likes seashells and such, so that’s handy, and the goth girl likes amethysts and anything you can cook for her. I didn’t want to cheat on that sort of thing. Anywho, I found the “taken” ones more interesting than the “singles,” but I gather it doesn’t matter much in the long run. Oh, I also thought Pam (the crochety louche divorcee bus driver) would be a fun girlfriend, but nooo, you can’t really court her either.
Oh, and I do wish you could “cook” out of any of your chests, not just the fridge. Ugh!
Milk the cows, pet the pigs.
Yeah I could totally fall for Gus the bartender. He might be dumpy but he gave food to a homeless man.
Part of the game’s fun is how, when you befriend these characters, cut scenes show complexity to their characters. Still, I kinda agree: the single dudes in the game tend to be jerks. Even the handsome author is trying a little too hard.