Insect Collecting

[AlphaWolfKane]

I wrote up this idea on the Chuckle Fish forums awhile ago and got some pretty good feedback. I've always loved insects, butterflies, dragonflies, beetles, spiders, you name it. We have butterflies in Stardew, we see them fluttering around in Spring and Summer, but that's it, all we can do is watch them float about.

My idea involves Evelyn giving us her old butterfly net after we reach a certain number of hearts with her. Originally it was 10 hearts, making this possibly a pretty late game addition, but I think moving it down to 6-7 hearts would make it more accessible at an earlier point of the game.

We'd have 4 types of insects to collect, Butterflies, Dragonflies, Beetles, and Spiders.

Butterflies would be most abundant in Spring and little less abundant in the Summer.

Butterflies, Dragonflies and Beetles would all be seen in Summer, Dragonflies and Beetles being the most abundant.

Spiders would only come out in Fall and would be the only insect available to catch during that season.

And like with fish, certain insects would only be found in certain locations at certain times. The Cactus Beetle would only be found in the Oasis during the day. Black Widow Spiders would only be found in Fall after dark, etc.

I really think this would be a great thing to add to, more goals to reach, more collections to finish, more creatures to breath life into the game we love.

And yes, Animal Crossing was a huge influence on this.

 

[tommybob]

I love this idea, setting up little jars that have a random chance overnight to collect a bug or something could work. I have always wanted to catch the fireflies you see around the summer so I can use them as lights.

 

[Odin]

I definitely seen an increase in this suggestion since ACNH launched :)

It would definitely be a fun addition to the game, but I worry it might look like it was just taken from AC if it wasn't sufficiently different from the implementation there

 

[goboking]

I definitely seen an increase in this suggestion since ACNH launched :)

It would definitely be a fun addition to the game, but I worry it might look like it was just taken from AC if it wasn't sufficiently different from the implementation there

If it helps, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess had bug collecting way back in 2006. And I doubt it was the first to do so.

 

[Lappy]

I'm torn about this suggestion.

I have fond memories of the GameCube version of Animal Crossing, but I haven't played any of the more recent versions. I enjoyed the various things to collect, like the bugs. Adding bugs to the Valley would fit well into the game, as mentioned by the OP. Like fish, they could be spotted only during a specific season, time of day, or weather condition, and that would make the collection aspect fun and add some challenge.

On my first farm, I finished everything - all the collections, quests, and the monster eradication goals, and maxed out all my villager and family (wife, both kids) relationships. Now on my second farm, I'm well on the way to do the same, and I'm really looking forward to the next big update adding more end-game content.

I trust that ConcernedApe has a vision for the game, and that he will implement content that fits within that vision. I'll likely gobble up whatever the next update has to offer. Suggestions in this forum run the spectrum from very reasonable to pretty wacky, and I think bugs definitely lean toward the reasonable end of the scale.

But I'm worried about making Stardew Valley too much like Animal Crossing. Don't get me wrong - adding bug collecting would be fun. But if I wanted to play Animal Crossing, I'd play AC. If I wanted to play Harvest Moon, I'd play Harvest Moon.

 

[27dschild]

If it helps, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess had bug collecting way back in 2006. And I doubt it was the first to do so.

OMG I love that game

 

[Konitama]

I wouldn't worry about it being too much like Animal Crossing. There's nothing inherently wrong with a game sharing features with other games. I don't think Animal Crossing should be the only game to be allowed to have bug catching as a thing.